jamesdillaman

Whereever you stay, if you're coming from the north, be aware that 741 is closed just north of kings island. There is a detour, but it will add 10-20 mintutes on to your trip there and back.

The Comfort Inn is a good budget hotel. Nothing special, but better than the Red Roof, Days Inn, and Motel 6 that are in the same area. The nicer hotels off the same exit are: Holiday Inn Express, Hyatt Place, Hilton Garden Inn, Mariott, La Quinta (It's actually a VERY nice one for the price), and the Ramada is also pretty nice. The only one that's pretty run down is the Red Roof and the Motel 6. Even the Days Inn is pretty nice for a Days Inn, but of course the cheapest rooms are at the Motel 6 and the Red Roof. You'll be fine at the Comfort Inn. As for you, Zach. Nice photos!. Hope to see you soon, but am pretty busy with the wedding plans.

Poor genetic material?

31. Bing Crosby

Chuck, the flyers at Carowinds were my flyers I worked at when they were located at Kings Island! Did you get the cables going, too, or just Larry? Our flyer ride in the rain at KD is still a great memory that me and Julia talk about... (btw, we're actually finally getting married in 45 days, I'll post photos for you, or email them...) Great photos of the Intimatwins. Gonna have to make a southern directioned trip pretty soon.

^ Oh well I appreciate your continued efforts. TPR loves Indiana Beach!!! I wasn't aware the ACE discount was no longer valid. Glad I checked as I almost decided to renew my ace membership just for the indiana beach savings that I'd get several times a year...

That's awesome! It's too bad Indiana Beach can't match their ACE discount for CTPR members... This makes me sad. Oh well, gonna skip out on them and just go to Holiday World and Beech Bend I guess.

Seriously, just buy them at the gate if you're worried about it. It isn't like they're going to "sell out" or anything, and the fees and value of the time you'd spend figuring this out aren't worth the money you'd save by buying them in advance. As stated, too, you could always ask TPR members if there are any coupons circulating around the park, and you could even arrange someone to send you a coupon and then purchase tickets at the gate. I think a lot of people will be leery of your paypal proposal as there are many scams involving similar situations. Not calling you a scammer, just FYI...

As far as hotels, if you're on a really tight budget, there's a Motel 6 off Fields Ertel (Exit 19 on I71) where you can stay for $40 a night. It's less than 5 miles from the park. There's also a Days Inn there that's pretty cheap, and a Red Roof Inn. Granted these aren' the nicest hotels, (The Days Inn is actually the nicest of the 3, I know as I deliver pizza in the area) but they serve their purpose.

Chuck, I did love your face when you got off SoB, though. That was classic... And I'm reminded of the saying (not directed at anybody in particular, just funny): "Sure, everyone's entitled to their own opinion, yours is just wrong."

^ Cool, I never made it up to Cedar Point last season to check that out, but the location at Kings Island seems much better suited for this IMO. The area around the eiffel tower is what people will see as they are leaving the park, and this will have them leave with a spectacular LED display that kids will truly love I think. A good, cheap idea to add a little magic to the end of a park visit.

It's actually moved UP in the rankings since it's been SBNO.... how funny is that?

Yeah, but layout implies design, and SoB's design is flawed. Burn it down. In all seriouslness, I don't think the Beast is a very good ride either, but two coasters that do nothing except have helices is too many for one park. The Beast is more fun than SoB, although being hit in the head with a blunt object can be more fun than SoB. I wouldn't hold your breath for SoB to reopen. Best move on with your life. There's other fish in the sea, ones that won't send trainloads of riders to the hospital. It's time to get back out there and ride some new rides. You'll love again, I know breakups are hard, but it's for the best.

Really? Comparing SoB with Apollo's Chariot and Magnum? Both of these have something going for them: Airtime. SoB has NONE. The layout is the reason it has no airtime. Beast has no airtime either, but the layout is not boring. It races through the woods and underground in tunnels and the helix at the end is nicely done. It's braked to all hell but it still can provide an amusing night ride. I can't speak for the Comet, as I have not ridden, but comparing SoB to the other 3 is quite laughable. If being high in the air makes you excited, you can always go up in the eiffel tower at KI, it's over 100 feet taller, and the elevator ride back down provides more negative g's than SoB. I feel the train at KI has a more exciting layout. At least it goes over a bridge and by White Water Canyon.

^ Adding steel to a coaster with a boring layout just makes it a smoother coaster with a boring layout... To make it worthwhile and move up Mitch's poll from the very bottom, they would have to reprofile the first drop much steeper, and get rid of one of the helices and either throw in some airtime elements OR add the loop back in. This seems like throwing a ton of money at something not worth it, when they can get a whole new ride for less cost. How about a terrain-hugging Intamin Megalite? A GCI going through the valley, or even a Gravity Group twister screaming through the back of Action Zone. I'm sorry to those who may have enjoyed the coaster some, but I really fail to see why you would prefer a fixed up SoB to a new ride.

^ What structure are you looking at? And as for counting it as two credits, it hurt so bad I count it as a debit...

To the person who asked where the trains were stored. During the season they were normally stored on the transfer track, which is quite a bit above the ground. As for fixing SoB. it would be easy. First, fix the flawed track layout into something vaguely interesting, then come up with a construction company that knows a coaster from a deck in someone's back yard, and finally get some rolling stock that won't destroy the backs of all the riders. In summation, tear it down and start over.

As a season pass holder most of the seasons that SOB was open, I rode the coaster exactly 5 times. Once in the first season (Actually the first week it was open, waited 5 hours just for it one day, because it kept going down for maintenence), and three times were with friends from out of state who just needed the credit, where it became a macho thing of "I can handle SOB, too..." The only truly enjoyable time I've had on that ride was the very first time up the lift hill (Although it was way loud with the double rollbacks) and halfway down the first drop. Then it was just pain once the wheels were on the track, not to mention the lapbar system of the old trains were HORRIBLE, and when they stapled you in was sometimes hard to breathe.

Ding dong the (son of a) bitch is dead!

Harry Potter is a tween phenom. Like it or not, you have to accept the audience. It's like saying Twilight is an intellectual art film. It just isn't. From a marketing site I also frequent: "The core demographic of Harry Potter are kids between 7-16." This is their bread and butter. That's where the money is, and the biggest reason Daniel Radcliffe is the richest kid in Britain. I'm not bashing anyone who likes Harry Potter who is older than it's target market, but you have to realize where the true popularity lies. Every halloween I see a bunch of kids dressed as Harry Potter characters. The market is still strong, and that's why this was such a good move for Universal. Even though the popularity of the movies are waning, the books are still a great way for parents to get their kids to read when they otherwise would only watch television and play video games.

Anything that is fantasy involving kid protagonists is a "kids" movie. Just because the actors are now older doesn't mean kids don't still relate. I agree that the newer films are reaching a broader audience, but I enjoy Spongebob Squarepants shows from time to time. It doesn't mean that Spongebob isn't geared towards kids, it just means that when done right you can reach a wider audience, like Shrek... Personally, I never got into the Harry Potter thing, but this new area looks pretty unique to any other theme park area, which I'm excited about.

Burn it down.

^ Well, when they did it with the ACE members, you could get your family in, etc. As long as it's only a couple people, I don't think the PR department at the park will put up much of a fuss. They want to keep people happy. If you try and get a busload of people in with your card, you might have a problem...

^ The agency in charge of amusement rides differs by state. In Ohio, it's under the Department of Agriculture, for example...

Just sounds a little creepy