Trip Report 5.8.11

[Kirk Sheppard]

I've been at the park every day its been open to the general public in 2011, but today was the first time I'd ridden anything besides the train. Now, I'm not a thrill seeker to begin with and I don't fit on many things so I don't ride much and am happy just wandering around the park and taking it the sites and sounds but there are times I want to do a little bit of riding. Opening Day was just too crowded to mess with rides for me. Last Friday I didn't feel like paying for a locker to store my camera bag while I rode and Saturday I got there late in the day. So, I made up my mind that on Sunday, I was going to ride.

I waited up front to hear the National Anthem sung by Haylee Dobkins, who was great especially for her first time every singing it, and then rented a locker. The first key I was given was for #899, which I can tell you after 5 minutes of scouring and investigating with two park managers and the locker clerk DOES NOT EXIST. It was actually funny watching them try to find it and coming up short. They gave me a different key and I stored my stuff.

I decided to head back towards the Backlot Stunt Coaster. My friend Connie called and said she was walking in so I waited by the Eiffel Tower for her. We walked back and got on the BLSC, which I love but the ride ops had some difficulty helping me get buckled in. My legs are very long (I'm 6'4) and I'd gained a few pounds since last year. It was a tight fit in some of the cars last year and this year was worse. But they didn't give up and they got me buckled in safely. Off we went and I was happy to see the bullet effect working in the helicopter scene.

We then walked back towards Coney Mall to look at WindSeeker's progress. Connie loves the Shake, Rattle, and Roll and I'd never ridden it so we did it. I had a car to myself and thought it was fun, but I'll need my Dramamine before I try it next time. We walked up through Coney Mall and it was still pretty empty in the park. We went up on the Tower and it was just us and a gentleman and his young son in the elevator. The little boy was asking some very funny questions about the elevator and the tower and the park and the ride op was interacting with him well. You can tell its early in the season; I never saw any employees be out ride rude as the year went on last year but so far this year they all seem very happy and not at all weary of the guests yet.

We decided to go ride Adventure Express and it seems to get jerkier every time I ride it. I prefer the front car because I can see the track better and brace for the quick turns, but we sat back a bit and Connie remarked she thought she might have bruises tomorrow. That's no fun to me.

We ate lunch at Outer Hank's. We both had Pulled Pork and it was really good! They gave me so many french fries, there's no possible way I could have eaten all of them. At this point, we walked towards the front of the park so I could get my bag out of my locker and we headed to the Festhaus for "American Country." We watched the first three shows and talked with friends there between them. During the hour break between shows, Connie left and I walked back around the park and it had gotten much more crowded. I went back to get some pictures of the five o'clock AC show and ended up staying and watching the 6:00 show as well because I didn't feel like walking to my car yet. It was a great day and this show is really a winner. I hope that everyone will get a chance to see it at least once this summer.

It was a great day and I'm looking a long summer at the park! Don't forget to check out FansofKiEntertainment.com for information and photographs of the Entertainment at the park!

Here's a sample of some photos I took on Friday:

[Delirium13]

Very nice trip report, this year seems to be shaping up to be a great one for the park. I actually had a similar experience with the lockers last year, I got my key and when I found my locker it had no lock on it, no big deal just had to switch out the key, but something they may consider addressing in the future even if that means, at the very least, figuring out which keys no longer match a locker and get rid of them to avoid confusion.

I need to get out to the park again soon, hopefully sometime next week because my short Opening Day trip wasn't enough for me.

Great pictures by the way!

[IndyGuy4KI]

Great TR Kirk! I always look forward to reading your comments about the shows. Something I don't normally spend the time to watch while at KI. I did get to see American Country Opening day and was very good.

[CoasterGeek101]

Nice report. Thanks for sharing with us.

[pkiboy]

Good to see you this weekend Kirk!! Saw a lot of KIcers at the park this weekend!!

[CoasterGeek101]

Good to see you this weekend Kirk!! Saw a lot of KIcers at the park this weekend!!

Did you see me?

[derek9312]

Great Trip Report Kirk! Glad to hear you had a great experience at the park. One of the things that caught my eye is you and your friend having a good lunch at Outer Hanks which is something I like to see. Being a supervisor at that stand it's always great to hear when our guests had great experiences at our stand which is something I like to strive for with each guest. Glad to hear your pulled pork and fries were good and hope all of your experiences in every food stand this season is just as good

Also, like Indyguy4KI, I look forward to seeing your comments on the shows since I don't get to watch the shows as often due to work. I couldn't agree more with you by saying this show is a winner already. I got to watch it for the first time Saturday by watching the final two shows of the day and it has to be one of the best I've seen at Kings Island. I look forward to being there this upcoming Sunday all day to shoot some video and get some pictures as well.

[Avatar]

Thanks Kirk for sharing one of your days at Kings Island with us and good to hear you got to get a few rides in. I look forward to seeing you at the park one day soon, I know where to find you : )