KIBeast

IDK. Hurler was really bad.

That is an excellent video. I really want to get there. Are there other parks worth checking out nearby or within a couple of hours?

I would really like to get back to KI, mostly to ride the new and improved Beast, plus see the paint job on The Racer. Not sure if I mentioned it, but I rode the WindSeeker at KD, which was new to me. For me, it was not nearly as thrilling as I thought it would be.

So, I've gone about traveling to different amusement parks as I would like to see what else is out there. That, and to up my coaster count Last Thursday and Friday, I took my wife and son to both Carowinds and Kings Dominion. Before I get into the rides, I must say I learned an important lesson... at nearly 51 years of age, I need to schedule a day of rest in between visits as my old butt can't handle it like I used to Having said that, I will give my overall review of each park and opinions on what we rode each day. Side note, we did buy Fast Lane at both parks to avoid long lines. However, even on a Friday at Kings Dominion, we really didn't need one and not much in the way of long lines at Carowinds outside of Fury 325. We arrived at Carowinds about 30 minutes after opening. This would prove to be the more tiring day as temperatures ended up being 95. As I grow older, I find myself less tolerant of the heat. Once inside, we stood on the NC/SC state line, trying to decide which way we should go. SC it is and we headed off. You'll have to forgive me as I cannot recall which rides are located on which side of the state line (I know of one that crosses over). Carolina Cyclone ... Classic Arrow with typical Arrow elements. A fun ride, but also reminds me of how technology has really improved over the years. Not sure what order we rode anything else, so I'll just review each ride. Afterburn is a great invert. Not my favorite, but some really cool elements and the trees in the area were placed really well. Carolina Goldrusher...a decent mine train, but in my mind nothing seems to top Adventure Express. Copperhead Strike...what can you say about this ride, but whew! The roll out of the station which makes you feel like you will fall out for certain, to the 2 launches, to the insane hang time in multiple inversions. This is something that I firmly believe should be taking the spot where Vortex was. Hurler...holy cow, this has to be the worst wooden coaster on the face of the earth. Between the jackhammering and shuffling, it was one painful moment after the other. It is literally the only coaster that when we hit the brake run, I shouted," tear it down". For reference, I rode Son of Beast several times and was never that uncomfortable. I would marathon SOB for 14 hours straight before ever stepping foot onto that abomination of a coaster again. It was closed for a good bit of the day, but we gambled on it when it finally opened late in the day. My back hurt so bad, it literally made me uncomfortable for the rest of the day. Intimidator (hyper) was our 1st ride of the day and I think it gives Diamondback a run for its money on the awesome ride it delivers. Unfortunately, Nighthawk was closed. I really wanted my son to experience a flying coaster for the first time. He was never tall enough for Firehawk before it was removed. We also rode Vortex, and I am personally glad most of the B&M standups are gone. Last (but certainly not least), is Fury 325. This coaster is insanely good from beginning to end. Lots of floater airtime, plus, just when you think this ride may be close to being over, there's plenty left to conquer. Easily the best coaster in the park, imo. Copperhead being a very close 2nd. Thankfully, we purchased a souvenir bottle and drank Powerade for a large majority of the day. My wife cannot have anything with sugar in it, so we bought her multiple bottles of water. Should've paid for a drink wrist band (something we did at KD) as it pays off quickly. We also paid for a 3 hour locker twice. We wound up doing a transferrable locker for only $1 more (well worth it) at KD. Overall, great park with mostly good rides. My only gripe is placement of entrances and exits were not well thought out. Also felt a little cramped. I suppose with KI and Cedar Point, other parks that I've been to give me this feeling. We also bought preferred parking (as I'm getting too old to walk long distances to a parking space). Day 2 was Kings Dominion. We also had preferred parking there as well. We went straight to Dominator as it is closest to the gate. I had not been on it since it was moved from Geauga Lake. A truly great coaster still. Our day was cooler overall, so more pleasant weather. I think what I love about this park is being there really felt like home. So very similar to the feel of KI. The biggest difference outside of some of the ride choices is at KI, you can go directly behind the Eiffel Tower for more to do whereas the path is located to the side at KD. So, outside of Dominator, let's review the others. Anaconda... I actually really enjoyed this one. Some great unique elements, like going through a tunnel under the water. Apple Zapple... a pretty fun wild mouse that did not punish me like the one at Hershey. Back Lot Stunt Coaster... same experience as the one at KI. Nothing different at all about it. Flight of Fear is the same, however, the ride op launching it was nothing short of hilarious with his banter. He was even taking requests from guests if they wanted him to say something. We had to take a spin on Bad Apple and Delirium. Shake, Rattle and Roll is one of my favorite flats at KI. Delirium was a nice changeup and the breeze I was getting from it was the highlight (old people thing ). Grizzly was an ok wooden coaster. I liked the seclusion, but it's not very long and it needs re-profiled. Racer 75 is pretty much like our own Racer. The only differences I noticed was they vary the chain lift speed on each side, each train overtaking the other for the lead and it had a nice drop into the final tunnel with brake run. The new coaster, Tumbili, is a fairly neat coaster. It was pretty fun, but a terrible wait as there are only 2 cars with 8 riders each. I'm glad we caught it early in the day as the line grew longer and I felt like the wait we experienced was nearly too long for such a short ride. There's no Fast Lane for it either. I did really like how they painted the supports to appear like giant bamboo. Later on in the day, we passed by and saw they had a cool show that tied the jungle theme in nicely. Twisted Timbers...wow, what a coaster. Not as fun as Steel Vengeance, but a quality ride none the less. I'm assuming the former Hurler was likely as bad as the one at Carowinds, which is why it received the RMC treatment. Lastly, by far my favorite of the entire trip, was Intimidator 305. Granted, Fury325 is a great experience, but the intensity of I-305 is absolutely insane. The turn out of the 1st drop had us all graying or blacking out until you started ascending the 2nd hill under the lift hill. For some, maybe that's not something they enjoy, but dang was it ever for us. Outside of that, it had some great floater airtime and the Intamin transitions from left to right or right to left are some of my favorite elements. If I had to pick a favorite of the 2, I would go with KD. Between the familiarity of the look/feel and I-305, it was enough to give it a slight edge. Apologies for such a long post.

Some people on KIC have been calling for a return of the stand-up coaster. I, myself, never had an issue with Mantis. I just assumed this was a fad that faded away, like other gimmick designs (think flying coasters). If it's a successful installation, could we see this return to a CF park? Only time will tell.

I wondered who that strange old person staring me down was

To think, I was there that year. Just too young to remember, since I was 1.

Glad to see these positive reviews of the improved Beast. I'm excited to be able to ride it and see for myself. Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts, opinions, etc.

Thank you @IndyGuy4KI! Good reviews it seems.

My understanding is The Beast was to re-open yesterday. Can anyone confirm this?

Just truly a sad, preventable incident. I can't imagine losing a child.

SF Season Meal Plan Not sure how I feel about this. I agree that this guy took advantage of his meal plan to a degree, but I also think the new limitations they put on it are entirely too restrictive.

To sell more drinks?

Glad to see maXair is opening this year. I always catch a spin on it as opposed to Delirium at KI. At CP, it doesn't get much of a line whereas there's always been a long wait when I was there for Delirium. Last trip I made to CP, I quite enjoyed early entry on GateKeeper and Valravn. 2 of my favorite coasters there.

I mean, @BoddaH1994, how many years now have we been asking for some work to be done on the parking lot? I'm thinking almost as long as this site has been around. Loving the paint job for Racer and it's nice to see a lot of improvements that are being made this year. There are just so many.

I posted a video from YouTube on another thread for Scooby's Ghoster coaster. It was the only one I found on there. I don't have any personal footage, but found some. Screamin' Demon King Kobra The Bat 1981 Couldn't find Bavarian Beetle, outside of a really shaky home video

I also rode Ghoster Coaster with my niece. It was very low capacity and a terrible wait for a mediocre kid's coaster. Also, as @jbeast said, not comfortable on the ole jimmies

I think at this moment in time, entering year 3 of a pandemic, I can't see any chain buying another. How would it make good business sense to get that much into debt after the financial struggles since 2020?

This is what I found on YouTube Ghoster Coaster

Or, hear me out...a return of the Ghoster Coaster

I think their methods work the best. They look to debunk reports/sightings 1st. When you can't do that, then what's left is evidence. I've watched several other similar types of shows, and their methods are basically, believe what is said or seen 1st and work to prove that correct. That's the polar opposite of legitimate investigating. I'm not sure what is meant by disrespectful when it revolves around the death of an actual person. ALL of their investigations revolve around deaths of actual people. They do not investigate urban legends.

For one, Cedar Point and Kings Island do not draw a lot from the same demographic of guests. Yes, I'm sure you know some people that attend both parks, but it's not generally true for the average park attenders. I'm betting the Orion lift was not 300ft since the drop could be accomplished without having a lift of that height, thus reducing the cost and utilizing the terrain. The Beast does the same. That is money that will be spent elsewhere in the park or on future attractions. I would like to see something go in the spot where Vortex is sooner rather than later, but who knows now that the pandemic pushed back plans by at least a year. I'm loving all of the TLC that The Racer has received and now The Beast is receiving. Should make longer lives for those iconic coasters. I was a little torn about the ornamental fountains on I.S. As much as I loved those, it was past time for an upgrade. Sometimes change is hard for me to deal with, especially with a park that I have been literally attending since the age of 1. Some of the changes have been great and some not so great. All in all, nothing that has changed swayed me from attending or sharing my love of KI with my kid.

Sounds to me like a trip to Kings Island will be in order for next season. What will be new to me will be the re-tracking of The Racer and The Beast. That's enough reason for me to go. I'll have to add this in after I visit Carowinds and Kings Dominion next summer.

I've been in those restrooms a number of times over the years. Those are the worst and I'd take the ones by Raptor any day over those. I'm glad they are finally paving the parking lot. As Ryan has probably noted over the years, this is a topic that has come up several times. We have complained about that lot many times. It only took 2 decades of complaining for it to get done.

I like those. After clicking on the link, I went back to the souvenir list and I like the Eiffel Tower model as well. Eiffel Tower Kit