electricsun

The poor man. My heart aches for his family, friends, and coworkers. I've had to stop reading comments on a lot of stories, especially ones where someone has died. The heartless comments are infuriating to me. There is so little compassion. It is one thing to have a morbid sense of humor for situations that deal directly with you...but for someone you don't know? That person had people that loved them and who are now grieving. It's just not necessary.

Great point! I'm sure many of the Carowinds guests couldn't fathom a time when there wouldn't be a plantation house at their entrance. I love having the Eiffel Tower and fountains revealed as you walk through the gates. It reminds me of my excitement as a child and now seeing the 'wow' on kids' faces as it comes into view. It brings a whole level of excitement to the day. I would be sad to see that aspect disappear. And yet, things and times change. Nothing is forever and very few things are guaranteed.

I was planning on going but I now have to travel for work. I don't have the schedule yet but knowing the location, likely schedule, and the drive time back to Columbus and then home to clean-up and then to KI...the logistics aren't in my favor. I'm not sure if one of my team members can take my Friday. If so, I'll be there. If not, I'll likely visit KI in May.

That isn't a fun thing to wake up to! I saw this on Dorney Park's FB page: "We have been notified that on Wednesday, March 30, guests who use PayPal accounts with our Easy Pay Payment Program were erroneously charged. The error is limited to guests who use PayPal accounts for their installment payments. Our payment processor is actively working with PayPal to rectify the situation and ensure timely credits are issued. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused and appreciate your patience as we work toward resolution." https://www.facebook.com/dorneypark I would recommend calling Kings Island if you haven't already.

I'm having bad flashbacks from my childhood and all the characters that seemed to swarm the entrance. They made for a great photo op if you aren't terrified of them!

Yikes! Those colors! The trains and track seperately aren't bad but combined? It hurts. Maybe if the track was a royal blue, or the trains more rich or royal versions of their colors, it wouldn't clash so bad.

Now I want some fruit salad!

Weird tip but gas is cheaper in South Carolina compared to North Carolina. You'll miss this but in case anyone else is looking for a Carowinds trip this spring, April and May is their Festival of Music. It may be a bit busier than expected. We went in the evening of Friday last May and it was still hopping with the middle and high school band students. https://music.carowinds.com When I go to Carowinds, I'm staying at my friend's house 30 minutes away and eating locally there so I'm no use. When I visited Kings Dominion, I camped at Camp Wilderness. They do have cabins. The campgrounds are shaded and had really nice restroom/shower facilities. They offer a free shuttle to the park. You can faintly hear the roar of the coasters and see the park from certain areas.

I really enjoyed Dorney Park. They have a great Whip! Their Zephyr is a nice train ride but may not be the most comfortable for taller people. Their Cedar Creek Flyers are a bit off the beaten track and didn't seem to get a lot of people when I visited last June. I was able to ride, exit, and ride on the next cycle. For a smaller park, they have a good mix of coasters and rides. Hersheypark is also a nice park. Their dueling wooden coaster is a lot of fun - try both sides. Laff Trakk was an unexpected blast. Their Whip isn't as good as Dorney's but it's okay. Their Frontier Flyers seem to go a bit higher and faster but that may just be my perception. Enjoy your road trip!

When your first park and ride of 2016 doesn't happen at Kings Island. Cheetah Hunt at BGT will have to take that position.

I drove through today between 4-4:30 - everything running normal for those on 75 SB. Traffic was really light. It was very strange to drive 20 miles and not see cars on the other side. For 75 NB, there wasn't a back-up on the highway to take the detour. It looks as though they are taking the opportunity to do additional work on the northbound lanes north of the rock slide. There was a excavator breaking up the highway and some concrete culvert type pieces next to the highway. The rock slide is impressive. Imagine if someone picked up an entire massive hill of dirt and rocks and just plopped it in the middle of the highway. It's huge. I don't envy their job to remove all that land and stabilize that area.

Fifth graders can be a rough crowd. If it makes you feel any better, I once had a small group of 6th graders tell me that I was suspicious and I could be a spy for the government. Their teacher thankfully quickly stopped that line of questioning from the group. I was also simultaneously cheered by 4th graders while booed by 6th graders. Yeah...those were not two of my favorite days of work!

Eek!!! Crossing fingers that is the case. Either way, I'll find out tomorrow and will post the traffic details when I stop in TN for gas.

Bkroz - you should add "throwing them off the scent even if I'm not there"! I normally don't care about spoilers but going into that park without knowing and being told not to look it up, made that ride a really fun surprise.

I'm trying to not be super negative about the VR thing. I want to believe that parks and manufacturers have tested these and all safety concerns that folks are bringing up have been addressed. But. There are very real logistical and safety concerns that I haven't seen answers for. How are they sanitized between use? How long does it take to get people set-up in them? Is VR in particular rows so those riders can be prepped before they get on the ride? What happens if they can't handle the VR during the ride? Can they take it off? What if a clip fails and the headset comes off your face? I can keep going with the questions but I think you get my point. VR sounds like a misraeble experience to a girl who gets nauseous in motion simulators. Give me a real life experience instead of virtual experience any day!

With shoes, you may be too tall for Wicked Twister - it has a 6'5" height maximum. It is also a tight fit for those with bigger chest areas. I have to adjust my upper body in order to ride - more so than what I have to do with Drop Tower. I agree with jcgoble3 in that Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster are unforgiving. I have big hips and tend to have to have a ride op snap the seatbelt on those two rides. But I've seen bigger guys ride with no issues. In general, I think fitting on rides really has to do with how your weight is distributed around your body. Maybe another person here has been better advice regarding tips and tricks?

Oldiesmann - I'm not in construction but I would assume that those timelines are based on how long repairs took for similar previous events. It may be like other contractor/building incentives that if they complete the project by a certain time, they receive a bonus. I think when it is an unplanned issue, they work faster to fix the issues versus when it is scheduled highway builds or upgrades. When the tanker overturned on the west side of Columbus last July, it took them about a month to replace part of the bridge span, supports and the road underneath. But really, this is all from my observations and no knowledge of the industry. I could be completely off-base.

Didn't know I was channeling Roseanne when training new team to drive the trucks!

As long as the stars align this week, I'll be driving that way next Thursday. I'll post how it goes and what the traffic is like. Crossing fingers that all goes smoothly!

Yikes. That is good to know as I'll be traveling that way in just under two weeks. I'll have to plan on leaving earlier than normal. I'm glad that no one was injured in the slide.

Then later as an adult, a Lego Death Star sounds like an awesome prize lol. Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk Yes! A former team member used his hotel points for the Lego space shuttle and spent his comp day putting it together. He was so happy and used it as a decoration at his desk for all of us to enjoy.

My oldest nephew has played the basketball game three times and won twice. Not quite sure how as he is as coordinated as I am. The last time I told him that we would have to walk the ball back to the car as we were not spending the rest of the day with that ball. There are times when I will give the kids $10 to spend as they wish. But if they want to play the water shooting game and want a specific prize, they have to pay for the other kid (or me) to play and if that person wins, we give the toy to the other person. If you time it right...and the person running the game realizes what you are doing, you can be the only two people playing so it's a guaranteed win.

Several years ago at least one chain restaurant had funnel cake fries on their menu. I got them a few times during winter travel weeks. It sure got me through the week!

I remember visiting a few times in late spring 2011 for work meetings. We took a tour and the rooms they showed us weren't the best. I remember a small hole in the wall in one of the rooms - maybe from a doorknob? There were very few people in the water park. Most of the stuff looked okay but things were a bit off if that makes sense. When traveling for work, people would ask me about going there for their Columbus vacation. I would just tell them to look at reviews and if they are looking for Great Wolf Lodge or Kalhari type experience, they will not be happy with Fort Rapids. There are better and cheaper hotels in better areas of Columbus. A friend works at a local high school that was going to have their prom there so now they are out of a venue and have to find a new place. Which is really unfortunate.

Oh! Check Meijer for the cost of tickets. The one in Sandusky, as well as the ones in Columbus, has a three sides display as you enter the store with tickets. Price will vary depending on where in the state you are. I've never paid that close to the cost as I have a Platinum pass but that could help. I think they also have a Ride and Refresh ticket you can buy that includes a wristband for free drinks.