KI Guy

You do not speak for everyone with that opinion. I'm actually shocked at how poorly done much of this is. My question is why? Why were the pedestals removed? Why were the shade trees that took 25 plus years to became shade trees cut down? Why were big ugly metal light stands columns added lining the fountain? I'm shocked at the sight of the fountains going from the Kings Island fountains we all knew and loved and becoming a large reflecting pool with several jet fountains. Throw barbs at me all you want for "being negative."I just call it like I see it. The positive additions of fresh paint and pavers are far outweighed by what's been lost in the trees and pedestals, and I can see I'm not the only one that feels that way.

Although I would not take that particular comment seriously, I would not think 345 ft is out of the realm of possibility. That's a mere 20 feet higher than the last B&M giga, the excellent Fury 325. That also would be very marketable in that the coaster world likely be near 100 mph. A 100 mph top speed from gravity alone would be VERY impressive and very marketable.

If this clearing is for the long speculated giga coaster (and I think it is), what area do you think this would be a part of? Would it be a Coney Mall themed ride with a cool Coney name like the Shooting Star or the Wildcat? Could it be an X-base theme like Firehawk or Flight of Fear? Or could it be my pipe dream scenario an Oktoberfest themed coaster with a German name! *Bring back the Coney Mall sign!

Shrink Action Zone and grow Oktoberfest!

One more season is too long. Boo Blasters on Boo Hill is a genericized Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle which itselfdebuted in 2003. Yes, 2003. Something of Phantom Theater quality would be much appreciated although I think it may be time to do something outside of the "spooky" category which they've been doing since 1992.

As someone who has frequented this site since 2006, I think I can say that the vast majority of us enjoyed having Terpy on the site and miss him and his unique humor, wit, and sarcasm. A jerk he most definately was not.

I don't think this was the case. i believe it's an issue with his work not wanting him to have a presence online. He had mentioned a day when he might not be allowed to post on here long before he actually left. Someone knows...

Bayern Curve, Himalaya/Musik Express, Swing-Around, Air Race, Skyroller, Trabant

I'm beginning to question a lot about seasonal amusement parks' business model, some of them longstanding concepts. 1) Have we reached peak season pass? Necessarily season passes lessen the experience for ticket buying guests. More people equals more lines and money upfront means that your business has already been earned. 2) Have we reached peak youth? Many parents treat Kings Island as a day care for big kids. These kids get in with there passes and some eat with their food passes. Other than that there probably isn't a whole lot of money there. Grandma and Grandpa don't have as much to do with the kids as they once did. They no longer have as many shows to watch and can't take the tram from the massive parking lot. 3) Are people tired of being "gouged"? Food prices are on par with the Reds concessions and the quality is about the same. On busy days people watch long lines of people cut them through Fast Lane. That has to sting for those that are making a once a year family trip. These families are the ones that spend the most money on a visit. There's got to be a better way! The rides are better than the've ever been, but I'd argue almost everything else has taken a dip over the last few years.

If they replace the track with topper track it won't have the classic feel. I've ridden a coaster that is made of topper track, Lightning Rod at Dollywood. It is a fantastic coaster and the second best coaster I've been on, but it definitely does not have a classic wooden coaster feel. Topper track feels like a steel coaster because it is essentially steel coaster track bolted to a wooden frame.

I think that may be the reason behind Banshee and Mystic Timbers, but not this policy. I HOPE this is a stop gap until they think of a better idea. This is pretty drastic. I'd imagine a lot of people will be upset by it.

This is the natural progression of not including bins for stuff on the newer rides. Are they going to wand people for phones? That would be the only way to enforce this.

I don't buy this completely either. I'd imagine they like getting the additional revenue from the lockers. If they can convince people that it's to make the line move more quickly, that's an extra bonus.

This is not surprising to me. The parks are better than ever before in terms of ride quality, but the overall experience is lacking. Just a few examples from my trip to Cedar Point last week. The rides themselves are superb, world-class rides as always however... 1) My lunch was a $8.99 "hot dog basket", which consisted of a jumbo hot dog and a pre-packaged bag of Lay's chips, the kind that you get at the grocery store for 50¢. I understand prices must be high to cover other costs, but that pricing is absurd. No hot dogs were ready and the employees were standing around probing each and every hot dog with a thermometer. I waited 5 minutes and and my friend 10. 2) Rides were breaking down right and left. Millenium Force broke down while I was in line as did, Steel Vengeance (AMAZING ride) and Maverick was shut down at least while we were near it. I've been to CP many times and never seen this before. I may have just come on a bad day. 3) Yes, I know this is reality at parks for the last several years BUT the attendant was taking in half a train worth of Fast Lane riders in cycles on Steel Vengeance. I don't know if that is the policy, but it seemed rather excessive. I'm not trying to be negative. I want the parks to live up to their potential in aspects outside of just rides. I had some high hopes in the Ouimet Era that he would bring some of the better aspects of Disney throughout the Cedar Fair chain. One suggestion: several years ago in the earlier days of Cedar Fair ownership (2008-10ish) at KI there were special events at the park. Robbie Knieval broke his dad's truck jumping record in the King's Island parking lot in 2008. One day the next year they had Pete Rose at the KI Theater and a Skyline Eating Contest with Major League Eating, (Coney Island Nathan's 4th of July folks) on the same day! There were Skydivers and a tightrope walkers on other days. These special events gave season passers and families a little something extra that made for "the best day ever." These have all but stopped. There are many things for the execs to consider. Are unlimited food passes worth hurting the guest experience? Are Fast Lane passes, for the additional revenue they provide, worth the resulting necessarily weakened experience to standard admission and season pass guests? What can be done to make guests feel truly valued?

I have sympathy for guests with belongings, especially women with purses, when it comes to not being able to take them into the Mystic Timbers and Banshee lines. I understand that suposedly it would be difficultor impossible to maintain efficient three train opperation if guests were allowed to put their stuff in bins and retrieve it. Nevertheless, there has to be a better solution than paid lockers. Even if what has been claimed regarding lockers not being feasible for efficient opperation is 100% true, people will feel like they are being nickled and dimed.

OP, I wish some of the others would express their disagrement with a little more tact or politeness. Unfortunately people talk to each other on the internet in ways they would never do so in person. My thoughts are that you really should try to not let what you see as abuse of the single rider line bother you. There's not really a reason to ban it. If you think about it, it hasn't taken anything away from you. The single rider line fills seats that wouldn't otherwise be filled. If you are a true single rider nad there is no single rider lane, you end up waiting longer because of the un-filled seats. Single rider lines are not going to be policed to make sure all the riders don't know each other. That's not realistic, and I think the main reason is to fill the seats and to get as many through in the shortest period of time anyway. It's also important to remember that those groups that go in the single rider line are sacrificing their abiility to ride together so it's kind of fair in that way.

Although I still think it is worth it all things considered, it's a shame how Cedar Fair removed Swan Lake for the Diamondback splashdown. I don't see why the lake had to be drained and replaced with a small concrete pool. If they wanted a splashdown why not just drain the lake, build the coaster over the lake, and refill it. What a missed opportunity!

^That's similar to what I was thinking. "Action Zone" is no longer a theme. It is just generic amusement park. I would have made Banshee as part of Oktoberfest. All of Action Zone being annexed into Oktoberfest or the rebirth of Adventure Village with Oktoberfest expansion is more than fine by me. It seems that theming of areas hasn't really taken off as many of us who thought it would under Ouimet. P. S. I want to see the Coney Mall sign back. Why did they take it down?

Gwazi ran PTC's.

Haha, that was my dad you met. He says he hopes you have an awesome time at Dollywood.

I personally think BLSC was a big mistake. Keep in mind the park is not only about coasters. The only "coaster" I'd like to see in that location is an old-fashioned steeplechase. It would be a nice, fun ride along the same lines in feel and thrill level as the antique cars.

King Ding Dong I'll try to answer your question. Generally a ride will re-open fairly soon if an investigation reveals that the accident was caused by rider or operator error, or was the result of, or was an aggravation of a pre-existing medical condition. Most amusement park accidents fall into these categories. If the ride itself is flawed and is legitimately unsafe,(and safety extends beyond common sense in today's society), the rides will usually be modified to ensure that they are now safe before re-opening. The changes to New Texas Giant, and the Intamin Drop Tower comes to mind. Sometimes the park will decide to close the ride, or they can be forced to close it if they cannot ensure safety in the future. Now I say all this, but it should be noted that amusement park accidents with serious injury or death, especially those involving innocent, behaving, guests, are very rare in today's amusement parks. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being one of those tragic cases.

Meanwhile Robb Alvey is blaming, while claiming to not be blaming the parents. He's actually saying "what kind of parents let a 10 year old ride the world's tallest water slide without them?" That's frankly ridiculous, insensitive, and wrong.

Ah yes, you've got me there. Didn't you know I'm Canadian, eh?

We used to do the same. The nurse's station at the exit of the Crystal Beach Cyclone comes to mind. Oh well common sense is long gone in this regard, but to be fair we have more common sense than them in some other regards.