Magenta Lizard

Heh, last time I went, during ERT the operator on the mic was telling us all to enjoy our rides on The Banshee. I thought about the people here that drives nuts

Yeah, well, they may or they may not be, depending on whether the person working that day has been trained how to do it or not. The first time I bought some, I was just going to get one, but I was told they were buy two get one free so I bought three. I really liked it, and decided to get some for me and some to take home to my husband each time I visited the park again this summer. The last two times I've been there, I've asked first whether they are still 3 for 2. Even though I have been told "yes" or "I am pretty sure", once I am at the register (and they can't figure out what voo-doo to perform), I am told "oh, I guess they aren't." The first time that happened I tried explaining to the young woman on the register how the (I guess) manager, who told me about the sale the first time I visited, (she's been the only one over 30 working any of these times I went) told the young woman working that day to ring them up (just ring up two and ignore the third: it's not rocket science, but not intuitive either I suppose). The encounter took a full ten minutes, and even though she had conferred and gotten agreement from the young man working that they were supposed to be 3 for 2, I ended up with the impression she thought I was trying to steal from her and get her in trouble when I told her how it was done last time, and finally was told point blank "you just have to pay for all three". I ended up just buying one, although I felt later like I should have probably put all three back because I don't like being made to feel like I'm trying to scam someone. The second time I went in, asked, got an "I think so", grabbed three, waited at the register for five minutes behind one other customer, the employee tap tapped away for a bit and said "I guess they're not still." I learned my lesson the time before, so I left it at that, and just bought one.

Did the train at KI ever have more theming? I always thought it used to, but I've realized recently that I may be confusing it with the one at Cedar Point. I was surprised to learn last I rode the train at KI that some of the scenery there has been in use since the park opened. Which is pretty cool.

I've been thinking about this. I wonder if what the guy saw WAS the covered bridge. The road it is on is an offshoot from another road, and if you pass through the bridge, the road drops down a hill in a winding path. I can imagine how someone seeing it briefly may think it was in someone's yard, and that it was a roller coaster station (which frankly often resemble covered bridges, being open on either end for similar reasons). The only thing I wonder about is that unless they were sightseeing, I can't imagine why someone would be on the road that runs perpendicular to the bridge. For the past few years (at least, ever since I've been aware of it) a section of the road is closed just down from the bridge, making a dead end.

It's a shame about Der Dutchman burning. It used to be a really good restaurant, one my family would occasionally drive an hour to eat at when I was younger. Unfortunately the quality really suffered under the company that bought it prior to it burning. Since that time, there have been attempts to buy the property by locals interested in reopening, but the current owners want too much (and are disinclined to rebuild and reopen themselves). So it sits. I live not far at all from Waynesville now, and the area around it is one of the places my husband and I like to go for drives. Unfortunately, this is not something I've ever encountered. The most interesting thing I've seen near there is a covered bridge. Do you have any idea how long ago it was? I could probably go for a drive around there sometime soon and see if I see anything.

That is a very reasonable price. I guess I still have ten days to decide if I want to do this (according to the Facebook page, online registration deadline is the 23rd). I still would like to know precisely what caused the change, but I'm not holding my breath.

Complimentary food? Wow! This sounds like fun, I may have to check it out.

Good luck with that

More correctly, a /member/ of KIC was, it was hardly a KIC sanctioned thing, there wasn't exactly a thread on "how to cheat the charity." Thanks for being informative, as always, DonKIPR. Guess it makes up my mind on whether to go to this, or probably any other behind the scenes event. I was looking at it as a possible stepping stone to joining some sort of coaster club if I liked it, but for now I'll just keep my money.

That's why I make a bee-line for FoF when the ropes drop. Banshee as often as possible during ERT, then when I see the sea of humanity sweep into the area, I head for Coney Mall. I usually get in a couple rides on FoF before it is more than a station wait. It's still early in the season though, I guess.

Yeah, I was strongly considering this event as an early birthday gift to myself (my birthday is the next week), thinking "maybe the show will be Cirque Imagine, that'd be excellent!" Then I finally put two and two together and realized the event is a Monday and that seems to be Cirque's day off :/ I'm still considering it, but if the show was Cirque Imagine, shut up and take my money! It would be my first-ever theme park "event" and I'd be going alone, so I'm still trying to decide if it is something I'd enjoy or not. Behind the scenes of Beast, and the description of that meal are awfully tempting... I need to make up my mind soon!

The clowns both look soooo tired in those after-show shots. I feel bad for them. I guess that's what 19 shows a week (plus rehearsals I'm sure) will do to a person.

The entirety of your bank reference has always been part of the quote, so I'm not sure why you think it wasn't? I only left off the end where you were talking directly to the original poster about being sorry it happened to them. I seem to have misunderstood your original post though, and I apologize. It seemed to be saying "even banks get robbed, so why bother with any security?" I definitely hope that theft of the kind mentioned in the original post is a rare event already due to security measures already in place. This is one of those cases where I think the Kings Island tradition of being tight lipped with patrons is not the best method. It would be nice, when paying for a locker, to know if this is a one-in-a-million breech of security, or something that happens all of the time. Because, hearing about it once, I think a lot of us are going to jump to the conclusion it happens a lot, and with nothing but silence from KI to refute us.

Well, if somebody wants my stuff they could overpower me, so I should just leave everything in an unattended purse outside the ride line? The more work you make theft, the fewer people will attempt it. The more risk there is of being caught and having wasted the time or effort put into theft in the first place, the fewer people will attempt it. Very simple things (like good cameras to identify thieves, and more secure fingerprint or keyed locks to stop them in the first place) could go a long way toward minimizing the chance of theft. You'll notice they use cash registers rather than cardboard boxes to store money in the Kings Island shops? It's kind of like that. Yes, there are dishonest people out there. A very minuscule few of them also have determination and are willing to put in the work and risk of robbing banks or mugging people. These are not the ones stealing from KI lockers. At present, very little effort or risk is necessary to steal from the lockers. Because security seems to be as good as an individual's attempts to hide their code, there is very little effort at the moment for someone to stand around, watch people buying lockers, walk up and just open it. It doesn't sound like much is being done (cameras, live security near the lockers) to make sure anyone is being caught after the fact, either, so risk is minimal. I know that Kings Island doesn't want to upset guests, they don't want people losing their things to thieves. I maintain hope that like everything else, they are close lipped about what is going on behind the scenes, but that positive things are being done there. I personally believe they do have good cameras, and are doing their best to work with police to catch whoever did this. I would also not be surprised to see more secure lockers (especially charging lockers) in the future.

Does anyone happen to know how much Dinosaurs Alive costs? Is there a bring-a-friend discount if I use my gold pass to buy a ticket for someone else for it? I know it is free for me with my pass. I'm considering taking my husband to the park on Father's Day, and I thought it would be cool to do Dinosaurs Alive with him, since I haven't checked it out yet.

And then you have to go through an attendant to get into the locker and they can check that the ID in the locker matches you But, that's a pain in the butt for the park, so it's better to eliminate keys altogether I guess.

Having charging lockers (because they are almost guaranteed to have easily transported expensive electronics) is like putting candy in a paper bag in front of a bunch of five year old children, and asking them not to eat any. The only way that is going to work is either with close supervision or tight security. Using a simple code rather than a physical key is about as tight of security as that paper bag unattended in front of a bunch of kids. You just can't advertise such a tasty package and expect no one will come to collect it. Even though most people are honest, if things are too easy, someone dishonest is bound to take advantage. I would have hoped they would have better supervision, in the form of security employees and/or cameras to make up for the insecurity of the lockers. I assume there is some sort of person watching the lockers, which is most likely why they took the clothes in addition to the "candy". They were attempting to look like a believable enough locker-user to keep from getting caught immediately as a locker-thief.

I've somewhat-purposefully tried to avoid learning too much about Tomb Raider, which was installed and removed during the time I was living in another state and not going to Kings Island. Now that I've read a full description, I am terribly jealous of everyone who ever got to ride it!

I got my first ever ride this morning during ERT. As I was sitting at the top of the tower with my heart beating out of my chest, I realized I not only hadn't ever ridden it before, I never even watched it run before. So I had absolutely no idea how long it would be before the drop, if there was any sort of warning, or anything. Definitely makes it more terrifying, especially when you are already thinking "I hope the cables they replaced are OK." I really enjoyed it though. I rode it later in the day, and while I don't think it was quite worth an hour wait, it gave me a second favorite thing about the ride: the nearly subsonic sound it makes as it hits the brakes, as heard when you're below it. Otherworldly.

Finally got to ride the right side of the train this morning and I totally get it. Even got right side in row 8. Loved it! My only issue with the back is that the final inversion (that I call the "giggle roll") is taken so fast that it seems like an ordinary coaster element. Towards the front, it seems to take forever to roll over, and feels really weird, in a good way. Reminds me of Flight Commander.

I go where they put me. As a single rider, I don't think I'll ever get to see the right side of the train. I've ridden far left seat every one of the dozen or so times I've been on it. I like the front row for the first drop, but other than that I've enjoyed pretty much every row I've been in. Back row is pretty thrilling.

Or there was traffic, or they stopped for restroom breaks, or stopped for lunch, are from a south of Dayton suburb, etc. etc. I know we averaged 4 hours most of the time from Brookville (Ohio) when I was a kid, and that's north of Dayton.

I'm sorry, I know I've seen this covered before, but I couldn't find it again. If we register for the July 7th CC/KIC event, we just put our KIC forum name in the member number field?

Andrew broke the park! I understand the frustration of not having any answers, but there just aren't any answers to be had, yet. A lot of planning was already put into the event, can you imagine how much work it would be if they also had to plan for a completely unexpected, unlikely, event coming at more or less the last minute? I am sure there are many people scrambling to re-plan and reevaluate, but for it to be a decent and somewhat adequate response, it will take a little time. Be calm, and be sure they will do the best they can to come up with a solution that will make people as happy as they have control over. Obviously, people would be happiest if the water main never broke, the ones doing the planning and re-planning more than anyone else.

Ah, agreed. I really enjoyed the trampoline part.