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Hopefully an opening date.

Really glad you enjoyed the park. Everyone has been working so hard to try and make it the best experience possible with what we've got. Another note, Deluge water coaster will be opening tomorrow!

And for anyone who hasn't seen them yet...

Yeah, I was at the show. A clown got hurt during the catipult act. I was Tweeting with the "bike guy" and he said that his injured comrade left the building in good spirits. Of course, we wish him the best!!

Totally forgot to share this here - while working, a kid - 12 or so - came into the Banshee store and asked, "Is Banshee a water slide?" Once he was gone and we respectfully told him no, I think we all died a little inside. A water slide...

USENET was an early fore-runner of social networking. rrc was rec.roller-coaster and became a close knit worldwide group of users who loved coasters and posted in topics, very similar to a smaller KIC, with far more intense users. It was mostly unmoderated, no holds barred, and could be rough and tumble. In the 90's, it predated the worldwide web. It was amazing. Most ISP's dropped it about seven years ago. It can still be accessed other ways, but it's a mere shadow of its former self. rrc members met up in parks and had a ball!

Yep. Prior to this year, Kings Island was a once-per-year experience for us, being that we live in Lexington and don't find a lot of time in the summer to make the almost 2 hour drive. With gold passes, we're now going to be going at least twice a month including Halloween Haunt. I guess I've just never had an opportunity to learn where all of the old ride locations used to be

I hope he has a speedy recovery. It was really difficult seeing someone injured during a performance. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First time riding since media day and WOW! It seem much faster! Much better ride today than media day. Plus i got this sweet photo with a nasty storm moving in! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hope it wasn't serious and he has a speedy, complete recovery.

I've heard Terpy was present for the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Treaty of Versailles. That COULD be rumor and conjecture though.

Picked up a Peanut Butter and a Creamsicle over the weekend. OMG Pretty sure these are outlawed in 13 states and the Providence of My Diet.

Well, yes, they all do...Ugh. I was Terp'd again. I meant they are similar ride styles (Builder, Ride Type, features, etc etc.) but didn't know how to word it.

So, Nighthawk IS unique. That part of your argument doesn't hold water. To much of the public, a coaster is a coaster. And very few customers at either Kings Island or Carowinds will ever go to the other park. I've never understood why enthusiasts go bonkers over "clones." If a park near me wants to build an excellent ride, I couldn't care less whether it's also in another park.

You'd have thought the parks shared owners or sumthin'

I also had an interesting experience on Thunder Run. My first ride was so much fun, I went around for another -- this time in front row. Just before the train was to depart, a ride op asked who was excited to ride Thunder Run. At that precise moment, there was a loud thunder. Some people seemed to think this was an effect through the loudspeaker, but it was actually the start of a heavy storm. The op then announced the ride would be closed due to weather and asked everyone to exit the train. All but one person understood this request and concern for safety. This passenger continued to sit on the train, shouting all types of four letter words. At first, several people in line seemed to interpret this outburst as enthusiastic sarcasm, but the park guest just carried on with the profanity. I was disappointed, as well, being next in line for front row. I decided to weep silently on the inside, though, and simply returned after the rain stopped.

Not sure if I've just overlooked any new merchandise but the only display I've seen was some mugs and shot glasses in a random store on IS. Bought a mug......

Of course. I've been around so long I've been part of many things. Watch out for....zebras!

I'm probably in the extreme minority that kind of liked Berserker.... At least the Carowinds version. Yeah it hurt, and my dad almost lost his phone, but I liked the hang time. Maybe it's just because of my age.

A post so nice, he made it thrice. Woodie? What woodie?

Said the man who adores violent, intense INTAMIN coasters. That should tell you volumes. wow.

They are available from guest services. The five for 2014 has Snoopy on it and the one has Woodstock. They good at all Cedar Fair parks so they do not actually say Kings Island on them. No idea on discounts when buying them.

It's there. Just look at his profile, as Magenta Lizard did. It's not a catastrophe that the apostrophe has the same trailing space, it's not a programming error; it's computers doing as they are told. When the username was entered (in this case by whatever mod did it for Hydra , a space was entered before the enter key was depressed (poor sad user key , it's depressed all the time) . Hydra is correct . He didn't do it . Mr . Dane has enough to do . Call it a curiosity and move on , Mr . G . Or , look at it this way . Hydra gives other people space !

Banshee Cam 1 provides a great look at the lighting package. http://www.visitkingsisland.com/online-fun/webcams

Part Four Sorry, the Cardinals No Longer Play at the Fairgrounds After dinner we went to the Giant Wheel, which Tom and Jeff and not done yet. A group of teenage boys got in line behind us, bouncing their basketballs. Since the Giant Wheel is bulit on a slope, the platform for the queue is a metal "mesh", so the bouncing resonated quite loudly. All I could think of was "Terpy would not like this!" The ride op asked them to stop bouncing their basketballs, and they did for a while. They started again, and when I looked over, the ride op had one of the basketballs in her hand. She told them they could get it back after the ride. One boy, apparently the one who has his ball confiscated, said "I don't care, I can just win another one." As we were in line, I looked up and saw what I thought would make an interesting picture from my angle. Unfortunately I had already put my good camera in the car, so all I had was my phone, hence the difference in picture quality. The basketballs started bouncing again, and I noticed a Security guard had entered the ride area. He kindly escorted the boys out of line after they repeatedly refused to follow the ride op's instructions to stop their dribbling. We only had time for one more ride and since Tom and Jeff hadn't done the 5D Cinema yet, that's where we went. In the pre-show room, the ride op did his spiel and had to apologize to the people in row 3 that their pre-show screen was turned off by a guest who thought it would be funny to turn it off. To turn it back on apparently requires a "reboot," which he said Maintenance decided against because the park wasn't open for very much longer. Since we were in row 1, we were right next to the ride op. As the pre-show was starting, Tom asked him if he was sick of it yet. He admitted that he was getting there, but said he had made up a dance for the song that plays during the video. As we exited the theater, Tom said that he would like to congratulate Ed Hart if we saw him. We made our way towards the front gate, amidst lots of bouncing basketballs. Just as we were getting close to the exit, we saw Ed to our left on his phone. We waited until he was done, and Tom & Jeff went up to congratulate him on a job well done. I hung back because I didn't feel right meeting him while I was wearing a t-shirt sporting the logo of one of their closest competitors' newest attraction. Tom said that Ed seemed nice and appreciated the sentiments. Inside the front gate, quite a few teens were socailizing. They weren't causing any problems that I could see, but we did have to weave our way through them. We said our goodbyes. Tom and Jeff were going back the next day, with Tom to take videos for Coaster Crew then. I had another two hour drive ahead of me, which thankfully was uneventful. I've always kind of liked the drive between Cincinnati & Louisville. Epilogue They Did the Impossible! Kentucky Kingdom did the impossible... they won me over! This visit was much, much better than my only other time there. It was nowhere near the nightmare/circus/fiasco that I had expected it to be. The associates were friendly and the crowds, for the most part, behaved themselves. Whenever there was a problem, Security or management was there and took care of the situation swiftly. Sure, there are spots here and there that need to be worked on, but it was opening day so I was more forgiving than I would be if the park had been open for a while. I noticed that the families were mostly there for the waterpark. There's just something about that region and their waterparks... Holiday World's main draw is the waterpark too! Hopefully Security and management keep up the good work with any problems (aka unruly teenagers) that might occur. That was one of the main problems with our last visit, and from what I hear from others that was the one thing that bothered a lot of people in the past. I hope that as the word gets out about the park being strict, problem children will learn that they can't get away with what was once acceptable under previous ownership and possibly choose not to behave that way or choose not to even come to the park. I think the price was maybe a little steep for what they had to offer in the dry park alone, but add in the waterpark and it's a good deal. But you know what... I'm perfectly fine with that. I know that Six Flags' extremely low price points for the park led to the park being a babysitter of sorts in the past, and hopefully these higher prices will keep out more of the riff-raff (wow, I'm starting to sound like a grumpy old man!). I'd rather have a good time at a higher price than a miserable experience at a lower price. I'm actually looking forward to going back next year! But Terpy, be warned... you may want to bring earplugs for the basketballs!

I-71 will be closed in both directions at the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge (mile marker 34, in Warren County) on Sunday, June 1, 2014 (tomorrow) from 5:00am through as late as 10:00am. Those approaching Kings Island from the north may need to take an alternate route. The best way to get to the park will be via the posted detour. Those familiar with the area could continue on OH-48 past I-71 to Mason Rd. http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D08/Newsreleases/Pages/I-71-detour-scheduled-for-Sunday,-June-1.aspx

So I decided to make my own thread for my trip reports and I'll start with my trip to Kings Island today. So to start off I rode The Bat which was not quite a walk-on but close. Bout a 5 minute wait. Then I headed over to Banshee and got some great pics before I got on. I probably would've waited like 20 or 25 minutes but I waited almost an hour due to the ride being down twice. The second time it was down the train was stuck at the top of the lift hill. Anyway when I finally got on, I rode 2-2 and it was amazing, but the front is still 10x better imo . And for my final ride, I headed over to Racer to see my best friend's girl and rode the red side. Of course, red won! I was gonna ride Diamondback but my mom called me and said she was here to pick me up. Darn. Oh well. So overall it was quite crowded but I felt like it was pretty manageable. Hopefully next time I'll be going with a group of KICers! Some pics I took. People climbing up to the train on the lift hill. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Prologue June 1998 In early June 1998, a group of about seven Admissions associates and one person from the Information Systems department from Paramount's Kings Island ventured two hours south to visit Kentucky Kingdom and enjoy the park, anticipating a ride on their new coaster, Twisted Sisters, and everything else the park had to offer. Little did they know it would be one of the worst park experiences they would ever have. We carpooled down, and the day started off well enough. We rode Hellavator, Thunder Run, T2, and Vampire. We didn't find out until we were at the park that Twisted Sisters had not opened for the season yet, which was disappointing because we were really looking forward to it. But overall, we had fun until Chang. When we got to Chang, the only access to the station was by stairs. There were no ramps or elevators, so my friend Brian, who is in a wheelchair, couldn't get up there. The rest of us waited in line and when we got to the station, we asked the ride op about how our friend could get up there. I will never forget his exact words: "Well, if he's in a wheelchair he shouldn't be riding anything." I asked "Excuse me, what did you say?" in disbelief. He said "Yeah, if he's in a wheelchair he shouldn't be riding anything at all." Now you've got to know Brian. A skiing accident when he was in high school broke his neck. Yes, he uses a wheelchair, but he can walk short distances as long as he's holding on to something. He is very active; he still skis, waterskis, goes boating, and has played wheelchair rugby on the international level. He just missed making the US Paralympic Rugby Team (which is profiled in the excellent documentary Murderball). He has ridden every ride at Kings Island, including King Cobra after his accident. So when the ride op said this to us, we were shocked. Needless to say, Brian was less than pleased when we reported back to him. When we decided to ride again, Brian figured he would take that time to get gas in his car, so he and another friend left the parking lot, filled up, and when he tried to use his receipt to re-enter the parking lot like at Kings Island, he was told he would have to pay again. After arguing with the parking lot attendant, he relented and shelled out the money again. It wasn't until years later, through this site, that I found out the park didn't control the parking lot. During the afternoon, a bad storm blew in. There was no notification over the park's PA system about it like we were used to at KI. We sought shelter in the one and only indoor restaurant. We ordered pizza and one person in our party ordered a beer. The food service worker told him "You're going to have to come back here and pour it yourself." Huh? He asked why, and was told that they didn't have anyone working at the time who was old enough to serve beer. He asked to speak with a supervisor, and after a ten minute wait one appeared and was able to serve him a beer. Things got crazy as the storm raged on outside. The place was packed, and there were lots of unruly teens in the restaurant. One of the food service workers knew some of the teens, grabbed the microphone that was on the counter near the register and started yelling at her friends "GIMME BACK MY PEN! YOU STOLE MY PEN! I WANT MY PEN BACK!" over and over. Then two groups of teens decided that they didn't like each other, or somebody looked at someone the wrong way, and they started throwing trays at each other. We narrowly missed being hit, but one innocent mom near us was not so lucky and was hit in the head. One of our party ran to the counter and asked the worker to call Security and First Aid. When the two First Aid workers showed up to check on the woman, we told them they needed to get Security in there too to calm the crowd. They told us that they were also Security, but they couldn't do anything because there were too many people and only two of them. By that time, the storm had cleared and we made our way to Guest Relations. We told them everything that had happened and demanded a full refund. The woman there said all the could do for us was a voucher for free pizza and beer. We told her that wasn't acceptable since we had already just eaten. She then said they could offer us tickets to come back another day. We told her that also wouldn't work, because there was no way that we would ever be coming back. She went in the back, and about five minutes later said she could give us our money back if we left the park at that time. We said that was absolutely fine with us! It was many, many years before I even considered giving them a second chance. After hearing from other enthusiasts that it was a decent park (and some even going as far as saying it was their favorite park!), I decided during the '09-'10 off-season that I was going to go to opening day 2010. I even put the date on my calendar. But then, it was announced that Six Flags was not going to open the park, and I considered it dead.

A friend of mine just gave me this awesome gift...I have never seen or heard of these before. It's really well made, like a real dollar bill. Anyone know the story on these?

We always start Haunt a week after CP starts Halloweekends. If you plan to go to the first Saturday of Haunt, the park opens at 7pm to the public. I believe it's because of a park buyout. But opens at 11 am to the public all other Saturdays. If your taking kids, we have events for them on Saturdays and Sundays till 6 pm I believe. Planet Snoopy closes just before Haunt starts because it's used for Haunt. The park does Haunt on Fridays at 6 pm as well. But does not do any of the kids events. You can see a Haunt maze as your going to and from The Bat. It's called Wolfpack. It's in the old SOB station. A lot of the mazes will open at different times because some are indoors and some are outdoors. If your looking to work for Haunt, new hires can apply in august. I will be working my 4th Haunt in a row this year. It's fun.

<How quickly they lose interest. Tee hee.>

Evidently this morning was a gold/platinum pass appreciation event.... After we went to Dinosaurs Alive they had free doughnuts and juice from 10-12... Nice little surprise for dad and son day out Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Unless its going to be down all day or for a few days, I dont think it needs to be posted. More yet it should be on KI website and not on here. IMO

Oddly, most carousels do have a front seat, known as the lead horse. Anyway my favorite seats are Racer Red 1-3, Vortex 5-1 and Beast 6-2.

I'm aware of all that. Still, it seems to me, as I've said before, that the distinctions between steel and wood are not very meaningful anymore. To me, Goliath screams steel and Six Flags calling it wood smacks of artifice.

Six Flags considers Goliath wood. http://content.sixflags.com/comingin2014/greatamerica/goliath/ I consider it wood as well. The Topper Track system uses a similar system to wood coasters, only replacing the top two wood layers with steel. Wood still has an affect on the ride experience. The ride's structure doesn't play a factor into the type it is. For example, Gemini has a wood structure, but it a steel coaster due to the actual track being steel. Voyage is a wood coaster despite having a steel structure. Here is Goliath's track. Yeah, I see a few layers of wood there.

Very similar connections? Don't most steel coasters use bolts? And wood ones nails?

I completely forgot Mile High Falls in my TR! Good ride with an amazingly long splash from the front of the boat. We were soaked, but in the heat (and with me wearing a black shirt) it was a welcome cool-down. The boat after us got stopped on the lift and Maintenance was called. I thought it was funny that the Maintenance building was right next to the ride and we could see the Maintenance guy walk over... was that building placed there because its an Intamin? But it wasn't even stopped for five minutes before it was on its way again. I really hope so too, but with reading about his investment plans for the future, I still have a little doubt about the long term future. But the short term looks bright! You and me both! I had forgotten what a fun coaster that is. The years and the overall bad experience before clouded that memory! Congratulations to you and all the other park associates down there! All of you were a big part of why I had fun this time. Keep up the good work!

I did. I went on it once in 2009 when I was 7, and loved every bit of it.

What is "rrc"? BB7, who just had to

Holy Moly McBumpitty Bump.

Google and Chrome are registered trademarks, and, as such, are always capitalized here. Also, your post has been bumped up to the next to top (over one that is merely taking up space ) , by your friendly , relatively local The Interpreter .

As it was in its early years, at first it didn't get the huge crowds that Haunt does. The first year, the attractions were provided by an outside vendor. At first, it was not included with park admission, and the park was cleared at normal closing and then re-opened. Qualitative and even quantitative comparisons I will leave to others. Since September 11, 2001, I rarely (first at BGW of all places), go to any BooFest type events. There's enough potential horror in my life without those events... I'm glad people enjoy them and am happy for the revenue they produce. I am not the, if you will, target market.

Major props to KI for bringing this addition to the park and obviously the amazing performers of Cirque Imagine. Great to see the standing ovation at the conclusion since it was highly deserving of the praise. Please everybody, do yourself a favor and DO-NOT-MISS this show!

Yeah. You enter the park and make the first left off of International Street. Berzerker's location is to Kings Dominion as the Festhaus's location is to Kings Island, except there is no Kings Island Theater pathway at KD. You really can't miss it... no matter how hard you try.

Yeah, I got a few of the Beagle Bucks once through Fun Perks when that was a thing. If they're still available, I'd be interested in how to get them, especially if you can get discounts for buying larger amounts of them.

Thanks! My friend was also wondering what these were used for, and I told her I knew just the place to find out!

Jonathan you're just finding ways to not like my username!

The park says it's a coaster. rcdb.com lost credibility with me by not counting Haunted House at Camden Park as a coaster, while counting a dark ride in Iowa as one. My head hurts.

As many of you have heard, Kings Island's VP of maintenance and construction, Russ Flatt, is retiring, with Banshee being the last project that he worked on. Kings Island on Facebook: "Today we celebrated and honored our VP of maintenance, Russ Flatt, who is retiring after spending 50 years in the amusement park industry." Photo / Caption : Don Helbig / Kings Island via Facebook