violakat03

I thought I was going to be the first to post non-cell phone pictures but Ty beat me to it! Pulling into Great Wolf Lodge, which, by the way, was packed. We ended up parking by the conference center. We were also late so we missed most of the tour. However ... I see KI! Hurray! Flight Deck is nicely visible from the backside of GWL. SOB looking graceful with a coating of snow. The trail stank. I forgive Don, Dane, Ryan and everyone else though, totally not their fault. I see a Diamondback looming! This is my first view of the track since closing day.

I believe they dismantle the coaster cars rather than the track. Remove the wheels (especially the up-stops) and they can be removed by crane. I remember reading that they took apart the train when Raptor valleyed. Though if FOF gets stuck at launch (which happens sometimes) they have to push it all the way back into the station for a re-try. That has to suck.

Maybe that's why I was so completely unimpressed by Maverick. I'll have to try front seat and see if I like it any better. The track sure looks cool and so many people are in love with that coaster, I'm still wondering why I found it to be such a horrible let down. I've always avoided the back of the train, assuming it was like wooden coasters where the back is more violent. I've got to try both seats. Sadly, I don't even remember this ride. I know I rode it, because I kept a log of what I rode there, but I don't remember a darn thing about the Cyclone. I remember I absolutely loved GASM though. COULDN'T AGREE MORE!!! I love it when you complain about Ninja. Makes me feel better about hating it. Biggest change in ride experience for me would be Flight Deck. I always rode it in the front because I always ride coasters in the front. I love the little bit of drag you get going over the hills, feeling like you're hanging there and might be stuck. Well, the back seat had no line at all, so my group decided to head back there. It made FD jump from my second least-favorite at KI to my number 3 favorite - though it will probably get bumped by Diamondback. Similar with Flight of Fear - I always rode in front, and I rode back seat one day because it had no line. I now ride only in the last car on FOF. I agree with fcbaseball about TTD. I rode it in the middle of the train and thought it was cool, but the front seat made it amazing. Just the launch with nothing in front of you but track ... that was awesome. Millie is fun pretty much anywhere, but the front car makes it exceptional, just not as a dramatic a difference as TTD.

Wow, I feel all ... official and stuff.

I love the Haunt guys when they team up with guests to get the teenage girls. I saw one of the guys who had metal kneepads and would go sliding down the slope near the splashdown area. I told him I loved watching them do that so he's like "you guys (meaning me and my husband) walk like you don't see me and I'll get someone for you." He hid behind my husband and when a group of girls was walking towards us, he jumped out from behind us and scared the crap out of them! We also saw a couple sucking some serious face next to the exit for Firehawk, so we walked up to two of the scareactors at the prison attraction and told them they should go get the couple. And boy did they! I worked at haunted trails for 4 years during and shortly after high school, so I can go through haunted stuff and predict exactly where people are hiding. We went through the work zone, and there was a group of screamy girls behind us. I'd say to my husband "there's someone hiding behind that sign" and lo and behold, as soon as we passed, someone would jump out and get the girls behind us. I pointed out just about every one of them and they still scared the girls. Now that I'm thinking on it ... Haunt had a lot of funny moments for me this year. On the train trail, I pointed out a girl hiding and she got upset with me and started, literally, hissing at me. Another one came up behind my husband and said something about wanting to eat him. He turned and said "funny, my wife says that too." The girl busted up laughing.

We had 2" snow, 1.5" ice, 10" snow and .5" ice on the top. It made for a giant mess. Took me an hour to clean off my car yesterday, and 3 hours to clear most of the driveway. I gave up on the last 10 feet of ice, I was too tired to keep breaking it with the shovel and just threw some salt on it. The forecast for Saturday keeps changing. I've seen it as high as 40° but now it's down to 27!!!! C'mon weather. Cooperate here!

I thought that too. I also noticed it's got wheels in a couple places, like the MCBR, to get it moving again if necessary. I know it can't just be the video, because it's definitely flying through the end helix. And it's waaaay better with all the tunnels.

Want to sell one?!

Cedar Point had Cedar Point - opoly this past summer, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it return. If anyone's got a PKI-opoly set they'd be willing to sell, I'd love to have it. I collect Monopoly games and missed the opporunity to buy it when I lived out of state. I have Cedar Point-opoly.

I'd recommend telling them she's your ride (or vice versa) to get the sweet deal that we worked out. If he'd just said he sometimes rode with me, or had worked in a different department, we couldn't have had the exact same shifts. But since he didn't have a car, I was his "reliable transportation." I had other friends that worked in other departments (admissions and food) and even another merch person that was in main park, and they wouldn't schedule us perfectly together since the shifts didn't line up - my shift was 10-6 or 2-10 since I was in the waterpark, theirs was like .. 8-4, 12-8 or 4-12 since they were main park.

Yeah I am also planning on doing that this year but it is going to be hard to get scheduled for the same shifts. But last year during training they asked us if we were going to be carpooling with anyone and gave us a form to fill out so maybe that is what they were going to do with that sheet; try to schedule you guys at the same time. After I had already started working there, a friend of mine applied. He put me as his carpool, and they put him in my store on the same shift. He never worked when I didn't, since I was his ride.

I wondered that myself. I'd think the horses would be fragile. I'm actually glad there will be snow during the tour. Makes it feel even more unusual and the coasters look so graceful with the blanket of white.

When I worked there, I only made $6/hr (so about $1 less than they pay now) and gas was averaging $0.90 - $1.30 a gallon. I was driving 46 miles each way, and my car got between 36-40 mpg. I had more than enough money when I was done with gas to pay for everything I needed at the time (which wasn't much, admittedly). I had no problem getting 30 hours a week and could have worked more if I'd wanted to. I was in merch, so it's probably the same across all departments.

Guilty! Especially during Haunt. I was getting off work at 10 and could still manage to get down there and have 2 hours of ride time before close. You might be a KI addict if you work at KI and still go there to have fun when you get off! Guilty ... at least, used to be. As soon as my shift ended, I ran across the park to jump on the last night trains of The Beast or Flight of Fear.

That's not funny, that's idiocy. I hope you alerted security to this illegal and highly dangerous act.

Haven't decided yet. I may take the summer off (my first one in 9 years) so I can do a lot of stuff I haven't previously been able to do because of crappy work schedules, and see if they need people towards the end of the season as people leave to go back to school. I've got about 2 1/2 weeks to decide what to tell them at the job fair. When I applied, I thought I would have to work full time but since I applied, my husband has been offered a position making enough money that I don't have to work. Plus, not working would give me the freedom to travel with him for business. So, like I said, I haven't decided yet.

That reminds me of an incident on senior day in marching band ... some of the girls thought it would be funny to stuff their bras with water balloons before we went out to breakfast. In the middle of eating (this was at Bob Evan's), someone suddenly starts screaming "OH MY GOD MY BOOB JUST POPPED." I almost passed out from laughing so hard.

I hope you have a picture of that somewhere.

One thing I found an interesting disparity between Kings Island and Cedar Point was the price of the food. Paramount really jacked up the prices, and Cedar Fair never lowered them to match CP prices. I was shocked when walking around Cedar Point because the prices seemed much, much more reasonable. My husband and I actually ate in the park a few times, something we never, ever do in Kings Island.

I'd have expected more than just one answer from you.

Having ridden Goliath in it's inaugural year, I think I'd have to agree with you. Everyone was just really really pumped over that roller coaster. In and out of Atlanta - when doing research for whether I wanted to go to to SFOG or Carowinds, something I came across a lot was the comment of "you HAVE to go ride Goliath" even from people who had never ridden it! And now that we've finally gotten a coaster that the whole country can be excited about, what do you want to see Terpy?

And that's why we love you. As to the original post ... I've been stuck on The Beast, I saw Drop Tower get struck by lightning, I helped get a very obese woman unstuck from a bathroom stall, witnessed an assault, and had a fog-induced panic attack. All but the first and last were when I worked there, and I'm sure I'll think of more.

The two I miss most are King Cobra (<3) and Skylab. King Cobra was quite possibly my favorite coaster in the park, because it was short, fun, different, and almost always walk-on. Also, of the 3 standups I've ridden, it was by far the smoothest. Skylab was the first ride I ever went on that went upside down. I rode it the same year as my first coaster. I really love Witch's Wheel at Cedar Point because it brings back memories.

Yes, but which would you rather have, a new fresh topic with new fresh ideas, or a thread that started nearly 5 years ago, died for 3 years, was revived a year and a half ago for a whopping two posts, and died again? I'm in a peace-keeping (or "don't pick on the newbies") mood today. Forgive me, Terpy. (edited to clarify which post I was replying to)

Wow, what a derailed topic we have on our hands...