BlondyRidesOn

X-base? Blondy, just suggesting.

I too heard about the Smokehouse being built where Attitudes currently is. I'm also surprised that Potato Works and Coney Confections are also possibly leaving. That saddens me because all three buildings were around during the parks inaugural year. They add a lot to the classic amusement park midway feeling with the quaint little shop and food counter set up. As much as I would have loved to see the old Cuddle Up and Dodgem space to be utilized for something else ride wise in the same building, I don't think they could do that. It kind of worries me about a possible de-Coney Islanding of Coney Mall. I might just be over reacting. I tend to do that at times.

Outside Mystic Timbers, I heard a kid ask his parents "Why is it saying do not enter when we're just going to enter anyway?"

I'm still baffled by it's removal myself. It added a lot to the Coney Island theming of the area.

If the park were to build it in a way where it wraps around the carousel, wouldn't that interfere with guests ability to access Coney Mall from International Street?

The question I have is this: Would Kings Island and Cedar Fair be willing to add a ride like the Antique Cars? According to Gould Manufacturings website, their antique car models are gasoline powered, similar to the original ride (ours were originally built by Arrow Development). The main reason I ask this is because the park may not want to resort to installing a ride that would generate a lot of fumes, as they could possibly cause an issue with guests.

I have heard rumors that Dino Store is closing soon. I know it closes before the end of each season, but each person I talked to has said that it is going away for good after this season. I don't know how much of that is true. But if it is closing, and Dinosaurs Alive is following that path soon, that would be the perfect location to build a giga, if we end up receiving one.

I rode The Racer this season and noticed the blue side was a tad rougher than the red side, which is different than last season. I would love to see The Racer receive the Ghostrider treatment from GCI, but I don't know if the park would do that, considering we just got Mystic Timbers. But a retrack and a repaint are definitely due. Anything to keep our beautiful Philadelphia Toboggan woodie from falling the way of Hurler and Mean Streak. As for the Antique Cars returning rumor, that would be a cool thing to see since that was my favorite ride when I was little. But the beauty of the original Ohio Overland Auto Livery and Les Taxis was that they interacted with one another on their paths. I'm sure that they wouldn't add two because of capacity. If the park is planning a return of the ride then that is a good move for people who don't ride big rides. Plus, if they put it in the International Street section, they could revive the 'Les Taxis' name, as it would tie in with the Eiffel Tower and the European theming of International Street. We just got a new and improved playlist, so this could be the beginning of the re-internationalization of International Street.

It was gone long before Drop Zone (Tower) was built. I heard from one of the people who worked at the Tower's observation deck that a small plane knocked it off in the early to mid 90s. Drop Zone was initially going to be an Intamin Giant Drop (Second Generation Freefall) built in Coney Mall where Flight Commander was. The idea was scratched for the Intamin Gyro Drop we see today in Action Zone.

Nice collection. I was surprised when I saw that the International Street Skyline location in the Swiss building had always been a Skyline at some point. In fact, it was the Alpine Deli, but they sold Skyline before Allstar Café, Mandarin Cuisine and Border Café showed up.

My first ride was on Wednesday. I waited for about 20 minutes or so in line before boarding. I sat in row 8, closer to the back. When the train left the station, I was amazed by how smooth the coaster was compared to The Beast and The Racer, this was my first GCI so I didn't know what to expect. When the train went down the first drop, I was taken aback by the intensity. By the time I had finally processed what happened, we were already over the hill going over the lift taking a nose dive into the ravine and the reservoir. The ride had a lot of twists and banking and never decellerated until it got to the shed. Can't wait to ride again.

Thunder Road had to have major sections of its structure rebuilt because the wood wasn't well treated after the paint was removed. The Racer is still structurally sound and hasn't had to receive major rebuilding done.

For a couple of seasons, starting in 2013, they had Bratwurst and Mettwurst with sauerkraut and German Potato Salad in the Bier Garten. In 2014, they served Bratwurst and Mettwurst with sauerkraut and a side of corn chips. Now, they serve all Tex Mex food... Maybe it was the location, not many people would want to take their family to a bar to get food Had they served it in the Festhaus, it probably would have lasted longer.

Emporium had no power my entire shift. Only when they were sending me home did the power come back. All the other stores were up and running before us.

I almost forgot to thank you too, CoasterOhio! Sounds great.

This was the theme I was referring to. I don't know exactly what The piece alone is called. The portion of the Forrest Gump Suite that is featured starts at 6:43 and continues to the end.

From what I could hear, this is what I could come up with. "End Credits" from ET The Extra Terrestrial- John Williams Main Title/ The Winton Flyer from The Reivers- John Williams Theme to Born on the Fourth of July- John Williams "Prologue" from Hook- John Williams Fanfare for the Common Man- Aaron Copland Ride of the Valkyries- Richard Wagner Fascination- Billy Vaughn Theme to Eragon- Patrick Doyle Main Theme from The Cider House Rules- Rachel Portman "Gabriel's Oboe" from The Mission- Ennio Morricone Theme to The High and the Mighty- Dimitri Tiomkin Lohengrin Prelude Act III- Richard Wagner/ Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic The Sons of Katie Elder Theme- Elmer Bernstein An American in Paris- George Gershwin (Performed by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra 1959) Rhapsody in Blue- George Gershwin (Performed by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra 1959) "Morning Routine" from Rio- John Powell "Romantic Flight" from How to Train your Dragon- John Powell "Homeland" from Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron- Hans Zimmer Spanish Gypsy Dance/ España Cañi- The Manhattan Pops Hörnli Hütte Marsch- Peter Zinsli Eins, Zwei, Saufen (German drinking song) instrumental- Unknown "Speak Softly Love" from The Godfather- David Davidson; Written by Nino Rota "The Sunny Vista Motel" from Bedtime Stories- Rupert Gregson-Williams Overture from Wonderland- Jason Howland La Vie En Rose- Mantovani and his Orchestra "Gusty Garden Galaxy" from Super Mario Galaxy- Mahito Yokota "River Crossing" from True Grit- Carter Burwell "Aquarium" from Carnival of the Animals- Camille Saint Saëns Ending to the Forrest Gump theme- Alan Silvestri There are a few pieces I am missing, but I will update this. EDIT: Another song identified from the playlist.

They were playing American in Paris by George Gershwin while I was coming in to work today. Goes well with the Eiffel Tower and Royal Fountain.

While working at Emporium today, I noticed they were playing the Kings Dominion International Street soundtrack, among other tracks. It was also nice to hear Fanfare for The Common Man by Aaron Copland. Hopefully it lasts.

That looks really cool. You paid very close attention to detail. Very nice!

Thank you for this update! So happy to hear the organ working again. It's sounding very nice.

The Racer needs a little track work and a repaint. Most of the areas I've seen that need repainting are parts of the structure that were replaced over time, but some paint is chipping and flaking. It was one of five attractions that gave over 1 million rides in 2016.

Almost looks like something Taft would do when building a ride. It looks awesome! Can't wait to ide it.

There was the "Rainbo Backerei" in the Alpine building on International Street, currently occupied by Skyline Chili: http://KICentral.com/history/photos/displayimage.php?album=8&pid=238 It's also possible that she may be thinking of La Patisserie Français as mentioned, located in the French chatau, now Yogurt Plus.

Both The Racer And The Beast were two of five attractions that gave over 1 million rides in 2016, according to the park. The Racer is also #3 in annual ridership behind Diamondback and Banshee (#2 & #1 respectively), while The Beast is #4. Thunder Road had rotting wood as a result of the removal of the paint. The structure had to be rebuilt multiple times by Great Coasters International and the ridership was dwindling from what I have heard, prompting Carowinds to remove it. Neither of Kings Island's major wooden coasters have structural issues. Wooden roller coasters tend to last a long time because the structure can be rebuilt or repaired by a carpentry team or another wooden coaster company. Leap the Dips at Lakemont Park (1902), Jack Rabbit at Kennywood (1920), and Cyclone at Coney Island Brooklyn (1927) are a few examples of wooden coasters that have lasted for years. The Beast most likely be removed due to how iconic it is and because there is no way to expand to the back woods where it is built. The Racer pays homage to the Shooting Star at Cincinnati's Coney Island and is the main focal point of Coney Mall. Removing it would be forgetting where Kings Island came from.