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Dear God, Please give us a sign we are getting a Giga. Something like blocking out the Sun anytime in the next week would work. Thanks.

Yesterday was my yearly trip to King's Island, and it was also my birthday. It turned out to be the absolute perfect day to go, and had almost a perfect day with no real hiccups. The day began at around 10:30 AM and my group and I went to the Mystic Timbers lockers then went straight to the ride. The wait was around 10 minutes, which was MUCH shorter than I expected it to be. I was seated in the back row and had an amazing ride experience. As my first ride on Mystic Timbers, it was an amazing ride and one of my favorites in the park! Then I was able to almost walk on to Diamondback, and sat in the back car of that aswell. The other highlights of my day included riding Flight of Fear for the first time. It was alot more enjoyable than expected, but it did give me a headache on repeat rides. An oddity I experienced was the fact that Banshee was alot more shaky than remembered. It unexpectedly gave me a headache after riding so bad that I had to sit down for almost half an hour. Is that something anyone else has encountered? I ate my meal at KI at the Reds Resteraunt and split a 12 piece boneless wings, which at $12.99 was alot cheaper than I expected and it was of better quality than other food I had seen in the rest of the park. I did end up biting the bullet aswell and buying the Souvenir Drink Cup and definitely used the refill stations more than twice! I also bought a Mystic Timbers sweatshirt that was only $29.99 which was quite a deal considering where I was buying it! Overall a very fun trip, and I was extremely glad I went. Ride Count: Diamondback - 5 Flight of Fear - 3 Mystic Timbers - 2 The Beast - 2 Banshee - 2 Backlot Stunt Coaster - 1 Racer - 1 The Bat - 1 Delirium - 1 Adventure Express - 1

Hello everyone! Get ready for another trip report, as I went to Kings Island yesterday (8-18-2017) with my sister and two friends. First up, for newbies who have never read one of my trip reports, my ride rating system... 10=Incredible 9=Excellent 8=Very Good 7=Good 6=OK 5=Meh 4=Bad 3=Garbage 2=Horrible 1=Super Garbage 0=Ultimate Garbage Be warned- we were able to do a lot since crowds were light, and we spent the entire day at the park to boot. This is gonna be a long trip report. Me, My Sister, and 2 of our friends arrived at the park at 9:45 AM and since we saw the parking lot was mostly empty, we decided to go straight to Mystic Timbers before it could build up a line. We looked around some of the shops before the rope drop, and then headed straight to Mystic Timbers. Ride #1: Mystic Timbers Wait: Under 5 Minutes The ride has gotten a bit rougher, and is no longer glass smooth like it was one my visit in April (Still pretty smooth though). However, I kind of liked it better that way- it felt like the ride had a bit more of a "edge". The airtime and forcefulness also felt a bit stronger. The shed is actually better when you ride a 2nd time, as you know what to expect a bit more and can look around for the cool hidden secrets. We got the Snakes ending this time, and it played "Maneater" as the song. Mystic Timbers improves from 9/10 on my first ride on it to a full 10/10! It was also my sister's friends first big roller coaster. He was actually OK on it and did want to ride more... Score: 10/10 After Mystic Timbers, we decided to hit 3 more coasters before the crowds could build up, knowing they were all low capacity... Ride #2+3: Backlot Stunt Coaster Wait: Walk-On We walked onto Backlot Stunt Coaster, and got a ride where NOTHING WAS WORKING. The ride still has some fun forces and elements, but it loses a bit of charm when everything is off. On a positive note, the emergency lights in the tunnel were on so we got to see the actual track in there. It's not as crazy as it seems when the lights are off. We then sat on the brake run for a good 10 minutes as a mechanic...fixed the effects. We got off and as it was still a walk-on, we rode it again with the effects on and they were all working the 2nd time. The lights in the tunnel were still on though. Score: 7/10 no effects, 8/10 with effects After Backlot, we headed to X-Base, to ride its "Big Brother"... Ride #4: Flight of Fear Wait: Walk-On This was the classic, a bit rough and super forceful and intense ride I have come to expect from Flight of Fear. All of the effects in the que and on the ride itself (the lights basically) were working. The UFO in the que going dark was creepy and awesome. The alien dude they put sitting at the end of the ride got me to chuckle as we headed out of the ride. Also the MCBR was back on, unlike my last ride in 2016. Our friend, who was just getting into coasters, didn't like this one at all as he thought it was too intense. Score: 9/10 After FOF, we headed to its next door neighbor...which I have not ridden since 2012... Ride #5: Firehawk Wait: 10 Minutes (1 Train- not much of a line though so we waited it out...) As we got on and boarded, we laid back...and we heard the lift hill going. Turns out, they decided to set up and send out the other train for test runs. Afterwards we were sent out and got our ride. The sun was in our faces as we climbed the lift hill, which provides a great view of the park if you look to the right (I did just that to avoid looking at the Sun). The ride packed a bit more force than I remember (then again it has been 5 years) especially in the loop which was awesome. A fun ride I don't get to ride very often due to its usually crazy long lines. Score: 8/10 After Firehawk, our friend who has just starting to get into coasters started to become sick, and he revealed he has a weak stomach and gets sick easily if spun around/flipped, so the 2 inverting coasters we just rode (FOF+Firehawk) were too much. He was still happy to come with us though and carry our stuff when we rode stuff that needed lockers. My sister wanted to head to the waterpark at noon, and eat now (it was like 11:30 AM) but she was OK with me leaving on my own to ride 2 rides solo... Ride #6: The Beast Wait: Walk-On This was my first time solo on The Beast, and my 20th ride overall on it. I accidently chose a wheel seat in the back of a car because I didn't notice the arrows in the station at first. The ride was a bit rougher because of this, but it wasn't horrible. The ride also packed a good amount of speed, and good forcefulness and intensity. However it was also hot out, and for whatever reason it didn't feel quite as good as some of my other Beast rides- I think it was the heat, warm air does not feel as fun to go through fast as cooler air to me. Because of this I think I got better daytime rides on Mystic Timbers instead of Beast. But...well, read on. Score: 9/10 After a slightly rough-but-fun old ride, I decided before I met back up with my group to hit the waterpark, the perfect ride to compliment it would be something huge, modern, and smooth... Ride #7: Diamondback Wait: Under 5 Minutes I took the back car once again since I love the airtime from that car, and I rode with a nice old lady and her grandkids. She had never been on the ride, so I warned her of the airtime that was to come. Sure enough, Diamondback offered up a buffet of airtime as usual. I loved it once again. The lady, however, looked spooked. She calmed down by the time we returned to the station but she'd had enough for one day she said. Her grandkids loved it though, and were trying to get her to go on Banshee next. As for me, I had to meet up with my group again... Score: 10/10 We all met up, grabbed our stuff, and headed towards the main exit (we had to get our waterpark gear). But our now non-coaster riding friend wanted to quickly ride the Eiffel Tower, so we did so. Ride #8: Eiffel Tower Wait: Walk-On The view from atop the Eiffel Tower was amazing as usual. I noticed a tall electrical tower I had seen in Google Maps off in the distance, as well as what looked to be hundreds of water towers. A ride-op asked me how many trees, I said hundreds of thousands if not millions. I may be in the ballpark... Score: 8/10 After the Tower, we exited the park got our waterpark gear ready, and came back in. We decided to ride the train to the waterpark... Ride #9: Kings Island & MV RR Wait: 10 Minutes (Train took a while to arrive as only 1 was running) The train was its usual self for the most part, save us only riding it halfway. Does it still count as a full ride if you get off at the waterpark and never get back on though? Score: 7/10 We arrived at the waterpark, fully changed into our swimsuits, and headed out to find...half the waterpark was closed. Apparently there was not enough staff, which I guess is because KI employs a ton of school kids and it was a weekday. However, we found Tidal Wave Bay was open, so we hit it up. I really didn't mind much as I just wanted to get wet and this would do... Ride #10: Tidal Wave Bay Wait: N/A This giant wave pool has some pretty freakin' strong waves! It was slightly annoying at first, but I found if you don't resist and go with the waves, it becomes pretty fun. Pool was pretty packed. I eventually managed to get a floating ring thing and it became even more fun to get carried by the waves. I enjoyed this attraction. Score: 8/10 After the refreshing TWB, we decided to ride Tropical Plunge, since it was one of the few waterslides open that looked interesting. Ride #11: Tropical Plunge (Blue Drop Slide) Wait: 10-15 Minutes I chose the Blue slide, since from atop, it looked like a good layout. I boarded the "coffin", and the eerie lady voice counted down 3...2..1...DROP! The drop itself was not that bad, kinda like Drop Tower's is to me. However, what became annoying as all heck is that the entire way down, water was snorting its way up my nose and I could not see anything because of it. I only knew the ride was ending when it went dark towards the end. Still fun, but if there was some way to ride it without getting water constantly shot in my face, I'd do that instead. Score: 7/10 After taking "Da Plunge", we were hungry and decided to hit one of the main things we came to the waterpark to try... Food #1: Island Smokehouse Wait: None Island Smokehouse was pretty dead, only a few people were inside. Kind of surprising. I saw the chicken fingers in person, and had to try them as they looked great, and they were. The ribbon cut fries they came with were also very good. I also tried some of my sister's food, she got the chicken wings and mac n' cheese, both of those were also excellent. I got so full I didn't even really need to eat more the rest of the day! Kings Island has a great new restraunt here, and I hope the rumors it is coming to the dry park in 2018 are true. Score: 10/10 After we ate, I sat out a 2nd trip to the wave pool (I was a little water hesitant after Tropical Plunge) and waited while the others swam a bit more. We then headed back to the changing stations, and switched back to our dry gear. We then headed to the car (long walk, may have been a mistake) and dropped off our wet gear. We then headed back into the main park, and into Action Zone. There were still no lines, but when my sister had us hand all our stuff to our friend who didn't wanna do coasters anymore, I knew we were gonna ride... Ride #12: Banshee Wait: Walk-On Banshee has been an amazing B&M Invert since Day 1 in 2014, and there was nothing different here. Great speed, strong g-forces, and smooth elements and transitions. There was still a bit of a rattle but it was not as bad as it was in April. I also noticed (or at least think I did) the never-used trim before the pretzel/heart loop was gone. Banshee: dishin' out epic rides since 2014. Score: 10/10 After Banshee, we tried to get our friend to ride The Bat with us since it lacked inversions and we thought it would be OK for him, but he dumped on us halfway through and we didn't even notice until it was too late. We then rode The Bat ourselves. Ride #13: The Bat Wait: Walk-On I had heard the ride was broken a few days ago, so I am glad The Bat was open for us when we visited yesterday. The ride was the normal fun, swinging coaster that sadly always ends way too soon I love. It may have been a good thing our other friend didn't ride, as we noticed that last swing on the brake run is pretty intense and could have further upset his stomach. Score: 8/10 After The Bat, we planned to start heading down Coney Mall and hitting the coasters there we had yet to ride. However, the others decided to stop and smoke, while I am a non-smoker. I said "OK so we are doing Adventure Express, The Racer, and Vortex next?" "The other 2 sure, but, Uhh, we really aren't down for Vortex right now." I asked if I could ride Vortex by myself while they smoked, they said yes. I headed down Coney Mall, and reached Vortex for said ride. Ride #14: Vortex Wait: Walk-On I rode in 5-1 yet again since it is one of my favorite seats (I debated 7-1 but it would have had a short wait). Vortex was rougher than I recall it being, because in addition to the normal stuff, there seemed to be a occasional awkward shuffle near the start of the ride (first few turns- by the end of the ride it was back to "normal" though). The ride itself also felt faster and more intense though as well. I wasn't in any physical pain afterwards, so all in all I enjoyed the ride. I also for the first time in person saw The Vortex "smile". I cannot unsee it now. Thanks, VortexBFFForever...who may or may not have been working Vortex, I dunno. I rode around 5:30PM... Score: 8.5/10 I met back up with the group, who had finished smoking, and we headed for the other 2 rides they were down for. First up, Adventure Express! Ride #15: Adventure Express Wait: Walk-On I just realized that I rode all 3 of KI's Arrow coasters back-to-back. LOL. Our friend sat this one out as well, even though to be honest it would probably have been fine since AE isn't the most intense or craziest coaster out there. It is good fun though, and ALL the effects on the final tunnel were working for once! Score: 8/10 We then hit up Racer which was next door, which oddly was running both sides even though it only needed to do 1 due to the crowd levels. So much for my "Both Sides Only Run on Busy Days" theory... Ride #16: Red Racer Wait: Walk-On My friend who was doing coasters and sister wanted to do Blue Racer, so when we boarded, just for fun, I hopped onto the same car on Red, 1 seat back because they were on a wheel and I didn't want to do that. I might have been fine though, because Racer was running pretty smoothly. Good amounts of airtime, and the trains were racing (though they started Red out a little ahead for some reason). I taunted my friends on the other train as we headed up the lift hills. It backfired however- even though my train was cheatin', somehow the Blue Racer still won. D'OH! Score: 8.5/10 After Racer, my sister and friend wanted to ride Beast (I already had) and Diamondback next, but took another smoking break beforehand. While sitting with them, I noticed we were VERY near Zephyr, a ride I had not ridden in 17 years. Rather than smoke... Ride #17: Zephyr Wait: Walk-On ...I swung! This ride has a lot of very pretty artwork on it. I do think I slightly perfer Holiday World's Hollowswings but Zephyr is still a fun Wave Swinger ride. Score: 8/10 After Zephyr, we continued with the plan. Next up was The Beast...for me, again... Ride #18: The Beast (2nd Ride) Wait: 5 Minutes For the first time ever, I finally got to ride in the very last car of Beast. I was in 6-2, the non wheel seat in said car. I wondered how much crazier this back car really would be. Turns out...a little bit, but not that much. I did get a nice weak pop of airtime on the 2nd drop, but other than that and a bit more intensity in the helix (and a smoother ride since it wasn't a wheel seat) it felt the same as earlier in the day. So...same rating. Score: 9/10 We then headed over to check the line for Mystic Timbers, looked around 20 minutes or so. While that wasn't a huge wait, Diamondback had a even shorter line than that, so we rode it instead for right now. Ride #19: Diamondback (2nd Ride) Wait: 10 Minutes Waterpark had likely closed by this point, hence why there were now some short lines instead of zero lines. However, Diamondback's crew was really working their butts off, so the wait was pretty short. I rode in the very back car again, though even further back now in the divided seats since my sister and other friend wanted to front seats. I got a little extra airtime from being a bit further back, but other than that and some mist from the final splashdown, same ride as before. Still very fun. Score: 10/10 We went and checked on Mystic Timbers again, but it's line grew a little bit. I wanted to ride again, but my sister and her friends wanted to do White Water Canyon and the log flume (including the guy who didn't wanna do coasters since these were not coasters). So we split up... Ride #20: Mystic Timbers (2nd Ride) (WOOHOO 20+ RIDES IN 1 DAY!) Wait: 30 Minutes (Huge in comparison) The ride itself was the same as before, until the shed at least, so I don't need to mention that again. However I noticed while in line how much mass appeal Mystic Timbers seems to have- Old people, kids, and coaster loving teens were all in line for this one. There was a dad and his 2 kids who were about to make this their first big coaster, or at least it seemed that way. Kings Island truly has found the sweet spot with this GCI wooden coaster. As for the shed, I got Bats for the 2nd time (1st was back in April on my first ride) but since it was sunset and darker out now, the little details really stood out more, like the hidden text and stuff. I also don't know what song was playing on this one, it was cheesy 80's pop but that's all I could recognize. I also was sitting in car #8, so I saw the entire finale video this time. They also put a huge fan in the shed due to the heat- hopefully at some later date AC will be added. Mystic Timbers seems to be a ride that gets better every time I ride it... Score: 10/10 After Mystic Timbers, I met my group, who rode WWC and Surf Dog instead of Log Flume because the Log Flume had a long wait. WWC had also soaked them. My sister was hungry, so she used her meal plan (she had paid $75 for a ticket that included that, admission, parking, and a drink bottle) and got a BBQ sandwich from Tom+Chee. She ate half her sandwich and gave me the rest, so I guess... Food #2: Tom+Chee Wait: None MMm...the sandwich was delicious and the perfect size for someone who was still somewhat full from the Island Smokehouse earlier. She also actually got her chips this time, which they had forgotten back in April. She gave them to another friend of our's though. Score: 10/10 My sister then wanted to ride Boo Blasters, since she loves it. As we headed towards it, we saw Drop Tower running. One of our friends really wanted to ride that after Boo Blasters, but my sister was scared to death of it, and our other friend was reluctant as well due to what had occured with the coasters. But for now we decided to do Boo Blasters. Ride #21: Boo Blasters on Boo Hill Wait: Under 5 Minutes Shockingly, I got some fun out of Boo Blasters, probably my best experience on this since it opened in 2010 besides my first ride! All the effects seemed to be working (including "Shaggy"), and apparently so was my gun because I got a personal best high score of 900! In fact, other than the issues on BLSC at the start, almost all the theming and effects related to rides was working. Good job on that Kings Island. Score: 7/10 After BBOBH, we headed to Action Zone. My sister painic'ed at the mere prospect of riding Drop Tower, and her heart rate was skyrocketing on her fitbit, so we knew she was actually really scared and let her back out. Our other friend also backed out. So it was me and one friend, who in line revealed he actually had never ridden this himself because it was always broken or he was with friends who would not ride. So I got to do it with him. Ride #22: Drop Tower (Night) Wait: 5 Minutes While this ride, due to its sheer height and concept, still makes my nervous I have found ways to distract myself and enjoy it more. I looked at other rides, the highway, etc etc. It was night now so all the rides were lighting up and it was very pretty. Before I knew it, we were 30 stories up and then...KLUNK. The actual drop doesn't bother me, it feels reliving to me in fact. A fun ride overall, my friend enjoyed it as well and was happy I did it with him. Score: 8/10 Since it was dark yet only 9:00PM (park closed at 10), we decided to ride Banshee, since it is a great night ride and was right there. Ride #23: Banshee (Night) Wait: 10 Minutes (Front Row) We waited for Front Row since that is THE row for Inverts and night rides alike. Banshee is great at daytime, but wow, at night it gets even better. The air blowing in my face was cool now, which I liked a lot more, and the awesome lights and scenery around the coaster really popped. The best ride of the day until this point! Score: 11/10! After Banshee, I pitched that we go and ride The Beast, since it is such a awesome night ride and Mystic Timbers probably had a huge (by comparison) line still. It worked and we headed over, but my sister and non-riding friend ditched as we arrived, as they wanted to see the fireworks better. Me and our other friend went and rode Beast though. Ride #24: The Beast Wait: 45 Minutes (15 minutes but fireworks delay) We still got a nice view of the Fireworks, but having recently seen the 4th of July ones from both my current home city and downtown Indianapolis, they underwhelmed a bit. But, where as now my sister and other friend were probably sitting in the car outside the park, me and my other friend got a Beast night ride. We also chatted with some other guests while waiting, and ended up entertaining them with my knowledge. Also encountered some other coaster enthusiasts who told me how awesome Cedar Point and Carowinds are, particullary Millennium Force and Fury 325. I did state I wanted to try both of those before deciding which I liked more. Then, the ride re-opened, and we rode The Beast. And wow. Mystic Timbers may be a better ride on hot, muggy days...but at night, it'll have its work cut out for it. There was no moon, so it was super dark out, and to make it more eerie all the other rides (except Mystic Timbers) were closed already so Beast was the only ride still running. This led to a super zen ride. The speed, drops, turns, and tunnels all felt longer and more intense as you could not see anything. The cool air felt great blowing on my face. The final helix was pure insanity. For me, Beast @ Night is the ultimate coaster bliss. It is gonna take some monster ride to top it. Score: 12/10! Afterwards, as the park was closing obliously, we saw the last few trains head out and then left. We made our way to the car through a closed Planet Snoopy (TBH it is a bit creepy at night with no one in it) and exited the park. We found our friends, got in the Van, and headed home after a epic day. I hope you all enjoyed this trip report. Here are my final pros+cons as usual... PROS +Incredible Roller Coasters. Kings Island has 11 "adult" coasters and I only think one of them is worse than "decent" (Invertigo- which I didn't do this trip) and the rest are all good or better. +Great staff. Everyone I ran into was friendly and nice, and the ride crews were doing great today. +Great food. What I ate was delicious, and service was fast, though there weren't any real lines to test the speed. +All Theming Working outside first ride on BLSC. On rides like Adventure Express and Boo Blasters, this helps a lot. CONS -Half of Waterpark closed due to apparent lack of staff. Since it was my first time ever, not a great first impression. And that'll do it. Another epic trip to Kings Island and I am very happy to have gone. Even the guy with us who didn't do much after Firehawk loved his time there hanging with us so much, he bought my sister a bottle of wine (she did pay for him to take us and bought his ticket though)! He does say next time he wants to try coasters again but no looping rides. I had a absolute blast myself. As usual, questions and comments welcome and thanks again for reading this HUGE trip report!

First of all, I went to KI on Tuesday and was a bit sentimental when confronting my old friend #19 Lew (nee Simon). The valves sounded like they were set very square (much better than I had heard in years), though the air pump was running all through the station stop at the waterpark. I'm guessing some brake chatter on the last coach indicated that the triple valve was leaking a bit and making the pump run continuously. It sure was good to be back on the KI&MV even if #12 was feeling blue and stayed in the engine shed. I can't believe it was 44 years ago that I last pulled the throttle on those locos. Mystic Timbers is awesome and a great addition to the train ride as well. When I worked there, that corner of the park was absolutely dead. Rivertown was Kings Mill (now Run for your Life), the train, the boring two person canoes, and the even more boring ten person canoes. That was all there was to Rivertown. And the train ride ate up fully one third of the land of the original rather small Kings Island. My guess is that a lot of people never even made it back to us since there were no "magnets" in that area like The Beast. One rainy night, I sat on the engine for over an hour without seeing one guest walk through Rivertown. The neighborhood out there has changed a bit. Now the train may sit in the noisiest area of the park! Actually, the ADA access has only come about in the last twenty years, so the Crown Cabeese did not have side doors. They built the two for Six Flags, one for Legend City, one for Pioneer and Western, and one for Lakeside, all 36" gage. They might have built them for Frontierland and Fort Fun as well, can't remember. The Alpengeist #17 and train at Williamsburg all came from Lakeside in Salem (Roanoke), VA. It ran only a very short time there due to a fatality on a roller coaster and a flood, both of which bankrupted the park. #17 and train was rumored to have then gone to a park in Greensboro, NC that never used it. Tweetsie rebuilt it for Williamsburg. It was originally baby blue like KI&MV #12, but with a big diamond stack like SF #6. Six Flags #5's coaches went to Iowa. Two were rebuilt for Michael Jackson. The other three and caboose are a wild guess. I think they are at Dry Gulch, though rebuilt from the frame up so it would be hard to tell. Dry Gulch has 11 coaches, most of them rebuilt from used Crowns. KD #552 and #5 would account for the chassis of nine of them. The other two are a mystery. They might have come from Melodia's set at Carowinds. Busch Tampa has four engines and three coach sets. One set is from #601 at KD, the others are originals from #4 and #9 at Busch. It wasn't long ago that #4's drivers were at Tweetsie. Hopefully, it will be back on the road soon if it isn't already. When I was at Tweetsie this summer, Scott McLeod, their Master Mechanic, had Tampa air pumps in for rebuild. Apparently the sand in Florida eats them. And for those wondering, WDW #1 is not at Tweetsie. They did not bid on the job. Enough for now. Great job on the history of SFSL. Love the old pic of the two engines in the enginehouse, back when the water tower was located so you couldn't get a run for the hill. By the way, send my compliments to whomever did the video of the history of the KI&MV on YouTube. Fantastic job. Only one correction: the Crowns are most definitely NOT 1/3 scale models! They are full size narrow gage and match the dimensions of a Baldwin 8-14C or a Porter catalog code "HADRIA". They are the same size as the engine that pulled the first train into Lebanon, OH. Only the wheelbase was shortened to take 150' radius curves at the park. Disney's first two and the four at Six Flags over Georgia and Astroworld were scale models. Kings Island's never were!

I don't see any need for any of our current wooden coasters to receive the I box conversion. They all play a significant role in the parks history and I didn't find any of them to be as rough as Mean Streak when I rode it last season. A topper track woodie or a T-Rex / Raptor could be a possibility, though.

I think the dog show this year was a huge downgrade from the one they had last year. Our 4 year old really loves though shows even though we have to "push" him to watch them. Once he sees them he always wants to go back. As a person with a young family I would like to see some more rides the little ones can ride in the "big" areas of the park so If daddy wants to sneak a ride in on something its not a huge deal.

Cue Goble melt down in 3, 2, 1... The ONLY park that could get away with that in my book would be Holiday World.

Cue Goble melt down in 3, 2, 1...

Awesome! Looks like a lot more KICers were in the park yesterday than I thought. There was a decent-sized KIC group there most of the day; here's four of us around lunchtime: I'm the one holding my wrist, second from viewer's left. Did you see us at any point yesterday?

I've thought for awhile now that if they ever decide on replacing Vortex that an RMC T-Rex would fit in that footprint nicely. I don't think KI would receive an I-box conversion, I think a ground up woodie would be more likely. But I think RMC is at least 10 years away from being at KI. I could always be wrong, I just don't see it right now. CGA and Canada's Wonderland both could use the I-box conversion as well as Carowinds.

Jump5 does the "Friends" cover (it plays on Planet Snoopy); did not know that was a Michael W. Smith song (I assumed it was an original).

I'm hoping one day they re-use that interactive ride theater that once held Days of Thunder and James Bond license to thrill. I enjoyed that as a kid and think that one day they could add something in there. I know it's a haunt now, but put an interactive ride in there again! I'm fine with the other building that used to be Crypt as a haunt because that one is cool.

I'm very excited for this! It's going to be an amazing ride, and I personally think Steel Vengeance and this tie for best new ride so far!

I have a few songs to add- Heard on I-Street- ET Theme (Adventures on Earth)- John Williams Ride of the Valkyries- Richard Wagner On the Carousel- John Phillip Sousa- Semper Fidelis

Having been at the announcement, all I can say is that I'm so incredibly excited about this ride! Cannot wait! It was great meeting @King Ding Dong as well!

Free water cups at Kings Island are now 12oz.

Overall: I honestly see them getting a new "big show" in the KI Theatre, a new dog show in the International Showplace, updates around the park, clearing some land for expansion, final year for Dinos Alive, a new event/promo or two & maybe even a new attraction in the motion theater behind WindSeeker. Haunt: A new maze & show? Winterfest: Maybe more lights & shows?

99% of the time those prize drawing give aways are data mining operations. With the no call lists becoming so popular, they get you to freely give your info. It's a loophole in the clause of no call, if you've freely given your info, you've asked to be contacted in the future for "possible other giveaways". It's the old time share sales pitch routine. We'll give you this free cruise if you submit to a 1 hour seminar about how owning (insert good or service here) can change your life forever!! Can't blame them for trying, everybody is just trying to make a living. But it's annoying.

I switch to my native language when I receive marketing calls, (Klingon)

@VortexBFForever would probably like to have a word with you about this statement.

I personally would find great excitement even if they did nothing between 17 and 18 other than just go through and touch up the theming of the park as a whole. I'm going to be that old guy now that throws a hissy about the old days, but honestly, that's what I'm looking for. I've noticed since I had kids that when I take them places I remember getting such joy from as a child, that I want them to feel the same joy I felt as a child walking in. I often have trouble separating myself from them when it comes to this. When I walked under the international restaurant and into the expanse that is international street the other day, I felt a little bit of it, but not all of it. I miss that musical build. Quiet orchestral fanfare music as you walk up to the gates, followed by louder versions playing as you walk into the park. I miss walking through the park and physically feeling the feel of each different world. That feeling like you're passing between different places was awesome. It would be cool to feel that again, but I know Cedar Fairs isn't very big on theming, so I will not expect that. Then I also realize, my kids don't care or notice, they want to ride the rides. They have been asking me all week when we are going back. Disney World at the beginning of September is the next stop, but I have every intention of trying to get at least 1 or 2 more KI trips in this year, preferably better planned, since it was just my wife, the 2 kiddos, and me, and I didn't get all of my coasters in!!

When renewal perks were first offered in fall 2014, the free Sunday Fast Lane Plus was good after Labor Day. It was expanded to include late summer Sundays in later years, though it's now back to the fall season only. I always redeem mine on the Sunday that was Closing Day - now the last operating day before WinterFest. Short waits for rides, followed by night ERT for renewing passholders, makes for a great end to the coaster season.

I went to the Dino area to kill time until the sun went down for night rides. After a full day of walking I thought it would be a nice break. I was wrong. It's a neat place. Definitely check it out if you have a gold pass. I wouldn't pay extra for it. It takes thirty to fifty minutes to walk through depending on the how fast you walk and how many times you stop to fiddle with the animatronics. Most didn't seem to work but the theming and larger dinosaurs are awesome. The gift shop has some really cool stuff. This would be a great area for a car ride to go through. It also gives a different view of The Racer.

What was the live video that Don did on instagram? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I would love to see Dino's go and bring in a big expansion to the Coney mall area. Most of Coney mall is taken up by games on the midways, so the only area to put more flat rides would be where Dino's is. I've had a gold pass for years and have never gone to see Dino's. Hopefully they do being a Coney mall expansion. Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

With Don doing the Instagram live video from Dinosaurs Alive today, Dinos not being listed as a perk on the Season Pass perks, and the store having BOGO sales, I am convinced that Dinos is going away after this year. I would expect them to announce in the next couple weeks that the Dinos are going extinct and to see them before they are gone. I think you might see a big Coney Mall expansion go back in the Dinos Alive area with Antiques, an Electro Spin, and then a couple smaller flats like a Music Express, and then a family ride like what Canada's Wonderland is getting with Flying Canoes or Tea Cups. To cap it off I think they should try to find a way to connect that area with X-Base. I would tend to put the more extreme rides like the Electro Spin on the side closer to X-Base. If they put a ramped bridge connecting the area similar to the bridge that goes over the tunnels leading to The Bat, then maintenance could still easily to access the maintenance buildings. They could also put bathrooms in the area for X-Base and the Coney expansion and maybe even a quick service restaurant. While part of the area is rather hilly towards the back part of the park, the area toward X-Base where the T-Rex and Triceratops are more level which would be a good place to put the Antiques.

Clearly getting a Christmas themed coaster. IDK what you're talking about.

I think they're putting up winterfest decorations so they closed off the area. There's giant candy canes up

I been doing a lit of thinking on this. And I think they should go for some more like ferrari rossa. Make it a launch coaster with some elements like intimidater 305 make it about 7000 ft long with a top speed of about 100 mph and theme it after the Bell X 1 the plane the broke the sound barrier. And place it in Xbase and have it go out through the woods. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

So it's mainly for children and ADA access. Interesting. As for your talk about real cabooses on freight trains, I've seen the inside of one. The Greene County Historical Society maintains an original caboose (manufactured in 1937, I believe) on display at the Xenia Station bike hub in Xenia. The caboose is quite popular with kids at the playground adjacent to it. My dad, in addition to being the GCHS's vice president, is also on their Railroad Display Committee, which directly performs maintenance on the caboose, and loves explaining what everything is to the little kids, so I've heard his spiels multiple times. There isn't a set schedule for opening the caboose to the public, but my dad will usually open it up for a little bit anytime he goes down there to work on it, and it's usually open for any major festival downtown (such as First Fridays). I don't know where you live, but if you're ever in the Xenia area, go check it out. It's at the corner of South Detroit St. and Home Ave., just a few blocks south of the center of town.

Chapter 2- Six Flags St. Louis http://themeparkreview.com/forum/files/img_0063__copy_.jpg The 70's where a historic time if you're an amusement park enthusiast. Parks were being erected nearly every year luring guests to their gates with their nostalgic charm and promise of adventure. Six Flags St. Louis, or as some remember it- Six Flags Over Mid America, was one of the many amusement parks that were built in the 70s. As you could imagine, to go along with the spirit of constructing an amusement park, there had to be a train ride. Similar to other amusement parks at the time, Six Flags St. Louis featured a 36" narrow gauge railroad that encompassed the entire park. Also like other parks, it was Crown Metal Products out of Pennsylvania who brought the idea of a miniature railroad to life. The Six Flags Over Mid America Railroad, or Six Flags Railroad for short, featured two authentic steam spitting locomotives powered on propane and propane accessories. The railroad line ran similar to a dog bone shaped layout where the trains ran beside, and even above, popular park attractions. There were two stations, one being the station for the 1904 World's Fair, and the other was in a section called "Old Chicago." There were a couple unique features on this railroad. The first was the placement of stations. The two stations were placed parallel to each other by only 458 feet which made walking from station to station a lot quicker and more effective than riding the train. The second was that the line actually traveled through the engine shed as opposed to beside it. So while guests would ride the train, they would get a glimpse at what the inside of the train shed looked like. I nicknamed these locomotives the "Apple Brothers" because their coats resembled the colors of a green and a red apple. Maybe Applebees could have sponsored the train ride. The #6, red locomotive, now named the Tommy G Robertson, was one of the two locomotives custom built for the park. The locomotive featured a apple-red paint scheme with yellow decals and a golden headlamp. The train featured two domes and a HUGE balloon stack rarely seen on any Crown models. The locomotive pulled four standard crown passenger coaches as well as a caboose. The smokebox door originally bared the #6 but from what I heard, an engineer lit the firebox incorrectly resulting in damage to the smokebox. Now the smokebox door has the initials TR for Tommy Robertson. Like the #552, (see Chapter 1), this was one of my favorite Crown designs. It had a simple color scheme and, like I said before, a HUGE smoke stack. Later this locomotive would be given a black boiler jacket which resembled a traditional 4-4-0 from the old west. Later on the red boiler jacket would reappear and the domes would be painted black as well as the yellow decals. Somewhere throughout its existence it lost the logs on its tender giving it a less authentic look. The #5, green locomotive, named the Little Rock, was one of the two locomotives built for the park. This locomotive featured a traditional Crown balloon stack and three domes. The locomotive was painted green with yellow decals and a golden headlamp. Like its brother, the #5 pulled 4 red coaches but also carried a green caboose. There is very little photo evidence to prove that the #5 pulled a green caboose, however, there was one picture that showed a bright green caboose. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Six_Flags_Railroad_-_St._Louis.jpg There were many changes made to the railroad in the mid 80s. Popularity for the railroad decreased and the park decided to "downsize" the train ride. One of the biggest changes to the railroad was the selling of #5 to Busch Gardens. Realistically Six Flags never really needed two locomotives on the line it ran. The stations where so close together that it wasn't really useful as a transport ride as compared to Disney or even Kings Island. Could the railroad still have functioned with two locomotives? Yes. However, operations would still only require one locomotive. I read somewhere that there were so many railroad crossings that it made two locomotive operations a nightmare (Notice that the Soak City crossings stay down during two train operations at Kings Island? Imagine that times about 4.) In addition, there was really no point in two train operations when one train could barely be filled. All in all, it was an economic decision by the park and they were right by it. (I wish Kings Dominion had the same idea back in the 90s....) The Tommy G Roberston, or the red and black locomotive, still operates on the line to this day. The line is now called the Tommy G Robertson Railroad and has remained a nostalgic and popular attraction for families. I always considered this locomotive the unofficial mascot for Six Flags St. Louis as it is still seen in the background of many SFSL ads. The Tommy G Robertson shares a shed with a narrow gauge Plymouth diesel shunter which I can only assume was acquired after the selling of engine #5. Lately, the TGR has only pulled three coaches and the caboose as opposed to four. Capacity low or perhaps a damaged wheel? The roofs of the coaches have been painted a royal blue, perhaps to give the ride a more patriotic feel? The ride still performs daily operations and is used for the parks seasonal events. https://shipsnmoreships.smugmug.com/keyword/Loco;busch/i-H7kb73H/A The #5, formerly green engine, operates for Busch Gardens in Tampa Florida. Like locomotive #601 (see Chapter 1), this engine received a very radical overhaul. The original green was repainted a bright yellow, something you rarely see on a steam locomotive, with a red cowcatcher, green wheels as well as green and red decals. I assume it was repainted yellow because there was already a green locomotive at the time. The domes (as seen on the picture above) were "harvested" from a previous Busch Gardens locomotive which is residing sadly near their roundhouse facility. The cab was modified with two large exhaust fans for those humid Tampa days. The locomotive's original cars and caboose were broken up and sold to multiple parties. The engine currently pulls #601's old consist painted yellow to resemble the engine. The lesser used out of the three operating locomotives, this locomotive only sees action during busy days when three train operations are required or when its giving #601 or #9 a break. But that's a chapter for another day Questions? Comments? Please leave them below and please let me know what other railroads I should do. I'll try to post more chapters in the following months!

I'm going to start sharing my age that way.....! LOL #WordToYourCoaster

His KIC username is @Thrill_Biscuit

Does anyone know how to contact the person who made that song? I want to have a shirt made of it.

It's the best song ever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb1OWOaba38

YES!!!! There's a Vortex SONG???

Should we break out The Vortex Song?

Rivertown was never initially themed to a river. It was originally supposed to be called Frontierland but that would bare too much relation to Disney. They decided to name it Rivertown because it was more unique and reflected on the placement near the Little Miami River as well as the Ohio river playing such a big part in the Cincinnati history and economy. Rivertown was always more of a lumber/mining company with the early log flume, "Beast Canyon," Rivertown Mining Company, and more recently the Miami River Lumber Company.

I'd kill to have Pony Express and Sierra Sidewinder from Knott's in place of Backlot Stunt Coaster.

I'd exchange Invertigo for Grizzly (KD), Firehawk for Dominnator and Flight of Fear for Volcano: The Blast Coaster. While I am at it, I'd exchange the former The Crypt for nothing except some grass and trees.

Or it could have nothing to do with 2018 - which is almost more exciting to think about.