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WhatTheBlazes

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Everything posted by WhatTheBlazes

  1. I just got an 11am spot for Friday July 3rd. 10:30 spots were gone already. Can I still get in the parking lot at 1030 and just wait to get to the gate at 11?
  2. I hadn't realized that about "Opa" being closed that long ago! Goes to show you how old the video I was able to find before our trip was. I definitely agree with you about Poseidon's Rage - I have not experienced a wave pool like that at all! As far as the waits - Sunday early afternoon, we waited for Hades for about 40 mins. That was our longest wait. The parks were only open until 6pm, so Saturday evening I'd say around 430-5pm our wait for it was a bit shorter. I'd say around 25 mins. Cyclops on Sunday was either a walk on, or a station wait. The longest wait for Zeus was about 15 mins. All 3 on Monday morning were virtually walk ons. I remember thinking especially on Sunday that it would be nice if Hades operated 2 trains. Operations were also hindered a bit by the wiping down of the trains between loadings. Also on Sunday Zeus just had 1 ride Op, so it was moving slower than normal I'd say. Waterslides lines were not bad at all the day we were there and the longest we waited was for the longer tube slide, and that was about 15 minutes or so. I would definitely go back here, but would also like to check out Noah's Ark the next visit. It looked really cool from what I could see, and have heard great things about it.
  3. I don’t know about everyone else, but with the Covid-19 lockdowns I was really starting to get the itch for some roller coasters. Or to at least be outside in a theme park type of atmosphere. So a few weeks ago, when Mt. Olympus in Wisconsin Dells announced they would be opening up and that the attractions would be for resort guests only, I decided to make the trip with my kiddos. Booking the room was easy, but without knowledge of how the resort was layed out, I was a little confused on where exactly the accommodations would be in relation to the park. Was not a major concern for me though, I was just happy to be able to get out of the house and be outside and to ride some rides. Leaving the Chic-fil-A parking lot in Avon, IN around 9 EDT, we had a smooth drive North with no bad traffic. The only construction zones were around the Purdue Exit on 65 North in Lafayette, IN. That was to be expected as this stretch of road has been under construction for over 20 years since I started college there. We made the whole trip in just over 5 hours, putting us in the Dells at 1pm local time. After having some lunch at a local spot in town, we made it to our hotel and got all our stuff situated and headed to the park. We walked from our hotel across the street towards the entrance and made it through the gates. This entrance is close to the Waterpark as well as the indoor waterpark and indoor theme park. These last 2 parks were still closed and were not part of the opening so we didn't get to do any of those attractions. Also not available was the waterpark with all those slides that are normally reserved for resort guests only. This left just the main outdoor theme park and waterpark available for the duration of our stay. Which was fine, with us as it was just nice to be able to feel some normalcy again. We walked through the park taking in all of the scenes and to get a feel of where we were at. The Roman Colosseum themed buildings at our entrance were really neat looking and added a fun touch to the atmosphere. The first ride we tried out was the Cyclops coaster. A smaller wooden coaster that does not look nearly as impressive as the ride you get on it. We sat in the back seat, and upon reaching the crest of the lift hill I was immediately ejected completely out of my seat. I had a few more moments of great air time like this on the coaster throughout the ride. It was small but it was awesome and a huge welcome surprise. The next coaster we got on was Zeus. We also sat in the back of this. To me this was an ok ride. I neither loved it or hated it. What I did love was the fact that I was on a coaster either way. After this we waited in line for Hades 360. I had heard this was a good ride, but I was really impressed with it. It has a constant intensity that you feel throughout the entire ride. The tunnel under the parking lot is a unique feature and then the inversion coming out of that tunnel on the other side of the parking lot is awesome. After this we got another ride on Zeus and then another on Cyclops and then left the park. We went into the village area of town and walked up and down the strip into the various shops. We stopped for Gelato at Frozen Bear. It was really busy and there was an older couple handling the crowds. This was a really fun stop. Did some more shopping after this, but was disappointed that the Hot Sauce shop was closed. Made it back to the room for the night and had a late night Snack with takeout from Pizzeria Uno. The next day we went out to Breakfast then headed back to the park. This time we wound around the back roads trying to find the correct parking lot. It was cool to see the back areas of the park this way. The entrance to this road is near the hotel and the entrance we had entered the park at the previous day, but the road wound behind the park clear to the other side where the actual lot is. We used this entrance the rest of the trip. From here the big Trojan horse go cart extravaganza is clearly visible, and walking through the entrance and on the paths past the other coaster structures was really cool. The path leads through the gift shop and down a hill directly to the entrance of Zeus. So we caught that again, then Hades and then Cyclops again. After these rides, we returned to the car to get our gear for the waterpark. I got the GoPro out and started filming our waterpark experience, not including the waterslides as filming was not allowed. Did get some good video of the Poseidon’s Rage Wave Pool. This Wave pool is awesome. A nice size with a good layout, with ramped entrances to the sides and down the middle. The Waves in this are huge. They claim 9 feet and are every bit of that for sure. Was not expecting it and had my sunglasses completely blasted off my face. Found them though a few minutes later. This pool was awesome. After the pool we went on some of the water slides. The tube ones were especially fun. One was more of a long winding course with some good splashing. The other was fast with multiple bunny hills, almost got some airtime. The other slides were adequate as well. Hung out in the pool again for a bit after this. Decided that we were feeling hungry by now and so we headed out. I took video of our entire walk from the back entrance to the waterpark and then video back out again. I have posted this as a narrated park tour on our new YouTube coaster channel for any that are curious about seeing this park. Also on the channel is a front seat POV for Hades. I am going to include POV’s for the other coasters as well as other ride and pool footage in an upcoming review video for the park as well. There is a link to the park tour video at the bottom of this report for those that would be interested. After leaving the park we decided to eat at the nearby Hotdog Avenue. This was open for drive through only so we took it back to the room and enjoyed the lunch. It was really good! We then got back into our dry gear and headed back to the park for more coaster rides on all of the previously mentioned coasters. Was able to get some back of train videos with my GoPro on all of these. We also rode Pegasus this time. That is a mean little coaster! Violent tossing to the left the whole way. It was a very unique experience. We rode Zeus and Cyclops again. On our Cyclops ride this last time, there was no wait, so the ride op sent us around again. It was a fun bonus! After that we left the park and went back into the Dells village area. The Hot Sauce shop was open this evening! I got to sample all kinds of sauces made just for that store. I bought 2 bottles and am looking forward to using it. We stopped at a local pub and had a drink. Bought some souvenirs for the kids. Browsed through more of the shops. I bought some dark chocolate Fudge which was locally made and awesome, as well as come kettle corn, and some 2 different kinds of carmels, one type was infused with Marshmallow cream. After some more of this we headed back to our hotel and ordered from the local MooseJaw’s pizza. We got a pizza, some pretzel bites that came with 2 different kinds of cheese and spicy mustard and some cheesy garlic bread. All were really good and I was surprised at how tasty it all was. We watched some TV for just a bit, cleaned up after the long hot day, and reviewed video and photos from our day and then CRASHED. The Next morning we got up, packed all our stuff to check out of the hotel and headed to the park for some last rides. Hades was closed at first so we rode the Underworld Go Carts. I dominated the field, leaving my kids in shame. We then rode Hades where I got the front seat POV video. We then rode Cyclops and Zeus one last time where I was able to get front seat POV videos as well, then headed out. We stopped and got T-shirts in the gift shop on the way out and headed for home. We did stop for lunch and then in Deforest at this cheese Chalet to take some of that Wisconsin cheese home for family members. The drive back was worse traffic-wise being a Monday. Chicago traffic was a mess. It was interesting both ways though that the cash lanes for tolls were all closed because of Social Distancing. We do have to pay online, but not having to stop at all of these saved a lot of time! Once we got back in Indiana, we stopped at Fair Oaks farms and had awesome milkshakes made from products that came from right there on the farm. Overall, this was a great getaway after all of the lockdowns. Getting back on some rides and getting some sunshine and fresh air was amazing. Having booked the trip at the announcement, it only cost something like $285 for 2 nights and 3 days worth of lodging and park admissions for 4 people. Even though some of the attractions were shut down, and I was disappointed about not being able to get the credit for the indoor coaster, none of that really mattered. It was about the great time we were able to have and to be able to feel somewhat normal again.
  4. Is no Go Pros just on the coasters or on all of the rides, do you know? Is this a Cedar Fair rule, or just at King's Island?
  5. I am not sure where Orion will fit in as I have not ridden it yet. So I am not going to rank it with the others just yet. I agree with the list @silver2005 gave above for similar reasons. Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, Banshee, and then Firehawk.
  6. I think it was a really good fit for that park
  7. If I am remembering correctly, this sound was loud enough that eventually the ride would be shut down during Timberwolf concerts as it was too distracting for the performers and the audience members while shows were in progress.
  8. This was my first inverted coaster, and I first rode it when I was just 6 years old. The loop was not forceful enough for me as a child that young to be scared of it, or think it was crazy intense. It Just seemed like a fun ride that went upside-down and backwards. Backwards was always fun for me anyways, as I refused to ride Racer forwards and would only go backwards my first few visits to the park. I guess that I was not as afraid of what I could not see. haha! This ride was my next logical step from that Also rode this ride a few years after it had moved to Camden Park. At the time, I only knew it was a coaster that was just like Kings Island's former The Demon, and not that it actually was, in fact, the exact same ride. I feel like if I had known that at the time, I would have enjoyed it even more. My cousins and I rode it probably 14 times that day at Camden Park and there was little to no wait for it the day we were there.
  9. Just remembered today to cancel hotel reservations that I had made back when the Coasterstock tickets were first purchased. Thought I would post this here today as a reminder to anyone that may have forgotten to do that as I almost did.
  10. I noticed the Beetlejuice similarity as well. Will definitely have to go back and listen for the Hall of the Mountain King again. I am not as familiar with that one as I am Beetlejuice.
  11. Here is the YouTube video I have just uploaded. This is an Audio File I made using downloads of the audio clips posted in the link at the top of this post. Added in some photos from the ride, most of which were screen shots from ride video. Not sure if I missed it or what, but could not find the audio clip for Maestro's speech while playing the Organ. Audio begins 19 seconds into video. Actual Ride attraction audio begins around 4:08, the first few mins are the clips from the outdoor que and then the Organ music that played in the indoor que area. Enjoy and I'd love to hear comments.
  12. Working on getting this put up on YouTube so I should have a working link to it soon.
  13. Ask and you shall receive. I compiled these with Audacity today. Probably not perfect, but has the feel of the ride. Hope you enjoy. Phantom Theater Audio.mp3
  14. That'd be fun. Or when one of the current haunts (urgent scare because of location i say) has ended its run and needs replaced....Replace it with the live action haunt version of Phantom Theater with recreated scenes from the ride. Could even bring back the old broiler from over at Slaughterhouse and heat it back up
  15. I think it would be cool if instead of using The Vortex plot for this, they put it in the woods where the picnic area currently is. The picnic area can then be moved to what is now Timberwolf. The reason I say this is, they could build another station platform for the train and guests could get off on either side. For the waterpark as it is currently used, OR on the other side, in this forbidden frontier zone. Not utilizing the train for this area would be a waste of a great opportunity. Making it more interactive and taking the train to get there would be awesome. They could also open up the old walking path that lets out by RFYLCB for access there as well. Put the flume back as part of Rivertown, now you have great seamless theming for the whole thing. Or keeping with the spooky re-theme, it would be neat to do a Forbidden Frontier type of thing, but make it more of a spooky "Scooby Doo" type of experience. This could also go where Timberwolf is and fit the re-theming of the entire area. Making The Bat, Banshee, Adventure Express (Dark Forest Express), Drop Tower (no ideas on rethemed name), Delirium (The Pit and the Pendulum), and all the other attractions in that area interactive with the new LARP area.
  16. I have a special place in my heart for Shake Rattle and Roll. Not only have I enjoyed this ride since I was a kid in the mid 80s, but waiting in line for it is where I developed my appreciation for theme park history. I remember very clearly waiting in line for this and asking my dad all kinds of questions. You see, looking through the bars of the que, I could see these empty cylinders coming out of the ground. It made me curious. It was then I learned there used to be a coaster called The Bat, and these are where the supports for the track were placed. Not only that, but that the track was overhead instead of what i was used to seeing! My imagination ran wild with what that must have looked like. I wanted to go in the old building that was pointed out to me of where the station was. I also remember the excitement of watching some of the construction of Vortex from the que as well. I have been a sucker for theme park nostalgia ever since and it started while in line for this ride
  17. From what I am reading in the info you have provided, it does not say anything about all of the stores being shut down for curbside pickup only. From my understanding, it is a service that all of the stores are to offer to those who still would like to purchase, but do not want to come into the store. Nowhere does it say that the stores are closed for those that do want to enter the building to shop.
  18. I don't spend much time at Soak City anymore, mainly because of the crowds. But I think it is ok for what it is. A nice add on for families to be able to cool off. Or for use to draw families in during the summer and keep them from going to other local parks. However, not a lot of love has been given to this waterpark by KI. The addition of the newest wave pool and the newer slide towers are certainly exceptions to that statement. However,Most of the slides and equipment are outdated and not worth the wait it usually takes to ride anything. There have been some excellent suggestions above for improvements. In my opinion, the value for this mediocre at best waterpark has come at a great cost to the tri-state area in general. Think of what The Beach could have been. It was a great place to go in its day. But that draw to Kings Island and the value of getting the dry park plus going to the waterpark every day for such a low cost during the summer is too good. This is what, the 2nd time the Beach has closed? I wish KI would have always had the waterpark as a separate gate, and also an extra cost for season pass that includes it. Not only would it have possibly kept off the immense crowds that make spending time there now unenjoyable, it could have led to parks such as The Beach, Surf Cincinnati, and even Coney Island to have more visitors and in turn, bigger revenue streams and allowed these places to create some world class type of waterpark experiences. (Ok, probably not Surf Cincy....) But instead, they all fall down to this "meh" waterpark at KI. And with The Beach closed again (not sure if the park has been sold, or if it is going to be torn down or what?), the extra revenue KI could have been bringing in for the waterpark could at least have gotten us a more impressive park like what Splashin Safari is. So i think the waterpark is good for KI and Cedarfair, and for many in the GP, but overall bad for the populous as far as having a unique and enjoyable waterpark experience available locally.
  19. Wasn't there polka music in the area as well in addition to all of the things you mentioned? I feel like there was and all of it really made it feel like you were in a festival somewhere else. It was a nice feeling of "escape" either way.
  20. This is the same experience I had all 3 tries as well.
  21. Also why I was not 100% confident with my answer
  22. That is Flight of Fear I do believe.
  23. I have only ridden SV as far as RMC's go, but the restraints caused pretty much the worst pain I've felt on a ride since SOB. These might even be worse for me than that if I am to be honest. I wanted to like it so much, so I gave it 3 tries, but all i could think about the whole time was how bad it hurt.
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