adamico2
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Posts posted by adamico2
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Here were the waits I saw last Sunday (weather was 70 and sunny):
Before 2 pm
Fire Hawk 15 min
Drop Tower 10 min
Adventure Express 10 min
Back Lot 5 min
Flight of Fear 5 min
Diamondback walk-on
Beast walk-on
Banshee walk-on
Racer walk-on
Vortex walk-on
Windseeker walk-on
After 2 pm
Beast 25 min
Diamondback 15 min
Banshee 5 min
Everything Else ???
My free fast lane really didn't make too much of a difference until mid afternoon.
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...a coworker places bearings on your desk, and all you can think of is B&M footers.
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^^My experience with labor laws was in New York. If anyone under 18 had a work day longer than 8.5 hours, he would require (2) half hour, unpaid breaks. Also, no one, of any age, could work for 6 consecutive hours without a half hour unpaid break. This would cause staffing issues at Seabreeze, late in the season. A few years ago the park started closing the entire water park an hour early, once colleges were back in session. In the mid-west, I'm sure the labor laws are a bit less ridiculous.
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I am going to write the park. Both days I was there, I visited guest relations. The first day was mainly just about finding more info on The Legend. The second day was about shutting the rides down early because I thought when they did it on Saturday, it was just a fluke. But when they did it again on Sunday, I just couldn't believe it and had to say something. And the thing is, I really enjoyed the park...It's really friggin' awesome. My only problem was with closing the rides down early...I've just never seen that before. I get it, it's just a Holiday World thing and I'll have to get over it if I ever visit there again...Which I will of course.
This practice is actually very common among family-owned parks.They close the lines early out of respect for employees' time. Also, some states' labor laws place restrictions on the number of consecutive hours minors can work, so actually sending employees home at closing time (or 30 minutes after, more likely) can ease the scheduling process, especially late in the season, when most college students are back in school. That being said, as Holiday World continues to move into "big park" territory, they may want to consider adjusting this policy, as people have come to expect being able to step in line one minute until park closing at the chain parks.
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Does anyone know if there will be Fury morning ERT for pass holders this weekend? The website only has date listings through August.
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FoF used to have bins at the back of the loading station; you would be able to grab your bags by reentering that area through an access hallway, now used for Fast Lane. A long time ago, I remember operators carrying bags through to the the unloading station.
Now, FoF, Back Lot, and the Bat all let you bring bags on the ride.
It is fairly common for people to sneak bags into the Firehawk line. They tend to be less anal about inspecting every person before they get in the line than on Banshee. By the time you get to the station, it would slow down operations if the operators had to argue with you to leave the line and get a locker.
I say, if you don't like the locker policy, do as I do; wear cargo shorts and drink water.
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1) I usually just leave my shirt, towel, and sandals on a lawn chair by the wave pool. (Lockers are also available near the front of the water park.
2) You'll have to look to someone else for lines this time of year, but here are some tips that will help regardless of the crowd levels.
- Get to the park at least 30 min. before the posted park opening, as the Christmas section will open early.
- If you don't mind walking a long distance, at a brisk pace, make the trek all the way back to Thunderbird first. (It's also the mildest of the 4 coasters.)
- Ride some other rides in the thanksgiving section, including Gobbler Getaway; they will have very short waits at this time. The Voyage is a very intense ride; you may want to save it for later in the day, since it's been so long since you've visited a park. Be sure not to miss it, though, as it's the best ride in the park. (Ride the Raven first to see how your body will respond.)
- The water park opens 1 hour after the dry park; you can use the back entrance to the water park, located in the Thanksgiving section.
- Ride Mammoth first, THEN Wildebeest to avoid LONG lines later in the day. The lines for the other slides will gradually increase throughout the day. Zoombabwe is really the only other "must-do" slide in the water park, but the other slides are fun as well.
3) You shouldn't have to wait more than about 10 minutes for any of the flat rides.
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Usually, everything but the water rides will operate during Haunt.
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FoF originally had 3 trains; the gutted train you spotted was probably the third.
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Holiday Roooooooooad!
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^What was your overall feeling about the whole process of getting there early, waiting to be walked back to Goliath, and that process of walking back as a group? I'm not an overly anxious person by nature, but sometimes really crowded groups of people pushing and shoving can really bother me. Was it a fairly decent process, or was it a pain in the rear? I'm going in a couple weeks, and I'm mostly concerned about getting there early enough to get a couple of rides in on Goliath before it gets really crowded. Thankfully, I'm not going on a Saturday, so hopefully that helps the crowds. Thank in advance for your feedback!
I actually got through the gate about 5 minutes after the walk-back, so I wasn't walking in a huge crowd. Even those on the first train of the day would have had to wait about an hour for a second ride.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I did not experience any line jumping for any ride during my visit. Goliath ensured this with the "boarding pass" tickets, but the other rides just had several large signs. Are bigger signs really the only things Cedar Point needs to prevent line jumping?
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Thank you to everyone who provided tips for conquering the park on a Saturday. They were very helpful.
I had been to the park before (about 5 years ago), but I've been itching to get back ever since. This trip, I was able to pick up 4 new credits: Goliath, X-flight, American Eagle (Red), and Little Dipper.
We pulled into the parking lot right at 9:30. There were no lines at the toll booths, but already a significant number of cars in the parking lot. It took about a half hour to get through the security and entrance lines. After a quick pit stop, we headed back to the already forming Goliath line.
Once Goliath opened (around 10:40), it was about 20 minutes before we got on. By the time we got off the ride, the line was already up to 75 minutes!
Next we hit up X-flight, Raging Bull, Viper, and Demon, each with less than a half hour wait. It took about 40 minutes to get through the AE (red) line, due to the double rides and really slow operations. While double rides would be an awesome service to offer guests on a slow day, I don't know who had the brilliant idea of doing this on a busy Saturday. That being said, I did enjoy riding it twice in the back seat.
Lunch at JB's BBQ was great. Service was quick and accurate. I ordered the pulled pork + brisket sandwich, which, with a side salad was $15, not bad at all.
Superman had a posted wait of 105 minutes, but we got on in 5, through the single rider line. I will say the platinum flash pass really screws with things, though. While on the station platform, I had to be regrouped twice due to partial rows of people with platinum wristbands. Not a big deal, but you could tell it was driving the seater nuts. He was doing a great job of filling each row with 4 people, but that effort was all for not when 2 people in a row would be staying on the train. I am all for the flash pass system, but the double ride thing is really an operations nightmare.
Next up was by far the longest wait of the day, for Batman. The posted time was 90 minutes, but it took 2 hours. A Cedar Fair crew could have pumped through this line in about an hour. I have never seen such a lethargic crew on any coaster ever. While I'm sure it's extremely demoralizing when only 2 people are assigned to work the ride, there is still no excuse for moving that slow. Six Flags desperately needs more operators on their platforms.
Oh, what I will do for a credit...We waited nearly an hour for the Little Dipper. At least the information boards were quite interesting.
We waited about a half hour for AE (blue), then an hour for Whizzer and headed out.
My friend gets sick on spinning rides, so we just stuck to the coasters. I was able to get on all of the flats during my last visit, so I didn't feel too bad about it.
Operations
Good: Demon, Viper
Acceptable: Superman, Raging Bull
Slow: X-Flight, Goliath, Whizzer
Abysmal: American Eagle, Batman
Friendliness
The Viper crew was friendly and energetic. All of the other employees in the park looked like they didn't want to be there. The weren't rude, just uninterested. This was a big change from my last visit, when most of the employees were very friendly, to the point where I couldn't believe I was at a Six Flags park.
Cleanliness
The park was fairly clean, especially for the crowds, but for a park that constantly advertises being the cleanest in the country, I expect to see a Holiday World or Disney level of cleanliness.
Ride Reviews
Goliath: I was a bit underwhelmed by the ride, to be honest. It was a good ride, but not a great one. My one ride was early in the morning, in the 5th seat from the back, so I'm sure a back seat ride late in the day would have been better. The first drop was great but expected. I was expecting El Toro-esque air time over single airtime hill on the ride, but it really only delivered strong floater/mild ejector air. Where the ride really shined was the inverted airtime hill. It's a very unique experience to be floating upside-down.
X-Flight: This is probably the weakest of the US wing coasters. It was a decent ride, but not all that exciting. The vests still lock on this one, which does detract from the experience a bit.
Raging Bull was quite a bit better than I remembered. I love the layout on this ride. It's a good ride that could be great, if they would just get rid of those pesky trims. B&M should really build some more of these hyper-twisters.
Viper, on the other hand was not quite as good as I remembered. It was still smooth as glass, but the airtime, while very much present, was not quite as strong as it was on my last visit. This could just be another case of morning ride syndrome.
Whizzer: This is such a great little ride, especially at dusk. I'm so glad the park decided to preserve it.
American Eagle: During my last visit, only Blue was open. I was not a fan of the ride. The outbound track was good, but the helix was slow and the return run was pointless. My opinion of Blue has not changed. Red, on the other hand, obliterated my expectations! The outbound run was good, with some nice pops of air. The helix was faster than Blue due to less trimming and a tighter radius. But it's the return run that makes the ride great, with several moments of crazy ejector air time, even with the trim after the helix. I can't imagine how insane a trim-free ride on this would be. AM Red is the best coaster in the park. Does anyone else have this same opinion? I know I'm in the minority, but I'm curious to see if I'm just completely nuts.
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My friend and i are making a trip to KI and CP Aug 12-15. We were going to drive from toronto to KI on the wednesday evening and ride and then come back on thursday morning, then we will head to cp. We both have platinum passes so we can come and go.
Can anyone recommend where to stay nearby? We just need a simple hotel, nothing fancy, but not a dump.
Also, I am a craft brewer and like to try local beers when i travel. Is there a pub or brewpub nearby with decent beer and food? Even a good beer distributor would be nice.
Any idea what crowds will be like midweek this time of year? I figure it often slows down later on and first thing in the morning is a good time to hit a few rides before things fill up.
The Brazenhead is only 5 minutes from the park and has 30 beers on tap! I've been meaning to check this place out, but somehow haven't got around to it yet.
Head to Diamondback for ERT; you'll be able to get in about 5 rides before the park opens, and Banshee will only have a 10-15 minute wait after about 2 pm. When the park opens, head to FoF THEN Firehawk. Next head to Backlot, as that line will start getting long around 11 am. Beast's line will be pretty short until around mid-afternoon. Be sure to get a night ride on it!
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^Thanks for the suggestions.
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I will be visiting the park on Saturday (I know, it'll be packed) and have a few questions:
1. Do they let people through the gates before the listed 10:30 opening time?
2. Which path is faster to get back to Goliath, East Or West?
3. Does the park give out free cups of water (like the Cedar Fair parks do)?
4. What are the best places to eat lunch?
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^FoF now allows you to keep bags at your feet (along with Backlot Stunt Coaster and the Bat).
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Even after a full day at Knoebels, with an ERT session at the end of the night, I still didn't feel like I had enough time there...and I never had to wait more than 15 minutes to ride anything.
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I will be visiting the park on Sunday with a non-enthusiast friend who does have a Platinum Pass. I know the walk-back for club members leaves from the marina gate at 8:50, but will the Marina gate open for pass holders at 9:00?
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^Merlin's Castle has a bunch of stalls.
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Five days until the event.
Time for some home cookin'.
$20 to all my teammates at Kings Island.
See you Sunday!
Thanks Andy!
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...when someone says Engineering Reliability Test and all you can think of is Exclusive Ride Time.
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2011
Voyage: Smoothness: 4/10; Awesomeness: 9/10
Legend: Smoothness: 7/10; Awesomeness: 9/10
Raven: Smoothness: 9/10; Awesomeness: 9/10
2014
Voyage: Smoothness: 6/10; Awesomeness: 10/10
Legend: Smoothness: 4/10; Awesomeness: 7/10
Raven: Smoothness: 7/10; Awesomeness: 9/10
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I just sent $30 your way, as well. Thanks for your continued generosity, year after year.
Thank you so much! I will make a donation to your page tomorrow morning.
- Jason
Thanks again, Jason!
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Time for Guess-the-Photo round 3!
Who's got the key to figuring this one out?
[attachment=0]zo_cfk2015_3.png[/attachment]
$20 to the first person who names the park and attraction.
I'm going to go ahead and guess that this is the Space Spiral at Cedar Point.
Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread
in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!
Posted
^^Dan, not Clint. Either way, it's worth watching.