McSalsa

I know, I was just kidding!

It is a honor only the most historically signifigant coasters earn- the ACE coaster landmark. Beast & Racer have already earned this honor. Now, what I ask is this: what other coasters here will earn this honor? My guesses as to which ones are most likely: Vortex For It: It was the first coaster in the world with 6 inversions, and remains popular today. Against It: It is enjoyed, but is far from the most loved coaster in the park... Flight of Fear For It: First LIM launched coaster in the world. Against It: There is another Flight of Fear that opened alongside it at KD. Flight Deck For It: It's one of the last of its kind. Against It: They seem to be tearing these down now. It needs to survive. Son of Beast For It: World's First Wooden Hypercoaster, and it did try to do a loop, but failed. Against It: Freakishly rough and being a wooden hypercoaster won't mean a thing if that doesn't catch on. Diamondback For It: Amazing ride. Is bringing a lot of lost KI lovers back. Has some unique elements new to hypercoasters. Against It: Not much at all. Runaway Reptar For It: It was the world's first suspended coaster for kids. Against It: I don't know if ACE names a bunch of kiddie coasters... Adventure Express For It: One of the best mine train rides in the world. Against It: Same as Reptar- do Mine Rines earn ACE status? I think so, but still... All right, those are my "best picks". Now, If I had my way, I would dub all of them ACE landmarks right now. But that's just me. Enjoy yet another fun(or lame, your choice) poll!

WOW. That would be sweet. New for 2010 at Kings Island- Screaming Swing & Ferris Wheel! (Screaming Swing in particular would give KI yet another great giant flatride- now DT and Delirium aren't by themselves! Sorry Crypt, you're not a great ride.) BTW, what rides are those in real life and where are they, because I know you photoshopped this. Good job too, it looks like a real photo at first.

Easy choice- The Beast's 540 degree tunnel helix finale. At night especially. But Vortex and Flight of Fear also pulled some serious Gs when I was on them- Vortex to a bit of painful degree on my shoudlers, but it was OK. And Diamondback had tons of airtime, and that counts because that means you are feeling "Zero Gs"...wait, on second thought, no it does not! Zero G is No G!

OK, here is a neat idea. Are there any coasters you think every true coaster lover MUST ride at least once before they die? List 10 and your reasons. If you think there are 2 "similar to each other" Reasons may include... -Legendary -Historical -Ride Experience -Record Holder -So bad you have to ride It to see how bad coasters can be! -Other And more. Here is my list...in no order. #1-The Beast @ Kings Island- Legendary, Ride Experience, and Record Holder! #2-Diamondback @ Kings Island OR Any B&M Hyper@ Various Parks- Ride Experience. I suggest DB but from what I have heard nearly every B&M Hyper is great. #3-X2 @ Six Flags Magic Mountain- Ride Experience. It's a very unique roller coaster. #4-Top Thrill Dragster @ Cedar Point OR Kingda Ka @ Six Flags Great Adventure- Ride Experience, and in the case of Kingda Ka, you get the record holder bonus. But the two are very similar rides and both stand over 420 feet, so they can be interchanged. #5-Cyclone @ Astroland- Historical Legend. #6-Leap The Dips @ Lakemont Park- Oldest Roller Coaster Still Standing and operating. Built in 1902! #7-Millennium Force @ Cedar Point- Ride Experience & World's First Giga Coaster. Is quickly earning "Legend" status. #8-Magnum XL 200 @ Cedar Point- World's First Hypercoaster. #9-The Voyage @ Holiday World- Ride Experience alone gets it here. #10-Expedition GeForce @ Holiday Park- Coastergrotto.com's users say it is the best in the world, so Ride Experience. Sigh. I could go on and on, but I will limit this list to only ten. Thanks and put up your own list if you so desire.

Well, in Indianapolis, I hear Meijer has them for $25.99 for single day passes. That's not a bad deal at all. Not sure about the 2-day passes, however.

When I think of "Fear the Four", I think of Vortex, Firehawk, Flight of Fear, and Invertigo- the park's 4 looping coasters. Firehawk replaced SOB when SOB's loop was removed and Firehawk came in. Other coasters at KI I consider as a "group": -"The Wooden Trio" (Beast, SOB, Racer) Big wooden coasters. -"The Junior Quattro" (Reptar, Avatar, Odd Coaster, Giggle Coaster) Kid coasters. -"The Family Thrillers" (Flight Deck, Adventure Express, Backlot Stunt Coaster) Thrill rides that are good when working your way up from the kid rides. Poor Diamondback is all by itself. Don't worry, it will have its own "club" soon enough. The Kings Island B&M Club. (Hey we can all dream!)

The Beast at Kings Island is one of the most famous coasters in the world, second to only The Coney Island Cyclone in that category. It broke nearly every record you could name when it opened in 1979, and still stands today as the longest wooden roller coaster on the planet and the longest in the United States. It's arrival caused a re-theming of Scooby Doo into Beastie(later rethemed again into Fairly Odd Coaster)and even a "sequel", Son of Beast. It easily won my "Greatest Coaster to Ever Grace KI" poll, whooping even Diamondback by over 20 votes. Here is where you come in: many remember their first ride on The Beast. Was yours noteworthy? Here's mine: I did mention this in my TR, and it was fairly recent, but it wasn't super detailed...here we go, McSalsa's first ride...May 16th, 2009... We had 2 rides under our belt(Eiffel Tower & Crypt)and it had just stopped raining, so Beast had just re-opened and we headed for it. I was letdown by Crypt and was hoping Beast would be better. We got in line, and I was a bit shocked at how long it was(though not much as I had just got off Crypt!). I accidently hit my sister with one of the bars in the line (she will be missed). Just kidding! It did give her a bruise, but it was OK. We got to the station, and one sign caught my eye as I wear glasses: "The Beast could take your glasses!". This got me a bit worried, but I saw the storage bin and decided I would leave my glasses there (I can still see OK without them). The spiels were entertaining, they were declaring The Beast the best coaster in the park in spite of Diamondback(later I found out it was actually true, no slam to DB). I had never rode a roller coaster that had a 140-foot drop before and was, of course, a little worried and hesitant. But when we got up there, I got on with my mom. I was also a tad worried about her, she's quite skinny and somewhat frail, but she had rode this ride before. We got on, and down went the lapbars. Around the corner we went. Thump, Thump, Thump. This worried me: oh no, this is gonna be rough! We went up the lift hill, and while it was loud I had been expecting louder. I looked at my mom and said "Hey Look, we are higher than the trees! " to calm myself. Then we reached the top and saw the infamous sight of what is ahead. I knew then..."No Turning Back!" \ (This is what I mean by "Infamous Sight") Drop. The train hurtled into the dark tunnel, reaching speeds of over 65mph. I didn't even notice the trim brake on the drop. We flew into the tunnel and we were racing through the woods at high speed. I was loving every second of it, to my shock, as 9 years earlier Racer had scared me to death. We hit the brake shed and I caught my breath, and then we hit the second lift hill. I was loving it and realized to check on my mom, she was fine. I asked a friend who was on the ride and had rode all the big stuff at Six Flags Over Georgia what he thought of Beast, he said "It's The Best Coaster I Have Ever Ridden." Then my sister got me uncomfortable again: "The worst is yet to come!" The train reached over the second lift hill, and the park was in clear sight. Eiffel Tower, Vortex, Diamondback, Racer, and Drop Tower are obvious from this point. Vortex was so loud, we could hear it from here. Then we had no more time to enjoy the view as the train began to pick up speed...more speed...more speed...TUNNEL! I ducked. The "tunnel" really does work. The ride ended with a few airtime hills, and then we were back in the station. When I boarded the train for Beast, I was scared of big coasters. When I left...well, let's just recall my comment: "Hey (Friend), let's go ride Vortex now!" Diamondback and Flight of Fear would later both surpass Beast, but of course, we took a night ride and Beast reclaimed the "lead" as my favorite later on and was the most memorable ride I rode at Kings Island that day. Sorry again, Diamondback, you are awesome but I liked Beast(Night) better. Enough said. Thanks for reading this, and if you want to describe your first ride (or a bizzare,eventful ride you had) on The Beast, please do post it. Thanks again.

OK, here's my rankings, as well as ratings. RATING SYSTEM 10/10=Awesome. A coaster with no or VERY minor flaws. 9/10=Excellent. It has a flaw or two, but is very enjoyable. 8/10=Very Good. Some flaws, but still quite fun. 7/10=Good. Has either 1 huge flaw or many small ones. 6/10=Meh. A decent but flawed ride. 5/10=OK. Flaws negate most of the fun, only a bit is left. 4/10=Bad. No fun. 3/10=Awful. Makes you upset. 2/10=Garbage. Ticks you off. 1/10=Flush It Down The Toilet! #1-The Beast 10/10. The landscaping is done to perfection, the tunnels really thrill me(especially at night)and the coaster is just fun to ride. #2-Diamondback Also 10/10. Airtime galore, great scenery, and freakishly fast. #3-Flight of Fear Another 10/10. It's super intense, total darkness. And it has an awesome corkscrew at the end. #4-Red Racer 9/10, lots of airtime, a wooden classic. #5-Vortex 8/10. A great ride wounded by the fact my shoulders hurt afterwords. Had it none done that it would have been a 9. #6-Flight Deck 8/10. Great but simply too short to get a higher score. #7-Blue Racer 7/10. Not as much airtime as red, and rougher. RED RACER PWNZ YOU! #8-Fairly Odd Coaster(Then Beastie) 7/10. Fun family coaster, but I didn't enjoy it that much back even when it was Beastie. It was good but not spectacular. HAVE NOT RIDDEN: SOB, BLSC, Invertigo, AE, Runaway Reptar, Avatar, or Firehawk and you told me not to mention Giggle Coaster. KI trips are rare for me.

An idea that popped in my head. We all want the most exciting, intense ride possible. But, usually in the case of a wooden coasters, how much roughness can you withstand as you aim for that goal? I can handle a bit of roughness myself, or even needing advil. But go any further and I'm done.

Oops. I made a unfair fight against BLSC. It's 5 to 1! Oh well...BTW, CB #2:Big Rough & Wooden is now up if you wish to see that poll.

Here is the second coaster battle. This time, we pit 3 of the most infamous wooden roller coasters of all time against each other. They all, at one point, held the record for the world's tallest wooden roller coaster. They are all considered very rough. They were all built during 1990-2000. Who will win this one? PS: Considered adding Texas Rattler @ Six Flags Fiesta Texas but it got changed, so it was removed. Also considered adding Colossos @ Heide Park, but it is too loved (it had a 9.4 rating at coastergrotto.com) so it would have ran away with it.

http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=18600 Here is the suggestion page for future battles. PLEASE, DO NOT LIST SUGGESTIONS ON THIS PAGE.

Yep. It's another poll by me. This time around, I have gotten an idea: pick 2 or more coasters, and pit them against each other in a battle to see which coaster is enjoyed the most. That coaster wins the battle. I will try to not pick unfair battles, so you won't see a Voyage vs. Son of Beast battle(because Voyage would just run away with it). These will not, however, be limited to just KI coasters, but will often be KI vs. Other Coaster battles instead of just Other Coaster vs. Other Coaster...unless a really good battle comes up. I will create a page on this site under "other" where you can suggest future coaster battles. There will also be "Triple Threat", "Fatal 4 Way", or even "Battle Royal" coaster battles where up to six coasters duke it out! The next coaster battle will be Son of Beast vs. Mean Streak vs. Texas Giant in a triple threat match dubbed "Big, Rough, and Wooden". But I want this battle to get some attention for right now. And for the first battle, I have chosen 2 "family thrill rides", both at Kings Island. Adventure Express against Backlot Stunt Coaster. Who will win this battle? LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!

Doh! I missed most of the movie questions and the stunt questions! I am so lame...

What do you mean "poor choices"? Well, a few choices were made for rides that just didn't work as well as hoped, and were over-hyped. And there was the transformation of Action Zone into a parking lot, sure there are great rides there, but they should have kept some of the trees to help it feel more natural. And some fun rides or rides that added to the atmosphere were removed for rides that just didn't work as well. HB Land was transformed into the, by comparison, generic-feeling Nick U. However, Cedar Fair has done a good job reversing a lot of the bad choices made, mainly thanks to Diamondback. And they could easily add some scenery to Action Zone to make it look better, perhaps in a year where there are no plans for a major new thrill ride(this probably won't happen soon, however). It also appears Nick-U could be on the way out. I like how things look for KI now, and hope these new trends continue. It is also possible that I am imagining the park as being better back then, based upon looks, as I didn't make my first trip to KI until 2000. The park just looked so beautiful in 1997, it's sad to see a lot of the lush green gone now.

This video should bring back some memories for you: This video was from Kings Island's Eiffel Tower in 1997. Nothing major was added that year, but Flight of Fear had just been added the year prior. Take a look especially at what is now Action Zone. Wow. Pretty shocking. Kings Island was great in the mid to late 1990s. And thanks to some poor choices, we now have to work back to that. Owch. 111% Coasterbob62's work. Be sure to check out some of his other videos. Here are some of my other favorites: Son of Beast is coming. Son of Beast has arrived! I had my first trip to KI as a kid back in 2000, and was shocked at the size of this coaster. Diamondback has changed the landscape of KI considerably. Here is a before & after video. The Beast 2009. Enough said. I love this ride. King Cobra, may you RIP. You will be missed...by some. Others love Delirium too much to miss you. DA DA DUM. You shall laugh! He has many more good videos, so watch those too if you wish. He also has a bunch of Cedar Point videos, which was also at one time radically different. Enjoy!

Or you can be crazy and break your foot. Or someone else's. Or just wait until an accident occurs and you break your foot, etc. Then again, the medicals bills could go well over $200, so...not a good idea. I would just buy a VIP pass or wait. But, if you do by chance get a broken foot anyhow, or one of your friends does...make a trip to KI, and you can skip right past the lines and ride pretty much everything. DISCLAIMER: ONLY BROKEN FEET/ANKLES WOULD BE ABLE TO RIDE ALMOST EVERYTHING. DO NOT BREAK SKULL, NECK, BACK, ARMS, OR LEGS OR GET INTERNAL INJURIES AS THESE WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO RIDE MOST RIDES.

A friend of mine was also able to skip right past the lines without the V.I.P. passes or line jumping- he was with someone who had a broken foot. He showed me the papers. I was a bit shocked that people with a broken foot can still ride pretty much anything in the park, save Sling Shot, Skyflyer, or Thunder Alley. I was especially shocked by this line: Son of Beast- OK This was a few days before SOB closed for the year, BTW. He still had to wait, however, when he wasn't with that person. PS: I do NOT encourage anyone to break their foot just to avoid lines at KI. Or break someone else's foot and go with them, either! ...unless you are truly that desperate to ride Firehawk. Just kidding once again. Not even for that.

So is Vortex. It passes right by Beast. Maybe that's how I was able to ignore BLSC when judging Coney Mall. It really is just "it's own thing", as is the case with Vortex as well. These rides are in a "transitional area" between Coney Mall and Rivertown, behind the Eiffel Tower.

I'll go ahead and comment on the other areas while I'm at it... Coney Mall If Rivertown didn't exist, Coney Mall would have gotten my vote simply for the atmosphere. BLSC hurts it, but does not do any serious damage as I was able to ignore it. X-Base It has Flight of Fear, the 3rd of the rides I would give a 10/10 to, but this area just is not big enough yet. Firehawk was a start, but we need more back here before it can even think of challenging Rivertown. Action Zone It has some of the best flatrides in the entire park. But when the 3 coasters all get mixed reviews (SOB too rough, FD too short, Invertigo makes me ) and such generic theming it falls just a bit flat. Oktoberfest The theming here is A+, but all it has for rides are Sling Shot(which I feel is more Action Zone), Adventure Express, and Viking Fury. But you can get great food, too. I enjoyed it even though we rode nothing here on our trip (will not make mistake next time, so beware, Adventure Express!). International Street Great theming, only a few rides. But it hosts one of the park's star attractions: The Eiffel Tower. And most of the shops. Kudos for that. And this area really wasn't meant for rides anyhow. Nick U Hanna-Barbera Land was better. This area is way, way too genericly Nick-themed! Kids probably love it. As for me...BLAGH. Boomerang Bay I have never even seen Boomerang Bay. When we went, it was May 16th...it wasn't open. And I didn't remember to look for it from the Eiffel Tower. Oops. I was too busy starting at SOB(it LOOKS impressive, have never rode it), searching the woods to see if I could spot The Beast(found it!), or watching Diamondback. Thank you.

Oops! Forgot quality of food! I'll add that choice...

OK, here is yet another poll. What part of the park do you like the best? It can be for any reason, including but not limited to: "My favorite ride is there" "I love the theming there" "There are tons of great rides there" "My kids/family/friends love that part" "I spend most of my KI time there" etc. I went with Rivertown, because that's where The Beast and Diamondback are. WWC is also good, even if Crypt does sour it a little bit. The theming there is also nice, although Diamondback is just a bit distracting.

Possibly...it would probably just be better to ignore the entire "Flight Deck killed someone" thing entirely from here on. It's way too complex and is getting way off topic. On another note- no one has rode The Bat? Wow, Bat Rides really were rare. Well, maybe when some older riders get to this poll...

I don't blame the ride, but it still "counts" since it did occur while on Flight Deck. Had it happened on any other ride, that ride could still be attributed no matter how non-intense. I wonder if the park billing it as a family ride affected her desicion to ride it, it's the only larger coaster with a rating of 4/5 on the 2009 park map now that Racer was upgraded to a 5. It has still killed more riders than all of the said rides combined, however. Spoiler: In case you didn't know, all of the listed rides have spotless records when it comes to fatalities. Injuries? Of course. But not deaths. Even SOB has yet to kill someone... Did she die on the ride? No. Was it the rides fault? No. She did not die ON the ride, true. The ride's fault? Yes and No. It killed her by doing what Flight Deck was designed to do- thrill. The problem was she has a heart condition and should not have been riding thrill rides. She did have the fatal heart attack on the ride. You should get checked by a doctor even if you think you are healthy- you might be shocked by the results. She did not do this, and that too can be blamed. It's a complex issue. Perhaps I should have never stated that as a "Fun Fact". And I just realized there is nothing fun about any death caused by anything. I'll edit that and just say "Fact".