bert425

Thurs, 7/8 after going back and forth about if I had to get up super early and park at the airport or not, my Spouse (who tho said it was OK to go, had gotten a little passive/aggressive about it) had decided the day before that he would drive me to the airport and drop me off - so I got to sleep in until 7:15am. the trip to the airport takes about 40 minutes and was uneventful, so after dropping me at the terminal, I fairly quickly made my way thru security (no checked bags, since this Southwest flight had a connection in Denver - yes, I went a timezone in the wrong direction before going two time zones in the other direction to get to Cincinnati. But at least it was only a ~2 hour layover in Denver instead of a ~5 hour layover at the Orlando airport. 99.9% complied with the masks must be worn in airport mandate, tho i did see TSA have to tell one family to put the masks on or they would be asked to leave the terminal and would not be allowed thru security. It's a rule people. you may not agree with it, or like it, but it's a rule. . you wanna fly somewhere? you gotta wear a mask. not too crowded this early on a Thurs (it was ~8:20am) but still not everything open yet. so I sat down to read until the coffee place opened (no Starbucks here, because. . . Austin. . gotta be local coffeeshops only) but eventually the local brew place opened and got me some coffee. some very interesting art in the Austin airport. . such as the Space BattleShip Yamamoto giant metal sculpture on the wall: there was a woman on our flight (just 1) who was sitting at the gate area, fanning herself furiously, and keeping her mask in her lap. The Gate agent asked her to put her mask on, and she kept telling her she was getting overheated. I thought to myself, "great. .this woman is going to cause problems on my flight. . we BETTER not get delayed" but she did give in and eventually put on her mask, and was allowed to board towards the end of the boarding process after most of us were already seated on the plane. she immediately asked the Stewardess for a glass of ice (who told her she'll get her one once they do the safety spiel), and then she loudly started to explain how she can't wear her mask because she's overheating. Many of us on the flight started nervously eyeing each other, but the Stewardess said "oh, I have some very light paper masks, I'll get you, you can wear one of those" and she went and brought her a light mask, along with a cup of ice. then we sat for about 20 minutes waiting for . . something. . who knows. But the moment we started to back away from the gate, this woman got up and headed for the bathroom - the Stewardess got on the speaker and said that everyone MUST be in their seats, and she went back to her seat. she made it thru the safety presentation, and then the Captain told the Stewards to buckle in , and we'd been cleared for takeoff - and this woman BOLTED up the aisle, both hands clasped over her mask and into the bathroom (thank goodness no smell of vomit tho). . and she was in there for the entire take off. about 15 minutes into the flight, she did eventually go back to her seat, and the Stewardess gave her another mask.. . which lasted about 30 minutes then another "clasped over mouth" bolt to the bathroom.. . happened a couple of more times during the flight. . . AND during the landing. I'm still kind of shocked that we weren't diverted to land elsewhere, if she was that ill. . . but I kinda think that she was faking so she could hang out in the bathroom with her mask off. regardless, even with our late start, we did make it to the Denver airport and landed on time (they made up time in the air), and the I got to hang out at the gate there for a bit (no, I wasn't hungry after watching this woman purge for a 2 hour + flight). . . . flight from Denver to Cincinnati wasn't eventful, tho we did leave about 40 minutes late, and that annoyed me a little bit because it meant that we landed later and I was hoping to drive in the daylight (not realizing that it was gonna stay light until 9pm in the Timezone that Kings Island is in). no luggage, so off the plane pretty quick, and made the walk to the Ground Transportation and got there just as a shuttle was loading up for Hertz - but I noticed it had a "Thrifty" and a "Dollar" logo taped up on the windows too, so I asked the driver and he said he goes to all. . so was the last one on the full shuttle, and off to the Car Rental place. prices are NOT cheap for car rentals nowadays, but I lucked out in that 1) my trip was a few days *after* the Fourth of July holiday weekend, and 2) I booked via Priceline, so got a decent deal. it turned out tho? the reason the shuttle serviced Hertz, Thrifty, and Dollar, is because the Thrifty and Dollar locations had been shut down, and all were being handled from the Hertz location. which had three desk clerks (since it was the Hertz location), and all Thrifty or Dollar customers had to get in a line at the far end to deal with the one counterclerk - who I guess drew that short straw. so yeah. .that took about 25 minutes (with only a few folks in front of me, but way more behind me). . tho I did get the amusement of watching a young guy insist on getting a mustang convertible (he "had PAID for that and he wanted that!") and then he promptly drove forward over the high curve, ripping off the front bumper completely (instead of backing up to exit as EVERY SINGLE SIGN POSTED said) so that was amusing. eventually I got up to the counter for my turn, she upgraded me to a nice SUV with no extra cost as an apology for the wait (and we had been chatting about the Mustang-idiot so we bonded while I was waiting in line) - I carefully backed out of my spot, and was on my way to Mason - home of Kings Island. oh, I could tell I was in Kentucky. . . lots of bumperstickers referencing an ex President, lot of Rebel Flag bumperstickers, and very few drivers going the speed limit! Not even close, either. . the speed limit was 65 in most places on the way to Mason (about 40 minutes from Airport), and people were going 40. really. the SUV was a new one that kept making noises and dings every time I passed a bad driver who moved over close into my lane (or could have been me drifting, I suppose, since i was looking at directions while I was driving - - yes, i printed them out. . I'm an teh old). but soon enough I pulled into the Hampton Inn (*by Hilton) across the freeway from Kings Island. I can't really describe how I felt when I saw Banshee, Diamondback, and Orion from the freeway as I exited for the Hotel - no picture from that, as was driving - but it really was a kind of Euphoria. check in was easy/peasy - I did it thru the app, so had my room and key on my phone already. The lobby is lovely, and the food options were nice, tho the room was a bit older and certainly could use a refresh: for a place to sleep tho? was reasonable, and really close to the park. Kim and her son were staying there too - she's who had recommended this hotel, and I grabbed it so we could be together and go to the park together - I knew we were hanging out all weekend. was a really good call, and the hotel was sold out for the weekend, so if you do go, pre book! she was driving from St Louis (think it was 6 1/2 hours she said) and they weren't there yet. . so i made a quick trip to grab some snacks from the CVS just up the street and realized I hadn't eaten all day, really. . so since they weren't in yet, I went to a Wendy's - they were advertising all over the sides of the restaurant to try the new Bourbon sauced options. which, of course, they were out of that sauce when I tried to order something from those options (go figure, right?).. . . so I ended up with a Jalepeno Popper Chicken Sandwhich (something we don't have in Texas Wendy's, but was pretty good). I wolfed it down, and got a text from Kim they had arrived. Her son was watching some video game competition (I think that's what it was about? maybe it was a coding competition?) so she came up to my room on the 3rd floor to visit - and I could send proof of life to my spouse. . . LOL we visited for about 45 minutes, and then made plans for the morning - Kings Island opens gates for parking at 8:30 for our event, so we planned to meet at 7:45 to eat down in the lobby, and then I would finally be able to check another park off my bucket list. until then tho? took a shower, relaxed in the room for a bit, and then tried to turn in for the night. . wasn't very successful. I was too excited for the next day! more to come. . . .

so. . earlier this year, TeacherKim (whom I had met and hung out/spent day with at Six Flags St Louis) eventually made it to Texas for an event at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. the Universe was against her - I think it took 3 tries, with crazy flooding, and a freak ice storm that shut down San Antonio the 1st two tries, but she eventually was able to re-plan: coming to a group event at SFFT on April 10 that was being run by Thrill Seekers United (a Texas based park group), but they had invited ACE members to attend. .hence Kim and her son, Joel, coming. We had kept in contact - even thru the prior cancellations - and as the event was coming up we were chatting in Early April and she mentioned CoasterStock. I had no idea what that was, but she filled me in that it's a 2 day event at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio (outside of Cincinnati). ok, KI is a bucketlist park for me (on an ever shrinking list) - has been for decades, ever since I saw the Partridges go there (and then the Bradys - stupid Jan with her yogi bear poster almost messing up Mike's deal!). The Beast has been a coaster I've wanted to ride for over 30 years! So told her I'll think about it, and she goes. . .well, think fast, since tickets go on sale Monday. I mentioned it to my Spouse (who wasn't thrilled, but eventually was okay with it, since we're fully vaxxed so it seemed safe enough) and on 4/5 at 10 on the dot, I attempted to get a CoasterStock ticket. the thing sold out in less than 15 minutes! but yes, I got a ticket! thus kicked off a whirlwind day - since I had a ticket to the event now, I had to figure out plane flight, hotel, rental car, etc. . . . but it all got booked (including FastLane Plus for Saturday the 10th), and by the time I logged off work that day, I was all set for my first ever trip to Kings Island on July 9th & 10th. here's my TR for this experience. . I took over 600 pics, and tho won't share all, I DO tend to share a lot - so I'll do this in sections. hope you enjoy following along!

All the coasters at Kings Island. . tho I think the last thing I rode was Orion. so I'll go with that: Orion at 9:30 pm on Saturday night

rooting for it (and GK) to open today for y'all. tho I haven't seen MaxAir cycle once all morning either. . . but everything else at the front of the park seems to be up. https://www.cedarpoint.com/live-video

^ Black Adam is in the Justice League too. Front and center:

I will GLADLY pay more for a meal at a theme park if it means that the staffing is at a level where the line to get said food is not an hour + line. if Dollywood really is only paying $10-$12 an hour for their employees? yeah, they need to up the pay, immediately.

the same reason that "Man-Ape" wasn't called that in the Black Panther film. (he was referred to as M'Baku) best to avoid any controversy.

I'd go. .the weather will keep crowds away

keeping in mind that i'm just "supposing" here. . I have ZERO info. but Black Adam isn't an "unproven IP" - he's a character that's part of the SHAZAM family (and that film was a hit, with a sequel coming as well). . . he's all over the Current DC Comics "Justice League" books - not as a "villain" any longer, but as an anti-hero these days. . . and he's being played by a very bankable star. I really think there's very little chance this IP will bomb. (and keep in mind, some Six Flags parks have major rides themed to Cyborg, SuperGirl (who's film in the 80's DID bomb), and Bizarro - a Superman Villian who's never appeared in a major film).

^ isn't the new ride for 2022 tho? comes out around then

^ strangely enough, Windseeker and Invertigo ran with no issues all weekend!

if I had to guess? Black Adam themed (or whatever they are gonna call him in the film) Yellow track/black supports.. very striking. and they can use the tag along the lines of "ride the lightning" just my guess tho.

I do wanna note that yesterday was kinda an odd day at the park tho. . as things kept going down. (even Zach noted it was not a good day and something was odd about how many impacted): Beast was down for most of the day - a good 6 hours Red Racer went down, then Blue went down, then both came back up but with two trains on blue/ one on red, so not always racing) Drop Tower was up and down all day Diamondback got stuck on lift hill for a good 10 or so minutes Banshee went down in the evening (with maintenance working on the lift hill ~4pm when we were over there in beergarden, but never saw it come back up for rest of night) Orion was up and down (tho those down times seemed to be only 10 or so minutes each time) Flying Race Ariel Chase was down all day Kudos to the maintenance teams for getting everything (mostly) back up and going tho. . . it was amazing when Beast reopened ~5pm, and the wait time went from 5 minutes to 55 minutes in literally SECONDS (luckily we had Fast Lane +, so we still only waited ~10 minutes, and they let us wait for front row anyways)

I love the report, and thanks for sharing. . . but I must *tsk tsk* about: No time for Cedar Downs, yet Rougarou TWICE ???

They closed it 30 minutes prior and reopened to drain remaining queue 10 minutes after But no new entry was allowed 30 before fireworks (at 10. They were right at close) now. This is what we saw last night during Coasterstock. So it’s POSSIBLE that they closed off line to drain it for our ert that started at 10:30. But I’d guess that standard is they don’t let anyone in the queue for 30 before fireworks (they did not make anyone in the queue leave tho)

Was so great to meet you pianojohn and that was such a great ride on adventure express that we all did together and of COURSE the carousel ert im still traveling but will get a a report up in the next few days but yeah. Y’all should go its a great park

A something g with letters. Lol is his username. But to follow up On Zach’s post we did find out it was Adam. Who was hanging out with Stacy Gretchen. lol. He just forgot to mention that when we talked to him at blue racer about his tpr poncho

yup, there will be some folks from the TPR boards there. . including myself (1st time at the park) & TeacherKim - some others too I'm aware of. . not sure if they've posted they are going or not, so not my place to say. there are some Forum members that will be at the park on Sat - whom are not attending CoasterStock - but planning to meet and hang with as well. It's gonna be a really fun couple of days! see ya there!

^ so why does the train in the pic for Iron Dragon have "XLR-8" on the front. that's what the suspended at Astroworld was called.... did CP have that too? or just a wrong pic in the video?

1) as it gets later, the crowds will get lighter. on Preview Night I'd head to Farenheit and StornRunner and knock those out with the lighter crowds. . then, if you wanna ride them? head to Laff Track and the Wild Mouse if you are so inclined. . both of those have hella slow lines, and are brutal during regular hours. but if you hit them int he last hour of operations, most of the kiddos have been taken home, and the lines are shorter. 2) dont' park in the chocolate world lot. the parking you pay for Preview Night is good the next day for your full day too. . so just pay and park in the regular lot (then kill time in Chocolate world and ride the dark ride, until you can enter for preview night). 3) as mentioned in #1 above. . try to get Laff Track during preview night, end of night. .it likely will be the shortest line for it you'll see. dont' skip Coal Cracker. .it's a flume with an airtime hill after the final drop, and it's great. If you need a refresher, wander over to zoo America (included with your ticket - entrance is over by Kissing Tower) for a nice, small, zoo that's included. The monorail is also a nice - get off your feet - ride. have fun.

Poltergeist shuts down on Monday for a 2 months refurb (reopen on Labor Day weekend from what I've heard) and during that time they are going to repaint the ride, and add a theme, that it's never really had. Mr. Siebert has been teasing that "the new owner" is going to be doing some rennovations (the repainting, and the updated queue), and offering pics of the New Owner about to move in. If you don't follow him on social media, you're missing some great teaser stuff (not just on Polty, but on the new ride for 2022 - there's a big announcement going to be made on Wed, July 28 in regards to the parks 30th anniversary, and what's to come next year).

I'm not a member of that group (I was, but I left it - along with many others, including SFFT park president). just sayin. . .

haven't seen this yet (haven't been on FB), but each plane is programmed different, and some of them DO have an 8-10 second upside-down stall. so could it just be a pic of that moment in time, and not a ride issue?

I take it you saw this the other day, Bill? https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/playland-expansion-delayed-scaled-back-pne

Today's mail was pretty awesome. Less than 10 days till my 1st visit to this Bucket List park for me (been wanting to ride the Beast for decades).