disco2000

Shaggy - I commend you for your actions as the ACE rep after what you witnessed at HW, as well as you coming to this forum to share your insight and thoughts. Regarding your above post, you absolutely nailed it, and unfortunately some will be offended, but we as a society have gone/heading towards such extreme inclusions that at the current pace, the day will come when a roller coaster will need to allow the actual wheel chair on the ride, provisions for oxygen tanks, fluid bags, a psychologist to calm those with anxiety attacks experienced while on the ride, etc., along with having a walking path along every foot of track because one never knows when a train may lose a wheel and stop where the ride wasn't intended to stop. Oh yea, and because of this walking path required, there will be no more loops or anything where someone could not be evacuated from the ride if it stopped at that location. This may seem like an extreme example and let's hope it is, but in our current environment (ADA, lawsuits, etc.) it could happen. Either that or no more roller coasters. I am not against ADA by any means, but some common sense needs to prevail. An amusement park provides a lot that folks with restrictions can partake in. Taking a phrase from Shaggy, the "mentally oblivious or mentally ignorant" folks help drive up costs of amusement parks, either with frivolous lawsuits that they were denied access to a ride, or worse the family of a loved one killed on the ride. Many of the same folks with total disregard to their safety are probably also the first to file a suit if they are denied access. Look at KI's own Woodstock Express and how many parents try to sneak their too short child on the ride and then blow a gasket when they are denied riding. I witnessed a ticked off dad nearly break off the exit gate in disgust. I bet guest relations probably gets many complaints a year over this. A case of common sense not prevailing - look at Dollywood. Dollywood used to provide free admission to those in wheelchairs or blind/deaf, not because Dollywood couldn't accommodate them any different than other parks could, but was southern hospitality both by the park and in some instances the visitor themselves may choose not to burden others while they accommodated them getting on a ride. Dollywood claims were over 40,000 admissions/year were granted under this policy. Guess what, an ADA action group claimed that this policy was a violation of ADA because it made the disabled feel different and not equal and filed suit, so Dollywood dropped the policy and now charges everyone that enters. Common sense did not prevail in that situation. So instead of getting in free and still being different and not equal by having to go up the exit to get on the ride, they now get to pay for that convenience. Regarding this witness in the reports, as Terp and many others who have seen/rode the ride, I am also not believing her claims and I am sure the park's attorney's will be able to get her dismissed or not taken seriously in any litigation. I just don't think from her vantage point she could have heard/seen all that she claims she did. Next time you are in line for a ride and will be next one on, see/listen if you can view/hear anything happening on the ride after the train has left the station. She was either looking for her 15 minutes of fame, looking to make money off it in a trial, or worse, which I will keep to myself and hope it isn't true.

Not so - look what happened at Six Flags Louisville with their Superman Tower of Power gondola cable snapped on the way up and wrapped around a girls legs and then severing her feet off at the ankles when the ride dropped (at least that was what was reported initially, not sure of the follow-up)

again, it has been suggested that Diamondback has a primary and secondary restraint - I assume the primary is the lap restraint and what is the secondary - that the seats are inclined slightly and are made of a "frictiony" material so that you don't as easily flair around like you could on racer and beast smooth seats before they added seat belts and the current lapbar?

What exactly is the primary and secondary restraint system on Diamondback - all I see is the lap restraint? And I don't care what the manufacturer's representation and such says - those tests are done under controlled environments with them establishing the criteria. Just look at the independent auto test crash ratings - all these cars getting top ratings for frontal impact faired poorly when they adjusted the test to better account for what happens in reality (not head on but rather driver side on driver side impact). Or look at the mileage estimates on cars - I never get the estimate, even on ideal 70degree days and all highway driving with cruise control going majority downhill. I would like to see a 50pound, 54" stuffed dummy (where the arms and legs can flail around and weight is distributed proportionally to a human) be placed in Diamondback with no restraint or one click and see if it comes back. Those hard plastic water filled dummies they use now are not representative of a human...just sayin... The day will come that Diamondback will get a seat belt - and let's hope it isn't a tragedy that makes it happen!

I will be there with my boogie shoes on!

I seem to recall you once said you viewed yourself on a park webcam - perhaps viewed it on someone else's electronic device?

From the Stricker's Grove website: " It is also home to the Tornado and Teddy Bear roller coasters that are the only two wooden coasters in Hamilton County." A look at the map confirms it is in Hamilton County, although it has a Hamilton (Butler County) postal code.

Diamondback and Racer cam's are stuck on 7/10

not new to this topic but a "confirmation"!, but on sunday while in The Beast line, a couple of teens informed me that their dad worked in maintenance and confirmed that Vortex is sinking "like 5 inches a year and used to be taller than Diamondback"

Maybe the topic should be changed to "Starting to Decode 2015"!!! Or maybe they will announce it at night during the dive-in like I previously suggested. Or it will be announced as mentioned above previously by others.

While it may seem crazy to some and a waste to others, communities do have Water Management and Sediment Control Regulations, and one of which requires that any disturbed land that is non-vegitated (ie bare with no grass), shall be seeded as soon as practical as to prevent erosion runoff and polluting the waterways. Some communities will actually put a day limit, like a pile of dirt sitting for 45 days must be seeded, while others are more flexible with a "as soon as practical" - usually depends how "developer friendly" the community is as to how stringent the requirements are as well as enforced. I suspect the grassed area simply falls in this category - we may very well see it torn up later this year.

Interesting how most on here that have commented in reference to my post keep discounting my hypothesis (which was that just because Mr. O's comments about no winged coasters on the menu does not necessarily mean we are not getting a winged coaster - if they have already ordered and signed a contract, then it isn't on the menu any more for consideration because it is a done deal that KI is getting one). Obviously these same folks chose to forget they are reading between the lines right now with respect to what is happening now- just the end of last year we were being told they had no plans for the former SOB area, which was true - because a contract was already signed for what is going in right now, so they have no plans for what to do with this area when this attraction has reached its useful life. Some folks here have been quick to dismiss a winged coaster as why would they want another similar ride so close, yet Cedar Fair has how many WindSeekers, how many Soak City's, how many Planet Snoopy's, Dinasaurs Alive, Diamondback equivalent, etc. Maybe KI's will not overtake Cedar Point's winged coaster in a statistical category, but I could see one just a little shorter in height and length, but maybe add something to make it just different enough to draw folks. Just because the fanboys don't want two of the same thing so close doesn't imply it will not happen. Somewhere perhaps, some Dinasaur fanboy forum was speculating Cedar Fair would never put two Dinasaurs Alive in the same state and compete against one another This is a business, and if they can negotiate a better deal purchasing in bulk, why not take advantage of it. With 3 winged coasters in the USA, why not make sure the odds fall in Cedar Fair's favor for the few individuals that would decide which park to go to simply because of a winged coaster - next year could be 4 USA parks with winged, two of which belong to Cedar Fair, coupled with their two parks-one price deal, they just got someone coming to their parks instead of Dollywood. But alas, I have been told a cigar is just a cigar, so I will enjoy mine in the designated smoking area while you eat crow when they announce the dinosaur themed B&M dive wing coaster on July 5th during the showing of Jurassic Park at the dive in. Who knows, maybe this post is a diversion...

OK - re-watching the youtube video, Mr. O has said he has no winged coasters on the menu - again, not a guarantee we are not getting a winger and his wording is such that one could make the argument that they don't have any on the menu because the order has already been placed for a winger... Now if he said they have not signed any contracts, no wings are under design or construction within Cedar Fair, and the current planning efforts for the parks do not have a winged coaster, then "maybe" you could assume we are not getting a winger. Just because he said they don't have any on the menu doesn't mean that they hadn't already signed a multi-year contract for some wingers across their portfolio and thus additional wingers beyond those already signed into contract wouldn't be on the "menu" for consideration. Just trying to show a different point of view for those set on a winger!

Didnt Mr. O say they didn't plan for any more winged? One could argue if they signed a multi-winged-ride contract for 2013, 2014, and 2016 that it isn't "planning" at that point? Whatever is going in now is under construction, not planning. I am sure he chose his wording wisely to give the appearance of one thing, but is vague enough that upon further reflection in the future, you realize what he said. I do not recall Terpy commenting about O's statement, which should speak volumes...