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Today was amazing. Truly a first class event that made memories my family and I will cherish forever.. I told my son "one day 25 years from now you will be in this same line with your children and you will get to tell them about today"..

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New The Bat sign!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Gemini XL-200 and I both took 7 trips on Banshee and six on The Bat. Okay. After fully collecting my thoughts, here's my review on Banshee. This is a slam dunk for Kings Island. The ride is amazing on its own, but it brings theming to the max. The gravestones, lighting package, fog, station and ride sign are all perfect. One thing that's special to me about the theming is the Son of Beast tribute and eternal flame at the start of the queue. I found it to be funny and also fitting, that Kings Island honors such a controversial ride that they told us nothing about for three years. It's like Banshee is here to remember the ride but bring an even better thrill factor to the park. Bravo, Kings Island. Banshee will be screaming its way into the hearts of millions for years to come.

A new topic since Banshee has officially opened for the 2014 season. Tell us about your Banshee experience. What did you like? What did you not like? Did anything surprise you or catch you off guard? Feel free to share pictures/on ride photos of you Banshee experience also! Ill start by saying this ride experience has kicked Montu to the curb and buried it in dust. It is the most intense, well paced, well laid out inverted coaster i have ever been on. I felt like the ride got faster at the bottom of every drop. My favorite seat ended up being in the front right, although the back seat is great too. The entire ride delivers some solid positive Gs. My favorite park of the ride ended up being the spiral into the in-line-twist and into the carousel turn. The entire thing is full throttle from the moment you hear the Banshee scream at the top of the drop, to the second you come to a stop! Also, the theme is (imo) unmatched by any other Cedar Fair attraction. Kings Island really took notice of every single tiny detail. The theme is very well executed; Kings Island fans are in for a real treat for this season, and the seasons to come! My woman and I My woman and i to the right!

It was me, but I went to the hotel and changed after I had an interview with WDTN. video'll be posted later.

Best inverted coaster in all the land!! KI fans are in for a serious treat! Very well designed, smooth transitions and a wonderfully executed theme! KI hit the jackpot folks...... Im talking mega millions jackpot! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh, I know where at least one is, O'Terpy said gravely.

The Earth is the proper name of a planet, and thus should always be capitalized.

Well, since I'm literally too tired to type out a big long trip report right now, I'll just let the photos do most of the talking... Check-in line: 4:30 AM The smell of Banshee in the mornin' Dive loop More dive loop Banshee line/lift hill Banshee que The eye of the storm "Sail with me into the setting sun" (Rum is for Drinking, Not for Burning - Senses Fail) Stunning view Purple train Blue train Zero g-roll, or as Robb Alvey calls it: TWISTYYYY! Trim, was hardly even noticeable Back half of Banshee Upward spiral Brake run Cool sign! Oh my is this beautiful! Lift hill The orange pops like fireworks on the 4th of July, love it! Bat. Meet Banshee. It's so fresh! New color scheme on Delirium I'm so pumped to ride AE tomorrow! O'Terpy Now I'm really surprised that they actually did this...but...it's awesome! Station Station Cool chandelier Outside of station And last but not least, a dry Congo Falls Overall, it was an excellent day, thank you Kings Island and Cedar Fair for all the improvements you've made this year. Everything is perfect, from the newly redone Festhaus entrance to the addition of Banshee, you delivered in every aspect possible, and more...

After this FRONT ROW ride I kind of hung around and stuff. Soon I went to get ready for the 9:30 Press Conference. Don, Greg, ect, all gave speeches for the crowd. The best part had to have been when Greg was talking about how something had to be taken down that might cause some fans to get mad. The go-karts, of course! After that, The Bat, Xtreme Skyflyer, and Delirium all opened in addition to Banshee! I went down to The Bat with some people. You can easily see the whole second half of Banshee from over there! There was about a 10 minute wait for The Bat, and it was fun! It’s like orange Flight Deck. After this ride, I went out to Matthews car to take my sweatshirt off, because it was getting warmer! On my way, Ice Scream Zone was handing out free Banshee twist ice cream, so I had some! And I also borrowed Matthews portable charger (thank you). After going to his car, we went to lunch at The Chicken Shack. The chicken was really good and so was the bread. After this, I decided to go to Delirium real quick on my own because really… There was no wait at all. So, I had my first ride on Delirium with it’s odd new color scheme. It was a fun ole ride on Delirium! After this I kind of hung over Action Zone and took some pictures and stuff. The new shade in the former target circle. The new Coaster Connection store. Delirium’s repaint. Banshee’s awesome station! The Chicken Shack! Oh let’s go there again! And that’s just what I did. I had some more yummy chicken. After eating more chicken, I met up with Alex/Coastergeek101. We waited inside Banshees queue for about 30 minutes. Alex and Devan had a little debate over when Banshee would start testing… They met each other in the queue. Kind of funny. Alex went all swag on Devan, and Devan sighed in shame. Anyways, we ended up with my 4th Banshee ride of the day in Row 3. Yet another awesome Banshee ride! After this, I went with Katie and Melissa to The Bat. It was a walk on for the middle of the train. It got painted. Another orange ride on The Bat! Inside of the gift shop. After that ride I eventually found Matthew. And I also got to see TTD 120-420/Zach. Then we (-Zach) went on a fun, wait-free Delirium ride! Time was running out on this Media Day… Ice cream!!! I got a 3rd Banshee twist. We also talked a lot in the Festhaus, and I guess Tony Clark had a Tweet-Up, and a few people got a coin. So that’s cool. After this, some of us headed for one last Banshee ride. While it is sad… It’s only the beginning! Kings Island is open now until November! We waited about 10 minutes for our last, Row 7 Banshee ride. The ride was once again amazing and awesome!!! After this… My mom picked me up so I could go home and make a video and this trip report. It’s going to be a great 2014 season! A couple of notes: *I kind of like the Banshee scream at the top of the lift. I can see why people find it annoying, but I find it a nice touch. *All the tombstones and lights and everything make the ride so awesomely themed. *Kings Island added a ton of awesome things to Media Day (Free photo, free t-shirt, free cool thing, free food, free rides…) to just make it a great day. Thanks for reading everybody!

This was such an amazing day. I so underestimated Banshee. It's a fantastic ride. Theming is awesome. I have heard there is more theming to see tonight that was not shown today. Can't wait for tonight! I rode Banshee 6 times, Delirium twice, The Bat once and Xtreme Skyflier once. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Everything went so well. With Banshee running without a hitch, and everyone loving it, it was a great media day. I was also surprised by the free drinks and ice cream.

After only sleeping for a half hour last night we got to the park around 4 and waited. I was fortunate enough to notice Coaster Crew's window only had one person in line so we immediately hopped in that line and got our freebies. We were given our credentials, a t-shirt, on-ride photo voucher, and a glass block with Banshee etched in it. There was probably about 10 people in front of us in line and we got on the second train that left the station, I was told the first had all media. We rode front row for ride #2 at 6:30 and I think my face was literally frozen. But as others have said, the back is where its at. IMO the POV's do this ride no justice. It is absolutely amazing. Don, Greg, and the gang did an excellent job of putting this day together for all of us and I don't think they could have done a better job. Thanks Kings Island.

and your son will always remember this time with his dad....what a great memory!!!! Wish I could have been there too.

Can't go to media day, so I made a Banshee egg. Maybe it'll hatch!

We interrupt this thread to bring you breaking news from Banshee Media Day. There is NO freestanding wall at the exit. We now return you to your regular Banshee and Media Day discussion. jcgoble3, combining one part truth with five hundred parts sarcasm

Me seeing the POV

Then I happen to find one on my site that I'm running. (Can't think or it would be advertising.)

Look! Trees! The Earth is the proper name of a planet, and thus should always be capitalized.

looks like Candy Corn...

With a minimum charge of two hours. Okay onto my experience. Got to the park ~4:15 and waited for the gate to the parking lot to open. Registered and received our treats...a Media Day t-shirt, a glass paper weight with a Banshee print encased, the lanyard, and the card to receive a complimentary ride photo. Waited in line to enter the park (who here goes to Muskingum University...?). Walked over to Banshee, made it on the ~3rd train of "regular" people. Front row at 6 in the morning with the temperature hovering around 32 degrees is unique, wonderful, slightly painful experience. I was in awe the entire ride and couldn't keep track of where we were. I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by Kings Island on this. The ride and area is beautiful in every way. The station looks great. The sign is AMAZING. Also....the lighting package!! Holy crap. I was stunned. I LOVED seeing how much was put into this between the sign, station, fog, lighting, tombstones, fencing, landscaping, just everything! Never in my wildest dreams did I anticipate Kings Island taking the theming and experience to this level. Really makes me excited for the future. I next rode in row 4 or 5, and there was a lot more rattling here. Slightly uncomfortable. I wasn't the only one who noticed this; others I talked to did too. My third ride was in row 8, right side. Later on, row 8, left side. THIS is my favorite seat. You just get yanked down and around that first drop. It's rare for me to get "that feeling" in my stomach anymore; Banshee's first drop does it for me, especially in row 8, left side. The pacing of the ride is unbelievable. Once you start, you don't stop until the brake run. There is NO time between elements. It's drop into inversion into inversion into drop into inversion into inversion into inversion into helix into inline twist to the brake run. The back half of the ride in incredibly forceful, especially in the back of the train. The blood starts going to your legs and keeps going due to the forces and how quickly you go from one thing to the next. Th first drop in the back row and the final inline twist are my two favorite parts. If you haven't ridden, you're in for an amazing experience. If you haven't seen the ride while dark, you're in for a real treat. Prepare to be speechless!

Hello all, as you have probably heard from one of my posts, me and fellow KIC'er fighting31irish were supposed to go up for Media Day, spend the night and then go for Opening Day. Well last night I got a text message reading, "Sorry man, I can't make it tomorrow." I knew what his schemes were every opening day trying to trick me so I said back, ".....I don't buy that." He then text me back and replied, "Now is not the time man, I love you." Seeing as this had now escalated I did not know what was going on and had gotten no response until about 9:30 when my phone lit up, it was him. I answered and heard a tear filled shaky apology for not being able to attend tomorrow, I asked him what was wrong and he said to me, his father had passed away. So if you guys would, keep fighting31irish (John) in your thoughts and prayers as his family is going through a rough time right now.

Two more pics. Fog pumping into the line. Train zipping by. The Earth is the proper name of a planet, and thus should always be capitalized.

In line again. I love Eve.

April 17, 2014: Banshee Media Day Date: 8/8/2013 Time: 10:00pm Location: Action Zone at Kings Island It was a late Summer night in August 2013 with rain on the horizon. Hundreds of guests and coaster enthusiasts gathered in Action Zone to find out that a B&M inverted rollercoaster, long overdue for the park, would be joining Kings Island's diverse collection of rollercoasters as it's 15th. "When we look at the previous ride that was located in this area, it was imperative that we select a ride with a high thrill factor but more importantly one that would be dependable." said Greg Scheid, Vice President and General Manager of Kings Island Fast forward to today- April 17, 2014. A cold morning hovering near freezing, only 48 hours after finding snow covering cars and trees, soon giving way to sunny skies, seasonable temperatures, and one of my most memorable visits to the park, BAR NONE. Did both B&M and Kings Island deliver on Greg's statement? My opinion is a resounding YES. I arrived a tad after 6:00am to find a line for check-in that extended out past the picnic tables in front of the ticket windows. The front gate area got spruced up a bit during the offseason and looked amazing. The vibe I picked up this morning with those standing in line was absolutely ELECTRIC, so that even made me more pumped to get checked in and check out what was new for 2014! Took about a half hour or so to get checked in, but what was surprising was that everyone in attendance got a Banshee Media Day tee, a coupon for a free on-ride photo, and a glass Banshee paperweight- in addition to the complimentary breakfast, lunch, refreshments, and ice cream- I wasn't expecting the items, as the privilege to attend Media Day was more than enough but it's something that I genuinely appreciated and made my day, seriously. Once I got checked in, I headed over to Banshee and took this opportunity to get some photos. When they said Banshee is a photographers dream, they aren't kidding! Action Zone, as a whole, got a lot of love this offseason, and looks AMAZING. Wow. Kudos to Kings Island and everyone involved for a job well done, especially during a Winter in which Mother Nature wasn't so kind. I waited a little while for the sun to rise and warm things up a bit, as riding a roller coaster in temperatures right around freezing is beyond brutal- learned the hard way on Diamondback in its opening season. Once it got warm enough, I grabbed a locker to store my things in. Good thing about these lockers is that it's essentially $1 per hour and doesn't require a key to get in- which I thought was way nice. I originally punched in 2 hours (7:30am-9:30am) which led me to believe that it would still grant you access throughout the day and charge you for the final time used when all was said and done. Not the case. You have to swipe your card again/insert more money to extend the time or end the rental to gain access to your belongings This led to a Supervisor having to manually open my locker so that I could get my wallet and extend the time. A minor inconvenience, but now that I know how the system works, this moment forward I'm good to go. Now that my belongings were stowed away securely, it was time to check out Banshee. I'm not gonna lie, the last time I rode a B&M Invert was 2009. The park was Universal's Islands of Adventure. Safe to say I didn't know what to expect as it's been awhile. The theming itself? Wow. Absolutely wow. Saw that they kept the O'Terpy headstone from the announcement in August which I thought was a nice touch. Kings Island really outdid themselves with Banshee and the entire refurbishment of Action Zone. I was beyond impressed. Wow. I was also interviewed during the day today by a reporter from The Cincinnati Enquirer, so there's a good chance that you'll be hearing my comments there as well. The ride itself? Wow, again! That first drop is amazing, the different elements, and the feeling of picking up speed during the ride. This one is forceful. I was speechless when I got back to the station. Absolutely nothing short of amazing. Rode a total of 7 times today, including rides in rows 4 (2 rides), 7 (2 rides), 2 (2 rides), and 3 (1 ride). Out of all, the best experiences were in row 7. That drop...much more intense! In addition, I also got one ride in on The Bat in 7-1. I love the orange! Brings that ride back to life! To summarize this day...wow! I had an absolute blast, and as I stated before this was one of my most memorable visits to the park. Huge thanks to Greg, Don, the entire Kings Island team, and the contractors/subcontractors involved in what I'm sure will be one of the most popular rides at Kings Island. Saw some familiar faces, met new people, and finally placed a face to some. Here's to an amazing 2014 season everyone!

So after a long fought offseason, it was finally time to head back to Kings Island! I left my house at 4:00AM after 2 hours of sleep with Matthew/malem driving me. We arrived at the park around 4:25, just as they were letting people in. It was in the mid 30’s and very cold. I soon met a long check in line to check in with our Coaster Club. One of the first new things to be noticed is the new flags. There was also a full moon in the sky (But this picture doesn’t show it very well). When I checked in, I received a lanyard, a cool Banshee glass thingy, a Media Day t-shirt, and a complementary free Banshee photo! After waiting about 30 minutes to check in, I waited in another line to enter the park. By that point I had seen obviously malem/Matthew, Lorax/Lora, Katie.greg/Katie, NoChickens/Rick, Mrs.NoChickens/Dee, Beastie1980/Melissa, momofbeastie1980/Melanie, jcgoble3/Jonathan, UnrealNightmare/Zach, BeastForever/Daniel, Fire-Beast-OF-FEAR/Duncan, Kat/Kat, Oldiesman/Michael, and probably somebody else I’m missing. I went into the park with Matthew, Daniel, and Duncan around 5:45. There was new TV’s on the main entry. It was still very cold. We walked towards Action Zone, and wow. It is completely unrecognizable. There is a different Festhaus entry, an awesome tent structure, lots of new paint, lockers, and more obvious things as well. It is spectacular, and much more that you can see than just a webcam. And then soon right before my eyes, Banshee started testing. (Sorry about the photo quality… It is pretty bad in the dark.) At maybe around 6:00 or so, the queue opened and we were about to get ready to ride. It was still early so a lot of the special effects were still going including the fog. I got into the queue and saw some of FUN TV’s easy questions. One was: What is the best new ride in the world for 2014? A. Banshee B. Banshee C. Banshee or D. Banshee. It was Banshee. After waiting in an awesome queue with gravestones and textured lightning, I got assigned to the back row with Matthew, Daniel, and Duncan. The station was really cool. Then we were off. The lift hill was fairly quick and included some anticipation music. Once you got to the top, there was the Banshee scream, and down you fell. Down the hill, divelooped, around the lift, zero g’s, batwinged, looped, turned around, TWISSSTYYYYED, and carouseled. The ride was fantastic. The best part had to be the inline twist. It was so fun. But I we were getting hungry, so we had some breakfast. I had a couple of donuts and milk, all delightful. We also saw thedevariouseffect/Devan and Unknown Screen name/Lindzey. After the whole breakfast shenanigans, I went back to Banshee with Duncan. This time the wait was only 25 minutes. We got assigned to row 3. I might prefer the back, but it was another fun Banshee ride. The SOB monument. Empty… For now! And inside the station. And the pretty new Bat sign! How the Banshee sign looks from the side. After this I went over and said hi to The Interpreter real quick. That was near where all the news trucks were lined up. I guess I ended up getting in line for Banshee again, possibly with my original group. The queue was getting filled up! I've posted too many pictures... Part 2 is next!

Just imagine how well Greg Scheid, Don Helbig, Russell Flatt and so many others are going to sleep tonight! And yet, tomorrow's the season opener!

So many have worked so hard to make today the great success it was, and the 2014 season the phenomenal 43rd season for Kings Island. What an incredible coaster, what nice, beautiful and functional improvements in the park, and what a great celebration, media event and party today was. Truly a FUN start to a FUN season! Thanks to all who worked so hard to make Banshee and Kings Island the great success that it will be this year! The largest capital investment in the history of the park. And worth every nickel!

I think it's finally time to lock this thread since construction is finished, and Banshee is giving rides.

Here is a video I took for Media Day!

Today was great! Thank you for putting up the event.

I loved Media Day! It was a nice way to end the off season.

And just to kind of wrap up this thread... If you didn't know... Banshee Media Day and Scream for a Kid Again are both TODAY, and tomorrow is Opening Day 2014! Let's make this a great season everybody!

I rode Banshee three times today. Although I personally would have liked to have ridden more, I was there with an acquaintance who, on the first try, couldn't fit in the test seat. I mean, it was really, really close - I'd say the seatbelt was a half centimeter too short. Anyway, he then proceeded to go through all five stages of grief (he had bought an ACE membership for the explicit purpose of going to Media Day) and we proceeded to eat a delicious lunch at the Chicken Shack, marathon The Bat a bit, and jog around the small section of the park that was open in the hopes of him losing enough weight to get that extra half centimeter. Apparently it worked, because when he tried the test seat again, he fit, albeit barely. The first thing he said when the train hit the brake run was "I like Diamondback better." (On a side note, that buttered bread bun roll thing [EDIT: apparently it's something called "Texas Toast," although I've never heard anything referred to as that before] that came with the complimentary meal at the Chicken Shack was possibly the most delicious thing I've ever eaten at an amusement park. I mean, that's some Dollywood-tier food right there.)

They will all sleep with achievement, honor, satisfaction, and comfort!

Footage taken by me today...

You guys are killing me with envy! Thanks for the detailed descriptions. I'm heading up over to Cincy tomorrow evening with my nieces, but not planning to go to the park until Saturday morning. I'll be the old lady in line who is more excited than the kids I'm with ("omg...our aunt is SO embarrassing!")

Props to whoever was playing the Banshee screams at that announcement. You my friend had perfect timing.

The "night ride experience" is yet to be had. Tonight will be the first time that experience debuts at Kings Island. The morning ride experience this morning was not the night ride experience.

Thanks, milesharrison. I thought maybe some kind of night-theming instrument, but your explanation makes a lot of sense. (I mean, I've heard of reaching for a brass ring on Carousel, but catching a free bagel on an inverted B&M would be quite a novelty! )

We did 5 rides I am home now. Row 4 once. Row 8 twice, and row 1 twice.

So the dining plan is $72 on a renewal pass and $84 on a new pass. The pass must be scanned at the entrance to activate the plan for the day. You can use it 2/day and have a 2 hour wait between meals. It's valid at most food locations in the park except for franchise stores (ie. Subway, Chick-fil-a) and Reds Hall of Fame Grille. Sounds like a great deal and valid all season long including the Haunt on Gold and Platinum passes. Sent from my iPhone using Taptalk

I hope that they consistently maintain the theming.

^ not yet. Wait til SFAKA tonight there might be. Just captured this shot. The Earth is the proper name of a planet, and thus should always be capitalized.

^^ Eve screams as the train reaches the top right before it descends it's loud and audible from The Bat The Earth is the proper name of a planet, and thus should always be capitalized.

The Bat is now open. Do you want pics and if so, of what? Here is a pic of Banshee from The Bat station The Earth is the proper name of a planet, and thus should always be capitalized.

Here is the POV everyone NOT at media day has been waiting for. http://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2014/04/17/kings-island-roller-coaster-Banshee/7813679/?sf25123918=1