MDMC01

Upon reading this, I was shocked to realize that Great Bear was Hershey's only B&M (when I visited in 2015). That doesn't matter as most of their coasters are fantastic, but it is interesting nonetheless...

I remember still enjoying the Son of Beast-less/pre-Banshee version of Action Zone, but I agree that Banshee definitely breathed new life into the area! Also, if AZ got a spooky facelift, Blackout could stay open all season long as a "new" attraction.

That turnaround looks insane; that's gonna be fun to manuver through!

Cool snow pictures! I didn't realize Zephyr ran in the snow; I bet that must have been pretty cool for those riders!

While driving to Winterfest last night, I noticed that Orion and Diamondback look like dueling coasters from a distance as the track seems to mimic each other.

Which track piece(s) have they removed so far? Though it would be sad for some, I feel like a reverse construction "map" (like what was done for Banshee's construction, highlighting which pieces and supports have been added) should be made for Vortex's demo showing which pieces have been removed.

BUMP! So, according to Screamscape, the remaining Hyena Falls slides are being removed (IIRC, the largest one had previously been removed). http://www.screamscape.com/html/holiday_world.htm

So, I found a video of said show: The laser art looked super cool, but I wonder if there should be more than one screen?

Re: Vending machines... as of last Saturday, there are still ones across from Banshee. -MDMC, who sometimes wishes to buy a drink from the vending machine (because there aren't many around in the park), but then looks at the price and also thinks about that drink plan he has. (where he gets Vanilla Coke on tap for FREE*)... *Yes, I know there was cost in buying the drink plan, but you get the idea

Good stuff! I really like the "Bands in Residence" program. Also, I wonder if Snake River Expedition will be tied into Forbidden Frontier at all. And where will it go?

From that picture, looks like you may be getting a good view of Field of Screams from Orion. ... Or you could be so high up and so fast that it's a blur... On second thought, FoS may be up a bit; it's hard to judge distance and depth... -MDMC, who has passed by Forbidden Frontier at blistering speeds of 93 mph...

I like it; imagine the airtime! Also, that downward curve followed by the upward curve (following the first set of hills) reminds me of something I made on Roller Coaster Tycoon once. EDIT: Also, that turn at the end before the brakes reminds me of Millennium Force's last overbank.

@SnakePlisskenI love "What the Dickens"! I saw that last night too (I caught the 6:30 show). I think my favorite bits were the Actually, the show as a whole is pretty funny. Also, were you one of the people waiting for the last ride of the night at Mystic? If so, you probably saw me hanging around. We ended up being the second to last train of the night, but I didn't care!

Yes, tonight was super crowded and lines were insanely long (Snow Works spilled into part of Drop/Congo's queues; I got out of line), but I think this has been my best visit thus far (possibly topping that epic first Saturday night of WF) as I again ran into so many people I knew. I also got second to last train of the night on Mystic, so that was cool.

Yeah, that wouldn't be fun lol Also, I second the idea of moving those trains to Corkscrew at CP. However, since they appear to be going south, they may be giving Anaconda (or possibly Carolina Cyclone?) some support.

That was a sad picture, but at the same time... ... that would be awesome! Like Top Thrill Dragster, but an Arrow!

So, they haven't even released the schedule and it sold out? WOW! Also, that's funny I saw this thread as I was just talking about Winter Chill Out today at lunch (I used it as an example to relate to as I was trying to understand why Redsfest was during the Cincinnati Reds' offseason (which is right now) instead of during baseball season, as a coworker was headed there this weekend and she was explaining the timing to me). I was saying that it's like Winter Chill Out as it's during CP's offseason (and also how KI doesn't have a Winter Offseason event to generate hype for the coming season).

The lineup still looks pretty cool, though. I wonder if the adult celebrations were a) not that popular or b) created issues? Either way, I'm super excited to be at Kings Island for NYE! I rarely go out for New Year's and I'm excited to live it up going into 2020!

Great question! Other than KI, I like Cedar Point and Hersheypark. Hershey was great as it reminded me of would Geagua Lake would have been like (I never went there) with a diverse lineup of coasters, a waterpark and a zoo. Cedar Point is also cool as it has some fantastic coasters and Forbidden Frontier.

So, a fun idea which I've adopted from my parents (I think? Maybe it was from a friend...) is to unnecessarily wrap the gift so that the opener has to get through many layers to get to the actual gift (which in this case would be the Gold Pass). This actually works better with a smaller gift as the person will think the gift is something big, and then will eventually find the smaller prize after tearing through all the boxes and wrapping paper. And Brad, your idea works as well; if they followed both ideas, maybe the last container could be said case, where the pass is found (or, for more hilarity/insanity, you could wrap the pass once or twice more after the case is opened). Enjoy!

I saw Charlie Brown the other night (Friday) and gave him a high-five. I did not see him last Saturday.

Re: Orion's effect on existing ride wait times- I love the idea of Invertigo having a shorter line; it's actually a decent coaster IMO (best seat is right side, going forwards up the first lift). However, I'm still very excited about Orion and expect it to eclipse The Bat as my favorite coaster in the park.

Glad this thread got bumped! As many of you know, I was a Scareactor in Field of Screams this past Haunt (as a Scarecrow) and had a blast (I was also in Madame Fatale's one night as well as Urgent Scare the last night). Though most every night was unique and fantastic in its own way, I'd like to share one cool thing. I cannot thank my supervisors enough for pushing me to do better. For those who know me, I'm a really nice guy and although I have a ton of energy (they kept telling me to "save it for the maze" as I was so hype after getting into costume lol), I was also weak at scaring at the beginning. I kept being told to be scarier and more aggressive, and I eventually found something that worked and it kept getting better. So, again, thanks to them for helping me to be scarier and (eventually) to face my fears. On the last night, I was put in Urgent Scare because it was raining and I was terrified (this maze, along with Blackout was one of my least favorite mazes). So, a few of us had to be trained in the maze as we hadn't scared in there before and I had to pull the drop box and that scared me, but I didn't have much of a choice, so I did it! And then I had to go through the maze. Multiple times. While at first I recoiled at every jumpscare, I was eventually over it and had a blast. Ironically, the room that had scared me the most ended up being the most fun to take guests through (my role was to follow groups through the maze and I called myself "The Chaperone*"). It was also great to interact with the Urgent Scare regulars as well as our crew - they were all really cool. And yes, I do plan on being back next year. Most days I still think about Haunt and all the possibilities for next year. I love my Haunt Fam! *Interestingly enough, "The Chaperone" is also the name of an episode of Spongebob, which if you'll recall, was one of the movies that played in the Action Theatre before its demise.

I must say, your speculative knowledge and math (with estimating how many employees will work there) is impressive! Also, in accordance with the post above mine, keep in mind that there is a TON to do in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Servierville area including Ober Gatlinburg, Cade's Cove and of course, the many attractions on the Pigeon Forge strip.