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July 4 Well not only are we crazy to do a trip like this, but there was a hurricane in the forecast. Thankfully it only rained at one park which was our first stop. Dorney We arrived about the time the park opened. It was rainy and actually chilly for a summer day. However, due to the rain virtually everything was walk on or a train wait. Talon was our first ride. It's a decent coaster that is pretty smooth. Next was a top spin called Hangtime. Hangtime was fun and better than the one we broke at Worlds of Fun (it shut down after our ride). I love top spins. Next was Hydra. Hydra is my very first floorless coaster. While I did not like the roll at the beginning, it's a good ride (just my least favorite floorless). Next was Thunderhawk. It's the oldest wooden coaster I have ridden. It was built in the mid 1920's. Very rough coaster, but enjoyable. Steel Force. What an awesome ride. I want to go back and ride on a sunny day. It was raining pretty hard when we were on it making it feel like a million little daggers were hitting our faces. The Whip does exactly what the name says, it whips you around. It's an old school flat. Possessed is a lot like Wicked Twister at Cedar Point, but has one end that is straight. I liked this one. I wish they offered steps up though for short people on rides like this because it's quite the work out jumping up to the seat. Meteor was an awesome flat. I think Dee has pics of it in motion. Wild Mouse is good, but so many seem similar. I strongly prefer the ones that spin. I love the paint job on the trains. More to come soon! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am a soon to be grad at the International College of Broadcasting in Dayton. One of the projects I had to do in my final semester video class was a news story. So I did mine on Banshee. I shot the footage, recorded the voice over and did the editing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypy_mvBXvv0

I vote renaming First Aid with his name. It's where people with cramps go when they're down for the count, quite fitting.

The Choke Coaster?

Get together a group of folks who know (or at least think they know) a whole lot about a specific topic and you'll get a lot of head-butting, one-upping, and competing viewpoints. It happens everywhere. I'm not really sure why things feel smoother here, but I think it's because it's a community where a lot of posters have been around for a long time and know each other in person, which is really cool! When a new visitor arrives and goes against the grain, I know a few of us who are quick to message them and give them advice for how to relax. I've apparently been a member here for nine years (time flies) so I started at 14. I grew up here! Lots of us have. It's a different place. But, Kings Island is a different park! *insert dreamy Americana music*

Blue Streak not a major coaster? What? Not many great Allen's are in as great condition as Blue Streak. Amazed with your views, normally I agree with you on all points, this however, very striking

Mean Streak? How....appropriate.

The "the" thing for any ride is something unique to here, as far as actually having concern over it. Like I pointed out in another thread, the new ride is named "Banshee" but some of the merch in its gift shop says, "Keep Calm and ride The Banshee." This is a thing that only enthusiasts get upset about.

From when I was working at KI... A child is misbehaving, in a non-threatening and non-harmful way, and the parent points to me and says, "See that cop right there? He is going to arrest you if you don't stop." Suppose that same child becomes lost at Kings Island and needs help finding their parents. Think they may be afraid to approach me for help if they are afraid of me arresting them for misbehaving?

You'll find this is a very intelligent, well-moderated site filled with bright, well-spoken people who have a way of bringing even the rudest visitors around to the KIC way of friendly conversation! ~It's like magic! ~

People that park on the painted walkway in the handicapped section of the parking lot. Essentially forcing people to have to walk down the middle of the road. Basketballs. People that jump the little black fence by the entrance to Vortex and then look at you dumbfounded when you call them out on it. Final Destination references. Movie is an afterthought now. No one cares. This last one goes for any public place. I do not want to have a conversation with you while I'm in the restroom. Seriously.

Uh oh did he just say that?

If The Beast is too rough and Banshee is too intense, I think the problem is a lack of round objects between two limbs.

Congrats thekidd33 on your nuptials, and harmony29 on your upcoming nuptials. When I first started on these boards (only a couple months ago), I was quite surprised when some of the regulars posted pictures of themselves and I discovered how young they were. The kids of KIC conduct themselves quite maturely. Usually the adults do as well This is one of only two online communities I've ever felt this impressed with. It is a combination of the social influence of regulars' posting style, board rules, and efficient moderation that keep everything moving smoothly most of the time.

Congrats on the wedding! I just got married this past weekend myself so I know it can be a stressful time. I have found KIC to be the most respectful board by far among those I frequent. It feels much more like a community than just a random group of people.

Eww. No thanks.

I saw your posts on Pointbuzz. At times they can seem a bit rowdy trust me, however they are mainly nice people. There are a few bad eggs, but they are here as well. Will I say they were out of line on Pointbuzz, no, were they direct, yes. Do I see where you could get that perception, oh of course I do, I've been in your shoes myself. The crowd there honestly will be mainly pleasant, however again, there can be bad eggs. Theres always that one guest thats just angry to be angry and you can't do anything to make happy. It happens for some odd reason. Go up there and enjoy the park, you will have a blast I promise. Ride everything you can and make your own opinions!

Didn't get out of a long-day of work until almost 7:00pm and my wife had a girl's night out. I have only been to KI twice so far, early in the season, so thought I'd get in a ride or two tonight. First year I've had a pass in about 10. Pull into the lot about 7:25, lot didn't look bad at all. Find an open spot in 54, where someone had just left. Walk-in and head straight to Banshee. When I walk to the station, I shockingly see I only have to wait for one car. Fantastic ride! Rode it 4 more times, walk-on each time. On one of the hills, I saw a train on Firehawk in the background. I'd never ridden Firehawk before, the lines were just too long the previous times. This was a legitimate front-row walkon. Great ride, rode it twice (both legit front row walk-ins). The first time, bit too nervous about losing my cell-phone from my pocket. The second-time,much better. There is something about laying on your back, climbing the hill, seeing nothing but the blue-sky above. Great ride. Next, I decide to ride Flight of Fear. Hadn't ridden it for years since it was Outer Limits themed. And (first world problems) it had about a 20-minute wait. An OK ride, but I was disappointed with the lack of theming of the ride itself. Just riding in a big building. Glad I did it, but may not ride it again unless they change it. Just kind of boring, no character. It's getting late 9:15ish, so I decide to get some food. I signed-up for the yearly food plan, and know Skyline.Coney is part of it. They were closed. Grrr. I decided to grab a burger to-go at the Diner near Vortex. They were also closed. Double-grr. I then try the Larosas by Beast. They have a number of plates made-up, of the 2 slices+bread sticks. I grab a plate, have my card scanned. In and out in 2 minutes. I decided to eat the pizza in The Beast line. This again was a walk-on. They only time that a walk-on isn't a good thing, because I'm eating pizza. :-) I decided to wait in the first-row line and let a few people ahead of me. I throw away the crust and ride The Beast. It so takes me back to the first time I rode it, 25 years ago. Perfect ride. Front row, getting dark, fireflys out, fast and cool, just fun. This sounds weird, but Beast in the front row, at night, was smoother than I ever remember and oh-so fast. 9:45, so decided to end the night on Diamondback. Head over, and again, very little line. Decided to wait a train or two and get the front row. Fireworks start right before I board, the grand-finale is halfway up the hill. This is the one-time I wish I had a camera on a ride. I'm at the top of the Diamondback hill, Racer on the left, WindSeeker at the top in full red-white-blue on the right, and the fireworks in the center. Just a perfect view. Americana on a random Tuesday night. Leaving Rivertown around 10:10, and take the exit by Eiffel Tower. Nearing the tower, I hear a loud-band playing "Happy". I laugh, cheesy but fun. The band (5 singers plus 7 instruments) were working hard. I've heard more raw talent before, but these kids were working so hard so I watch the last 15 or 20 minutes of their set. Great stage presence and interacted perfectly with the crowd. Talked to and hi-fived the kids after their set. Just fun, and a perfect end to a quick 3-hour night at KI. Yes, I know I paid for the Season-Pass and the Food pass, but the marginal cost of tonight, 3-hours of awesomeness after a long-day of work, along with 2 slices of pizza, was $0.

As you all know we went on a whirlwind tour of 5 parks over the July 4th weekend. Several KICers took part. UnrealNightmare (Zach), NoChickens (Rick), MrsNoChickens (Dee), Andrew (Andrew on here I believe), Beastie1980 (Melissa), Princess Sparkles (Katie) and myself. This trip was originally planned for August, but Katie would have missed two days of school to go. We were told by many people we were crazy to plan a trip on a holiday weekend like this. While I cannot deny that we might be a little (a lot) crazy, we experienced minimal crowds for the most part and had a great time. I want to say a very special thank you to Zach. He's pretty much my partner in crime. He comes up with ideas and I say ok. Thank you for planning this trip. I was having a very difficult time and you've gone out of your way to help make this trip stress free for me. I needed that. Dee and Rick - I am so happy you all went with us. Thank you for allowing the girls to ride with you some for more leg room for us. Dee you're a great friend who gives the best hugs when you need them - I don't care what others say about hugs. Andrew - thank you for tolerating the craziness of our group. I know we are a handful and loud at times. Thank you for letting us take your car, too. Melissa and Katie - I love you two. Thank you both for having great attitudes during this trip as the three of us pursued our 100 coasters. Melanie - thanks for being an amazing friend and for trusting us with your most valued treasure. (Melissa's mom, momofbeastie1980). The only thing that could have made this trip more perfect is if you could have gone with us. The girls really did not know where we were going except Katie overheard me talk about our final stop. The parks included Dorney, Six Flags Great Adventure, Six Gags America (oops Six Flags America), Kings Dominion and Carowinds with an additional trip to Hendricks Motorsports Museum. This will take a couple of days to compile due to work and Katie's birthday tomorrow, but I will try to break it down so it doesn't get too boring. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I wasn't sure where to post this, but I had to get this off my chest. I've been a coaster/amusement park fan since I was in my teens, but I rarely ever posted on forums until this year, always read them and lurked but that was the extent of it. This year with being so close to Kings Island I have gotten more active and wanting to ask questions, etc. Everyone on here has always been super nice and respectful and it's so refreshing. This past week I posted a few questions/comments on another theme park site (I won't say which one) and I swear every single item I commented on or asked a question, I felt like I was being attacked and being spoken to really rudely and all just because I asked what the dog kennels were like or my feelings on platinum passes. I thought these were supposed to be fun boards and I was really surprised. Now it has me wondering when I go to this other park at the end of the month, are the crowds going to be not as nice either or is this just an isolated thing where some people thing their head is bigger than it really is?

Drive up to a Six Flags park. See the parking price. THAT should do it.

One can have one of those and be very much alive...or so I'm told. Oh, sure.

Can we give him a tombstone in Banshee's queue

TTD could be fitting. It does seem to quit, stop working, and cop out from time to time. However, it still thinks it's the best coaster in the park

I wasn't aware that coaster is in a theme park.

Absolutely, and will stand by that statement any day. I've been to 4 Cedar Fair parks, and frankly, the one in Sandusky is my least favorite. I really don't See Der Point of all the hype.

Cream filled or jelly? Terp, cross threading.

We want theming, and when we get theming, we crab about it. Some customers skip Haunt years if the mazes are the same, fresh mazes bring in people, even if it's pass holders, we buy food, souvenirs etc.. If it is a Haunt, then it'll thin the line for other Haunts, people's memories will be more positive than if they spend half the night waiting in line, and they'll return for more Haunt. I didn't even go through the two new Haunts, the lines were too long. This event brings in the dough, look at the crowds, and what they are carrying. You can't walk two feet without seen a teenager swamped with glow in the dark trinkets. Besides, it'll be used for park purposes during the year, like storing game prizes. The basketball hoop stand has some big items that can't be left out overnight. Speaking of prizes and theming, how about some gators and voodoo prizes for the games, to keep the Rivertown vibe? One game had donuts as prizes. Who wants a stuffed donut?

Links: CP's Twitter: https://twitter.com/cedarpoint/status/486935489224527872 KI's Twitter: https://twitter.com/kingsislandpr/status/486960604503371776 News article: http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20140709/FREE/140709803/cedar-point-to-rename-one-of-its-coasters-after-lebron-james-if-he My response: Stay away, Peasant James. jcgoble, running for the exit

It's weird, too, because I had no problems with Diamondback earlier in the season. But lately, the person assigning seats, more often than not, seems to purposefully put singles in odd rows (so strangers get to sit right up on each other when you would think pairs riding together would prefer to a lot more), blocks people from entering and choosing their own rows then screws around and waits to finally start asking group sizes and assigning rows when the gates are open to load the next train (leaving some rows empty because everyone can't get sorted in time), or does other similar shenanigans that can't be explained by difficulty of the job itself. I don't know what is going on in the current atmosphere of ride ops on Diamondback, but it is making me less and less willing to wait to ride it (especially when I can go to Banshee instead, and see what happens when a crew really has it together). I don't want to wait for a half hour or more to ride (with the wait increased due to inexplicably unfilled seats) when I know I'm going to end up at the inflexible (and also inexplicable) whims of an amateurish despot. So, I only ride it now if it looks to me to be a likely 15-minute or so wait, so I'm not as disappointed when I get an undesirable seating assignment. Because of the weird unprofessional and inefficient turn the operations have taken, it's very rare to have that short of a wait, too.

This is the exact reason why this situation is actually not a pet peeve of mine, like, AT ALL. Most likely, you'll get on the ride at the exact same time as them moving up right away...(unless they're next in line to move into the station)

There are a couple people here who do need to be rein in a bit at times (past and present).... but it does happen everywhere. I do prefer this one to most others though, in general people are a bit nicer.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/events/things-to-do/events-and-promotions/Soak-City-Surf-Tournament

Today they had another new giant ring girl. She looked a lot like the girl from HAND2HAND. In fact, I thought it was her into she was in the next segment in a different costume. I think they're related. The new girl is pretty darn amazing with the ring. She doesn't have the speed of the other girl, or that inhuman limberness but she has some moves that are really neat. Let's just say she uses her tiny stature greatly to her advantage. But hey - that's Cirque for you... Every show is different. Gotta see it every visit!

If Mr. Hart did not go back and edit the past to comport with the present, I'd agree with you totally. But, he does. If Screamscape were not a for profit operation that includes ads that have on many occasions included malware, I'd agree with you. But it is and it has. If Screamscape weren't a shill for certain parks...but it is. (Hi, Santa).

I have myself heard the rumor of Mantis getting a conversion, however like before I doubt it will happen. It's in the same boat as The Bat/Flight Deck removal rumor that circulated here for years. There are many many problems that come with the conversion. The whole station will need a redesign to feature the floorless features, restraint releases, etc. Some things would carry over I'm sure such as the prox system would probably not have any issues, nor the lift hill. However the MCBR will probaby need adjustment, along with the final brake run as the trains are probably lighter I'd imagine and would be affected by the braking needed for a stand up train. Then lastly you have a whole PLC revamp for all the new systems in place, new controls need implimented, and a full retraining of the ride as no returners will have knowledge, and full timers will need it as well considering it will basically be a new ride. Lastly look at the idea. Lets take an old ride that has been standing & gets ridden still to this day and has recieved significant ROI at least IMO, but lets spend alot of money on a retrofit that honestly no enthusiast knows will work. Especially the high tolerances and laterals that B&M stand ups are designed with. Could it happen, of course, but do I see it happening, not at all. Honestly looking, putting new trains on a ride and calling it new doesn't seem very Cedar Fair-ish. It seems more of a Six Flags kind of thing to do. Just my two cents

They tweeted again this morning that the millionth Banshee ride will happen this week. Maybe people are all trying to be the one. I sure would be if I were there, and believe me, being there is something I've been thinking a lot about doing because of the millionth rider thing. Still sore from Monday, tho.

The sad part is, I still saw empty rows going off even with the op assigning seats. Row 16 went off empty in my train. The next few groups of riders were groups of 4+, and by the time he found a pair, we were being strapped in and he didn't want to slow things down by moving them through. Kind of defeats the purpose, I would think. Due to the empty park yesterday, my friends and I attempted to have a Diamondback marathon in the afternoon. Even though the train was running mostly empty, the ride op was still assigning seats. The second time we rode we were placed in rows 3 and 4, the same as the first ride. We asked if we could switch rows and were told to "sit in our assigned seats" by the monotone op. We followed his directions and figured we could just get a different seat the next time for a different experience. We went directly back in line (only two, half-empty) trains had dispatched as we walked around. The same ride op told us the exact same thing when he placed us in rows 3 and 4 once again and would not listen to our request to sit somewhere else, citing "policy". (All three times we were the next in line after the first seat riders, so the rest of the train was empty when he assigned seats). We were not happy campers and left to go back to Banshee, and every other ride, where they were not assigning seats. I did not understand the importance of speed or assigned seats when mostly everyone getting on the ride in the afternoon was riding continuously, as we tried to do. Not even Firehawk assigned seats when we rode twice earlier in the day. It was great day but the inability to get a different seat on Diamondback was my tiny pet peeve for the day.

I've only napped on the Eiffel Tower once. It was a dead day, and my sister and I were the only ones up there besides the employees. We just sat down and leaned against the side that didn't have opening elevator doors. Nothing was said to us about not sitting, as I woke up an hour later.

I can understand the purpose of power hours. But please do not make them so obvious. The Diamondback crew on Monday was telling the crowd, "We'll have you out of the station in 45 seconds" when a train arrived in the station. Personally, that's not something that makes me comfortable or happy to hear.

And you don't "need" them even then. A count is only as accurate as each of its inaccuracies netted. In matters like these, the park's decision as to what the count is is typically all that matters. "Decisions of the judges are final."

Try explaining that to the regular editors who maintain most of the amusement park–related articles on Wikipedia. jcgoble3, who's been there, done that, and doesn't want to fight that dragon again

Heck I think 2-3 years ago I was chastised for saying the in front of many of our coasters Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I really don't get why so many of you feel the need to hate on Screamscape. That "crack staff" you refer to is a single guy (Lance Hart) who just like you works a day job. Mr. Hart then takes hours out of his time each week to sift through e-mails and amusement news sites that stretch all around Earth. He does this in order to compile it all in one easy to see place for thousands of enthusiasts to read each day without having to go and look for it all themselves. Mr. Hart also has a family of his own to take care of and, if you would actually pay more attention before hating on him, you would notice that he stays up quite late each night in order to go through all those e-mails and sites. Do you really expect him to notice a building application from Kings Island to Mason? He operates for parks all over the globe. This application was noticed by the major local newspaper who likely looks for new permits on a weekly basis (of course, only for the region, not the whole world). So, why don't you just stop hating on Mr. Hart and give his some well-deserved respect. Also, do please note that this post is directed towards many people in general. The quoted post from Terpy (who usually makes fantastic posts with great insight) is just the one that finally set me off.

^^Thank you for calling me 13 and not 10 or something . And thanks for the report too!

Just part of one, actually.

It gave one very thrilling ride last year!

There are legal issues with reproducing blueprints. Terp, who is not engaged in the private practice of law in Ohio, the District of Columbia or any United State. There is no legal advice meant for any particular client contained herein. Contact a competent attorney in your jurisdiction if you have, or think you may have, a legal problem. This is a disclaimer.

From the bayous of Ohiou. Of course.

Mr. Kinzel teased Shoot the Rapids as appealing to thrill seekers. Terp, like Rock and Roll, Never Forgets.