TheCrypt

I don't see how liability for the pre lift, lift, and drop is too bad. The coaster has never had any problems after construction at those points (nobody mention the lift partial collapse--the structure wasn't as strong and there were high winds), so why would anyone have a problem with it? Also, couldn't these demo and construction phases be seperate, so as to not consume most if not all the yearly capitol of either Kings Island or Cedar Fair itself?

Nope. I went thrice last week (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday) and saw him turned on every time. Granted, the elephant was worse when it was working, and at least we don't have the tiki heads anymore.

^^Controlled demo, perhaps. Wrecking ball is A. Too uncontrollable, and B. could damage other rides and attractions (Flight Deck, Thunder Alley, Xtreme Skyflyer, Action Zone, maybe even The Racer). And even if you do rent the same equipment for longer use, what good is demo equipment when you need to construct? Hehe Even after the main structure and track are taken down, you still need to clear the debris, pour new footers, take out footers you can't use, scrap the wood (or reuse it), etc. So different equipment is going to be needed, and that has to be taken care of before the crane can be put to use.

If you scroll down the link Gator provided to standbyme's excellent photos, you can see how wonderful Festhaus looked. Even the draped cloth from the lights make it look German (a little festive, though). Why did those have to be removed? Now all we have are bland circular lights, a shell of the former self.

Ah. Thank you, Colonel! I originally viewed the link on an Apple product, so I needed Flash. I didn't even know there was a video! Now, did Cedar Point voluntarily become Storm Ready, or was it mandatory? If voluntarily, I would assume that Kings Island and other parks will become Storm Ready soon.

^Ah. Well, I stand corrected! However, Paramount did dump a ton of money into that ride['s theming].

I doubt Paramount deliberately bought rides that they knew would be prone to downtime. And many people think Paramount was a company of cheap ba******, but I would think that a regular sized Frisbee and, as another member put it, an "off the shelf Suspended TopSpin with some theming here and there" would be cheaper than the giant versions with minor theming. Where else did Paramount spend so much dinero? But I can see your point, dudecoasterman. But Paramount wanted capacity, not reliability [it seems]. When was the last time Paramount put in a low capacity ride (outside of NU/NC)? 1999 with Invertigo (unless I'm mistaken).

My vote? A real, genuine log flume. Omit spitting beagle.

At the park in the morning last Friday. Ride op on Drop Tower while checking restraints: Ride Op- "How's everyone doing?" Me- "Good. How's Nick doing?" Ride Op (Named Nick)- "Nick's doing OK. Nick's been here since 8:30 this morning, and will probably stay here 'til midnight. And then Nick gets to listen to Owl City the whole night. Yipee..." Now, I know he was complaining, but he was laughing and making jokes about it... It's hard to explain the humor in it...

The Diamondback and King Cobra references are only to give people a reference so as to what an anemometer is, not to specify that I think Kings Island is "Storm Ready". They were just examples.

Maybe I'm just out of the loop on this one, but does Cedar Point have signs pointing to the nearest tornado/flood shelter? Do they even have appropriate shelter? If not, then they don't deserve to be "Storm Ready". Just because you have an anemometer (a windspeed gauge, commonly found on high roller coasters or buildings--There's even one on Kings Island's International Street to gauge the height of the water plumes in the Royal Foundtains!) and 2 radar systems, doesn't mean you are completely "Storm Ready". EDIT: And I don't think Kings Island is Storm Ready. The Diamondback and King Cobra references were examples!

So the webcam constantly moves, offering different views of the park because of Friday's recent storms?

^Same here. Mine was out for about 10 hours, including the night (so in reality, it was only about 2 hours w/o power, whereas for this storm, I didn't lose power at all.

I echo all of GYK's thoughts. But here are some individual ride reviews: The Crypt: As you can tell by my screen name and About Me section of my profile, you can see that it's a given that you're gonna hear positive reviews about it. I must say, this is an amazing ride that packs a punch. However, if you take away the fire, water, and score (again, something I'm a fanatic about--soundtracks/scores), you just have a basic TopSpin cycle. I personally don't think it'd be worth it to ride if it has a long wait and the effects are down. Judging by GYK's excellent photo trip report, the effects now are of the hit and miss variety. Volcano: The Blast Coaster: Honestly, I can't remember too much about this ride, except for the first launch, the fire out of the top of the volcano, and crawling around through a half-assed attempt in a volcano (within, you can clearly see the scaffolding supports--or some kind of scaffolding, and you just crawl around the room for awhile before the brakes). Seeing as how that's the only thing I remember, it doesn't seem too worthy (someone correct me if my review is terrible!) Intimidator 305: This Intamin giga does not let down until the final brakes. During the offseason, I heard it got its trims removed, so that's always a good thing! I loved this ride from start to finish, even how fast it goes up the initial hill. Ride it at night, as I'm sure it'll be quite disorienting! Anaconda: This Arrow looper is really fun, but I can't remember for the life of me if this was rough or not. With a loop, followed by a sidewinder, followed by 2 corkscrews and a couple helixes (helices?), you'll have FUN. As a side note, while it's shorter than Vortex, the setting almost completely over the water makes up for the loss, plus the underwater tunnel. Grizzly: This ride was pretty fun. It starts out mirrored to The Beast (literally- you make a left turn out of the station 180*). I can remember it crawling around the turns, perhaps there's a braking mechanism there? But the end quickly picks up the pace. I feel like it was great fun. Dominator: From start to finish, Batman's Night Flight Dominator never lets up. The cobra roll, massive loop, and intertwining corkscrews, combined with the floorless train design, makes this ride quite memorable. Plus, I always love watching the floors in the station fold up! Beserker: Skip. I rode this and Phoenix @ Busch Gardens Africa and had the same experience at both. If it had less painful restraints, maybe ride. But when I rode, I could barely breathe, the OTSRs push down on you with so much force. Don't ride. Ricochet: Your standard wild-mouse coaster. Go up, do some quick hairpin turns, throw in a couple drops, brakes. I had fun, quite possibly you, too. White Water Canyon: OH MY GOD skip. If my experience isn't typical, so be it. But when I went, I didn't get A SINGLE DROP of water on me. None. Zilch. Considering that I waited about 45 minutes for this and didn't get wet, let's just say I wasn't a happy watermelon. Maybe you'll get wet, though? But I have no idea if my expirience was typical. Don't pass up their Flying Eagles. IMO, if you pass them up, it's a waste of your day (I know, extreme, but I just absolutely loved this ride! ). I cannot say anything but positive comments on it, as it was like reliving my childhood. I last visited in 2010, so you might experience different than what I did. Also, do make sure you check out GYK's excellent PTR, if you haven't already. I feel he expressed his opinions in the park wonderfully.

I am fortunate enough to have all of my (residential) power lines run underground, so I never lost power. The day at the park wasn't too bad, though. The only dampener on my day was that we had to leave early (right as rides were beginning to open again).

^You've seen the house? I'd love to... Wonder if that's part of the train tour? As to the webcam, it rotates everywhere (and offers nice views of the park. I have a few screenshots of it facing AAT and of it facing Action Zone. It's no big deal. 0-SoB in 1 post or less...

*pukes* Ugh! I hate the front seat on Diamondback! Sure, it's quite the view, but the airtime there is terrible. I much prefer the back seat. For the front? I would say Flight of Fear LEFT SIDE ONLY (farthest from the loading gates), The Beast sometimes but not often (I much prefer the back), Mystery Mine, Thunderhead, Iron Wolf, Maverick (or like Terp said, not worth my time), Mean Streak... I could go on, but I doubt anyone cares!

FUN, but it got boring to me at the end of the season last year. This season, so far so good (only been on it once!)

Be prepared to wait...

Dime? Maybe it has something to do with how new it is (like the 9th built)...?

The Family Odd coaster looked super deressing.

Actually, he had "Kings Island" stitched on him. You mean tased!

Oh, sorry. I guess I shoulda thought about that more.

It seems many older and/or taller people found Son of Beast unenjoyable. Younger and/or smaller people loved it. Correlation?

Why did this have to be brought back to express your opinion already stated (and debunked) in a previous thread?