sheikra_rocks

At least it isn't another water slide!

I will be wearing my Kumba shirt tomorrow! SO excited!

I make prosthetic appliances and work with pigments, Banshee is purple. I know because I hate making purple! Red and blue make purple. An example of my work...

Trust me, it is purple. I was talking with someone last Friday at the park and saying thank goodness that it wasn't the Cedar Fair red and gold or tan that they really like on their coasters. Maverick, Diamondback, I305, Intimidator, etc.

I am perfectly calm. I also am looking forward to the Banshee Construction Tour!

Well, I had an amazing time at Gatekeeper Media Day! 30 rides! I hope to attend Banshee Media Day.

SO, that answers the question if Banshee Media Day will be conducted like Gatekeeper Media Day. How does giving away an invitation to Banshee media day answer any questions? Well, WILL Banshee Media Day be conducted like Gatekeeper Media Day?

SO, that answers the question if Banshee Media Day will be conducted like Gatekeeper Media Day.

I RSVP'ed but have not received a confirmation email yet.

I was just looking at photos, and it doesn't look like the bottom of the lift is onsite yet.

It is not missing. it is slid over out of the way.

That section is up. Look at the photos I posted on the previous page. Station track is up.

Have you ever ridden Raptor? Or any of the Batman clones? Smallest stations ever.

Looks like we have the station track, and the 2 curved sections before the first lift section in place! (Taken from KI's Facebook.)

Huh? How so? People that prefer b&m complain about skyrush restraint troubles and act like b&m has no troubles, but Gatekeeper hurts way more than skyrush which barely hurts at all. Nope. I love B&M, and 100% glad we have a new B&M coming over an Intacrap. HOWEVER! I actually LOVE Skyrush! I did not feel Skyrush was painful at all. Nor do I feel Gatekeeper was painful after 30 rides on media day.

Cargos, yes. Bags, no! I just don't get it. What could one possibly need in a theme park to have to bring a book bag? Everything I need can easily fit in my cargo pockets. Wallet, phone, and keys. Sometimes, I don't even bring my phone into the park. If I have to bring something in, like a sweat shirt, I put it in a locker by WWC, and leave it there until I need it. Also, not sure why it is so difficult to wear flip flops on Diamondback. I have ridden Diamondback over 1,100 times, most have been with flip flops. When I plan to ride something like Invertigo (or next year, Banshee) I wear sandals or tennis shoes. I refuse to walk bare foot on the rides or ride platforms.

Once our ERT on Leviathan was over, we headed to The Bat which was on our way to our next ERT session on Silver Streak. The Bat is your classic Vekoma Boomerang coaster. It would have been an okay ride if it had the vests like the boomerang at Great Adventure. Upon making our way toward Silver Streak a Vekoma junior inverted (Flying Ace Areal Chase), other Acer's passed us going the opposite direction stating it was down for technical difficulties, so we followed them and made our wait to the Wonderland Theater for a Q&A and a group photo by the lagoon. We were treated to cookies, orange or apple juice, and bottled water. Several people who have never visited Wonderland commented on how impressed they were with the overall experience in the park. From operations, to cleanliness, to guest service. The final verdict? Wonderland knows what they are doing! My comment / question... "This is the 7th Cedar Fair park that I have visited, could you go to the states to show them how it is done?" Wonderland is in it's on little world, and you would forget that you were in fact inside a Cedar Fair park! Night and day between CW and other CF parks. After the Q&A, we were informed that Silver Streak would be available to us at noon. We were to enter the ride through the exit, and we will be put right on. My group had arrived at Silver Streak slightly early, but decided that we would just go up the exit and wait for our time. We explained to the ride host what our instructions were, and she said that she would get us on right away. As a train unloaded, I tried to make a buck. I exclaimed that there was a $5 fee after riding as guests trickled through the unload gate. No one "bought" my sales pitch, but great fun was had, everyone was happy! We boarded the train 10 minutes prior to our allotted time! Going up the lift the unload attendant sings a jingle over the lift speakers. The jingle is the ride safety rules! Such a fun an interactive ride host! (Most of them were!) Silver Streak rides just like Flying Ace! Smile for the camera! By this time, we had 2 coasters left, but decided to hit the 3D show "Monsters Of The Deep" which was only $1 with a season pass. After the show, we head over to Flight Deck and Time Warp. Yes, save the worst for last! Flight Deck is you regular Vekoma SLC. It is TERRIBLE! We just wanted it to be over with. While the line was not very long, it was very slow moving. Time Warp is neat, but painful. This had about a 15 minute wait. Yes! At 2 pm on Saturday, Time Warp had a 15 minute wait! Time Warp is a flying coaster in which you board the single cars 4 across in a stand up position. Then, you are raised into the flying position as the car makes it's way to the block before the lift. The straight-a-ways aren't bad, it's the turns and inversions you have to look out for. Glad I only had to ride each of those once! Next we decided to break for lunch before using our complimentary Dinos ticket. So many food options to choose from in the park! We settled on Backlot Cafe. They serve gourmet burgers, artisan pizza, fresh pasta, chicken fingers, Chipotle sized burritos, and soft drinks. Someone ahead of me ordered 3 Cheese Tex Mex Mac n Cheese. While watching his dish being prepaired, I decided that I must have the same thing. I paid roughly $10 for food and a 32ounce drink, and I could not finish the food! 2 people could have easily shared what I ordered and been full afterward. It was delicious, and worth it! Best Mac N Cheese EVER! I did grab a refill of Cola and we made our way out. (Please and Thank yous go a long way!) I bring up "Please" and "Thank you" because, it seemed like we were thanking every single employee that we encountered! Exiting Behemoth we are all saying "thank you" as we made our way to the exit. Dinosaurs Alive! is Dinosaurs Alive! Although, I believe I enjoyed myself more in Wonderland's exhibit than in KI's. There was a joke with this next photo: "Someone needs to trim it's bush!" Also, I was going to post photos and say: "Here is a photo of the dinos moving." "Here's another photo of the same dinos moving again." Me: "If I cover my eyes, he can't see me" After our DA! shenanigans, we felt it was time to have one final ride on the B&M's starting at Behemoth. Really love row 16 on Behemoth as much as I love row 16 on Diamondback. However, if Behemoth had Diamondback's second half after the MCBR, I would like it better than DB. Now, one more ride on the ONLY coaster that I have ever cried on. I got emotional during our 12th consecutive ride earlier in the day after realizing how truly amazing the coaster was. Our last ride was around 6 pm, I think. By this time the coaster had warmed up, typical of B&M's, so I knew this had to be a last row ride. As we made our way toward the top of the lift hill, I look at the massive B&M I am about to traverse once again. Hands go up, lean forward, and reach for my toes as the train rockets back toward the earth! Upon arriving to the park on day 1, I knew I would be blubbering like a 12 year old at a One Direction concert at some point on Leviathan. Leviathan may have won this round, but I will be back for a rematch!

If you don't plan to use it at other parks, why even bother? You get the same discounts and free parking with Gold at KI. With in 8 - 12 hours drive from Cincinnati you have the following: Kings Island Cedar Point Dorney Canada's Wonderland Kings Dominion Carowinds Worlds of Fun Michigan's Adventure I've been to all listed except Michigan's Adventure. So, if you only plan to use your pass at KI, you should just buy Gold.

Tip: Wait until after the end of the season to renew. I usually wait until a week or so before the new season to renew. I have only had one instance in the last 3 years where my renewed Platinum pass did not work on opening day. They just got me right in and processed me again without waiting. (Friends is high places..) I could tell you who to ask for if that happens to you, but then, I would have to dispose of you after I tell you.

Vortex crew was doing better than Diamondback yesterday. Even though they had a protein spill, and was cleaning a train, the line was hardly more than a 1 train wait. There was no excuse for the way Diamondback was stacking yesterday.

Your gold pass, your good! I'm platinum seems like a really lousy deal to make them expire on Labor Day! I get they are trying to encourage more people to upgrade but still.... That's not cool they are doing that. Your Platinum or Gold passes are good through the end of the season. Per a post on Facebook, the last day to use a Regular season pass is on Labor Day. It's like this every year. If you renew your Platinum online, you continue to use the same card for the remainder of 2013 and throughout 2014.

I was at the park last night. Customer service is lacking at Kings Island The original Diamondback crew was the best. It is a shame that they were transferred to other rides, for whatever reason. Also, the person on the mic needs to give MORE direction to the guests. Leviathan has a timer in the front of the station, starting at 45 seconds. They were dispatching trains in 45 seconds or less. As soon as train 1 dropped, train 2 was being dispatched. As soon as train one leaves the lift hill, train 2 should be ready to dispatch. There is no excuse for slow loading times. You have ONE restraint to check on Diamondback per seat. Check it, and move on to the next one. Kings Island employees need to take the information given to them to make the experience better in the future. Don't go on the defense. That is a big problem. When you tell a KI employee something, they get defensive about it. Instead of fixing the problem, they make it worse by challenging the person bringing it to their attention. I worked at Busch Gardens Tampa, Silver Springs Ocala, Disney, Kings Island, for 6 years was a manager at a McDonald's, and now I have my own business and work for myself. One thing I learned over the years, is do not argue with your customers, and use their feedback to make the experience better. This thread contains feedback in which hopefully Diamondback employees can see, and up their games. We are going into Haunt, and your line will be extremely long. NOW is the time to work on bettering your staff. I love Diamondback, but things need to change at that coaster.

I've seen WWC with lengthy lines, so I believe it when they say it is 90 minutes. Everyone is getting their last visits in of the season. Regular season passes expire on Labor Day, so you will be seeing a lot of those people at the park. I just can not believe how many people are complaining about the prices of the Gold passes. Other parks charge for a SINGLE day what KI charges for a Gold season pass.

I can't wait! Less than a week away! Justaguy, I'll be your ride partner if you don't want to hang out alone! I warn you though. I will not ride Vortex more than once, ( I am already well over my 1 ride limit for this season.) I do not ride Firehawk because the ride sucks. ( I will ride if everyone else wants to, but usually don't.) Everything else I usually ride twice, then marathon Diamondback.

No, I did not try the poutine! I am gay! One of the members of my little group was looking for it, but we never tried it. I still have more on Saturday coming, just try to decipher all the thoughts in my head about it before I put it to a post.