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Thank you again coasterbob62!

Thanks everyone for a great time on Sunday! It was chilly, but I escaped a rainy day in Columbus for a thankfully-dry Mason, so I didn't care. Closing Day is a great day to visit - crowds are minimal yet enthusiastic! For the second meet-up in a row, I volunteered to help with coordinating everything and getting people synced up. Even with minimal lines everywhere, name tags, a widely communicated time/location, a mobile number for late arrivals, and personal invitations to everyone from KICentral I could find during ERT - this was much harder than I thought it would be. On to the trip report: I was the 5th car at the park at 9:20am, before the parking gates opened. I managed to get the closest parking spot to the gate on the north half of the parking lot. At the front gate, jcgoble3, ohiocolts, DiamondAceExpress, Vortexfreak, and I found each other. I had printed nametags for everyone who asked me for one or who indicated they'd be at ERT, but unfortunately they weren't sticky enough for the combination of nylon jackets and roller coasters. Fortunately, I had printed extra sheets of name tags due to them jamming in the printer, so I we had replacements as they blew away. Unfortunately, we papered the park with stray name tags. (Next time, we need something more secure - tags with clips, wristbands, t-shirts, etc.) At Diamondback ERT, several people saw my name tag and greeted me. Unfortunately, I don't remember all their names. I had enough of Diamondback after 6 rides, so I stayed off and took some pictures. (If you see yourself, let me know and I'll include your name) KI-ORIG-EMP will appreciate this photo: Just before the park opened, jcgoble3, ohiocolts+family, and I found each other again near the Eiffel Tower. We all rode Flight of Fear together with no line, then four of us (ohiocolts, jcgoble3, myself, ohiocolts's dad) tried to ride Firehawk - also without a line. Unfortunately, Firehawk got stuck and trapped us right after the seats were lowered. After laying down in the train and talking for 16 minutes, we were released. After blocking off the malfunctioning seat and doing a test run, they let us back on for a successful ride. ohiocolts's dad managed to take pictures with his phone while we were stuck in the ride, so read his report for those. After a ride on Delirium, jcgoble3 and ohiocolts decided to ride Xtreme Skyflyer together for $5 each. Meanwhile, I walked around the park to recover a bit from all the riding. Later, we attempted to have lunch at Rivertown Junction before the Tower Drinks meet-up and share ohiocolts's 30% food discount from FunPerks, but it was closed for the day (and season). We didn't have much time before the meet-up, so we rode The Beast instead. We arrived at Tower Drinks early, where Don was already waiting on the KIC group to arrive. To give Beastie1980 time to arrive, we waited until about 1:35 for the group picture. Here's our first group picture, of those who actually showed up on time. After the picture, Don surprised us all by inviting us to a tour of The Beast later in the day. (Thanks again, Don!) After the photo, ohiocolts suggested that we all eat Hanks burritos in the Festhaus while catching the Graveyard Shift show. Several of us decided to do that, and TheCrypt finally found us as we were eating. (Thanks again for sharing that 30% discount, Matt and Lucas!) Halfway through Graveyard Shift, we left to join everyone else at The Beast. While passing The Crypt building (Madam Fatale's Cavern of Terror), TheCrypt asked us to bow our heads in respect. Thanks to Don catching some who didn't come to the meet-up, the KIC group grew in size considerably. ohiocolts took lots of video with his iPod: First lift hill: Over the hill: Into the tunnel: The terrain is hilly: Double-helix: Camera Reset: Don took another group picture and tweeted it on the @KingsIslandPR Twitter account: http://via.me/-6fsszwy After the tour, I tried to take the entire group to ride The Beast at once: That didn't work out so well as we entered a very crowded Beast station. We ended up riding two different trains and causing some empty row dispatches. We split back up after that, and I joined ohiocolts, jcgoble3, and Beastie1980 for a ride on Flight Deck, where ohiocolts found VortexBFForever. We separated yet again as ohiocolts and VortexBFForever used ohiocolts's FunPerks voucher for Sling Shot. Later, we got back together for Racer, Adventure Express (including a train with just KIC'ers), and Vortex. The group separated entirely for the last hour in the park. As is tradition, there was a large group of people from KICentral and ACE for Beast final rides. Because of the group size, we had 3 trains of "final rides". I took the first train, sitting next to Mrs. Gator, so I could get pictures of the next two: Last train! jcgoble3 and someone else in the last row of the last train: Kings Island is officially closed! Again, I'd like to thank everyone who helped make this meet-up a success. It was great to meet so many people, and I had a really good time. Next time, we should try to get a large group together for longer so that more people can meet each other. We broke up rather quickly after the tour meet-up, lots of people didn't make it to Tower Drinks, and the park was (obviously) closed following the last ride. It might be nice to organize a group lunch ahead of time, for example. Riding things in the park with a small group of KIC'ers, yet again, was fun. As far as I know, the only such group was the same one that formed for the Haunt meet-up - with jcgoble3, ohiocolts+DiamondAceExpress+family, Beastie1980, myself, and occasionally other people. It might be fun for more and different such groups to form. (Especially for those who end up going alone.) In any case, we really need to do meet-ups like this more often next year!

If you hadn't kept ducking away from the camera, I would have had better ones with you in it!

I think being part of the EPCOT fandom has prepared me for beloved childhood favorites to be torn to pieces before my eyes.

I stopped looking at the Kings Island FB page long ago. Got a few IQ points back that day.

Great TR, Matt. Also, thank you for bringing to my (and others') attention that I am not photogenic! Sorry I couldn't stay with the group the entire day, but I did have fun for the moments I was with you all. Thank you for coordinating this event. I enjoyed it.

Loved the comment the eifel tower, the dodgem. Remember history the Eifel tower was going to replace a very famous ride the Lost River ( I do believe it was that ride to add to the park . When the flooding occured again then the sell to TAFT they moved the attraction (the pieces ) to be the center piece of the park. Dodgems lets remove it the thrill seekers don't enjoy it. Why is disney great it trys to cater to the imagineers, the thrilleneers, the joyful generationaleers, and so many more. A great park is not just coasters, its the smell, the tastes, the sights, the games, the memories. I'm a rollercoaster lover, but love the other stuff too, I don't see WindSeekers going anywhere unless a settlement would be made by the manufactures'. Wow!

We should do a ticketed event next year...

Lanyards aren't a good idea. They tend to hang in the way and get caught on things - not a good idea on dynamic thrill rides! I think clip-on name tags would work best: no holes in garments and very secure. Alternately, we could make KICentral t-shirts. In the past, KIC meet-ups were organized as ticketed events. If we're able to have such an event again, tickets might cover a group meal, supplies, etc. If the park invites KICentral to such an event again, I'd certainly be up for going. (There have been off-season construction tours and winter parties that KICentral has been invited to in the past.)

The station will not be dismantled along with the ride. I was told this by Don in front of Tower Drinks yesterday.

Putting a path underneath of Adventure Express? Is this Roller Coaster Tycoon?

It reminds me of a traveling carnival. One day, a parking lot is a wonderland of lights, sounds, laughter and music. Delighted, but blissfully ignorant of schedules, you return In 24 hours, only to witness a lone, discarded popcorn wrapper dancing on the cold, empty wind as it flutters and flips along the barren blacktop. It's kind of sad, really, but you know that it will all be back sooner than you think.

KI has posted the first offseason photo on Facebook, a Beast car being transported to the wood coaster maintenance facility:

Really not much left of Son of Beast. Just the lift and some track. Sorry the picture was taken with my cell.

Crypt: 0

Noooo!! Wrong Beast ride to dismantle! Wrong Beast ride!!!

I enjoyed the meet up very much. I wish I could have joined ya'll on The Beast after our tour, but mother nature called and I was the first one out of the fence. Next year, instead of name tags that were sticky, how about lanyards. I'm sure most of us have a lanyard from the past that we can use and others that don't, hopefully some of us can chip in, or mabye we can ask KI how much would they be if they could be for each person that will be attending. Perhaps the deal would also include the all you can eat buffet that the have? I would also like to suggest a winter tour throughout some parts of the park. I'm sure this would be a little late to ask, but if not, perhaps next year. It was great to meet everyone at the meet-up and The Beast Tour. Lookin forward to many more fun filled activities Don has in store for us in 2013!!!

Opening Saturday, April 27 and daily operation beginning Friday, May 10 would be consistent with the past two years, so that's my guess.

Yeah, the wind made it a bit chilly. I wore thermal underwear top and bottom, my warmest shirt, and a winter coat with gloves. On the other hand, malem is the one in the shorts.

^Thanks for sharing the photos!

Just because it may not be "anyone's favorite ride" doesn't mean people don't like it. I would say the Eiffel Tower isn't anyone's favorite, but I do not think it was a waste or that they should take it down. I know the bumper cars aren't my favorite, but if the park said they were getting rid of them there would be plenty of people upset.

It's fine.

Do you realize how long this path would be??

(NOTE: I feel like it's safe to divulge Haunt "spoilers" now that the season's over, but just in case... Here be spoilers!) For me, it's coherency in theme. For instance, I just got done posting this in the "Son of Beast roller coaster to be removed" thread: And really, that's the biggest thing for me. Like, it's easier for me to overlook below average scares (quantity or quality) if either the set or its actors still play up the theme. In cases like Madame Fatale's, the set was so well done that pretty much all most scareactors had to do to freak me out was move or give a shriek, regardless of how close they were physically to me. I still can't get over how eerie and unsettling it was the first time through to descend into the wax workshop and into the tight hallway of bagged wax figures with the lights flickering all over the place. All it took for me to jump out of my skin was one of the bagged wax figures to quickly step forward and chase someone in front of me. And when you get to the end where the hallway is walled by black cheesecloth curtains, the effect of having even one person on the other side to shriek when they turn the lights beyond the curtains is simple but so effective. KI really did well with this one, so I'm very satisfied that, if something had to replace The Crypt, it was Cavern of Terror. In cases like Tombstone Terror-tory, the set is minimal, so it's up to the scareactors to carry the theme. That's why I generally liked TTT back in 2009-2010 but felt it really lacked something this year. The Wally theme mentioned in the quote held the whole thing together much better, and the actors on the trail encouraged the theme by saying things like "Wally's gonna get you!" Even if saying things like that seems cheesy, it adds something extra and brings the victims' imaginations along for the ride, which is key, at least for me. It sets you on edge, which only enhances the scares to come. This year had the surprise factor of the train "robbery," but it never went any further than that. If people were set on edge by a scary growl of "get off the train," the moment was lost by making them immediately stand in another line. And if the fear factor of the robbery somehow lasted through that line, the "theme" only robbed the scareactors on the trail of any purpose, which lowered the adrenaline. It would be different if the actors were strategically placed robbers (in similar costume to those from the train) attempting to recapture you, but they weren't; they were the same townspeople costumes from every other year. So, within the context of a train robbery, why are there grumpy townsfolk growling at me? Is that their way of helping me escape? Are they trying to help the robbers? I don't know. For a trail as long as Tombstone Terror-tory with the added attraction of using the train, this year felt like they dropped the ball. I don't like being that blunt about it, but that's how it felt. I'd rather see them return the Wally theme or move Wolf Pack there, with the train story changing to something like "There have been sightins of creatures in these parts. You might call 'em werewolves. They've been pillagin' our villages and killin' our families for years. But we made a deal with 'em. If we offer 'em humans every once in a while, they'll settle on down and leave us alone. And right about here--" the train stops-- "is where we usually leave their snacks. Awful sorry 'bout your luck." (Obviously, it'd be more elaborate than that, but you get the gist. ) The wooded setting and minimal props would more or less lend themselves to the theme, because the entire point would then be that you're stranded out in the middle of the woods, surrounded by bloodthirsty werewolves, and you're trying to get back to society. And then the scareactors, dressed as wolves like this year, don't have to work to carry the theme, because literally all they need to do is growl and scare like they do now to keep it going. Just my take on it! Slaughterhouse and Cut-Throat Cove are probably the best example of theme coherency. The sets are good, but the scareactors really make it great. Slaughterhouse is eerie enough by itself, but what throws that haunt over the top on average is the fact that the actors really get creative. They hide in the lockers, they make references to Momma, they tell you you look delicious, and then they try to recapture the runaway snacks with a chainsaw before it's done. Cut-Throat Cove is more cool than scary, but I think it does a lot for that house that the actors at least attempt accents for the whole thing. The location on the pond makes it all that much more believable, too. Urgent Scare was also pretty good at this in most years (excluding 2011--the removal of the outdoor section removed something special from it, though I can't put my finger on what.) I never got a chance to go through it this year, so I can't comment on the 2012 version. In contrast, Cornstalkers, which had been one of my favorite haunts back when it was by Invertigo/Drop Tower, is still suffering from its excessive length. The simple trick of blending into the corn is effective in small portions, but ever since it took over Tower Gardens, it's gotten a little monotonous. On top of that, the scareactors really haven't taken advantage of their costumes when I've been through since the move. Few will either 1.) bury themselves within the corn and emerge quickly or 2.) stand on the scarecrow stands, which seems like the whole point of the thing to me. The actors usually have just hidden behind the boxes and then popped out and growled, which isn't very effective when everyone's doing it. On top of that, the width of the Tower Gardens paths eliminates the claustrophobic nature of the trail, making having to walk uncomfortably by the scarecrow stands with a figure looming overhead obsolete--you can just regain your personal bubble on the other side of the path and march on. I can't decide I'd rather the move it to a smaller path or have it return to its original FearFest job as a scare zone. If it would become a scare zone again, I'd say replace Nightmare Alley with it. Overall, Haunt was still pretty great this year. This is just my two cents.

They were floating? I bet that was eerie.

I can't believe I missed a Beast tour!! And eating in the Festhaus? I missed that too? Sheesh... Any ways, my first ride on Sling Shot was great. I was easily caught off guard by the rocking back and forth (when it wasn't flipping) but it was really fun! And it was really nice to meet a few fellow KICers!

Nice ipod ohiocolts, mind getting me one just like that? Anyways...looks like you guys had fun. Very jealous of you all. I was able to pick out some of the people in the photos from KIC day, but unfortunetly I was only with the group for 20 minutes at the begining of the day. We split up.. then never met up again. I really hope I can attened next years closing day, and that it will be as good as this one. Although, I couldn't be lucky enough to get a free back-stage Beast tour.

With people joining and splitting up so many times, it's hard to keep track of who was there at each specific time. I don't keep detailed notes like ohiocolts does, so I have to base it on memory.

Great report! One minor correction: I didn't go with you to Flight Deck; I split off after the group Beast ride to do a little shopping. I have no clue who that was next to me in the back row on the final train of The Beast. I was trying to pick a row, saw a single rider in line for the back row, and joined him.

Not much left?? I was there yesterday. Half the coaster is left.

2012 Total Parks... 5/5: Kings Island That is all... Total Rides @ Kings Island ridden: Red Racer: 1 Firehawk: 1 Diamondback: 1 Vortex: 1 Viking Fury: 1 Monster: 1 Beast: 2 Adventure Express: 1 Flight Deck: 1 Flight of Fear: 1 2012 was a big step down for me from 2011...still, something's better than nothing, right?

Kings Island: definitely rode all operating coasters and most flat rides at least once. Couldn't guesstimate the precise number on any of them except Invertigo and the Eiffel Tower, both of which I did once all year. (That's right, I said "operating" coasters... I know some of you wanted to jump in with "YOU DIDN'T RIDE Son of Beast HEHEHEHEH." Your plans have been foiled! ) Dollywood: Wild Eagle twice. Tennessee Tornado once. Mystery Mine once. Thunderhead (probably) five times. Don't think I rode Blazing Fury this year, and I don't know the names of the flats. There's a possibility I'll be back before the end of the year. Holiday World: Probably rode Voyage something up into the teens. Rode Raven and Legend a handful of times, with more rides on Legend than Raven. (Ordinarily I'd ride Raven more than Legend, but Legend was running ridiculously well back in June.) All adult flats (excluding Revolution, Turkey Whirl, and the scrambler) got about two laps each. Rode basically everything but the racing slides and Mammoth in Splashin' Safari. Six Flags Great Adventure: One ride on all coasters besides Skull Mountain, which we rode twice, and both kiddie coasters. Missed all flats besides the top spin and the parachute drop, though I attempted to ride Houdini's Great Escape and had it break down on me. Coney Island (NYC): FINALLY rode the Cyclone. Didn't have a ton of money to reride, and also lacked the time for Luna Park. Someday... Best "new" coasters of the year: El Toro, Cyclone, Batman: The Ride, Skull Mountain, Runaway Mine Train. In that order. Top 5's went from something like... Wood Voyage Thunderbolt Legend Raven Thunderhead Steel Intimidator 305 Storm Runner Magnum XL-200 Millennium Force Great Bear To something like Wood Voyage El Toro (tied) Cyclone Legend Raven Steel Intimidator 305 Storm Runner Magnum XL-200 Batman: The Ride Adventure Express (In case you've seen previous "top coasters" lists from me and are now wondering: I have the most fluid taste in roller coasters ever. I generally like all of them, but there are moments where I miss some more than others. My "top coasters" is more like a "top coasters I miss at the moment.") EDIT: Also, HTML is a jerk sometimes.

Here are a couple of "Final" Pics of SOB from inside the Park. These were taken about 6:00 pm Sunday, October 28, 2012.. I Snuck this Last one in that I took from about 2 weeks ago.. Amazed that the Lift Hill lights were Illuminated..

So sad. Another year is gone. It is cliche', but it seems just like yesterday when Coasterfanatic2012 and I got lucky and was able to go to opening day. We had great times at the park this summer. It hurts to know that the off season won't go by as fast as this summer did.

SFOG had every camera position, twelve to be exact, staffed. The employees were helpful, professional and friendly. Given how cold and windy it was (for down here) and the misty rain, the waiting crowd was jovial and patient.

you guys not to brag but i think i did the best... Invertigo:1 Flight deck:0 Adventure Express:0 Racer:0 Firehawk:1 FOF:0 Vortex:0 BLST:1 The Beast:0 DB:1 every thing else 0. so yeah it'll be tough to follow that

There's an app for that.

How do you stand up in a properly secured PTC train?

Or will we? Anything is possible my friends. Well, almost anything......

Yikes! And have the people that are going to both events wait around for 3 hours, outside the park? Not such a good idea. That's three hours they could be in the park spending money. Those kids are ALWAYS my target. Where I hide, no one suspects that there's someone hiding there. When I see a group like that come through and they're taunting the other person that's in the room with me, 99% of the time I make that group jump out of their skins. Is that not what they did when Paramount did FearFest and it required an upcharge? It seems to me I remember hearing something about getting a wristband or such and you could only do the rides and mazes with that wristband saying you paid to do FearFest. During FearFest, people who paid for the event were given a wristband. The park was not cleared out; if you didn't have a wristband, you could stay in the park, but you were not permitted to ride or go through the mazes. They had an extra person at the entrance of each ride checking for wristbands (and keep in mind, additional person to staff = additional wages to pay).

^No one on here can grasp that a pathway from AZ to Xbase isn't practical because of.... Topography and Adventure Express.

Here's a general topography of the area from Google Earth: While it's tough to see, the track on the middle-right side of the picture is Adventure Express and the shadowy building in the distance is FOF. Now, unless you want to want to walk down and up that big downgrade, I wouldn't want a path going down that way. Plus, it would subtract even more from Adventure Express's experience.

Oh, that sounds like a good time. In 2011, I was able to visit Holiday World on the last day of the season.

I'm betting on April 27, as much as I hope it's earlier. I graduate college on that day, and I'm trying to think of some way to balance maximizing my day at KI with my excitement to graduate. (At the moment, I'm trying to convince my family that, upon receiving my diploma, I should be allowed to do a quadruple back flip onto a motorcycle and speed off into the distance to KI, but they don't seem to like that idea yet. I'm hoping they'll warm up to it eventually.)

If they got rid of my Dodgems I would fight somebody.

If an employee or a group of employees want to take in the rides before or after their shifts is up to them. Employees are free to enjoy the park on their off hours or to go to other parks in the chain and enjoy the rides there.

Please....I read literature in English II-IV that made Shut the **** UP look like a saints prayer. Like Shakespeare...that dirty dirty man...

Good luck getting it to work.

Don is like please!! I just want to forget it was ever here!!

The best Action Zone was when they still had King Cobra and SOB. You can't make it any better than that.