Jump to content

Tips for a First Timer


CoasterFan3180
 Share

Recommended Posts

Greetings everyone, first time poster here. I live in Minnesota, and I will be visiting Kings Island for the first time on Tuesday, June 9th. I'm very excited to experience Kings Island, but I need some help in planning my day, so I have a few questions.

1) How long should I expect the lines for the major rides to be? Would it be worth purchasing Fast Lane/Fast Lane Plus for my day, or should I save that money for Cedar Point (going there after Kings Island)?

2) In what order should I ride everything?

3) Any specific seating recommendations on the coasters for the best/smoothest rides.

4) How many hours will I need to conquer the park if I don't get FL/FL+?

5) Anything else I should know about Kings Island?

Any input is appreciated.

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greetings everyone, first time poster here. I live in Minnesota, and I will be visiting Kings Island for the first time on Tuesday, June 9th. I'm very excited to experience Kings Island, but I need some help in planning my day, so I have a few questions.

1) How long should I expect the lines for the major rides to be? Would it be worth purchasing Fast Lane/Fast Lane Plus for my day, or should I save that money for Cedar Point (going there after Kings Island)?

2) In what order should I ride everything?

3) Any specific seating recommendations on the coasters for the best/smoothest rides.

4) How many hours will I need to conquer the park if I don't get FL/FL+?

5) Anything else I should know about Kings Island?

Any input is appreciated.

 

1) It shouldn't be terrible. If you are planning on spending the entire day you will be able to ride everything you want without issue. As others have said, check the crowds when you get there, but I'd be shocked if you needed it. 

2) As stated before, go directly to Flight of Fear and Firehawk first. If Firehawk is open ride that first then Filght of Fear, if not ride Flight or Fear and hope Firehawk is open when you get off. Backlot Stunt Coaster and Invertigo will be the other two coasters that could have somewhat significant waits. Diamondback, Banshee, Beast, Vortex, and Racer (particularly if both sides are open) all move people really well. 

3) Avoid wheel seats on the woodies. Very front or second to last rows are my personal favorite on both Racer and Beast. Ride Vortex in 5-1 for the smoothest ride. I prefer Diamondback and Banshee in the back. 

4) Depends on weather and crowd levels, as well as your personal preferences. If you are there for a credit run, then the park could probably be done in 4-6 hours. If you are there to take things in and re-ride some of the coasters then you can easily spend an entire day in the park. As others have said, night rides on Beast, Diamondback, and Banshee are all worth staying for if your schedule allows. 

5) Have fun! Let us know how your trip goes! We all enjoy hearing the experiences of those who visit less frequently than many of us here. (Oh, and ride Drop Tower!). 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will say what I always say, even on crowded days (save perhaps the haunt) if you plan on being at the park all day, and the weather is such that all rides are open, you should be able to ride all of the major attractions at least once, plus re-rides of your favorites.  If your goal is to ride everything once, you don't really need Fast Lane.  If your goal is to ride everything as often as possible, then it will work in your favor.  If you are somewhere in between, then you can gauge when you get to the park on how crowded it is.  Also factor in the water park, if you plan on attending into that equation.

 

I agree with others, start in the back of the park and hit Firehawk and Flight of Fear first.  Unless of course, you have a platinum pass to Valleyfair, then you'll get ERT and get jump on Banshee before the official opening (and other rides as well, check the website, can't remember for sure)

 

3) see previous replies

4) depends on the crowds, if you get there early and its not overly crowded off The Bat, you may be able to get on everything major by lunch time.

 

5)  Eats:  Reds Hall of Fame grill is great, and priced very reasonably for a sit down restaurant in an amusement park.  Its also included in the meal plans if you have one thru a Valleyfair platinum pass, or buy one of the all day plans at entry.  If you get skyline, get it at the front of the park, not the back.  Its definitely a Cincy thing, so it may not be up your alley.  Try some Graeter's ice cream for dessert (south side of the fountain on International Street).  Its been featured on several foodie networks as well as Oprah and other similar talk shows.

 

Shows:  Catch Cirque Imagine if you can, I haven't seen it, but the reviews are great.  There are others around the park, but nothing up to that level.

 

Rides:  If you are there long enough, catch a night time ride on The Beast.  Classic woodie that takes you thru the woods in pitch black darkness.  No matter where you are at, as long as you are in line at closing time (10:00 on a Tuesday I assume) you'll be able to ride.  The Beast stops during fireworks due to its proximity to the launching area, but will start back up and cycle thru the line.  Most, if not all, other rides will operating during fireworks.  Fireworks start at 10:00.  Even if you don't have kids, there are a couple of rides worth catching in the kids area.  Surf Dog and Flying Ace Arial Chase are fun, no matter your age.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

^^^

 

Assuming you don't have a platinum pass since you didn't say so, here would be my agenda (take it for what its worth):

 

10:00 am, rope drop, immediately back to X-base for Flight of Fear/Firehawk.  If Firehawk is up and running, hit it first, if not, jump on Flight of Fear and hope Firehawk is running when you get off.

 

Assuming you have both of those done, head back near the front of the park and jump on Invertigo, which is the other slow mover.  You'll by-pass some coasters along the way, but most of those of those have typically have shorter waits even on the busiest of days.  After that, you've talked the 3 rides most likely to bog down, so I'd start working my way around the park, counter clockwise: cut across international street for Diamondback, then head over to Planet Snoopy for Flying Ace Arial Chase (which moves slow and can bog down a bit for Planet Snoopy) then over to Surf Dog (KI considers it a coaster, some don't) then Woodstock Express.  At this point, you've covered all the coasters in kiddie land unless you can convince someone to lend you their small child so you can get on with them at The Great Pumpkin Coaster (riders over a certain height, must be accompanied by a child b/w 36" and ???) in order to ride)

 

Work your way over to The Beast, then Stunt Track, Vortex (car 7, row 1), The Racers (ride the Blue Side if its opened), if not check back later in the day as sometimes it only opens when the park gets busier to re-ride the blue side.  Finally its Adventure Express, Banshee then The Bat and you've complete the loop, you'll have all the major waits out of the way and are fee to catch a show, grab some grub, reride something from a different seat, etc...  If you start at rope drop and the crowds are light to start, you may make you way thru the ride list by 2:00 (4 hours)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As Terp said, Flying Ace Arial Chase and Woodstock Express (and I'll add Surf Dog) are all fun little rides.  If FAAC didn't have such slow loading times, I'd jump on it every trip no matter if I had my son with me or not.  Is there a park with more suspended/inverted coasters than KI?  FAAC, Invertigo, The Bat, Banshee, pretty good and diverse lineup there, plus throw in Firehawk for another varied experience with a lot of time spend below the tracks.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On any ride that has 3 benches per car (The Beast, The Racer, Adventure Express), I would always recommend sitting in the middle row because you get the smoothest ride. It really improves the ride experience, unless you want a rough ride, of course.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greetings everyone, first time poster here. I live in Minnesota, and I will be visiting Kings Island for the first time on Tuesday, June 9th. I'm very excited to experience Kings Island, but I need some help in planning my day, so I have a few questions.

1) How long should I expect the lines for the major rides to be? Would it be worth purchasing Fast Lane/Fast Lane Plus for my day, or should I save that money for Cedar Point (going there after Kings Island)?

2) In what order should I ride everything?

3) Any specific seating recommendations on the coasters for the best/smoothest rides.

4) How many hours will I need to conquer the park if I don't get FL/FL+?

5) Anything else I should know about Kings Island?

Any input is appreciated.

1) The lines that are normally the longest/slowest are Beast, Backlot Stunt Coaster, and Diamondback. Or at least they're that way when I've been there. If it's rainy, sometimes Flight of Fear gets long on rainier days. However, I think almost all of the lines move fairly quickly-- except for BLSC just due to low capacity but it's really worth a ride. I wouldn't get Fast Lane passes unless it's really busy the day you're there. Feel the park out first before purchasing.

2) I don't go in any particular order. Personally, I'm a bit of a chicken so I head to Planet Snoopy to warm up. There are some fun little rides there, and I work my way around the park that way. I go counter clockwise. I like to take my time and see everything.

3) Mainly on The Beast, watch out for the wheel seats. They get kind of rough.

4) It really depends on how long you want to be there. I actually suggest staying the full day if you can, because some of the rides really have a completely different experience at nighttime. 

5) If you can only be there for a few hours, in my opinion, the ride that you HAVE to ride is The Beast. Others will suggest Banshee and Diamondback, and I haven't ridden them because I'm too chicken. The Beast is just a deal breaker to me. Like, you haven't really been to King's Island if you haven't ridden it. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really good info here. For sure hit up Flying Ace Ariel Chase, it's a good little ride.

While your that way, I'd check out Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown (log flume).

It's an excellent ride, also.

 

Diamondback in the back of the train is possibly the best ride in the park, IMO.

 

On a side note, while your a Cedar Point, check out Chickie and Pete's........

BEST.....FRIES.....EVER.....

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Does anyone know if you're allowed to use a Platinum Pass at multiple parks in one day? On one of the days of my trip next week, I'd like to spend to a few hours at Kings Island in the morning, drive up to Sandusky in the afternoon, then spend a few hours at Cedar Point in the evening. Is this possible, or would I have to choose park one or the other?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...