disco2000

Malem - thanks for the responses regarding children under 13 - no disrespect, but I am looking for a moderator to respond. Straight from the TOS - "Children should always get permission from their parents before sending any information about themselves (such as their names, email addresses, and phone numbers) over the Internet, to us or to anyone else. We won’t knowingly allow anyone under 13 to register with our site or to provide any other personally identifying information. If you’re under 13, please do not provide us with any personally identifying information about yourself (such as your name, your email address or your phone number)." Isn't requiring everyone that wants to attend the KIC event knowingly allowing someone under 13 to register, or under the revised RSVP notice are those under 13 now not allowed? A post that stated those under 13 could attend was removed when the revised RSVP notice came out indicating everyone attending would need a KIC username. I did not see in the TOS where it states that a parent should set one up for a child under 13? Plus, one needs a valid email address (not already used) in order to activate the account, so isn't that providing "personally identifying information" for a child? I am not trying to be difficult, but I am sure some will be ticked if they show up with kids in tow and Guest Services says "Sorry this one under 13 is not allowed to receive a lanyard and attend the events".

so, are we going to see a response as to if those under 13 are allowed to attend without a KIC username? Little disco-ettes would like to know...

OK, selecting Terpy probably wasn't the best example, although there are plenty on this site that remain anonymous - never met Terpy, so it feels like Batman to me

Disco loves a good conspiracy theory - go do a search on a previous post where I thought things may go after the alleged trespassing that happened. This new RSVP system accomplishes some of what I thought may happen - at least for those so inclined to attend the event. Those that post and choose to keep their identity secret will now not attend - do the masses on this forum really know Terpy's real name and what he does? Also, in reading the latest post from Bodda - and making an assumption - if you have children under 13, they are not welcome to attend as they cannot have a username per the TOS.

On Friday, speakers within the start of the line to flight deck (but not in the station) were playing Banshee-like musak

If my memory serves right, the Firehawk incident was a guest with a pre-existing heart condition that had a heart attack.

I mentioned this in another thread awhile back (six flags incident) as that topic had turned to Diamondback restraints, so I am doing a cross topic for those that missed it in the other topic. Anyway, folks made a claim that there is the primary and secondary restraint system on Diamondback, yet all you see is the lap restraint. It has been pointed out in that other thread that the primary and secondary are "hidden" within the mechanism itself and that one lock could fail while the other one would not. It was also suggested that one would remain in their seat without a restraint according to manufacturer's data. 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 saw that same dude down near Vortex. Didn't see anyone I thought would pass for youngstud; although I did see a dude about the same body size as the one above with a shirt that said "you mad bro"....hmmm

KI's is operating today.

quite possibly a seat belt would have helped, so would holding on. Enough of these tragedies happen, and you may see new regulations in place enforcing truly keeping your hands on the bars (argument can be made now that without a top on the train, arms straight up is still in the car). Most folks probably do not have the strength to truly secure themselves from the forces experienced; however, holding on does keep your center of gravity closer to the intended location and thus quite possibly allowing the restraint to perform its intended duty.

If I am not mistaken, I believe the execs at KIC get a little bit of revenue from the ads that pop up on the forum for those that are not logged in? Probably not enough to quit a job, and perhaps not enough to even cover the costs of the site?

Is anyone experiencing on the mobile site that when you select to read a topic, the topic starts now opens on page 1; whereas before the change (at least for me), it would go to the last page of the topic? With topics more than a couple pages, I am hitting the NEXT button way too many times!

I plan to take a break from the site today and go enjoy the park this afternoon/evening solo, but would welcome saying hello to other members if in attendance. Hopefully the events of late doesn't deter anyone from wearing their KIC shirt proudly at the park! If you are at the park today with a KIC shirt on, I will be sure to say hello and thank you for being a proud member (I am assuming the person that started this whole fiasco will not be at the park anytime soon)!

As I mentioned in the POSTPONED thread about the KIC event, the reason rules, guidelines, regulations, etc. exists is because of the idiotic actions of a few that ruin it for the rest. I believe this action has caused serious repercussions to this forum. I predict that we will see one or more of the following: more "censorship" of topics and posts - and some of this may be due to increased KI review and scrutiny of what is posted here. Some of our long time respected posters may leave, if not already left. Don't know this for sure, but I am sure KI employment has some requirement regarding posting things about KI in social media, so we may lose current employees on the site unless they are authorized to be members from KI. Forum may be forced to charge a nominal (either yearly or one-time fee) that would allow for identification tracking of users on this forum. This would serve multiple purposes - would hopefully prevent or substantially reduce the amount of "trolling" type activities as most are probably not going to want to spend additional money just to troll. It would also allow for follow-up investigation for folks posting stuff that was obtained illegally (either documents, on-ride photos, etc.). On the flip side, the forum would change drastically. I am sure we have many well-respected posters that prefer to remain anonymous. I realize the last bullet is probably not going to be favored by many on the forum and may result in the death of this forum, but sometimes that is the only course of action when someone does something stupid. On the other hand, it could turn the forum into a much better self-regulated site as folks tend to not do something stupid if their real name is attached to it. Take a look at media sites - a lot of them now do not allow anonymous posting to news stories for this very reason.

Plus, I am sure if Kings Island wanted this site shut down, they could make it happen. So lets behave!

Sad thing is, they probably didn't. And they probably talked all about it on their facebook and twitter accounts

It may or may not have been anyone associated with this site. That is a populated area and construction sites are an "attractive nuisance". Could be dumb-luck coincidence that it happened the same time as the goofiness occurred on this site (but probably not). The trespasser was probably proudly wearing a KIC shirt However, if it were someone on this site, then this illegal activity all in the name of being the first with the scoop is no different than the media putting an eyewitness to an accident on TV that clearly didn't witness such event. Quit looking for your 15 minutes of fame. If your self-esteem is that poor that you have to resort to illegal activity just to get a boost to your self-esteem on this forum, it will be a short-lived boost as members/mods of this forum reign down on your poor decision, thus making your self-esteem worse than it is now, plus depending on the action, may result in fine/jail time.

no apologies needed - I totally concur with your thoughts, and I as well know some great media folks that I know would not have put her on tv.

Shark6495 - thanks for elaborating on my thought - I wanted to expand with some of that but didn't want to make the post too long. You are absolutely correct in that as a society, almost everything is a now, now basis. It is hard to fault the media for what they do because society is driving them to that mindset. Doesn't make it right, but that is the direction they are being pushed into.

Before the current frenzy of being the first with the scoop and all the media outlets available now, investigative reporters existed that would validate to the extent practical whether the folks they would put on camera and what they were saying was even possible. 30 years ago, that witness probably wouldn't have made the news; instead, the media would have reported that a death occurred and details are still forthcoming. Just about anybody who has ridden that coaster, or other coasters, can attest to it is probably impossible being next in line to ride that you can hear and see what is happening on that ride at that moment, unless it happened in the station. Regardless the outcome of the investigation, most folks are going to remember and repeat in future forums here and elsewhere that the ride op was nonchalant, the rider was concerned the lap bar didn't click enough times, and her 6 year old child next to her witnessed her fly out of the ride. Her comments, if completely proven false, has compromised the reputation of the industry and that park in particular.

check out this article. http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/22/us/texas-roller-coaster-death/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 Basically contradicts some key items the initial witness was saying. In particular, son-in-law Ronald Segovia told CNN that he did not hear his mother-in-law mention that her lap bar did not lock properly, contrary to witness accounts reported by CNN affiliates. Segovia and his wife were sitting in front of Esparza, who was seated by herself on the Texas Giant ride. Just shows/confirms media outlets will put any idiot on the broadcast. Sensationalism sells and like first impressions that in many cases can be wrong, this quick to report media frenzy we live in causes people to immediately take a side based on what turns out to be inaccurate information.

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?