DJSkyFoxx

And added a 400ft "first of its kind wooden spike!"

I did not say FOR SURE what I was going to do. I was simply stating that I have a lot to think about before I make my decision in which I have plenty of time to do so. It's not about "affecting" the park, I never stated anything about that. It is simply weighing on the situation at hand. You do you...

All of these cuts sort of make me wonder if renewing is worth it this year. On one hand, I want to. As a lover of KI and other CF parks, I want to be able to know I have the ability to go whenever I want and enjoy them as needed. But on the same token, seeing the cuts in areas that could affect the guest experience makes me leery what other things might get cut throughout the season. Seeing important positions get cut is heartbreaking for a myriad of reasons. I never had a reason or need for a park ambassador on my visits, but knowing that they helped make such a positive difference for so many people's days is a terrible loss to be had. And seeing the wage cuts I feel will impact staffing numbers as well as the quality of staff. You go from paying folks $18-20 an hour back down to the $14-15 an hour range...that is going to turn a lot of possible prospects away. All these cuts and yet the prices for things remains at a premium. I guess I will decide by April if I will renew. I feel sad for saying that, but if I am going to drop the coin on a fully loaded pass I want to be certain I am willing to accept any further cuts that will inevitably be seen/felt throughout this season. I feel sad saying that as a passholder since 2010. But this is the reality.

I'm probably in the minority of folks who actually likes Invertigo. I won't say it's in any top list for me, but I find it to be a fun and intense ride that's unique in the sense that Vekoma Invertigos are not found at every park. Granted I realize it is still just a boomerang, it isn't the typical sit down variety . I would hope that if it's on any chopping blocks that they would wait to remove it until another looper has been installed in the park since the park really doesn't have many coasters with inversions at this point with the removal and Vortex and Firehawk. I know the pump on Congo Falls broke towards the end of the summer season so I'm not sure if that would play into any removal factors for it. I can honestly see them getting it back up and running for this year, but I also don't know the costs connected to repairing/replacing parts and keeping it going for another year. I think I'm more in the camp of seeing more rides being added before any current ones are removed unless its absolutely necessary to remove them right now. Especially with things seeming so up in the air with the budgeting and merger and what not.

Ah. This photo is kinda eerie. Seeing what used to be a cool attraction now sitting and collecting dust amongst the props. Sad.

So did Action Theater simply not bring the crowds in anymore after Spongebob or maintenance or? I realize it was not exactly super unique experience per se, but it did offer some relief from a hot summer's day and it was something to mix up a trip besides coasters and flat rides. I have faint memories of DoT and lots of memories of Spongebob. I feel like there wasn't much else after. I do remember some in-house film made for Fear Fear not long after SB left, but that's about all I remember.

I'm still super nostalgic for that time period. I guess because that was when I truly caught the coaster bug. And Son of Beast was at the helm of the park. I still am happy to say that I have piece #20/250 of the limited run track slices. Regardless of this coaster's reputation, love it or hate it, people still talk about it today much in the way folks still talk about the original Bat.

I also noticed there were no armed security positions posted at this time. I wonder if this is also a budget related cut or if the position will be posted at a later date.

This also holds a special place in my heart as well as it opened up at KI the year I graduated from HS. The first time I got to ride it was with my mom on Mother's Day of 2007, as it has been a tradition for many years now to celebrate her day at the park. I took one of the last flights on it during its final day of operation as well. It may not have been my favorite roller coaster, but I didn't have the hatred or distain for it that most did, especially in its later years of operating at the park.

I mean yeah, I see where you're going with that, but we already currently have two vehicle themed coasters in the back-ish area of the park (BLSC and MT). Adding something else would mix it up a little more in variety.

I could only dream of a Vekoma multi-launch on this plot. I do feel a nod to Vortex would be really cool and in a way respectful to a past attraction that meant so much to a lot of people. But of course its not a mandated thing. It would just be cool to see. "Maelstrom" would be a neat name as it has a similar meaning as "Vortex".

I haven't ridden Pipeline as of yet, but I think most will agree that Pipeline wasn't designed to be a traditional stand-up coaster. It's a "surf" coaster that happens to have you in the standing position. Even still, it appears B&M has gone away from the more intense layouts of their standing position coasters to have a broader appeal since their former designs were hard on the legs and other areas of the body for certain folks. I don't foresee B&M going back to those crazy multi-inversion standing position coasters. I will never say never, but I just don't think that's their aim anymore for these types of rides. They have been there, done that, got the clout and then the fallback on popularity and demand. And I've said before, I don't really feel this will be a popular model that we will see in lots of parks. It's a novelty experience and it fits a park like Sea World which is already a novelty park. Not saying there won't ever be any more installations, but I just don't see them as a high demand attraction. Who really knows though.

It could also just be that a lot of places are losing that personal touch to their brand. Lets just say I have worked for a place where you would get a birthday card signed by everyone from the top down. There was that sense of validity, however small, that people took time out of their day to sign a card for you. Then it turned into one signature for everyone "The Admin Team". This kinda has that same ring to it.

A heckin' lot lol honestly I really don't know my count. I never kept track, but its definitely gotta be in the 80-ish or something mark by now. Especially after this season.

This looks vaguely similar to the system Cedar Point used to use. There was still a line sep but you had to scan your wristband under a QR Code/Barcode reader. Is this the same concept?

And to be fair, she is human. We all are. Expecting perfection from anyone is literally the worst thing anyone can do and expecting her to be Don isn't fair. It shouldn't be viewed as her standing in his shadow, but her rising to the occasion and giving her a chance to shine and bring her own brand in.

Winterfest definitely was a strong conclusion for the year. Especially compared to Halloween Haunt, which I think most of us can agree continues to decline in overall quality. But Winterfest definitely blew me away with the attention to detail, the extra lights added throughout and the overall feel was more magical than last year. I give great kudos to the park for really making it a solid end of the season. It's one of the few things around the holidays that tends to lift my spirits because holidays in general are just tough to muddle through so I was grateful for the bit of magic.

Happy New Year KIC! Thankful I got to spend NYE at the park last night with my lady. It was incredibly cold, but well worth roughing it out. There were definitely a lot of people out last night, but it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be. Got one last ride on Sol Spin. Walked around. Played some arcade games. Had one last Oreo hot chocolate. One last meal on the meal plan for the year. Tried a new dish. Danced. Rode the train. Took lots of pictures. And overall just had a wonderful time closing out the year with my human at our place. Fireworks were lovely, although by then the threshold for the cold to stay the whole display was non-existent. But we did get one good look back from the parking lot. Looking forward to another season of memories. Thanks to all the employees who made this 2023 season an incredible one.

Heck, opening day 2013 for Gate Keeper was also incredibly miserable. It was insanely cold for being the time of year that it was. It probably didn't help matters that I was sick. But still. Brrrr.

I was talking to my fiancé' about this. Seems like a really unique experience. For once I will say that I could really care less about the rides themselves since there won't be much open anyways ( and I simply don't think I could stomach the spinning on Wild Mouse ). But being on the beach for the Eclipse itself would be an incredible experience to have. I just fear that the tickets will be some outrageous price since I know this event will be popular I'm sure. Either that or the tickets will be limited in the style of WCO. Guess we will see when they announce more information. Overall, seems like a super unique opportunity.

I just hope the weather stays amicable! Obviously dressing warm would still be important, but it doesn't appear to be terrible temp wise. Another round of the Mystic Timbers Oreo hot chocolate will be a must!

Ah. Scary. I can't really think of any ride at KI ( or really any park for that matter ) that actually scares me. I think maybe "high thrill" factor comes to mind more, but if anything actually came close to being scary it would be these two: Defunct: Son of Beast-I think anyone who rode it understands without much explanation why this coaster could be classified as scary. In theory, no roller coaster is scary to me personally, but this is the only one in my mind that could fit the bill here mainly because of it's reputation and just the overall relentless rip your head off sensation this ride gave. You really did question your life when riding this thing. So I give the crown to the euthanized feral son. Operating: SkyFlyer-Again, I find it difficult to really classify any ride as scary because I just don't get scared on rides, but there are parts to this that make me have a moment or two of going "whoa"-the initial sweeping off your feet into the harness and that moment of realizing you're 150 something feet in the air dangling by a cable in a body harness at the mercy of this thing holding you up as you free-fall back to earth. This to me is still the most thrilling ride in the park and something I do 1-2X a year when I have someone with me willing to take the leap.

So NYE at the park...how busy do you al think it will be? The weather looks to be amicable at this time ( which of course is always subject to change being in the Midwest ). I've never done NYE at the park for one reason or another so I was just curious how it has played out in the past. I do remember hearing that the rides shut down promptly at 10PM.

I think you make a good point here. It would have hurt either way, but I think the whole announcement coming out of left field ( to the GP ) and with those loyal fans having already purchased their 2024 passes expecting to be able to attend next year, this hit hard with a 1-2 uppercut "we're closing but LOOK here's a brand new high tech music venue where a large music venue already exists next door LOL!" I imagine this feeling would hurt anyone who is a fan of any park. Imagine expecting to be able to go to your home/favorite park next year, you've already purchased your passes and BAM! Your park is going to get leveled and replaced with something that is in abundance. Don't get me wrong, I love music/concerts and a good venue to patronize, but Cincinnati isn't exactly hurting for music and entertainment spaces. The new venue looks awesome in the concept art, but I won't sit here and pretend I'm not upset about how this was handled and how this whole "disposable" trend continues to happen with historic places in the states. I've read a lot of comments of people saying they find it appalling how many people are upset that business owners are trying to do what's best for them and that folks memories and sentiments shouldn't supersede that, but I think that's an incredibly heartless way to view this situation. Yes, business owners are allowed to handle their businesses how they see fit, but that doesn't mean that people have to be happy about it or supportive of it. The thing is, it seems as time goes on, there are fewer and fewer of these smaller parks being allowed to exist and I know there are many complicated numbers games involved here as to why that is, but sometimes I really think it just boils down to greed and that's just sad. All these housing, retail and consumer-esque establishments taking up unique spaces is getting very old. End Rant

I still really want to try the International Restaurant Buffet, if anything, for the experience of sitting up there since it's not a common point of access during any other part of the season. I wonder if there will be any buyouts of it next week after Christmas? (Not counting the NYE stuff )