Magenta Lizard

Mmmmm meat candy

Every time I've gone on a Beast tour (I'm up to five or six total now I think) when I'm waving at the people on the ride, I've thought "one of these times I'm going to skip a tour so I can be the one on the ride seeing the people on the tour." At Coasterstock, since they have four different tour times, I should finally be able to do that and won't have to miss taking a tour.

Woo! Got my ticket. Now I just have to decide what Beast Tour time I prefer. On the one hand, the first time period Don will be fresh, and hopefully still excited because he didn't do a bunch of other tours yet. On the other hand, on the last one we won't be rushed because there won't be a tour coming in after us... Decisions, decisions! Edit: went with the first one, at 1:00

I would like DB and Banshee every month, plus a rotating array of other rides. Having one big coaster and some kiddie rides most months is going to make the lines pretty long for the coaster. Gone will be the days of me getting three rides on Diamondback and a cycle on Woodstock Gliders, that's for sure.

As for the removal of the funnel cake building contributing to a loss of River Town theming: that building was hardly contributing to that old mining town feel. It looked more like classic carnival.

I have the same experience. I recently had a dream where there was a path going straight back from the Eiffel Tower, where the floral clock is (which was blocked off when I wanted to go that way, as they were setting up a "man food" festival, so I had to take the other path, the real one that goes back toward Beast). When I dream about my house, it's never my actual house either, even though in my dream there's no question that's what it is. I guess that spaces inside our brains don't reflect reality very well.

In 1983, minimum wage was $2 to $2.60 in the tri-state area.

I do find the phrase "out of the box" and HAUNT mentioned in Greg Scheid's tweet intriguing. Probably just a turn of phrase, but I know a lot of people are dying for the big box to be either removed or at least better utilized through the summer.

Does anyone recognize Rob from that post? He looks familiar to me but I'm not up on the "players" enough to have a name. Edit: never mind. Looked it up and I guess that is Rob Decker from Cedar Fair

Ugh. Yeah, pretty sure it will be the new soccer game. In addition to the bouncing basketballs, let's add rolling soccer balls to the crowds. What could possibly go wrong? https://twitter.com/kingsislandpr/status/689108609410662401

I believe I heard on the train at one point that the pond is the reservoir they use for the water of WWC. It was drained around the same time as the rest of WWC after it closed for the season, at least.

I can confirm that Fast Lane is looking a little conspicuously absent. A search of the site returns four results: two versions of the FAQ, a Privacy Policy page, and a McCluskey Chevrolet page. The McCluskey page is blank, and the Frequently Asked Questions page (a very scaled down version of the FAQ) doesn't appear to still have it on it. The Privacy Policy mentions it only in passing as one of many things you might buy using the online shop. The FAQ page does mention Fast Lane, but it also has a lot of outdated info (a whole section on Fun Perks, for example). On the other hand, it also has a whole section on Fun Pix, which is brand new, so the page isn't just abandoned or anything. At this point, I can think of three explanations. 1. Fast Lane is being discontinued. 2. McCluskey Chevrolet is no longer sponsoring it, so the pages need to be rewritten and are temporarily removed. 3. The website is being worked on in other ways (Fun Pix being added, for example) and they just temporarily left it off or broke it.

Agreed about the train! It may be wishful thinking on my part, too. RHoFG is one of the few places in the park where you can't get the souvenir cups filled. On the rare occasions I had my cup with me, I wanted to fill it at a Freestyle machine, and the train station location was typically closed. A Marketplace would probably (hopefully?) be more likely to actually be open, so having a Freestyle drink in Reds wouldn't be as likely to require a trek halfway across the park.

The reason I'm thinking Coke Marketplace is that's what it was when we "caught" them doing unexpected demolition/construction last off-season. If it was anything more interesting I'd think they'd say something, even if it was just vague hints.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1103179403027127&id=247739365237806&substory_index=0 I wonder if they're going to put a big Coke Marketplace like the one they put by Coney Mall last year? ^I cropped the pertinent part of the still from KI's webcam.

True, it is the only reason I went to either of mine. I would /pick/ Coasterstock, but probably would have gone to graduation too, for my family's sake. My high school one, I actually dozed through a good portion. Which was a little embarrassing because I was in the front row near the center, on stage behind the people giving speeches, at the time.

Graduation only takes a few hours! You can do both! I would have picked Coasterstock over my graduation, honestly.

Oddly enough, I just noticed they are offering regular season passes alongside Gold and Platinum on the website. Regular is currently $111, versus $123 for Gold ($117 if you buy four or more at once). Renewal Gold are currently $102 regardless of the number bought. Neither regular nor Gold have Jr/Sr discounted versions (Platinum does), is that new this year? I also don't remember the four-or-more discount the last couple years.

That's actually a really good deal for the season. Any word on this coming to KI maybe?

I've been using an app to do the countdown, too. I was excited when they posted it was 100 days, but I've gotten a little depressed about how long that actually is. That bottom number is the days since closing day. I can't believe we're still a week out from even being halfway through the off season.

I very much appreciate your site, and your keeping track of those dining plan listings. It is a disappointment, though, that an interested third party needs to do so, when the official Kings Island site didn't/wouldn't/couldn't.

The list last year was never complete or accurate, anyway (it left off the salad and sub options at La Rosa's for example- I didn't learn they were still included until sometime during Haunt). Probably best to ask at the locations what meals are included. Stay tuned for commentary from The Interpreter about selling something in advance and then changing the content as they please... I agree with him, but I also used the heck out of my plan last year, so feel I can't complain too strongly. In any case, I feel I got my money's worth.

You are creating masterpieces with a box of crayons. I'd be very interested to see what you'd do with some actual animation software like Lightwave or Maya

I remember being excited about going there, and I think it was cheaper than KI so we went more often in a summer. But, I have no specific memories of actually being there, the way I remember Hanna Barbera Land at KI. Mostly I just remember the unusual name Lesourdesville, because my mom often forgot the new name and used the older one. I recall it being very near (next to?) Fantasy Farm, which was geared very much toward small children. I know I was taken there as well when I was very small, but by the time I was old enough to remember anything, my older sister and cousins had gotten too old to enjoy FF, so our family trips were much more likely to be to Americana or KI.

Ugh. As excited as I am to know the opening date now, it allowed me to discover we are still two weeks away from being halfway through the off-season. And far fewer upcoming holidays to distract me...