JTW

I dreamed that Congo Falls was either moved or removed and a B&M dive machine took it's place, roughly following the current lift and drop layout. This ride was unique in the fact that it had very wide interlocking corkscrews that interact with the midway as it's signature element and no splash down. It even used the current line and a reworked Congo Falls station house.

I have no idea about opening day specifically. I answered as if we were discussing any normal operating day of 2014. Opening day or special event days may or may not follow what I predict will be the normal operating pattern for next year.

If anything does it's my educated guess that it will, along with The Bat.

I respectfully disagree. ERT first thing in the morning will get you on the ride with the shortest wait times.

I'm planning on the first full week of operation while local schools are still in session.

They could be. The only one I've seen is red and blue.

I'm mostly a front rider. I tried the back of DB one day during ERT and I now actually prefer that seat. I tried the back on FoF and it killed my neck.

Beast

The current trains will most certainly be refurbished and painted.

I've heard people in line bashing and ridiculing those with Fast Lane bracelets. I've never bought one and won't at KI since I live so close but to me it's a win-win situation. The company provides a premium service for patrons who are willing to pay a fee. That's business and totally fair. I have no problem with that all.

I have to say that people commenting on KI's Facebook announcement are not the brightest group. I saw one ask if Vortex's station will be used and another asked if the ride will be reworked to be longer. I don't want to judge people but wow.

Edit. Disregard this post.

I'd like to see more switch backs under the station and an extension of the midway where the entrance is currently. The flyby of that ride is pretty darn good and it's very desolate most of the time. If the ride entrance is moved back that whole area could be much wider.

I've been a few more times since my last post but the most significant was this past Saturday. My wife and I took all of our kids to trick or treat with the dinos. It was my first time going through and I thought it was neat. I would have liked to take my time and read everything but the little ones were more excited about candy so we kept up with them. Afterward my older daughter and I headed for her first Beast ride since she was finally tall enough. The boy is still a hair short so he had to sit out and went with my wife to ride some smaller rides that he would be more comfortable on. While standing in line my girl asked if we could ride in the very front. I almost cried in happiness when she made that request. As we approached the station I had to laugh about a gentleman wearing a motorcycle jacket and leather gloves ahead of us. He came prepared for cold rides on this windy cloudy day. So we ended up in the front row of train 2 and had the best ride I've taken on The Beast all year. It was super fast through the shed and the trim almost hurt on this ride. Ultimately it didn't matter as the ride picked up all of that lost momentum through the tunnels and we made it a lot further up the second chain lift than normal. My girl loved this ride and complained when we approached the station. Looks like I have a mini me and have created another generation in my family tree that will love taming The Beast time and time again. Of course we had to have a picture of her first ride. I had a blast and my smile was mostly in anticipation of her face in the photo.

Once again, Beast was AMAZING this season! Comparing the rides themselves is one thing, and comparing how rides are maintained is another. The argument this thread is trying to make is a maintenance issue, not a manufacturer issue. People CONTINUE to blame B&M for the rattle on coasters, and you simply can not blame B&M for a rattle that was not there on day 1 of operation. Once installation is complete, it is up to the parks to maintain the rides. For those who have not been, you need to go ride Gatekeeper, X Flight, and Wild Eagle. Go ride all 8 of the Florida B&M's. Go ride Behemoth and Leviathan. Batman at SFGAm. You will see a HUGE difference. I have ridden 41 of the 90 B&M's in existence, and can tell you that a comment like "Cedar Fair has finally realized that B&M's aren't that great," or what ever the stupid comment was, is completely false. 2013 was the "Year of Faulty Intamins" How many B&M rides failed on the lift, and rolled back down? How many B&M rides motors went out? How many B&M rides experienced an extended period of downtime this season? B&M's do break down. It is a machine, and machines do break down. Someone say Batman from SFNO or Time Machine and I will go all Madea on them! I have ridden the following B&Ms: Diamondback Kumba Skeikra Montu Mantis Raptor The smoothest were by far the BGT trio, with Kumba being slightly behind than the other two. I may have ridden a train that was due for maintenance. My experience on Mantis was better than most reports I've read and that probably has to do with the 'seat' being aligned properly. It wasn't terribly rough and smooth by most standards. I thought I was going to be shaken to death by Raptor though. I couldn't believe how much different it was than the others. I still consider Diamondback to be smoother than other Cedar Fair B&Ms I've ridden but when it has more years on it that may be a different story. My point is that I agree with you in your statement that on day one B&Ms are super smooth. Maintenance plays a major role in the longevity of any machine, as does weather and climate.

I would be completely ok with a repaved lot. They could even market it as a new attraction as far as I'm concerned.

A while back I believe Don said to be on the lookout for a winter event for KIC. My guess is a Banshee construction tour and possibly the first look at Flight Deck renovations. I doubt you'll hear or see anything until then unless the park purposely releases photos.

Quite busy

I rode Beast this morning in the front of train 2 and it was absolutely fantastic. As far as BM rides being smooth I agree that Montu and Skeikra are shining examples of what they should be but there are a lot of factors to consider when you compare rides.

I thought part of the reason was that TOGO closed shop in the USA and our ride was scrapped in order to provide some parts for the others.

Thrilling in a way where you're happy to have both feet on the ground after a ride? I agree.

I was at the park today and it looks amazing from several midways.

I checked the web cam today and was very pleasantly surprised to see major progress. I hadn't looked since the hill was topped off.

I've been a carrier for years.

Possibly, but is it a priority? Off the top of my head I'd like to see the following before anything other than maintenance is done to the gate: Bathrooms in X Base Replacing cheap blacktop walkways with pavers Doing something about wheel eating potholes in the parking lot