Guest TombraiderTy Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Before I start my PTR, I must thank both the staff of KICentral and the staff of Kings Island for presenting such a great event, even if the main draw was cancelled due to Mother Nature. I had a lot of fun, got some great photos, and enjoyed some delicious food. I was impressed by parts of it and am glad that I attended. I also must apologize for the low quality and blurriness seen in several of the photos. I was dropped off at Great Wolf Lodge just prior to the tour's start. This is only my second time being inside the hotel and the first time I had a camera to photograph my surroundings. The lobby is very large and was highly decorated for the season. The Great Wolf Lodge staff behind this did a fantastic job. I was glad to see that the Diamondback model had been moved into the Great Wolf Lodge lobby for the winter instead of letting it collect dust, hidden on Kings Island property. We began the tour, trying to find the larger group. Once we met up, we toured two of the rooms and learned a bit of trivia about the hotel. One thing I noticed was the amazing attention to detail all around the resort. Even the trashcans inside of Great Wolf Lodge have received attention, receiving some fun covers that fit with the lodge's themeing. We stopped at some of the windows outside of the indoor waterpark, allowing us to take some shots of the twisted waterslides and play fortress. Another thing noticeable within the lodge was the MagiQuest game that hotel guests can participate in. Using a "magic wand", they trigger props and scenes, continually finding new secrets and racking up points (?). This portrait is part of the game and kinda freaked me out. Its eyes turned blood-red and it started to talk unexpectedly after the photo had been taken. The tour, although nice, did fail to meet my expectations. Minus the hotel rooms, everything we saw could've been seen by any person who walked into the resort. The large group also made it hard to travel around the hotel and hear the information given to us. Outside, we began the trek to Kings Island. This would've been MUCH more enjoyable had the pathway been cleared Stupid pole... getting in my way of Son of Beast shot... Kings Island's cemetery, very peaceful with a blanket of snow covering it. Part of a slightly crooked park skyline. The large group of members waiting to be led into the International Restaurant. Diamondback, everybody's favorite roller coaster Inside of the International Restaurant, we had a hard time finding seating. We ended up squeezing together at a small table. Had the booths been open, this may have not been a problem. My only picture of just the food, the Subway sandwiches were very good. While perhaps not my choice in food after walking through the freezing temperatures, the sandwiches were fresh and tasty. After getting our food, we had our first speaker. Please forgive me for forgetting his name. I do remember, however, that he was in charge of Kings Island's Boomerang Bay. He was very informative and had some great stuff to tell us. Following him we had KICentral's own Robbie Zerhusen. He presented a slideshow on the transition from Coney Island to Kings Island. He did a good job for his first time performing and was very informative. A piece of advice, however, would be to make the images in the slideshow larger. They were a bit hard to see at some points. The final speaker was Don Helbig. Very informative and interesting to listen to, he told us some great information about the 2009 season at Kings Island. I am especially glad that he revealed the names of the 2009 shows that will be performed at the park. The event came to an end after some Diamondback trivia with prizes (very happy I won two of the questions ). We trudged back through the parking lot of ice and snow and back to Great Wolf Lodge, where I hung out for a bit, taking more photographs. Final photo: Overall, I enjoyed the event and the speakers and activities selected. The food was also great, and the location was one of the best. This having been the first KICentral winter event, I'm positive that future ones will slowly improve. Thanks again to KICentral staff members and Kings Island employees for making such a great event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dare-to-fly Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Nice PTR. The speaker that you are forgetting the name of would be Nick Lacastro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 First of all Ty, thanks for the trip report. Second of all, while this may have been my first presentation at an enthusiast event and in front of such a large crowd, it was NOT the first presentation I`ve given. I`ve had to give several presentations at DAAP of my designs (and have a thesis presentation to give next Wednesday). Additionally, I even addressed the size of the images issue in my presentation, apologizing more than once. The IR is just not an ideal setting to give a presentation that is intensive on images like I was giving. I tried to make the best of what was available. I sincerely hope that you found my presentation informative. All in all, I am glad you had fun at the event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violakat03 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 First of all Ty, thanks for the trip report. Second of all, while this may have been my first presentation at an enthusiast event and in front of such a large crowd, it was NOT the first presentation I`ve given. I`ve had to give several presentations at DAAP of my designs (and have a thesis presentation to give next Wednesday). Additionally, I even addressed the size of the images issue in my presentation, apologizing more than once. The IR is just not an ideal setting to give a presentation that is intensive on images like I was giving. I tried to make the best of what was available. I sincerely hope that you found my presentation informative. All in all, I am glad you had fun at the event. Do you have the full presentation available somewhere for the people who couldn't see it very well? If not, I know my husband took pictures of every single slide with his digital SLR. I loved your presentation. I didn't know much about Coney Island but having learned the history behind it, I'm planning on visiting it for the first time this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 At this point in time, that presentation is not available online yet. It may be available at some point in the near future, but I do not have a time table on when. Well, depending if I can get a full time job at an architecture firm after I graduate I intend to work at Coney on the weekends in my eighth season as a rider operator. If I can`t land a job right away (the school has not been able so far to place all the co-op students seeking placements for spring quarter!!), I might be working "full time" at Coney this summer until I can land a full time job in my profession. In other words, I will either be at Coney on weekends only, or working close to sixty hours a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomkatt7 Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 At this point in time, that presentation is not available online yet. It may be available at some point in the near future, but I do not have a time table on when. Well, depending if I can get a full time job at an architecture firm after I graduate I intend to work at Coney on the weekends in my eighth season as a rider operator. If I can`t land a job right away (the school has not been able so far to place all the co-op students seeking placements for spring quarter!!), I might be working "full time" at Coney this summer until I can land a full time job in my profession. In other words, I will either be at Coney on weekends only, or working close to sixty hours a week. It would be cool if you could get it online...For those of us that couldn't be there. I understand abut time constraints too though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigacoaster2k Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I loved your presentation. I didn't know much about Coney Island but having learned the history behind it, I'm planning on visiting it for the first time this season. I second that. I'm glad I'm not the only one from the area who has yet to visit Coney Island. I've always been fascinated with history in general, and I too will be making a trip (or more) out there this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Nemo Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Don't forget, the KIC Blues Party was the first to show you all the first pictures of the trains! Thanks for the TR, hope to see you on the 21st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TombraiderTy Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 First of all Ty, thanks for the trip report. Second of all, while this may have been my first presentation at an enthusiast event and in front of such a large crowd, it was NOT the first presentation I`ve given. I`ve had to give several presentations at DAAP of my designs (and have a thesis presentation to give next Wednesday). Additionally, I even addressed the size of the images issue in my presentation, apologizing more than once. The IR is just not an ideal setting to give a presentation that is intensive on images like I was giving. I tried to make the best of what was available. I sincerely hope that you found my presentation informative. All in all, I am glad you had fun at the event. Yes, I remember you mentioning the size of the images. International Restaurant is not the best place to have a slideshow presentation, but you did a good job with what you were given. The slideshow itself was very informative and interesting, I learned several new things. Thanks for presenting it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flightoffear1996 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Diamondback looks yellow in that picture. It is a shame that it snowed and you couldn't see Diamondback up close. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Very nice PTR i had been waiting for one and finally you delivered. Great Wolf Lodge looks very nice and very well upkept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kawana Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Hey!!! I'm in the large group waiting to be let in photo. I'm right in the middle with the white shoes. Thanks for the PTR. I did see you there but neglected to introduce myself as you were, it looked, in a conversation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TombraiderTy Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 ^That's too bad, I wish I had the opportunity to meet you. I didn't get the chance to introduce myself to many individuals, but I did see several members I met at past KICentral events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gms21089 Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 --quote--The final speaker was Don Helbig. Very informative and interesting to listen to, he told us some great information about the 2009 season at Kings Island. I am especially glad that he revealed the names of the 2009 shows that will be performed at the park.--unquote-- What were the names and themes to those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TombraiderTy Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 ^What I remember: Ice Show Returning Flashback: Totally 80's returning with some modifications The County Line-Up returning Marty's Party in Nickelodeon Theater Turn it Up on International Bandstand A new evening country show in Festhaus I'm sure some other members can provide you with the names I forgot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_heart_pki Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I love the last picture! It's really nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
standbyme Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Ty, Thanks for the trip report...it was a fun read. Sorry we didn't talk more...I kinda thought that at one point there would be some more free time...but it didn't turn out that way. See ya, J.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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