KI Guy

SOB was an amusement park wonder of the world for sure. Not because of the ride, the actual ride was pretty bad, but the sight of it. The tallest wooden coaster hill in the world did a turnaround before dropping! It had the rose bowl, that incredibly loud lift, and that massive loop. Sonny had presence if nothing else.

I remember a guy squatting on a barrel and that it was a tent. So it was Massacre Manor huh? That must have been after it was in the perennial building near the Scrambler that was once R.L. Stine and Delta Delta Die. The Haunts/Fests blend together for me. Edit: Thinking back it probably was Red Beard's Revenge in '07 that I'm thinking of.

Whoops, I forgot I already asked.

What was the name of the haunt in that spot circa 2006. That was probably the best they've had.

If only they just added a 24 million dollar addition in the last 18 months... I don't think a 5-10 million investment is out of line. Let's look back...(Yes, I know Mr. Ouimet is there now). 2008- No serious money spent in anticipation of Diamondback. Nothing new other than general park upkeep and new ride names. 2009- Diamondback ($22 million) 2010- Planet Snoopy re-theme. $2 million maybe, don't know. The point is relatively light spending 2011- WindSeeker, pavers and Dinosaurs Alive ($5 million+) These years parallel nicely to... 2013- Son of Beast demolition in preparation for Banshee, No major additions. 2014- Banshee $24 million (Almost exactly $22 Million in 2009 dollars) 2015- Planet Snoopy refresh, $1 million+ 2016- This year may parallel 2011 in investment numbers. I would say water slide and/or a regular sized flat, My personal suggestion is a Zamperla Air Race.

You could probably have special engines that run on recycled frying oil if you really wanted them back and wanted to be economical or "green".

This sentence could have just as easily been written in '99 or '00. (Son of Beast, Millenium Force, Steel Dragon 2000, Goliath) I agree; I don't think wooden coasters are going away anytime soon. The amusement industry gets on kicks and trends. This is justifiable in the sense that no one wants to flop on a multi-million dollar investment, (Pilgrims Plunge, Tomb Raider: The Ride, Timber Tower). Some think it's best to cash in on a proven, popular attraction. Once something becomes stale, new concepts emerge or older concepts re-emerge, (sometimes with new twists), and old becomes new again.

I'll fix it.

Not that it really matters, but to me Spiderman is a dark ride and a darn good one at that. If you took away all visual stimuli and rode with only the actual movements of the ride alone it would be kind of lame, right? Then it's probably not a "thrill" ride. I'd say a thrill ride is primarily about physical thrills.

Dark Ride- an indoor vehicle-centric ride in a mostly dark environment wherein the majority of said ride's thrill/amusement is visual or suspenseful in nature. That cover all the bases?

Wow, that's awesome! I like Camden Park by the way. They have the best Whip that I've been on. The haunted house was great as well. I hope the park makes enough money to stay around for many years. Those quaint, small parks are a dying breed.

Did you ride it yourself, if so at what park? I always hear about Laff in the Dark in amusement park history. You've got to love Laffing Sal!

Hmmm, August 13th. I had to look. Yep, that's a Thursday.

He'll be here all night folks!

Took me a second, haha.

It depends on how you look at it. If you enjoyed it, this would be bad news to you but you would have good memories in the ride. If you didn't like it you probably couldn't care less, and if they RMC it may well end up become a ride you enjoy.

I don't mind pairing, but I think you should be able to refuse it. Adults seem so wary to interact with people they don't know in today's society and that's part of the problem itself.

I don't mind pairing, but I think you should be able to refuse it. Adults seem so wary to interact with people they don't know in today's society and that's part of the problem itself.

I don't understand your reasoning. Couldn't you say "I voted for wooden coaster because Kings Island already has an awesome steel coaster in Diamondback, Banshee, Flight of Fear, etc.. Wooden coasters are not homogenous experiences just because they don't come in inverted, or floorless or wing varieties.

^^ If Mr. Kinzel was still in charge I would say you were right without a doubt... as long as the giga was under 310 feet. With Mr. Ouimet, I think there's chance we'll see another wood eventually.

WindingSon, Might I suggest you're not seeing the big picture? A new wooden coaster might not get all the buzz that Banshee or Diamondback received, but does that really matter? The initial hype dies down before the end of a ride's first season. A wooden coaster done right would improve the guest experience in a new way. There are things that many people like about real wooden coasters that you do not get with steel, plain and simple. If the ride is good enough to make someone come back the positive word of mouth will bring in the money, (which given wood coasters lower build cost would have to be significantly less to make a respectable ROI.)

The Bat King Cobra Vortex Flight of Fear The ("New") Bat Invertigo Firehawk Diamondback Banshee ALL built since Kings Island's newest existing wooden coaster was built. Just sayin'.

^^^ Yes, I agree, dark rides are only as good as their maintenance department/ schedules.

Thanks for posting! Anyone notice that Mr. Scheid mentioned GoldStriker and Voyage to the Iron Reef? He's foreshadowing KI's future. Oh I how I wish! Hey it could very well happen in good time. Mr. Speigel is quite the storyteller as always!

Public relations can and do lie to a protect a person, brand or establishment, take the dead celebrity incident for instance. Sometimes the cover-up makes things worse i.e. Watergate.