Kenban

All I want to know is why this was not announced several weeks ago. It seems very strange to suddenly close for maintenance like this.

My guess is Sticker's will not pickup any rides. Since it is a private park expansion is very difficult to justify, and would have to happen very slowly. It would be easy to expand straight out of business. Cedar Fair might be interested in some of the rides, they have picked up used rides in the past, but so many used rides are put on the market every year and they have been very selective about the rides they purchase. The flying bobs for instance is the mobile version and is still mounted on a trailer. I doubt they would be interested in rides not designed to be permanently installed unless it is easy to convert.

Stricker's Gove has small business days for companies which are not large enough to rent the entire park. ACE had an event at the park last year during one of the small business days and it was a fantastic experience. The meal was really good, and the snack and drink stands are open and free, just walk up and grab what you want. They make popcorn, snow cones, and cotton candy in a variety of flavors through the day. I wish they had another event this year, would have liked to do it again.

I hate to lose the park, but I cannot claim I will miss it. I have heard a rumor that they make more money on parking then actually operating the park, much of that being people going to Riverbend. I suspect the corporate outings will move on to other local parks, but that could be good news for Strickers Grove.

This park is a Six Flags park in name only. The park will be built, owned, and operated by a subsidiary of the Saudi government. The funds are coming from the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. There are no investors, or banks which anyone has to justify the expense of an attraction. It feels like the park will likely be built. This specific coaster I have my doubts about. Not that building a coaster which goes this fast or is this long is impossible, but more that I have my doubts that what we are seeing is a finished design. But the mentioned speed while not impossible without a launch. it is just not happening without assistance. Assuming a vacuum and no friction, you need something around 800 ft of free fall just to hit 156 MPH/250 KPH. Only one company is likely to build this coaster, Intamin. I cannot imagine another manufacturer who would be willing to even attempt something like this.

I am of the opinion almost every park has something special about it. That is a VERY long trip you are planning, are you really sure you want to do both Canada and Florida in the same trip? It just screams split me into two trips to me. I am assuming home is somewhere within driving distance of Cincinnati based on the site you are asking. For instance do Cincinnati > Kennywood > Conneaut Lake Park > Waldameer > Darien Lake > Canada's Wonderland > La Ronde > SF Great Escape > SF New England > Luna Park > Morey's Pier > Dorney Park > Knoebels > Hershey > SF America > Kings Dominion > Busch Gardens Williamsburg which after that I would head home through West Virginia and hit Camden park on the way. I skipped a bunch of smaller parks, including a bunch of New Jersey shore parks. You are already looking at a 2 week trip from just that and frankly you would be missing a LOT of other sight seeing opportunities, I would not spend every single available second at theme parks do at least spend a few days do other activities. The reason I split the trip here is that a second trip which starts by going straight to Carowinds (or just hit Camden park here on the way to the Carolina's) and then go south following the coast makes the most sense to me. Disney has 4 parks, Universal has 2, plus Fun Spot, and Sea World, and that is just Orlando, add in stops at Busch Gardens Tampa, SF Over Georgia, Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Again if your doing everything that is likely another 2 week or longer trip, and if you are driving that far I would not skip that many parks. I use Coast 2 Coaster when I am planning trips to make sure I do not miss a park. Its a nice site to just scroll around and find coasters and parks you have never heard of before.

First aid likely had no idea what was going on. This is the first case of this occurring on a coaster I have ever heard of. This injury sounds similar to what can occur during diving if you hold your breath. Basically the air expands in the lungs and has to go somewhere, the expanding air can cause a hole to form in the lung and force air out into the surrounding tissue. My guess is he inhaled and held his breath, it may not have even been a conscious decision, and I doubt he even realized it occurred. The change in elevation while sudden is minor so I doubt that is the cause. So my thinking is it occurred when the train braked at the end the sudden jolt increased the air pressure enough to make a small hole in the lung and force air out into the surrounding tissue.

I think it would be a good ride, but I have to point out that this is an attraction in the planning stages which is going to be nothing more than just rumors for at least another year. Its still very possible it will be completely changed or cancelled, or we are completely off on our guesses and it could turn out it was a Starflyer the entire time. BGW does have an announcement coming later this year, which does appear to have an Intamin coaster. I think it would be better to focus on the what is about to be announced and not worry about what might never happen.

Not a chance, BGW just got clearance from some local government for an attraction more than 300 feet tall but that is for a ride in 2021 or later. The 315' request which was for 2020 was totally cancelled. There is still a chance of a giga, but I suspect if that future ride does turn out to be a coaster it will be similar to Red Force, LSM launch with a huge tower.

Eye witness accounts are rarely accurate, and it’s very difficult to guess how fast something is traveling. I do not believe it’s possible the train was even close to 40 MPH when the crash occurred. Valravn has a very steep drop into the station, at the top of the slope it has a set of magnetic brakes, this is followed by a series of mechanical brakes. Once a train is off the slope and on the track leading into the station everything is handled by drive tires, as far as I know there are no brakes inside the station. Valravn is extremely automated there is no way for a ride op to active the drive tires on their own. Doing this requires the ride be placed in manual mode, which can only be done by maintenance. My guess is something in the rides electronics either malfunctioned or just failed. Unless there were serious injuries I do not believe the state will investigate, so it’s possible we will be left with speculation and rumors. I can see at least two people in the drive box. So it’s possible the computer was not in control.

When they purchased the Paramount Parks, then it was removed the following year.

Anniversary coasters make no sense from a business perspective. 2022 is going to be about the 50th anniversary, same as 2020 at Cedar Point is about the 150th. The anniversary and celebrations surrounding it will draw in large crowds and is likely to break attendance records on its own. I would also not be surprised to see construction next year at CP for a 2021 coaster. People will come for the 150th, then when they see the construction they will return for the new attraction the following year. The same is likely to occur at Kings Island, we will have the 50th in 2022, with construction on an attraction opening in 2023. This is pretty standard around the theme park industry, the one that comes to mind is Dollywood with the 30th in 2015, and Lightning Rod in 2016. I cannot think of a single park which installed a major attraction in a major anniversary year. B&M has plenty of models we do not have but I doubt most of them are very likely. I suspect a dive coaster is in our future, maybe not 2023, but I expect to see one at some point. Although I would not be surprised to see a Gerstlauer infinity coaster instead of a B&M.

I have them scan the code from my watch all the time, I use an Apple watch and an iPhone and just added it to my wallet from the official app and it syncs over to your watch automatically. The scanners have a hard time scanning the watch face, and about 25% of the time I have to pull out my cell phone or the plastic card. If you can bring up the QR code I am confident that the employees will scan it. I would worry that if you use an image which might have some scaling issues that the scanners might not be able to handle it, because they seem to hate the small screens on watches. If you are going to use a watch as your pass I always recommend having a backup for when you find one of the scanners which refuse to read the code.

I had a conversation with an employee who works on Banshee about two weeks ago and we discussed fanny packs. According to them the policy officially changed earlier this year, you can now take them on Banshee but you are required to still wear it while you ride, so you have to move it off to your side and the restraint must still close. The problem is the policy changed and there has not been good communication with the ride ops to make sure every is aware of the change. I have no idea how enforcement is right now. The other problem is that with rules like this which are not public and not posted anywhere, how are guests supposed to know if there has been a change?

It’s a launch coaster, all the rumors point at premier. There is no other plant for the track, all B&M coasters are produced at CSF. It makes no difference where in the world the ride will be located.

I have to give credit where and when it is due. I was at Holiday World for Holiwood Nights over the weekend and Voyage is running better then I can ever remember. In the past Voyage typically was a one and done experience for me and I rode close to a dozen times and I never would have done so on previous trips. The ride is very smooth and I hope to continues into the future. Every single coaster in the park is one that I am currently willing to jump right back in line and ride again. Plus their reride policy is simple and enthusiast friendly, if there is no one waiting you can stay on, if there is someone just grab an empty seat if one is available.

That screen is amazing, but its actually not a projection, its a giant LED screen made up of modules similar to how a billboard is built. I would love to see that screen show up Kings Island with a different show. I actually thought the screen was better then the show. Cedar Fair had a partnership with EA at the time, I believe only two attractions were built though, Mass Effect and Plants vs. Zombies. I initially assumed we would see Plants vs. Zombies at more parks but it seems to have gone no where, but having done it several times I am not surprised, while I do enjoy the experience it is a chaotic mess playing, just way too many people shooting the same screen.

Cedar Fair themselves has stated that they have a financial interest in building each ride bigger and larger then the last. They have stated repeatedly that building record breaking coasters is their goal. Here is a quote from the CEO Richard Zimmerman. I think Cedar Fair has made the argument over and over again, building each ride bigger and better then the last is important to their strategy. Look at Valravn and then Yukon Striker for an example. I would argue this coaster is on a scale that other companies are unwilling to match, but at the same time, I do not know of a single record this coaster could possibly be setting, and do not get me wrong I actually do not want the longest coaster in the world, Steel Dragon 2000 has a major problem with having to shut down in high wind situations. Go on any discussions about Nagashima Spa Land and you will see complaints about the ride not operating. The record that I assumed they were trying for was longest drop on a traditional lift, which would have only required another 20 feet, let Fury keep tallest traditional lift. I am also a little disappointed in the shortness of the ride, I figured it would be around the 6,500 ft mark.

Most parks are not located in jurisdictions with the same requirements that Kings Island has. So it’s uncommon for parks to have this exact kind of leak to occur. Some communities do allow plans to be submitted privately, and they become public at a later date. Why do we not receive similar documents for every little thing at the park? I think it’s possible for certain types of construction. But my understanding is that this is more detailed then actually required. Which has kinda surprised me, I have wondered if this was done on purpose to try to limit the damage after the initial leak of the layout, because I doubt they expected just how negative the reactions have been. Why else go from a partial document to the most detailed I have seen the park file. Also other parks do suffer from similar but different issues, Sea World had an internal presentation leaked which showed their 2020 plans for every park in the chain last year. Universal Orlando has an unofficial twitter account which automatically tweets every building/demolition etc permit they file. Just this morning the fact that Six Flags America recently had soil samples taken in a location where an attraction was removed was reported. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has to get height waivers and sometimes other permits which have repeatedly caused the entire plan to show up online while it’s still being designed. Some parks have to get City Council permission and sometimes that has to be done in open meetings, which means the basically every major detail about new attractions gets reported before the park can finalize details. Closer to home Cedar Point had Valraven spoiled by the local newspaper who reported the cost, manufacturer, and type of ride. I am having trouble remembering the exact timing but I am confident it was long before the announcement and before enthusiasts had figured it out. Whatever documents they got a hold of reported exactly how much was being paid for the ride itself but not construction. Frankly this is the new normal, and it’s not just Kings Island, most of the major parks have similar issues.

I have only had the pleasure of being on two, Maverick, and Cheetah Hunt. But I am a firm believer that the Intamin Blitz coaster is their finest work. Out of all the types of coasters Intamin has produced that is the only type of coaster that I wish Kings Island could get, and only part of the issues between Cedar Fair and Intamin that I hate, because the chances of Cedar Fair ordering one for any of their parks is extremely small. At this point I just hope that we get a Mack multi-launch at some point. If you really believe in the KI is getting coasters 20 years after CP, which I do not, the next two coasters after MF were Wicked Twister, which I cannot see KI getting, and Top Thrill Dragster, again another ride type which I cannot see KI getting, that leaves us at Maverick. I believe Kings Island will get a new coaster in 2023, the year after the 50th. So its possible, but I doubt Cedar Fair will purchase another coaster from Mack either with the steel tariffs in place.

You would be surprised at how permanent tents can be. Universal Orlando uses a pair of tents from a company called Sprung. They are effectively permanent and used for Halloween Horror Nights, they have been at the park for more then a decade now. This does not appear to be a structure from that company but just because it might be a tent does not make it cheap or not permanent.

Found this on YouTube it’s the entire show. I think the fountain looks fantastic.

I do not agree, and I am confident that executives at Six Flags and Cedar Fair would also disagree that they are the biggest draws at the parks in which they are located. When they were built, sure, but today? No, both parks have moved on. Richard Kinzel the CEO of Cedar Fair when TTD was built has publicly called the ride his biggest mistake. I have seen quotes from executives who have stated that due to the extreme maintenance costs it is the most expensive ride ever operated at a park in the chain. More then twice as expensive as other coasters per a passenger. At its core the problem with the rides is the hydraulic engine, the catch car, and the steel cable. There is just too much which can and does go wrong. This is why no one builds these rides any longer. But it’s not to say there will not be newer and better designs. LSM launches have a hard time accelerating trains to the speeds of TTD and KK but it might be possible. Red Force built in 2017 is capable of getting close at 111.9 MPH which gets it over a 367.3 foot top hat. But I have heard the launch track is longer then TTD. Will there be another 400+ foot coaster built? I think so, but we need more research and technology first.

Dollywood lists Lightning Rod as having a height of 206 feet. Yet it is only 80 from the top of the hill to the top of the coaster. No one here seems to be able to answer one fundamental question. How is the height of a coaster typically calculated?

Anyone arguing height, look at Superman Escape from Krypton. 415 ft tall, yet it only drops 328.1? The park built the ride on a slope, the spike is above the lowest elevation on the ride. Even worse since this is a launch up a spike it really is not even a 300 ft drop since the vehicle never gets close to the top. Can anyone honestly claim that extra height matters at all if the train never uses it? What difference would it make to the ride if the land under the lift was 20 feet lower if the rest of the ride stays the same?