kenban

Legally Fox is still in charge until the merger closes. This is expected to happen on January 1st, 2019. But Fox has been making a ton of moves to clean up contracts and stop anything which cannot be finished before the merger occurs. But at this point in time Disney is supposed to have zero say in the contract or its negotiation. Although that’s rarely completly true, Fox executives know how Disney operates and are likely working towards what they think or know what Disney wants. From a quick read through of the lawsuit it’s pretty obvious Genting is in violation of the contract. The only question that needs answered is if it really is Fox’s fault that it was unable to meet the deadlines. A lot of the complaints sound pretty standard for attractions based on IP. I think a lot of the problems are due to Genting having zero experience building attractions based on IP. They own Universal Singapore but Universal would have handled everything. I would not be surprised if the companies do work it out in the end. Disney has shown that they are willing to work in good faith on contracts which they inherit through mergers. But I am amazed that either company thought they could build an IP based park for only $130 million.

Go and find something else to do with your time and money. I think you have been too obsessed with coasters and should take a break. Go to Australia and SCUBA dive the Great Barrier Reef. Cruise ship to Alaska. River boat down one of the rivers in Europe to visit Christmas markets. Raft the Grand Canyon. Visit Japan in the spring and go to local festivals while the Cherry Blossom trees bloom. Take a safari in Africa. Spend a few days walking around Venice. There is a huge world out there which does not involve roller coasters. If you are finding it that hard to find a park you want to visit find something else for 2019. The parks will still be there in 2020 or maybe you will find something else you enjoy even more.

That store looks amazing, I love the new open look. It worked on me, I am actually looking forward to shopping there next time I am in Orlando. Although I will likely spend more time watching the posters and the paint then actual shopping.

After Firehawk broke down at least five times on Saturday including once where a train was stuck at the top of the lift with guests for 45 minutes. The last issue on Saturday when they decided to give up and try again on Sunday, it broke down 5 trains after maintenance got it working and it was so bad they just evacuated the people off the bottom of the lift and from the brake run instead of trying to get either train back to the station. I think anyone who tried to wait for the last train instead of just riding it while it worked was crazy. Anyways it’s not the actual last train, just the last train for the public. The employees get rides after the park closes.

Kentucky Kingdom has sent out a press release advising that construction on Kentucky Flyer has been halted due to an ongoing dispute with the Kentucky State Fair Board. If this matter goes unresolved, construction of the project could delay to the point that the coaster misses some or all of the 2019 season operation or it could ultimately be cancelled. Bad news time. The fair board is not transferring a piece of land which was intended for the turn around on the new coaster and the park is threatening to cancel the construction. The park is stating this retaliation due to the lawsuit over parking. In the image below the red shaded area is the space the park has for long term expansion according to the park. The yellow area is the section they need for the new ride. Nice to finally see the space the park has for expansion. Although the left side is directly in line with the runway so the height restrictions would be very limiting.

The documents were for additions and enhancements for 2018-2020. The park got something from B&M this year....new seats for Diamondback. Doesn't mean there won't be a B&M for 2020, but it was brought up elsewhere. The only people who believe that it is referring to the seats do not understand the document, did not read it, or did not look at the dates on the document. But in short it was filled months after the seats were replaced and it is a warning that work with the following companies would begin soon. While it’s possible it is not a new coaster I have yet to read a single credible alternate explanation.

You are correct the park filled documents with the county which states they have a contract with B&M for a project which will be completed in 2020. The last time the park filled this paperwork was with GCI which turned out to be Mystic Timbers.

I have heard Firehawk is being scrapped with anything salvageable being sent to Carowinds for use on Nighthawk. But as far as I can tell no confirmation from the park.

The park actually announced the location when they announced the cars return, but they never provided any pictures. The ride will be located directly on Coney Mall between the old arcade which houses Kill Mart, and the restrooms next to Wind Seeker. It will also extend into about half of the midway and they have already torn down the peach basket game since it will extend that far out. When I was at the park on Sunday, most of the area has been cleared but the giant concrete footer for flight commander still needs to be removed. If I go to the park next weekend I will take a few pictures.

I am guessing a flat ride either a Zamperla Air Race or a Gerstlauer Sky Roller. Since the 2018 ride was an endeavor from Zamperla I would think it would be an Air Race. Although doing teaser videos for a flat ride like this would not be how KK typically operates.

Great advice. I was at an enthusiast event a few years ago which had a ride designer speak and take questions. Someone asked about what they were doing to make rides more accommodating for larger individuals. The speaker explained that ride manufacturers have a problem where if they just keep making bigger seats and restraints that smaller individuals no longer fit. If I remember correctly he stated that the larger seats and restraints are part of the cause behind the trend of newer rides having higher minimum height requirement. I do remember he pointed out the different size seats on some B&M coasters and said it could be taken even farther with the possibility of certain rows having much larger seats but those rows needing a different height requirement, which no park was willing to do right now. I found his answer very well thought out and you could tell it was not the first time he had needed to answer the question. But what sticks out in my mind every time I think about this event, is the woman who asked the question and just so happened to be sitting in a scooter. She tried to argue with him, not really caring about anyone else just how do you accommodate me. In the end the moderator just cut her off and said next question. At some point people need to take care of themselves or just move on. This is coming from a larger individual who has had to take the walk of shame off of Wicked Twister, and now carries a super thin wallet that does not fold and only has room for 4 cards. There is no need for a giant wallet in a theme park, leave it at home or in the car.

I have wanted the return of the antique cars since they were removed. This is basically a dead corner of the park and it is replacing, an empty building only used as a haunt, the remains of an old flat ride, storage, and I assume it is replacing the ICEE stand. I still would like to see a modern flat ride but overall I am happy I think it looks good. Anyways I have 2020 and construction in 2019 to look forward to at this point.

I wish it was that easy. That's the parks boundaries. It is just a technical way to describe the entire piece of land and from what I can tell so are the next 2 pages. The rest is looks like descriptions of easements, the cemetery, etc.

Screw tomorrows announcement, take a look at 2018-022702 Notice of Commencement Let's see, "2018, 2019, 2020 Additions & Modifications to Kings Island Park"... Interesting, so this is likely for a project that is not being announced tomorrow but is going to take a lot of time to build. "has executed contract(s) for the Project with" .... construction companies etc, none of which are that interesting... oh wait "Bolliger & Mabillard" Well looks like Kings Island is getting a B&M in 2020...

I have been hearing rumors about a lighting package for the Racer for a while now. Plus a flat ride. Likely the old is new is the Racer and the return portion is talking about a flat ride the park has had in the past. Flyers or Antique cars feels like the most likely. Very possible the Racer gets more than just lighting. Although I am prepared to be disappointed.

The track 2 part is a direct quote from the audio on Adventure Express. I doubt it has anything to do with the Racer.

I would recommend visiting a park you have not done before if possible instead. Have you visited Hershey Park, Kentucky Kingdom, Holiday World etc? KK and HW are pretty close and you could likely hit both, and KK is not that far out of the way between Dollywood and CP.

It is really not that strange of a question, and you are not the first person to visit both on the same day. The pass will work and you will be able to enter both parks.

If top speed is 75 mph, it is more likely the drop is 197 or it is suffering a lot of friction losses. If the drop was 220 it should be around 80 mph. I think a top speed of 75 mph would also rule out a launch.

The launch is all timer based. The computer has no way to compensate for any differences such as train weight. The magnets are activated in the exact same way every time. Small differences get magnified enough to make a noticeable difference. It is possible to get a roll back even. Never seen it or experienced it but have heard about it.

Part time employees at seasonal theme parks are not required to be paid overtime. So Cedar Point can have employees work 70+ hour weeks and it’s all at the same low pay. I talked to some ride ops while I was waiting on maintenance last Friday. From what I heard they are scheduling most employees for open to close and 7 days a week. They were told more people are scheduled to start over the next three weeks as more colleges start their summer break. The individuals I spoke with had no idea where anything was located and had not even been able to ride most of the attractions since they have had no days off. I have a hard time finding any faults with employees working those kinds of brutal hours. The park is just in desperate need of more employees. There really is no easy answer. But even though the closed food and drink stands mean longer walks and hunting for something which is open, most do not have long lines due to how few people are at the park. The real problems have been in the fall during Halloweekends. Last year the park was just as badly understaffed as it is now except the weekends in October are the busiest of the year.

Even if it was open the operations at the food locations I visited were terrible. I figured I would try Miss Keats Smokehouse, except they had ran out of every single meat, and it would be a 20 minutes wait for anything, how does a smokehouse run out of every single meat on a slow day? Not wanting to wait I figured try a new burger over at Round Up, and I will admit the food was actually pretty good when I finally received it. But it took 5 employees almost 10 minutes to make a burger and fries.

Unfortunately is a chance it could reopen quickly with single train operations. It really is a miserable ride and the park would be better off without it. But I hate to see incidents like this happen to any coaster. I just hope the park does not waste too much money fixing this issue.

Having seen the entire photo and not just the cropped version. Fred is walking with Greg Scheid who is the former GM of Kings Island and is currently the regional VP of Cedar Fair. He oversees several parks and his office is at Kings Island. This could be something as simple as just wanting to get out of the office while they are discussing a new ride for one of the other parks Greg oversees, or maybe a ride which already opened this year. Having said that I actually have no idea what parks are part of the region but both KI and CP are. Assuming they are discussing an RMC attraction for Kings Island. I cannot see a conversion to any existing wooden coasters at Kings Island, unless they just do a track replacement with topper track to reduce the cost of maintenance. If it is a new attraction likely either a new ground up wooden coaster, maybe a hyper as a replacement for Son of Beast, or a T-Rex. I have my doubts that they are discussing a ride for Kings Island, but it is the right time to be getting things ready for a 2020 coaster.

Out of curiosity how many trains were running yesterday? One would think that MCBR would be noticeable if all 3 trains where on course. But what do I know? There was only a single train on the track. The MCBR was completely off for media day. The speed difference between the morning and afternoon was huge, but if I remember right it was around 46 degrees at 5AM, and was in the 60's when it ended at 1PM. I got 10 rides in but no bruises to prove it. If there is no trim added and the MCBR stays off it is going to be extremely powerful ejector airtime towards the end of the ride.