April 26, 2008

[CoasterKrazy]

Given the beautiful weather we've been having in Cincinnati, I decided to take a break from studying (probably not a good idea, but I'll live) and head to the Island for a few hours. I got to the park around 4:00PM and used my Platinum Pass for parking; no problems at all. I wanted to see the new ride location signs, so I drove to the north end of the parking lot. Obviously, Face/Off is now Invertigo, and Drop Zone is now Drop Tower.

I stepped through the metal detectors, and up to the turnstiles to have my pass scanned. I got to take a look at my picture as it popped up on the screen, and was verified by the ticket taker. Upon entering the park, I noticed the very attractive new Guest Relations booth. It is quite impressive, I must admit. The park itself looks great. It is very clean, and it seems to me that the number of employees roaming the park has been increased greatly, especially Area Supervisors and Ecology. The new signs aren't too bad either. It wasn't too crowded, but since I didn't ride any rides, I wasn't able to gauge lines. Based on comments I heard from other guests, there are still a number of bugs that need to be worked out from the rides and crews are a bit slow loading. I imagine this will improve with time.

After walking around the park for a bit and taking a few pictures, I saw that The Crypt was open and I decided to take it for a spin. The new sign was very well done, and other than that, the outdoor queue is the same. It appeared to me that the speakers at the entrance of the tomb (beneath the skull fire cauldrons) have been removed, but I cant be certain. Based on the line movement, I think the ride now takes 35-40 guests per ride, a very dramatic drop from the original capacity. Almost all references to Tomb Raider have been removed; all "ruins" beneath the queue have been turned over, any and all "eyes" are gone, and every statue from previous seasons are nowhere in sight. The additional themeing is alright, and I'm impressed with the amount of time CF has taken to revamp the ride, but my personal feelings are that it will never be as good as before. The ride itself broke down, but based on other reports, I'm not going to be happy with that either. I completely understand the parks decision to remove all Paramount references, but its going to take a long time for me to get used to it. I guess I know how the older folks around the boards feel.

Themeing aside, a few other interesting events took place within the old tomb. To be blunt, the ride crew did a horrible job handling the breakdown of the ride. It wasn't until 35 minutes after the breakdown that any kind of announcement was made regarding the ride's status, and that announcement was informal at best. Letting riders know that they could leave the queue simply involved yelling about and pointing to the chicken chute. The guests in line were very unruly, and no attempt was made to ensure that they remained within the designated queues. I understand the park can't control rude guests (and there were many of them; it was high school choir day or something like that) but the ride ops were very unprofessional, and I was quite disappointed with their performance. I hope the park will take the time to further train this particular Crypt crew in guest relations.

I left The Crypt's queue and took another quick stroll around the park. I stopped by Festhaus, and the new show was in progress. I watched for a few minutes, and was glad to see that the other guests were doing the same. I'm not one for shows, but I was thrilled to see this addition and I hope Cedar Fair continue this practice. The construction zone has not changed much based on the last few photo updates. Seeing as how I'm only a structural-engineer-in-training, I can't make any claims regarding the status, but I find it interesting that the top of the footings appear to be below the surface level of Swan Lake. Based on the remaining grade, I think the lake will return, but smaller than before.

While my experience in The Crypt was not a good one, I'm looking forward to a great season. Theming aside, I think Cedar Fair is going to take Kings Island in a very different, but very good direction.

[BoddaH1994]

I saw The Crypt break down twice today, and if you were there after 4:00, that'd be a third. I hope this is just first day stuff and not that the ride is having serious problems.

[Phantom Theater]

Did the Gondola spin more?I hope so!I think it would be funner if it span more

[CoasterKrazy]

For pictures, see my Picasa album.

Due to the breakdown, I didn't get to ride The Crypt, but from what I understand, it does flip more than the old TR:TR sequence.

[BoddaH1994]

The ride flips numerous times. Six, I think is the exact number. The experience is very interesting and very intense!

[pkiboy]

And the music to the ride kinda sounds like this. And if you not have ridden it yet do so its really worth the wait.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dwFJbkvsa_I&feature=related

or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL_0qVi6774&NR=1

[Kawana]

Does the music play while the ride is going on? Or before you board the ride? I've never ridden the Crypt so, I don't know what to expect when I finally do ride it.

[CoastersRZ]

The music plays both during loading and during the actual ride. I`m not positive, but I believe the music changed/different songs once the loading was complete and the ride actually started.

[Kawana]

Ah, that adds a nice element to the ride. Sounds like fun...