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If typical, what will Banshee look like five years from now?

Costs. And the water in the splashdown was causing rapid track corrosion. Makes one wonder about B&M vs. Premier Rides...

Flight of Fear really misses Son of Beast huh?

Kings Island said they will stay open past 10 tonight due to the power outage, pretty cool for those that stuck around. Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

From KI Twitter page Kings Island @KingsIslandPR Hmmm. https://twitter.com/KingsIslandPR/status/480407440232419328

I took my sister and nephews to the park yesterday as the boys had never been. I had been following the weather all week, and it had been a horribly hot and humid week in the area. We got very lucky yesterday as the high was around 84 or so and we saw the sun maybe twice for brief periods. There was one instance where a storm rolled through briefly and coasters went down for a few minutes, but the rain was light and passed quickly. Crowds were very light!!! I'm so glad I didn't pre purchase Fast Lane as it would have been a horrible waste. The longest we waited for anything was 15 minutes. Most attractions were near walk ons. Firehawk: hit this first and only waited 10 minutes or so. I knew the boys would dig the flying part. It was fun, but wouldn't wait long for that one. Flight of Fear was still closed. Diamondback: I've ridden this many times, but I can't say enough good things about this ride. We rode twice in the front car each time. Spectacular. The floater air is amazing. Beast: Nothing new here, just the same old classic we've known and loved for years. The boys liked that it was in the woods. Vortex: I can usually tolerate it, but it did all four of us in. My neck and shoulders really took a beating. That may have been my last ride on Vortex - getting too old! The Bat: New paint looks great. A walk on and easy front row ride. The boys loved seeing Great Wolf from the lift. Amazon Falls: Probably the first time I've ridden in 14 years, but young boys want to have fun and get wet! Delirium: Fun as usual. Fresh paint looks good. The 13 year old was afraid the spinning would make him sick, but left the ride with a smile! White Water Canyon: Again, probably haven't done this in 14 years or so, but it was fun and we got SOAKED. I went once, the boys went two more times. Banshee: This area of the park and the attraction itself are beautiful. The attention to detail and the level of theming was quite impressive. The four of us easily got a front row ride with a 5 minute wait. As for the ride itself: WOW. It is INTENSE. Relentless, glued to the seat most of the ride. The park has a winner that guests will enjoy for years to come. Food: I had La Rosas and everyone else had Skyline. It was fine, exactly what I expected. Of course the day wasn't complete without blue soft serve and a brick of fudge to go on the way out of the park! Overall we had a fantastic day at the park. I really like the new direction management is taking. This was my sister's first time since we last went together in 1994, so of course she hardly recognized the place, but was really impressed. While I loved Banshee and it's a fantastic, much needed addition, for this bunch Diamondback is still the star of the show.

Ok I know a lot of people will probably laugh at me, but I honestly don't know what to expect. I was at Cedar Point the year Max Air opened but was too chicken to go on it. I'm a huge coaster fanatic but for some reason I'm having a lot of hesitation about going on this one. I want to try it as my fiance wants to go too, which normally if I wasn't in to a ride I'd have no problem just waiting, but I have very mixed feelings on this one. Any comments?

^Exactly..They are entitled to do that, as much as it kind of seems lame for them to countlessly complain about loud noise, they are entitled to.

It's very nice indeed to keep the park open late so today's guests can get their rides in. KI's electrical supply is a rather complex system. FOF alone draws a couple megawatts to launch, which has a significant effect on the grid. It will be open until midnight starting next Saturday. This could be considered a preview.

They already have..this is just a slice of cake at the end of the day for them However if the issue is on the parks end, and related to said ride that requires a large current to work..Hmm

Hmm..Power Outage. FOF opens same day, which has been plagued with unfortunate electrical issues Duke power states not on their end immediately Curious to see where this goes Three press releases in a few weeks, oh boy oh boy

It is like being on a giant swingset. Seriously, think of that gut-thrill from early swingsets, only extend the experience out to about a sustained 4-5 seconds of it. The lateral motion (spinning) is experienced mostly as a constant change of scenery (which is incredibly scenic!). It's a great, big producer of that "tickle" you might have experienced going down a hilly country back road. Fun, not scary.

You can barely tell it's spinning. The air time at the top of each swing is fun. maXair has more swings per cycle than Delirium. You'll be fine! Enjoy!

honestly, the scariest part for me is the ride up to the top, i don't know why though.

When I was a kid, I would take much better care of the toys I bought more than the ones I was given as hand-me-downs. I hope Cedar Fair has these same feelings with their big expensive toys. Ever the optimist I guess. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Finally got to ride Banshee on Friday, 6/20/14. Wow! Intense ride. Disorienting too. First ride was around 11:30 am and in 4-1 on blue train. Felt some jackhammering, which I didn't expect. Also, I ended the ride so disoriented; it was a little too much for me. Maybe it was because it was the first coaster I rode for the day? At this point I didn't think there was any way I would re-ride Banshee ever. Second ride was around 9:20 pm and in 7-1 on purple train. Much better ride than the first. Felt faster, smoother, and re-rideable at this point. After this ride, I wanted to go right back in line to re-ride, but the kids didn't. I was thinking purple train was giving everyone the rougher ride compared to blue or green. Not the case with me; at least on this day. Can't really pinpoint which part of the ride is my favorite; it's all equally good. I can't believe how fast the first drop is. It's almost like there's a launch at the top of the lift hill that propels the trains going down the hill. Anyway, Banshee is definitely one of those rides that I must hit on every visit now. Well done Kings Island.

And here I stand yet again as the only member of the Diamondback haters club. Having been to Kings Island, Cedar Point, Carowinds, Kennywood, Canada's Wonderland, Holiday World, Darien Lake, and many smaller parks, and not ever having had an opportunity to ride Son of Beast, Diamondback is definitely my LEAST favorite coaster so far that is over 200 feet tall. Though Millennium Force is not very far behind it. And no, I am legitimately not being a troll. Folks around here know me better than that. I realize that not many people will agree with my opinions, but hey, I probably don't agree with most of your opinions on Vortex, so it's all good. I am happy to see that at least as of right now, everybody who has voted in the poll appreciates our wonderful little Arrow Mine Train. If it isn't best-in-class, there aren't many above it.

Frozen is gonna attract a bigger crowd than hockey movies. I wanna see Back to the Future personally. :-) Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Are you doing just the zoo, or are you trying to squeeze in Zoombezi Bay, too? Hopefully it's just the zoo, because you can't come close to doing both parks in one day. Here's my advice.. Get there as close to opening as possible and head straight for Heart of Africa. The animals are incredibly active in the mornings and you want to be there before the crowds fill in. Pay the $3 to feed the giraffes... it's totally worth it. Really explore this region... there are wonderful details everywhere. Here, you'll see Lions, Cheetahs, Giraffe, Zebra, Vervet Monkeys, Camels, Warthogs, and all sorts of African Hoofstock. The vistas here are jawdropping. Bring your camera. After Heart of Africa, visit Polar Frontier and the other North America exhibits that create the route from Heart of Africa back to the rest of the zoo. At Polar Frontier, try to catch the polar bears underwater... the viewing tunnel is spectacular. The Kodiak bears next door, Brutus and Buckeye, are hams. You may want to spend some time watching them. The other main exhibit area on the east half of the zoo is AsiaQuest... again, don't miss this one. Pay special attention for Big Hank in the elephant area of AsiaQuest... he's said to be the largest elephant in any American zoo. Other animals here include Langurs, tufted deer, sun bears, Amur Tigers, Red Pandas, Pallas Cats, Markhors, Crested Cranes, Flying Fox, Water Monitor, and "Hanna", the daughter of Fluffy, who was the largest snake in North America before her death a few years back. Crossing over into the western half of the zoo (the 2 sides are separated by a tunnel that takes you under Riverside Drive) you'll first come into the Shores region: Manatee Coast, Discovery Reef, Flamingos, Alligators, and the Reptile House. The Manatees are a must see... beautiful exhibit. If aquariums aren't your thing, Discovery Reef is skipable, but it's still nice. The Reptile House has a huge collection of snakes... so be ware. After the Shores you come to The Congo Expedition. This whole region is a must do. You'll see leopards, mandrills, bonobos, warthogs, cobolus monkeys, Okapi, Bongos, and the famous Columbus Zoo gorillas. Spend a good amount of time inside the Gorilla building. There is an adorable baby boy in there currently. He's hilarious. Also, look for Colo: She's the oldest gorilla in captivity and was the first gorilla born in captivity. If it's not too crowded, spend some time playing with her. She loves to make faces, clap, and interact with you. After the Congo, you'll come to The Islands of Southeast Asia... The boat ride through this part has a dinosaur overlay now... not worth the upcharge unless there's a dino lover in your group. This area doesn't take too long to cover on foot; you'll see orangutans, siamangs, Komodo dragons, and Asian small clawed otters. Australia is next. You can walk through the Kangaroo Walkabout, which is a fenceless 'roo exhibit... you just walk right around them. It's cool. The Lorikeey aviary is nextdoor, you can buy nectar for $1 and feed them as you go thru. They're cute, and this is fun. The Koala exhibit is around the corner, these guys are cute as well. Don't expect them to do anything though. They just sleep. On your way out of Australia, walk through the Roadhouse. It's a nocturnal house with really unique animals. If you're an amusement park history buff (and why wouldn't you be?), ride the 1914 Mangles Illions carousel located across from the Congo. It's beautifully restored and gives a great ride. The food in the park is of good to decent quality and the prices are reasonable. Your best bets are the new restaurant in Heart of Africa and the food court in the Congo (Charley's Steakery. Donatos Pizza, a Mexican counter, a Grill counter, and a fresh salad counter.

Sometimes it takes everything I have to remind myself of the naiveté of youth...

Has anyone else noticed that the fire effects on Backlot Stunt Coaster have been removed? I used to always go on that ride after White Water Canyon and loved the heat of the fire in my face. I loved the ride a lot more when all the water and fire effects were there, including the exploding gas tanks and the splashdown ending. Does anyone have a guess as to why they have slowly removed all of these effects?

Simple, everyone (especially here in the U.S.A.) feels they are the only person on the planet and everything should be done to suit them.

I would love to live next to Kings Island.

It won't be the end of the story, does the news ever leave anything to just the press release 9 times out of 10, of course not. Right now news crews are probably having a blast, it's an easy story to cover and high publicity.Look at the lift hill Banshee issue, there's been f/u discussions and even a conversation with Mr Helbig as a result. ^Again, I agree, but they have the right to do so, can't take that away from them. It seems pathetic I know and I would agree. However, again, it's their right to do so. Least there's not a CEO's wife next door complaining and encases a ride in a box and adds a space theme.

As I often say, KI was there first. People who bought a house around the park knew it was there when purchasing their home; and have no room to complain about noise. Oh, but they think they do have a room to complain in. A court room.

This seems appropriate:

Mr. Ouimet's speech.

I agree with Thrill_Biscuit's assessment 100%. Ever since the time my sister trapped me on a merry-go-round and pushed me really fast, I can't take spinning anymore, it just makes me really nauseated. But, I love Delirium.

I'm not sure if it is because it spins or how high, like I said I love coasters, my park was always Cedar Point so I love Top Thrill Dragster and Millenium Force. Like I said, it's been quite a while since I've been to a park and have not really been on any of the coasters at KI. I'm not at all worried about Banshee, The Beast, Diamondback, etc. it's just this one ride and i'm thinking if I don't try it I may be really missing out on something that I would like, I know once there my fiance will talk me into going on it just wanted some other opinions. I have been on Power Tower at CP and the drop ride at Islands of Adventure so I'm assuming if I can do those I can do this one.

I did see that, it's ok though, we will be going back on the fourth of July and the day after our wedding, besides any other trips we decide to do, we both just really need to get out of here for a while.

In seconds: Click, two, three, four, five, six, DROP! Fast count: Click, ontwothreefourfivesixseven! EEP! DROP ALREADY! OMG I HATE THIS RI- (Drops)

From what I've heard from my mother, FearFest was much more frightening then Halloween Haunt. And yes, she still calls it FearFest. I'd love to know more information about Torture Tower.

I finally got to see the show and it was fantastic. As I'm sure Devan can attest to, I didn't want to look away (Yeah I saw you in my peripheral looking over to see my reaction). I can't imagine the training it takes to pull off the acts they perform. Not only that but literally dozens of times during the show their lives were on the line. There is little to no margin of error. The videos don't do the show justice. If you haven't seen it you need to go see it live. I'm going to make sure and see it several more times this summer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Screamscape's sources have included, for example, KIC and its users. More than once. One time, a rumor, unique to here, made it there, prefaced with "Insiders tell us..." Snort.

I love BLSC. I wish it had its effects back.

Not sure I can blame CF for this one as they did not own KI when the ride was built.Many of the effects on BLSC did not operate under the Paramount name nor did many effects on other "themed" rides. CF may have the reputation of letting the small things go, but I can give them a pass on the theming under the previous ownership. If Paramount built things on the cheap side, the cost of repairs may be too great.

Was there not a bump-a-tee-bump-bump thing when going down the steps - at one time? If so, what happened to that?

Compare opening Top Gun to today. Or Adventure Express...

My son was asking this on Wednesday why the water from the final hill was removed , and why the fire flare did not go off ?

Nice PTR. Glad you and your family had a good time. I also went on Friday, 6/20 and we had a great time as well. Crowds were light for sure. I saw several Fast Lane users that I bet wished would've saved their money. Wasn't hot at all really; cloudy most of the day. We took one spin on Congo Falls to cool off; that was really all we needed. When the rides went down to the incoming storm, we went to see Cirque Imagine. Great show and entertaining. Great use of the smallish sized stage.

I enjoy the front more as well. I really enjoy the back though.

Try the front. It's a totally different and in my opinion even more superb ride in the front.

I'm glad to hear you liked Paramount Parks. Terp, who just HAD to (and did, at several levels).

^ It kept breaking down apparently and had numerous issues with the track work. I'd also think the Shoot-The-Rapids incident may have been a slight factor as well. It was a fun ride though- I do wish it had worked because the concept alone was very cool. Which seems to be a common theme among most modern Intamins- they are very fun rides that are held back simply because they are often so complex, they break a lot or don't work as intended. Modern HUSS has a lot of the same problems with its giant flat ride line. And now other companies are offering similar coasters/rides that seem to work better, which is bad news for Intamin unless they can get their stuff together and fix their issues.

Well, Cedar Point did keep going back to Intamin under Kinzel, and then it seemed every single addition from them starting with and after Wicked Twister (WT, TTD, Maverick, and Shoot-The-Rapids) has given the park numerous headaches- especially Shoot-The-Rapids which has likely been the attraction that has killed Cedar Fair's interest in anything Intamin based. There were also the issues with Intimidator 305, where the ride was so forceful it was causing riders to black out and thus needed major modifications, and then outside Cedar Fair you have the issues with SkyRush (most reviews state the restraints are terrible), Kingda Ka (mostly the same problems TTD had), and now Falcon's Fury at Busch Gardens with the constant hydraulic breakdowns. If Holiday World has been paying ANY attention to the issues other parks have been having with modern Intamin rides- and they likely have- as well as their own experience with Giraffica/Plunge, they are probably going to go with a different company instead. Yes, Intamins do top enthusiast poll charts (though in recent years RMC has been coming VERY strong with their wood coaster conversions), but generally as long as a ride is good the GP doesn't care whatsoever who builds it. And there are other companies that do build similar rides to what Intamin offers- for example, Cheetah Hunt. SeaWorld also built 2 similar coasters at other parks- Verbolten @ Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Zierier) and and Manta @ Sea World San Diego (Mack). If Holiday World wants a Cheetah Hunt-like ride, they could go with either of those companies instead and likely not have as many issues. Intamin would likely have to offer Holiday World a HUGE (50% off or more) discount and then give them a nearly problem-free ride to get them back on their side by this point.

Two more notes: Don't miss the Animal Encounters Village and Stingray Bay... They're complete, hands on exhibits on the path between the Zoo proper and Zoombezi Bay. Also, you can ride the classic, John Miller designed Sea Dragon wooden coaster here, too.

I just look at the park as a whole, Kings Island, and enjoy everything it has to offer and not worry about what name a space has on the map

Perhaps you two could Face|Off.

No worries! Enjoy your trip. We're actually going to be over at Zoombezi Bay for most of the afternoon... getting our mileage out of these season passes. Let us know how your trip goes!