BlondyRidesOn

I have a question regarding applying to work at the park. I applied back in January and haven't received any notification as to when they want to interview me for a summer job. Not concerned, just curious.

I'm not sure of we are getting a coaster in 2017, but it seems unlikely. We just got Banshee in 2014 and other parks, like Kings Dominion for example, are long overdue for a coaster (Last coaster KD got was Intimidator 305 in 2010. Canada's Wonderland got Leviathan in 2012). I would love a new coaster in Rivertown, however it seems unlikely and would probably cost us the train as well as the shady trees in order to build it.

An expanded Rivertown would be lovely. Oh the possibilities...

Perhaps all of these nostalgic photos are a preview of their 45th anniversary in 2017. Hopefully it'll be like Kings Dominion's.

I remember it from my childhood. It was located in the Alpine Chalet building on International Street, currently the location of Starbucks. In the park's early years, it was known as the Hanna Barberra Potpourri Shop.

It's kind of hard to tell, but by the looks of it on the webcam, the path the tracks go on seem to be covered in dirt. Hopefully it's just my eyes and the vantage point from the Tower. *Edit* False alarm. Just my eyes messing with me.

I think a B&M Giga will be coming to the Island in the near future. But if there's a coaster I would love to see the park get, it would be a Rocky Mountain coaster similar to Outlaw Run. Never been to Silver Dollar City, but I would absolutely love a Rocky Mountain woodie close by, even though we already have two good ones, three if you count Woodstock Express.

Never got to visit while it was open. I first went coming up on five years ago, the Screechin' Eagle was still standing at the time. I was surprised to see how much was left.

I think the theming back then wasn't much but still went a long way. I recently acquired a brochure from 1992 and flipped through it. Most of the food venues and shops were gift shops and standard amusement park food counters. "The German Building" (currently the Emporium) sold Kings Island souvenirs, Cafe Parisienne sold nachos and cotton candy, and the Swiss Deli, currently Skyline on I-Street, coincidentally enough, sold Skyline along with other food on the menu. Kings Dominion has been going towards themed areas again in its recent days, so it's evident that the Cedar Fair parks have the freedom to bring theming back, even to the smallest degree. It might not happen at Kings Island, but there is some hope of it actually happening one day.

Looking at the numbers, I'm surprised that The Racer has had more riders than The Beast. The Beast's line is usually longer than The Racer's.

Wipeout. It's a small ride from Moser Rides; similar to a Mondial Top Scan.

I thought tge organ didn't stay "fixed" because of the humidity and temperature differences, which is common.

-Racer TLC (remove chipping lead paint, restore red white and blue color scheme, new wood track) -Eiffel Tower repaint. -Grand Carousel touch up, especially some paint on our beloved Wurlitzer 157. -Re Internationalization of International Street, not really all out like the World Showcase at EPCOT, but something like Holiday World where it's just tiny things, but theming is still being acknowledged. -Animatronics on the train. -Bluegrass music as background track for White Water Canyon.

A picture of the maintenance team painting the queue entrance was posted a few weeks back.

They posted the process in Instagram a little while back.

Comparing Knotts to Kings Island makes me think about Kings Dominion. That park seems to be bringing back some old themed elements. Candy Apple Grove, Safari Village, even their International Street is being acknowledged a bit more.

Can painting over the lead based paint have negative affects on the structure of The Racer? I have always wondered if the current paint restricts from a touch up. I probably wouldn't think it would, because the Eiffel Tower was also painted with lead based paint, but I could be wrong.

However, when it comes to Thunder Road, the paint was stripped off, and that caused structural damage to the wood, and it was also in the way of the waterpark expansion. At an ACE event recently, Don brought up how The Racer is still structurally sound and not in the way of any expansion. That could all change, but they did give the queue house and entrance a fresh coat of paint just last week. I think the best way for The Racer to get some love and attention is if everyone rides it. It still seems to get pretty sizable lines, unlike her Carolina native sister. It still has a lot of fans, but then again, so did Thunder Road.

Coney Mall- Put sign back, paint touch ups. Rivertown- Put animatronics on train. Oktoberfest- Install Tilt a Whirl named "Glockenspiel" next to lake. International Street- Spanish building~ Add on and build Mexican food stand, name it "Hank's Cantina." Deck out with a couple Spanish flags German building~ Change shop names to German sounding names like "Main Strasse Souvenirs" and "Spielwaren." Keep Peanuts Emporium. French building~ Replace Minute Maid with snack stand with Soft Drinks, Pretzels, and Elephant Ears, rename "Colations Cafe." Italian building~ Okay for now. Alpine building~ Can't be saved.

When you are sitting at home thinking about a job application for next season.

I got that off the CET documentary about the park. Cedar Point and Camden Park were already existing parks in 1972. The Six Flags parks didn't open with major roller coasters when they started springing up in the 60's. When The Racer opened along with Kings Island in 1972, the other new parks took the hint when they saw the queue lines filling up. Six Flags Over Georgia opened The Great American Scream Machine in 1973 as a result of The Racer's popularity (while that probably wasn't the main reason for GASM opening, it was most likely a contributing factor.). The Racer wasn't technically the first major coaster to be built since 1947, but it was one of the first to open with a new park. It helped spark the coaster building boom, which almost 20 years later evolved into the coaster wars. Had it never opened at all, many of the coasters on the market now from Intamin, B&M, Rocky Mountain Construction, just to name a few, wouldn't be here.

Because you'll be in too much pain to care.My fiancee and I rode last seat based on someone's suggestion we were chatting with in line...we both carried bruises for a few days (not exaggerating). I suspect that was not recently.Last year and this year, I would contend that the very back seat on The Beast has been smoother than any seat on The Racer. I sometimes fear as if The Racer may be on its way out. Carrowinds removed Thunder Road, and King Island removed the Coney mall sign. Also when was the last time The Racer received massive track work like The Beast?Racer still pulls in ridership as well. Racer had a full que over filling on the Midway Saturday.Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk I think everything had a full que SaturdayExcept for The Bat, at least when I rode it, which was around midnight. The station was eerily quiet. I would absolutely hate for The Racer to go. Out of all ride removals that many of us are still saddened by, like the Antique Cars and perhaps Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal, removing The Racer would be a huge and extremely painful loss for the park. Aside from the Eiffel Tower and the Royal Fountains, The Racer made Kings Island what it is, and helped revive the coaster industry in the United States, as it was the first traditional thrilling coaster built in the U.S. since 1947.

I still see International Street as "international." LaRosa's sells Italian hoagies, aside from pizza, and Graeters has Gelato on it's menu, which fits well with the fact that it's located in an Italian building. Tiny things can go a long way.

I have noticed that the effects didn't work much this year, so that seems like the case. I may be in the minority here but if they do anything to the fountains, I would like the pedestals to stay. They make our fountain stand out from the ones at Kings Dominion and Canada's Wonderland.

Since there's an elevator that possibly goes to the International Restaurant, I would love to see them do some work up there and reopen it. Regarding International Street, I would love for the shops to get names that go with their architecture a bit more. A new soundtrack is a no brainer. I would love walking down I Street listening to "La Vie En Rose" by Mantovani and his Orchestra, Sabre Dance by Aram Khachutarian, Hoedown by Copland, and the theme to "A Summer Place" by Percy Faith.