Kenban

You know I am wrong about kidworkz I should have known better. Ok I did not say Dominator was a bad ride (its not) but having been on a few B&M's I just felt that it was rougher then I was used to but still better then most coasters. Also the OTSR locked down at some point so hard that by the time we hit the brakes it was so tight I could not take a full breath. Although at the end of the day the two rides I wanted to go back and ride again were Dominator and x-flight. Rode second seat of steel venom will have to try the front seat was in a hurry and just took the closest seat to the front that was empty. Just never liked this kind of ride but then I don't like Face/off either. Food prices are less then PKI (Notice the only comment I made about prices were I felt the lemonade was not worth it and that the food prices at DISNEY are less. Dippin dots are not cheap no matter where you get them and I got the largest size available. I don't have a problem spending money as long as I get a quality product in return. Like now I leave Universal Florida and eat in city walk. I do think that the counter service locations need to offer more then just snacks and drinks. I don't know if I was looking for a bad time. I would like to think that I was not. I think the worst mistake Cedar Fair has made in the last few years was getting rid of the animals. In the short term maybe the non-union vs. union will have an effect but I don't think thats the problem. I keep thinking a good night show to close the park would be amazing. Short stunt show on the lake followed by fireworks over the lake. Best part is you can still use it for a different show during the day the stadium is huge and offers many possibilities. Having been to Sea World Ohio when it was Sea World (was a kid at the time though) I do remember having fun. Plus I have been to Sea World in Florida and California I do wish it was never purchased by Six Flags but they did not remove the animals Cedar Fair did. Like I said earlier the biggest mistake I think they could have made. The funny part is I thought villain was not that bad. Employees were everywhere and were friendly. My only problem spot there was when I was getting my lemonade the guy was getting very behind. It was not his fault a single person taking care of a large amount of people is rough. The problem was there was a girl standing right behind him that all she did was open the ice chest a few times (not even taking anything out just opening it to look in). Now I don't know why she was there but at most places you jump in and help out if she had helped it would have gone MUCH faster to me they needed two people both working to be able to handle the demand. My whole trip was not bad. Cedar Fair has put a LOT of money into the park so far and most of the changes have been good. I think the park needs some more flat rides, better food service, better shows, etc. Right now the park has the beginnings of being great but its not even close right now. For example there are 4 motion simulators I have never understood why they run the same film in all 4 (really don't understand why when you consider they only run 1 because of the low demand). By adding a second film you can reuse the simulators that are not being used and add a new ride cheaply. Like I feel Kings Island should almost always be running two different films one on each side of the action theater. Also there was almost no one in the theater showing Robots of Mars. Pick up the rights to another film or two and show them at different times throughout the day. You could show one film at 1 and a differant one at 2 etc.

The first two theme parks I visited years ago were Geauga Lake and Sea World Ohio both in Aurora Ohio. This was before Six Flags came in and purchased both and turned them into a single park. This was later sold to Cedar Fair who continues to operate them under the name Geauga Lake and Wildwater Kingdom. Just to tell you how long ago it was I remember Raging Wolf Bobs opening year (1988). You know its odd maybe I am growing up, getting used to Disney, or just sick of roller coasters in general. It might just be that Geauga Lake just does not have good coasters but whatever it was I did not have a very good time. I got to the park around 2 purchased my ticket ($24.95) and was very happy at the ticket price. I headed into the park took a right and went on X flight first thing. Its an interesting ride and I think with a good layout would be amazing flying around trees and over hills around King's Island. Next up was Steel Venom which really is nothing special it looks a lot more fun then it really is. As I walked past Head Spin it was either down or just not operating at the time it was up before I left but I never really wanted to ride it anyways. Its the same kind of ride as Face/off but your sitting down instead of hanging. Was going to ride Big Dipper but that was down as well. At this point I walked across the floating bridge to what used to be Sea World. The entire walk across you see this huge stadium right on the water and you think that maybe there will be a good show there well you would be wrong but I will come back to that later. I was not here for the water park so I just took a left and walked around the shore and headed over through happy harbor to the theater showing robots of mars. The film was not great but it was not that bad either. Its shown once and hour but there was total maybe 100 people there. The AC felt very good after walking around the park for about an hour. After this I went next door to Dino Island II. I thought that it was very lame and I noticed that there was 4 show rooms but they only had to run 1. So I had seen the two movies and figured I would go and catch the show in the stadium but first I wanted something to drink so I stopped by the booth out front to grab a lemonade. Well that was a bad choice it took 16 minutes (Sadly I really did look at my watch) and there was only 6 people in front of me. It was one person with too much work to do and no help doing it. After I paid my $4.25 I felt it had better be good and after I started drinking it I noticed just how wrong I was it did not taste like anything sure I watched him squeeze a lemon right in front of me into the glass but to me it tasted like I paid 4 dollars for a glass of water. I went and grabbed a seat in the stadium and watched the show while I drank my overpriced water. Its the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack show which I showed up several minutes early but because of how hard it was to get something to drink I sat down around 10 minutes late. Looking around and seeing 80% of the stadium empty was a sign of just how good the show was. Turns out it was just one more bad choice the show was stucktacular and the groups of people who got up early and left agree with me. At this point I figured I would head back over to the main section of the theme park and figured my day would get better. Next up Thunderhawk which left me with a headache. After I walked around for a few minutes I felt a little better and knowing the next ride was a B&M I figured I would go on it and maybe start having fun so I went on the Dominator. Which I think its the worst B&M I have ever been on the headrest has a lot of padding and thats good because it was the only thing that saved my head on the ride. At this point I stopped by a stand picked up a drink and sat down ended up sitting there for a while and went to the Dippin' Dots stand that was next to me and picked up a waffle cone of chocolate (always did like dots) ($5.99). After about 30 minutes I figured I was up for some more rides. I went on Raging Wolf Bobs next which is not bad but small and needs a paint job. At this point went on Grizzly Run hoping to get wet until I got to the front of the line (longest line in the park) and saw the brown foam forming in the water. I figured I would ride it anyways until about half way down when you get to the section where there should be water just pouring down over you from above and I realize that all the water sprayers and water falls are broke. I guess they all work off a single pump but they were all down. So still dry I rode the Villain. Which just like all the other rides in the park is small and short. Finally I just walked through a couple of the gift shops and left at 7:30. I think the park has a lot of potential but right now I can't see people traveling to visit the park. I think Cedar Fair needs to put in a LOT of money to get this park into what it should or could be but I don't know if they are going to be willing to spend the kind of money it needs. First it needs a kids area right now you have happy harbor which is all old junk rides from when Sea World was still in town and the kidworks play area which is left over from the original Geauga Lake. There is plenty of room between Raging Wolf Bobs and the Happy Harbor to build a good kids area and by moving the rides from the Kidworks play area you combine it all into one section cleaning up the water front. There is a HUGE stadium that could put on some amazing shows USE IT. Around 6 I started getting hungry at any other park I would have walked past a store selling solid food but not Geauga Lake I could get pretzels, drinks, ice cream etc but not a hamburger (at least not where I was if I wanted to walk half way across the park I could have gotten one). There were two locations selling cotton candy. This year Cedar Fair is making a big point of selling 25 cent cotton candy at least have a few more locations maybe a few carts selling it. There was some things done right though there was capacity everywhere I looked. A lot of the coasters were running half empty trains. Its just there were not many people there on a weekend where you would think the park would be packed. If your looking for a park where you can just walk onto any coaster in the park and all you want is to ride a few coasters or go to the water park Geauga Lake is great. If you have a family or looking for a park that you want to spend the whole day at go somewhere else. Because I had been busy this was the first park I have been too this year and it really made me just want to book a flight to Orlando and visit USF and Disney World. The food is cheaper, rides are better, and I have never wanted to leave any of those parks after 5 hours.

Well somewhat. There are two versions of the ride now. One that is the same since it opened and another which has the main motor turned off so you do not experience any g's.

Mission Space feels intense but actually is not that strong. You get up to a max of around 2 g's then are held there for a period of time. There have been years of g-force research that shows for someone without a medical condition you can be held at 2 g's for hours without any problems. Air force pilots can withstand 9 g's for 45 seconds before blacking out. Just ride ANY coaster and you just experienced something more intense then Mission Space. Rock n Roller coaster right after launch is around 4.5 g's (which actually is lower then face off at PKI). The rest of the ride is not very powerful though. Disney World overall (all 4 parks) gets around 20 times the number of annual guests of PKI. Just because they get so many guests you are going to have more problems. Research has shown that its not the g force that you should worry about but the intense shaking that will cause injury. The young boy who died on mission space had a condition that could have killed him on ANY ride. His condition was one that means he would not be able to play any sports, work out, run, do anything that would raise his heart rate. Because it is a hard condition to catch and he was checked only a few months earlier there is a very good chance even if he had never visited any theme parks he would have died within a few years.

SFKK is not up for sale. Actually its one of the parks thats on the short list as being core to the chains turn around.

But Six Flags as a whole is losing money because of the huge debt. I suspect the real reason they are selling it is that the park does not make that much money and when you consider the amount of money that the sale will generate you can pay down some of the debt which will lower the amount of interest that the chain has to pay. Its possible that the park is worth enough money that they will lower the interest more then the park makes. In the long run with how much the land is worth this is good for the chain. Also about Tatsu the new management has already said if they had been in charge they would not have built the ride and Magic Mountain would not have gotten any coasters for this year. Six Flags last time I looked at the numbers is about 2.4 billion in debt which is more then the company is even worth. I actually think this is the right thing to do I hope that we see a company step up that wants to continue running Magic Mountain as a theme park.

It stands for Bolliger & Mabillard viewed as one of the best if not the best builder of steel track in the roller coaster industry. Company is based out of Switzerland but the track is built in Cincinnati.

Well my understanding is that it was the electrical box that connects to the LIM's. The amount of power needed to launch the coaster is massive and that much current generates a lot of heat.

Its actually pretty easy. One is a game of chance the other is a game of skill. I know there is a LOT of luck involved in some of the games but thats how the state views it. My thinking is that in a game of skill its your fault you lost since you did not have enough skill to win. Actually in Japan they have anti gambling laws and how they get around them is by having two shops. One that has games (pachinko machines if your wondering) and a gift shop that exchanges the metal balls for prizes. You take the prizes to a little shop right outside the door to the pachinko parlor and they exchange the prize you just got for cash.

What do you think the Disney trains run on? They do burn diesel but thats used to heat a steam boiler. Its not even the only one in Ohio the Cedar Point trains runs on steam as well. Pretty sure the Knott's train is steam. There is an interesting story behind the Cedar Point railroad. In the 1950s Cedar Point was going to be closed and turned into a housing development. The owner took a trip to Disneyland and decided that instead he was going to update the park and one of the rides he wanted was a steam train based off of what he saw at Disney. The board of directors did not want to spend the money so he paid for it himself and he leased the land from the park. The train went on to become the most popular ride in the park.

I enjoy visiting theme parks and I have to admit PKI has one of the worst selections and worst prices of any theme park I can think of. The only other park that comes to mind as NEEDING better merchandise is Universal Studios. I know one of the comments about the difference between Cedar Point and PKI is that on average a guest spends $4 more dollars at Cedar Point. I suspect once we get decent food prices, better merchandise, and lower merchandise prices that the amount spent per a guest will be a lot closer.

I do want to point out that PKI does have volunteer workers. Not sure if the program is still in place but it was a year or two ago. How it worked was they would have nonprofit groups come in to work a single shift which PKI would pay the organization for the hours worked plus each person gets a free ticket and you get two tickets if you work food service. I do know there was a bonus of some sort if you had a large number of people as well. I know the program was popular with Church youth groups. The parents would go down and work, the church gets the cash, and the parents give the tickets to the kids. I don't think PKI will let us come and paint the buildings. It needs to be done but they look like they need more work then just a coat of paint. I would wait a year or two and see what Cedar Fair does. The only thing I can see them letting us do is maybe go and just work within the current volunteer program for a day, we would work rides, service food, etc. As a group we could pick a charity and they would get a nice check out of it. Plus we would all get a free ticket.

The chain continues to lose money and last time I looked was 2.1 billion in debt. Total they lost 111 million last year. In my view I doubt they will be able to turn it around.

Quick FYI its called a fastpass but no big deal just wanted to point that out. I am hoping you did not spend all day riding the rides there is a lot more to the park then just a few rides. At the end of your message you say you saw some shows I was just wondering which shows and what did you think of them? I am really hoping you saw the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at least. Also there is Lights, Motors, Action and you can't forget Fantasmic. Plus if it was your first trip to MGM the backlot tour is interesting.

Favorite park I would have to say Orlando I really like all the parks but if I had to pick just one I would have to say Epcot. MGM, IOA, USO, are all up there as well but I just love walking around Epcot the rides are great and then you end the day by watching Illuminations.

Interpreter says that "a hamburger and fries is $6.99." which to me sounds a little high but possible. If that is correct then Disney is cheaper I was only there in October and its $5.99 for a hamburger and fries. But then this should not be a surprise Disney's food, drinks, and souvenir cups are all cheaper. The $15 parking is happening at several Six Flags parks as I remember SFMM raised the price I believe in January.

Well its a little late making a comment now seeing as how the item is already sold but here goes. It sounds like a real ticket except its one that is going to no longer be valid. First someone asked about the fine print "Present for entry during the park's public operating season for the same park season as when the card was purchased." If he just so happened to purchase it after the park closed for the year then its valid for one day the next year. Later someone asks if the ticket would be valid this year and the guy says yes. The funny part comes when someone asks when the ticket was purchased and he says 2003 although he does say he called the 1-800 number and claims they say its still valid. Since the ticket was purchased in 2003 assuming it was purchased after closing for the year it would only be valid through 2004. I would not risk it and hope the park takes it or hope the seller will give you your money back months later.

I know I am well aware of that fact. I was just pointing out how pointless this poll was. What I was trying to do was bring some attention to the points in the post but I guess I went a little overboard.

I keep seeing posts saying six flags, Cedar Fair, and I have even heard Universal are going to purchase PKI. ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Six Flags is broke and has OVER 2 billion in long term debt. There is no way Six Flags could afford to purchase a park for YEARS. Cedar Fair would not purchase the entire chain which is what Paramount would want. You do NOT sell a single park let alone the park with the highest attendance in the chain. If and thats a big IF Paramount sells the parks it will be the entire division for sale and Cedar Fair would never do that. Go back to when Cedar Fair purchased Six Flags Ohio. Part of what makes Cedar Fair such a stable company is how slow they expand. This leaves us with Universal which is trying to SELL its parks and get OUT of the theme park business it is NOT looking for more parks.

Although there is something to be said for buying a full price ticket this year. I had read something about full price tickets purchased at the gate are good for two days this year. Also they do not have to be consecutive days. I see where you can order the tickets online for 44.99 but I am pretty sure you can do it at the gate as well the only requirement I believe is you can not use a discount. Heres the info from ordering tickets online. Ages 7-59. Valid any two, non-consecutive days the park is open to the public from April - October, 2005. Ticket must be used by the same person on both visits. Price 44.99 Best deal your going to find if there is a chance you are going to come back this year.

Its not owned by Paramount. If you go to the Bonfante Gardens website it only says Managed by Paramount Parks. If you want some more info on the deal check out this press release I found. Sounds like its just a 5 year deal for them to run the park.

I think the ride will have more staying power then some people think it will. I think comparing it to the TRTR preshow is a bad example. First other then a well done queue the preshow is not very well done. You get the light on the door before it slides open (which is always pointed a little low). Then you have the video (which I don't remember being good the first time I saw it and now I just ignore it). But once you get on the ride the theming around you adds a nice touch. There is no preshow to IJST all the effects are done on the ride. Also the Disney ToT comparison is also flawed. The ride was always designed with drop changes in mind. Before the ride opened they had 33 different drops programmed and they picked one to run when the ride opened. The only changes have been some minor show changes and the biggest change was the drop sequence updates. But even thats just a software upgrade not a real update to the ride. Most of the rides at Disney do undergo times when the ride is shut down sometimes for months but normally its just minor changes. Splash mountain in California just upgraded to new boats (which turns out are too heavy and it looks like they have to shutdown the ride again ). Space Mountain (Disneyland again) is also undergoing upgrades right now and has been closed for I think its 2 years now (Ok this is major). Disney world on the other hand just finished redoing Its a small world. But if you notice all of these rides are older rides that have been operating for years. These are not the only rides that have been changed either but almost everything that has been done to these rides over the years is minor except in a few cases (Space Mountain). Often its just to bring effects up to a higher standard of quality (Haunted Mansion).

I was there tonight. Actually ended up riding it 3 times. I can already see the lines are going to be VERY bad on this ride. Was only running 2 trains and a third would have helped but I don't think it will be enough on a busy day. Now the ride itself. I love the trains the doors are a really nice touch. I am not a huge fan of the massive LIM fins on the sides of the trains though it really destroys the looks of the train but I understand why they did it. It was cool to see working headlights and taillights on the cars. The fire effect was nice but there was no flames on the right side of the track. The tunnel after the helicopter scene is amazing. The whole thing is full of fog and I loved sitting in the last car seeing the headlights and taillights in the fog. This is another ride you just have to ride it in the dark. The lights on the cop cars, the fire effects, the trains lights etc it all really stands out at night. No sirens, no fishtail that I could tell at least, no stair effects. Although the first time I rode the ride around 6:30 I felt the seat shaking a little at the start. But I did not notice the effect the other two times I rode it. If you can't tell I enjoyed the ride I heard several comments on it being the best ride in the park and heard a few about people who wanted to ride it over again. I missed the rollback but I could see it happening I understand it has occurred on Flight of Fear before.

This is from another post I made in the Addams Family Reunion Coaster or Soundwave? thread but I think I made a good point then so here goes The current rumor for the upgrades to Space Mountain at Disneyland in California point to during the day it will be Space Mountain. Then at night it will turn into Rockit Mountain where you would have a ride similar to what the Soundwave idea is. Just for your info if you go and look at a picture of the new Space Mountain sign from California if you look at the sign closely you can see where there are lights to form Rockit on the sign which shows they at least designed the sign for the idea. Still no word if this is still going happen or not though. I really think that the same idea could be used at PKI. Install speakers and lights in the drum. Then do some work in the queue area to add a DJ and more lights. During the day the ride would be the same as it is now but maybe around 5 in the afternoon the ride changes over to Soundwave.

Lets see it says MAXIMUM CAPACITY on the CP site. Those figures almost always assume you are not loading people. Just relocking the restraints. It says the ride is 2 minutes 30 seconds. Which is the same as PKI's even if the load goes quicker (which most of the time is due to guests not the employees although the load could go quicker) do not expect a much higher riders per an hour. Note PKI's site just says hourly capacity it does not say its the max capacity based on the fact the ride is the same length any riders per an hour difference would be from employees and guests. I don't actually think the ride has higher footers I think the ride is programmed to go slightly faster(like I said I think Delirium is 68 MPH while it says Maxair is 70 although read my note at the end which brings this point into question) which based on how the ride works (The design is to emulate a standard pendulum the idea is to minimize the work the motors have to do) would equal out a 3 foot height difference on max swing. I would be surprised if you can honestly say you could feel the difference. NOTE: I did try to search for the speed on the Internet the only thing I came up with was 78 MPH (found one site that lists 76) for Delirium which actually would make it faster (Which I found odd based on the whole design for the ride emulating a pendulum the speeds should almost be the same). I noticed Maxair is 84' feet tall but I did not find a height for Delirium. Anyone know the max swing is in degrees for maxair? Delirium hits a max of 120 degrees if its higher for maxair that would also explain the differance. One last point you could also redesign the ring the riders sit in to produce a slightly higher swing (its not actually going higher just the edge of the ring is farther out). In the end though I don't think its worth the argument I almost think it would be better arguing which ones paint job looks better since they are basically the same ride.