bert425

it's VERY much like Jeffrey Siebert tho . . he's done some AMAZING things since he's been Park President.

I'd guess for clearances needed for the trains. . . because that is a pretty tight space in the center of the park there. as to Dr. Diabolical. . yeah. . not that 1-off character (certainly not form Inferior 5, which was a humor comic). I didn't realize he was making a joke...thought he was serious in thinking it was based on something DC. Comic fan here since I was 5, and I'm a DC fanboy.

for those who wanted the limited edition Squish-mallows - that are sold out in the park (and the Squishmallow store at the gate is shut down). . . some of them are still avail. at the online KI store. i was disappointed during my visit ~2 weeks ago, that I missed the opportunity, but was able to get Orion, Beast, and Diamondback from the online store (they are sold out of Blue Ice Cream and flying Pig. . but I got the 2 I really wanted (Beast and Orion) and grabbed Diamondback too ) sharing for those who have been looking for them!

might be a good time to visit the park - if the expected crowds (it was expected to be PACKED) don't show. this was supposed to start tomorrow and run for 10 days, so kinda shocking they pulled the plug the night before (gotta wonder if something else is going on and they are pointing blame?) CELEBRITY FAN FEST IS CANCELLED Last night at approximately 7:30pm CST, we were formally notified by the talent representatives of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen that both celebrities were cancelling their appearance at Celebrity Fan Fest due to the “recent spike in COVID cases and the aggressive nature of the Delta variant …..” Owen Wilson also cancelled for unclear reasons. The loss of all three Celebrity Fan Fest headliners forces us to cancel this year’s show. The overwhelming majority of all 2021 Celebrity Fan Fest attendees were linked to those three celebrities and without them attending, fans would not attend. This led to the very tough decision to cancel the show. Here is what all fans/purchasers can expect: 1. All Celebrity Fan Fest purchases of admission tickets and passes, autographs and photo ops will be 100% refunded within 30 days. 2. Six Flags Fiesta Texas will still grant any Celebrity Fan Fest admission ticket holder access into their park FREE of CHARGE from Friday July 30th through Sunday August 8th. Please visit the Celebrity Fan Fest table inside the theme park security gate, show your Celebrity Fan Fest admission confirmation email and we will issue your free admission ticket.

^ no pic of you with the Alveys? but nice pics otherwise.

While I don't understand either of them. . . I think I enjoy the dude who tries, but never quite succeeds in writing in "Haiku" format, more than I like Carol's attempts.

someone on the FB group actually was so excited by this announcement that they wondered out loud what the "big" announcement from SFOT would be. I'd think it will be "Aquaman PowerSplash" , no? LOL

DC character?

silly. . I saw him. I was just commenting she sang GaGa to close out the presentation. they then all went out front to pose with park attendees today. . . in the Texas heat - in leather and vinyl. I hope they got double pay!

the ride looks AMAZING . . but I had been expecting something more heavily themed. Tho I'm sure the station will have a lot of theming. and then . . . something has been noticed on this picture. the queue is feeding thru this building. . . . so are we looking at a heavily themed indoor portion of the queue? I'll bet we are! Probably Doctor Diabolical's lab.

she closed out the event singing Lady Gaga. . . no really!

I wondered that too. . but think they just only had space for it in the center of the park. . the quarry walls are all taken up by Supes, Iron Rattler, and Roadrunner.. so the only option was over on the Boardwalk. . and I'm hoping that area is being "saved" for an eventual out and back woodie?

someone has already referred to it as a "family" coaster, because 150' is not a big enough drop. . .

Six Flags Fiesta Texas has sent us a press release announcing their new B&M Dive Coaster, Doctor Diabolical's Cliffhanger! Six Flags Fiesta Texas, The Thrill Capital of South Texas, today unveiled plans to debut the world’s steepest dive roller coaster—Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger. This exhilarating new dive coaster features a cliffhanger hold, which suspends riders as they face straight down a 95-degree, beyond-vertical drop, then releases them moments later into a terrifying 150-foot dive. “Six Flags Fiesta Texas continues to push the limits of thrill and innovation as we prepare to introduce the world’s steepest dive coaster during our 30th anniversary season,” said Park President Jeffrey Siebert. “Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger joins an already stellar lineup of record-breaking roller coasters, rides, and attractions. With eight intense elements including dramatic inversions and extreme airtime, it will quickly become a fan favorite,” added Siebert. As guests enter the ride queue, they will be immersed in the story of Dr. Diabolical and her evil quest to create menacing creatures to frighten the world. To give her creations life, Dr. Diabolical constructed a machine to capture the essence of human adrenaline and fear. Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger features three 21-passenger trains that keep the adrenaline flowing as riders reach a height of 15 stories, then pause face-first before diving at 60 mph and flying through a variety of high-thrill experiences. Key features of Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger include: Three sleek trains with three rows of passengers, seated seven across; 2,501 feet of soaring track; Thrilling anticipation while the ride vehicle pauses in a face-first cliffhanger hold before plummeting 150 feet; Spectacular, beyond-vertical, 95-degree first drop; A second 75-foot, near-vertical drop; An Immelmann inversion, during which riders enter a half-loop, followed by a half twist, then exit the element traveling in the opposite direction making a 180-degree turn; Four intense elements, including an extreme airtime hill, wild-banked turn, high-speed spiral, and 270-degree zero-g roll; Speeds of up to 60 mph; Immersive steampunk theming that tells the story of Dr. Diabolical’s plot to harvest fear; and Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger is a custom-designed roller coaster created by Bolliger & Mabillard. Riders must meet the 52-inch height requirement. Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger was announced during the FT92 Fan Event, and will debut in the summer of 2022 during the park’s 30th Anniversary season. It will be located in the Crackaxle Canyon Screampunk District. For more information about Dr. Diabolical’s Cliffhanger, and all the exciting events planned for the 30th Anniversary season at Six Flags Fiesta Texas, visit https://www.sixflags.com/fiestatexas/new-experiences. Bert is at Six Flags Fiesta Texas today sharing details from the announcement as they are released: Will update in a moment. . but it's a B&M dive coaster! "Doctor Diabolical's Cliffhanger" Special built with tons of custom elements - and he referred to it as a record breaker. and also specifically mentioned B&M is doing custom trains (I believe he said 7 across) for this ride. He showed an animated video. . which I'm sure will be online very quickly, if not officially from TPR. . .but here are some stills from the presentation. and the host character is "Doctor Diabolical" who wants to harness your terror for her elixir. Doctor Diabolical: Name reveal then Jeffery teased two versions of Dive Coasters. . .each one bigger than the next. . until the final reveal: Nope: Nope HOLY CRAP !!!!

watching the live stream now. . . he's talking about Frightfest stuff (not to the new ride). . but confirmed new Logo for Poltergeist, and that the queue will now have an indoor and AIR-CONDITIONED element. the theming of the stage is VERY steam-punk circus. . we shall see when they announce! Forgot to come back and post this: new Poltergeist logo:

oh, and if you're not part of TPR's Facebook group, you should TOTALLY join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/themeparkreview unlike the message boards here (which I LOVE, dont' get me wrong) the FB group has a lot more "real time" interaction, with many folks who are not forum members here (tho a lot of us are at both places). that will help out when you feel out of sync, because you can almost have real time conversations on the FB page.

that's the thing about being part of the LGBTQ community. . you get to choose your family. yes, it's nice to be close to blood relatives, but if you don't see eye to eye? move somewhere and become part of a community that won't judge you (or more accurately, you WILL be judged, but it doesn't mean that you won't be welcomed and supported regardless )

^ wow. . tho not surprising that word has gotten out that you NEED a FP to have a good day most times now, so of course they are gonna increase cost. they gotta recoup lost 2020 $$ somehow.

I love it. .thank you Zach!

LOL. . he doesn't come here tho, does he? he'll never see it. . .

Based on the teaser pic that Mr. Siebert posted to Thrill Seekers United group? I'd say odds are it's the Double-heart coaster. we'll find out tomorrow tho. . formal announcement is tomorrow afternoon! that middle sign certainly looks like a "layout" sign

Day 2, the conclusion of CoasterStock: Kim and Joel met up with us at the finally re-opened Beast, and we headed up the FL+ line, and asked if it was OK for us to wait for the front row. With a nod from the grouper, we all headed to the front line, and Zach, bless him, decided to immortalize my front row ride on the Beast with a pic. so I have this GREAT picture, which makes me very happy every time I look at it: how was it? Well, while it was good in the front, I think I really preferred it in row two, only because the front row is a wheel seat. oh, it didn't jackhammer me the whole ride, but it did have a very noticeable vibration, that shook, up my brain quite a bit. Not a head-bang, exactly, but I definitely felt it for the rest of the night. So not terrible, but row two is the row for me, I think! waiting for the others to finish their front row ride let me get some nice pics of the first lift hill, and the returning train from the course. thanks to the photoshop skills of friendly folks online, was able to get my official pic looking fantastic (the original pic was ruined by a woman blowing a kiss to the camera from the 3rd row in the car. . . luckily she was far enough back that it was an easy fix (I was told) to just blacken her out). what completely blows my mind tho, were the handful of very immature idiots who thought it was "hysterical" and "made the picture" seriously. . grow the fuck up. I don't want some woman (probably a local who's ridden this tons of times) - especially a woman I don't know - ruin a picture from my bucket-list trip, and make it not frame-able for me. at least I was informed that if I had gone to the booth, perhaps the operator could have adjusted the pic to remove the "kiss blowing" part of it. . . good to know if I ever do make it back to Kings Island (which hopefully will be for next year's Coasterstock). . . but it still blows my mind that someone would purposely do crap when they are sharing a car with folks they don't know (PianoJohn's pic on Diamondback has a goth chick shooting both middle fingers at the camera) you wanna do it in your own log, or two seater ride? go for it. . but why ruin someone else's picture. . . sheesh. (now get off my lawn!) I may have gotten my timeline mixed up a little bit, but I think we may have headed over to Mystic Timbers for another ride, and then it was time to go eat tonight's dinner in the picnic grove. keeping it 100: I am not a Bar-B-Que fan (and being from Texas, there's BBQ everywhere. . so I'm not even a fan of fantastic BBQ). So I knew going in, this wasn't gonna be my favorite meal. . but I had high hopes. I'll do it similar to the prior meal: the Fantastic: - that corn casserole at the bottom of the plate. it was SO good, went back and got Seconds the good: - the hot dog (that I put a small amount of slaw on along with Mustard) was excellent - Kim raved about the baked chicken (which I passed on, as I had enough on my plate, didn't need any more food, but she said it was the best main available) the mediocre: - the macaroni salad (which really only missed the "good" category because it needed Salt. it was OK tho) - the cookies (some were perfect, some were underbaked and very "raw-doughy" there were enough perfectly baked ones that it evened out, and they did bring out more ice cream for anyone who wanted it later in the night) - the pulled pork was. . . I mean. . it was there. I don't recall if the sauce was an option (I think it was), but there weren't any pickles or onions - which to me make a pulled pork sandwich. not terrible, but not something I'd specifically order again, if I had that option. the horrific: - that Sausage link. Oh, it LOOKED like it was gonna be good, and it was nice and greasy. . but it had no flavor other than "grease" And when you cut into it, the link was probably 40% fat pieces mixed in with ground pork (I think it was pork). I took one small bite of it, and pushed the rest aside - tho I certainly tasted the "grease" the whole rest of the night and it gave me some nausea for an hour or so after dinner. I'm trying not to be mean, but looking around the tables, *everyone* seemed to be taking one bite, and tossing the rest. Yeah, it was that bad. Maybe we just happened to get a bad batch? (tho like I said, everyone around us was not eating it either tho they had it on their plates. .and I think John also took one bite and tossed it - tho he did thank me for recommending the corn casserole - which was quite good). the only way this sausage could be worse, would be if it had been served with the gray onions from the prior day. yes, I know I'm being a bit harsh. .but that one bad part, is what leave the biggest impression, doesn't it? It was still a good meal tho.. I just know if I go back, avoid the Sausage (and the Pulled Pork) and get the baked Chicken. after the dinner break, we met up with Zach and went over to Racer so we could finally attempt to race. I'm sure that Joel/Kim went to Red and we went to Blue to attempt to race - because I remember asking them didn't' they want to ride Blue, since it had been down when we tried to ride the prior night (and we rode Red only, with the one train ops due to the vomit row). . . but I'm also remembering that one train on Red went down while we were already queued up to ride, and so we ended up not racing them, since it was only racing every other Blue. . .and by the time we were ready to go, we raced the train before them. we got off Racer, and Kim mentioned again (she had asked several times) if I was ready to ride Monster - since I had said I was wanting to ride it. but the shaking from Beast earlier, and the sausage bite (again still tasting it) had me really wary to ride anything "spinny".. so I passed and we kept moving. We took another spin on Adventure Express, which was memorable as we saw the floats that would be getting used for the Mardi Gras festival (that just started this week) testing out their LEDs in a backstage area that was viewable from AE's exit ramp. I'm pretty sure Kim didn't ride with us this time tho, because she was at the end of the exit ramp waiting for us - and watching the LEDs on the floats - when an obnoxious Teenager, whom had been bouncing a basketball (annoyingly) in line and got it from the cubby after our ride, lost control of it while bouncing it down the ramp. It bounced right down the ramp, and hit Kim square in the butt (of course it did). the teenager looked shocked (as did his friend) and he quickly pretended the ball wasn't his, and rushed right by Kim as she turned around questioningly as to who's ball it was. no, he did NOT apologize, or say "excuse me" or take ownership. But a park employee did see the ball hit, and when we explained what had happened she handed the ball to Joel and said something along the lines of "well, if he's not going to have the decency to claim it or acknowledge he even hit her? you can have it" So Joel took it and offered it to a little girl who was with her family on the main walkway - and was THRILLED to have a basketball. What thrilled me tho? watching the teenager whos ball it *had* been, watching this sullenly from around the corner, and watching them slink off towards the park gates, when they saw Joel give away the basketball. Can't recall if we went back over to MT or Diamondback, but I think we stayed over on this side of the park, and Zach asked if anyone was ready for a drink - and we went back over to the Beergarden behind the Mexican place across from Adventure Express. We sat and sipped on either beer, mixed drink, or water. . and as Kim mentioned earlier. . we "oldies" (her and I) sat and rested, and i tried to will my stomach to settle, as Joel and Zach headed over to Drop Tower for a ride on that. We noticed Banshee hadn't cycled in quite a while at this point, and when they came back from Drop Tower, Joel mentioned that there were maintenance guys on the lift hill. what was most interesting, is while we were sitting in the Beergarden, a small cast (4-5 performers) came out and got up on the stage, and performed a show. It reminded me of the Italian show at BGW, in that it involved the performers banging on tubs, bottles & cans with Spoons, and spatulas. It was also pretty interactive, with them choosing a few folks sitting in the area to bang with them in rhythm. it was nice to see a live performance show in a park again, and really nice to see them interacting with the crowd. by this time everything had settled, and it was getting "dusky" so we decided to head back over to Area 72 and get some rides on Orion. and it turned out we timed it just right that as we were entering the area, we saw they had just started the Evening show that happens in Area 72. yep, so we saw two shows in just under an hour.. . . this one is pretty cool, with dancers, hula hoopers, and jugglers, all using neon/LED accessories. I snapped a couple of pics as we passed by and got a couple of rides on Orion. Orion is so pretty at night. . . . and wasn't pulling too much of a line. We knew it shut down at ~9:30 for the fireworks, so it must have been ~9:10 at this point, cause we got several rides on it in different rows. and by the time we got off, it was getting nice and dark, and almost ready for the fireworks. I believe Joel/Zach went around once more to get a ride before the park shut down, and Kim and I found a perfect bench to sit down on to relax and wait for the fireworks (and for me to call home and check in with Spouse since really hadn't talked all day). We also got the extra show of a SUPER drunk frat-bro/italian guy with FL+ who was yelling at the top of his lungs about how great the ride was - punctuated by lots of "whoot" and "that's what I'm talkin about!" complete with fist pumps, and he was getting encouraged by those standing waiting for the fireworks to go around and keep getting back in line. it was amusing, tho I'm not so sure those who had to ride the train with him were overly amused that he kept getting back in line. soon enough, the lights on Orion dimmed, and we got to see the evening fireworks from a wonderful seated position! Interestingly, they shut down Orion before the fireworks, but Windseeker kept cycling. . that must be an amazing ride during the fireworks! and then it was over, and the park was closed for the General public. We said our goodbyes to Zach, gave him a hug (it really was SO great to see him and spend the day with him), and we waited for Orion to open back up. we still had a couple of hours, but there was bad weather coming in so we weren't sure if we'd be able to get the full ERT. Secretly, Kim and I both were hoping it might get cut short (or at the very least, we were ok with it if it DID get cut short, since I still had to pack tonight, and be up pretty early for a flight). for some reason, it did seem to take them ~15 minutes to get Orion cycling again, and we hung around this area, because Joel was hoping to get one more ride on it during ERT. which was fine with us. . sitting on the bench was doing my body good. But they eventually did reopen the line for ERT and began to flush out those that had waited out the Fireworks shutdown. it took about 20 minutes tho we started to wonder where Joel was. There was a commotion on the loading platform (which ended up being someone who was having issues getting the green on the restraint, and there appeared to be an argument that she had ridden it many times, and she fits. I'm sure that's true, but we'd also had that big dinner not too much earlier - since we were in ERT by now, she was a Coasterstock attendee - so for some reason they couldn't get the green, and it held up the train for maybe 5-10 minutes. we then heard a collective groan come from the station and folk started coming down the steps - they had shut down due to that major storm cell / lightning in the area. I only even mention this, because she was apologizing to folks around her as they were leaving the area, because she knew that the coaster could have cycled a few more trains before the shutdown, if the station hadn't shut down trying to get a green light on the restraint. Oh, and because Joel was on the next train that would have gone out. . but didn't because they shut the line down for lightning. Whoops. checking radar (and we had gotten an alert from Don on the FB group a little earlier that there was a big cell coming in that might impact ERT) we saw the big cell, and debated if we should leave to try to beat any rain. It was already 11pm, really, so we wouldn't be cutting out too much of Coasterstock. But we decided we'd head over to Beast/Mystic Timbers and see if they were open. Logic being lightning might not shut down lower to the ground wood structures, as opposed to Orion's tall metal one. But as we passed Shake,Rattle,Roll - we came across a crowd heading towards us. . . Beast & MT had shut down too. . . so they were heading to the only operating coaster: Flight of Fear - which is indoors. I had zero interest in riding that again, and Kim & Joel weren't too excited about the prospect either, so we made the decision that we'd just head out ~11pm, and use that extra hour back in the hotel to relax/pack. so we headed up to the front gates, and my adventures at Kings Island and Coasterstock came to an end. i had an incredible time, and loved this park.. and I got a new #1 wooden coaster out of it in Mystic Timbers (and Diamondback and Orion both make my steel top 10. . Diamondback actually makes my top 5, I think). I definitely plan to try to get tickets to next year's Coasterstock and do this again. This bucket-list park absolutely lived up to my expectations. couldn't pass up an opportunity for some pics on the way out tho. . especially all lit up, and with literally no one around! the picture I'm using as my desktop. . .love it: we were back in the hotel by 11:15, and I was packed and in bed by 12:30. and, of course, never even got a drizzle, and the lightning quickly passed -and we did hear that everything opened back up by 11:30. . so we probably should have waited it out to get another night ride on Beast. but at the end of it all? I didn't need it. I had a great time and it's OK we left when we did. thanks for reading along, hope you enjoyed viewing Coasterstock/Kings Island thru my eyes! a follow up post with swag purchased will be up in the next couple of days!

I've actually seen similar guesses tho. . . . like the Aquasplash moving from SFOT to SFFT (and yes, they were serious. . LOL).

if they didn't already have a Disc-O (Hurricane Force 5, that I just DON'T see leaving the boardwalk), maybe. . . . but the park won't put in two similar rides (even if one of them is "extreme")

^ they do a great job of helping you from inadvertently touching your face. So while true, Covid particles may still get thru a standard mask? it will help keep other things out when you don't have your hands in your nose/mouth area so much due to wearing a mask. so there really IS a benefit to wearing one.. . . I haven't had a cold or flu in well over a year, since i tend to mask up when going out into public.