standbyme's Blues Party PTR

[standbyme]

I will start out this (late) trip report with my usual disclaimer…there are several random crowd shots that I took…if you are like me, one of those people who does not like to have your picture taken or posted just PM me and I will have it down in a heartbeat…sorry in advance.

I was trying to think of a theme for my trip report…and being that I am a product of (now) classic TV, I tried to work that angle. The obvious TV theme I thought of was Gilligan’s Island…what with the “3 Hour Tour“ and “The weather started getting rough” lines in the theme song it sounded perfect…I even went so far as try to come up with some new lyrics…but lets see YOU try and work names like Boddah1994 & CoastersRZ into a song. After some trial and error I threw out that idea…this trip report’s late enough already.

I was thinking of what my report was going to be about…the stuff I thought was good…and the bad…so with that said, as the song goes “You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life”! (No, I didn’t ever watch that show.)

I can’t remember being so excited when the Blues Party was announced…another thing that I wanted to do in life was going to be knocked off of my list…see Kings Island in the wintertime! I, like many others wished for snow…but after reading The Interpreter’s warning that it could affect the tour, I changed my mind and was happy just to see the park in the dead of winter. When the snow hit I was devastated…it seems to be the way my luck with weather has been running lately. (Don’t get me started with my blistering warm 52-65 degree weather I just had in Florida!) I watched the forum very carefully to see what might change with the tours…and as I feared the news only got worse…but I was still optimistic that some kind of cool activities might happen…the thread seems to have been deleted now…but I do remember reading something to the affect of “We will have some surprises to make up for the tours being canceled”…so like I said I still had hopes that SOMETHING special was planned that I/we did not know about.

For me to come it takes both dedication…and some might say a low I.Q. I was leaving for vacation out of Indianapolis on Sunday morning…for me, it is a 212 mile trip to Kings Island. Long story short, I would have to either drive all the way to KI & back home…or have my family also drive to Indy separately to meet me, meaning we had 2 vehicles in Indy. I had to figure out if I was quite this crazy.

Luckily my choice became a lot simpler when I noticed that Avatar was leaving from Indy. (I had had the pleasure of meeting him at the last KIC Day.) A quick PM to him to see if it might be possible to tag along with him came back with a very quick and friendly “yes”! (Something in life WAS going right..)

Skip to Saturday morning…in route to Indy I called Avatar/Jesse to tell him I was on my way to our meeting spot. I was greeted with what I thought was an answering machine message that “If it was J.D. calling, the event had been cancelled”…when I started to leave a message, Jesse came on laughing…I knew this would be a fun trip!

I never thought it was possible to “know” someone just by their posts on a forum…but from the moment Jesse picked me up we had no problem with conversation…if we weren’t talking about KI, we were talking about this site…and quite a bit of Disney stuff…it was great having so much info at my disposal. The trip over seemed to fly by.

We arrived at the Great Wolf Lodge fairly early…about an hour or so early. We walked into the lodge and were greeted with the site of The Diamondback model…it’s the first time I had gotten to see it without it being behind glass.

I kinda thought we would be the first ones there…at least “regular” members…I was wrong…for the second time in a row pkiboy was already there. (He was 1st when I arrived at KIC Day this summer.) It wasn’t too long when I noticed that Ki Man arrived…I recognized him from his many PTR’s…which I have always enjoyed. I went over and introduced myself…he asked my screen name…and then comes the time I enjoy most at these KI get-togethers…usually whoever I am talking gets that “deer in the headlights” look…then they TRY and say they recognize your screen name! Zach attempted this…which I found amusing…I KNOW I don’t post that often, so I am never offended. Looking around to see who else I might know from the past I noticed KIfan73 standing around. I had met him last summer at KIC Day…I still laugh when I think of his joke then…he said he was just waiting for someone at the Q&A session to (stupidly) ask “what’s the next ride planned?”…I was wondering if it would happen today. (It didn’t)

The lobby was really bustling…and it wasn’t long before the Great Wolf staff herded us down a hallway into a quieter atmosphere. At this point in time no one had name tags on yet…so I really didn’t know a lot of the people there…maybe 5 or 6. Have you ever noticed the guy to girl ratio with our group? (I think there might be something to that old “girls mature faster” theory.) Anyway, after a few minutes of curiosity I went up to one lady to see who she might be…I was pleased to find out it was windshawne…someone who’s posts I like reading.

It wasn’t TOO long before some of the mods made their grand entrance…sorry for the photo quality…my flash did not go off.

We were quickly signed in…and got these nifty KIC “tattoos”. After that we were split into two groups and toured 2 different Great Wolf rooms…the excitement was unbearable. (I did not take any photos of the rooms…use your imagination.)

Since the lodge was so busy…and it WAS, we were not allowed to go into the waterpark area…just look at it through the window. I REALLY wish we had been allowed to go into the waterpark…can you imagine how creepy it would have been for their guests to have a group of (mostly) guys, fully clothed with cameras in there. I think we could have cleared the place out pretty quickly!

So, here’s my summation of the Great Wolf Lodge tour…why? I felt like I was on one of those free vacation packages that you are offered, IF you sit through a sales pitch first! Don’t get me wrong, the staff were VERY friendly…but in the end I would have liked to have had all of that “wasted” time to meet more KIC members. (Like I said…I plan on listing the good and the bad.)

After we all got our coats, it was finally time for the main course…the trek to the park! (And I won’t bother mentioning the condition of the “cleared” path…because everyone else already has.) I will say that seeing what we were allowed to walk on here only gave me hope that we MIGHT actually get some kind of a tour once we got to the park…and I am not usually an optimist.

(I try an get “artsy”.)

Ryan explains that there will be no Diamondback tour…not a shock…but I still hold out hope for maybe a little walk around the park.

We head up to the (former) International Restaurant through the back entrance…at least that’s a new first for me!

Sorry, the shot is blurry.

Usually, (as anyone who knows me) I am always at the very back of the crowd…but in this case the crowd “reversed on me” and I was actually about the first person into the IR…which meant (for the very first time) I got to stake out what I thought was the prime table right by the window in the center.

The first thing on a lot of people’s minds were getting some good shots of the snow-covered fountain area. All of the following photos are just random shots that I took out of the window…then I would turn around and take some shots of people signing their name tags. I am sorry that the quality is not very good in some of them…the lighting in the room was “messing with” my camera’s sensor…I knew I needed more light, but my camera (as far as I can tell) does not have a way to manually turn the flash on.

Like I mentioned, I was the first to claim the table I was at…but I was grateful that I was not alone long…I was soon joined by Rollercoast19/Brent & his bother G6Fanatic08/Daniel. I had briefly got to meet them at last summer’s KIC Day…I was glad that not only would I have someone to sit with…but someone who actually chose to sit with me when there were still so many open seats! I once came to one of these events…and ended up sitting alone…it was not a fun time.

The next…and last to join our table was Ki Man who I had met over at the Great Wolf Lodge earlier…I was glad that he also chose to sit at our table…although in his case I think it was more of a case of sitting at a table that had a great shot of the fountain! We had a good time talking about his Halloween Haunt experiences…and his 2 x 4 souvenir that he has at home.

An Extremely good shot.

It wasn’t long before it was announced that we would all start getting our food…in sections…I was SO glad it was Subway over Skyline…and I am not even a fan of Subway! (I will say that in the end, these were some of the best Subway sandwiches that I ever had.) While sitting at our table waiting for my turn, I noticed that Avatar/Jesse seemed to always be up at the table…after awhile my curiosity got the best of me and I went up to see why he was still up at the table. It was a big surprise to see that he was serving the sandwiches! As I have read in other TR’s…and got from him afterward, it was not planned…he just jumped in to help when he saw that there was a need…just like he did when he knew I could use a ride. He is truly an asset to this community…and I’m sure the same is true for whenever he is out there in the “real world”.

Once everyone had their food, we were treated to presentation/Q&A sessions with KI’s Nick Licastro, KIC’s CoastersRZ & finally Don Helbig. I am always amazed that the park takes the trouble to have some of their “higher-ups“ do these presentations for us…they know we are fans, so they already have us won over! (I think most parks would give you someone like Lenny, the second cousin of the guy who USED to be in charge of guest Relations.) I am deeply grateful that the park respects us enough that they take the time and effort to do this. (Can you hear the other shoe about to drop?!) What I don’t really care about these presentations is that we get too many wishy-washy answers…I feel like I’m watching a Presidential debate. I have learned that the park is not going to actually tell you the EXACT truth until THEY are ready. I do not usually bother asking any questions because the things I really want to know they would/could not give a “real” answer…unless we happen to be there the day it was scheduled to be revealed. (For example I would liked to have asked “Is there any ride that will not be returning this year…and I wouldn’t even have wanted a specific name…but even if there was, the answer I would have got was something like “We’re always thinking of ways to improve the park…so who knows?”

With that said, thanks once again to all of the speakers…your efforts are appreciated…with exception maybe from a few parent’s in the crowd who seemed to either have a glazed look in their eyes or about to be falling asleep!

The sun begins to set on our day.

I must say, the entire time that we were listening to the speeches I was still was wondering what possibly might be one of the “fun surprises” that was hinted at when the tours were canceled. I knew no kind of tours were going to happen now due to the sun setting fast…so what could the surprise be? After the presentations, some Diamondback posters were given out in a seemingly rushed trivia Q&A…I felt like Ralphy in “A Christmas Story” turning his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring. I hate to say it…but I did think to myself “THAT was the fun surprise?” I am not ungrateful…or at least I don’t think I am…I do appreciate EVERYTHING this site does…but, just like the park has been criticized by us in the past of “overselling” something I think this “surprises” statement fell into that category. As far as I can remember, all of the 3 presentations were scheduled from the start…so the only thing added when the tour was cancelled was the 5 minute trivia game…I may take some flack for actually posting my thoughts…but as I said, I planned on posting the good & the bad.

A final shot of G6Fanatic08 & Rollercoast19...

…and Ki Man before we all prepared to leave.

I passed Ryan near the “shoe hall” and thanked him for all of his efforts…he always seems like he is just as happy at these things as we are.

After I got my shoes on I headed down the steps to stand in line for the trek back to Great Wolf…it was there that I finally had a chance to have a good talk with iChase and his mom & friend. This was his mom’s first park event…I joked with his mom not to judge these events on this particular one…I promised her that there is usually a lot more going on, her son is not driving all those miles just to sit in a room! She laughed and said something to the affect that she was wondering if that was the case. After a few minutes of talking the bottom door was opened by Don Helbig…he very graciously thanked each and every one of us for coming as we exited. A classy way to end the evening.

This is the last shot I took…not great, but it gives you an idea that it was dark out. By the way, I did not look at my watch when we left…how long did the event actually run? I passed PhantomTheater…in his shorts on the way back…how he did that on such a cold evening I will never know!

As I was heading back to the park I didn’t know where Avatar was…it wasn’t long before I received a call from him…”I’m inside The Great Wolf…I’ve got hot chocolate for you!”…could anyone ask for more?! I went inside to find him setting by the fireplace with windshawne & Beast Man….it was the first time that I had gotten to say “hi” to him at one of these events. We hung around in the lobby for a little while…me mostly listening. It was now time for Jesse & I’s long trip back to Indy…but as before we didn’t run out of things to discuss!

In the end I did get to meet/see again quite a few members, including Kawana, a very nice guy, Cory Butcher…who is always friendly, TombraiderTy, who holds the record for the person I run into most at these things…but we really didn’t get to talk much this time…Gordon Bombay/Ronny, who is also always nice…if I left off anyone’s names that I spoke to, I’m sorry…it was just a little hectic last week and I am having trouble remembering everything this week!

I will say that even though I met quite a few people, it was still a drop in the bucket compared to how many people were there. (What was the official count?) I would have liked to have bumped into members like Indianapolisman, XGatorhead8904, Violakat03, Derek 9312...and countless more…and we won’t even get into The Interpreter…that’s kind of like my own private “Where’s Waldo” game when I go.

So…in conclusion I would just like to say a big thanks to all of the Kings Island staff for allowing this event, all of the Kings Island Central team for making it happen, Brent, Daniel & Zach for sitting with me…you guys helped make this a memorable trip…and finally Jesse for making it possible for me to be there…because if it weren’t for your ride I’m not sure if I could have made it.

P.S. All of my photos are pretty cropped…so If anyone would like the full version of a shot they are in just PM your e-mail & I will send you a copy.

P.P.S. Sorry about the length…and thanks for reading…if you did!

[kittenpooh]

Thank you so much for the pictures and insight on your trip. It helps those of us that were not there to get a look at what we missed! thanks

[I_heart_pki]

Great pictures!!!!!

[keiko_coaster]

hah my head got in so many pictures great ptr!!

[XGatorHead 8904]

I would have liked to have bumped into members like Indianapolisman, XGatorhead8904, Violakat03, Derek 9312...and countless more…and we won’t even get into The Interpreter…that’s kind of like my own private “Where’s Waldo” game when I go.

Great TR, and thanks for the comment about wanting to meet me and others (and I just had to laugh about the Terpy comment...great analogy with "Where's Waldo"!) I always enjoy meeting people from here, I feel like we all know a lot about each other just from posting on here. Hopefully next time...

But standbyme, I feel like I have to remind you of what you said in my Beach TR:

P.S. If this is how your luck runs, please stay away from me at the KIC Blues Party!

Apparently I did a pretty good job of honoring your request! But you did get me in one of your pictures, while I was waiting to get my nametag. Blue shirt, black hat with yellow lettering, looking like my eyes are closed, that would be me!

[standbyme]

But standbyme, I feel like I have to remind you of what you said in my Beach TR:

P.S. If this is how your luck runs, please stay away from me at the KIC Blues Party!

I had forgotten about that incident...between your luck and mine lately this party didn't have a prayer!

[gigacoaster2k]

hah my head got in so many pictures great ptr!!

haha, same. And I'm smiling in every one.

[violakat03]

I will say that even though I met quite a few people, it was still a drop in the bucket compared to how many people were there. (What was the official count?) I would have liked to have bumped into members like Indianapolisman, XGatorhead8904, Violakat03, Derek 9312...and countless more…and we won't even get into The Interpreter…that's kind of like my own private "Where's Waldo" game when I go.

I felt that way too - I only met a couple people and didn't get a chance to say hi to many people I wished that I had. Maybe during the tour we'll get a little more face time between the listen times.

By the way, you did manage to snag me in a picture. I'm in the grey Coaster Freak hoodie with the long brown hair.

[Avatar]

Standbyme – One of the best qualities about you is your honesty and the realistic way you view life in general. That quality comes out in your post, conversations and your unique perspective trip reports. If you have ever asked someone for an honest opinion, you know most find it hard to express their negative opinion in fear of hurting your feelings, that then leaves little room for constructive criticism so that we may improve. If anyone wants an honest opinion trust me J.D. will give that to you in a very respectable way, keep it up J.D. that quality has been disappearing in a political correct world.

I had forgotten about that answering machine call thanks for the laugh, your sigh on the other end was worth it though.

I am glad you asked for a ride otherwise the trip over and back would have been a bit boring and besides I truly enjoyed our conversations and as you said there were no quite stretches. Often members complain after an event that they did not get to visit with other members longer, I am glad we had that time to get to know each other better and to share out thoughts about KI, KICentral, KIExtreme, Disney and oh yeah the “real world”.

I enjoyed your report and surprised to see it posted so soon after your trip. You took good pictures and I enjoyed seeing so many members in yours.

I hope your trip south went well and would be interested in seeing a honest report about that, I think, LOL.

BTW feel free to ask for a ride anytime, your friend Jesse

[Ki Man]

Awesome pics, J.D.! I liked how mine came out! It was really nice meeting you, and a pleasure to hang out with you during the event! I hope to see you soon.

-Zach

[windshawne]

It was great meeting you as well!! I enjoyed the pics..I brought my camera and meant to take more, but I got so wrapped up in that walk through the snow that I forgot a lot of it. It was pretty refreshing after sweltering in the lodge. I tried to get a pic of the iced up trees, but the beauty of it just sidetracked me.

Great report!

[Rollercoast19]

It was fun to hang out with you J.D. My brother and I had a great time!

[iChase]

Great PTR J.D.! I enjoy your delivery in your writing. It was great to see you, I always look forward to talking to you. You're a laid back guy so it just makes it better.

and we won’t even get into The Interpreter…that’s kind of like my own private “Where’s Waldo” game when I go.

Me too! I always speculate as to who the man behind the Terp is.

[Kawana]

^^^ Make that three.

I enjoyed meeting you, and talking to you on the way back from the event. I hope that picture I took of you turned out, and I hope Disney was fun. I actually thought the same thing about the GWL tour, but I guess it's better than nothing, right? Hopefully the 21st will placate those who were disappointed, myself included.

[standbyme]

If you have ever asked someone for an honest opinion, you know most find it hard to express their negative opinion in fear of hurting your feelings, that then leaves little room for constructive criticism so that we may improve.

Thanks for the comments...I must say I TRY to be honest...sometimes I follow the "If you can't say anything nice..." rule...so sometimes if I DON'T post it is because I disagree with a topic...but just don't want to say anything...and (like you said) possibly hurt someone's feelings...but in this case, if I am saying a lot of nice things, I feel I have the right to critisize what I personally didn't like...as long as I feel it is both honest and constructive. (At least in my opinion.)

I will not be showing up on the 21st...so have a good time.

Great PTR J.D.! I enjoy your delivery in your writing.

I have always been a believer in the old Steve Martin "Ramblin ramblin ramblin" kind of delivery.

I hope that picture I took of you turned out.

Ha Ha! That is the best line i've read in a while!