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Hello everyone. It's been a while. You're all looking good. I was recently featured on a podcast about the future of amusement parks. I'd love if you gave it a listen. https://m.soundcloud.com/thefuturejam/ep-13-for-your-amusement

I had a very fun and enjoyable day at King Island yesterday. I would like to share my feelings (and some of the girlfriends) about the rides I went on and the overall pro's and con's (there was one HUGE con) about the park. First off, I haven't been to many different park's. I've probably been to Cedar Point over 1,000 times. I was a season pass holder for 8 straight years when I lived in Fremont, OH. So obviously it's natural to compare everything to Cedar Point. Boblo Island in Windsor/ Detroit and Universal in Orlando are the two other places I have been. In regards to Kings Island, the first thing that I noticed is how incredibly clean the park is, which is something I expected from a Cedar Fair park. Every bathroom I was in was very clean, and there was literally no trash anywhere in the park. So A+ for that. Now on to the rides-- We decided to work clockwise around the park and hit everything once, so the following list is in that order. 1. The Bat- Shattered expectations. I thought it would be similar to Iron Dragon at Cedar Point, but it was a lot better. We went on this 3 times, once in the front, once in the back, and once in the middle, and the front is clearly the best experience which was not unexpected. 2. Drop Tower- Met expectations. It goes up, and it drops. It was fun, but not something we did more than once. 3. Banshee- Exceeded expectations. Totally destroyed Raptor at Cedar Point. But like Raptor the very front is the only place I would like to be on this. 4. Delerium- Met expectations. Fun ride the first time. 5. The Racer- Met expectations. I enjoy the old woodies very much. Only the Red car was running so I didn't get to experience the racing element. 6. Firehawk- Didn't meet expectations. This is one I was really looking forward to riding and I was really disappointed. The big con about this IMO are the foot/leg restraints. They were very uncomfortable. They hurt my shins a lot, and because of this I did not enjoy the ride. I'm 6'4, so maybe that had something to do with it because the GF loved it, said it didn't hurt her, but she's only 5'9. So maybe it's just not for us taller folks, or maybe it was just me. As a football coach I always preach the difference between discomfort and pain, and for me it was definitely painful to ride this. 7. Vortex- Didn't meet expectations. This is another one I was really looking forward to. Unlike a lot of others, I love the old Arrow coasters. I've heard the horror stories about this ride, how it is painful to ride and what not.. The first time we went on it we were in the very front, and it was not painful at all, but at the same time it was not as fun as I thought it would be... The second time though we sat in the very back, and I felt completely squished. I had no leg room which made me sit higher and the shoulder restraints dug into my shoulders causing pain on the two bones that are right on top of my shoulders. Now the 5'9 GF did not experience any of that... But when riding in the front I could stretch my legs out more which also allowed me to sink a little in the seat and spare me from the shoulder pain. If the shoulder restraints were the same one's that the Banshee has that would make this ride so much better IMO. 8. Beast- Didn't meet expectations at first, then met expectations- Let me explain... Of all the coasters this is the one I was looking forward to the most, and based on everything I've heard about this coaster my expectations were sky high, impossible to exceed. The first ride was in the very back and while it was fun, I walked away thinking-- what's so special? But once we found the right seat, which was the very front, and learned how to ride this, at the end of the day it was by far my favorite in the park and only second favorite all time next to Millennium Force. This ride broke a lot of tendencies for me. I usually prefer the back on classic train style coasters, on this I prefer the front. I am also not usually fond of tunnels, but I found the tunnels very enjoyable on this especially during the double helix at the end, which is my second favorite ride element of all time next to the Millennium Force drop. We went on this about 15 times. I just wish we stayed long enough to ride at night, but I've had 3 knee surgeries thanks to my football career and my knee unfortunately swelled up too much for us to stay until it got dark. 9- Diamondback- Met expectations. I was expecting air time, and D-Back delivered. The very back is my favorite seat because I got wet on the splash down, but I thought the overall ride experience was pretty equal in any seat. We went on this at least 10 times. 10. Mystic Timbers- Exceeded Expectations. My 2nd favorite ride at Kings Island. I love how it throws you around and at the same time is not uncomfortable. I love how it's one element after another and never lets up. The stats on the ride are very misleading. Even though the drop is not too high, the curve is a great element and makes it very fun, especially when I didn't know it was coming. And it seems WAYYYYYY faster than 53 MPH... Now my feelings on the shed... lame... I'm not into themes. Now if the shed had AC or some powerful fans or something I could give it my blessing. Overall the coasters and thrill rides met expectations. Now for the con's, and there was one huge con that I eluded to in the beginning which I will save for last. 1. No Ferris wheel. It's an amusement park staple. How KI doesn't have one is beyond me. Yes of course most people go for the coasters and thrill rides. But I get drained at some point, especially on a hot day like yesterday and I want to go on something that is fun but relaxing. Something where I can cuddle with the GF. a Ferris Wheel is perfect and KI doesn't have one. 2. The train ride is another way to do something fun and relaxing, cuddle, etc... KI's is extremely lame compared to Cedar Point's. The train ride at KI doesn't show enough of the park, is slower and is shorter than Cedar Point's. 3. The water rides. On a hot day there's no better cure than getting soaked, except none of the water rides soak you. 4. No ride and refresh ticket like Cedar Point. Yes KI offers the cup that you can refill, but you have to carry it around, and Banshee, Mystic Timbers, and Firehawk don't have storage area's for it so you have to get a locker or hide it somewhere. It would be much better to have a wristband. 5. This is the major con and disappointment that I had with the park--- The food. Now of course I wasn't expecting award winning food, but except for the La Rosa's pizza (which wasn't great, but acceptable), the food was just awful. I tried to find a decent burger, couldn't find it. Reds hall of fame grill-- nasty. Juke box diner--- even worse. We ate dinner at Subway, which I wouldn't even consider in the real world. Unless there is a place to get a good burger, steak, etc... that I didn't know about-- in the future I think the best option for eating dinner would be to leave the park and then come back. I don't want to end this on a negative note because the day was great, the park was great, and I definitely will be back hopefully sooner rather than later!

I know its a small thing but Saturday in the waterpark Ed Hart was with somebody inspecting a water slide and people were dropping tubs off the slide tower. A Lifeguard started going towards them and Ed waved her off and proceeded to grab the tubes and take them back to the place where there stored one by one. I thought that was really nice of him!

Am I the only one who still gets giddy when they get the first glimpse of the ET when driving to the park, seeing the Royal Fountain upon entering, and then trying to decide what to ride first? Am I the only one who smiles like a dork just walking through the park or when I'm next in line to get on a coaster? Am I the only one who has Kings Island dreams? LOL - This happens more often than one would think. This morning hitting snooze I kept thinking to myself, "I'll get up after I ride Mysti one more time." PS - Is it creepy to like or comment on super old posts around here? Hope everyone is having a fabulous day.

Got on Mysti in 10 min and I'm line for round two. Got my favorite ending the first time... hoping to get all three. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ah ok. That makes sense. yes BFF! we want to hear of any experiences.

I've been reading up! Some stories I've heard for years, while others I've seen new info on through the forums here. I thought maybe @VortexBFForever had a personal experience to share.

This is the sign on the door. We didn't notice it on Sunday as we entered. When I asked, I was told it was one meat and one side.

Food quality and service has been an ongoing complaint of many here on KIC for a few years now, and the issues are management's fault, not the rank and file employees. Part of the problem is the existence of the dining plan; with the majority of visitors being season pass holders, and many of those having the season dining plan, there's little to no incentive for them to improve the food quality and service because they already have people's money, so they cheap out as much as possible because why bother when the potential gain is so low? On the subject of water rides, I actually prefer KI's collection of water rides over CP's collection, precisely because every water ride at CP is designed to soak you to the bone. Getting wet is a great way to cool off, but I don't want to walk around in soaking wet clothes for the next several hours. I prefer the light mists and splashes that you get from KI's water rides; they're enough to cool you off without leaving you in wet clothes forever. Speaking of which, the one saving grace of CP's water rides is that they are all in a "water zone" where shoes and a shirt are not required, meaning I can ride in my swim trunks and then change back into my dry clothes afterward. (At least that was the case last time I visited CP in 2014.) I sometimes wish KI could do that, but having one of the water rides all the way across the park from the other two makes it impractical. As for the drink wristbands, as @Saerenzea alluded to, they are available at KI, but only through group sales. They are not available as a general ticket option for everyone.

Before my fireworks ride on WindSeeker got underway, the gentleman next to whom I was seated claimed that when the original Bat was there (where Vortex is), 14 people were killed when two trains crashed into each other and the third flew off the track. I found it to be barely believable and he said "Go look it up on Google; it's there." So I searched about it on Google, and I found...it's just a rumor and the original Bat had no injuries or fatalities in its three-four seasons of operation. Go search for yourself if you wish. It was crazy that he thought that the original Bat closed because of this rumor. But no, it was closed because of maintenance/design issues!!!! Also, several riders on Vortex were telling me it was haunted. Yes, Kings Island is haunted, but Vortex particularly isn't...

I think if Kings Island is ever gonna get an RMC it would have to be a ground up woodie. I also think it's possible that if Vortex is ever sent to the scrap yard you could possibly see a T-Rex fit in its footprint.

Correct, basiclly the prep for these items has to start the night before so it is not possible to just make more if the restaurant runs out.

These vines are in The Beast's queue. A possible nod to Mysti? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

On the right side of the forum home page, there is a list of recent threads and a list of recent posts. However, I noticed that the list of threads changed a while back from the most recently created threads to the most recently active threads, regardless of the thread's age. This makes the list mostly redundant to the list of most recent posts right below it. Any chance we can get the old behavior of showing the newest threads back? I frequently used that list to determine if there was something new warranting immediate attention, and would like to have it back. Thanks!

Whenever I work Dual on Vortex, I have lately been waving to the riders on the arriving train. Some wave back; others smile or nod while some don't notice/respond at all. But the response on each train is different. This morning, I got several trains that each had less than ten riders to wave, while on this past Saturday a full train would pass and not one person would wave back. But for the most part, the riders usually enjoy the greeting!

I have not (yet) seen any of the ghosts/spirits that are known to lurk at Kings Island, but if I ever have such an experience I will post about it.

I believe you are correct. Sometime I forget not everyone on here has some sort of pass.

I looked at that but I was under the impression you could only get that as an addition with the season pass.

I think most of us get giddy at the park! Here is the dream thread. I posted mine from last night this morning. https://KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/16173-kings-island-dreams/ I think it is cool when an old thread gets bumped with new posts!

Mystic is quite a fun one to work with, since it's a truck you can throw some ohio laws into the cell phones and seatbelts. Click it or ticket, or no texting while driving. I've personally used those a few times. "Scream your head off, don't ask why. For a ghostly creature may pass you by... as you race around this twisted trail, whatever you do, don't go into haunted hill." - Banshee

It was stated at Coasterstock that this was a Cedar Fair decision. They wanted all of their racing coasters the same. They stated this had nothing to do with cost, insurance, PTC requirements, or maintenance. To answer your question of why, it did not seem CF was planning on having a change of heart anytime soon.

I had a dream last night that I was talking with Mike Koontz and he said they were building a campground. I told him they needed amenities like a pool and game room. He said he would work on that. Interesting dream.

If you want to get soaked at on WWC just make some arrangements with @Thrill_Biscuit I am sure he will be more than happy to accommodate. Also new this year the All Season drink plan has the option for disposable cups every 15 minutes vs the souvenir cup. If you already have the cup there is a $3 charge to switch plans.

Magnum is not actually red, but molly orange.

Great trip report! I agree about the food. Everyone I know praises La Rosa's but I think it's on par with frozen pizza. The only thing I'll buy is Potato Works and that is far from what I would call good. It tastes like canned cheese. And I hate waiting ten minutes or more for simple food items like this. Sometimes the water rides will get you. Most of the time not. I buy my tickets for friends through my work and they offer the ride and refresh. After reading this I looked at the main KI page and didn't see that option. Odd that it's gone. I'm glad you had a good time at KI!

I know most of us are more fond of riding Bat in the front, but I've found an advantage of riding further back. I've been noticing slight kicks of airtime as it makes major swings to either side. It's particularly noticeable as it pulls off the s-curves after the big fan turn over the station. Those pops are slightly stronger towards the middle and back, the best of which is that curved hill before the brakes and as it comes up to the brake run.

Assuming the next coaster is three years out, any work would still be done almost entirely by corporate. VERY few people at the park would know what is going on. The people who do know something also know to not talk. Any rumors at this point are likely complete garbage. There might be a small nugget of truth for instance maybe a group was in the park doing some survey work but trying to tie that to a new coaster is likely not actually based on any real information.

I think it's probably expanded media coverage which the new coasters do help. I think maybe the current staff has a lot more local pull for stories than the 00' decade did. Then even doing some rather liberal ideas like adding a meal plan option and unlimited drink options gets people talking about the park around the water cooler. I also think the park likely has a Wax and Wane effect. I know for years when I worked there I'd talk about how I was always there even when I wasn't working. EVERYONE back then complained about how long these lines were... However they really weren't that bad unless it was a busy Saturday or a Holiday. I think public opinion kind of shifts in and out of favor for Kings Island, possibly with the wait times being a big part of that. People learned that it wasn't as bad as what they thought it was and started going again. Now that the lines for food are huge, (though the park kind of has their hands tied on that matter) and the ride lines are longer again. We will see the crowds start to disperse after a peak to repeat the dip. It might just be my skewed view since I was a kid, but I remember the lines being longer in the 90's as well. In fact learning the opposite when I went again in 2003 is the reason why I bought a pass that year.

I also remember this. It used to be a thing around 2008 and 2009 where the first few weekends the park was open didn't really have significant lines. Then the park made opening day two weekends later than usual for a few years, which eliminated those low-crowd weekends from the operating schedule. They've gone back to the original weekend, but the crowds are still there. I've wondered why that was for a while now... The only thing I can come up with was the fact that the US was in the middle of a recession around 08/09, so maybe people didn't have as much extra spending money for going to amusement parks? I really don't know.

I still say it's because of Mystic Timbers. Usually attandance goes up the year a new coaster opens. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Keep in mind that the $69.99 price was when you had to pay in full at time of purchase - the installment plan did not exist at that time. One would be surprised at the percentage uptick in new passes once the installment plan came into play. The installment plan has substantially increased number of passes sold...and many believe installment plan brought in a less than desirable clientele as well. Actually, I bet most of the people complaining are not millennials...in fact most of the people that commented are indeed not in that generation.

Honestly the payment plan is probably helping them a ton...

Great post! The Voban one is great, because it would seem completely innocuous to anyone who doesn't know what the product is called.

The past few times I've been to the park I've ridden The Bat on repeat, not usually having to wait more than a train or two. Even first row, which in my opinion is the best! I was there on Memorial Day (yes, I know! ) and the ride op on the unload side would say as we were exiting, "Have a bat-tastic day!" with a huge smile on her face. Her enthusiasm was contagious, as was her smile. I told her as much. #battastic

I was waiting in line at Delirium and as the riders were waiting for the restraints to lift I heard one of them (age 15 or so) use some colorful language. Apparently the ride op heard him as well because she yelled "Watch your language. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?". The kid was speechless so I guess it worked!

We said some interesting ones at Vortex yesterday. Note that these were done as the train either departed or arrived, so we weren't holding anybody up. We still did the "Everybody clap your hands!" and I recall one particular time when the riders, the crew AND everyone waiting in the station were clapping! That was fun. "If you're excited to ride Vortex, high five your neighbor!" Not everyone did that, but for those who did it was fun to watch and fun for them to do (especially since Vortex's restraints limit one's arm movement quite well). "I like blue and orange, but my favorite color is Clear." It took me a moment to get it, but once I did I couldn't stop thinking about it for the following fifteen minutes. Clever indeed...and memorable too! One time the speiler hummed part of the Indiana Jones theme. I bet you know which ride that fits better, lol. "You're rolling out of the station at 3 mph, soon to be 55 mph..." And of course we often said the familiar "six times, three different ways" spiel, as well as "Enjoy your ride on the 30-year-old Vortex," sometimes adding "Yes, 30. This ride is older than [insert fellow crew member name here]" which is true since Vortex is older than pretty much all of us on my crew. "On the count of 2, say Moo. One, two...moo!!!" I had never heard this one before, but I thought that was funny that half the train was mooing on the way out. "...Enjoy the rest of your day here at Kings Island, where there is only one king and that's Vortex." I wondered what the guests were thinking as I knew some would say another ride is "king." "Long time no see, Train 3! How was that ride?" Also one time Train #1 was called "Train Uno." Mixing another language in there, I see, made it a bit more interesting especially since most (if not all) understand that Uno is "one" in Spanish. A full train was often greeted with "Welcome back, cool train!" as a full train is a cool train, after all. Also, on Friday, one of my crew who spieled said "Welcome back, blue train!" to every arriving train. During last hour on Saturday, we spieled to an empty train (albeit inadvertently) at one point. The spieler would say "Those are all my friends" when an empty train would depart, and we would be wishing her "friends" a great ride. And as always, we would often say "Enjoy your ride on Vortex - inversion heaven since 1987." Props to whoever came up with that; very well done.

^ I sorta agree with you on this. I really wanted the shed to be something amazing, but I figured it probably wouldn't be. I think the hype was unnecessary and with they would've focused on the coaster itself. They didn't have all that hype surrounding Banshee and they still had a 5 hour wait for that coaster on opening day. People will come out to ride the coaster, you don't need to create artificial hype around it. I think if they would've just advertised the coaster and not even mentioned the shed, it would've been such a cool surprise that it would've driven people crazy. However, when you create a hashtag called WhatsInTheShed and let it run for 7 or 8 months, people's imaginations start running wild and expectations become unrealistic. In my personal opinion, I think I might like the final Adventure Express tunnel better than the shed. However, if given the choice between just an empty, exposed brake run and a themed shed, of course I'd pick the shed. I think it gives a semi-unique quality to the ride and obviously gives us something to look at instead of just sitting on a brake run bored. I do love the ride though and am pleased with the overall theming of the whole area, including the queue. I think it's one of the best themes we've gotten in a long time. It's just too bad the shed didn't live up to the hype that was created. My thoughts on what's seen in the shed:

Same here. I rode the back row Friday night while it was raining, and it was an unbelievable experience (I personally like it more than the back row of The Beast). I was thrown off guard when it pulled me over the top of the lift. Felt like I was going to come out of my seat. An overall amazing experience at night in the back row especially when it's raining. A friend of mine mentioned (and a couple of other people) that they cant stop smiling while riding Mystic Timbers. That's where Kings Island and Cedar Fair really scored with this ride.

I like this idea- I know when I went to Holiday World last year, one of the Rock the World stages was in the 4th of July section and I enjoyed the music even though I wasn't there for the event.

I'm with you on that. "Action Zone" is not so action-y anymore without the Paramount theming. Also I just always thought the Drop Tower logo was a little too cheesy, even for Cedar Fair.

Can Drop Tower please be repainted and renamed Demon Drop? It would add to the spooky theme the park is trying to push in Action Zone and it would also pay homage to Screamin' Demon. I'm kinda tired of the checkerboard look and the current colors.

A lot of people I'd assume only come to KI because Spirit Song happens to be at the park and that allows them to enjoy the rides between acts they didn't come for etc.

no doubt they have looked at the ROI value of Timberwolf's maintenance. As long as its a push (or even slightly negative, but there is some sort of "goodwill" value in having Spirit Song at the park and a % of return visitors that come back later in the season or the following seasons due to spirit song that can't be accurately accounted for) there would be no reason to tear it down until they have something "better" to go in its place. When/if timberwolf closes and is removed, you can bet that w/n a couple of seasons some major will pop up in that area. Could be rides, could be a hotel, could be camping areas, who knows, but it will be something that improves the bottom line (at least in theory)

I'm sure KI has meetings that determine what land/ ride is expendable or available. When the question of removal is brought up, the answer of: how often is land/ ride used, ROI (maintenance vs. popularity), or refurbishment is discussed. If the park has not put money into something recently (basic yearly maintenance cost for safety of guests, aesthetics of area etc.) it is hard not to believe it is not on the chopping block. Does that mean Timberwolf fits in KI's future? I personally don't see how given how much it is not used.

I've been to the park when spirit song was there. While I've never been in timberwolf while Spirit Song was going on, you get a pretty good look into the seating area when leaving at night, and it appeared to be pretty packed, if not sold out. Anyhoo, my question, that likely nobody on here can (or I guess more likely would) answer is how much money does it generate? If they don't have any other events in timbewolf, any profit that Spirit Song generates is going to be offset to some degree by the maintenance and upkeep to the speakers, wiring, lights, stage, backstage, seating, etc...for (1) 4 day event. If there is nothing else there to generate profit, all of that associated cost will be directed towards that 1 event. Is it possible to hold some version of spirit song in different parts of the park, in some of the different stages? Assuming the content is family friendly (I don't listen to christian rock, so I'm just assuming) would there be a benefit to not only the park, but also the performers to have them perform on the stage behind the tower where park guests could hear some of the show, perhaps "stumble" into something they like? Perhaps ticketed seats to actually be "inside" the theater, but standing room availability or just allowing the noise to drift out to the masses? Would it be too loud that it would be a hindrance? Obviously there are many angles to look at, but I could see a benefit in holding various acts in different parts of the park, spread out over the coarse of the weekend while freeing up the area that Timberwolf sits on to be used for more than 1 event a year. They could also do something similar for perhaps local or smaller national acts to perform on one of the open air stages and perhaps grow their audience.

More on the triotech rumor http://www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-cedar-fair-dark-rides-20150415-story.html "Cedar Fair rival Six Flags, long known for its themeless steel parks"- Best statement I've ever read

Did he ever actually say that, though, or did we (and Screamscape) assume that it would happen because of Wonderland's and KD's fountains being upgraded? I'm not accusing you of lying by any means--I'm just asking the question because I don't remember him ever talking about the fountains. That, and I'm trying to desperately hold on to hope that all the Cedar Fair parks are still going to get dark rides.

Tower 2, still saving the story for when I have time to actually type it out.

When the webcam is up and running, someone is. (and, sometimes, maybe more than just one...) [cue eerie Theremin music]

And search here is your friend....