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Just for fun, here's a mashup of a couple of trips we took this year. One was early in the season, the other was back on 8/4. This is kind of a preview; there's a lot of footage I want to make into a 2012 "video yearbook" of sorts, but it takes a lot more time than I had. Contains the world's fastest "Dinosaurs Alive" and "Wall of Fame" segments... ends with BLSC at night. Enjoy!

This TR is preetty neat. Not only did I meet some KIC-ers, it was my first time on Invertigo, FOF, The Beast at night, Wind seeker at night (with fireworks!), and backlot sunt coaster at night! It was a pretty fun day I suggest you read it!Obviously my tr is late, yes, I'm aware of that. I also know that there is already a tr about KIC Day. But my day was diffrent but fun... It is barely the same as ohiocolts TR of KIC Day beacause I ended up only being with the group for an hour. The next section isnt very exciting, but the rest is. We (my dad,me,my brother,his girlfreind, her son, and daughter ) pulled up at the parking lot fee gate when The Crypt texted me that he would be 2 hours late . We found a parking spot and headed in. We walked over to the Fast Lane booth (10:00) and it was MOBBED. Its a good thing I read what you were all going to wear or I would of never found you guys! When I found them we all said our user names, and most of us said our real names(I said mine). After that we just stood and talked waiting for more people to arrive. I was with my dad's girlfreind's son,(the rest of them went to ride other stuff) Andrew (he is 13 ) and he was bored out of his mind. Mean while, Gabe said he was going to go to the restroom and come back. We waited a good 45 minutes and he never came back. Sorry Gabe. I planned to meet my dad at the Eifle tower at 11:00. By the time we decided to get moving I had about 15 minutes to head back. All of the group wanted to ride Invertigo since we were right there. At the time I havent rode Invertigo myself (I did end up riding it later), and Andrews biggest ride being The Vortex that he rode 2 years ago, I decided that we were going to leave the group. We got PKI Boy's phone number and told tem we would meet up with them later. We rode Viking Fury, a nice ride. We hopped over the fence on the exit (short cut, oops) and ran over to the eifle tower. My dads girlfreind came and we (Andrew and I) told her we would like to ride some more rides together. That was fine with her so me and Andrew ran over to The Racer. We got on the red close to the back, and we were off! I showed Andrew FOF (he was nagging me all day that he wanted to ride it) and told him how scary it was beacuse I didnt want him to ride it, love it, then drag me into riding it. I hadn't rode it at the time and I was scared. My perswasion didnt seem to effect him. Then we plunged down the hill and Andrew yelled with joy he was laughing all the way. Meanwhile I was suffreing brain damage. When we stopped he was all pumped up and said he wanted to ride it again. I suggested AE and he said ok. (My dad's girlfreind's children had only rode 2 roller coasters at the park before so all this exept racer and Vortex was new to them). We went through Fast Lane for AE (no wait) and he was all scared about it. We rode in the front seat. I kept telling him it was a small ride but he was nervous as ever. We were off, and he facepalmed himself when we went up the hill and he said "this really is small" it was a fun ride. It wasn't as jerky up front. We went up the hill with the tiki guys and we all did the fist thing. We got up to where you saw the main tiki guy who pours the guts on you but you couldnt see the day light. Thats when I told Andrew that this was the part where the biggest drop in the park was! His eyes got real wide and when we creeped over the hump and saw the station he face palmed himself again. Good Times. After that we walked all the way over to stunt coaster. We got in the Fast Lane line (about 10 minute wait) but they needed two people so we got to cut everyone in Fast Lane too! It was a two cycle wait and I told andrew this is how FOF took off,But 14 miles faster. As always he was way over nervous. We got in the car and VRRRRROOOOMMM! We were off. He yelled on the first turn but laughed the whole way. Once we stopped at midway point he was totally unawear of the up coming fire blast and jumped out of his seat as far as his seatbelt let him. After that ride,we walked over towerds The Beast. Andrew told me he kind of renembers riding The Beast, but was always, he was way to nervous. We got in the Fast Lane line and it was a 15 minute wait. But the actual wait was a 90 minute wait, so we didnt mind at all for our 15 minutes. We got in the very back. He was very nervous going up the hill. He had his eyes shut tight. After that hill it was a fun ride. Then we went and did WWC once again, fun. Then we went to Boo Blasters to get cold from the AC. It was fun too. But then we had to run all the way accross the park to get to Vortex. Ugh We headed over to The Vortex to meet up with eveybody. Once we got there Bailey was laughing very hard. Apperently she loves the Wind seeker and had already rode it 2 times. She told me as they were coming down when it stopped spinning her shoe fell off and hit one of the opperaters. The Opperater saw it coming, so he knew it wasnt on purpous. They didnt even say the thing about how its illegal to drop things from the ride over the microphone, which I was very suprised about. I laughed too. We rode Vortex, a good ride exept that I suffered brain damage, again. But still a good ride. We walked over to the photo booth and saw our picture. My face was quite hilarious. It was all white from the flash, I had a double chin from the force of the ride, my eye balls looked like they were going to explode, and My mouth was open from trying to say "chese". I asked the man to pull up our number of the picture onto the closer screen but he said he couldn't because of inaproprite body use. (I was like okay???) And I asked him what was wrong with the picture and he said it was my toung sticking out. I didnt understand that, lots of peoples mouths are open in the pictures and my toung wasnt sticking out. Oh well. I rode wind seeker with bailey and my brother good ride, Andrew wouldnt ride it. He went over to ride FOF. He came back in a love daze about it. Obviously he liked it. Then we walked alllllllll the wayyyyy back to the parking lot for lunch. Me and Andrew were kind of upset because we just came from boo blasters and ran all the way over to Vortex, but oh well. I was starved so I didn't mind. We ate sandwiches, for 45 minutes, and headed back in. I noticed my phone was dead so I had no way of contacting the group, sorry guys. We headed towards Action Zone I convinced them to ride Delirium and got in line. Andrew was nervous as always, bailey was exicited, My bother was relaxed, I was happy, and andrew was nervous as always. Someone thoughed up before we got on our numbers, so they had to wash it then run it dry. Then when we got our numbers, someone thoughed up AGAIN so they had to was it then run it clean again. It took us 30 min to get on from all the cleaning but it was still fun. They loved it so much we did it again with a 5 min. wait this time. Us kids all walked over to find the adults. My dad asked me to do Invertigo, and I said ok. He was surprised, he wasnt expecting me to say that. It usally takes 2 monthes of perswasion to get me on a ride. I was excited with a smile and laughed the whole way. Loved it! Then we went over and did FD. My favorite part of that ride is when it stops because its changing gears or somthing. Thats when I yelled back at Andrew " OMG Andrew! We stopped!". But of coarse we kept moving. After that ride we saw the Ed Alfonzos show. Second time for me. I noticed that The potty humor jokes wernt as noticable. I guess Ed Alfonzo got a guilt trip from his heart. I loved the show. I know most of the magis they do from a show I used to watch called Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed. But I still loved the show. When we came out I saw joncars05 with his freind. I ran up and tapped him on the sholder. He turned around, and with a surprised look he said "Hi!". I said "You splited up with the group too?" He laughed. "Yeah, we have been bumping into them time to time though". I said "Oh. I havent seen them since this morning because my phone died and I have no way of contacting them". He laughed and said "Thats funny." We said some other stuff then he headed over to Invertigo. Andrew had been nagging me still on riding FOF with him and I said " I'll ride my first ride on FOF with you, if you ride your first ride on Invertigo with me" he said ok, and me and him went over and there was joncars05. He said "Hello again!" I said hello back. He asked me If I had rode this yet and I told him once earlier this morning and this was andrews first time. He said "You'll love it". He turnedx around and the lady asked him how many, he aid 4 which I didnt expect him to say, but was nice. We got on face to face with him and me and andrew went up backwards up the hill while they were going forwards up the hill. Our Me and Andrews chets pressed against the resistaints and Andrew kept saying "ooohhh crrrappp" a bunch of times. joncars05 said relax this is the worst part of the ride right here. We laughed. Then Joncars05 said "click" and we all laughed are way down and around. On the second hill we all said "click" together and laughed our way back. Andrew loved it. We went back to meet up with my dad and his mom, right outside Invertigo they waited for us they didnt go on. Justin (my younger brother) and bayleigh (Andrews younger sister) were in the brige for Congo falls. When they came back swe all headed to FOF but only me and Andrew rode it. Justin and bayleigh rode bumper cars. I was really nervous about the take off. But after it was over, it was my favorite part of the ride! After that I rode Wind Seeker with bayleigh with the lights on. It was at dusk. So I didnt get the full expirence with the lights. After that we headed over to Back Lot Stunt Coaster. It is one of my favorite rides. We (me, bayleigh, justin, and Andrew) rode it twice. By then it was plenty dark out for.. MY FIRST NIGHT RIDE ON The Beast!!! I was so excited. The wait was the same as this morning for Fast Lane I was surprised about. But the regular line was now a 3 hour wait. We picked our gates and I turned around and saw ohiocolts and jcoble3 at the front of the fastlane. I ran over and said sorry for not keeping in contact with them because I had no way to reach them. They invited me to ride Diamond Back with them after that, but I said no thanks. I have not rode DB (because of fear), I plan to next year. My dad called me over but I was finishing my conversation. I said by, ran over to the gates slipped in-between them as they were closing and jumped into my seat. Pretty awesome ninja skills if you ask me (haha). Then we took off for my first night ride on The Beast!!! I love it! I wish they would take out a couple lights but it was still pretty neat. The concreat tunnel was my favorite. After the best beast ride ever, everyone else went to the car exept my and bayleigh. We headed over to Wind Seeker. This was my first true night ride on it. When we got our seats, I noticed it was 9:57. I said " Hey! I think we will cach the fire works!" she got excited. After they checked us all it was 9:59 when we headed up. 3/4 of the way up the fire works started. It has got to be my best WindSeeker expirence ever. All th ki ride lights on, wind seeker's pattern lights next to us, and fire works! The fire works were awfuly close. Im surprised they dont close down it. Although (acording to The Crypt) KI's fireworks are craptastic. Yes, they were. But it was really neat to be so cool with all the other lights on. We headed back to the car and drove to the hotel. Great day. Thanks for readin'!

This is my first trip report, but not my first trip, so here goes... So I got to Kings Island at around 10:30, and took my usual shortcut to Diamondback once I entered the park. Along the way I was reminiscing my very first trip to KI back at the end of September of '07, especially feeling the mist and smelling the chlorine of the fountains as I ate LaRosa's Pizza When I got to Diamondback, the line was about 15 minutes (already!) I took Row 14 on the Brown Train. Now, I hadn't been on DB since May 24, and I had bypassed it on two trips I took in between May 24 and August 13. When that first drop came = Adrenaline Rush!!!! I felt so glad to ride it again. When I had gotten off, the line had grown quite a bit. I then decided one ride was enough, so I headed towards Coney Mall. Upon arrival, I knew I just had to ride my beloved favorite - Vortex! It was my first looping coaster and my first ride on it was on a Friday night in July of 2010. As of August 13, 2012, I have rode it a grand total of 90 times. The line for that had grown quite a bit since I looked at it from DB's lift hill. While I was on DB, the line was plenty short and the trains were only half to three quarters full. Now, the line went just outside the entrance with full trains (except a protein spill occurred on Train #1 just before I got in line, so they were running it empty) The wait was 20 minutes at the most. (now, before I get to my rides on Vortex, I like keeping track of even the train that I'm on. Plus I have a great memory, so don't be TOO surprised ) My first Vortex ride of the day was in row 1-2 on Train #3. Liked it as usual, except this time, it seemed as if my usual riding in the front had gotten a little "boring." But I didn't want to stop riding Vortex, and for me this was a problem. While I thought it out, I took a couple of rides on WindSeeker. WindSeeker, for me, is quite relaxing, coupled with the thrill of soaring 301 feet above the park. Did I mention I was also thinking about my Vortex "problem"? During those two rides on WS, which were in Seats 53 and 52, I knew I needed a change in pace, so I decided to try riding near/at the back on Vortex, and that's just what I did when I got off WS for the second time. Vortex again, 20 min wait again. Despite the wait, and spending only 3 hours at the park, I still opted to ride Vortex more than twice. This time, I got row 6-2, and it was on my favorite train, Train #2. (It's "lucky" in a way-but it's a long story!) In fact, the two rides I took after that were ALSO on Train #2 (SEE?!). This time, I loved it like I've usually loved it, with me being all laughing and smiling when I got off in the station. Next I rode in row 7-1, which was my favorite place in the back last summer. (6-2 is my favorite now). Scenario: I was at the head of the line in the part where an op was actually ASSIGNING SEATS, and I told her that 7-1 had no one waiting for it. She replied with a friendly "Oh okay! Go ahead." As i got on there was another scenario: I had just put my waist pack in the storage bin (I know waist packs are allowed on rides but sometimes I take them off) an was about to board when two people had taken my row, thinking no one was on there and i was one of the people exiting. I told the op checking the restraints and he kindly explained to the people in my seat that I was in line for that row and I was just putting my stuff away. They opened the air gates so the two people could go back in the queue while I took my seat and told them "Thank you". On the first drop, I was blown away (no pun intended) with the amount of airtime and literally was just pulled through the loops! It was crazy. Next spot on #2 (and my 90th Vortex ride eva!) was in 5-2, just one row behind the same spot where I had taken a night ride on August 4th (THAT ride was on Train #2!!! ) Loved it. Literally jumped off the train (I sometimes step on the side of the train and jump off just to cap off a one-of-a-kind ride ). At this point, I only had a half hour left before leaving, so I went to Action Zone and waited nearly 40 minutes for Invertigo (i hadn't ridden that in almost a year) When my turn came, I was in the 3rd car, going backwards first. Now, I gotta admit, I had a TOTAL BLAST on that thing! (I'm not even bothered by bumpiness) I was yelling the whole time, because like I said before, I had a blast!!! After leaving the park, I enjoyed a fresh Classic Chicken sandwich and a Mocha Frappe from McDonalds. It was a good 3 hours spent, despite the fact the it was crowded for a weekday (it's still the high season ). Diamondback: 1x YTD: 3x Overall total: 63x WindSeeker: 2x YTD: 7x Overall: 15x Vortex: 4x YTD: 15x!!!! Overall: 90x!! Invertigo: 1x YTD: 1x Overall: 5x

My cousin (TTD-420-120) and I went to Holiday World on Monday and Tuesday. It was my first time there, and needless to say, I was beyond excited. On Monday, it rained until about 10:30, so we went to Gobbler Getaway for about 10 times in a row. After that, we wanted to ride Voyage, but it was closed so we went over to Legend and Raven. From there, we went to Splashin' Safari for a while. Wildebeest was closed all day on Monday. By the time we left the water park, Voyage was open, so we enjoyed that several times. We continued over to the 4th of July area, and rode the flats there. After that, we went back to Legend and Raven, rode the two water rides in the park, and walked around and looked at all of the Christmas stuff. On Tuesday, we started by riding Voyage multiple times. From there, we walked around and hopped from attraction to attraction. We went to the water park around 11:30, and we stayed there until about 3. Wildebeest was still closed, so we enjoyed all of the other attractions. We went back to the main park, and rode various other rides, and on a ride on Legend, I saw that Wildebeest was finally open. We hurried over there to ride it once before we left, and after we got off we rode Mammoth one more time. We ended our trip with one more round on Voyage, and it was incredible. Overall, I loved it there. The park is beautiful and very clean, the employees were friendly, and the entire town of Santa Claus is a magical place. Voyage: 10/10 It meets all expectations and more. This is now my favorite wooden roller coaster. The airtime is phenomenal, and it wasn't horribly rough. Nothing like it. Legend: 8/10 This was a very fun ride, with a whole lot of lateral G's. Raven: 7/10 Great ride with fun speed and hills, but the ride is very short. Gobbler Getaway: 6/10 Better than Boo Blasters, and there are many fun aspects to this ride. Maybe I'm crazy, but it even smelled like pumpkin pie in there. Mammoth: 7/10 Fun ride with many aspects to it. I have never experienced something quite like it. The water was very cold though. Wildebeest: 6/10 This was another ride that I have never experienced anything similar too, but it didn't do a whole lot for me. It was not quite as fun as Mammoth. Pilgrim's Plunge: 4/10 This ride was boring, other than the elevator lift. The fall was anti-climatic, and the splash was not exciting. There was also a painful jolt at the bottom of the ride. Food: 8/10 It was very good and not too expensive. Shows: 5/10 We only saw one, and it was nothing to write home about. Atmosphere: 9/10 This is a beautiful park and the Christmas area was magical. I loved being in the park. Thanks for reading, and if you sneezed while reading this, bless you.

So your saying there shouldnt be any new members to this site? You should at least treat them respectfully until their time of innocence is terminated. And i recommend to any new members that you should read ToS before posting or else it will turn into this drama.

If a B&M Wingrider cost $30 bucks, I'd build one in my backyard! The only problem is I don't have that kind of land.

i can't believe this thread has gone as long as it has. sigh.

Just some food for thought, an area could be a bunch of shows, rides, and shops. An area could just be the space around one ride. An area could also be the space between the following parentheses ( )

Oooooo! Free food at KI! Why didnt you grab it?

Vortex is not rough, yes it's an Arrow Coaster, and yes maybe some of the transistions are not the best, but I have never felt like I have been beat up after a ride on Vortex. I have been riding that sucker fo 25 years.

Would the poster of this topic please read the TOS? On that note, yes, I would love to see a pre-fab at Kings Island.

What a way to open a thread! http://www.KICentral...ake-sobs-place/ http://www.KICentral...ation-location/ These are all good threads to discuss coming attractions. Thank you. Please refer to the above topics

At Action Theater: "The use of electronic devices is prohibited. This includes cameras, cell phones, pagers, jet packs, and refrigerators."

I was also at Holiday World on Monday - my first time as well. I too was amazed at how clean the park was. Despite the very light crowds, staff with cleaning supplies roamed the park all day looking for (and usually not finding) things to clean. I saw one carefully cleaning a few drips of sunscreen off of one of the walkways in Splashin' Safari. After finding Voyage closed, I asked the gift shop attendants which coaster would open first, and they informed me that maintenance usually starts at the front of the park. So, I walked through the rain to Raven and found it "operating" - in the rain - with 0 riders. I was the 1st (and 2nd, and 3rd) rider of the day, and I got every bit as soaked as I would on Mammoth. Raven was the most comfortable ride of the day, in my opinion. Voyage and Legend were great, but the roughness kept me from doing these more than twice. Since Voyage wasn't rough for you, perhaps I just sat in bad seats? After riding Raven and Voyage a few times, next up was Splashin' Safari to try out the water coasters. I was disappointed that Wildebeest stayed closed the entire day, but I guess this leaves something "new" for me to experience on a return visit! According to the ride operators on Mammoth, it was closed because they found discoloration in the water that morning and had to drain the entire attraction. Filling it back up takes quite some time, apparently. Mammoth was great, and I got at least 9 laps in. The wait on this was reasonably short early in the day, considering that the temperature was in the 70s. The water certainly was cold, and you get absolutely drenched with waterfalls and waves crashing over your head. If you ride this, hold on tight, lean back, and don't let go for any reason. (This really is important. On my first time through, someone apparently wasn't holding on and I got hit in the face.) If you don't like your ears filling up with water, earplugs would be good to wear as well. It would have been nice to meet someone from KIC there, if I had known. You should have been marathoning Raven in the rain instead of Gobbler Getaway! Anyway, thanks for the nice TR.

This topic has run its course and is nothing more than a duplicate of a similar topic.

I am and you're done.

On KIC? Thrill_Biscuit. Without a doubt.

Restroom Land? That could be a very moving experience.

If it needs in Insulation lets buy it a jacket! (*corney joke*)

Now that I think about it, don't we have a topic that asks the same question? Edit: Yup. http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25837-does-kings-island-need-a-new-wooden-roller-coaster/

I vote for a VTR after every visit to every park you go to! Great video!

I love your stuff. It's awesome!

I think you meant you don't think Vortex needs a song. Having experienced Medusa before Bizarro in New Jersey, I whole-heartedly agree.

LOL, I think that was auto-correct on my iPod! But I 'spose some head banging could be "perfect"!

When I saw this thread, I thought something to the effect of "Sorry, mate. But I don't fancy male stripper movies." But then I read it.

Great TR! That day was pretty fun. Our Invertigo ride was really fun. Especially seeing Andrew's face throughout the ride! HAHA. I'm glad you had a good time and it was very nice meeting you.

^That fits WindSeeker more than Vortex. Vortex doesn't strike me as elegant.

It's never a bad time to ride Vortex.

Honestly, no. Beast, and Racer are enough in my opinion, and then if you want to count WoodStock Express. I would like a Wing Rider, and to me it would make sense if KI got one, seeing as CP is, maybe even get a Blitz Coaster..

I rode the back seat on Vortex yesterday- it was the roughest ride on Vortex I've ever had. maybe my last- it really wasn't that enjoyable. As I'm getting older the quick turns get me more disoriented than I used to- which I can handle, but getting beat up in the process- not going there. Makes one wonder how many more years are left on The Vortex tank. Steel coasters don't last as long as wooden ones. And there's usually people on it, but seldom a line. I'm guessing that it's maintenance is pretty decent, but wonder how much irritation it would take for KI to wind it down.

Loved the tree shot!

Im happy to get them! I'm sick, so I had some time on me and it brightens my day too see that some people actualy read it. I do go to KI alot. Last year I went a good 25 times. The reason this TR has most of my first night rides is because when we go to KI we wouldnt stay that late (about 8'o clock) so we didnt get stuck in trafic.

^ I don't see how he was flamed as nobody was insulting, profane, or personal. Now, we were brutally honest and did not agree, which should be expected when associated with the claims made and no solid data to back it up. IMO people would be more reluctant to associate themselves with an enthusiast site that caters to rumor mongering and making false claims rather than a site that has members calling out those making the claims. Many enthusiast sites don't even have a "rumor" section to prevent this type of behavior. Those that do, are MUCH less kind then many of us at KIC. A dip in traffic very well could be associated with the constant evolution of social media sites. Let's put it out on the table- why would an intern, who is trying to make a positive impression at one of the most popular seasonal parks in the US, bring such information to an enthusiast web site after only being a member for a short amount of time and does not have quality posts that would be associated with being an intern?

I see the show on average every other day including yesterday and volunteer from the audience has been in the show each time. One-third of the show has not been cut.

In this day and age, people claiming to be interns use terms like "new area" instead of the synonymous term "future park expansion" used in the official release and state the obvious fact that park management is aware of the accuracy of the information released. They are then endlessly flamed for releasing "confidential" information, while simultaneously being accused of falsely claiming to work at the park. Any more questions about why people don't want to be a part of things like this?

Although I am extremely skeptical, I have had my share of Interning (not for KI or CF, actually in the government.) and I can easily see how information could be overheard, seen accidentally, anything of that nature. But yet again, with this being such a high-profile matter, I am highly skeptical. And also, if Dill really is an Intern.. hes screwed. So good luck.

A couple of thoughts: - depending upon the company and role, it is quite possible for an intern to learn upstream confidential information. At my company we spend a lot of time with interns on their responsibilities wrt this type of info. - I don't know whether Dill is an intern at KI or whether KI has interns in positions to learn info but it wouldn't be shocking to learn of a relationship with UC - if Dill is an intern, I hope he enjoyed it because if I was his boss, he'd be done tomorrow

Lol I've realized that. The forum was so much fun back in the day. I miss that alot. Like Jasper, BEAST1979, LongLiveTheSmurfRide, UncleHenry, Gigacoaster2K and even the mods it seems like don't post on here very regularly at all. And I'm just naming the ones off the top of my head. The forum used to be so fun, relaxed, and yet was very good about people not being "too" stupid. I honestly would love to visit alot more often, but somehow, its just not the same.

Which seems to be the problem with most of our older members. Then they disappear and well...these other "fine" individuals show up!

That moon sure is dark, but let's just hope it doesn't like pizza, baby!

Last year, I didn't get up to the metal detectors until almost 9:00 and was well back in line, so this year I had two new strategies to get first train of the year. The first was to leave Xenia a half-hour earlier, and the second was to go to Invertigo first instead of Diamondback, figuring that most would go to DB and thus I would have a better chance at scoring first train. I arrived at the gate in front of the toll booth at 8:15, and they let us in at 8:25. After parking, I jogged up to the ropes in front of the turnstiles and was about sixth in my line. From there I waited until I saw employees come out and supervisors begin assigning them to turnstiles. Now, there was a rope between the restrooms and the first pillar that nobody was lined up at. I saw them assign employees to those turnstiles and immediately jumped over there to form a new line. I ended up being the first one through that rope. I took off on a light jog toward Invertigo, turned my head to look behind me, and there was literally nobody following me. I flashed my pass at the gold pass entrance, and the lady there told me to walk. So I fast-walked the rest of the way to Invertigo. When I got there, the entrance was blocked by trash cans. I got the attention of a ride operator, who told me to go on in. I pointed out that the entrance was blocked, so he came out the Fast Lane entrance and ambled over there to move the trash cans. I walked up to the station and into the front seat (forward first), my preferred seat. I had trouble getting the seat belt to release, but finally got it loose and sat down. I go into all this detail to point out that even with the fact that I wasn't moving very fast, the delay at the entrance, and the trouble with the seat belt, I was seated with my seat belt buckled before anyone else even got to the station. So I easily claimed first rider of the year on Invertigo. After that I rode DB, after which I ran into Gator. Neither of us recognized the other at first, even though we've met twice before, but we eventually figured it out. After that, I headed back into Action Zone to try to get first train on Flight Deck. When the rope was dropped, I was the first one back there, only to discover that it was down. I wandered up toward Coney Mall and discovered that The Racer was down but about to open. I got in line and claimed first blue train of the year in the second row. After that, I got my ride on Flight Deck (it was open by the time I got off The Racer) and took a lap on the train. I also tried out one of the new cheesesteaks. It was $8 and change ($8.69, I think) for the cheesesteak and chips; I ordered it without the chips and paid less. They come with onions and peppers, but I ordered it without those. The cheesesteaks are made to order, so I had to wait for a couple minutes to get it. It tasted good; while I've had better, it takes a truly awful one for me to not like a cheesesteak. I give it a B+. About this time, it began raining. Diamondback went down with mechanical problems, so I went back to The Beast only to find them herding people out the entrance. A ride op there told me they were going down due to lightning. I tried BLSC, thinking that it might still be open because it wasn't as tall, but no dice. I started to get in line for Shake, Rattle, and Roll, but thought better of it and opted to take cover in one of the arcades in Coney Mall. Good thing I did: right as a came up to it, there was a big flash of lightning and the rain started coming down. After waiting out the storm and blowing $5 worth of tokens, I went back to The Beast. They got the all-clear a few minutes later and re-opened the line. The station was very crowded; while there was a separator, he made absolutely no attempt to control the flow of people into the station, and so it was Packed with a capital P. After riding that, I walked around a little bit and decided lines were a bit too long for my taste, so I walked out to my car and got my camera. I bought a brand-new Nikon Coolpix L120 last month, with 14 megapixels, 21× zoom and 720p HD video capability, and this was my first real chance to put it to work. I ended up snapping about 80 photos and about 5 minutes of video. Some of my favorite photos are below. The full album of photos is here. The videos will be uploaded to YouTube tomorrow or Tuesday. Repainted slides in Soak City: The Flight of Fear fort is still Fort Kinzel. A duck or goose (I can never tell them apart) sitting on a fountain in Coney Mall, with the area around it closed off and another duck/goose prowling the ground below it. I can only assume she's protecting a nest. Invertigo in all of its repainted glory:

maybe behind Firehawk

Awkward moment when you don't have that sort of power and the posts go on.. Oh look what I did

Pretty good! I like the video a lot and it seems like you had a good time shooting it.

I think that right there is the best advice anyone can give about Disney World. Go in knowing that there are things you won't get to and be ok with that ahead of time. Can you hit the all the big rides in a day if you rush around at each park? Yes. Is that the best way to get the most out of a trip to Disney? Probably not. On my first visit there my plan, that had literally been a year in the making, was shot in about 15 minutes. There is simply too much to take in to stick to any plan you have made, especially for a first time vistor. I would pick out no more than three 'absolutely must rides' in each park and then let the rest of the day come to you. There were a million things that while I planning my first Disney trip I thought for sure I would have no problem skipping...but once you are there everything changes. Take time to relax and take as much of it in as you can. It isn't a place that you can even come close to fully experiencing in week. Hope you have a great time and look forward to your TR when you get back!

Send in the MODS there ought to be MODS! ...or something like that...

...why not? It's a wonderful ride. You should ride it. You should be forced to ride it...

Oops! Double post, stupid iPod