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Oh, goody. It did seem as they were as useless as tits on a nun back there, and, turns out that I was absolutely right. I did get $20 in "Beagle Bucks" back, bought a t-shirt for free. So, I guess they cost me $40, or, $60 with a free shirt. I kind of wish that you hadn't told me that. It seemed like complete ineptitude in that shack last night. *Edit* The good news is, apparently that fiasco took me from 1 star to 4 stars. So, gives me two $20 off a 2013 season pass. So, between that, the $20 in Beagle Bucks, the $25 Merch voucher, and the $40 savings on two season passes, I did OK. Not so mad now. Plus, three more that I can print off.

Wow, it's not even the offseason yet.

I SO knew what I was going to ride next: the Point’s newest tower ride (along with a touch of elegance)…WindSeeker!! The ride was in the middle of a cycle when I entered the queue, but 1-2 minutes later, I was walking to my assigned row, row #21. I chose the outside seat. The first few minutes of served as the soundtrack for my WindSeeker flight as I and the other riders aboard soared 301 feet above the rest of the Point, (including Space Spiral and what was left of the rubble that was once Disaster Transport), the beach, Castaway Bay, Soak City, and the ever-so-vast Lake Erie. I could easily see the causeway and Route 2 as well, along with the rest of Sandusky. Pleasant flight as always, and I loved it, especially with a familiar soundtrack narrating the whole ride cycle, and especially when I was waving to Space Spiral for a moment during every rotation spent uptop. I also saw Corkscrew’s white train stopped on the lift hill, and a ride op walking to and from the train, probably retreiving a loose article or something. As WindSeeker descended and finally landed, I noticed that here at Cedar Point they let the whole soundtrack play, up until it’s time for the next cycle to begin, whereas at Kings Island they stop playing the soundtrack when its WindSeeker is just about to land (about 30-40 feet in the air still). I enjoyed getting great views of the (de)construction site, thanks to maXair and WindSeeker. As I journeyed to Power Tower for a ride, I used the “Continuous Shooting” mode on my camera to capture these shots of Corkscrew: ^I was lucky to also catch Iron Dragon and Millennium Force in this last one! Finally, I reached Power Tower. Since I rode the “Shot” side last time, I decided to ride the “Drop” side this time. It was also a walk on. I got Seat #6. I liked the quick ascent to the top. Unlike Drop Tower, I had no idea when it would actually drop. But I was still prepared. Top Thrill Dragster was right in front of me, so I just stared straight ahead at it until the ride then made its sudden descent. [Also] unlike Drop Tower, which freefalls until the magnetic brakes do their job, Power Tower only freefalled for a split second before gradually slowing down so it could go up again. It went up and down once or twice more before it finally descended back to the station. I thought the ride was pretty nice. Next was Corkscrew, which is like half the size of KI’s Vortex, but it still packs a punch. Part 3 coming shortly!

Sorry that this TR is so late, but my PC crashed soon after the trip and it took a few weeks to get it fixed. Plus it took me even more time to upload all my photos to Flickr… On Sunday, September 9, 2012 at 9:15am, I left for the Point, and arrived three and a half hours later at 12:45pm. Clutching my E-Ticket in my hand, I exited the car and stepped onto the asphalt known as “Cedar Point’s parking lot.” One of the first things I saw on the park’s skyline was none other than Space Spiral. Noticing how Disaster Transport was completely gone, yet all of the Spiral was still intact, my wild and creative imagination came up with this practically unreasonable thought, “Maybe it’s open.” (I hadn’t been in the loop lately, especially concerning the DT and SS deconstruction…) I knew in my right mind that the ride was closed and its time to leave Cedar Point was really soon, like maybe in 3 days (hint, hint). Anxious to get a closer look at Space Spiral, along with getting my yearly fix of Cedar Point rides, I proceeded directly to the park’s Main Gate. My ticket was scanned, and I had officially entered “the Best Amusement Park in the World!” This trip, I wanted to ride some of the rides I didn’t get to riding last year, on August 4, 2011. One of them rules the sky, and also got to be my first ride of the day. Yep, it was Raptor! The wait for this bird of prey was about 15-20 minutes. I would later know that it was the longest I’d ever wait for a ride on this trip (every other ride would be only 5, if not, 10 minutes). When my turn came, I was on Train #1, in Row #4 on the far left seat. For a ride ruling the sky, it offered a pretty nice flight. The first drop was a good start, and I loved the inversions (like on any invert, my favorite parts are the zero-g rolls). I also liked the cobra roll and the loop. Quite exciting. After exiting Raptor, I headed across the midway to where I grabbed these two shots: I turned around, and then I came face-to-face with…..Space Spiral!...and a wooden fence, separating the ride from any guest wanting to get close(er) to it, along with metal bars blocking the stairs. I knew that I was too late to reach new heights in fun (particularly on the Spiral ). At the moment popped into my head. I studied Space Spiral for at least 3 minutes, then I joined maXair’s extraordinarily short line (in ’11 it had an almost-extraordinarily LONG line) and walked right on to the next cycle. I got Seat #47 (which was the same number as one of the seats I got on one of my three WindSeeker rides on my 9/03/12 KI trip!) Note: you can see Wicked Twister’s train in the background. maXair was fun, and really intense! I did notice that the duration of the cycle was a little longer than Delirium’s. I loved it, especially when it swings to its highest and you’re facing the sky. Those negative Gs you get are just amazing! I took one last close look at Space Spiral before moving on to Wicked Twister, which also had a very short wait of about 2 minutes. I took Row #8, near the back. When the ops said “Clear; Launching in 3…2…1…” I thought “Don’t expect very much…” I guess it was because I was sitting near the back of the train, because the launch really caught me off guard! I was screaming until the train started ascending the front spike, before descending back to the station and being launched backwards up the other spike. In general, the Twister was a fun ride in itself. Part 2 coming up shortly!

I think Craptor will have more poop.

As I strolled down the midway on my way past the Luminosity stage and to my next ride, Iron Dragon, I took some time to grab these shots of Iron Dragon and Corkscrew: Iron Dragon was also a walk on, if not, a short station wait. I rode it four times, but I only had to go through the queue once since those four rides were CONSECUTIVE. That explains the fact that only Train #3 took me on all four rides. I started out in row 2-1, to get back the feel of flying through the woods like a dragon, barely missing trees and swooping over the lagoon. The first part of the ride was like a scenic flight through a forest of a variety of trees. The part after the second lift hill, right before the train descends over the lagoon, is my favorite part. I also rode in 7-1 (twice) along with 6-1. Iron Dragon is a nice ride to take through the woods and get a brief close-up with nature, and how it can really intermingle with the more synthetic/mechanical environment of an amusement park. Next up was the standup: Mantis! Since this ride also occupied part of the lagoon, it neighbored Iron Dragon at a fairly close proximity. As I made my way through the empty queue up to the nearly empty station, a few fish swam up to say hello. I boarded the very last row on Train #1. As you can tell in the pic below, I was on the far right. In my opinion, the experience was “next to mediocre.” I didn’t mind the inversions or the first drop, but in general the ride was a bit more forceful than thrilling. I did my usual riding method of relaxing, and in this case, I also put my head forward of the harness so it wouldn’t bang while I was getting thrown from side to side. The ride still was fun, but not as “balanced” in thrills and forces as it was on even the Corkscrew. (remember: I only like some rides better than others, and for me there’s no such thing as actually “hating” a ride. ) Part 5 coming soon!

Charlie Brown and Company have been making recent appearances other places as well. Jimmy Kimmel featured the Gangs National Coming Out Day Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COFOmtUuzcU See, it does get better!

Well, this is a random poll. KIC, discussing bird poop since October 2012!

Movie to be released November 25th, 2015. Screenplay being written by Craig Schulz, son of Charles Shulz, who created the peanuts. Read more here: http://seekingalpha.com/article/919181-charlie-brown-coming-to-the-big-screen-time-to-buy-iconix-brand

^How Original.

Yay! Chainsaws!

You must be extrodinarly bored to think up one like this. I said raptor, because, well, I did.

Wow! Great TR cant wait to read part 4. You are so lucky that you got to ride WindSeeker at CP! Last time I went I said I wanted to ride it, I was really excited to becasued it was at night (I wanted to ride it to get the great view of lake Erie).. but NOOOO! We just HAD to Ride Mean Streak, which I didnt ride because, well, ... its an ironic story .TheCrypt is still taunting me with it Then CP closed, and I was going to ride it next time I went, but now all the WindSeekers are closed right now. Dang it. I know how much work it is to type all that. Much appriciated!

There was a small line for the front row, but I just went ahead and walked right into row 2-1 on the White Train with another group of 3. I took the seat on the right. This is actually one of the rides where I like to (at least try to) put my hands up. The airtime hill and the loop are my favorite parts. I found out that on rides like this where it gets a little bumpy, if you try to keep your head back, your head might get bumped forward a little and then hit the headrest, which if done enough will cause a headache. (That’s why I always keep my head FORWARD! ) Overall it was fun, especially for a smaller Arrow. I got in line again. This time I went for row 6-1, in the last car. I was on the Red Train. I got what I expected: ejector air on the first drop and airtime hill! Liked the intensity of being pulled through the inversions, just like in row 7-1 on Vortex. When the train arrived back, I made it a double ride by re-riding in row 5-1. It was great as 6-1 was, with just a teeny bit less ejector air. Impressive. Now it was time to ride my favorite Arrow, Magnum XL-200! Yay!! Magnum had a station wait of 5-7 minutes. I boarded row 6-1 on Train #1. And Magnum was off, down, around the corner and up the 205-foot tall lift hill, the hill which made it the world’s first hypercoaster! I looked down at Soak City, which had already closed for the season (I mean, who wants to go to a waterpark when it’s 60-70 degrees out? Brrrrrr!!). The train crested before swiftly gliding down the first drop, over the hills, through the tunnels, around the pretzel turn, and over the bunny hop hills. Those hills are my favorite part, along with the first drop. I love the last hill especially. Since it’s in a tunnel, you have no idea when you’re going down, which adds to the thrill of the ride. One thing I don’t like is that the entrance and exit are SOOO far apart from each other. At least it gives you time to take in all the sights, sounds, and smells of the particular section of the park before re-entering the line. To my surprise, the line had grown a little since my last ride. It was now on the staircase just outside the station, but the wait was still 7 minutes, which was good. (Go high capacity!) This time I was on Train #2, in row 6-1 again. It was pretty much the same as the last ride experience, with all the airtime and fun that you get for riding the world’s first hypercoaster. After taking a long walk from Magnum’s exit to entrance AGAIN, I entered the queue only to find that the line had shortened back to its original length. I boarded Train #3 and I was once again in row 6-1. (I think it’s becoming a favorite…). Very very fun ride like the last two were, except this time I knew that if I always rode in the back, the dense lap bar would eventually wreak havoc on my thighs cause it goes down pretty far. I’m not hating on the ride, (like I’d EVER do that to an Arrow! ) I just learned something new just by riding it!! Anyway, when #3 arrived at the station, my eyes searched around for any empty rows. I found no one waiting for 3-1; so I got a double on Magnum, too, by re-riding! In fact, 3-1 was where I took one of my Magnum rides on 8/04/11! Fun ride. At the beginning of the ride, I heard playing on the walkway below. Next was the adrenaline rush known as Top Thrill Dragster! Compared to the 40 minute wait during my 2011 trip, it only had a 10 minute station wait, which was only a fourth of its 2011 wait time! This enabled me with the option of riding it more than once in this single CP trip. My first TTD ride for the trip was in Row 6 on the Blue Train. My wait time for that particular ride was cut short a few minutes because the ops were looking for a single rider to fill an empty seat, and I was that single rider… It’s always very nerve-wracking right before the launch, knowing that the Christmas tree lights would light up at any moment, especially after the copper fin brakes retract and the train rolls back a little. During the launch I closed my eyes a little, feeling the acceleration like I’ve never felt it before. Suddenly the train goes straight up to the top of the tower, clears it, then twists all the way back down to the finish line. The adrenaline is only 17 seconds long, but it’s probably worth even a 40 minute wait. I exited, walked past the “Winner’s Circle,” then walked back and re-entered the queue, taking advantage of the shorter line on this cool September day. After another 10 minutes, I rode in row 8 on the Red Train. My mom took a video of this ride with her digital camera. I’m the one who throws my hands up right before the train launches! This time I kept my eyes open for all of the launch. Meanwhile, I discovered the true thrill of zipping straight over the ground at 120 mph. Here’s the link: http://www.flickr.co...N03/8063707582/ Part 4 is coming shortly!

well, the poor lads costume did not arrive. We will get dressed up next weekend. He will be Blackbeard the Pirate, I will be Eddie from Iron Maiden. Today we will be our mild mannered selves. I need to edit my original review. Last night was great. Chainsaws wandering again, I noticed a few extra props i didn't see before and the lines were never more than 30 mins~. Beerman is a superhero name I brew as a hobby.

My new favorite saying.

These turnpike cars were built on the grounds at Fantasy Farm. More than 20 parks had them, including Coney Island of Ohio, Riverside and Camden Park. Here's video from Camden (where the log flume is now):

Last time I checked, there were no Fright Lane coupons available through FUN Perks, only Fast Lane coupons. If the cashier took your Fast Lane coupons and you didn't buy Fast Lane, then you were ripped off as $30/person is the regular price of Fright Lane on Friday nights to begin with per the online purchase system on the KI website.

^I was thinking the same thing...

Agreed, every haunt last night was better than it was opening night. Glad that they had the "chainsaw" back at the end of Slaughterhouse...shows that those in charge do listen, though, give him a real chainsaw, for petes sake...lol Daughter and I went ahead, as this was our last trip to Haunt, and got Fright Lane lanyards. Were $30 a piece with our half price Fun Perks coupons (took an act of congress to get it done, though..inept work at it's finest). Made it thru every single haunt in 3 hours, taking our time around the park. Really helped on Madam Fatales, CornStalkers, Tombstone, CarnEvil, and Massacre Manor. That said, Fatales was great! CornStalkers is utterly useless. Tombstone was decent, best part the bridge across WWC all fogged up. Definately not worth waiting in line for. Club Blood, again, useless. Other than the three or four dancers inside, just silly. The lady outside had the line of the night, directed at the group of 12 year old boys in front of us. Cannot say it here...wouldn't want to get her in hot water, but, HILARIOUS!

Obviously raptor because it's older.

Raptor, because there is already a ton on there.

I plan on going on the 27th with some friends. We also plan on getting fast passes to deal with the crowds. Should we get them at the park or online? I would much rather get them at the park but I'm not sure it they sell out really fast. We'll get there no later than 1PM do you think there will be any left? I've never seem them sell out before, but Ive never been there on a REALLY crowded day before either. What do you guys think?

Incredible pictures. Fantastic detail. Thanks!

I have gone the last 3 saturdays and they are pretty crowded and crazy. I can typically only hit a couple haunts on a saturday. I just went last night and it was much more enjoyable then a saturday when it comes to lines. I will be there today though, the boy wants to do the daytime trick or treat.

Can't help myself. I have to bring up this For Better or For Worse comic strip that I've always loved:

^ Fair enough. It's just weird for me since I still very much feel like a teenager or kid in many ways. On the other hand, someone sincerely asked me this time last year if I had kids or was married. That one still blows my mind. (I know some people are married and/or have kids at my age, but it's surreal hearing it for the first time. It's probably a fraction of how people feel when they first get asked about senior discounts...)

Dont forget about Raptor and The Swarm as well! The latter being "known" for tearing innocent test dummies apart! Ouchies....

Happy birthday to me in 3 years! (I'll be in my mid-20's... That baffles me.)

The actors didnt even move when I walked through.

^That could mean one of two things: 1. MotherofOcolts wasn't used or 2. I have no idea what you're talking about

^ Be sure to secure it to the wall well. If it would happen to fall & break your computer or hit you in the head requiring a hospital visit, the "define irony" jokes would be endless.

I think we all have a little too much time on our hands.

They could make it like a Pumpkin Patch...just let people go out and pick the piece of wood or bolt that they like the best.

is all i have to say. me trying to avoid the one face post.

^Wow. Come to Haunt and beat up people who try to scare you. Sad. Anyway, I think Ill go through Slaughterhouse JUST to meat Sam. I'm kind of a wimp, but I'll man up. The fact that you stay in character EVEN on the forums kind of amazes me. (all caps makes things IMPORTANT)

True story: In the late 70's, Terp was widely known for striding down formal hallowed halls each Wednesday at the noon hour, bellowing "Come to the forums! Come to the Forums!" All while loudly ringing a cowbell, much to the consternation of the more traditional! Always tell the truth, it will amaze your friends and astound your enemies!

In July of 2010, we made our only trip to New Jersey, just days before the removal of Great American Scream Machine was announced. We only got to ride it once due to downtime and rain, but the kids still speak of their once in a lifetime experience. As for the coaster I've ridden the most, I believe The Beast has recently overtaken The Racer, which held that title for many years, due to having a three or four year head start. But back then, there were no season passes, and that lead was not large. Then, in the early days of The Beast, long lines allowed The Racer to stretch its lead. But in the last few years, we have ridden The Beast far more often, which leads me to believe it is the new leader.

It was even the stand in model for advertisements and pre-publicity for Rolling Thunder at Great Adventure! Red track, blue hand rails and all!

I wish one person was working at the park today and thats Don Miller he had Class always said hello to you and if you worked under him everyone was equal. But he retired and he has moved on and is enjoying his retirment. Kings Island is a great place to work I have worked both in the park and behind the scenes so I know how the entire park is ran on a daily bases. I have been to places in the park ware most people dont get to see and do everyday. I have seen the park being set up for the season ive seen it being put away for the winter. It turely is a wonderful place to work but keep in mind you will have ur ups and downs working at the park.