The special access section of the parking lot is extremely accommodating. Therefore trams aren't necessary.

You apparently have not had a relative who can walk a little ways, but not very well or far. Who won't let you buy her a wheelchair until she was near death. Who was too proud to be seen being wheeled into or out of the park.

I hope you never do.

I did.

I wish I still did.

I was forced into a wheel chair a few years ago. Walking from the parking lot to the rental was rough. I was not permanently disabled, so I did not have a placard to park in handicapped parking. By the time we walked to the rental place, I was exhausted and in far more pain than I expected.

The scariest ride at Kings Island will forever be my daughter pushing me around in a wheel chair.

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The special access section of the parking lot is extremely accommodating. Therefore trams aren't necessary.

You apparently have not had a relative who can walk a little ways, but not very well or far. Who won't let you buy her a wheelchair until she was near death. Who was too proud to be seen being wheeled into or out of the park.

I hope you never do.

I did.

I wish I still did.

I am not trying to attack what you went through, I was merely saying that the trams are not a necessity. As the park decided several years back when they were removed.

And lost part of its patrons.

That was a Paramount decision.

And not a very good one.

As a kid the tram ride was a part of the experience....you were guests being limo'd to the front gate where you were greeted to "have a wonderful day". The tram car ride was the beginning and the ending to a wonderful day.

I am not trying to attack what you went through, I was merely saying that the trams are not a necessity. As the park decided several years back when they were removed.

Yet Hershey, Busch Gardens, Dollywood, Knoebels, and several Six Flags think Differently. It seems only Viacom and Cedar Fair found them unnecessary.

If I'm not mistaken, Knott's Berry Farm might have had a tram system too, it seems like it took you under the highway to the gate. Is that true and is it gone as well?

EDIT:

I've grown used to "budgeting in" the walk time from deep in the parking lot over the last decade.

The special access section of the parking lot is extremely accommodating. Therefore trams aren't necessary.

You apparently have not had a relative who can walk a little ways, but not very well or far. Who won't let you buy her a wheelchair until she was near death. Who was too proud to be seen being wheeled into or out of the park.

I hope you never do.

I did.

I wish I still did.

I wish my parents would consent to a little help. There's so much at the park that they would really enjoy, but always decline the invitation due to walking limitations, but the idea of a wheelchair is appalling to them, for no reason other than pride.

I may be wrong, but.......from the looks of Kings Island's latest post on Facebook, i'm thinking that one new thing for 2014 will be The Racers having a backwards train again. I have never experienced the Backwards Racer, but I would love to when and if it does return!

^Why do you think that post means that we'll get backwards Racer again?

Diamondbacker, just curious.

(Here's the link to that post: https://www.facebook.com/visitkingsisland/posts/10152670321858368:0)

Supposedly we will be getting something new, the posting is about The Racers, and there have been so many posts pretty much everywhere about people wanting them to have one side go backwards again, that's all, idk, maybe just wishful thinking.

Unless Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc explicitly states that their trains are suitable for backward operation, a backward Racer will not return. At least not in Ohio.

EDIT: Disregard this post

Unless Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc explicitly states that their trains are suitable for backward operation, a backward Racer will not return. At least not in Ohio.

KI has stated that they could have continued running it backwards, but that they chose not to.

Not many are qualified to comment on how that particular recommendation from PTC may have affected the park's obligations under Ohio law. I'm certainly not.

^^That sure didn't prevent the park from doing that for over 2 decades. Why is it such an issue now vs the time when they actually ran them backwards?

EDIT: malem answered my question for me.

Unless Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc explicitly states that their trains are suitable for backward operation, a backward Racer will not return. At least not in Ohio.

KI has stated that they could have continued running it backwards, but that they chose not to.

Not many are qualified to comment on how that particular recommendation from PTC affected the park's obligations under Ohio law. I'm certainly not.

Well, I stand corrected. Looks like it was simply a decision made by the park, as a reliable source has informed me. At any rate, I still don't see how people are concluding that Racer will run backward again from a single innocuous post about The Racer. But that's a whole different story.

Just let The Racer run, it's fun either way, dunno what the big gripe is, I enjoy the ride, direction does not matter, you still have great speed and airtime hills with a great race.

Understanding the reasons they do not, I would just be thrilled if the Red and Blue trains of The Racer actually "raced" all the time.

I'm not really griping, was just thinking that maybe, just maybe that is one of the new things for 2014.

Just let The Racer run, it's fun either way, dunno what the big gripe is, I enjoy the ride, direction does not matter, you still have great speed and airtime hills with a great race.

There is something about watching where you've been, rather than where your going to alters the expierence. The lines for the forward Racer were always a little longer/more crowded, but I personally always preferred the backwards Racer. All though, truth be told, with having it run both ways, I almost always rode one side, then got on the other side. Don't find the need to do that quit as often. One possible reason for having both run forward is that on slower days, they can just shut down one side of the The Racer and nobody is really missing out on anything. If one of the trains ran backwards, it would be harder to shut down one side (presumably the Backwards side) and explain that to your customer that wanted that experience vs the other. I'm sure it saves the park money having both sides of the ride run the same direction.

I actually remember days with light staffing they would sometimes run Backwards for about half the day than Frontwards have the day. I do however miss the Backwards side. I can't believe its been gone 6 years already.

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