KIBeast

Spent a good portion of the day at Kings Island, one day after my 53rd birthday. I went with my 15 year old kid and his best friend. Interestingly enough, his friend had never been to an amusement park before. I started off my day riding Mystic Timbers, which really got the adrenaline pumping. I won't get into what rides I rode in great detail. I will just reveal a few details along the way. Every ride was practically a walk on, which made for a great day. Again, I'll just cover the highlights of my day. To start with, I did get a lap on Snoopy's Soapbox Racers. I was seated with 3 other people including their kid. As it turns out, these people were a lot of fun. I think KI knocked it out of the park with this addition to their good lineup of kids' coasters. I also found it funny that when we were going up the front spike, the kid though for sure we were going to go off the track, but that's coming from someone who looked to be no older than 8. I was pleasantly surprised that I managed 2 spins on Delirium as it was a one gondola wait. I don't ever recall seeing lines as they were yesterday. I managed to ride Banshee twice and I must say I was a little disappointed this year. I'm guessing I caught that coaster on a bad day because the vibration was unreal. Quite possibly could be that the wheels were worn thin, but had not been replaced yet. I have found that to be the case most any time I receive a bad ride on any coaster. Also, at 3:30pm, I began an Orion marathon for 1 hour. I managed to get 10 laps on it in that amount of time. I just love that coaster! On a personal note, any place on there that I know there is airtime, I put my legs straight out and I'm literally levitating above my seat for at least 3 full seconds. At 5:30, I decided to eat dinner. Anyone who has ever read any of my trip reports know that since I drive 3 hours away, I'm hitting up LaRosa's since I don't get there but once a year, if that. However, this year I was bound and determined to eat somewhere different. I chose the Cantina as it always just smells so delicious as you walk by there on your way to Adventure Express, Sol Spin, etc. Let me say, I really enjoyed eating a carnitas bowl for dinner. The food reminded me of being very similar to Chipoltle. I was actually full with about 1/3 of the bowl left, but I finished it off anyway. We wound up talking about meeting up at Diamondback for the last ride of the evening, since we were leaving at 8pm. His friend was really exhausted by the whole experience. I also don't see how he stood being in the 95 degree weather in jeans and a hoodie. We met up at the Diamondback plaza and it was closed at that moment, so we decided to take our customary last ride on The Beast. I mean, what is truly left to say about this legendary ride, other than to say that I've now been riding this coaster for 35 years. As we were driving home, I asked his friend what his favorite ride was. I was imagining he would say something like Diamondback, Orion, Flight of Fear or something along those lines. He revealed that his favorite was actually The Racer. I also came to the realization yesterday that I have been riding The Racer for the last 43 years. Hard to believe I am as old as Kings Island and that my mother brought me there in a stroller the year it opened. Overall, a great day was enjoyed by all.

Looks like an area for a new flat ride. Rumors are the possibility of an S&S screamin' swing. Whatever ride they add, do you all think it will be Twizzlers themed? Is that sign a hint?

Thanks! I'm going to give it a try.

I wouldn't expect any changes to be made in regards to Banshee. Someone always finds a way into restricted areas regardless of signage or even barbwire fencing. You can always remove your shirt and place it over said barbwire to pretty much avoid that. They are also not going to hire endless employees to endlessly search for people who are bound and determined to break the rules to enter a restricted area. I do feel a great amount of sadness and empathy for the man and his grieving family. One year I went to Cedar Point, I lost my key fob to GateKeeper. Never once did I consider entering a restricted area to retrieve it. It would not have been possible for me to wait until closing to retrieve it as that was my last day there. What I wound up doing was calling a local company to come out, break into my car, then program a key fob for me. It cost me $300 and was a hard lesson to learn.

Well, the deal to merge Cedar Fair and Six Flags will be finalized as of July 1st, 2024. I know many are upset about this, but I believe in the end, it will be a good thing. Six Flags' operations should get better along with better food choices. As an aside, I think some SF parks may be sold off. I would think it would depend on profitability. Anyone care to venture a guess as to what parks could be sold off? We're just speculating. I also think the DC characters will likely be added to the Cedar Fair parks. They could also receive re-themed areas to DC as well. I guess Action Zone at KI would be the most likely are, since the area's current name/theme doesn't make any sense.

What a terrible incident. What is supposed to be a fun day spent forgetting about the worries of the every day life turns into a tragedy. I really wish people would not risk entering a restricted area. Whatever your reason is, it's not worth it. Hopefully it's not a fatal accident.

What about the layout of this coaster? I know there was speculation from years ago, but any confirmed layout?

If that is the case, then it seems Cedar Point is not upset that they did anything wrong, just that they were caught.

I wouldn't be mad at any of these options, if they ever came to be. I think a nice coaster similar to Big Bear Mountain at Dollywood in Vortex's old spot would be great.

I never even considered that they could have renamed Face Off to Screamin' Demon. That is a great idea. I think not installing the Spongebob themed water coaster was a missed opportunity.

I also have a great love for Phantom Theater. Of course, being a kid that grew up with Hannah Barberra Land, I also loved Enchanted Voyage. I wouldn't mind either one making a return or a combination of the two. As for location, I think both could work. If they do that, I would also like to see Boo Blasters re-themed and given a refresh if it goes where action theater was.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind KI installing another Top Spin ride, just not a giant one since TR had so many mechanical issues.

I didn't find the seats to be uncomfortable at all. However, it may vary between body types and sizes, so I can't speak to everyone's experience.

I think MIA is safe, due to the profitability of this park. As for SF parks, I don't know enough to make a judgement on what SF could be sold off.

https://fb.watch/olVKQmRiKN/ The first S&S Axis coaster, with 2 launches and 4 inversions, themed to the Transformers to open in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This is a concept that I was hoping someone would finally take a chance on. I've seen the basic testing video on the S&S website. If this proves to be a reliable ride, would you like to see one installed at Kings Island?

There was the Batman villain, Count Vertigo, who would disorient his opponents, although he's not widely known. Just thinking out loud as a possible re-theme for Invertigo.

At the same time, we have no information that indicates any parks will be sold off. They may feel all of them can be managed under one umbrella, although none of us would be surprised if they did.

Contrary to popular belief, Michigan's Adventure is quite profitable. Possibly some of the less profitable parks could be sold off. Smaller size does not always equal less profitable.

I will say this...I will reserve judgement on how the chain is doing until 5 years down the road. At that point, you should at least begin to hear about changes to how Six Flags parks are managed. I would expect it would be longer than 5 before we will know the full effect of this merger. I don't see Kings Island being sold off. You don't sell off some of your most profitable parks when there are some less profitable that could be sold first. With CF management being utilized more, this should be seen as a good thing, not a bad thing. Also, we should face facts in that Six Flags has a better nationwide brand recognition than Cedar Fair. Finally, for the record, the only complaint I have about Orion is strictly my enthusiast preferences.

I would, in the interest of riding Lightning Rod and Mystery Mine. Those two coasters have painfully long lines.

Walmart puts out Halloween and Christmas decorations simultaneously, so why not?

Well, I was able to visit Dollywood for the 1st time this year. Pretty good park, although the narrow midways were definitely not something I enjoyed. I love Lightning Rod, but the slow operations (which is apparently due to one train ops) was just unacceptable. Really glad they are going to do a high speed chain lift to cure that problem. Really loved their new coaster Big Bear Mountain. As for my KI visit, I had a great time. I didn't feel like the operations were lacking and I attended in July. I tried the blue ice cream for the 1st time and I loved that. I like the new additions and was really pleased to see Adventure Express with added effects. My son and I keep saying that we are going to try something new in food, but somehow we can't get away from LaRosa's in Rivertown. Also would like to commend them on opening The Beast when it was stated at the front gate that it would be closed for the day. I was disappointed as I was extremely excited to ride it since the re-tracking/re-profiling. Gravity Group did an excellent job with that. In addition, I feel like the Red Racer delivered the smoothest ride I have had on it since likely the late 80's/early 90's.

I agree @WoodVengeance. That is exactly what we did. I told him for the exact same reason.

@Orion742, Big Bear is a really great coaster and solid addition to Dollywood. I don't honestly know which I would pick to ride 1st.

It did have a long line @Orion742. Found out recently that they have been running one train, which would explain the slow moving line and long wait. Dollywood is replacing the launch with a high speed chain lift, which should improve operations and I would assume allow them to run more than one train.