shark6495

Top Gun/Flight Deck was the first ride I ever chickened out on. Parents and I waited for what felt like 4 hours in line. And then the 7 year old version of me chickened out at the last minute and hung out in the little caged area on the other side of the que. Now, its a mainstay on my ride to do list. Just a fun ride and when it swings out, man of man. And to be honest, that drop in the front car is the best for me. Back in the campground days, the family and I camped right in the shadow of then Top Gun. My pants caught on fire from a burning marshmallow, and then the storm rolled in. What a storm. I remember hearing the lightening crack multiple times and believe I saw it hit the ride a few times. I even swear, as do my family, that around 2-3 in the morning (during the main part of the storm) the lift hill turned on and off. This happened on and off during the storm. We all believed the lift hill had turned on and off with the lightening strikes. Now that Im older (almost 20 years older) I wonder can that actually happen? Can a lightening strike turn on a lift hill?

At what point do they close an amusement park because some one died riding a ride they love? The performers at these shows know the consiquenses of what they do, and they do it because they love to do it. They love to perform, they love the addrenalen rush, and they love to fly. Most of all they would not want a show cancled because of an accident. Also, the International Council of Air Shows ( http://www.airshows.aero/ ) regulates and licenses all the performers, only the best get to perform. As for this particular air show, it is one of the oldest in the nation and has one of the best safety records. In the past 40 years only two fatal accidents (3 performers and no spectators) that's a pretty good record. Air shows in general are hurting because of cut backs, no military teams are in the air or on the ground for static display. This is an industry on its own, you can't just shut it down because some one was killed or injured, for one the economic impact, and second (and most important) the people involved who dearly love what they do, and do it to teach, inspire, and to fufill dreams, not just there own but of every dreamer who dreams of flying. Yes it is worth it, and it is very important that they fly on Sunday, if not for the Dayton aviation community, then for my dear friend Charlie. Couldnt have said it better. People dream of flying. These performers love it/live for it. Sort of like people who live to work with animals. You cant just cancel something because of an accident. As long as people dream of being these pilots/working with animals, and there are people willing to go to these shows, then these shows will continue...

Yea dont ever do this. This is how people are asked to leave the park and never return...

wow. Are we really defending a snafu? A mistake was made. KI needs to make this right. I would be beyond upset if a 20$ charge was charged as $500. A 7 day refund doesnt help as my bill money is frozen for 7 days....

If this isn't a new roller coaster there is no way I'm renewing my season pass. Now dont go starting crazy talk.

TTD was/is a great ride. I loved the launch when I rode it. But after the launch it just becomes this real steep drop. For some guests that is not enough for multiple re-rides. For some guests, that is more than enough. I understand that everyone has their own idea of what is fun and invoked the "I must ride that again."

Wife and new born son took me to Entertrainment today. It was awesome. I am a huge model train fan, and didnt know if I would enjoy the bigger G scale trains. But was I wrong. It was awesome. I took some photos and thought you all would enjoy them. Shooting Star Panorama Dent School House Full photo Set http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthott/sets/72157634148070014/ Pictures taken on an iPhone, sorry about quality.

I agree I would be highly disappointed in the Cedar Fair Company if they mainly focused on JUST family. I mean what are the thrill seekers supposed to do? Build our own? Cedar Point is supposed to be An amazing park with cutting edge coasters , not family coaster that go up 20 feet high and drop 6 feet at 11 MPH. They already have a kiddie area in the Cedar Fair parks why just not keep it the way it's going? Ughhh... I'm so confused It may be that families spend more money in the park than the enthusiast niche who wants the biggest fastest etc. Plus in the park, I think Racer as a family ride. Fun, air time, not too fast. Nostalgic. So family fun doesnt have to be boring. Heck look at Universal. Spiderman/Men In Black/Simpsons. All family fun rides that all want to ride. I would even say the Harry Potter ride, but not sure if its a bit on the thrilling side... see above post. Is The Racer a boring ride? Maybe to you if its not a thrill ride its boring, but many many people enjoy rides that they can ride not with just the daredevil in the family but with all members. Sort of like putting Firehawk smack dab at the in the middle of what could have been a park expansion? or when Paramount replaced a nice relaxing green space family ride with a big ugly junkyard coaster? Long drawn out arguments are what keep these boards alive. You are allowed your opinion. 10 years ago, I would have agreed with you. But now I am nearing 30, and would like rides that I can ride with my 50+ parents and in a few years rides I can enjoy with my kid and his grandparents. Personal rant/story: I went to CP a few years ago. Wife and I rode everything. We are park goers. We enjoy the park but to be honest the thrill of the rides was awesome, but not many of the rides were "re-ride fun" for me. I mean TTD was awesome because of the launch, but then after that it was just a big drop. It was great, but now that I have rode it, it would lead me back to the park. Versus when I went to Busch gardens, Griffin was a great unique and I loved Alpengeist and Big Bad Wolf. Not to mention the fun rides in Universal. At KI,rides that I find just plain fun are beast and racer and flight deck. White water canyon is fun as well. As I get older, I find myself looking for rides that are fun and can be rode multiple times.

Psycopathology? So whats your over all field? Psychology? Speech Path over here. You are right this topic is of unique interest to me. I am thinking of some of my kids I work with. When they are having a great day, they would have no problems on an E-Stop. But if they are having a bad day, man o man... **when I am talking about children with Autism, I am usually looking at children with more severe cases. If I am not mistaken the removal of Aspergers was to make Autism the one big catch all with 3 levels, low mid and severe correct?

SO KI has never been on the cutting edge? Someone help me here, but Racer (started coaster revolution) Beast (record breaker) Bat (prototype) Vortex (first coaster with 6 inversions) King Cobra (Prototype) FoF (Prototype) TRTR (First Giant top spin?) Those are just the first of their kind cutting edge type rides...

Slightly different though. A child with ADHD need to be moving. Or need input of some sort, a person with a back problem probably shouldnt be riding a roller coaster in the first place. So if standing in line aggravates the back, then Im sure a ride would hurt as well. But some people with back issues actually have walkers with a built in seat to help them as they are standing in the line. A child with Autism when over stimulated can cause self harming behaviors or start other harming behaviors. Comparing a child with ADHD or an adult with back injuries to a child/adult with Autism is not a fair comparison at all.

As the average person would read it, that is not correct. Wasnt the idea for Gatekeeper a previous regime, but then Quimet's regime altered the location and the ride?

You had said watch what they do and not what they say (about a year ago). So I was just saying they are doing what they said. Just some friendly sparring. No harm my friend. Plus after everything you have said about Gatekeeper has made me decide that a trip to the point is in order. And soon!

Getting a a potential Star Wars Land and Cars Land. http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201306/3524/

Thank you! For some reason I thought that had already been settled... Oh well I live and learn

Fair enough I have to tell other students "fair does not mean equal" when they ask why a certain student only has to answer 15 instead of 25 questions, etc. To be honest, as a supporter and worker with children/adults with special needs, I believe the park has a good system in place. Could it be better? Yes. The reason being is that 1 support cannot and does not work for all guests. But to a parent with a child who does not understand waiting, the card may not seem reasonable.

I just want to echo was Dwight posted above. Mr O appears to have a great feel for this park. Talking about hitting the sweet spot of rides for families to want to ride together. Guests want to come back because its fun, not because of a coaster count/etc. He leaves his office to interact with guests to find out what they like and dont like. I feel this chain is in good hands. To have a coaster or ride or themed area that is for families. I believe TERP stated about a year ago to watch what the park does not what is says. Well the chain stated it wanted family fun (or similar statement), then CP put in Gatekeeper. Mr O stated that with Gatekeeper the ride needed to see Lake Erie, recreate the entrance, and to have a ride that is a fun experience. Mr O stated that the ride transitions are more spread out which make the ride more fun. So I disagree with Terp in that CF is doing what they are saying (or at least so far) in bringing Family fun to the park. Genetic Vacation Behavior, where if you have fun as a kid you will bring your future kids to the park. The idea of not blending all of the parks into 1 copy after another. I know my family growing up got season passes for Paramount parks and we would plan vacations around going to multiple parks.

Ill repeat this, what is fair isnt always equal. Its not like the kids with autism are deciding to have problems waiting just to get a free front row pass

Nice terp. But I missed whats going on in Indiana?

Bingo! And thats the hardest part for parents/teachers/family. One moment the child appears to have got it perfect. The very next moment its starting over. Its not uncommon for a child to learn compensatory behaviors. We teach them all of the time. But it takes a very dedicated group of people who are willing to bear hug a student when needed, or willing to wipe spit off their face and keep a smile. Get hit and not react for the student to learn. Different places create a brand new learning environment for the student. Some students I work with have to eat in the classroom because they have not learned to wait in the cafeteria and the extra noise upsets them

I was thinking the same thing, but couldn't think of a proper way to say it. Waiting is certainly not a Kings Island thing, it happens every day. If an individual with autism can be taught that when they go to a restaurant, there will be a waiting period between ordering food and eating, can they also be taught that there will be a period between deciding to ride a ride and actually riding it? It's an honest question, so don't be offended by my ignorance. Maybe one of the many in this thread who are far more familiar with the situation can throw in their $.02. Boddah, children can be taught but it takes a long time, and many many many practices before the child/adult can "get it." But each situation needs to be taught. Children with autism have a very difficult time generalizing a skill. A child with autism may learn to wait for food at home, but in a restaurant does not understand the waiting period. They may learn to wait at Olive garden but do not understand the wait at outback. In each new environment the skill needs to be learned. In SpecEd we are taught that a typical student learns a concept with 6-8 unique opportunities. A child with autism can take 10-20 times longer to learn a skill. Or in other terms. A child will take waiting in Beasts line 8 times before they understand that waiting = a ride, and acting out is not appropriate. A child with autism may require 80-160 opportunities to learn the exact same skill. This is not counting any "weird" sensory distractions that may occur (Too hot, too cold, music too loud, they are tired, meds are different, different time of day, etc). Plus the child/adult would need to learn to wait at each ride. So learning to wait at The Beast is a different experience than waiting for Flight Deck or DT, or even Boo Blasters. Parents are also integral into this process. I just had a coworker take her 20 year old son to Disney. She began prepping him for a possible plane delay 8 months ago. If the plane got delayed in Jersey, he has a history of acting out and she was afraid he would make a scene on the plane and get forcibly removed. So she had to go over what to do 3 times a day for the last 8 months, just in case the plane is delayed. He has been going to Disney since he was 4 so he really understands waiting, and actually yells at people using the fast pass system (he is an enthusiast even if he doesnt know it). So long answer longer, yes a child/adult with autism can be taught but its a very very long process. Sometimes a parent and a child do not need the extra stress of waiting. Some of these children/adult dont realize how strong they are. They may jump on the back of a fellow park patron, spin around, spit, climb the rails, or punch just because they are being over stimulated and dont understand what is happening. Funny side story. My first day in the Autism classroom, I touched the desk of one of my students. He didnt know how to take it so he flipped the desk, removed his shirt, spit (blew raspberries), and then opened the door to the closet and climbed to the top of the door. Just lifted himself right up. All in about 2-3 seconds. EDITED: added an additional line about learning at different coasters

Some do not wait for city buses. They walk because they can not handle it, or they know the schedule of the bus and if the bus is 1 minute late or early, throws off their entire day. Some kids with autism have to have a hair cut at home. With a parent holding them down while another cuts their hair. Some parents never go to dinner, because other diner patrons believe the kids shouldnt be out in public because they cant handle it. I think you all are missing the point. Its not the immediate service that is the problem, its the delay and random changes to the schedule that affects the kids/adults the most.

I cant be the only one who hears the name Banshee and thinks this and hear Beast and think this So to me they dont conjure images of the dead or paranormal, but just members of the x-men

And I sent my idea of a schedule versus the cards to the park. I think the cards can work with certain guests but some children/adults need that schedule and if you are taking a class of MD/autism kids, then the schedule could help the teachers and students.....

Well a child with autism (people first language) requires a structure and routine. When the routine is broken or not implemented then things can go very bad. So by having the child create a plan before getting to the park (first we will ride flight deck, then racer, then bathroom, then beast, then eat, etc) and having to implement a new element would not be a good thing. I think the "new" policy could work with an appropriate support system from parents and a child who is having a good day. Wow. What a selfish thing to say. The child is not "in bad shape" but has a difficulty with change. Sometimes a child with autism or adult with autism or any disability a trip to KI could be one of the greatest things ever. Now this could work if park management worked with the parents and had the child/adult with autism have the card filled out at the front gate. For example, you go to guest services, at guest services, the worker fills in your card with help from the child. You ask the child/adult which ride they would like to ride first, the guest services person then writes in a time, followed by the next few rides. schedule in a time for lunch/bathroom/etc. When all of the rides have been ridden, the child/adult goes back to guest services and gets another round estimated time rides. This way the child/adult has a set schedule. No surprises. Now this does eliminate some of the idea of surprise second rides or picking a ride on the fly, but the scheduling would help assist. That way the child does not have to be turned away at the ride. They know at 315 we are riding The Racer and 350 we will be riding beast and at 415 we will eat lunch and at 5 we will be on Diamondback.... now this may anger some of the regular guests, but fair does not mean equal.