goettablitz

I was never a fan of the placement of Firehawk at KI. It is kinda hidden behind the FOF building. A ride that that needs to be on display where everyone can see what makes it unique. Also while standing in the queue the area just seems dead. FOF is inside and adds no kinetic to the area and Firehawk dispatches so slowly it has the same effect. You just feel detached from the rest of the park back there. When i rode it as X-Flight at Geauga Lake it was front and center. I could be seen from the parking lot and also very well from the area of the park it was placed.

For the most part that is true. The only difference as I was told it is that it was going to be placed on the old King Cobra site before Delirium came along. One way that you can tell Firehawk was not originally designed for the spot it is in now is the height of some of the concrete footers. They needed to be built up because the supports are not long enough for the current placement of the ride. The development of what would become X-Flight and Batwing was far enough along before Paramount cancelled them that the ride was in the manufacturing process and promotional materials including souvenirs were being produced. The ride that was coming to Kings Island was also going to be called Stealth. I thought the sister coaster was going to Kings Dominion though not Carowinds.

Between the screamin' swing and the water coaster it looks like a great year for BGW!

Meh.....

The idea that Cedar Point is getting all the great coasters and Kings Island is not is just insane. Since Cedar Fair has purchased KI (2006) we have gotten 4 major coasters: Firehawk, Diamondback, Banshee, and Mystic Timbers. Cedar Point has also installed 4 coasters in the same time period. Canada's Wonderland has installed 3, Carowinds has installed 2, Kings Dominion has installed 3. Some of the smaller parks like Dorney and Michagan's Adventure receive little to nothing from year to year. We are hardly being neglected. Also Diamondback, Banshee and MT are considered some of the best of their type of ride and are all ranked highly in enthusiast polls such as the Coasterbuzz 100. From time to time "off years" are required for general park improvements such as restaurants, and other upgrades. For 2017 Cedar Point added some water slides and re branded their water park. It is important to have a well rounded park that has stuff for everyone to do. Not just roller coasters. Our time will come again. Just most likely not for 2019.

That is a great find! I don't know if it really means anything as far as a future ride for Kings Island but it is very cool how they tied the story lines into one another. I also know that the teaser material for the new coaster over at Carowinds they reference Miami River Lumber and Steel Vengeance. Also i never realized the connection between SOB and Adventure Express.

Steel Vengeance followed by Maverick with out a doubt.

I worked on Tomb Raider it's first couple of years and we saw it at all. My favorite instance was a parent who told the greeter that their child was not riding. The kid who was very obviously too short made it to the ride and sat down. We noticed that there were legs in this seat that were not even long enough to bend over the seat and we saw 2 little legs sticking straight out. We up bared and checked him only to see what we had suspected. He was waaaaay too short. Then we had his father standing there making a scene on the ride screaming that there were lots of other kids he saw getting on that were also too short and that we were just singling them out. So we opened up all 77 seats and walked up and down every row with a height stick. His kid was the only one that was too short to ride. Finally he gave in and both him and his child walked out of the ride.

woops!

I would love for the International Restaurant to re open for every day park guests. I think one of the reasons the restaurant closed is due to ADA and a lack of an elevator. They installed a new elevator a season or two ago. I always took that as a sign that it might re open. I do hear occasional stories of people watching the fireworks from the restaurant from years back. Sounds very cool! Crossing my fingers!

Anyone know what the crowds look like today?

Just tear it down.

Neato!

It does make me wonder how often wheels are typically replaced. In other words "how many miles" can you get out of a wheel. Not so much the up stops, just he main road wheels.

Most coaster do have some type of rattle or vibration at times. I am just saying that I find Banshee's at times to be much more severe than it's peers. I has not been enough to stop me from riding it (it has made me think twice before) but is has stopped me from re-riding. Keep in mind that the new restraints require the seats to be farther apart and therefore and entirely new train design (and a wider track gauge). Look at pictures of the trains for some older inverts like Raptor and Montu VS Banshee.

Im not sure what the cause is. My assumption is that it is in the trains somewhere as they are a new style and first used on Banshee.

I love B&M rides but I just don't understand how it is "ok" for a brand new ride to be rattling like it does and did on its opening season. Especially with B&M's reputation for silky smooth rides I don't get how they have not been asked to fix it..... It boggles my mind how I can go to Busch Gardens and ride Kumba which was their first sit down coaster and built in 1993 (the same year as The Bat) and have a perfectly smooth and awesome ride on it and now this is how many years and coasters later and Banshee rattles uncomfortably.... Seems to me like their engineering has gone backwards.

While i am not a huge fan of Vortex I love your enthusiasm for it! I do agree about the Banshee rattle. I dont remeber it rattling on opening day but it seemed to develop part way through its first season and for me at times can be painful on my back. I have ridden alot of beemers and have not felt anything quite like it. It really is disappointing and has caused it to drop well out of my top 10 unfortunately.

I am also a fellow Delhi Township resident.

Cedar Fair has been very kind to Kings Island. Not only returning Firehawk to its original intended park but as you mentioned Diamondback and lets not forget Banshee and Mystic Timbers. The only other Cedar Fair park to get that same kind of love in the same time period is Cedar Point. Actions speak louder than words. They say they would like to focus on growth opportunities at CP, Carowinds, Knott's and Great America. Not that they will be ignoring other properties. By the same turn they do not mention Canada's Wonderland either. Cedar Point, Kings Island, Canada's Wonderland and Knott's are the top attended Cedar Fair parks. That's just a fact. So don't worry, I think they will continue to receive major investment as a result

Screamscape is also reporting it will be a multilaunch. http://screamscape.com/html/carowinds.htm

I think that the next coaster KK receives will likely be a Euro Fighter, Sky Rocket II, 4D Free Fly or a Raptor Track. These are all small footprint rides and are not as pricey as a Beemer or Intamin.

I immediately noticed the instrumental music on International Street and the country / bluegrass music in River Town. I love the new music on International Street and just fell in love with the new music in River Town. I love having more fitting music playing around the park. I think that having the bluegrass / country style covers of popular songs is soooooo smart! It makes if familiar and less off putting to people who are not familiar with that musical style.

Looks great!

Out of curiosity how are you connecting you phone to your belt loop? Is it a special phone case with a clip on it? I have been looking at different ways to not loose stuff on rides.