Hoeter Posted July 10, 2014 Posted July 10, 2014 From Kings Island's Facebook page... Grant Pedersen of Lexington, Ky scored the one millionth ride on our new record-breaking Banshee roller coaster this evening. He was awarded a Banshee gift package that included a poster, picture frame, T-shirt, glass cube, coffee mug, tote bag, commemorative limited edition pin set, and a large sign proclaiming him as the coaster's one millionth rider. Congratulations Grant! 18 Quote
KI FANATIC 37 Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 Congrats! Can't believe its already given one million rides! 5 Quote
Hoeter Posted July 11, 2014 Author Posted July 11, 2014 The Racer, I believe from what Don said, is poised to give out its 100 millionth ride this season as well. And I almost went up after work for a bit... 7 Quote
DonHelbig Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 Racer, I believe from what Don said, is poised to give out its 100 millionth ride this season as well. And I almost went up after work for a bit... The Racer will give its 100-millionth ride this season, Diamondback will give its 10-millionth, and there is a chance The Beast could give its 50-millionth. 21 Quote
Hoeter Posted July 11, 2014 Author Posted July 11, 2014 Racer, I believe from what Don said, is poised to give out its 100 millionth ride this season as well. And I almost went up after work for a bit... The Racer will give its 100-millionth ride this season, Diamondback will give its 10-millionth, and there is a chance The Beast could give its 50-millionth. Don, Comparing Banshee to 2009 when Diamondback opened...how is Banshee set to stack up this year against Diamondback in terms of riders its opening year? I'm almost positive Diamondback gave its millionth ride in 2009 but recall it being 2 million or more? 4 Quote
DonHelbig Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 Racer, I believe from what Don said, is poised to give out its 100 millionth ride this season as well. And I almost went up after work for a bit... The Racer will give its 100-millionth ride this season, Diamondback will give its 10-millionth, and there is a chance The Beast could give its 50-millionth. Don- how is Banshee set to stack up this year against Diamondback in terms of riders? I believe Diamondback got it's millionth in 2009 but thought it was closer to two mil? Diamondback finished its first year at 1.8 million riders. It gave its 1-millionth ride July 20, 2009. 10 Quote
Hoeter Posted July 11, 2014 Author Posted July 11, 2014 Ten days ahead of Diamondback...I really hope you all hit 2 million this year as Banshee is an amazing ride. 10 Quote
OleShawn Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 I have always wondered do they count the ones who can't fit or get scared and don't ride. Who does the actually counting? 1 Quote
Hoeter Posted July 11, 2014 Author Posted July 11, 2014 They have a counter on their operator panel (similar to Diamondback) that counts empty seats. Which leads me to this...how do you all keep track of the rides on, for example The Beast and The Racer? I assume you all have a log someplace of riders every year from 1972 or 1979 to now? 4 Quote
shark6495 Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 side note, when a ride changes names and or parks, do the ride counts continue? So for example, Top Gun/Flight Deck/Bat, do they all have their individual counts or is one continuous count? Also, Firehawk, does it count riders in its history or just at the current park? It would be interesting to see what are the next big milestones for each ride and the expected hit for each milestone. 2 Quote
jcgoble3 Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 I would assume that the count persists through name changes. I'm not sure about when a ride is moved, though. 2 Quote
malem Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 ^^ The list of rider counts is on the park's website: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/media-center/ride-record-book The page says that it is current as of the beginning of the 2013 season, but it was at least partially updated afterwards since it has Diamondback's 2013 record season noted. Rider counts continue even when a ride is renamed. The Bat's record season was in its inaugural year of 1993 as Top Gun. Firehawk's total doesn't seem to include X-Flight's riders from SFWoA/GL; it's considered a new ride at KI. 1 Quote
DonHelbig Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 side note, when a ride changes names and or parks, do the ride counts continue? So for example, Top Gun/Flight Deck/Bat, do they all have their individual counts or is one continuous count? Also, Firehawk, does it count riders in its history or just at the current park? It would be interesting to see what are the next big milestones for each ride and the expected hit for each milestone. Rides with name changes are one continuous count. Firehawk's ride count is Kings Island only. 8 Quote
OleShawn Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 I think Don should be the 100,000,000 rider on The Racer. 12 Quote
DonHelbig Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 I think Don should be the 100,000,000 rider on The Racer. There would be a lot of unhappy guests if we cut the line to make that arrangement, and rightfully so. 16 Quote
Nick_Plummer Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 I would give up my spot in line any time for Don. He really deserves the 100,000,000th ride 3 Quote
malem Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 The 100,000,000th Racer rider should get to ride with Don. 20 Quote
Hoeter Posted July 11, 2014 Author Posted July 11, 2014 ^ I second that. Who better to ride with than the guy whose been on it 12,000 times and counting. Well deserving for Don to take part in that ride. For the 50 millionth ride on The Beast it would also be fitting if Carl Eichelman was in attendance and participated. 8 Quote
KI FANATIC 37 Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 Don do you have a ride count for Banshee? 1 Quote
kblanken Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 How do you determine exactly who is the 1,000,000th Racer rider? Supposing the previous count is 999,991 or whatever, and all thirty (or fifteen) gates are opened at once... Quote
Oldiesmann Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 You count left (load) to right (unload), front to back. That way there's no confusion. Quote
Adventuro Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 They count empty seats, each time before dispatching a train. Some rides utilize turnstiles, or clickers. Quote
Nick_Plummer Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 What if the 100,000,000th rider was an empty seat? Quote
DonHelbig Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 What if the 100,000,000th rider was an empty seat? If there is an empty seat on a train, then it gets recorded as 31 riders. 1 Quote
thegajone Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 Don, what's your split between Red and Blue Racer? Do you have a preference? And why does Blue always seem to win!?! 1 Quote
shark6495 Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 Im betting in the his free time, Don greases the wheels up a bit more on the Blue side. Then always bets a Skyline 3 way on which one will win.... In my mind, Don is becoming the Chuck Norris of Kings Island... 3 Quote
Thrill_Biscuit Posted July 11, 2014 Posted July 11, 2014 ^ We already had a Don/Chuck comparison going way back during Diamondback's construction: The man: "... can chew some wood and some nails and spit out a roller coaster.... can solve a Rubik's Cube with a single flick of the wrist.... can open two new bottles of ketchup with one hand.... can cook Foie Gras with a microwave.... conquered Mt. Everest ...in shorts." Somewhere in this thread: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/14571-Diamondback-construction-thread-updated-3-19-09/page-98 1 Quote
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