Magenta Lizard

Or add locker reservations to their mobile app.

Loved your report! I really must get to a State Fair one of these years. I'm with you about Ferris Wheels. I was just thinking about that earlier today. I don't get even the slightest flutter of fear from coasters anymore, but just the thought of being up on a wheel (or sky ride) gets my pulse rate up. I still want to do it, of course! You made me want something crazy deep fried, too.

Seriously, the 10th? Guess that makes my decision on whether to go to the park Saturday or not. If this is the last week for Cirque Imagine, I don't think it's too bad for me to go two days.

Toward the end of a long hot day once this season, I was riding Adventure Express as my last ride on my way back to my car to leave. The young man controlling the line was not only assigning seats on the half-empty train, he told me to pair up with the third of a group of three other women. It was the first time that day I had been assigned next to anyone (except even rows on Diamondback), and I was just too sweaty and tired to deal with it. I wasn't inflicting my sweaty self on a stranger in those small seats for absolutely no good reason. If the ride op hadn't finally relented with me negotiating for riding in the back (back two cars were entirely empty other than me) where I wanted to anyway, I was fully prepared to walk through and out.

Julien deserves the break, but I'll definitely miss him flying through the air tomorrow. It would be interesting if he "switched sides" and Julien became the silver and black costumed man in the trampoline act. Right now, the same person is going straight from being the muscle for Hand2Hand, to the trampoline, to bows. It's got to be exhausting for him: I would say he has the toughest role in the show.

I just saw the KIC twitter feed mention Sam was back in the show! Any more info on that? Did he replace the newest replacement or one of the others? Or are they doing five clowns now? I'll be at the show tomorrow, if all goes as planned, so I will update if no one else does.

I don't think it is the seatbelts. There have been several times that I've waited in a 45 minute line to get to the station and then see trains go with four or more empty seats. The ride op letting people in only allows one train's worth of people in at a time, then gets distracted by fiddling around with height wrist bands or whatever on a single passenger, checking Fast Lane bands and assigning seats for them, or trying to figure out how to deal with a party of six in the front of a line, and only finally gets around to actually letting anyone in when the gates are already opening for the next train creating a not very efficient mad dash for seats (or often, still tries to assign seats at that point and only half-fills the train, or the beginning of loading and checking is delayed by seat assigning). The ride ops checking belts and restraints also often get too tied up in questions/negotiations from single passengers about what can or can't be taken on, collecting bags and drinks, etc, in a way that often delays the whole train. Pretty much every passenger understands how to buckle a seatbelt, and the ride ops can check a restraint and belt almost as quickly as a restraint alone (maybe a full second difference for an entire train's checking). The problem seems to be with training of how to deal with individuals in a way that doesn't cause the train to be delayed or unfilled. Asking a measured child or a party of six to stand aside for a single dispatch so their issues don't delay an entire train, for example.

For me, about the only interesting thing about Winterfest was getting to ride Phantom Theater in the off season. I think there is a lot more that could be done than was in the past, but I don't know that it would offer enough profit to make it worthwhile for the park. Even though this will be my first year for Haunt, I am much more excited about it than I ever could be for a new Winterfest.

It's been about 20 years since I last rode Maelstrom, but occasionally it comes back to me almost as though I'm there. With my bad memory, that's really saying something. It was by far my favorite part of Epcot, and as much as I enjoyed that park, that is also saying something. If it were in the budget, I'd be planning a trip to say goodbye to the ride. Unfortunately it isn't.

Just a classic case of a little man with a little power, probably.

It's the general name for the type of ride. Not sure if KI's was ever named that.

According to the website: "This unique experience begins after the 10:00 p.m. fireworks show Saturday, August 9, with tours running until midnight. The event includes a guided tour, s'mores, activities and more than 65 life-sized, animatronic dinosaurs." So... this Saturday is listed as being a 10:00 closing. Is it true that Dinos After Dark is running for two hours by itself after closing? Or should that info be updated to an earlier start time?

I'm sure it has something to do with this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TmLVtU6fTPs

I just was napping on the couch. I dreamed I was at KI. I was making a specific point to ride flats, and among them was a different Troika-like ride (that in the dream surprised me, because I didn't remember it but realized it was a decent substitute for SR&R), and a Tilt-a-Whirl. Then I noticed that even though it was only about a quarter after 4:00, it was dark out, and I decided to take advantage of the situation to get in a "night" ride on The Beast. After that, I was handed some sort of flyer, and I noticed writing along the edge that said I could use it as a coupon for discounts on Cirque Imagine's new show at Cedar Point. I realized it was almost time for the 5:00 show, so I headed there. When I got there, they were using the "CP version's" costumes. They seemed based on the winning designs from the most recent Project Runway show (in real life, the movie unconventional challenge), with strong usage of almost fluorescent green and black.

She's going to need to take another trip to use her VIP tour tickets. Or sell them on eBay I guess.

That is still totally cool, to have been there for it! Thanks for the running commentary and pic!

Wow! I'm jealous! They probably should have publicized this in-park, too. I know no one riding yesterday seemed to know it was coming up at all, and the lines were really short most of the day, too.

Congrats Racer and Kings Island on your milestone! I'm still very excited even though I'm not there! P.S. Go Charley, go!

If anyone is there right now, hustle to The Racer! https://twitter.com/kingsislandpr/status/495330891783479297

That's hardly a new problem, either. Going through my family's box of photos from when I was a child, pictures of my sister and/or myself (or any other person for that matter) are outnumbered by at least 50 to 1 by those of beautiful landscapes, pictures of random custom cars at car shows, etc. The only ones anyone is interested in seeing are ones with people. The funniest to me are people at televised events like the Super Bowl aiming their recording devices at the action. If you aren't including yourself and the people you are with in your recording, then I can guarantee there is closer, professional, HD, footage available that is better than anything you could ever hope to get. Just put down the phone and enjoy the experience!

Possibly some of the ones in this photo gallery, but I don't know if anyone was keeping records: http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-oldest-roller-coasters-photos-07201118-pg-photogallery.html Since some have 50 years on Racer for age, you would certainly think they'd have managed more rides. So now my war with myself begins. If it doesn't happen until Saturday, especially later in the day, I'm probably going to end up back at the park (I wanted to go to Dinos After Dark anyway). If it is today, the way my body feels after the past three days is barely going to keep me home (plus I told my husband last night not to "let" me go today)

I was able to get to it by clicking "full site" then searching for Coasterstock in the search bar. Here's the info for anyone else on mobile: "COASTERSTOCK AT Kings Island If you only do one roller coaster event in 2015, this is the one you want to do! Attention roller coaster enthusiasts! It's coming in the spring of 2015: Coasterstock at Kings Island. This awesome two-day event will feature hours of exclusive ride time before and after the park is open to the public, behind the scenes tours, guest speakers and more! More details to come including pricing information and the list of approved roller coaster clubs and organizations. " Can't wait!

Two teenage girls behind me on Adventure Express: Why is every part of my body dirty? And later: Scream like a man! *imitation of a deep voiced yell*

Last night the lights were on inside (you could see it through the side doors) too. Wonder what they're up to.

Well, I'm probably going to do a couple more rides after the 5:00 Cirque Imagine show but then I'm going to have to give up on being here for it. Three days at the park in a row is my limit, and I sure can't manage 12 hours at the park today. If anyone here is at the park tomorrow and/or over the weekend, keep us updated. I'll have to live it vicariously. Good luck! Edited: if anyone wants to get a bunch of rides in tonight, it's down to a walk-on now