haux

I'm not really a railfan, but innercity railway fascinates me. Like light rail or commuter rail. But I think that's just because they're quick, quiet and clean modes of transportation and cut back on traffic. I rode Denver's light rail a few times when I lived there, and I'm really excited that Phoenix is getting a 10-mile system opening in December. As for the national rail network, eh. Right now I live the closest I've lived to railroad tracks, so when I go on walks, I pass by. It's nearly always Norfolk Southern here. I don't know the engines.

I wonder if they'll put some sort of ground on the lift hill now so another strike doesn't wipe out the whole thing again.

I don't think it's that. It's interesting because Kings Island needs a real standout attraction. It's still promoting The Beast as the park's main attraction. That's not something you should be doing for nearly 30 years. This will most likely be the biggest, most expensive attraction the park has ever seen. I think that's pretty interesting.

You got it. Robb gave you a wiener. Thanks for deleting my three(?) posts. I have no idea what was happening during the site downtime. Congrats, CoasterLover. Now give us the info, Robb!

That's gotta be it. I must say, this was rather annoying. Interesting, but annoying. The site goes down, then it slows to a crawl. Then it goes down AGAIN (as I'm typing this reply). I only understood that "forellenhof" was a clue. Can you give away the rest now? What was on Page 2? What was with the fish? Was it that "trout" in German is "forelle"?

Quick! Someone make it in NoLimits! The bunny hops are interesting. Airtime is something GCIs are really missing. Sure, they're crazy and out of control and have some laterals, but they really miss out when it comes to good, consistent airtime. And the company is doing something different. I expected GCI to stick with twisters, but this is sort of an out and back/twister combination.

Thread of the year. I just realized that saying "Have a magic day" makes sense considering the park is Six Flags Magic Mountain. I didn't understand it at first, but I'm kind of an idiot.

So now there's a mustang that could be a logo? I'm still confused about the infrared. Does anyone know if there's a heat-seeking missile called the mustang? Maybe it's some sort of crazy space mustang. Or the park confused infrared with radar, thinking infrared can track the speed of something (you know, since this coaster will be fast, and a radar gun can track that speed). Arrrrg. I just want the announcement.

Can you get pictures of it before it had the glitch? I can't recreate this, and I want to.

Lots of snakes can sense heat. That's infrared.

They park cars on the grass on the causeway, but that's when the entire parking lot is full including the grass just outside the parking lot. Sometimes they park people in the employee lot by the dorms. Today was fairly crowded. The Cleveland Clinic was done today, so maybe we won't see such crowded Sundays. That's a big group.

Any idea why? One of my friends works there and said they were expecting 60,000 people today. Was anyone there? It's a Saturday in July, so I imagine it was crowded. But was there a big group there? Last Sunday, the Cleveland Clinic was there, and it was the busiest Sunday of the season. Another group that large or larger on a Saturday certainly could make it extremely crowded.

It's me sitting backward in Maverick's test about a week before it opened.

I'll say 249 feet. And it'll be the second drop!

That is just fantastic. Get him that shirt!

Your heart delivers oxygen to your brain via blood vessels. Her heart stopped, and her brain stopped getting oxygen. So, yes, she did not have enough oxygen because of the ride.

Great idea there, sport. Ask a theme park forum about your job instead of your human resources department.

Are you going to let us download the actual ride so we can criticize it? From the video, it's pretty simple. You should do custom supports. Why does the block brake have two sections? Also, it appears to only be able to run two trains, so you don't need the block brake. Some transitions look bad, especially the entrance to the hammerhead turnaround and the exit of the helix at the end.

That's pretty cool. Now I'm starting to think it'll be themed toward The Beast. Or have some sort of relation to The Beast. Running out in the forest and desert and screaming? That's gotta be some sort of monster.

I found about it on this site just maybe four days before we went. I didn't see an announcement, so I think it's sort of on the down-low. But it's great.

I bet nerds buy it for way more than the starting bids!

You're a great poster. I thought it was really smooth last season. But this season it's got more bumps and shakes in it. The first half has more shuffle in it, but I think the second half still runs really well. That's all. Care to comment?

After a day at Holiday World, Doug and I drove to Kings Island. We got there about noon, and since it was Saturday, it was busy. We got in with our Platinum Passes and started at the Eiffel Tower. The upper level was open, and this was the first time I'd been on that level. The view is great, and we got a good look at the construction of the new coaster. We got four passes with our season passes to get through the Gold Pass lines. These passes are good for Backlot Stunt Coaster, Drop Tower, Wild Thornberrys River Adventure and Delirium. So we started in the Speed Lane on Backlot Stunt Coaster. This is a fun coaster with some good, quick turns and decent theming. I like it, though I wouldn't wait in a long line for it. We went to the next ride on our Gold Pass Speed Lane tickets: Drop Tower. It was rotating on the way up, which was the first time I'd ever seen it do that. I've ridden this ride a few times, and it'd never once rotated. The rotation is cool because you can see the entire park and the valley. This ride is pretty good. I'm used to shorter drop rides, so after falling awhile, I expect to hit the brakes. Not on Drop Tower. I was surprised at the amount of speed we got and how long the actual free fall is. It's amazing. Waiting in line is fun too. A gust of wind blows people's hats off, and it felt good in the heat. Wild Thornberrys River Adventure was the next ticket, so we went there. It was down, but they said we could get in line when it's running again even though our passes gave us a 15-minute window. While waiting, we talked to Maggie at the entrance. She was fun. Doug went to a food stand and got a wristband and a drink for $6.99. With a Platinum Pass, you get a wristband that lets you get drinks for the rest of the day for free after the initial $6.99. It's great. We went back to the water ride and waited. It was down about an hour, but we just hung out there. Eventually it opened, and we got to the station. It's a fun ride. Some of the water runs a little low, so we bottomed out and ran on the wheels during part of the ride. The last drop is OK, but you barely get wet. The wettest part of the ride is when an elephant shoots water on the boat. We went to the Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad next. It's a nice, relaxing ride that passes by a ravine and stops at the water park. We stayed on the train while people exited and boarded at the water park. On the way back, we passed the other train. We went to The Crypt next. I had ridden this when it was Tomb Raider, and I wasn't really impressed with it then. The line was barely out of the inside part, so we waited. It was only about 30 minutes, and it's a good wait because of the air conditioning. The theming on the inside is a little odd, but it's better than just gutting all the Tomb Raider theming and leaving it. I wasn't too impressed again. There are no lighting, water or fog effects on the ride, and it only flips upside-down twice. It's over really quickly. Time for lunch! We went to International Street and stopped at Skyline Chili. I got two Coney Dogs, which are chili cheese dogs. I didn't have my wristband for the drink yet, and they didn't have them here. So they charged me for my meal and let me keep my drink. They told me to go to LaRosa's pizza across the fountains and get a wristband, so I did. Excellent. The Coney Dogs were great. After eating, we went to Adventure Express. I like this ride, but it's even better at night. It uses the terrain really well, it speeds through tunnels and turns down the side of a hill. I like it. Then we went to Racer and rode the former backward side, Red Racer. I shook my fist at Cedar Fair for making both sides forward. Red Racer is running really well. It feels like the entire track was retracked. There's not a bump on the ride. I loved it. We went to Vortex, which we skipped earlier because the line was pretty long. I really like Vortex. It's got nice forces and is pretty intense. The corkscrews are probably 70 feet off the ground, so it's a bit of a change from other Arrow coasters where the corkscrews are at ground level. All three trains were running, so the wait wasn't too bad. We stopped and got more free drinks. We walked to the other side of the park to ride Flight Deck. This is my second-favorite suspended coaster behind Big Bad Wolf. It's intense and picks up a lot of speed toward the end. We stopped at Drop Tower again. Man, I love this drop ride. It goes so insanely fast. Then we went to Racer to ride Blue Racer. I noticed a quarter glued to a rail before entering the station. Blue Racer is running terribly! Red Racer got the care it needed, but Blue Racer wasn't touched. It was not an enjoyable ride. Hopefully retracking Blue Racer is next season's project. We walked around the park a little. While walking by Vortex's batwing, we noticed a trash can with smoke coming out of it. I told a sweep, who found a supervisor to put it out. They poured a cooler of water in it and left to get a fire extinguisher. We walked over to Avatar, but the line was long, so we skipped it. We walked around by the fountains and went back up the Eiffel Tower. We went to Invertigo, but the line was long, so we skipped it. Doug wanted a night ride on Beast, and I wanted a night ride on Adventure Express, so we didn't wait at Invertigo. We went to Adventure Express and rode three times in a row. It was nearly night, and it was great. There's a tunnel in the ride that is totally dark, and it's got a surprising turn in it. I really like this coaster. Then we went to Beast. The line was down to the ramp leading up to the station, though a couple of queues in the station were full. They shut the ride down for the nightly fireworks show, which was a little annoying. They must have moved the location of the fireworks because I rode this in 2004 while the fireworks were going off. When they ended, the ride started, and we went to the back row. It was running better than the last time I rode it, though it still doesn't really impress me. Riding in the dark is fun because some tunnels are pitch black, and it runs faster. But the brakes are horrible. The brake in the shed is the worst. The finale is still pretty good and extremely intense. Doug had never ridden it at night, so he was satisfied. It was about 11 p.m., and the park had been closed for an hour. We left, and I got a final picture of the Eiffel Tower. While in the parking lot, we noticed that the Kings Island sign wasn't all lit up. Kings Island is an excellent park, and I wouldn't mind if it was my home park. It's got a feeling all its own, and the local flavors of Skyline Chili and LaRosa's Pizza are great. The sign isn't all working. The end. The Eiffel Tower looks great at night. Flight Deck speeds up. Oh boy. Soon-to-be B&M goodness! This wristband is $6.99, and you get drinks the entire day with it. So these guys came to put it out. Someone threw a lit cigarette into the trash can, and it started smoking. I like Vortex. This quarter is glued to a rail in line for Racer. The Skyline Chili Coney Dogs are great. Woo hoo. Trains are fun. These passes for season passholders are great. While we waited for it to open, we talked to Maggie. Wild Thornberrys River Adventure was broken down. Drop Tower is really great. I love the length of the freefall. Backlot Stunt Coaster has some quick turns. We started at the Eiffel Tower.

My friend Doug and I went to Holiday World, and we got there about 11 a.m. It was pretty busy. The main parking lot was full, so cars were being parked in the Legend Lot. I'd never been in this parking lot before. It's a gravel lot with parking lines painted on the gravel. We walked through a tunnel under the road and went into the park. The first thing we did was stop at a Pepsi Oasis and grab free drinks. I got water. Then we headed to Voyage. Voyage is my favorite coaster of all time. It's completely out of control, has airtime on every single hill, lots of laterals and never lets up. I was excited to ride it again. The wait was only a couple of trains for the back seat. I figured most of the crowds were in the water park. We boarded, and off we went. Voyage is running a little rougher this season, but it doesn't take much away from the ride. The first drop is my favorite on a wooden coaster because it's big and steep, and the airtime is fantastic. The turnaround and two 90-degree-banked turns are great. The tunnels are amazing. The first tunnel is so far underground, it was a lot cooler in it than the outside air. That was fun going through. After Voyage, we went to Legend. Legend is my No. 2 wooden coaster because I really like lateral G's. There was a slight wait, but it wasn't bad. There are lots of fans in the station to keep cool. Legend is running pretty well. The laterals seem a bit stronger than I remembered, and you really have to fight against them. I love it. We went to Frightful Falls next. Its entrance sign has a drawing of a fat alligator or some weird monster on it. The line was fairly long, but we waited since it's in the shade. That's a good idea to have the water ride's line in the shade. As we were waiting, it broke down. The ride hosts were looking at something in the front of a boat, and they stopped the conveyor belt in the station. Two maintenance workers showed up and looked at the boats. After awhile, they were able to get the ride running again. It's a fun water ride, though it's extremely short. It starts off in a tunnel, does a few twists and turns then goes down the only drop, which goes under Legend's lift hill. The splash doesn't get riders wet, but it does get you a little cool. We went to Raven next. The wait was about 15 minutes. While in the queue just before entering the station, we saw a ton of trash and coins and gum on the roof. Disgusting. We rode in the back seat. Raven's fun. It's fast and has good airtime in the fifth drop. It was running really well. I wanted to ride some other rides, so we went to Star Spangled Carousel. It's new for this year. It was OK. The horses aren't made of wood, but that doesn't really bug me. It's a carousel, so there's not much else to it. We were hungry, so we went to The Alamo. It's Mexican food, so I got a burrito and taco meal, which was about $5. It was pretty good. After eating, we went to Eagles Flight, the flying scooter. We waited one cycle. I hopped in a vehicle with a crazy bird on it. I couldn't get it to snap. I almost got it a few times. I saw the front cables get a little bit of slack in them, but I think it's run a little fast. That and I haven't snapped a flying scooter since riding Kings Island's in 2004, so I didn't remember exactly how to do it. But these rides are pretty fun anyway. We went back to Voyage. It's still amazing. Then we went to Gobbler Getaway. That's a fun ride, and it has a grandmother in the queue. Gobbler Getaway is a Sally ride themed to saving turkeys from Thanksgiving. Or something. I never pay much attention to the story because I'm busy getting a higher score than Doug. The end of the ride has a family lifting a lid off a plate for Thanksgiving, only it's pizza. There's a turkey hiding under the table. It's a fun ride. We went to Turkey Whirl, the open-top Tilt-a-Whirl. We got a few good spins, but we never really got more than two in a row. We rode Voyage again. Next was HallowSwings, the Wave Swinger. It's just like any other ride like this, except the Halloween theming is really well done. I liked it. We went to Liberty Launch next. Double Shots are really fun. This one's great because it has a single-rider line, and Doug and I got in line there. The best part of this ride is the second launch up. You completely fly out of your seat. It's great. We went to the oldest ride in the park, The Freedom Train. This is the only original attraction from Santa Claus Land. On its sign, I saw a spider eating a bee. Weird. There's also a giant Mother Goose outside the station. Some people were painting the station while the ride was operating. It's a neat ride. The engine looks really good. There are lots of nursery rhyme characters along the path, and the person driving the train talks about them as we pass by. But the microphone or speakers weren't working well, so we only heard a little bit. We went to Raven again, where a little sign on the control panel told the ride hosts that it's hot. It was a pretty hot and muggy day. Raven's fun. Then we went to Scarecrow Srambler. This is a pretty old-style ride. It's started with a hand crank and stopped with a hand brake. It's fun and has a pretty long cycle. I was a little dizzy when I got off, but I think that's because I was focusing on one area, so everything else seemed to be moving around faster. I rode Legend, and Doug sat out. I went to the back seat. I love this freaking ride. The first drop is fantastic, and the laterals are the best. We went to Paul Revere's Midnight Ride, the Spider, next. It's run pretty well and has good, quick drops. I really enjoyed it. When they were unloading, we stopped at the top, which was a little uncomfortable. The seats are tilted back, and we were at a strange angle. Doug took my picture on a Raven cut-out. It has three seats in that row! Get it right, Holiday World. Then we went to Reindeer Games because we're losers. It's a Moser Rides Spring Ride. It's fun, for what it is. We walked in a gift shop and looked around. The one we went in sells toy guns and things, which seems odd for an amusement park. I went to Lewis and Clark Trail, and Doug sat out. When I got to my car, the ride host told me I had to be paired with someone, but she said I could ride anyway. Odd. I don't know why they need to pair people. We rode Liberty Launch again. We ended up in the same seats we had the last time we rode. We then went to Gobblery Getaway, where I beat Doug again. We rode Voyage and Raven. Raven went down for maintenance right before we got on. A maintenance worker came into the station, looked at a car, then walked up the lift hill. On his walk down, he kicked the rails on the left side. The ride hosts said a rider said something was loose, so we figured he thought a board came loose. The mechanic came back down and said he didn't see anything. He rode in the front seat. He gave the all-clear, and we rode. We rode Bench: The Ride. We went back to Voyage and decided to wait to get a night ride, or at least as near to night as possible. The park closed at 8:30. While waiting, I just hopped in line. I didn't want to wait when the line was so short. The queue downstairs was open, but none of it was full, so I took pictures as the train roared by. This ride was one of the greatest I'd ever been on. It's flying so fast, and the block brake isn't in use this season. Last season it was on, and it took a little bit away from the ride. But it's running at full speed now, and it's amazing. I exited and went back to the entrance. A ride host was down there waiting to close the line. He let us in and then closed it, so we were the last people in line. We got the last train of the night. I was in the front row of the last car, and Doug was a car in front of me. It was the greatest ride experience I've ever had. It wasn't completely dark, but it was really close. The ride goes out into the woods, and there's only one light out there on the block brake. Every tunnel was totally black, and the turns and hills out in the woods were dark. Every single hill has airtime. And it's not just floater air. Many hills completely throw you out of the seat. It's relentless. Voyage is a fantastic coaster. We headed toward the entrance, and I wrote a compliment and suggestion. I said the park could benefit from a buffet and that Voyage might do a little better if it had single-bench PTC trains. I love this park and wish I lived closer to it. This park has class, and I wish other parks would follow its lead. They sell toy guns and other weird stuff in a gift shop. Grandma in line for Gobbler Getaway. Frightful Falls has a fat alligator on its sign. Star Spangled Carousel This is the bird on Eagles Flight that I rode. What a cool bird. We rode bench the ride. I saw a spider eating a bee on the Freedom Train's sign. Doug and I rode Reindeer Games. We're nerds. Here I am riding Raven with a rabbit. Why does it have three seats? Raven has a messy roof. Liberty Launch makes me happy. The second launch up is great. It was hot. Raven said so. Hallowswings looks really good. It's fun. The food from The Alamo was pretty good. Little splash. Mechanics were looking at Frightful Falls. I like Legend. Voyage under the station. Fantastic. It's running a little rough, but it's still my favorite coaster. We started our day on Voyage.

I think this is the crappiest thing I've ever read. How are you reused to a hospital? Looks like MSNBC just wanted to post this immediately and not even bother trying to get anything right. As for a pre-existing condition, she's 12. She probably doesn't know if she has heart problems. I can't wait for more information on this because right now it barely makes any sense.