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Beat me to it by seconds lol And I somewhat agree, guess the park has picked up outside marketing & whatnot like SIX parks are now I don't think the park paid for it, I think Kraft paid for it and to put it inside of the park for the weekend.

From Kings Island's Facebook page: My only response: ...why?

A waste of who's money? KI's? Because I highly doubt they paid anything to bring it to the park. Kraft's? Because I think it's a good, unique way to promote their brand, much like the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile as silver2005 said above. Now I want hot dogs and mac & cheese for dinner... Hey, I guess it worked as intended!

Hello there, I haven't been around KIC for a good while now, but that doesn't mean I still don't keep up with the park. Kings Island is a place I've known very well for a good portion of my life thus far, so needless to say, I was excited as pretty much everyone else when Banshee opened to the public this past weekend. As a final project in my digital field production course for class, I was prompted to create a short documentary. And at this point in the year, why not create a short documentary about Banshee? I would like to share it with everyone here. It's titled "Scream Like a Banshee". It’s not perfect by any means, but I think it effectively demonstrates the pride behind the ride and the excitement for its opening. If you like it, if you don’t mind sharing it, that’d be great. Thank you to everyone involved in making it. YouTube Link: Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/92536088 Enjoy the video, and here's to a great 2014 operating season!

I don't see anything wrong with this. This is akin to the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile showing up.

For amusement park rides, I believe these are the only two real limits on the human body: 1. Sustained G-forces 2. Violent changes in direction Speed, length, and number of inversions, are practically limitless as long as #1 and #2 are kept in check. For example, we sent my 60+ year old father in law on a stunt plane "ride along". Its length, speed, and number of inversions all exceeded the craziest coaster, and he did just fine because the pilot was smart with #1 and #2. Obviously economics is a big reason Kingda Ka's height record has lasted a decade. Given those limits, I think we can keep building coasters forever and not get bored. For example, even though the swinging suspended coaster has supposedly run its course, there is still so much potential with this concept. Imagine one 5,000 foot long, with open “dangling feet” trains, minimal restraints, with much of it buried in trenches with all kinds of near collisions and footchoppers. Not to mention a section where you skim inches from the water at 90 degrees. It could be just as thrilling as the best coaster today, plenty safe, unique, and be a big hit with the public. True, one hasn't been built yet. Then again in 1971 (before Racer opened) how many people envisioned The Beast, The Voyage, or Outlaw Run? I am also encouraged by the success of Wooden Warrior, an amazing looking “micro-coaster”. I think our Banshee is a good example of how the coaster wars will continue for a while. Banshee was built exactly 20 years after Raptor, yet it to the average person it is not especially bigger or even fundamentally different from Raptor. Heck, less than 200 yards away from Banshee is another inverted coaster (running since 1999) that inverts its riders 6 times, and even goes backwards. So why is Banshee going to be a huge winner? Not because of any newfangled gimmick, significant world record, or even breathtaking intensity. My guess: because it is big enough to be intimidating, awesomely themed, and very re-ridable. It is impossible to miss, and it has personality and charisma. It takes an existing good idea and simply improves on it.

Would be awesome if a prize was given away this weekend. One random winner at #kingsmacncheese gets a year supply of Kraft Mac n Cheese. Is a Macaroni and Cheese guy your company version of the Dippin' Dots guy? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm sure some limits are being approached and the body can only tolerate so much, and the average person can only tolerate even less. Right now I see rides coming up with ingenious ways to push the envelope and offer new things and bring new thrills and excitement. Think for years how drop rides have just been pick you up, drop you down, same thing different height, restraint, thats about it. Then comes Falcon Fury, where the ride tilts you down and lets you plummet straight down. New, ingenious, and great thrills. Look at water rides like Proslide making great new attractions and now water coasters. Then Verruct over in Kansas City, pushing the boundaries of Mega Coasters. There are limits, but there is always ingenuity as well regarding the future.

Maybe mechanic12 can't find the entrance to Drop Tower.

Raising Canes is awesome chicken, bread, fries and slaw. Zaxby's is aw-something else, in my opinion. I would drive and have driven many miles out of the way to eat at Raising Canes. I'd gladly drive the same distance not to eat at Zaxby's. Terp, who lived for too long too close to Zaxby's, and who hasn't yet lived close enough to Canes.

I'm never quite sure about why so many people are surprised when Kings Island brings in things that are "commercialized" from other companies. This is actually very nostalgic and closely mirrors how Kings Island started out...take a look through this 1974 brochure and count how many things are brought in from outside entities: http://KICentral.com/history/photos/thumbnails.php?album=8

End of happy life, end stage disease processes, terminal illness, death of loved ones/everyone around them, etc. Euthanasia is actually surprisingly a wanted thing for many older people. There are even companies in other countries dedicated to helping these people achieve that wish of a peaceful death.

^I agree, I love that it's getting ridership and attention it deserves, it's a great ride. However, it probably means it'll be harder to get marathon rides on which is a shame. Ah well, all I do know is this year she's running PERFECT.

No they have added extensive brake runs Wrong! The Beast has had brakes in the same locations along the 7,359-foot long course since it made its debut April 14, 1979. If the trim brakes that some want to complain about were not in place the ride isn't celebrating its 35th anniversary season. I see first time Beast riders every day. They're absolutely blown away by this ride!

In fairness, the amount of work done this off-season has really been remarkable. Not only a brand new, world class coaster, but a TON of new pavement, from the front entrance to Action Zone, a new shade area/dining area in Action Zone, a new restaurant, two new patio areas behind Festhaus, removal of most of the Snoopy Spectacular (which never was), a heavily updated front gate, FunTV thru the whole park, and, I'm sure that I am missing things... Seems to me that more work was done this off-season than any that I can remember in the past 20 years. Hopefully a sign of things to come with the current management team. The future is bright.

Eve's on it.

I've been working on my weight for me to be comfortable with going to Cedar Point without worry of not fitting my goal is 249. The trip is May 31 and as of Tuesday I was at 257. Down from 271 at the beginning of March.

Intamins... jcgoble3, avoiding a one-word post

The rush to get to The Bat on Media Day after opening was jaw dropping. Not sure I've seen it get that much love since it's early years.

Buying one is certainly more foolish...getting multiple with the intention of selling it is just greed, plain and simple. A bit off topic from selling the shirts, but goes back to doing the right thing, which, as I get older, people in this country seem to do less and less... http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/fan-who-caught-pujols-500th-home-run-wants-nothing-in-return-023226058.html

I think when we look at a coaster like The Beast in comparison to big thrill rides (TTD for example) it becomes very tame. However, it is not always a family ride. It may seem that way to many of us, but to families that go once a year, The Beast may be a mile stone ride (I finally over came my fear or man I rode the rough Beast, example). It does bring me to a question, when is enough enough. When do we hit a point for coasters where nothing is new anymore. When does it become to extreme? The Beast is a long coaster. One day someone may beat it, but why? We saw with SOB that a big drop isnt always the best. Yet a fairly fun coaster has just been built on property that boasts of longest, as well. Also, I would like to take this time to publicly apologize for my crack at "bed time" to Zerogee. It was uncalled for and not in the spirit of these forums. I was just tired and wrote before thinking. Please accept this picture of a cake as payment:)

"It's really is a great ride." ​Which is why I don't want it to get more attention now. That means a longer wait for me

Why do you have to be so defiant when visiting our beloved Kings Island?

The only difference to me is you can feel the magnetic trims grabbing the train and slowing it down, when it had the skid breaks you still slowed down but it slowed down much slower if that makes since. But The Beast is still a heck of a wooden coaster, and it's still the longest wooden coaster even after 35 years.

JDawg, I am not sure why you would use The Bat as a slam towards The Beast. The Bat is a solid coaster that offers thrills to park goers. Beast is a classic ride. Like a classic muscle car. Some look at the 60's muscle cars and see beauty and speed and freedom. Some see nothing but big metal death traps with no power brakes, crank windows, and low (compared to new) horsepowers. The Beast is that classic muscle car. Is it flashy? No. Is it the fastest? No. Does it give you the air time and adrenaline you are hunting for with a ride like Banshee? No. But does it offer a very solid ride that offers great thrills that can connect generations. It feels like its just on the verge of going out of control and dips in and out of tree lines. I dont blame you for your opinion. No more than I blame people who dont appreciate what came before them. I pity you though. I pity the (fool ) fact that you have become so accustomed to high g forces that a ride like The Beast becomes boring. Its similar to people who hate older movies because its filmed different than newer movies.... Kids these days (Full disclosure, I am a 28 year old who had a 65 Mustang as his first car, favorite movies are Great Escape and Jurassic Park, and prefers simpler things)

I would love it if they changed from offering a refillable souvenir cup to a drink plan linked to a card or season pass. Same basic deal but instead of having to carry around a souvenir cup everywhere you'd get a drink in a disposable paper cup for 99 cents after day of purchase. This would be especially nice now with Banshee being absolutely no loose articles.

The Golden age of Roller Coasters was, according to ACE, the 1920s . The Revival was 1972. The Preservation era of the 90s and now in the realm of record breakers and pushing the limits. We all know about the Euthanasia Coaster. But I ask when will we stop? At what point do we stop pushing the limits because the only limit is death? Are we nearing that edge now? We can only have so many inversions or speed or lateral gs, or length, etc before the body cant handle it. Look to CP. They pushed the limits with Millie, TTD and then throw at us Maverick and Gatekeeper. KI had SOB and then answered with Diamondback and Banshee (breaking a length record). I guess I wonder if we have seen the last of the Roller Coaster Wars or if they will return for more record breakers in the near future. Do you create a park with such high thrills that only a select few want to visit or do you go the safe route and make the most money? Personally, I think we have seen the end of the coaster wars for at least the next decade or two. What else can be done in coasters? 4d, suspended, stand up, inside, outside, inverted, flying, many flips, no flips, speed, height, splash downs, backwards, forwards.

You guys complain about everything. Even if it was Kings Island who spent the money on it why would you care? They aren't spending your money on it. Hell it's better than the billboards that used to be in the ride formerly known as Top Guns line.

Here is the story of the ride malfunction that happened prior the ride being shutdown because of high winds:

Kind of tacky but its good to see the park bring in some extra money.

On break I saw this and I went over and asked my Macaroni & Cheese guy about it; he said "Well, dang, I should have gotten my picture taken with it!" EDIT - I see it's this weekend. He'll be happy.

Waste of money.

^They are..the bread at Chicken Shack is an exact copy basically. Sauce basically right there. Taken directly from Raising Caines website.. Stuff looks pretty similar to me

And that's no longer an issue. Wow... that shouldn't have happened. Whenever I go to the station, I just tell the ride op that I need row 4. I haven't had an issue with them denying me yet, but then the first three times I rode it were on Media Day and the only other time was opening day. Of course, the GP wouldn't automatically know to do this. Hopefully I won't ever get any pushback from a ride op for requesting that row, but if I do I'm ready to enlighten them on why I need it.

Maverick is my favorite coaster. The wildness of it is what makes me love it. My wife however not a fan for the exact reason I love it she doesn't care for it.

Update I've raise 326 dollars so far for Coasting For Kids at Cedar Point. Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

I also would like to extend an apology for my "go to your room" comment last night. It was meant as a joke, and I hope it came across as such. But I've lurked these forums enough to know that such jokes can easily get out of hand. We may all disagree about why we love our Isle of Male Monarchs, but loving the park is what brings us together in the first place.

After sleeping on it , maybe I have become jaded . I don't know I guess as one gets older perceptions can change on certain things . I just hope one of the things that doesn't change is the joy I get from going to amusement parks and sharing those times spent with family and friends . Back in the day when I was 13 my mom would drop my older brother and myself off at the park each morning before she went to work and we'd stay there til she got off work . Some of the best days of my life .

Uhh...I've been on both The Beast, and Voyage, and I perfer Beast. Voyage does everything you'd THINK a great wooden coaster should do, and throws as many airtime hills, twists, and turns at you as fast and hard as it can- and since it's also a 160-foot 67mph wooden coaster it beats the tar out of you during the return run, pretty much ruining half the ride. The Beast, on the other hand, tries something else- redefining what makes a great roller coaster, throwing the rule book out the window and instead of hitting you with a turn or drop every second, using the surrounding woods and wooden nature of the ride to instill fear and build suspense. That middle section of the ride after the brake shed that's so "controversial"? If you pay attention, you're actually gaining a good bit of speed during that whole section as it's downhill...but not all at once. It builds up, and the ride shakes more and more with each second, leading you to think "Oh No Something BIG is coming up" but then killing it with the 2nd lift, but there's a purpose: this is to trick your brain so that when you hit the helix, it thinks as you gain speed "Oh great more build-up with no pay-off...wait...what...OH (BLEEP)!!!" This article probably explains it better than I can: http://www.rollercoasterphilosophy.com/2009/beast/ Oh, and I'm only 24 myself...and my first ride on Beast didn't come until 2009, so my experience is just with the new brake system- I don't know what it was like before all that, if it was truly better or not. And I've ridden The Beast recently- a night ride on opening day, in fact. Did not feel "slow" at all, save the lift hills and right after the brake shed trim- but it had regained all its speed, or it felt like it, within 5 seconds and was flying before the 2nd lift (if they removed that trim I think the lateral forces could become dangerous in that section BTW). I had a ride earlier that day on Banshee which was worth a 4 1/2 hour wait (awesome coaster, in the more traditional sense though), yet once again, Beast was the highlight of my trip and "stole the show". Sorry if I ranted a bit there- had to drop my two cents on this whole Beast discussion. Oh, and one more thing- Legend at Holiday World is also superior to Voyage (It's my #2 overall, and Banshee is #3 and #1 steel). Still has everything you could ask from a "traditional" wooden coaster ride (great air, laterals, and non-stop action) WITHOUT the insane roughness. And if Raven were just a bit longer...(I don't hate Voyage, it is a very good ride and could be amazing if smoothed out, but I do feel there are likely quite a few better ones out there)

Got to get away from this thread-its making me hungry.

There's also that big box thingy in Rivertown that needs to go. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I rode The Beast for the first time in 1980 as a child with cousins who are not enthusiasts. I have yet to hear them 34 years later say anything about the trains, brakes, trims, whatever! I just hear them talk about us riding it when we were youngsters and how amazing it is to still be around kicking tail and taking names,all these years later!

My wife walked around pregnant all last summer complaining why there wasn't any cool mist areas. Yes, I do know alternatives and yes Banshee's sign pumps out a little cool mist, but a large cool mist zone would be really nice! Especially for pregnant women and those who suffer in the heat!

I would like to see Coney Mall improved to its old light. The Racer should get its old color scheme back and the area should receive some long lost rides, such as the Cuddle Up, and Flying Scooters.

Jordan, I saw this a little while ago as Avatar linked this on Facebook. Absolutely impressive- I thoroughly enjoyed the video. And you took the video with a T4i...wow! I've been looking at DSLR's for awhile. May have to splurge here soon. A week in Georgia with buddies and a day with Bart Kinzel and the Flying Eagles comes first money wise! Saving those nickels!

This is awesome. Much respect to you Jordan for producing this.

The shot at the end with the sunrise and the eternal flame is stunning!

Just to give you an idea, Bat's line on opening day was all the way through the tunnels by Wolf Pack.

I'm torn as to which has less integrity: Getting more than one first rider shirt with the intent of selling it. -or- Purchasing a first rider shirt with the intent of claiming you actually were a first rider.

Its almost sad to think that KI had a pair of classic rides and chose to dismantle. Enchanted Voyage and Phantom Theater were great classic dark rides (though unfortunately in the same building). I'm just not a fan of the whole black-light and florescent scenery. Both of the aforementioned attractions were build specifically for KI and were designer originals. Neither exist anymore.