Tom76257

I second what DropZone99 said about hitting Superman first thing. Gigacoaster2k and I got there about half an hour after open and waited a half hour. Iron Wolf is the first B&M, but that's where most people stop enjoying it. Prepare for a VERY rough ride if you ride it. SFGAM has some semi-unique flat rides in Condor, Revolution, Ricochet, and The Jester's Wild Ride. Giant Drop packs a punch for what it is. Demon was a huge surprise in that it's a 35-year-old Arrow looper, but it's butter smooth. It's VERY well-taken care of. Wouldn't miss this one. If you like history in rides, King Chaos came from Geauga Lake. Ragin' Cajun is a rough spinning wild mouse, but it wasn't as rough as it had been described to me. Still painful though. Raging Bull is my least favorite hyper. It starts out great, but then slows down progressively throughout the ride and gets boring. It does have one positive thing about it, though. Ride it in the back row if you want some INSANE ejector air on the first drop. The Dark Knight is my favorite wild mouse. Love the theming and love the ride. If it's still the same at the end there's a surprise waiting for you in the effects. I like V2 more than I do Wicked Twister. Ride it in the back if you want some great hangtime going down the straight up spike. I've heard airtime is plentiful in the front car on both American Eagle and Viper. I rode back row on both and didn't get much airtime at all. Whizzer is an interesting and unique ride, but don't expect a thrill. It's more fun than it is thrilling. Batman was my 100th coaster and it didn't disppoint. It's my #4 steel coaster and I wouldn't miss it. WOW! I'd ridden the one at SFOG and liked that one. SFGAm's is MUCH better imo. Finally, I thought the park was okay. The thing I like least about the park is the layout. It makes for a lot of walking. Hope this helps.

Kevin, it was a TOGO stand-up that got me to like coasters in King Cobra. I've heard bad things about the ride like it being more than a tad bit rough. Unless it's EXTREME roughness I really don't mind it. I like rides like Georgia Cyclone, Son of Beast, and Invertigo, so unless it's as rough as rides like Dahlonega Mine Train and Mean Streak were to me then I'll more than likely be alright. Was it the restraints you didn't like?

Tom I as just at KD for 2 days this week and Rode I305 no difference on the Trims on the first Drop. It picks the speed right back up and it rides just like it did when we went opening day. BTW Stayed on Dominator 10 times with out gettign off on Monday the park was dead the last hour it was open LOL. Oh i rode Shockwave for you to. One word - JEALOUS! You rode my two favorite steel coasters AND rode a TOGO stand-up that was closed on KD Opening Day that I couldn't wait to ride. Just wondering, do they trim Hurler at the bottom of its first drop? I remember the one at Carowinds having that trim off.

Updated List: Steel 1. Dominator 2. Intimidator 305 3. Maverick 4. Top Thrill Dragster 5. Millennium Force Wood 1. The Voyage 2. Thunderhead 3. The Legend 4. The Beast 5. Son of Beast

Continuing on with the Paramount logo, the first aid vehicles still sport the logo just without the word Paramount on them. I'm not sure whether this is an odditiy or not, but on my second last visit to Kings Island I noticed something about the M&M machine in Flight Deck's queue. One of the varieties of M&Ms on the side of the machine says "PLAIN." That same variety today is called "Milk Chocolate."

Stand-ups have a special place in my heart because after my first ride on King Cobra I started to like roller coasters and not fear them like I had before. I was heartbroken this year when I visited Kings Dominion on Opening Day and saw Shockwave on the "Not Operating" list of rides for that day. I've ridden and like from favorite to least favorite: Georgia Scorcher Mantis Chang King Cobra Vortex Scorcher is just an awesome ride to me. Mantis has an AWESOME first half, but after the mid-course it gets really rough. Chang seemed so smooth that it actually relaxed instead of thrilled me. King Cobra had an awesome layout and I still miss it to this day. Vortex was just plain rough, but had a really good layout. On a side note, has anyone noticed that Mantis is running trimless this year? I've been to The Point 4 times this year and haven't heard that familiar noise of grabbing trims as the train goes down the first drop on any visit yet. Don't think the ride is necessarily better tough. Angie and I rode it and the mid-course now grabs harder.

After reading this part of your trip report, I want to go to Canada's Wonderland even more now. Keep up the nice PTRs!

As some thers have said, it all depends on which coaster it is. I prefer the front on Diamondback, Firehawk, and Flight of Fear. I prefer the back on The Beast and Adventure Express. Either the front or the back is fine with me on Flight Deck. As for some of my favorite steel coasters, Maverick in the very back seat is awe-inspiring to me, the only ride I got on Dominator (My favorite steel coaster.) was in the back row and I LOVED it, Millie is great for positive Gs in the front, and Dragster's launch is great when you're towards the back. As for my favorite wooden coasters, The Voyage is good in any seat really, but I do slightly prefer the back, Thunderhead gave some great air in the front, but not the back for some reason (Can someone please explain this if you know why?), and I prefer The Legend slightly more towards the back. The only coaster I really have a preference with which side I ride on is The Legend. I'm a big fan of lateral forces, and I feel the lats more on that side than I do the right side. As for Vortex, I tend not to ride it these days, but the best ride I got on it last season was in 4-1.

Maverick for me. I'd watched the pov countless times before I experienced my first visit to The Point last year for CoasterMania! and didn't expect too much. WOW, was I EVER wrong! As soon as I was on the final brake run I said, "That's my number 1 steel!" The ride had me from the first 95 degree drop (still my favorite drop on a coaster.) and just never quit. This is the ride that got me to love wild rides and it has a special place in my heart because of that. Sadly, it's no longer my favorite steel coaster anymore, but I still love it.

Indeed there are. It was a standup that made me like coasters so they have a special place in my heart.

Ditto. I too have only ridden Skyflyer once and don't have too much desire to ride it again. I got scared near the top of the wenching part too. Looking down at the ground from that height in that position made me a little nervous, and I'd rather not experience that again. Slingshot is an awesome ride for those that haven't ridden it yet. Some days certain ride ops that work it like to mess around and have fun with you too.

Some of you already know this story AND it's SUPER embarassing, but why not? Before I start, let me say that I'd HEARD of Dramamine, but I hadn't taken any in the past so I didn't yet know the miracles it could work. Let me also say that without it I can be a weak-stomached coaster rider. I also apologize in advance if this post gets graphic in any way. On the first day of Ride Warriors Weekend last year I racked up nine coaster rides within the span of about three hours due to the ERT for that morning (The Beast, Backlot Stunt Coaster, and Vortex). I wasn't feeling my best after this, but I still hung around the KIC'ers that I was with. I then followed rypie91d, kittenpooh, and gigacoaster2k to the queue line for their credit on what was then known as Rugrats Runaway Reptar. They wanted me to ride it with them, but I'd already gotten the credit a few weeks back and knew how rattly the ride was. On top of that, I knew I would feel worse after the ride. However, after some persuasion, I decided to ride it. As soon as we hit the final brake run, I knew a protein spill was about to happen. Instead of running as fast as I could to the nearest garbage can I saw, I decided that I'd toss my cookies on the exit line of the ride. The only problem with that was there were three KIC'ers in front of me. Well with one small heap some of my stomach's contents were now on the exit ramp of Reptar. AND a very small amount was on poor kittenpooh's foot. If I've grossed anyone out so far I do apologize, but it gets funnier. Later that night I decided I wanted to get at least 5 Diamondback ERT night rides. Well, the good news is I got two rides in. The bad news is that after the second ERT ride I buried my head into a trash can right outside of DB Trading Post for an even worse repeat of what happened earlier that day. As if this happening during an ERT of an enthusiast event wasn't bad enough, it happened less than 10 feet away from another enthusiast who was watching. Again, I do apologize if I have offended anyone reading this with the details. Soo... I had a protein spill after getting off (of all things) a kids' ride in close proximity of three other enthusiasts and had some of it land on another enthusiast's foot, repeated this action during (of all things) an ERT on a brand new world class coaster, AND had an enthusiast I didn't know witness the event. The silver lining - I can now truthfully say that I've thrown up after getting off of a kids' ride and I earned a new nickname from rypie - "Chunks."

Like some of the above posts, I see Splashin' Safari getting new additions before Holiday World gets a new coaster. The Kochs are building Splashin' Safari up to be a water park on par with Schlitterbahn, and I don't think there's too much that will slow down the voted #2 water park in the world. If there is a new steel coaster at a theme park in southern Indiana in the future I think it'll be something like a hyper or a giga with respect to intensity, but on a smaller scale heightwise.

Not only were the belts shortened on Millennium Force, they were also shortened on Top Thrill Dragster. I'm 6 feet 3 inches tall and weigh 160 pounds, so I'm not what most people would consider a big person. When I got on Dragster I had my hoodie tied around my waist. I had a tough time getting the seat belt to click when it was over my hoodie. That should tell you how short the belts are this season. I repositioned the belt around my waist and didn't have a problem, but I can only imagine how tight of a fit Dragster and Millie will be for some people this season.

I understand that people want to ride The Voyage with Timberliners, but what I don't understand is why people are getting upset about them not being on the coaster itself. The Voyage has been voted the best wooden coaster in the world three times with PTC trains. It's an unbelievably great ride WITHOUT Timberliners. Do I want to ride it with Timberliners? Absolutely. Can I wait? Yes. This is Gravitykraft's (TGG's sister company that focuses on building coaster trains designed by TGG.) first project and problems with prototypes can and do happen. Bottom line for the people who are getting uptight about the Timberliners not running (no one in particular) - Calm down. The Voyage is still a great ride. Prototypical problems happen and both the people at The Gravity Group and Holiday World want as little problems as possible with the Timberliners. On a side note, if you want to experience something new at Holiday World and Splashin' Safari, ride Wildebeest. The world's newest and longest water coaster looks like a great ride from the looks of it.

Great PTR, Angie! If anyone wants to know what a rollback on Top Thrill Dragster feels like then don't ask me because I honestly couldn't tell you. This is because when I saw the catwalk steps at the side of Dragster's top hat stop and then suddenly go UP I immediately started to scream like a little girl because I realized what was happening. LOL! I honestly didn't care what happened the rest of the day. THAT was the best start to my day I've EVER had at Cedar Point! WOO! I was disappointed that we didn't get a ride on Wicked Twister. It's a unique ride that I really enjoy for some reason. PLUS, there's THREE guaranteed rollbacks on each ride! On a side note, if anyone likes Mantis (I know there aren't too many people on here, but I thought I'd let everyone know.), it was running trimless! Angie and I watched at least 7 or 8 trains at different times during the day go down the hill without that characteristic noise of grabbing trims that we're so accustomed to. We actually wanted to ride it as I'm a fan of stand-ups, but we saw the line was WAY too long to wait in for a ride on it.

$25 is a bit steep, but I think it'll be worth it. I've always been interested in the backstage aspect of things.

So would the price go up or down for those of us who have never claimed to be normal, Terpy? I missed the first train tour because I went to Holiday World's Opening Day. Considering that I LOVE amusement park railroads, I will have to attend one of these tours.

Nice trip report. Tom and some numbers. LOL! I guess I brought that one on myself for having a weird screen name. It was also nice to meet you.

Yep. Never rode it, but I do remember it. What was in that thing anyway?

Very nice trip report, Jackson. I'm amazed at some of the shots you took. It was nice hanging out with you as always. Hope to see you at Kings Island some more this season.

Angie and I will be there at about 8AM. Looking forward to seeing a lot of you guys today!

IF you count waiting at the drop off lot/at the metal detectors AND going through all the switchbacks in a short amount of time on Opening Day last season then I waited about 6 hours to ride Diamondback since I was there at 3:15 in the morning that day (I've talked to someone who actually does consider that to be a wait time for a ride. I really don't, though, because I wasn't actually in the physical queue line or line that extended out of the queue line for the duration of that time.). Actually in line, the most I've ever waited was 2 hours for Son of Beast in its opening season. However, I don't think I've waited more than 45 minutes to ever ride my current favorite ride and that was because it broke down. Besides that, I don't think I've really waited too much longer than 20 minutes for The Voyage.

I'm excited too, Jackson! Most of my trip report will be pictures of Planet Snoopy. It fit in quite well in two other former Paramount Parks (Kings Dominion and Carowinds) and I'm thinking it'll fit in as planned at Kings Island.