electricsun

Is it worth the risk of something happening? For me it wouldn't be...regardless of how much I love rides. Keep in mind that if your grandson is tall enough to ride by himself, you can still stand in line together until it is his turn. Then, you can cross over before he sits down and then wait until the ride is over. I do that quite frequently with the spinning rides depending on which kids I have with me. It let's us still spend time together and they love waving and shouting at me as they pass. My oldest nephew was diagnosed with epilepsy right before the 12-13 season and was not allowed to ride anything bigger than Woodstock Express. It didn't matter that he had been on them before. As the doctor said, you never know and it wasn't worth the risk. He still had fun going to the park...even if he stared longingly at the coasters. His medicine works and he was given the "take it slow" instructions last season but I wouldn't let him ride Vortex and he had to wait until the very end of the season for Banshee. This year...Vortex is still off the list and I'm making him wait another year of no seizures before visiting Cedar Point. As much as this disappoints him, his health is far more important than any ride.

We saw the 3pm show tonight. Great as always! My sister and the kids saw the Haunt show on Sundays last fall and really enjoyed it. I mentioned there was a similar show and they were all excited to go. During the show, I looked over several times to see their reactions. I don't think I've ever seen the kids so still and focused on the same thing all at the same time. It was neat to see them so enthralled. Favorite parts per their words - the girls (from the youngest nephew), the clowns! (both nephew) and the princess (the niece - and she means the woman with the aerial ribbons). I asked if they wanted to say hi afterwards and got an immediate yes from the niece. She can be a bit shy with new people so I was surprised. She sat for a picture and gave the "princess" a high five. She was so happy! Which brings me to a huge thank you to the Cirque Imagine team. I can imagine that after such a physically demanding show, they would just love to rest up for their next show. However, they come out with big smiles for those waiting to meet them and take pictures. It may seem minor but that is impressive. I know how that sticks with kids and I'm sure my niece will talk about her high-five all summer. Maybe she will get up enough courage to say something to the princess next time.

I thought I would update with another big thank you! For the niece's birthday visit, she wanted to spend time in Soak City. As we headed over, I asked if she wanted to do the slides this time and got a resounding no. Alright, then. I didn't push and we set up camp at Coconut Cove...20 minutes later moved to Splash Landing. Later, the youngest two did want to go on a bigger slide, especially since I said we could all go together. We headed to Zoom Flume with a short stop to see people pass by so they could see what it would look like when we did it. Both gave approval and we headed up. We had a very short line which allowed us to watch the tubes coming up the conveyor belt and see how people climbed into it. They both had grins the entire slide down, they loved it and immediately wanted to ride it again. Then, their first trip on Splash River. I was worried about this as their last experience with the single tubes didn't go well. I showed them how to sit in the tubes, made sure they felt secure, and walked along side them to hold onto their tubes. I soon got the, "I'm good!" from both but I followed closely to move them around things as needed. Again, they loved it and wanted to do it again. During the second trip on Splash River, the niece was pointing to the other slides, asking if she could ride that next. If only her height would catch up to her spunk. Both kids were happy to do three (3rd was White Water Canyon, which they loved) new things today and were proud of themselves. Lots of high fives and "yay!" this afternoon.

We are in Coney Mall and the wait times are short. There are lots of people walking around but don't seem to be riding. If you were on the fence about coming, it's a good day to be here.

No wait to very short waits for slides at Soak City. Off to conquer WWC (for the first time) with the little ones while we are still wet from Soak City.

I mentioned it on another thread but had a group of "non-riders" this week with two kids being very particular about what they would and wouldn't do. I quickly realized that trying to sway them to ride wasn't going to work; I figured it is their camp and their experience - not mine. I asked who wanted to ride something, we all waited in line together and then the non-rider and me would head out through the ride exit when it was time for them to ride. It worked. My proudest moment was when one of the kids was giving himself a pep-talk to not back out of riding Linus Launcher. He was so nervous but he tried it and started off liking it, halfway through said it was too fast, and by the end he loved it and had a huge grin. He rode it 4 times! at the end of the day, I asked each one what was their favorite part...his was Linus Launcher. You bet I gave him a high five and told him I was proud of him for trying something new! And hey...no tears and all three kids were happy with their KI experience. I call that success!

The kids were so excited about Kings Island as they haven't been since May so we are still going tomorrow. My sister already knows about the BAF event and potential crowds. I'm hoping it will really just depend on how the weather pans out. This is the niece's birthday visit where she gets to be the boss for what to ride and where to explore. She may be tall enough for White Water Canyon... At least the boys are; I'm going to have to bring some dollar bills as I love the oldest nephew's reaction when he sees me at the cannons.

If this is set up in the station like Tempesto, only one train can run at a time. The train moves through the station like Wicked Twister and Invertigo. It's a different ride experience. Loading/wait time seems to take forever even with a short line.

I'm not sure...I think? I didn't get a good look or count. Once we made it through the gates, the kids had a one track mind to just "GO!" and I was trying to not lose them. Or rather, the joke became that they weren't allowed to lose me.

One thing I forgot to share, was how we entered the park yesterday. It was raining and we were doing the restroom stop/pass out tickets thing before entering the gates. We start hearing music, live music playing. There was a group of musicians performing under the awning just past the entry gates. It was lively, sounded great and perked us up. It was such a happy start to our day. I also saw the drummer! We were making a dash to the restroom when I heard and then saw him outside RHFG. By the time we left the restrooms, he was walking away through Planet Snoopy. I hope to catch him with my niece and nephews so we can sit and listen.

I can't imagine a more awkward coaster to get into. Well...Tempesto was not a blast, however Shockwave? Yikes! Pull down/out this lap bar type thing, then step between that and onto the "seat" while pulling the arm contraption together in front of your chest. Oh, and don't forget the seat belt that goes over your stomach/under your chest to hold the arm contraption together. One and done. I'm okay with that.

We had great timing today; there was a slight drizzle when we arrived, but no more rain until the skies opened up as we were leaving the parking lot. I've chaperoned a few trips to KI and CP and it is always interesting to hear the reasoning and logic behind a kid not wanting to ride certain rides. Some rides were deemed too scary or extreme because they lifted above the ground but the Whirlybirds and Sally's Seaplane were okay. The Scrambler is almost too fast. Space Buggies bouncing is okay but not Kite Eating Tree. I love kids. We reached a point in the afternoon when I realized they needed a break from standing in lines at Planet Snoopy. Executive decision made and we were off to see Cirque Imagine before dinner. Smart choice as all three of them (and me, of course!) loved it. Their reactions were so fun to hear and watch. It was a very different trip than my norm as I volunteered to take the non-coaster riding group. I go so often that I figured I would let the chaperones that don't get to visit ride all the big stuff. At the end of the day, my group of kids seemed to have a blast and that is all that matters.

It was such a great sound to hear this morning when I rode with my campers. Thank you!

Walked past Diamonback and it looks to be about a 30-35 minute wait.

Wait times for the flat rides and Planet Snoopy are minimal today. I can't speak to the rest of the park as we've been in Planet Snoopy since lunch. I have two campers that are particular about rides and one that wants to ride everything but is too short.

Thanks! For a moment I was thinking...how can they track the money spent outside the park at local fast food places? It's been a week.

I feel very silly but my mind must be fried. Out-of-park spending...is that the hotels and campgrounds? Which parks currently have such property? I know about the Cedar Point hotels/camper village and Kings Dominion has the campgrounds. Or does the out-of-park spending mean something else entirely?

I do believe there is a set judgement call as far is lightning is concerned. If lightning is detected within a certain distance of the park, things shut down. Rides don't reopen until a set time has passed since the last lightning strike. I remember being told to start packing up with 30 minutes left in our day because of what was showing on the radar. It didn't look bad at the park but as we started to pack up, it started to look worse. We were able to get everything in our truck and just as we climbed into the cab, the skies opened and the downpour began. Speaking of downpour...I might need to pick up a poncho tonight to use tomorrow.

Or even closer than other parks that people have mentioned, there's Stricker's Grove. They let adults ride the kiddie Whip there. I've ridden it several times over the past few years! Gah! Good to know! I'm just feeling a bit whiny and want one at the park I visit the most. Riding that with the youngest niece and nephew would be so much fun and full of giggles. I can't stand it!

Hrm. We were supposed to go for the youngest niece's birthday visit where she gets to be in charge. Looks like we might be picking a different day.

I will second jcgoble3. My sister renewed their Gold passes on the last operating day and had 9 payments. A few other things to note, any processing fee will be applied to the first payment and that is made the day you renew your passes. My sister's processing fee was $6.99 for 4 passes but that is subject to change. All following payments will be on that date each month. For example, purchase on 11/2, payments will automatically be deducted on 12/2, 1/2, 2/2, etc. If your credit card number changes and you forget to update the account you will get an email about that so you can correct it. If you don't, you will receive another email asking you to update your card and and if not, your card will be "frozen" and can't be used until the account is made current. Hope this helps!

A trip to ride Whips...hmmm... I may have to time my drive through WV next time to allow me to stop at Camden Park. Thanks TombRaiderFTW and The Interpreter!

After riding Dorney Park's Whip, I want one much much closer. The little kids shouldn't be the only ones enjoying that experience!

Beautiful weather AND Bring a Friend day for ~$15 each.

Spears or slices?