fryoj

They probably didn't intend to dig out any more. Probably some combination of not knowing the actual size of the ride envelope and/or the topographical plans not being correct/followed correctly. It would have been easier for them to do that work before the ride was in the way. Even easier if the footers wouldn't have been there. Either way, I'd say when Don said that, just about everyone involved in the project thought there wouldn't need to be any more digging under the track.

I'd say those are going to be stone for the Banshee station walls.

Best I can tell, the image is from 4/2/2012

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Kings+Island,+Kings+Island+Drive,+Mason,+OH&hl=en&ll=39.341637,-84.259053&spn=0.000674,0.00077&sll=37.822294,-85.76824&sspn=7.972252,12.612305&oq=kings+is&t=h&hq=Kings+Island,+Kings+Island+Drive,+Mason,+OH&z=21 From the "flyover" shot, you can see the Son of Beast train cars, an old tram, a cop car?, coaster trains that I don't recognize, and all kinds of other random stuff. Kinda neat really.

A safe bet is that they don't need a crane that big to finish, and the one they brought in recently has a cheaper rental rate than clifford.

Courtesy of @KingsIslandPR

But what about the circle in the area formerly known as Action Zone? ;-)

I think after they had to lose the Italian job theme, they pretty much stuck a name on it that required the least amount of work.

Most likely, the ride op was questioned and told investigators that he was instructed to bypass the safety switch by the owner. It's also possible that he reported the situation to the owner and he did nothing about it creating a negligence situation. I'd say we are going to see the first situation be the case when it all comes out, but, as the owner of the ride, there are many scenarios that would end up with them charging him. Convicting will take actual proof he knew though.

One of the things I took from reading the article, in regards to the future of Kings Island, is that, at some point, I'd expect the front gate area to be redone. Between what they said about Gatekeeper and Leviathan, and what we are hearing about Carowinds, it seems like they want to make sure their entrances have kinetic energy, yet are still inviting. While I don't know if that means a complete teardown and rebuild, or just an overhaul where all the turnstiles are torn out and they go to the Cedar Point style entrance. I think it definitely means to expect some changes to the entrance within the next 5 years or so. The next question will be if they think Invertigo fits the exciting part of the entrance, or if they will want to up that level some with a flyby from a new coaster.

They have been staging stuff back there for a while. More than a month probably.

They have the large yellow man lift bucket hooked to Clifford right now working at the top of the lift hill. Putting the chain in maybe? In the meantime they are building the small crane in the valley. Doubt we will see any supports or track put up until that one is built.

Aw man, I hap a terpy moment all lined up there too! lol

Where is the 3rd giga at?

If they are assembling another crane on site, I'd assume that means they are about done with everything they need Clifford with and we will see him disassembled and removed from the site soon.

As was mentioned in the Action Zone retheme thread, Screamscape posted the info about the Delirium repaint. Most likely thats where the FB page heard it from. Screamscape doesn't give his source though.

I see what he is saying about building it into a corner. If they put up the next support in line, it really appears that Clifford will be boxed in. Maybe they are planning on moving it now, or maybe they can reach the whole ride from the center area. Of course, this is all based on the ride layout and blueprints. Maybe the there is enough clearance between the footers for the zero G and brake run for Clifford to squeeze through and its all just an optical illusion. I have no doubt that they know what they are doing, but I am curious to see what they do next.

I agree that the news is probably taking liberties, but the info is from a meeting between Cedar Fair and City council. There is a huge difference between what the park tells the general public and what the park tells a City Council when they are asking for zoning variances and tax incentives. If they tell the park they are building a $30 million coaster thats 300 foot tall to get a tax incentive, and built a $10 million coaster thats 150 foot tall, they risk running into legal trouble and problems ever getting anything approved again. Now a stat like speed, they can fudge. No one is going to complain if they overdeliver. If it ends up going 85 mph they can just say they reengineered it to go faster. The question is what all did they tell City Council. The 300 ft stat seems solid, but the rest of the info doesn't seem to be verified.

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/outside_the_loop/2013/09/charlotte-council-wrestles-carowinds.html?page=all This article shows where the ride is going to sit and that its 300-315 foot tall. The interesting thing is, looking at the slideshow, that it suggests its going to be a wing coaster. Not sure if that is just whoever did the article taking liberties from the pictures used at the meeting, or if Cedar Fair themselves said that.

Has it been said that the $24 million was only for Banshee? Could it be something like $20 million for Banshee and $4 million for repainting/retheming the rides around it?

Just an off the wall idea, but how about the "amusement dark" only kicks in after dark? Maybe have a sign entering the area that says "somename amusement park" in neon or led lights, and at night, have part of the sign go out like its faulty, showing "amusement dark". At that point the fog effects, and creepy music could kick in, and they could have a couple haunts in the area open. The biggest problem I see with that, is it really worth doing that for the few hours of dark that the park is open during the summer? In the sumer, if it gets dark and 9 and the park closes at 10, is it really worth messing with? I guess they could extend the park hours some, but, again, is it really worth it? Just a thought.

I think Drop Tower's restraint problem(at least in my case), is that its too short from the seat to the shoulder restaint. I'm 6'2" 210 and it hits my shoulders long before the belt can be latched. I have to scrunch down to get it to latch and then reposition myself into a more comfortable position.

I'm not happy about the 2014 price increase, but at least we aren't in Orlando. You could get a ki gold pass cheaper than a single day at one of the big Orlando parks.

It is a tracked crane, it can drive around as long as the ground isn't too soft. The slabs are a large stable platform for it to sit on while lifting. But looking at it now I'm wondering if the grey patches I thought were the slabs are just gravel. Maybe making a road to drive Clifford down into the valley?

It looks like they are moving the concrete? slabs that clifford sits on. Pretty much means they are going to move him to a location where he can start working on the back half of the ride. :-)