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The time had finally come after 6 and a half long, grueling months. A record number of snow days, minus 40 degree windchill, and staring at empty parks on webcams were quite common throughout this brutal part of the year. Then came Saturday, May 10th. All day I had to constantly check updated, the webcams, and live feeds for the latest on Cedar Point's Opening Day 2014. Prom was amazing, and then I was able to look forward to post prom - a trip to the Point. Since it was Mothers Day, I was more than happy to let my mom come along too to spend the day with her also. My dad wasn't able to go, but the two of us left our house a little before 8 to go pick up several people that we'd take with us. By 8:30 we were headed for the park. We arrived pretty much exactly an hour and a half later at 10 right as the park was opening to the GP. Even though my mom, one of my friends, and I had Platinum Passes, two of my friends who were with us did not so it wouldn't have been fair to get there an hour early, only for the two of them to have to wait outside the park for another hour. First things first: Typically I hate going to amusement parks with groups of 4 or more people. It just gets too complicated when deciding on what to ride, eat, and all that stuff. Plus being a coaster enthusiast makes it worse since I don't want to tell everyone what to ride and when, so it's hard to sometimes try not to let the enthusiast side of me take over when I come with a group of non enthusiast friends. So I patiently waited as everyone had to get selfies and pictures of the park...as soon as we stepped out of the car. But I don't blame them. It sure is an impressive sight from the parking lot, and boy did I miss that view. Even though it had been over half a year since I had last been there, in a way it felt like it had only been a week. So finally everyone was ready to actually make it toward the entrance. The park was so empty. As soon as we even pulled into the parking lot I knew it would be a great day. My mom, one friend, and I went to get our actual passes and were in and out in 5 minutes. As soon as we entered the park I saw my 9th grade Honors Biology teacher (and our theater director) and his family. We just said hi and talked briefly before moving on. Again, I had to remind myself that I could come back to the park anytime and ride whatever I wanted and to let my friends do what they wanted this time. So whenever they wanted to go look in a shop or meander slowly for a while I'd go along with it. Same with my mom. We all finally decided on going to Millennium first. But of course, we walked by Iron Dragon and someone in my group really wanted to go on it. It wasn't my idea of my first coaster of the year, but I went on it and forgot how much fun that ride is. My mom decided not to ride it but my three friends and I did. It's pretty long and is a fun mild coaster. I still don't get why the height requirement was bumped up 2 inches though. Oh, and there was absolutely no wait. Walked right on toward the back. Then we finally arrived at Millennium. before we even got in line I was super excited. I could see that there was no wait, not even on the ramp going up to the station. Sure enough, we were able to walk right on. Just to make it easy, we all got in random rows toward the back and I loved my first ride of the year on Millennium. It already had its rattle but it was still as great as always. We all agreed to go right back on, and due to the lack of people the ride ops opened up the gate and let us right back in line by the station so we wouldn't have to walk out and go all the way around again. After this second round my friends were ready to move on wanted to go on Mantis. I absolutely hate this ride so I refused to ride, same with my mom, so we just waited outside the entrance until there were done. It didn't take long since...what a surprise...no wait. While we were on ID we saw that Dragster's line was nonexistent so that's where we wanted to go next. One of my friends doesn't like launches so decided to opt out of Dragster. So it was my mom, two of my friends, and me who went on it. Just like the previous rides there was not a line. We only had to wait about 5 minutes in the station. Hands up the whole time and it was just as thrilling as I remembered it. Plus one of my friends had never been on it before and she loved it. We went back and rode it a second time. The parents of the friends I went to prom with then met up with us. They drove down separately, but joined our group. It was fun to have so many friends and my mom to enjoy the day. If it wasn't Mothers Day we'd be on our own but we thought we'd be nice. So even though our group was now up to 7 people, I still had tons of fun. Heck, I'd have fun at Cedar Point (or any amusement park) no matter what. Next stop was Magnum and I rode in the last row. It's a fun classic coaster despite being jerky. Then we walked down the new Gemini Midway. All I can say is "WOW!" It is such an improvement and I didn't even recognize the area. I did not miss the blacktop at all, and the whole are looks so refreshed. There's so much color and excitement and I love it all. Pipe Scream was down when we walked by, so I'm not sure what was wrong with it. Lake Erie Erie Eagles was running but it had a long line (capacity nightmare on a day that's not busy--not a good sign for later in the season) and none of the people I was with felt like going on them so I'll have to try them another time. I'm still hesitant on both of these new rides since spinny stuff gets me dizzy easily but I'll probably at least try them sometime. I don't like eating much at amusement park but was getting hungry so decided to get some fries from Happy Friary. Everyone got a little snack and I loaded my fries with vinegar. They were so delicious. Sling Shot will look really cool where it's at too. The way is positioned, you'll be able to see it coming from FrontierTown toward the Gemini Midway. It will be very impressive to see. Also, I even loved the new planters by the Gemini restrooms. They add a nice touch. And yes, there is now a sea of concrete in front of Gemini. The grassy area in front of the station has greatly been reduced and replaced with concrete. I actually don't really mind it too much but it just looks different. Next we got to Maverick and it said it had a half hour wait. The line stopped just outside the entrance to the old White Water Landing station building and knowing this ride I figured it might end up a little more than a half hour, but that's still good compared to how long this ride's line usually is. But it was still a huge contrast compared to all the previous walk-ons. Maybe 15 minutes into our wait, the ride shut down. What a surprise (Not). I swear, Maverick always shuts down while I'm in line for it. I just never have good luck with it. My friends really wanted to ride it so we stuck around and waited. Slowly people trickled out of the line until there was hardly anyone left. We talked to some really nice employees. Eventually so many people had left the line that there was nobody else in front of us, only 2 people behind us. We just sat on the steps leading up the Maverick's station. At least it was warm and sunny. By this point we had been waiting over an hour and my friends were getting frustrated. So we decided to leave and come back later, and just as we had walked back down the stairs into the WWL building, a train ran. We hurried up and got back in line behind the 2 guys who were previously behind us. We were hopeful it would open soon and then we would be one of the first people back on. Well we waited, and kept on waiting. No more runs. So then we really left the line completely. And guess what. As soon as we were about 20 feet away from the ride, it started testing. So we hurried toward the ride's main entrance to get in the quickly forming line. Finally after at least an hour and a half of waiting for it, we got on. I only ride in the back row on this coaster and loved it. It's nonstop and is relentless. Something interesting I noticed after getting off is that the row of trees between the patio area outside of Maverick's exit and Maverick's launch tunnel (also near Chick fil A) were all chopped down. It looked really strange and I hated it. I have no clue why the park removed those trees, but I miss them. I had seen that CP Rundown posted that Gatekeeper didn't have any wait, and since two of my friends had never been on it we headed there next. To get there we walked through Frontier Trail. I was very impressed by the new and improved petting zoo. It was a really nice surprise. I figured it had been a crazy April Fools Joke but it turns out there was some truth in that the petting zoo actually did get expanded and got a face lift. There were so many animals, including piglets and other babies. There were lots of people here and it was fun seeing the little kids so happy to see and pet all the animals. We then made a quick detour as someone wanted to go on Corkscrew, so my mom and I went on Power Tower (drop side) meanwhile. We were lucky enough to get the seats facing the park. I love this ride a lot. Once at Gatekeeper we walked right on. First we rode the right and then went on it again on the left. I rode toward the back both times. My favorite is still the back left. The first ride was very smooth, but the second one had that annoying rattle. It wasn't bad enough to make the ride enjoyable but it was just a nuisance. I was also happy to see that the vests still did not lock. I'm glad they're fixed for good (hopefully). We were all getting really hungry by this point and went to Chickie and Pete's. My mom and I couldn't wait to get the CrabFries. We've had a craving for them ever since we first had them in Ocean City, NJ last summer. They were just as good as we remembered my mom and I ordered two. Then the two of us split a classic cheesesteak. It was pretty good, but I definitely love the CrabFries. Two of my friends were crazy enough to want to ride Raptor right away but there was no way I'd go on something like that after eating. My friend's parents left at this point, and my mom and one other friend rode Giant Wheel. It's a great way to relax and enjoy the view of the park. Then we met back up with my other friends and rode Cadillac Cars. It was then 7pm and we only had an hour left til the park would close. We decided to go to Millennium (which was still pretty much a walk on) before heading back to Maverick to finish off the night. Thankfully it was running fine this time. We got to see the start of a great sunset before coming back toward the front of the park by going back through the Gemini midway. I can't wait to go back to see it once it's dark and all the lights are on. Before leaving we stopped in several more shops and got ice cream at Toft's. I got 2 scoops of Buckeye Bites and it was really good. We all had a great day at the park, and I was happy to finally be back. One more comment about the park: I loved the customer service. I'm not sure if it's just because it is early in the season or if the park has been doing a better job at hiring and training, but every singly employee I encountered was friendly. Whether it was a restaurant, ride ops, merchandise, food service, or any other staff, everyone was very nice. Hopefully this will stay.

Shoot the Rapids at CP if that counts.

My first was Screamin' Demon. We went through the loop and on the opposite side, with my voice waivering I turned to my uncle sitting next to me and asked "We have to go through that again?!?" My uncle, with a big smile on his face said, "Yeah, backwards!"

My thing about getting myself on Vortex wasn't the inversions, it was the size. I first rode in the mid-90s as well, and it was then the tallest coaster in the park. I always remember trying to see it after I caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower coming up I-71. That 148 ft lift and that swooping curve over Rivertown can be pretty intimidating when you're younger than 10.

Me, too. (Not my first ever coaster, though. That would be The New Sensation at Camden Park, before I was born). Sigh. My dad made me ride the Wabash Cannonball with my mentally challenged Aunt. He proceeded not to. She was not amused.

Well, that's no surprise.

Vortex on a fall evening during P&G Day. My first Beast night ride immediately followed. Boy was that an awesome night.

^^ same here...the launch backwards off the hill was the biggest thrill of all....YIKES!

As I expected, today was a great day for rides. Even with it being a Math & Science Day, the longest I waited for most rides was 15-20 minutes (the only exception was Firehawk, which was a 45-minute wait due to them only running one side at the time). I even had time for a leisurely stroll through DA (glad it's free for gold/platinum now) and a nice mini coaster marathon at the end of the night, cramming in 6 Banshee rides, 4 Bat rides, a Beast ride and 3 Diamondback rides in just 2 1/2 hours. Today also gave me a couple of new experiences - a lights-on FoF ride and a solo Bat ride (still have no idea how that happened, but it was cool being the only one on the train). It is apparently also possible to dispatch a Bat train before the other train gets back (this was the ride right before my solo ride, when only 4 people were on the train). Other trip notes: WindSeeker was down most of the day due to wind Apparently the policy on DB is to buckle seatbelts in empty seats as well - not sure why I almost witnessed someone taking a walk of shame on Zephyr (first time I've seen that happen on that ride) While on Dodgem, they had to stop the ride so they could go tell some lady to put her cell phone up - after making the typical "put your electronic devices up" announcement twice (I'm surprised she didn't get kicked off the ride for that)

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/500x/49751319.jpg Is that you on the right, JTW? (I hope you know I post this in jest JTW )

Good ol' Vortex for me. I was in a group of three. One promised to ride with me, but as I pulled my restraint down, he moved to the row in front of me with the other. He wanted to "watch me freak out" during the loops.

Vortex, in 2009. I was 7!

Vortex for me, back in 1987.

Mine was Vortex!

^^^^*Cough CP&LERR cough*^^^^ Great Report Hope you went on the train, I have a buddy who works on the railroad and he just got promoted to be a engineer.

Where is Drop Tower, Wind Seeker, ET, White Water Canyon, Delirium, Xtreme Skyflyer, Sling Shot, I am sure there are a few more I am missing!

For OSU Day and Opening Day up in Sandusky, TTD-120-420 went up to enjoy the park before he leaves for Virginia again this summer. Here are some points from the trip! The new Gemini Midway looks phenomenal. Especially at night. Beautifully done! Lake Erie Eagles are fun! This was my first flying eagles experience, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I now understand why everyone enjoys them so much! I noticed very little snapping though. Also, these things are a capacity nightmare. Many rides were down throughout the weekend, including Gatekeeper and Raptor all day Friday. I expect there were some certification issues, and I understand that it is the first weekend, but there was a lot of downtime this weekend. Surprisingly, Top Thrill Dragster seemed to only have a couple of small spurts of downtime while I was there. Happy Friar makes me happier than it should. Chickie's and Pete's did not impress me. The fries were very different, and I can see why people like them, but I was not a fan. I also had the lobster cheesesteak. The lack of silverware and vegetables also threw me off. Again, I can see why people are a fan of this place, but it is not for me. The service was very good though. I won a tweetup coin on opening day! It is a Blue Streak 50th anniversary coin! FunTV was entertaining while in line. They did a good job with that, other than playing the same songs in every line all weekend. Cedar Point's Dodgems are much better than Kings Island's. We had many good sessions on those this weekend. Maverick is amazing. I missed that ride this winter! Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Mine was The Vortex.

I've enlisted the "accidental" toe crunch maneuver from time to time. If they keep bumping me or backing up against me, I simply take a casual, yet hard step backward and let nature... and my 210lb weight on their toes... do the rest. Then I apologize profusely for it explaining I didn't know they were so close to me. They usually keep their distance after that. Fart spray can aid in clearing your personal space as well. Kidding...

I don't post much on here anymore- I do enjoy reading the topics and comments every once in a while though. I do want to take a moment to defend someone I have seen but do not know. I don't know Don personally. I know who he is; I could point to him in a crowd if asked, but I've never physically met the man. I don't know the specifics of his job description- but I do know that he is likely one of the harder working individuals at the park. Most of us enjoy such holiday's as Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, etc... I've been at the park on a number of those days spanning several years and its not uncommon to see him around the park on those days. I would take issue with anyone on the site that demeans his job performance by what he posts or does not post on this site- its likely not a requirement of him to keep the KIC community informed of issues that aren't our concern. I've only been to the park once this year (opening day.... first AND LAST time I'll do that)- if a ride is closed, its not that big of a deal- get over it.

I just don't understand the sudden oversight here. Absolutely proper names should be capitalized and information should be accurate more than it's inaccurate, but what major amusement park doesn't have an unofficial dedicated fan site or discussion board or community? And of the ones that come immediately to mind, ours here at KICentral.com/forums is absolutely among the best moderated, most positive, pro-park, open discussion communities out there. This is not an outrageous garbage dump of accusations and anti-park / anti-Cedar-Fair nonsense. Altogether, this is wonderful and positive community that shares a common love and appreciation and respect for Kings Island and its direction under Cedar Fair. It's odd that "the park" even has a presence here in the form of DonKIPR. That's not typically the case - at least publicly - on the limitless other discussion boards out there. Look at Theme Park Review, which runs rampant with speculation, rumor, and downright negativity. The owner of that site is infamously rude - sometimes even offensive - and posts his questionable comments and opinions right alongside exclusive interviews and ERT photo reports, associating his particular brand of annoying-crazy with the site's exclusive content provided by parks! And yet, guess who's at Banshee media day? Look, too, at MiceChat, a community focused solely on Disney Parks (Disney being one of the most valiant defenders of intellectual property in the world today) where speculation and rumor are off the charts, every day, constantly. The site specializes in "leaks" and inside information from anonymous sources. Certainly there is no official "DisneyParksPR" account posting vaguely-threatening comments and sometimes being downright off-putting to the community there. (EDIT: Imagine "DisneyParksPR" commenting: "Not sure where you got all this inaccurate information but this site sure has a lot of it..." It's sort of laughable to imagine. Sort of like "Wow this is a pretty fun site. Too bad... Hope nothing happens to it.") There was a time when fans of Kings Island were celebrated for their enthusiasm and interaction. There was quite another time when they were seemingly ignored. The presence of an official "PR" account in this community seemed a shift toward the "old way," but now it's actually become off-putting. Does Kings Island have every right to view these boards and even participate on them? Sure, why not? And if something here falls out of alignment with their legal expectations, I should expect the site administrators to be contacted. But the downright dismissive tone is becoming tiresome... We're not the enemy, or some horrible vitriol-spewing Facebook fans. We're not even a "bad" fan community, as far as fan communities go. I'm glad for the park's presence here and I understand the account owner's obligation to defend the product he represents, but at this point it's like... we as a community are not harmful. We are not tarnishing Kings Island or Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. It's just frustrating to feel like we're being moderated by a multi-million dollar company when we're just fans having fun, being optimistic, and speculating together. It first occurred to me in a personal way two years ago when the park tweeted "What would you like to see added to the park map for 2012?" I said "TREES!" The "park" responded "It's a map of attractions, not of individual trees." Like, is that professional? Is it kind? I understand that as the most aggressive consumers of the product, we can be annoying. But c'mon. In what universe would Disney respond to a fan that way on Twitter? Universal? SeaWorld Parks? Six Flags? (EDIT: By the way, trees were added. Or... bushes. Either way, The Beast no longer looks like it's sitting in a field, making the map a much more accurate representation of the ride, thank you very much!) And that tone appears to be mirrored here, again representing the park as a sort of "big brother" whose presence here is only to scold us or keep us in line and remind us that we're in thin ice all day every day. Very odd. Not very welcoming. Not very FUN. Don't get me wrong: We're lucky that the park we love has become an active presence on this site. We're lucky that rather than ignoring us, news gets posted here and we're invited to participate in exclusive events at the park we all love. We're lucky that, in general, it seems Kings Island's management views this community as the positive, helpful, enthusiastic, and beneficial community it is. But the oversight... the sort of vaguely dismissive treatment... it's not exactly precedent, and that's my point.

I almost talked my son onto Vortex today, but he remained right side up.

I think I speak for all members on this board... please dont post your age if you were ever a single digit age after 2000 Makes the rest of us feel ol.. I mean anci... I mean dat.... We feel mature ...

Well, Vortex of course! I went to Kings Island with my dad when I was twelve, I think. I was afraid of roller coasters before it and I could only manage to ride Flight Deck...err, The Bat. One day, I decided to be a daredevil and said to my dad I wanted to ride some bigger roller coasters. So, we did. We started off with the normal The Bat ride and then I anxiously got in line for Vortex. My dad said it was "smooth" (total BS) so I believed him, rode it, and from there on I kept riding more and more. Really, though, inversions aren't bad at all. I don't see why I, and a lot of people, were/are so scared of them.

A kiddie coaster with inversions?

Never understood the fear of going upside down. Simple physics taught me at a young age that I would be OK I was 10/11, my cousins and I took one look at the ride and said "we have GOT to ride this".

Excellent report, everyone, take note at the guy at the bottom right, he does not look like he is having FUN.

Just promise to ask your English teacher about double negatives....

Orient Express at Worlds of Fun, in 1997.

Vortex was my first looping coaster.

Mine was Maverick.

I really like FUNTV. Granted I barely got to see any of it at CP yesterday due to pretty much nonexistent lines, but what I did see was nice.

Screamin Demon

Well, it finally happened... a Walk of Shame on Banshee. I got to the park at about 11:00 this past Friday night to get some riding in. After talking to some friends for about 15 minutes, I went over to The Bat and got a ride in there. I then got in line for Banshee and the line wasn't too long. I had only ridden the blue train on my four previous rides on Media Day and opening day, and this time I got teal. I took my seat in 4-3, the ride op pushed down a little bit on my restraint and then started to give me a spiel that you can tell he had recited a thousand times, something to the effect of "This ride is designed so that you must have the seatbelt latched in order to ride. Since I'm not able to get your seatbelt latched..." I cut him off by saying, "Yeah I know..." but in my head thought "Save your breath and don't give me that pre-recorded speech." I exited and decided right then and there that I was going to go home. I felt defeated, but I ended up staying until close to talk with friends. I had been planning on going Sunday (yesterday), but after the walk of shame I thought, "What's the point?" I ended up staying home yesterday and I'm still kind of currently in the mindset of why should I go if I don't fit on my new favorite steel coaster? Time to buckle down and get to work on losing more than the 20 lbs. I've already lost since December. I'm not sure when I'll be in the mood to go back to the park. I might be going with the Gatorettes sometime this weekend, but it may be a while before I'm in the right frame of mind to take a solo trip or meet up with friends there.

The first Coaster I ever rode was also my first "upside down" Coaster. The Wabash Cannonball at the late, great, Opryland.

Vortex, May of 2009. Though my first ride that went upside-down PERIOD was The Crypt, which I had ridden earlier that day.

I think mine was Vortex as well.

Corkscrew at CP.

Flight of Fear. It seems to be a popular choice since you don't really get the privilege of knowing what you're about to ride.

Celebrated Mothers Day at the park with my wife, daughter, mother & mother-in-law. Such a great time......thanks Kings Island!

I'm probably going to be taking flak for this, but I'll do it anyway. Here's the thing about TPR. Robb has toned down a great deal since the earlier days of TPR. You guys do know they are affiliated with parks from around the world right? That's a HUGE credential people often forget about. They have HUGE trips with lots of members. Just check their boards on any given day. They're more active with more members than any other coaster site still in existence. They're probably the best source for information about any park on the internet, even better than Screamscape because they actually back up their claims with sources. Sure they're heavily moderated, but that's mainly because they have PR members from a few parks including Six Flags, Holiday World, and a few international parks to my knowledge that post on their boards (and probably more than that). That's why they get to do the events they do and the multi-park trips as well. Its become a huge endeavor. Seriously, just spend about an hour on TPR without focusing on the iffy bits and you'll see they're an excellent resource. I'm guessing even a lot of you have watched POV's of coasters they've been to that you'll probably never ride in your life. If you're running a park, you'd be a fool to ignore that kind of fan base. Also, malem put it perfectly, Kings Island is focused on talking up Banshee and the Action Zone revamp. Yes, Drop Tower is a key part of that area, but its obviously in a state they can't let it operate which is more or less out of their control. Machines break, its common sense. Let's play off the assumption it is a part they're waiting on. If you guys know a thing or 2 about Intamin, they produce all their parts in house. Where is that house you may ask? Switzerland. So not only do they have to make the part, but it has to travel quite a distance to get to our humble amusement park in southwestern Ohio. There is no upside to the park announcing the reason its down. There's nothing they'd benefit from in doing it. And really, what does knowing why really accomplish? Its probably something really technical that only a handful on this site can even understand. So to put it simply- Drop Tower is down, the park is doing everything they can to fix it so it can run, and all you need to do is be patient until that time arrives and, well, you know, ride all the other rides still open at the park including our fantastic new inverted coaster. Just sayin'.

PS how rude of me-a great big welcome to KIC.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

Last time I went to Kings Island (Which was 2nd) I learned that you can see Kings Island from I-75. It's JUST barely visible, and you have to have a really trained eye on the Eiffel Tower, WindSeeker, Drop Tower, and Diamondback. It also has to be clear out, it's really hard to see it if there is a bit of fog. I had a hard time looking for it on Google maps. When you're driving southbound on Interstate 75, You want to look towards Trader World*, and at Mile Marker 30/0 You should be able to briefly see Kings Island. It's so tiny from I-75 it's almost like a Tic-Tak It is VERY hard to see, but the Eiffel Tower of Kings Island is seen in it, WAY in the distance.

I went to Cedar Point yesterday and there was a walk on everywhere. Early ride time had longer lines than at 1. I was confused on why the dragster line wasnt getting any bigger after my third ride in a row. I got 4 millenniums 3 dragsters 2 Gatekeepers and 1 of every other coaster except maverick due to mechanical problems. I left at 230 because of how tired i was from riding everything

Reds Hall of Fame Grille is part of the discount as I did get my 10 percent discount there.

Never had a problem with personal space being violated. I do however can't stand being in line with people who stink. Seriously, there was a woman in line for The Beast last season we had to smell for over an hour, it was disgusting. It was not from just being at the park, it was bad from not bathing ever, perfume never, and having never purchased a stick or in her case a log of deodorant in her entire life. It was so bad everyone behind knew why we kept a clear distance from her, how her friends could stand it I haven't a clue, I would have puked riding in a car with her. SO PLEASE, for the love of humanity, don't be that person who smells!

The audio on Adventure Express's second lift hill is working as of 5:00 pm. Transmitted from Wild Space via my datapad's DROID brain

Kings Island on Facebook: "In this photo, Ohio-based nonprofit A Kid Again chief executive officer Jeffrey Damron (left) and Kings Island vice-president and general manager Greg Scheid (right) unveil a bronze statue during a ceremony at the park today in celebration of the life and memory of Gabriel Taylor, a child who fought osterosarcoma for 21 months before succumbing to his illness at age 6. The statue was given with gratitude to Kings Island for 50,000 tickets given in the past 18 years and raising more than $200,000 for A Kid Again through first ride auctions on the Diamondback and Banshee roller coasters. The gift and fundraising has fostered hope, happiness and healing for families raising kids with life-threatening illnesses, while making millions of cherished memories. The life-sized statue was designed in Gabriel Taylor’s likeness by Columbus College of Art & Design student, Gavin Bruce." Photo and Article : Don Helbig / Kings Island via Facebook