DBru

Just stop?

Interesting. These look like the original Vekoma vests and not the thinner, softer ones found on Lech Coaster. I was hoping Vekoma had changed their design to be more comfortable. The Lech Coaster restraints are great!

^Friday didn’t seem that busy but the coasters were still pulling long lines. Today, even the midways were packed. 10,500 guests really isn’t a busy day for Cedar Point, but with half the rides closed and no indoor entertainment, there’s not enough going on to spread out the crowds. Today was especially rough because Steel Vengeance didn’t open with the park, Raptor had a fairly major issue and had to evac guests from the brake run around 1pm, Valravn was being temperamental and had only given 400 rides by 2pm, and Gatekeeper kept going down for wind. The red and blue Intamins, however? Running flawlessly. I left a little after 2 so I can’t comment on how things went after that. Each coaster is skipping every other row except for Gatekeeper (all seats available), Valravn (3 center seats unavailable in each row) and Raptor, which is doing the weird alternating 2 inside-2 outside seating like on Orion. Not sure why they’re not loading every row with a full party like Banshee. Again, I think the park is doing a relatively great job with Covid procedures and the employees I encountered were all friendly and efficient. The coasters that are open are top-notch. But things are quite the shit show right now. I still had fun, but it’s certainly not the ideal experience.

Hate that some guests were injured, but glad to see this wasn’t the major mechanical failure it was first thought to be.

Other major closures include Wicked Twister, Maxair, and Snake River Falls. Along with most other flats.

^^Cedar Point is a bit of an operational show show right now with half the rides closed and 1-3 hour lines even after handing out “boarding passes” for Steel Vengeance, Millennium, and Maverick. Even ADA lines were backed up down the respective staircases of each coaster. Kings Island seems to be off to a much smoother start so it makes sense that they would reimplement Fast Lane Plus, but I definitely don’t see that working at Cedar Point any time soon. With that being said, my friends and I still had a wonderful time at the park today despite high temps, long lines, and lots of closures. It’s simply a special place to be (with some truly kickass coasters) and I’m just glad I got the chance to visit while I’m on this side of the country. On a negative note, they’ve demolished the trees around Red Garter Saloon and Panda Express and it has absolutely ruined the area. Does anyone know when this happened and/or why?

I’ll be there today. Looks like I’m missing you again by a day, Zach! Lol

Well fuq. I suppose I can switch SFStL to Sunday and SDC to Monday, it’ll just add an hour or 2 to the drive to Pigeon Forge. Thanks for the update, guys! Hopefully I booked refundable rooms...lol

Great report, Zach! We just missed each other. Regarding the isolated feeling of the Beast: you do see Orion as you approach the first brake shed, but that’s the only point that I noticed it. I’m not in love with this change, but it doesn’t ruin the ride or anything. Hopefully at night it won’t make a difference.

^^Keep in mind that some days are already full and there are plenty of people waiting and hoping for spots to open up.

Andy, we both know the answer to this question. I’ve just decided to get over it. The KI B&M rattle is here to stay, but I’m gonna love the coasters anyway! What happens in Poland...

Kings Island on July 4th was my first park visit post-lockdown and I was super impressed with the operations and Covid procedures. Everyone seemed to be wearing masks properly and respecting each others’ distance in lines. All coasters were loading every-other row with the exception of Banshee (every row was loaded with 1-4 people in the same party) and Orion (every row was loaded with a max of 2 people in the same party). Many crew members were still getting the hang of their job functions but for the most part everyone was super friendly and moving quickly! Here are some ride thoughts: Orion: Meh. It’s fun. I was admittedly disappointed when this coaster was announced because it seems likely Kings Island will be the last park in the country to build a giga for a very long time, and this certainly looked like a big step down from Fury on paper. Well, after riding twice—once in the front and once in the back— I can confirm that (IMO) it’s also a big step down from Fury in practice. I heard many people around the park, including my 19 year old cousin and his friend who’ve probably ridden 20 coasters, make comments like, “It’s just a shorter Diamondback.” I’m aware that Orion is actually a hundred feet or so longer than Diamondback, but I’m just relaying some hearsay. I love big coasters—of course I’ll ride Orion every visit if the wait is reasonable—but I can’t help but to think there was a more interesting way for Kings Island to spend $30 million. And I absolutely PROMISE you: there is no ejector airtime. Mystic Timbers: Holy crap! Did someone turn up the juice on this thing this season? Cuz it’s running like CRAZY! (Something I’ve never said about a GCI before.) So fast, so smooth, and so out-of-control. The ratio of in-your-seat vs. out-of-your-seat on this thing has to be close to 50/50. I got 3 rides Saturday on Mystic and it very well may have catapulted to my top spot in the park. So much fun! Banshee: Holy crap again! I swear something is happening at Kings Island this season because I couldn’t believe how fast and intense my rides on Banshee were. And that first drop in the back right seat? More please. Diamondback: Rattly as hell, but dang this ride is so fun! Wonderful sustained airtime over every hill, even with the annoyingly hard-grabbing trims. Still my favorite B&M in the park! The Beast: Unfortunately, my favorite seat (second from back) is blocked off this season, but I still enjoyed my super bumpy, super intense ride in the very back row. That long, suspenseful drop into the tunneled helix will forever be one of the best moments on any coaster. A couple annoyances: -Despite being the only day of the season that a night ride was possible (10pm closing for July 4th), the line for The Beast was cut off with no warning at 9:20pm, which was quite frustrating for many people who had chosen this date to attend for that specific reason. -Additionally, at the end of the night, despite ride capacity being cut to 50% and holding a 30 minute line, the back row of Mystic Timbers was unavailable so the ride supervisor could take turns riding with his coworkers. I thought this was in poor taste (and as a former Cedar Fair ride supervisor, obviously against park policy). But whatever. -While there are lots of hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the park, most were empty or already broken after 2 days of operation. Those cheap, plastic, 22-ounce manual dispensers are not going to hold up for 10-15,000 guests every day. Overall, it was an absolutely wonderful day at one of my favorite parks. After wearing a mask for a couple hours, it was easy to forget I even had one on. I would totally recommend a visit to Kings Island over other parks in the area at this point in time. Also, I happened to meet Canobie Coaster, who is a super nice guy, and we had a few good conversations! Oh! And Orion was my 500th official credit. So that was cool.

Well I plan on hitting WOF (only new park of the trip), SDC, SFStL, Dollywood, and SFOG...and Carowinds if it opens. Already booked some wicked sweet hotel deals that may come back to bite me. We’ll see. Lol

I unfortunately had a similar experience at Holiday World today, to the point where some guy was literally breathing on my neck and I had to turn around and politely ask him to give us some space. I was frankly shocked at how little most people seemed to care about distancing...or any other kind of etiquette. Regardless, I had a super fun day introducing my 21-month-old nephew to amusement rides! He’s definitely a thrill junkie in the making!

I have a trip across the Midwest planned at the end of the month and I’m intending to hit SFStL on Monday, August 3rd. With Worlds of Fun cutting Mondays-Wednesday’s and SFOG cutting Thursdays, I’m getting a little worried... Fingers crossed!

I’ve already booked my hotel for the last weekend of the month. Fingers crossed this is the end of the hour reductions!

When’s the last time Deluge actually operated?

Wow. I saw a video of a friend's birthday celebration in Alabama the other night: a dance club packed should-to-shoulder, people screaming their lungs out, not a mask in sight. I guess stuff like this is happening everywhere. It's unbelievable.

I actually loved the Terminator attraction and how it integrated live actors and animatronics with a screen-based show. I was disappointed when its closure was announced, but this really seems like a worth replacement! I’m super excited to hear live actors are still involved. Has anyone had a chance to attend one of the preview shows?

Yes, thank you for the breakdown, BDG! That was awesome and it’s nice to finally have some understanding of what we’re looking at here.

Looks like a great coaster for your park! My only thoughts: maybe consider adding a tunnel on the pre-lift turn, as well as on the final turn of the ride. Could be a relatively inexpensive way to heighten the experience!

With Kings Island reportedly opening up second reservations to passholders on Monday, it’ll be interesting to see if Cedar Point will allow people to reserve two days at a time. While CP has a ton of passholders, it’s also more of a destination park, so I’d love to have the option.

I had no idea the originally planned coasters are the ones that ended up at Tripsdrill. That’s a fun piece of trivia! Looks like this is going to end up working out better for everyone! I love the look of these medium-sized Vekoma inverts with lapbars only. More please!

Mammoth with a group of 4 sounds like a dream come true! And also deadly.

^Is there a way to get the Platinum Pass discount for the resorts when booking online?