Kings Island to bring back Flyers and add second kiddie ride

King's Island definitely needs some flat rides! I agree King's Island should have gotten their original back since it was a Coney Island ride, but corporations don't care about history! LOL.

The Larson flyers are not nearly as fun as the Bisch Rocco. The Larson flyers just seem to turn sideways in both directions more than dive in and out. Don't they also have 2 less tubs? (8 vs 10?) I think Knoebels actually has 12. The ride cycle for the one at Cedar Point is pretty short due to the poor capacity.

KI International Street needs a major renovation further than just the stores. King's Dominion's International Street is so much nicer with the heavy trees, and the table sitting areas separated from the main walkway by landscaped islands. Kings Island's feels pretty ghetto compared to KD's. The awful cheap looking white picnic tables they installed a few years ago look like that came from Wal-Mart lol.

King's Dominion International Street is the best park entrance have seen for atmosphere, even over and of the Disney Parks. The combination of the building details (also better than KI's), the landscaping, trees, fountain, very pleasant table areas makes it an awesome place just to hang out.

The same can be said for the area around the Eiffel Tower at KI vs KD. KD is surrounded with trees and has a much better atmosphere than KI.

Looks like good additions for KI. I'm liking more rides that are family oriented as I have a five year old. He's hilarious in that he is so ready to ride coasters. He has been on 4 so far. The Big Dipper and Little Dipper at Camden Park, two portable coasters at North Myrtle Beach. He was 2 1/2 on his first. He also loves my Rollercoasters of Cedar Point DVD. He swears that he's been on every one of them even though he's never been there or is even big enough to ride most of them.

Jeff said:
Gears? I drive an electric. :)

Get an electric that goes more than 100 mpc and then you can be smug about it :-P.

The range says 110 when I unplug. Is that good enough?

Hoping Tesla Model III is really what they're shooting for.

Driving to me is all about hearing the engine, working the clutch and shifting gears. Get off my lawn!

I will be getting a model III. No questions.

I love the Flyers, any type, but I'm with Travis. I was all pleased with myself when I got the Knoebels flyers snapping, and then I realized I truly was terrified as the snapping got more intense.

The Larson flyers can get a nice swooping dive to them if you use the rudder correctly. I like all the models, and I find them to be such a pleasant and relaxing ride, but you snappers are all nuts.

Truly terrified the first time. After that, it's actually quite addictive.

Just wish I was better at it.

Vater said:

Driving to me is all about hearing the engine, working the clutch and shifting gears. Get off my lawn!

Because I haven't derailed this enough, there's an on ramp at the 408 and Orange Ave. here in Orlando that goes up between the two elevated roads. When I punch it with the windows open, it sounds like a flippin' space ship taking off. It's pretty rad, but then, I've never been a car guy.

You drive a Tesla, Focus, or Leaf? Or an i3? If not, what you're hearing might just be the gas engine. But if it isn't, you'll be hearing it soon enough. I test drove the i3, purely out of curiosity, and it has some amazing pull off the line.

As a car guy, though, the Tesla is the only pure electric that interests me. But with my commute, I cannot make it work. (Nor could I afford it.)

I have a Leaf. It has no gas motor. Do you really think I wouldn't know the difference? The i3 (I have driven one) only kicks in the generator motorcycle engine in certain situations below a certain charge, assuming it's equipped in the first place (it's optional). I put that car through it's paces, and it never used the range extender.

Knew I'd get drawn into this LOL.

I'll probably will visit, But only after hearing credible reports that Snapping is allowed.

I've had a reliable source tell me someone high in the park said they would be. But we've heard this story before and if they won't allow it at CP, Why would they allow it here? Then I see video of our old one at Carowinds where the ops are judging the wickedest flyer?

The Bisch/Rocco versions were transmission and belt driven models which kept the friction/grind/whatever you want to call the to and fro motion from from reaching the internals. KI's had a main shaft bearing break like three years before they moved the ride. The whole structure tilted a bit, but they had the ride back up in no time. KI's (Now CW's) also had several modifications, Such as the way the cables connected. Extra loops on both ends tying the cables together in case of a failure, Welded on guards over the tub bolts to let a slack cable slide over it instead of catching, Which I've seen twice at Knoebels and set the tub at a 45* angle after hooking the cable.

I have seen other Bisch/Rocco's modified to run on a tire drive to the main shaft, I think it was Seabreeze I seen that.

The 8 Tub Larson is a gear driven, With two what look like two oversize car starter motors on the main shaft, I don't know if this has anything to do with most of them not allowing snapping or not. It seems like it'd be a easy fix to change this to a belt drive and the belts would slip instead of binding gears if it was.

The Larson is every bit as snappable IMHO I've only ridden em a half dozen times. Four times at Hershey and once at IB. At first I thought they were too fast and could not get the arcing motion needed for snapping but after I found if you keep the wing inward till it got full speed, You could launch and start a good arc that you could increase till snapping. In fact, I found it very easy and hard NOT TOO SNAP as the motion just comes natural to those who get it. Our first visit to Hershey in 2001, My brother snapped it harder than I ever seen a flyer snapped, He litterally bounced from bottom to top and the resulting E-Stop caused him to do it two more times. Oue next vist to Hershey in 2008, I snapped without really trying and I didn't snap hard on purpose to keep from getting kicked off. At IB I snapped a few times. Quit and Snapped some more and quit and that seemed just fine with the Student Op who was studying for exams :)

KI's was as much about friendships as it was the ride. Of course we were all there because the ride could be absolutely thrilling, But just hooking up with the others I know who loved it after the walk back and in the evenings made what had become a stale park to me, Every bit as fun as it ever was to visit. The fact that the ride was never exactly the same twice and sometimes you could get great rides and others you couldn't get a snap out of, Also presented a self challenge.

Like I said, It will depend on how they allow them to operate. If your not allowed to ride to he rides capability, Whats the point? Sorta like riding a bumper car they don't allow you to bump, Or a Scrambler that doesn't scramble at half speed. Why bother? I'd rather make the 400 mile trip to Knoebels or CW.

Of course not. Any self respecting gentleman knows his car. It was a roundabout way of making fun of the incredibly limited electric only range of hybrid cars like the Volt, etc. Some of which are as little as 5 miles.

For the record, I really like the Volt. While I would opt for a turbo diesel for my 290 mile round trip commute, I think the Volt represents the "short-term car of the future" once the prices get more reasonable.

I think the volt sucks. All that expense with severely limited electric-only range. And the interior is a mess of human factors that don't make any sense. I think the future is something between the Leaf and the Tesla, and honestly if you have a conventional car (or hybrid that is primarily gas), then having one Leaf is 100% realistic. We've never had any range issues using it as a commuter car.

Tommytheduck said:

For the record, I really like the Volt. While I would opt for a turbo diesel for my 290 mile round trip commute, I think the Volt represents the "short-term car of the future" once the prices get more reasonable. CNG will never happen.

Did I read that right? You commute 290 miles a day?

I didn't even read that. No job is worth that. Although, my commute most days involves walking from my kitchen to my office without pants, so I'm a little biased.

For real - that's almost 9 times my commute, and I already think my commute is a significant time sucker of my week. My commute takes me about 30 minutes each way, or 75+ if the traffic is bad/accidents/weather/etc. But on the days where it takes longer I get very resentful; I can't even imagine how I'd feel doing something 9 times longer

Thought my mileage was bad at around 100-120 a day. Eesh!

Yes and No... I commute from Cleveland to (K) Detroit 3 or 4 times a month and work multiple days at a time while staying in company provided lodging....

And it's a sweet job, albeit extremely nerdy, as Jeff was so kind to point out. ;)

...And I like to snap flyers.

I find it somewhat ironic that the products my company develops showcase video conferencing technology, I have the ability to make video calls from home, yet I drive ~50 miles to work nearly every day.