2012jarrett

Looking at the webcam, it really seems to be pouring over there. I'm an hour north and it's pouring here too. I've never followed construction via webcam before, does rain usually affect it? I haven't seen any noticeable progress made at all today. Though if it's unsafe to work in these conditions, I wouldn't want them to. I really think the drop, zero-g roll, batwing, second loop, and helix will be pretty forceful. Can't wait to see that dive loop go up! And about the theming, I really think that they'll add just the gravestones, nothing else. Gravestones and that awesome station should be all it needs, though.

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned The Smiler yet. I've unfortunately not ridden it but I hear it had ridiculous amounts of downtime, plus; a bolt popping out? Really? I feel like any engineer should make extensive calculations to make sure little things like that don't have a chance of happening. It's a record breaker that in no way had a record connected to its issues, so it would be unfortunate, but fix it or close it. I hear it's really painful too. So that's the one thing I think could be a bigger fail than SoB. Though I'll fid out when I ride Gwazi here in a few weeks!

I also like that noise. Many B&Ms do it, some louder than others, though. Gatekeeper was the loudest one I rode. I found it funny that when I was riding Dragon Khan, which also makes some noise (although less than Gatekeeper) when entering the station, that the ride ops would clap along with the "clang" sound. I nearly found myself clapping too. Is it this sound? I used to think only apollos chariot made that sound but apparently nitro does too. I think it's a similar device but the exact sound I'm talking about is different. It can be heard very clearly at the 9 second mark in this video: Just wondering if Banshee will make that noise too. It sounded really nice reverberating around GateKeeper's nice, open station.

That's MASSIVE!!!! That'll look really nice when it's done and has the loop going around it!

I knew about the feeder motors, I just didn't notice the slight kick we got on GateKeeper. As much as I'll like Banshee now, I still wish that lift pullover was a bit less sharp. Forces aren't a HUGE thing for me, but I do like sitting in the back of most B&Ms to get that pop of air going over the lift. Though it's still fun on Wild Eagle and Diamondback.

I have to work so I can't, but I'd love to see a picture of the skyline with Banshee's hill up to see how it'll change the way it looks from far away. As horrible of a ride as it was, I really feel like the park lacks a skyline with it gone, even with Diamondback. They'll need something that looks pretty nice to bring that back. Sadly, due to how big the apex of the hill is, I doubt there's much airtime in the back on the drop. About ride programming, I noticed on GateKeeper that the train dispatched slowly and engaged onto the lift slowly, but once the train was all on, the lift hill kicked up the speed and pulled you up pretty fast. Could we expect to see the same for Banshee? I rode GateKeeper and Wild Eagle both this season but I didn't notice it on Wild Eagle. And this is just a nerdy little Jarrett thing, but I love the sound wing coasters make when they leave or enter the station going over the sensors. That "clang...clang...clang...clang" noise I noticed on both Eagle and GateKeeper, if you know what I'm talking about. I recently noticed that Diamondback makes the same noise, but much quieter. I feel like Diamondback's is muffled on all sides by the station trough on the bottom and sides, but the wing coasters don't have anything to muffle them on the sides but the seats, hence the louder clangs. I haven't been on an invert in a while but do they make that noise when they dispatch? I'd like to see it on Banshee, wonder I'd the new trains will allow it.

Man that thing looks menacing... I bet they get the drop up by the end of next week. Catwalks should be in place too. Though this'll be a LONG installation giving just how big this ride is. Can't wait to go down to ride it next April!

Looking at the webcam (though at the degree at which I do it, more like stalking the webcam) it looks like they're going to top it off any hour now. Both side beams and the cross beam for that last support are up, and you can see the top waiting to go up. It's huge! Construction should speed up even more after this!

Sorry, had to I'm surprised there isn't some sort of meme for this, it needs it. I actually decided that before I made that connection, but I've actually seen dumb GP comments on SheiKra YouTube videos of people thinking it was named after the Colombian pop star. -_- Back to Banshee, I think Banshee's definitely female for obvious reasons. Most of KI's coasters are male, though. Only other female coasters at Kings Island are Invertigo and Racer. Maybe Flight Deck. I'm looking forward to seeing the trains and if they do anything with the wheel covers. The animation shows generic grey and aqua wheel covers, but seeing what Cedar Fair did with Leviathan and GateKeeper's themed trains, we should at least get Banshee decals or something on them.

These aren't humans we're talking about here, they are humans from Ohio........ Don't forget about all the guests from Kentucky and Indiana! I actually had a friend who worked in Action Zone. She constantly got badgered by guests wanting to ride Son of Beast and got yelled at all the time when they were told they couldn't because it wasn't safe...and SBNO. And once at Cedar Point, I saw an employee get yelled at in a queue line by a guest who was wondering why all of those people were line jumping. She could've saved a LOT of breath had she just noticed the Fast Lane sign! NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT SEES ROLLER COASTERS AS HAVING GENDERS!!! *high fives* Though I have to disagree, I definitely see Montu as male. I see all of BGT's coasters as male with the exception of SheiKra. Now I'm going to get laughed at on here forever for posting that... I saw that the third lift support now has track in it. However, if you look on the ground, you'll see what looks to be the top of the final support. Was it fabricated this way or are they making that support as a sub assembly and lifting it into place as a whole? That definitely seems to be the more logical approach. That being said, this thing will definitely be topped off very soon. I know I keep saying it, but...

Definitely joining so I can do this, I was just wondering if we needed to sign up for media day or anything so they know how much food to make, how to schedule it, ect. I've been to a VIP event at Kings Island once for my dad's work and loved it and I'd love to go to another one to ride this awesome new coaster. I just want to wait until this season is over to regist Regarding my comment about Wild Eagle earlier, what I was saying is that I had ridden mostly towards the front the first few times and found that it lacked forces, and then rode in the back right and found that it was just a bit more intense. But when I rode in the back on the left... OMG!!! For some reason this seat felt like it was in a whole new league of intensity compared to the rest of the coaster. That ride resulted in a lot of loud commentary from me because I was so surprised to be getting such an intense ride on what I thought was a tame coaster. It was the only time I ever had an issue with stapling and I honestly found it slightly difficult to keep my hands up on the eight curve. So I don't think the whole thing is intense, but the forces are the most powerful in that seat. I just found it surprising and if Banshee gives the same intensity as that back seat, it'll definitely trump Afterburn as my favorite invert.

It is going to be just like Gatekeeper Media Day where paid coaster club members will be able to attend. Don confirmed this at an event I went to a couple weeks ago. I didn't know you had to be a paid club member (this was going to be my first media day) to attend. Is it too late to join one to get in? Also, was opening day/media day ever announced? http://www.clubtpr.com/ That's good to know, but is there a date by which I need to join to get into media day? I really want to join, but it might wait until next season since I'll have no use for it with just one park visit left for me this season. Alright, it's a boring Sunday afternoon in September (possibly the most boring month of the year up there with February and April) and I had nothing better to do than with my time than to make this: Not sure how accurate it is but it should be pretty close. I'm just glad I finally have the entire layout memorized in order.

That's messed up! Seriously, don't joke about stuff like that! Okay, as painful as it would be, it would be kind of funny. 300 foot tall boomerang, anyone? Honestly, I think this'll be an Intamin. I might be wrong, but that space in the drawing that was shown didn't look large enough for a Leviathan-style coaster to fit. However, I feel like an I-305-esque coaster could fit there. While Cedar Fair has definitely had issues with Intamin and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they went with their B&M/GCI only "policy" again, but at the end of the day, I-305 WAS a first in many aspects. First time they used the double spine track, first giga coaster to use those newer restraints, it was new in a lot of respects. It's great that they fixed it and I doubt it has any issues again. Skyrush was also the first type of Intamin with those new trains and restraints, so it was almost no surprise it had its share of issues. If Intamin can somehow put something out to convince Cedar Fair that they've learned from their mistakes and have developed better ride systems that break down less, then I think we could see them go back to them in the future if they aren't already. Just a thought...

It is going to be just like Gatekeeper Media Day where paid coaster club members will be able to attend. Don confirmed this at an event I went to a couple weeks ago. I didn't know you had to be a paid club member (this was going to be my first media day) to attend. Is it too late to join one to get in? Also, was opening day/media day ever announced?

I wouldn't necessarily say I HATE Magnum XL-200, but I feel like it's incredibly overrated. It's a great piece of history and should stay, and I had a good deal of fun on it, but I found it to be incredibly forceless for the first half, and looking at my top 10, I don't mind forceless or almost forceless rides if they've got a good sensation to them or the visuals are good, but Magnum was just sitting in a cramped car getting thrown around. Now about the second half, I do like my airtime, I'm a floater guy myself but I'll take a bit of ejector... ...those airtime hops are AWFUL. The train just creeps through them at a slow speed and the airtime felt so robotic (1 second negative, one second neutral, one second positive, the Gs were so predictable) and rough with those restraints. I rode in the back (which I thought MIGHT have been a bad idea when the train dispatched and a ride op told us "Ouch, why'd pick the back?") so I might have just had a bad seat on the train but I really didn't find this ride to be that great. Good piece of history, though, and in my opinion it was Ron Toomer's biggest contribution to the industry. Like it as part of the industry, dislike it as a ride. And I still want to know why they call it molly orange.

I'm honestly expecting some good forces out of this ride. I'm not exactly a force guy, but I do enjoy a good shove down into my seat going around a turn now and then. Anyway, Wild Eagle in the back was EXTREMElY intense. Diamondback is anothe good example of a newer intense B&M depending on where you ride. GateKeeper's second keyhole roll gives some nice force vectors too. What I'm saying with this is that I don't think the art of an intense B&M is lost. It's definitely gotten less popular over the years, I think Banshee could be a nice comeback. There's no way that dive loop is tame. And I feel like that inline twist would feel similar to a wingover I feel like wing coasters are a bad example for two reasons. First, correct me if I'm wrong, but the trains are really heavy. Referring to the formula F=ma, if the m value is higher, the a value had to go down to reduce stress on the track. Second, it's really impossible to have intense positive Gs going through a rolling element because it would create intense negative Gs on the other wing, which we can take less of. I feel like the design required them to be less forceful and the design of an invert allows it to be more intense since the trains are lighter and the rider experience is more uniform. Just a "Jarrett writes down what's on his warped little mind" post. Not sure how true it is, just things I've noticed might be. Take it as you will.

I checked the webcam in calculus earlier today (before class started, of course) and there was a spider on the webcam. XD Anyone else see it? I did notice the drop supports yesterday, though. And looking closely at the area near that fence by Delirium, could that blurry piece of purple be the apex of the hill? I see one more long lift piece by the brake run and all those drop pieces by Sling Shot, could this mean we're about to see it topped off? That being said, this thing is MASSIVE! That steep lift on an invert has to be a strange sensation. And when do we think they'll announce an exact date? That's not a part of construction that I usually follow since I usually don't go to opening days, but I want to see about getting off work/ditching class to go to this one since it's within driving distance.

It seem like Cedar Fair has moved onto just B&M and GCI for their coasters, and I feel like they're pretty bitter with Intamin after I-305's issues. It's unfortunate because I really like Intamins. I feel like both the good words about B&M on the Banshee mini site and the remark about the "ride's manufacturer" in KD's announcement that they're opening I-305 back up. I'd say for a launcher they'd turn to Premier. They don't seem to put out that many coasters with reliability problems and should be able to fit something Skyrocket-ish in Vortex's plot after the park hopefully gives it to Valleyfair or Michigan's Adventure. If not Premier I could see them giving Intamin another shot.

Well, either you are replacing the word "locker" with "fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo" or you need to somehow obtain an actual aggressive poofy rabbit filled with medicine and goo to guard your bag in the Cheetah Hunt station or the ride ops like to go through your stuff and break things laughing like maniacs while you ride and having a rabbit filled with a mixture of medicinal syrups and slime instead of a musculoskeletal system making it look like a giant white fluffy water balloon with a rabbit's head and nubs where arms and legs should be terrifies them because they know such creatures possess magical powers and can shoot lasers from their eyes all while able to live happily in a shoebox under your bed for thousands of years without eating, drinking, sleeping, or using the bathroom until you are in need of their services for occasions such as guarding your bag from ride ops that like to break others' belongings in the Cheetah Hunt station. I might've just written the ebst sentence ever! I'll just assume you meant locker for now, but I guess in case you didn't I can stop by Costco after classes today and grab one of those fluffy medicine goo bunnies. I've always wanted one and when I get mine I'll name him Charles. Edit: Did not know that that word for "metal lock box" filtered to "locker". That's awesome! I know what I need to do now! But I still want to buy Charles at Costco later today.

A while ago I had this crazy idea for a wing coaster layout over the front entrance kind of similar to GateKeeper, but not quite. It would require its fair share of moving things around, but I think this could work. I was thinking that wiwth Skytower's colors, this one could have mostly white track with a red spine stripe and blue supports, and theme the trains to cool silver eagles and give it a patriotic theme complete with an antebellum-style station that would match the front gate. Just a thought...

Well that's good to know. We're doing 1.5 days so we should have a good shot at hitting SheiKra. I really just want Gwazi for the +1 to my cred count, though it looks like it might be okay. At least the trains look sick. As far as hurricanes go (definitely the biggest threat to this) we plan to go in late October/early November. Does the Tampa area sometimes get hit with hurricanes around then?

The main rides I'm concerned about storage-wise are Cheetah Hunt and Montu. We plan to ride those two and then get a locker by SheiKra. Normally all I need is my phone, camera, and wallet. SheiKra was down? When we went to BGW Griffon was running all day. That surprises me. I will contact the park, but if not then I'll just buy my Cheetah Hunt video. Gwazi seems alright, it's just that my favorite wooden coaster's a GCI as well (Thunderhead) and I want to see how they compare. I'll call the park soon and ask if they would let us before I spring for a chest mount.

So my dad and I are planning to go to Busch Gardens Tampa sometime in late October/early November. We are doing this because 1.) I want to ride Cheetah Hunt and have wanted to for two years and 2.) My dad wants to show me how to travel on my own since It's a skill I'll need for the real world. No hotel rooms are booked, no flights are booked, so everything's on the plate. We want to go sometime at least before Thanksgiving, and were looking at leaving the 31st, doing the park all day the 1st, and most of the day the 2nd and getting back on the plane. Time is not an issue. These are my current concerns: *Size: I've wanted to ride Cheetah Hunt since it opened in 2011, I have been concerned about fitting into the restraint since I found out we were going. I am on the larger size, but I tried Maverick's when we went to Cedar Point in July, and just barely squeezed into Millennium and Dragster. Here is my picture in the test seat, showing off the three inches of slack I gained since I tried it in May and just barely fit. I've gotten a LITTLE bigger since then (started back at school and I guess instead of the Freshman Fifteen I got the Sophomore Seven) but I should still fit I think. Can you confirm that the restraints on CHunt are the exact same as Maverick's? *Weather: Late October/Early November should be nice and hurricane-free, right? Going to the park in the rain I have no issue with (Maverick was SICK in the rain!) but it's late enough that it should all be gone by then, right? Though we've had a pretty small hurricane season this year, I have to admit. *Intamin: I know Intamins are well known for their extremely reliable rides that never break down and are always running. (NOTE: Sarcasm!) How bad is Cheetah Hunt compared to Cedar Point's Intamins? Particularly Maverick or Millennium? *Private Events: I might just call the park and ask them if they plan to have any private events going on, but a Friday and Saturday shouldn't be private event days, right? We're so close to booking, I can taste it! However, I'm nervous that something could go wrong. There's no rescheduling this trip. This is now or never, especially with Gwazi knocking on the gates to the great theme park in the sky. And looking at my top 10, I expect Cheetah Hunt to fall somewhere in between GateKeeper and Millennium Force. (I know it's supposedly forceless, but one look at my top 10 should clue you in that it isn't an issue for me, I like fun rides, not intense rides) A few last things: 1. How is the item storage policy there? Will we need a locker or do they have cubbies? 2. What's the park's stance on filming on rides? I do it on trains everywhere, but how are they about coasters? 3. If we tried to take our Great Dane into the park, how far do you think we'd get? Thanks so much! I've been doing my share of asking around and have gotten a lot of help, but I think this thread should be the final nail in the coffin before we book.

How could I forget this one? I was working on my senior project in the media center at my high school when I heard some kids behind me planning what they were going to do for Senior Skip Day. We're in southwestern Ohio, remember that. Anyway, they were trying to decide between Six Flags and Kings Island. The closest Six Flags park to us is Great America. When one of them questioned the group's decision, the kid questioned replied "Six Flags has better coasters!" We're easily more than four hours from a Six Flags park, I honestly wish I could see where they ended up!

I feel like Vortex is good for a few years, but should definitely be the next coaster out. It's an awful, rough ride and I honestly feel like something better could take its place. You'd think a big, huge looper like that would be awesome. It's not. It's rough and old and with Banshee taking its title away from having the most inversions in the park, I see no reason to just trash it. In all honesty, hate me for it, but I feel like a wing coaster should take its spot. The park is really well-rounded now with Banshee, and I was looking at the Vortex station last time I was there and noticed something. The maintanence bays are already right next to the current loading platform. If they knocked down the wall and built a few extra cattlepens, I could see this being converted into a wing coaster station if they widen that gap. And what to call that wing coaster? Red supports holding up black track with dark brown bat-themed trains called, you guessed it, The Bat. It would be the perfect replacement and do a great job of paying homage to the original Bat. Maybe have it do a gargantuan Thorpe Park Inversion clipping Beast's lift hill? It would be cool to have two spooky-themed coasters next to each other like that, and with there being Beast and Banshee, another spooky-themed ride would work well. Rehab the station and area around it and it would be great. That station could be themed to a haunted house easily as well.