McSalsa

Thankfully, you find that Kings Island, now over 600 years old, is now a whopping ultra-park with hundreds of roller coasters, some over 1000 feet tall! And some of the 2009 ones, by some miracle, are still there. (Beast, Racer, Diamondback, Flight of Fear, etc). And the Eiffel Tower has been replaced by a REAL Eiffel Tower (987 feet tall).

The Scenario: You have a Time Machine! WHOO HOO!!! Well, sort of. The problem with this time machine is, it can only go to Kings Island, but it can go back to any date, ever, that Kings Island was open. But it can also only go ONCE and when you're done it explodes, so you have to choose wisely...what day do you want to go? Opening Day 1972? (KI Opening Day) 1979? (Beast's "rookie" year) 1981? (To ride The Bat?) 1992? (Last season pre-Paramount?) 1993? (Paramount's first year) 2000? (Son of Beast's debut?) 2005? (Last full season for Paramount) 2006? (To get injured on SOB wait WTF!?!?) 2009? (To relive Diamondback's debut?) PS: What you do will have no effect on the world when you return, so you can do whatever you wish. But you cannot bring back anything you didn't originally take with you. Sorry, you can't sell that 1979 Beast T-Shirt for $100+ on Ebay! Enjoy the poll. McSalsa's choice: It was a toughie, but if I were to use this time machine, I would go to 1981. Why? To ride The Bat, because KI was still quite young, and Beast was running at full force that year. But any trip to KI would be nice... Double PS: You can choose ANY year from 1972-2009, not just the ones listed above.

I found out how. Silly me. I thought all my old polls were destroyed and now, wham. Perhaps I shall bump some of the better ones...BWA HA HA!!!

IT LIVES!!! I thought that poll was gone long ago. Where did you find it?

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I'm back and have a new poll. While asking a friend what Son of Beast's roughness is like, he told me "it's like driving at 100mph over potholes." And thus, this SOB poll. How would you describe SOB's roughness? I have never ridden SOB and thus cannot vote... Enjoy the poll. If you don't like it, click back.

With the exception of a few votes for Carowinds Huler, Mean Streak & SOB have all the votes. I have ridden neither, but why I am I not suprised at all...well, I am a little bit, you'd think some of the others would have at least ONE... As for a coaster I've been told was rough and then rode, The Beast at KI. I've read reviews online that said "this is one rough wooden coaster" and when I rode it myself...it was only a bit bumpy, not at all painful, even in the helix finale (though it almost got rough there). Roughest part was actually the corner as you came around to the lift hill! I'm not kidding. As for SOB being like "a car crash", I've also heard that if you hold on to the lapbar or handle of the train, it feels like riding a jackhammer. Hey, that would be a good name for a wooden roller coaster..."Jackhammer: The Ride!"

MCSALSA'S SCORES I have ridden Hoosier Hurricane, The Beastie (for now FOC, new 2010 name unkown), Top Cat's Taxi Jam, and Blue Racer but do not remember enough because I was 8-10. The Beast- 9/10 during daytime, 10/10 at night Vortex- 7.5/10 (A bit of roughness drops it from being a 8) Diamondback- 10/10 Flight Deck- 7.5/10 (Too short to be a a 8) Red Racer- 8.5/10 Flight of Fear- 9.5/10 That's pretty much everything for me. Hopefully more coming soon.

OK, I have had polls where I asked people to rate coasters before and share their opinion, etc. Well, this poll ends all those. In this one, you can(but don't have to)rate as many or as few roller coasters as you want. Every single coaster you've ever ridden? Just one or two? It's all up to you. Just use this rating system as a guide: 10/10 Perfection. This coaster is fun-filled and breathtaking from start to finish and keeps you wanting to ride it over and over. Worth any wait just to ride it. 9/10 Excellent. While there may be some flaws or low points, the coaster is overall very good and worth a long wait but maybe over an hour might be too much... 8/10 Very Good. If you visit a park and don't ride this, you're not killing yourself but you're missing something. Worth a 30-45 minute wait. 7/10 Good. Not exactly a must-ride but if the line is short, you should do it. But any line longer than 30 minutes is too long for this ride. 6/10 OK. Ride only if the line is very short, get the credit, and go on with it. You won't lose any sleep if you don't ride it. 5/10 Meh. Barley even worth the credit even when it's a walk on. In most cases, this is a skip. 4/10 Bad. This coaster could be rough, boring, or both. Not worth riding at all. 3/10 Awful. This coaster can put you in a bad mood or cause some serious owchies with its roughness. 2/10 Terrible. Think the above but even worse. 1/10 Garbage. This is the scum of the coaster world. Enjoy. And if you don't like polls/want to post anything, feel free to click back. Questions about others scores are allowed but do not expect an anwser all the time. And please DO NOT RATE COASTERS YOU HAVE NOT RIDDEN, FAKE COASTERS, OR OTHER RIDES (because it's unfair to compare coasters to flats and vise versa). Defunct coasters are OK, but mark with a * to tell others this coaster no longer exists. Next post will be my scores... PS: In-between scores such as 7.5 or 8.5 are allowed.

Not 100% sure this has yet to be posted, but here is a video of Timberliners in action on The Raven @ Holiday World earlier this year... Enjoy.

Sorry. Remember, I'm still a "noob" when it comes to most parks and coasters, having only been to 2 in the course of my life and having ridden only 10 roller coasters total. I need to visit more parks before I comment on their roller coasters. I hope to visit a few new parks in 2010 though (Probably Holiday World and Cedar Point, ironically...). Memo to self...do not comment on coasters you have not yet ridden. (As of right now, that means anything besides Hoosier Hurricane, LBGC, Beastie, Blue Racer, Beast, Vortex, Diamondback, Flight Deck, Red Racer, and Flight of Fear)

True. Any park at least one really good coaster is worth visiting at least once. I can name at least one excellent coaster (averages an 8 or higher in most reviews) at nearly every nearby park. This poll is based on overall selection of KI's coasters, but in certain categories we do get killed. PS: If this poll were "what park has the best selection of wooden roller coasters?", Holiday World would win hands down. If it were steel, Cedar Point would win hands down. Now, if only someone would buy both parks plus KI and make...Cedar World Island! (34 Roller Coasters!!!) No one would rate that below Excellent! PS 2: Cedar World Island also has everything else good from all of the parks, including Holiday World's free stuff, etc.

Last night, I had a weird dream where they tried to destroy Son of Beast with explosives. KABOOM! The smoke cleared...and Son of Beast was still intact! And Son of Beast came alive (started moving) and was ****ed off, so they had Diamondback attack it by wrapping around SOB like a snake, and Diamondback "bit" SOB, whom roared in pain. A massive battle ensued, and the Action Zone rides all came alive and started to run away (Invertigo and Delirium were screaming as they ran!), but Son of Beast grabbed Drop Tower and began smacking Diamondback on the "head" with it like a stick. Then Beast came up to help his Son, bit Diamondback, then SOB did the same and Diamondback was ripped in two. Don Heilbig(I think I spelled it wrong) said "Oh ****" because SOB was coming his way. And I woke up. Weirdest dream I have had in a while. Not kidding. Terpy will have a field day with this one!

Hope this helps... ...but it only makes me miss KI more!

Well, I looked up RCDB and it turns out Son of Beast willl not be the tallest roller coaster ever demolished, if it happens: http://rcdb.com/r.htm?nm=na&ex=2&order=-23&ot=2 The 246-foot Moonsault Scrambler, which was closed in 2000, has Son of Beast beaten by 28 feet. What about Length? http://rcdb.com/r.htm?nm=na&ex=2&order=-25&ot=2 Well, Son of Beast may well get one more record after all. Unless they tear down that massively long ride in Japan that is currently SBNO.

One question that popped up in my head- if Son of Beast does go, will it be the largest roller coaster ever demolished? What ride currently holds that record? At 218 feet tall and over 7,000 feet long, I think it probably would be. Can someone clarify this? Thanks.

Uhh Terpy...there aren't any B&M Gigacoasters. Though if there were, they would probably be awesome. But they would still pale next to Train O' Doom.

To date, the only complaint I have ever heard about Voyage is that "it beats you up" and has some roughness. If these work the way GG says they will...Voyage will probably surpass all coasters, wood or steel! Sorry Bizarro and Millennium Force! As for getting these for Racer & Beast, what about Son of Beast (if it does stay)? These trains are designed to reduce roughness and maintenence costs, SOB's 2 main issues. Though I would want them tested first, just to be sure they work. Then install them on ALL Cedar Fair WOODEN COASTERS. BWA HA HA!

A punch to the face from Dad? Or 3 10/10s... I was just giving some numbers to compare the parks. However, if you break this down to just "Mega Thrill Rides"...removing all "family" and "kiddie" rides... Cedar Point #1-Millennium Force (9.6) #2-Maverick (9.3) #3-Top Thrill Dragster (9.3) #4-Raptor (8.7) #5-Magnum XL200 (8.4) #6-Wicked Twister (8.1) #7-Mantis (7.3) #8-Mean Streak (6.3) Average: 8.4 Kings Island #1-Diamondback (9.5) #2-Beast (8.8) #3-Firehawk (8.0) #4-Flight of Fear (7.8) #5-Son of Beast (7.4) #6-Invertigo (6.9) #7-Vortex (6.9) Average: 7.9 Cedar Point wins hands down. Please note that these numbers do not reflect everyone's opinions on a certain ride and will change from person to person. For example, I would give Vortex a 8/10, not a 6.9. Someone else might hate it and give it a 4, etc. There are also areas where Kings Island, as it is now, probably has Cedar Point beaten- such as the kids area and family rides (probably why the average score for KI is higher from that web page). As a whole, however, I think KI is very well rounded... Great Steel Roller Coasters? Check. (Diamondback really helped fill in this one) Great Wooden Roller Coasters? Check. Great Flatrides? Check. (Though we do need a few more for adults) Great Family Rides? Check. Great Kids Rides? Check. World Records? Check. Good Food? Check. (Though it is expensive!) Clean Park? Check. (Well, mostly...) Observation Tower? Check. Train? Check. Water Rides? Check. How many other parks have all these things? I don't there are that many.

Using Coastergrotto's numbers... Cedar Point #1-Millennium Force (9.6) #2-Maverick (9.3) #3-Top Thrill Dragster (9.3) #4-Raptor (8.7) #5-Magnum XL200 (8.4) #6-Wicked Twister (8.1) #7-Mantis (7.3) #8-Gemini (7.0) #9-Blue Streak (6.5) #10-Mean Streak (6.3) #11-Iron Dragon (5.6) #12-Wildcat (5.6) #13-Disaster Transport (5.2) #14-Corkscrew (5.0) #15-Cedar Creek Mine Ride (4.9) #16-Woodstock Express (4.3) #17-Jr Gemini (3.4) Average: 6.7 Kings Island #1-Diamondback (9.5) #2-Beast (8.8) #3-Firehawk (8.0) #4-Flight of Fear (7.8) #5-Son of Beast (7.4) #6-The Racer (7.1) #7-Invertigo (6.9) #8-Vortex (6.9) #9-Flight Deck (6.8) #10-Backlot Stunt Coaster (6.7) #11-Adventure Express (5.9) #12-Fairly Odd Coaster (5.4) #13-Rugrats Runaway Reptar (5.0) #14-Little Bill's Giggle Coaster (3.3) Average: 6.8 Kinda shocking...but we must remember, Cedar Point has 3 9/10 or higher rides...we have ONE...

Update: I just looked at the coastergrotto page for Canada's wonderland. They have one "9.3", Behemoth. And then a bunch of 7s. Moved KI above Canada's Wonderland And CW falls several spots...

OK, my 3rd offseason poll that has been floating in my head for a while. How would you rate Kings Island's collection of roller coasters as a whole? This means every single coaster put together, compared to other parks. My Opinion: I regard our collection as excellent, though there are a handful of parks I would list as better...here is my top 5(update: top 4 now!) list. (I have only been to KI so this list is based on what I have seen and heard) #1-Cedar Point #2-Six Flags Great Adventure (El Toro, Kingda Ka, Nitro, and the other great coasters here raise my opinion of them in spite of the fact they have "only" 13) #3-Six Flags Magic Mountain #4-Kings Island Removed: Canada's Wonderland was #4 on my list, but upon further review I decided it wasn't as good as I originally thought. Though, if SOB is removed, I fear Kings Dominion and Carowinds, which would be VERY close behind KI on this list, could pass us with I305 and Intimdator. But that's next year. What do you think? PS: Parks without that many coasters didn't stand too much of a chance to make this list, but if Holiday World had 6 Voyage-class coasters they would easily be #1.

OK, here is an updated list. Thanks for the earlier one while I was away Standbyme. ROUND #1 (First 10 picks) #1-The Beast - McSalsa #2-Diamondback - RWildMan424 #3-Adventure Express - markhudson #4-Son of Beast - BeastinNight #5-Vortex - PKIVortex #6-Firehawk - PKIDelirium #7-Little Bills Giggle Coaster - TheSonofBeast #8-The Racer - dexbomb #9-Flight Deck - KI Kevin #10-Invertigo - brick52 ROUND #2 (Next 10 picks) #11-The Crypt - goodyellowkorn182 #12-Flight of Fear - CedarPointer #13-Drop Tower - flightoffear1996 #14-Shake, Rattle & Roll - Thrill_Biscuit #15-The Eiffel Tower - trint2004 #16-Delirium - Beast1979 #17-Viking Fury - Cort #18-Backlot Stunt Coaster - frisbeefan #19-Zephyr - TombRaiderFTW #20-Extreme Sky flyer - DVO ROUND #3 (Next 10...) #21-The train - rotag1299 #22-Scrambler - Diamondback FOF #23-Slingshot - DropZone99 #24-Monster - Phantom Theater #25-Beastie - Dbfan #26-Congo Falls - Rumor Smasher #27-Carousel - Elmer Fudd #28-White Water Canyon - standbyme #29-Wild Thornberry's River Adventure - KIfan73 #30-Runaway Reptar - CrashOverRided ROUND #4 (Yep...) #31-Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle - Ki4life08 #32-Action Theater - TOPGUN1993 #33-Avatar - KI Man #34-Tasmanian Typhoon - hookyboysb #35-Timmy's Air Tours- Coney Island Rocks #36-Plankton's Plunge - mtl2013 #37-lazy river - coasterfreak45 #38-coolanganda racer - marchimini #39-down under thunder- HTCO #40-Jimmy Neutron's Atom Smashers- Jasper If you are not on the list, you choose a ride that was either defunct, fake, or broke a rule. But you can try again. Though the pickins' is getting mighty slim... And at this point you may now offer trades. But they must accept your trade. Draft Comments: Lame Duck of roller coasters is Runaway Reptar. Stud of flatrides is...THE CRYPT!?!? (How did this get picked before DT or Delirium!?!?) WHY DID LBGC GO IN ROUND 1!?!?!

An interesting idea that popped in my head a while back, this is more of a little "game" than a poll but I still think it fits here. If you could have a ride from KI, ANY ride, all to yourself for a whole year? Here are the rules: -Choose ONE ride at Kings Island. And only one. -If someone has already called a ride in an earlier post (read them all before choosing!), you must choose another ride. The topic will be dead if all rides are taken. -All rides are in their 2009 forms (since we don't know what some will be like in 2010) -Eiffel Tower, Railroad & Action Theater are valid choices as are all Boomerang Bay rides -Both sides of Racer go as one ride in this topic -You may call a ride by a previous name to pick it (ala "Top Gun", "Tomb Raider", etc.) but be aware it's the 2009 version of the ride -You may also put up a picture of a logo of a ride you "claim" or a picture, but also specify what ride you are choosing. -No defunct rides may be chosen, sorry. The purpose of this? To see what rides get picked the earliest, and which ones become Mr.Irrelevant(among the last ones chosen). Act fast or the ride you want might be gone. As the original poster, I will get Pick #1. BWA HA HA ...I choose... The Beast! Wait, No Diamondback? Yep. But I have a funny feeling person #2 will call that... Also, you may comment without "claiming" a ride or if you have already picked. Also, to keep some from "slugging" through these pages, I will post a list of chosen rides every now and then for listing. Enjoy.

KI- Once. But at least it was a memorable visit! All Other Parks combined- 0. There was a Holiday World trip planned that got axed. I hope to get much, much more in 2010...

Second poll in 10 minutes...making up for almost 2 months with no polls... We all have our favorite roller coasters, but in some cases, our favorites aren't the most intense ever. Using myself, as much as I loved Beast, it was a walk in the park compared to some other coasters I have ridden. The fear factor. Coasters so crazy, so fast, so insane, they make you say "OH SH!%!!!". Coasters that have you huffing and puffing and thinking "Oh...My...Gosh..."(or something equally stunned)as you come back into the station. What is the most frightening and intimidating coaster you have ever ridden (or it looked so scary you dared not even try it!). In my case, Diamondback takes the cake. Being over 200 feet in the air, and then feeling like I was going to fly out scared me to the point where my knuckles were white. I was holding on to the lapbar so hard, my hands hurt afterwords. I had to catch my breath afterwords. It was an amazing ride, and one intense one as well. I have only been to KI and Indiana Beach, so one day Diamondback may lose this title. Or maybe it won't. But what coaster scares you the most?