pianojohn

You know what the most fun part of the ride will be? When they drop the ropes at 10am to start the running of the bulls, and most of the guests will pass out by the time they realize this coaster is as far as possible from the front gate!! I always love watching people run for MF or TTD only to stop after a few steps and try to catch their breath. So, now is the time to start training!! Oh, the whole thing looks awesome and a lot of fun! So now I know what they are building!! What a difference a week makes!

Now is it just me, or does it really PISS you off when a park builds what could be the world's best coaster (El Toro) and then runs it with the least amount of capacity? As a guest, I feel like the park thinks they did us a favor by building this coaster and they can run it anyway they like. So much for Six Flags trying to turn the corner on their horrible customer service. Say what you want to about Cedar Fair, but at least they run their coasters and other rides as efficiently and up to capacity as possible.

I am not sure if this was posted yet, but here are the details for Season Passes from PKI soon to be KI....or Cedar Fair KI....not quite sure! EDIT: Whoops! They are not for sale on the website yet, but here are the details I found anyway. 2007 Season Passes On Sale Saturday, Aug. 26 KINGS ISLAND, Ohio— Mark your calendars, park fans! Saturday, Aug. 26 marks the first day that Paramount's Kings Island guests can purchase their 2007 season passes. The new passes are valid for the remainder of the 2006 season – including free Nick or Treat and FearFest – as well as all of the 2007 public operating season. A 2007 adult season pass for Paramount's Kings Island costs $74.95 and is available for guests under 62 years old as well as those 48” and taller. A junior/senior pass (under 48” or ages 62+) is priced at $44.95, a savings of $20 from the 2006 lowest pass price. Children under 3 are free. The brand-new Cedar Fair Maxx Pass provides access to all 12 Cedar Fair amusement parks across the country, including both Cedar Point and Geauga Lake located in Ohio. This pass is priced at $125 for both adults and children. The Maxx Pass can be used at Paramount's Kings Island immediately and is valid at all Cedar Fair amusement parks during the 2007 season. All renewing 2006 season pass holders will receive FREE season-long parking, provided they purchase their passes and have photo IDs taken at the park by October 29. Renewing pass holders should bring their 2006 passes with them to the park when they have their photo IDs taken. For new pass holders, season-long parking is available for $34.95 per pass. Parking is valid at Paramount's Kings Island only. Season passes are available online at www.pki.com, at the park, or by phone at 1-800-288-0808 beginning August 26.

So you spent a whole weekend with Tommy and James and you're still straight? Looks like you guys had fun!

$15.7 million? Are you kidding me? I saw this park and it is worth MAYBE $1/2 million tops! I don't know what these owners think they are sitting on, but it is not worth nearly that much money!

Well, I have been working in the theme park industry for 20 years as an entertainer and now vocal coach. Spent 5 years at Cedar Point, 7 at Busch Gardens VA, and I now live in Orlando. Through my work, I also got to spend 3 weeks in Autsralia, 2 months in Osaka, and about 6 months in Roanoke, VA doing theatre. Within about a 3 hour radius were PKD, BGW, Dollywood, and Carowinds. And living now in Orlando, a coaster is only a 10 minute drive from me, and they are open 365 days a year. I would say I am very lucky!

I did a similar trip this July but missed out on Stricker's Grove since they did not open until 2pm on July 4th. I did a Skyline Chili stop when driving from Camden Park to PKI. In hindsight, I should have stayed at Camden or just bypassed PKI altogether! However, I did get one of the last rides on SOB before the incident. I will be in traction for weeks! Glad you had fun!!

Mine is a picture I took of myself in the front seat of Anaconda at Paramount's Kings Dominion. It turned out so well that I had to share it!!

Yes, Sheikra is on a pretty small footprint. However, they make the best use of it by utilizing a steep lift hill (45 degrees), the coaster crosses over itself several times, and the station is right in the middle of the whole structure. This way you don't waste a lot of space or track. I am just hoping for a splashdown somewhere along the way.

Hmm, I am going to have to disagree with you on that. Best capacity for all of the rides is the train. And as far as coasters, Gemini really handles a lot of people per hour. I don't think they use all 6 trains, but even with 4 you still get on in no time. Add to this Gemini holds 30 people per train while Dragster does 18 per train. According to rcdb.com, capacity for Dragster is 1500 riders per hour and for Gemini 3300 riders per hour.

You might be able to make reservations once you get in the park. I know they do that for all of the restaurants at City Walk, so it is worth a try. I think Guest Relations is just to the right once you enter the gates. Of course, I say save your money and eat at Latin Quarter at City Walk!

I have flown to both Japan and Australia (for work) but I rode coasters while I was there. As far as driving, I drove from Roanoke, VA to Six Flags America (about 3 1/2 hours) just to ride Superman since that was the one credit I did not have. I ended up spending about an hour in the park and then drove back. So 7 hours in the car for 4 rides on Superman. I also did a whirlwind tour when I lived in NYC in 1998. I drove from Allentown to Lancaster to ride Sky Princess. Then over to Mechanicsburg for the Cyclone, and finally to Clementon, NJ for the Jack Rabbit and back to NYC. Total miles that day: 338 miles. And that's not counting the 2 hours I got lost trying to find Williams Grove!

Oh, I almost forgot: Most unique flavors of Popcorn: Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySeas. By far!! And yes, BGE does have some amazing desserts and BBQ. And the new location for the BBQ place at BGA right next to Sheikra is genius!

I'm with Robb on this one. I also used to LOVE Mythos, but after two very lackluster meals, I will be skipping it from now on. It used to be great when the park first opened, and Confisco's also had a unique menu (grilled fruit and chicken salad) but has since resorted to your usual burgers and pizza stuff. Anyway, here are my thoughts: For best views during dining, I prefer Sharks at Sea World Orlando. And their food is actually pretty good too! For best dinner buffet, you MUST give it to BOMA at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Unique but always very flavorful. If you go to PKI, you MUST try the Blueberry Ice Cream! I still callit Smurf Ice Cream although the Smurfs have been gone for decades. The Cinnamon Rolls at the front of Dollywood are HUGE! Happy eating! PS If the Food Network needs to film someone sampling these foods, I am in!!

I thought they still had the Freeway (Fast Pass) system at the park, but according to the Cedar Point website: Since Cedar Point has more rides than any other park, and is capable of accommodating more guests per hour than any other park in the world, it was decided that the Freeway system was not necessary. Elimination of Freeway also results in a level playing field where all guests are treated equally and no one receives special privileges. Wow, I was not aware they got rid of this. Here are some of my tips: If Mantis is still only running one train (they were last year I believe), the line can be long and slow moving. Like everyone else said, RUN to TTD then run over to MF for an early ride before it gets a long line. If you see more than one train on Mantis, then ride it later. If not, get that credit out of the way too. I really like the Midway Market restaurant for several reasons. First, it's all you can eat, and if you make it your one big meal, you should be good the rest of the day with just snacks. It is also sit down and air conditioned. And finally, if I remember it correctly, it is a little cheaper to eat lunch there than dinner. (lunch is 11-3 dinner is 3-close) The website for Cedar Point has tons of info, so you may want to spend an hour or so looking it over. If you have other questions that aren't answered there, then ask away! I will be there on Friday Sept 1st! Woo hoo!

I was just there a few days ago, and lines for Sheikra were 30-40 minutes. This isn't bad, but for some strange reason, they don't open the single rider line anymore. I watched train after train with empty seats and found it ridiculous not to utilize this line. Hopefully, they will come to their senses. Then again, Apollo's Chariot used to have a single rider line that has not been used for years now. It just does not make sense to me! But have fun anyway!

I would love to get a set of those collector maps from any of the Six Flags parks who sell them. If someone is willing to pick me up a set, please PM me! Thanks....I still have a few SF America maps, but I would just like to get the whole set at once. Thanks again!

Well, as someone who HAS ridden it in 2001, I found it OK. It is tall, long, and fast, but not that exciting. The chain lift seemed to take forever, and the first drop just sort of happens. I am glad it is reopening, but from someone who has ridden it, it is not the end-all-be-all of giga coasters. And the trains (in my opinion) are hideoous! March 2001 March 2001

OK, I made it through all three levels and got my picture voucher. Here are a couple of observations about the game: It seems the object is to destroy the trestle so no one will bother Yeti. Hmm....I would think that a guest riding EE would not want a damged/destroyed track. Seems like a strange way to get people excited about the ride. There were a few weird things like trapping the live mouse and feeding it to the eagle. Not exactly Disney (if only Mickey knew his cousin was making a nice meal for Sam the Eagle!!) But, I got my voucher!!

You should totally come back to Magic...but I do recommend buying those Flashypassy things, it made our day so less stressful. and DCA is here now so come visit. Go to Knott's for Perilous and Xcelerator...BOOK IT NOW! HURRY! Will do! And c'mon down to Orlando to see our little rinky dink carnival! (Just kidding...been at the Mouse since 1999!)

Do you have to play the whole game in order to get the photo? And how long will that take?? Thanks!

Awesome pics and TR! I guess I need to get to LA ASAP since the last time I was there was 2000 and: There was no X, Deja Vu, Scream, or Tatsu at SFMM No Xcelerator or Silver Bullet at Knott's And NO DCA at all!!!

It has been SO hot down here lately, but it seems like you had fun! I will be sweating with the oldies at BGA tomorrow!! (I still wanna call it BGT)

As a cast member at WDW, I would have to say October and January-February are the best times to visit. I like October since it is not as hot as the summer and crowds are pretty thin. Check and see when the extra events occur (Mickey's Not So Scary and HHN) and either avoid the crowds or go to the parks on those days if you want to do the add on events. I did the WDW event last year and had a blast! Even though it was crowded, most of the people were familes with kids, so the lines were pretty short. Have fun! LOVE the extra costumes and abundance of characters for photo ops! Mickey's in 2005

I'd have to say BALDER since I have never been on it or at the park, and I keep hearing rave reviews about it.