Beast1979

This thing is going to be insane: http://twitpic.com/4c85mm/full Walking down Coney Mall will never be the same!

Yes. Look at the midway in this picture: The midway back there used to be checker-board black and white brick pavers, I believe for when they were advertising the Days of Thunder movie in Action Theatre.

Nope, I clearly remember them pouring that concrete earlier this offseason....makes me wonder why they would pour it if they were going to replace it!

Well, at the moment it's dominating the homepage, so I don't see much problem for that right now; but in the future, when it comes time to sell season passes and advertise the 30th, I'd imagine they'll put it under the Family Attractions category.

I've never liked soft drinks. At all. Ever. So I guess I'm the fortunate one, not having to try and quit, having not started in the first place! Of course, I compensate by drinking gallons of milk

I think I'm gonna chime in here with my opinion on the subject: First off, I like the addition. A lot. While I myself may only truly enjoy it 2 or 3 times (Not just because of the fee but because of the type of attraction) I have a feeling there will be a lot of happy families this year. It looks very well done and very cool, and I think it's gonna be pretty successful with it's target market. Secondly, I do like that Kings Island is adding something like this, and not another roller coaster or thrill ride. While I personally would have been happier with the latter, the former makes much more sense. Let's face it, if Kings Island didn't have the thrill seeker / teenage market locked in before, they did in 2009 with Diamondback. We've got Diamondback, Flight of Fear, Vortex, Racer, Beast, Invertigo, Firehawk, Delirium, Xtreme Skyflyer, Drop Tower, etc. I think Kings Island is pretty safe in not catering to the teen market for a while. Not to mention this year we're adding WindSeeker, which I'm really excited about, and I personally believe is not given near the credit it is due in the enthusiast circles. I think Kings Island is right in going for the family market these past two years with Planet Snoopy and Dinosaurs Alive! If anything, know that in 2012 Diamondback will be 3 years old and we will be prime for a new thrill ride or coaster. Also, I don't think Kings Island overhyped this. If you were spending tons of money to add a huge new 12 acre attraction to your park, which is expected to draw tons of families in, wouldn't you want people to know about it? You can't really criticize them for what they did, they got attention their way for a new addition. The fact that it wasn't what you particularly expected or wanted it to be doesn't make it any more or less correct that they did so. As for the upcharge...well...I do think $5 is a little high, but I can understand the existence of the up charge in the first place. You gotta make a profit somehow. And unlike the ridiculously high food and drink prices, I do think people will actually pay for it. I mean come on, $5 won't even buy you a basket of chicken fingers at Festhaus. Overall, very happy with the addition and happy with Kings Island overall. Can't wait for April 30!

Announcement has come and gone, and while votes were spread pretty even across the board (Thanks to an awesome 90 votes in the poll!), there were some standouts like Dino Helbig and Reptar! However, it looks like Carl Winslow has won by a landslide!

I figure since I have time to write out a full post at the moment, I might as well drop in my two cents. I'm a part of the Son of Beast Haters group, but I am not one of the people who constantly calls for it to be torn to shreds, burned, and weenie roasted. I am actually very intrigued to see what could be done with this type of treatment. I am a Son of Beast Hater, but I've always seen some potential in that ride. The first drop is the best on any wooden coaster I've been on, and the Rose Bowl would probably be a pretty fun element were it not for the extreme roughness. Take those two, and add in some of the Texas Giant type features - Double ups, +90 degree turns, addition of airtime hills and quick lateral changes, etc, and I could see Son of Beast becoming an actually halfway decent coaster, at least. If this does turn out to be for Son of Beast, I will root for its success and anxiously await a ride on it when the opportunity comes. Not to mention, construction at Kings Island in general excites me However, let's not allow ourselves to forget the fact that this may not, and probably is not, for Son of Beast. I remember the last time I got involved in a park guessing game for a coaster, it ended up going to China. Granted, this applies only to North America now, but the fact remains the same. This could be for any steel or wooden coaster in our corner of the globe. It would be extremely unwise to assume until further facts present themself that this is for our problem child. It could be anybody's problem child.

Very interesting. I think we should all keep our eyes open on Son of Beast this year, and on other various coasters throughout America. I'm looking at you, Mean Streak. It's going to be an interesting year!

Reptar has been added by popular demand. Carl Winslow still has a huge margin through!

http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23516&view=findpost&p=419853 I've made a poll topic for voting on the name, for anyone who's interested.

As you guys are all probably aware, Kings Island recently installed a new thirty or so foot tall model dinosaur out front near the parking lot, to be put on display as what is likely to be an advertisement for the new addition being announced on the 18th. Here's our new friend's portrait for those who haven't seen him yet: Ain't he just cute as can be? Anyhow, in typical KICentral tradition, I felt it right that we ought to give our t rex a name. After all, we did name the crane that so faithfully constructed our favorite new toy Diamondback "Clifford" I've taken the suggestions that I've recieved in the main March 18 Announcement topic and on Facebook, and made them into a list. Vote on your favorite (Might be hard considering the huge number of entries ) and which ever one has the most votes at, say, 2 pm Friday, the time of the announcement, will become the name of our T-Rex! Jackson, who's hope in this is to lighten the mood, keep people from yelling at each other, and maybe even accomplish something

So we gave the big red crane assembling Diamondback the name Clifford, I feel we need to give the dino out front an official KIC nick name. Any suggestions / votes?

And Gordon Bombay wins the post of the year award!

You, and many others in this topic. You guys seem to excite yourselves to the point where you expect far more than the park has promised. At this point, the only thing the park has said is something new, and big. Big is a pretty vague term, and many people here have convinced themselves that Big means new roller coaster. Don't worry, this happens every time Kings Island makes an announcement, and it's always a new group of people. Soon you'll learn (Like I did) to never set any expectations and wait to see what it is. That way, you don't set yourself up for disappointment, and typically walk away happy that you got something. Plus, it makes the announcements when it is a big new ride so much sweeter.

You know the topic has hit a new low when a guy with a Glee avatar who can't spell "roller," is ignoring various Twitter and Facebook and blog updates by the park themselves saying "Coming this year," and will suggest for what is perhaps the 123rd time in the last few days that the park is getting a huge new roller coaster for 2012, based only on the fact that the eye looks like Diamondback's and because Kings Island has said the word "BIG" a lot. If people insist on setting their expectations high with practically nothing to support them, then there's going to be a lot of broken hearts come Friday....

Look comfy.

Then what is it doing dealing with Racer?

New WindSeeker video posted today. I point this out in this thread because of the split second clip at 0:29:

Must...not....jump...into...pool...of.....predictions.... Must...not....get....hopes...up.... Must...not...get....excited! I failed on the last one. Can't wait to see what the heck is going on!

The third picture looks like the empty grass area between EuroBobbles and the bathrooms. It's kinda sad that I can guess the location by the bottom of a fence and grass....

And I was the one who pointed out the text in the URL. I feel special and scared at the same time. Kings Island, if you're reading this, please don't rip up my pass! I want to give you guys money this year!

Check out the URL of the picture with the trees: http://www.visitkingsisland.com/_upload/galleries/dino_photo_gallery/mud_1.jpg Dino theme all but confirmed.

In case anybody cares.... Anyone have any idea what the background with the grassy meadow at dusk may mean?

This is great! For one, I thought the video was extremely hilarious. "This year at Kings Island, *blleeeeeeppp!*". I applaud Kings Island for their continued jabs at the Enthusiast community, they seem to know what makes us tick and they're outrageous when they poke fun at us. Secondly, I also applaud Kings Island at their marketing for this so far. Beginning with the footprint in the snow, which we all thought was meaningless at the time, then the National Red Day drawing, the famous "Planning" picture, now this. I have to say, they did a fantastic job teasing this one, whatever it may be. As for my predictions on the attraction itself, that's a tough one. This is a very interesting situation they've made, and really unique. Marketing a big new attraction in the dead of the offseason, to arrive in the upcoming year, when all the buzz is about a ride already being built to open the same year? I'm clueless, to be honest. I could see this being anything from a walk-through attraction to a small roller coaster. Seriously. I'm stumped. But man, this is very exciting! Can't wait until the 18th!