KIghostguy

I think it might have been, but the article I read really did not go into a lot of detail about his work.

There are a couple of interesting Kings Island connections. The Beach was the brainchild of Walt Davis, a top Kings Island executive from 1978-1984, who wanted to...well, that’s a story I’m saving for my book. Additionally, the general manager of The Beach for many years was the sister of Dean Nahrup, who was Kings Island’s general manager from 1988-1992. Many of the slides at The Beach were built by Nahrup’s father, Walter.

They were testing the lights a week ago too. The cameras were not online a week ago.

It's interesting that, based off the Weatherbug cameras, the orange and black flags on the International Street buildings were replaced by the original country flags. Not complaining, just an interesting thing to point out because the original Winterfest switched the flags out for red and green-striped ones.

I have been told by those who would know. I don’t have specifics, but it will be something to write home about.

Did you visit the park this year? Theming is (thankfully) very important once more. Orion will be one of the most heavily-themed rides in Kings Island’s history.

I do find it bizarre that the parade is debuting at Carowinds instead of here. Winterfest 2005 was a failure, but one of the most fondly remembered aspects from that year was the parade.

It’s “Oh-ryan.” Nobody ever had any trouble pronouncing the constellation, but for some reason now no one can pronounce the coaster name!

Probably the best investment Paramount made to the park IMO. There are lots of very interesting stories from the development/construction of the coaster. It’s still a very enjoyable and very well-themed ride.

I would...but I don't want to spoil a lot of "surprises" (to people who think what he and Shaggy say is gospel) that will be in my book. I personally found him to be extremely rude and condescending to any new members, including myself, even borderline cyberbullying. He created a very toxic environment on this forum, and the site is much better off without him.

A lot of what The Interpreter peddled was erroneous/blatantly false. I would not trust a fair number of what he said, especially this fact.

The park may not have given the full stories to the public on Firehawk, Dinosaurs Alive!, and Vortex, but what they did say was not a lie. Now, the webcams on the other hand...

Right. They are putting a lot of work into that area, theming and otherwise for next year.

Not everyone...

It is related Orion construction. They’re tying Firehawk’s queue to Flight of Fear and talking out some of the lockers to put in the ride photo booth. They have to do it at some point, and it seems like that time is Winterfest.

It's just not safe for guests to be riding and walking around in an active construction site. I, too, wish the park had another coaster running to replace Flight of Fear, but it is what it is.

He has provided no source for his claim. There is no reason for me trust him with no source or evidence provided and the nature of the companies involved suggest otherwise.

O'Rourke is not constructing Orion, though. SkyHigh Coasters is doing that. It's very apparent from their website that SkyHigh only does new construction, so they are probably not demolishing Vortex. I'll eat my words if it turns out SkyHigh is doing the demolition, but given Kings Island's history with working with O'Rourke for demolition and the fact there is no reliable source behind the claim, I find it highly unlikely.

That makes no sense to have an company that has only done construction demolish a coaster. Who/what is his source on this claim?

Do you have a reliable source for this? Orion's erection is being done by SkyHigh Coasters LLC, which specializes in coaster erection. I would assume that Vortex's demolition will be done by O'Rourke Wrecking Company, as they did both Son of Beast and Firehawk.

It's one thing to hear about Orion, but it's another thing entirely to "watch" it be built via webcam. With it being free, online, and easily accessible, it helps to spread awareness of the ride outside of the local circuit. Nobody is making the decision to buy a pass just because of the webcam, but it definitely doesn't hurt to spread publicity and awareness. The park absolutely owes us an explanation over what is going on. This whole situation looks terrible in the eyes of season pass holders, which is the park's biggest demographic. The fact that the PR division at the park itself has not even made a statement directly is very telling in regards to what they think of pass holders and enthusiasts at large.

Kings Island is a business, and their primary business model is selling season passes. Season pass holders make up a very large percentage of the park's attendance--far more than most people believe. The webcams are easily accessible online and help spread publicity as people can watch this gigantic coaster being built live. Making more people aware equals more season pass sales, which equals more money for the park. The webcams act as a means of selling more season passes; the park has to operate them. That people believe that complaining about this stuff is "entitlement" is outrageous. Why has this become a mentality? If businesses do stuff "wrong," why do we have the right to complain, but when Kings Island messes up, its' "entitlement" and "insane?"

Right. But the user I quoted was suggesting that the trains would be placed wholesale onto Nighthawk.

Not exactly.

CoasterBob62 just uploaded a great video from Sunday. Lots of good closeups.