Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[Whodey]

So I was at the park today after the heavy rain. It was dry for a couple of hours and an occasional mist would fall. I have accepted the fact that Cedar Fair is conservative about running in rain. Most coasters were down a train(except Beast and Racer because their ready brakes are covered) and I understand their reasoning. So how many times in the rain have the trains blown through the ready brakes? Only once in my life have I heard of this happening at KI and it is while I worked there. It wasn't raining. I was just thinking that after all of these years(since 07) and a train has not blown through they would go back to running them full strength and stop worrying about lawyers. Just a little venting.

[willh51]

And a train isn't going to blow through magnetic brakes anyway, right?

[DiSab]

^Except that a lot of the rides still run with (mostly) friction brakes. I get the reasoning behind the rain policy - it doesn't mean I completely agree with it, but I understand it.

[jmicha]

If I had to guess (maybe somebody here knows for sure?) Cedar Fair's insurance probably requires the policy after the incident on Magnum. They were lucky it was minor as it could have been more serious had someone been injured but lawyers aren't going to just let something like that slip by unnoticed. It's a pain, sure, but there's nothing really anyone can do about it.

[stashua123]

umm you have to be careful because i was stuck on racer after rain because the sensors were messed up. Sensors are most of the reason why coasters close during the rain.

 

So I was at the park today after the heavy rain. It was dry for a couple of hours and an occasional mist would fall. I have accepted the fact that Cedar Fair is conservative about running in rain. Most coasters were down a train(except Beast and Racer because their ready brakes are covered) and I understand their reasoning. So how many times in the rain have the trains blown through the ready brakes? Only once in my life have I heard of this happening at KI and it is while I worked there. It wasn't raining. I was just thinking that after all of these years(since 07) and a train has not blown through they would go back to running them full strength and stop worrying about lawyers. Just a little venting.

[Ed Farmer]

The Beast (with skidbrakes) in the rain and snow, April 1, 1989; The Beast 10th anniversary party. The only time I ever rode a coaster in the snow. It was cold and wet as heck - I remember not being able to feel my feet at one point. But as a 15 yo coaster geek who didn't get to ride coasters too often, it was a day in paradise for me!

 

 

Wow, that looks like it might have been a thing. One of the more memorable coaster moments of mine was what essentially amounted to an ERT session on Iron Wolf at night with snow flurries when SFGAm held a very poorly advertised Last Blast a week after the park typically closed for the season. There were like 7 people in the park, and it was excellent. I would probably be ok with numbness on a finger or two for a few hours to ride The Beast in similar conditions.

[Philrad71]

Was at the park this weekend and was amazed that crowds were minimal all weekend. Not sure if the threat of Isaac's remnants scared people away or not, and even though it was cloudy, the lines were amazingly low for a holiday weekend! Diamondback was never more than a 15 minute wait and I think the longest lines we waited in were FoF and Firehawk at about 30 minutes.

 

Even though it was hot and muggy on Saturday, Soak City was pretty dead from 11:00-3:00. I will say that I'm surprised that they wouldn't make an attempt to snag any slides from The Beach. This water park has a lot of the slides and pools spaced so far apart, they definitely have plenty of room to plop down random slides in between some of the existing attractions.

 

Took plenty of pics, but while goofing around with the panorama on the Eiffel Tower, managed to get a good shot of SoB....this part of the park should look quite different in the next couple of years!

 

On a bad note, I broke the crystal in my viewfinder on my pocket camera on Diamondback. While I had it in a fully zippered pocket, the ejector air in the front made it hit the restraint and shatter. Still works, but the viewfinder now looks like a Picasso painting!

Action Zone and SoB

[triggernel]

This water park has a lot of the slides and pools spaced so far apart, they definitely have plenty of room to plop down random slides in between some of the existing attractions.

 

This! The new Wavepool they added is in the middle of nowhere, and the hike back to the Tornado is a marathon.

[ValleyfairFan]

Good to hear that there's plenty of room for future expansion!

[angryemobeaver]

The reason everything is so far apart in Soak City is because power lines run straight through the middle. Bad planning on their part.

[JonnyRCT3]

The reason everything is so far apart in Soak City is because power lines run straight through the middle. Bad planning on their part.

 

Glad to see someone else thinks the same. That's not the best look for a "Water"park. Electric City! (with waterslides)

[triggernel]

Ehh, they've got plenty of room to work with around the power lines. They could easily fit another slide tower there, and I'd be willing to be that the Tornado would have fit between the two kiddie areas. All is forgiven though, as they have two of the best slide towers in the business. "Awesome Aussie Twister" and the Pineapple slides are both top notch and keep you really disoriented.

[Stitch_101]

For all those who are interested, King's Island announced their Halloween Haunt details. This year will see one new maze with 11 other returning mazes and 2 new shows. Here are the details for you, courtesy of Scare-Zone.

 

 

*New for 2012* Madame Fatale’s Cavern of Terror – Madame Fatale has just passed her final psychological evaluation after a decade of incarceration. Join her for the Grand Re-Opening of her museum of oddities and wax. You’re on her guest list; she and her friends will be dripping mad if you don’t show up!

 

Mysteria – Prepare to enter into a new dimension where nothing is as it appears. The world of Mysteria… your senses will never be the same! Enter at your own peril!

 

Holiday Horror – The holidays are right around the corner… EVERY corner! Get ready to experience all of the holidays like never before in this horrific attraction.

 

Carnevil - Join the circus like you wanted to when you were a kid… permanently! This is not your run-of-the-mill Big Top. Only the most determined will make it out alive.

 

Club Blood - This popular night club has never been so bloody good! The club’s exotic dancers are dying to meet you. Come in for a bite. Stay for as long as you like. In fact, you can stay forever!

 

Massacre Manor – The Manor is for sale. Never mind the rumors of murder and torture – it’s priced to sell! Potential buyers adescend into a fortress of fear and encounter many of the Manor’s inhabitants – most of them long since departed.

 

Slaughter House – Looking for a good cut of fresh meat?  You’ve come to the right place.  The butcher shop is open and you never know who – or what – is on the chopping block.  A real meat-lovers delight!

 

Urget Scare – A deadly plague is spreading with destructive speed.  At the local hospital, the virus has begun spreading from patient-to-patient.  If the virus doesn’t kill you, fear might!

 

Wolf Pack – The moon is full and there’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.  There is something in the woods… and it’s hungry.  Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?  You will be!

 

CornStalkers - This frightful cornfield will scare the yell out of you!  Countless scarecrows rule the overgrown ruins of this formerly vibrant community.  Intruders beware!  These guardians of rubble take their jobs very seriously.

 

Cut Throat Cove – Meet the motley crews of sunken ships, left deserted on this island. But mind yer steps – they’ve been waitin’ for rescue for over 100 years.

 

Tombstone Terror-Tory – Covered bridges and foggy terrain disguise the evil that lurks in every direction aboard this midnight train. But don’t be alarmed. You’re guaranteed to make it to your final destination!

 

Shows:

*New for 2012* Graveyard Shift

*New for 2012* Blood Drums

Hot Blooded

 

You can read the rest here at scare-zones website

http://www.scare-zone.com/wordpress/archives/4198

[B.A.B]

I am so excited for the new Maze, it sounds promising. Although I don't see why they would keep Mysteria, because it was basically people in green spandex suits running against a chain fence with a bottle of rocks to "scare" you. I mean I guess it could be disturbing for some guest, but it was really boring and not scary at all. Everyone at my school was like, 'don't do Mysteria it is a waste of time". Which it was. Now all of the other mazes were great and a few actually made me jump a few times.

[supertrooper]

I attended Pride Night last night, and although there was a threat of storms all night, it never rained...I guess "god" loves gays after all! We were evacuated from Windseeker because of high winds, but it later re-opened and we were able to ride it. The longest line all night was for Flight of Fear (20 minutes), everything else was a walk-on.

 

After all of these years, a night ride on the Beast is still the best ride in the park.

[Philrad71]

^ I agree...I rode it with my Dad in the front seat at night last weekend and it was running like it used to back in the day - absolutely insane, but not super rough. Diamondback at night was a lot of fun too.

 

I honestly didn't remember the trims coming on Beast, but they might have...anyone know if they have even been known it to run occasionally without the trims?

[scruffy]

^ I agree...I rode it with my Dad in the front seat at night last weekend and it was running like it used to back in the day - absolutely insane, but not super rough. Diamondback at night was a lot of fun too.

 

I honestly didn't remember the trims coming on Beast, but they might have...anyone know if they have even been known it to run occasionally without the trims?

 

Back when the Beast had the old skid breaks and it had rained you could get a ride like the trims where off.

[Whodey]

When I worked on Top Gun I was taught to drive the coaster. Very easy to do. Just push this pull that and it won't let you do stupid things like bring a train into the station until one has been dispatched. While being taught my supervisor was telling me that Beast was a lot less automatic. He said that there were 5 different levels of braking. I don't know if he was full of it or not but ever since then I have noticed sometimes the trim brakes slow us down more than others. He also stated that usually at night they let it go faster. I have been in the Beast driver booth and it had a lot more buttons than Top Gun(Flight Deck) so maybe he knew what he was talking about.

[fraroc]

Quick Question, did Cedar Fair ever consider giving Son of Beast the Texas Giant/Rattler treatment?

[KDcoasterMAN]

^ The tracks structure probably wasn't stable enough to consider it for that type of rebuild under RMC's specifications. If you look at Rattler and Texas Giant, they had very dense structures. SOB wasn't really that dense.

[Wes]

Quick Question, did Cedar Fair ever consider giving Son of Beast the Texas Giant/Rattler treatment?

 

Probably not, unless there's someone with better insider information.

[Yamez]

Well, considering the press release said they evaluated all other alternatives. I think its safe to say that they at least looked at it. Then they decided they could do so much more with that section of land.

[PKI Jizzman]

Can't wait. Kings Island since CF's rule has really turned it up for Haunt. If you go on a good night (when they have enough actors and get them comfortable and get the right maze set up) it's really tough to beat KI. I'm sure they are right up there with Knott's.

[SLUSHIE]

Considering that the 'Rocky Mountain Treatment' seems to cost somewhere around 10mil I guess they thought that the 10mil would be better spent towards something else, if they even did look into it..

 

Since the retrofit uses existing supports and footers, they would be forced to follow the route of the giant helixes that weren't all that entertaining in the first place. While they do make drastic changes to the ride, the possibilities here might not have been all that great.

[chadster]

So when do they light the match?