Magenta Lizard

^well, there is the season-long Fast Lane option which, depending on how often one visits, could be a very good discount.

Well this should be an exciting special event! The Harlem Globetrotters will be performing at KI On May 5th and 6th https://www.visitkingsisland.com/play/events/harlem-globetrotters

^they do not still have them

January, February, MARCH, April. Sorry to burst your bubble. I wish it was only a month, too.

They open in two months but have only been closed about six weeks. I am sure they'll get the Winterfest decorations down before the park opens, but right now are probably focusing more on stuff like ride maintenance that can be done indoors. I know I've been avoiding the cold! Although it is supposed to be unseasonably warm here soon.

That's kind of between Vortex and Beast, isn't it? (Trying and failing to get my bearings)

Heh. Not trying to give the rumor credence. No, the sinking rumor presumably comes from the land below Vortex being recessed from the walkways beside it. It is not now and never has been unstable or sinking. A concrete mixer is interesting tho. Because they already had poured the foundations for the new (presumed) restaurant back in the fall. Maybe they're pouring a patio?

I accidentally ended up driving past the front of the former park on my way back from last month's KIC meetup. Granted it was dark and I was driving at the time but the way that sign has held up, I thought it was a new one and they were maybe reopening again. Fifteen years since closing, and it looks bright and fresh. I wish they had been able to make a go of it, I have fond, if hazy, memories of it (as Americana) as a little girl.

Must be finally doing something about the sinking ;P (also, thanks to Coney Macaroni now I have "heeeeey macca-Coney" running in my head)

I think the beauty of Winterfest was all the advertising they needed to urge season pass sales for the next year. It's possible that the lack of an announcement is due to the change of the individual in charge of that decision. It's possible it is because there is nothing major coming in 2018. It's possible it is because so many people made a stink about the shed being "overhyped" and they're going in a "show not tell" direction. It's possible an announcement is still coming before the park reopens. All we can do is speculate and continue to wait.

Saturday. The full itinerary is on the website at the bottom of the page: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/play/events/coasterstock

From what I've heard, Cedar Point has discontinued their Ride Warriors club. If they couldn't make a go of it up there, I'd be surprised to see something similar started at KI.

I wonder if you might not just be happier going on a Sunday? Crowds are a lot lighter. I say this because No Boo necklaces can't be used in mazes. And if you intend to skip the mazes it removes a lot of the reason to attend while Haunt is going on.

There are churro stands at KI? I guess they were always closed when I was there too! They do have frozen chocolate bananas in a few stands already tho. One is the permanent stand that is along the shortcut between the Eiffel Tower and Beast, and another is one of the temporary carts that was on International Street. I think there were more, like the one in front of the pond by Viking Fury, and at the front end of Coney Mall between Racer and Coney Confectuons.

^yeah, when I started going to the park again in 2014, after a hiatus since around '98, I didn't even notice the box really. It took me getting into the boards here and hearing people talking about the former TR:TR/Crypt building for me to actually focus on it. I guess KI's magic worked for me like in Harry Potter with The Leaky Cauldron and 12 Grimmauld Place. I had to be prompted to see it. It doesn't feel to me to be terribly more obtrusive than any of a number of backstage buildings that have been there forever.

I wish they'd bring mixed vegetables back as a side at Panda Express. More non-deep-fried sides in general would be a welcome change.

I'm with you after I got a "Beast bite" on my wrist (not my fingertip) opening day a couple years ago. I had my arms up but crossed at the wrists above my head, and they only jostled a bit toward the side going into the helix. I mean, logically, I KNOW I'm not going to hit my head, but the inclination to cower behind the headrest in front of me is very strong when I sit on the left these days. Sometimes I look at the small scar on my hand and marvel at the six inches or so farther my full reach goes from where I contacted the board, even though I'm only 5'8". I'm honestly surprised there aren't more injuries because most people just throw their arms up in abandon. I almost never did and one of the few times I did I had contact. And I could have contacted even if my arms were six inches shorter. I still only blame myself though. It did answer a question seeing other people's arms up all these years had raised in my mind. I knew it looked close but I always wondered if it was just an illusion caused by the speed and my sense of self preservation. Nope, it really is that close. The good thing is that the flat wall of boards before entering the tunnel acts very well at shoving your hands back away if you do contact them, without any serious injury that could be caused by hitting something perpendicular to the direction of travel.

I think 2019. 2020 at the latest. For a new coaster or major ride, not necessarily a giga, but I think probably giga.

Not to mention, for the park, "success" is determined by putting in a ride that adds to the park's value, and getting the construction done on schedule (and within cost estimates) with as little disruption of park operations as possible, not by keeping it "secret" from a small subset of people who are bound and determined to know anything and everything anyway*... Basically, making things a surprise is nowhere near their primary interest, it's just a small part of very early marketing. *KI kept what was in the shed as a very good secret all the way up until it opened, and some "enthusiasts" are still griping about its content. And I think in large part that griping is due to those people being annoyed they couldn't be "insiders" who already knew everything before the ride even opened this time. So having some information leak to the people who actually care to know early is probably not a "fail" anyway.

I saw someone posting pics from visiting the job fair at KI, and at first I was surprised they didn't have more of the Winterfest things taken down. Then I realized it's only been about a month. It feels like it's been several.

One weekday morning when FoF was on ERT, it was raining but there were a fair number of people waiting outside the gates before opening. I was certain all the passholders were going to go back and ride it rather than whatever else was on ERT, to get out of the rain. To my surprise, literally no one did, and I got five zen rides, two with a ride op or two joining in, and finally three more with a couple GP on the train because it was after ERT by that point. I rode once per row and altogether took around 40 minutes. It was great! I love Flight of Fear ERT.

I picked the earliest one, I think it was 1:00. As time slots fill up they are removed from the list to choose from, and I think last year an additional later one was added sometime in the months after I registered.

^that is pretty strange. I was wrong about it not being listed before, too. The app still shows 2017's calendar and it has last year's preview night as a grey circle, meaning "private event." I don't think it means anything in the grand scheme of things that it isn't on the calendar tho. I'm sure they aren't going to cancel it after announcing it.

I'm not sure what you're looking at but if it is the calendar with colored dots to indicate when they're open, preview day is generally not listed on it because they aren't open to everyone that day.

No, I'm pretty sure FoF wasn't on ERT at all since 2016. I can't find what was on ERT before July in 2017 for sure (pretty sure it was Mystic Timbers and Diamondback though), but here's July-October