XGatorHead 8904 Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 g) They can't reopen the International Restaurant due to ADA restrictions. They do not have an elevator in place for guests to use to get to the restaurant. They would have to build an elevator. In addition, they use it for meetings and trainings, etc. How can they use it for Breakfast With The Characters if it's not ADA accessible? There is an elevator located behind Guest Relations that takes people up to IR. To access it you have to go through the backstage area, and when I worked at the park years ago it was quite common for guests to be taken up there in the elevator. I don't work in the park regularly any more, but I imagine that they would still use that for guests needing it during Breakfast With the Characters. They would have to. I'm definitely no expert in ADA compliance, but I would think that this would meet the regulations (and because I'm no expert I could be wrong, especially with the stricter regulations coming which I had not heard about until now). Even though you need an associate with you to access it, it's still there and available for use. Back on the subject of the ADA, the subject that is most open for debate is what exactly is defined by "reasonable accommodations." And as an aside, I`m still surprised that most water parks have slide towers that have stairs to get to the top, and almost none of them have any sort of elevator or lift. Granted, some of those slides may not be safe for people with disabilities to enjoy. I've wondered about water parks myself. A good friend of mine is in a wheelchair, and he loves going to parks but he doesn't really get to do much at waterparks. That's why when I first heard about Wildebeest, I emailed him the information. When I finally got to ride it this year, I immediately thought about him and how he could finally enjoy a waterslide with his family. Kudos to HW for adding that and Mammoth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted November 9, 2011 Share Posted November 9, 2011 I think some of the issue with some disability guests and water slides especially those needing equipment for mobility is the fact is how do the get the equipment back to the guest when they get to the end of the attraction to include doing it in a timely manner. Both Disney water parks actually have some water-slides that do have elevators. I also hope we see more parks offering the stair less water attraction like Holiday World. That type of system is great for leaving towel shoes or to be able to meet back up with your party after riding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldieButGoodie Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Cold Fruit Cart! Not every patron likes frozen drops of sugar milk, sugar strands, salty popcorn, or sugary blue ice cream on a hot day. How about an ice cold orange, banana, or apple? Snowman - my son says the same thing. He had a frozen banana at Cedar Point in the water park, but apparently that's the only place to get them. How hard would it be to put those into one of the myriad carts around the park. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldieButGoodie Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Lots of folks are saying better quality food - I agree that it's often old/stale. I'd like it 'efficiently cooked to order'. Some of the fast food chains do it in 3 minutes or less. I hate waiting for long lines only to get old/stale/cold food and pay $8 for a burger. I like what they have when it's fresh, but hate waiting so long and it's dramatically overpriced (at least for pizza and burgers). I'd also like to see the souvenir cup (like they had at Carowinds) for the adult beverage crowd. It only saved a buck or so on refills, but when markup is 500%, seems like there could be a bargain without risking drunks all over the park. I suppose that comes from the Sky Commander incident, but that was some time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rcfreak339 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 I just think current rides need aesthetic face lifts....Obviously, Racer needs some sort of improvement. To see it in it's current condition is rather embarrassing considering how historic and great the ride is. Even if they just repaint it all white it would still look 10x better. Oh, take away the brake run walls...they serve ZERO purpose besides being 120 degrees during the summer. Then rides like Invertigo and Zeyphr could all use a fresh coat of paint. It will happen eventually, but I bet painting Racer is a pretty big undertaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIfan1980 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 It has been posted by others, whom I'd trust, that painting Racer might Lead down a path the park is reluctant to take 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rcfreak339 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 ^Which I don't understand..I know there is no doubt that painting The Racer is an investment but seriously....having one of the most iconic roller coasters look like it's current state is pretty pathetic. I believe Paramount ruined the ride, not Cedar Fair. If anything I believe Cedar Fair has helped a little trying to at least transform it back to it's original state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunderbeast1968 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 This is only my dream. Bring back some classic flat rides 1. Rotor 2. Beyern Curve 3.Cuddle up/ Tumble bug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoaster Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Some classic flats, great tasting food, and paint The Racer. Could we finally get a sit down wait staff restaurant at Kings Island. Didn't fully understand a few post ago what would happen if the park would paint The Racer? Just a wondering? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIfan1980 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 I have no personal knowledge with regard to Racer, but paints of the past in some cases contained toxic materials that today are not allowed to be used. Such paint might lead to expensive remediation if it exists on a ride being repainted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rcfreak339 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 ^But The Racer has been repainted in the past....I believe sometime in the early 2000's / late 1990's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 First, it wasn't that recently. And, standards required for certain types of paint preparation/removal have changed drastically since then. When Carowinds faced repainting Thunder Road, they didn't. They stripped it, with disastrous results. When El Toro opened, a money pressed Six Flags, faced with a similar problem, spray painted parts of Rolling Thunder. Many different factors have led to wooden coasters that were not frequently repainted now facing tremendously large expenses in repainting. Think about it, when was the last repainting of a major wooden coaster? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benred23 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 ....Which would explain why most of the Wooden Coasters you see nowadays are not Painted and Just, Wooden! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Several reasons: Pressure treated engineered wood. Which Racer (and the old Thunder Road) is not. Labor costs to paint are far, far more expensive than they once were. Environmental factors. More natural appearance. Some wood coasters were stained, like Phoenix and Beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldieButGoodie Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Repaving the parking lot would be extremely expensive. Have you ever got a quote to black top just a driveway! Take out that stupid WIngs buffet and ad a sit down restraunt/sport bar. That could bring in tons of money. Get rid of that waste of space family dryer right outside of WWC. Im not going to go get wet then pay 5 to stand in a oversided blow drier. A sports bar like the one at CP in the Wings building would be awesome, I think that's a *great* idea. Especially if the food pricing were a little more reasonable. I'm thinking a kids menu like they have at CP where kids can eat for uder $4. I also loved the souvenir glass for us 'adult beverage' drinkers at Carowinds. It knocked a couple of bucks off the price of a draft if you refilled. They charge the high prices to control consumption as much as make money, but refills at $5.99 are a happy medium (the plastic 'glass' was 9.99 if memory serves). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigacoaster2k Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 --Do something, anything with SOB. Gives the company a black eye just sitting there idle. Agreed. I always, ALWAYS get heckled for saying this, but I think the park needs to do something, anything with both SOB and Crypt before they start adding any more new attractions. Making improvements to existing areas of a park makes it look a lot cleaner than adding new attractions; it seems to me like WindSeeker and Dinosaurs Alive are distractions from existing rides that exhausted their last breath a long time ago (although I do love WindSeeker!). Tom(76257) made the point to me that perhaps some of the money made from Dinosaurs Alive will go toward finding a permanent solution for those two rides. I certainly hope that is the case, but we will just have to wait and see. I agree with others who would like more healthy food selections. I also would like to see more fresh fruits and vegetables added as sides at any place to eat. Buffalo Wild Wings offers a carrot and celery boat with fat free ranch dressing as a substitute side with any meal. That would taste amazing on a hot day not to mention veggies and fruits provide much needed hydration. Many of us don't do well with greasy or spicy food combined with coasters on a hot day. I'd love to walk up somewhere at KI and get a banana or a cup of sliced oranges. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarPointer Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Most of the places that have desserts have fruit salads (you might have to ask, sometimes they don't seem to put them out?), strawberries with and without whipped cream (you might have to ask for it without whipped cream, they only make a few that way per tray so they might have to go get one from the back), and a few places (Outer Hanks, Jukebox, etc) have salads. Doesn't one of the pizza places (Outback Shack?) have wraps? Considering how dear to my heart ( ) KI food is, I'd really like to see them have a head chef like Canada's Wonderland (which has amazing food, I might add). I can understand not having a sit-down restaurant (How many one-time visitors would want to have an expensive sit-down meal that's, say, Applebee's quality, especially when they're already paying to be in the park), but I think having more indoor places would really help. By the way, check out CW's chef's blog: http://parkchef.typepad.com/ . Makes me wish KI had the same kind of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoaster Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Just a sit down wait staff cafe something in the a.c. would be great. Wow didn't realize about The Racer and how hard the paint job would be indeed. Could The Racer see its days numbered? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I very much doubt that. Racer will get painted. Maybe even sooner than many expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Kinda Guy Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 ^Which I don't understand..I know there is no doubt that painting The Racer is an investment but seriously....having one of the most iconic roller coasters look like it's current state is pretty pathetic... Iconic to who? Enthusiasts? Because it's certainly not "iconic" to the general public. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoaster Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 I thought really in coaster history The Racer at Kings Island returned the wooden coaster to parks? Or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Goodness gracious I had to switch from the tablet to the laptop so I could type this up. 1. I would love to see just some minor theming being added. Just here and there, the park could really use it. 2. Maybe put some more fans and misters in the queue lines like on Firehawk, those things really help out in the summer. 3. Give The Racer some TLC and make it look like it did in 1972. 4. Adventure Express, fix the theming and lighting in the last tunnel, at least one of the tiki men have been either out of light, or have one arm broken. 5. Offer more perks to Platinum/Gold pass holders, such as discounted pay per rides, maybe like a 5 dollar Thursday or something. Even have discounts in certain restaurants. 6. Theme the train, CP's train is a ride in itself. If I think of more I will post them later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rcfreak339 Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 ^Which I don't understand..I know there is no doubt that painting The Racer is an investment but seriously....having one of the most iconic roller coasters look like it's current state is pretty pathetic... Iconic to who? Enthusiasts? Because it's certainly not "iconic" to the general public. It gave the 2nd most rides at the park this year....It certainly may not stand out among the newer and bigger attractions, but The Racer (even to the GP) is still considered a Kings Island classic. Kings Island just wouldn't be the same without it and I know I'm not the only one that thinks that. First, it wasn't that recently. And, standards required for certain types of paint preparation/removal have changed drastically since then. When Carowinds faced repainting Thunder Road, they didn't. They stripped it, with disastrous results. When El Toro opened, a money pressed Six Flags, faced with a similar problem, spray painted parts of Rolling Thunder. Many different factors have led to wooden coasters that were not frequently repainted now facing tremendously large expenses in repainting. Think about it, when was the last repainting of a major wooden coaster? Terpy, do you know when it was repainted? I just took an estimated guess off older photographs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoaster Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 That is a great thought, to do some minor fixes, like fix Adventure Express, train ride make it a great ride, with theming and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopan Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 regarding The Racer needing paint- they gave the FD a paint job last year and its one of the least riden coasters(granted it needed it BADLY) so youd think whatever the cost may be,expecially for its aniversery, that they could spluge a bit :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveTheSmurfRide Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I think all of the improvements that I'm most interested in have been expressed here already. 1. Parking lot needing paved (whoever said it wasn't necessary must not have driven on it for the past 5 years or so). 2. Bring back the trams (though I doubt they'll ever do this again, the price of parking is so high they should at least escort you to the general area of your vehicle). 3. Better dining options. 4. Paint The Racer and turn one side backwards (history be darned, the backward side was fun). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomTheater Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Unless PTC changes there requirements for wooden coaster train operations, Racer cannot legally run backwords in Ohio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedarPointer Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Couldn't they buy trains from a manufacturer that allows their trains to run backwards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Couldn't they buy trains from a manufacturer that allows their trains to run backwards? And who manufactured the coaster? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WOF Guy Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I recall PTC saying they would be willing to build cars with backward facing seats. They just voiced their disapproval of parks retrofitting trains that were built to face forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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