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Part 1 of 2: With my last day of school being Thursday (5/28), my dad and I decided to kick off summer vacation together by going to Kings Island the following morning. I knew it was one of the Education Days with school groups, but crowds were relatively light (although they increased as morning turned into afternoon). Even though it was the normal 4 hour length, I only took 74 pictures (my camera's battery was only about 60% charged, so I didn't want to use it too much before the end of this trip). I rode 9 different rides (2 of which were more than once) and had lunch at Hank's Burrito Shack for the very first time! Well, enough introduction. Let us begin! Dad and I arrived at the park right when ERT started. It was about 9:34 when we walked in the gate and through the Gold/Platinum Pass entrance. I decided to make Diamondback my first ride of 2015, so we headed there. There was a little line which moved very quickly. I waited about 5 minutes before my turn came to sit in Row 14 on the Red Train. Needless to say, I missed flying down a 215-foot drop at 80 mph! It was a great way to start the visit. I only did one ride on Diamondback; it was 9:55, the line had doubled in length, and I wanted to be at rope drop to get to a certain favorite once the rest of the park opened. I noticed they didn't do the countdown thing at 10:00 like last year, nor did they sing the national anthem (I assume it was sung when the park opened for ERT?). All that happened at 10:00 was the guard moving back the rope. And just like that, the whole park was open for my first visit of the year! Just like any other rope drop, a number of people (about half the group) started running. But I decided to obey the rules and walk. Some of the time I speed-walked, but I was not in a big hurry so I just walked normally. It was a good thing, too. A Diamondback train was ascending the lift hill at the same time. If I had run, I would've missed the opportunity to beautifully capture its plunge down the first drop: And, of course, an overall shot of the splashdown pool and the Eiffel Tower: My relaxing post-park-opening walk concluded just inside Coney Mall, where for the first time in nearly 7 months, I was once again face-to-face with my special favorite ride... ..which my entire 6-minute journey from Diamondback to Vortex was only done by walking. The first train was already being sent out when I entered the queue, but the only riders on that train were two employees who were test-riding. I happened to be the first guest to ride Vortex that day! When I entered the station, Train #2 was waiting for me and any other prospective rider to show up. The gates were closed but were opened, accompanied by the ever-present "Gates are opening; please stand back" as I approached. I stepped into 1-1 as the gates were closed. No one else had come, which meant I had the WHOLE TRAIN TO MYSELF for my first ride of the year on Vortex! The ride was just as I had remembered, complete with smelling the chain grease on the lift hill, the hang time in the corkscrews, and the overall familiar intensity of the inversions. The one change I noticed was that the pine trees by the first half of the batwing had been removed, now offering any rider a clear, unobstructed view of the rather large element! For me, it was my first time having a clear view of the batwing. I always underestimate its grand size. Just to make sure the reride policy was still the same, I asked one of the attendants when I returned to the station after joyfully responding to "Welcome back, Vortex rider; how was your ride?" She said that I was allowed to reride as long as I changed seats (just like last year), so that meant it was the same. I walked back and hopped into 7-1, remembering my post in the "Best seat on a coaster?" thread about forgetting what 7-1 was like. The familiarity of the intense and airtime-filled ride in that row came back, and now I no longer forget! (Take that, offseason!) I went back to 1-1 for the third ride. Once again, I had the whole train to myself as no one had shown up in time to catch my train! In past trips it was already a challenge to get only ONE ride like that, but TWO??? IN ONE MORNING?!??!?? I had never done such a thing until that very moment. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised at that occurrence. While descending the first drop, a nearly full Beast train was making its way around the first turn. I imagined their reaction to looking up at a Vortex train speeding down the drop carrying only one rider above their heads! Once again, I was greeted with "Welcome back, Vortex rider; how was your ride?" as Train #2 carried me back into the station which now had about 5 other people waiting. I wondered if they were thinking something like, "Hey, there's only one rider on that train!" With people waiting for the front, I headed back to the back - to 6-1 this time to add a little variety. It was followed by another fun ride. I decided to finish my little marathon with another intense ride in 7-1 before going to some other rides. I went to WindSeeker. It was open, but with the 15-20 mph winds, at least 32 riders were needed to safely send it up, according to one attendant. She mentioned that if it was more calm, then sending it up with only 1-2 riders would be fine; if there was a little more wind (like at the moment), more riders would be needed to keep it balanced. I fully understood, as I knew that if the ride operated when unbalanced on a breezy day, it would put too much stress on the mechanism and on the tower, which would in turn shorten its life span. After my nice conversation with the WindSeeker attendant, I headed to the newly renovated Shake, Rattle & Roll to take it for a spin. I found it funny that I took pictures while in the queue for Shake, Rattle & Roll but not of the ride itself. Strange. I rode in Car 7, which happened to be on the arm that started spinning first. It was great to ride it again after not doing so for a year! While heading down the midway I noticed the Zephyr attendant playing games with the riders, so I decided to ride Zephyr next. Like with Shake, Rattle & Roll, I didn't get any pictures of Zephyr either. One thing I did notice, though, is that Zephyr now has green seats along with the red, yellow, and blue seats (or at least it was the first time I noticed them). While I was riding, the attendant played Simon Says with us (like on April 27, 2013!). One of the things "Simon" told us to do was to scream as loud as we could. We did, and then she commented "Wow! You all screamed as loud as Banshee!" After that fun ride, I headed to X-Base to check the lines for Firehawk and Flight of Fear. Flight of Fear's line was already outside the building (probably because it was warming up fast) but Firehawk's line only filled half a switchback. I joined the line to see that they were testing the yellow train, which slowed things down a little. But things got back up to speed not long later. I waited about 10 minutes before being assigned to Row 5 on the yellow train. Meanwhile, I started using the new in-park wifi and checked the Kings Island app. The listed wait times helped me some bit on deciding which rides to go for today. I absolutely loved getting to fly again. I had not ridden Firehawk in over a year either! I headed back to the midway and rode Dodgems and Scrambler. They were each a cycle wait (about 5 minutes) and they were each fun, although I didn't know if it was just me or the cycles seemed a bit shorter. Hopefully it was just me. I wanted to ride Racer, but I opted for Adventure Express instead since my longing to ride it was stronger (sorry, Racer ). The app said the wait would be 15 minutes, which was pretty accurate since I waited almost that long to get in the back row of Train #2. The back was just as fun as I remembered it - especially during the second half of the ride! It was really flying, and I loved every second of it. After this ride, I decided to wait until after lunch to ride again. It was about 12:30 - having not eaten or drunk anything since 8:30 (other than a cup of water) I was beginning to feel a little tired/"fuzzy" discomfort around my eyes. It was really uncomfortable, but thankfully it didn't stop me from ordering and eating a taco salad along with a 20-ounce cup of cherry vanilla Coke at Hank's Burrito Shack. I'm glad I could at least eat even with the discomfort I was feeling, since I knew it was what I needed to feel better. Sure enough, I was starting to feel better when I was eating my last bite of my first meal at Hank's! The taco salad was really good; I had beef, sour cream, lettuce, diced tomato and cheese in it, as shown: Once I was back to normal (or at least very close to it), I returned to Adventure Express for another ride. This time, I rode on Train #3 in the first row of the last car for another fun, wild ride through the woods! End of Part 1 I will have Part 2 finished within the next 48 hours. Meanwhile, enjoy reading!

Which leads to the point: we want it to last for a long time. You seem to be saying that we should just ignore everything they do and simply enjoy the park. The problem is that given the way the park is currently operated, and the manner in which it is currently financed, there is a very high likelihood that it will not last beyond this season. We are pointing out what they're doing wrong, because we want them to correct these issues, so that the park can survive and thrive and so that we can enjoy it for many years to come. I truly do not think that ANYBODY here wants the park to fail. On the contrary, an open Kentucky Kingdom not only provides additional competition for Kings Island, which would lead to more and better improvements at KI, but it also provides a second major park close enough to Southwest Ohio that we can reasonably visit for the entire operating day as a day trip from Cincy or Dayton (CP and HW can theoretically be done as day trips, but only by either lengthening the day and risking potential drowsy driving, or by arriving late and/or leaving early). And I think that proximity to so many users here is part of why this site sees so much discussion and analysis of everything they do that isn't found on other sites: because we (by which I mean the overall KIC user base) have much more direct interest in the outcome. No other coaster site out there has such a large proportion of users within such a short distance of KK; thus they don't pay nearly as much attention to KK in the first place (seeing it more as a quick stop on a roller coaster vacation than as a place to visit frequently like a second home park), leading to not seeing the many issues that it has underneath the surface. I think if there was a Holiday World fansite similar to KIC, they too would be discussing KK the same way we are, being that HW is even closer to KK than KI is. As no such site exists, it falls to us to point out the problems.

Because no other site cares to look beyond the rides. They only care about being able to go and getting on Lightning Run. They couldn't care less about the other aspects of why KK exists, like a government entity running an amusement park by borrowing money from the bank using taxpayer owned land as collateral or how out of touch Ed Hart is. Why did KY dump all this money for KK when there is a myriad of other better things they could have done with that money? Its stupid and something I won't support. And what does the park have to show for it? Bad PR, weekly ride inspections, bad attendance figures, rides that take more than 2 years to reopen and still miss their opening date, and a park that relies on politics to operate.

Parents, those who raise a child day in, day out, know exactly how their child acts when truly scared or when they are simply acting. It is not only insulting but incredibly disrespecting to attempt to create drama when, from the outside looking in, looks bad from YOUR opinion, yet still refuse to listen to real everyday parents. And that in a nutshell is exactly what is wrong with many kids today. They are coddled and allowed to act out because they don't like something, mom/dad allow kids to make excuses to NOT do something. This then gives the child a sense of entitlement. After that ball is rolling it is very difficult to stop. As another member mentioned earlier- a child literally jumped from the moving train. Now what on God's green Earth would make that child believe that was safe or acceptable? A prime example of kids who act like this can be found here at KIC. Look up the threads about: smoking, line jumping, stealing, and just all-around inappropriate behavior. These kids breaking simple rules have that sense of entitlement have do not think twice about it. While this is an enthusiast site about a fun place that most of us enjoy leaving reality at the main gate, simple life long lessons can be achieved when strapping your child to a ride. Do yourself a favor, listen to ALL those with kids. Picking and choosing what to listen to only creates unnecessary drama and is not a true way to form an educated opinion.

Hey guys! Long time no see. So a couple friends and I are in the early planning stages for a trip to Cedar Point this July. The trip depends on a few different factors, and we need help deciding on what to do. 1. Will we need two days to cover all the "big" coasters, or does this depend on what time of the week we go? 2. If we do need to spend two days at the park, is there a good hotel that is relatively cheap? We would more than likely split the cost of the room(s) between all 7 of us. 3. Where can we find the cheapest tickets? Does CP offer 2 day passes? Thanks in advance!

I look forward to reading about it. We will be there Saturday.

Whoa! Whoever said "force"? "Pushing" is one thing, "forcing" is unacceptable. Please do not confuse the two. It would be a shame for some to get the wrong idea and attempt to stir up drama when it never existed from the beginning. Thank-you for your cooperation in this matter!

Welcome back! 1. That depends on crowds, weather/maintenance, your strategy of touring the park, and whether you buy Fast Lane. It's usually possible to get to all the major roller coasters on a weekday, especially if you arrange your day to avoid peak ride lines. (eg. don't get in line for Raptor in the morning.) A two-day trip would give you more time to relax, get re-rides, see shows, and avoid feeling rushed. You could also avoid the late-night driving that a single day open-to-close trip from Cincinnati would entail. 2. There's a decent selection of inexpensive hotel rooms in the area. Some properties are best avoided. Most of my trips to Sandusky are day trips, so I'll let others give suggestions. 3. If some of you have season passes, each passholder can bring one friend per day for ~$40. Meijer sells discount tickets; single day tickets in Columbus stores are ~$50 (or ~$52 with unlimited soft drinks). Two-day discount tickets are ~$85 if I recall correctly.

How much fun is the Delirium? Depends on what you enjoy. How comfortable and tight are the restraints? The restraints can be a little heavy sometimes, putting pressure on the abdomen and may discomfort a male's reproductive parts How much will my body move in the restraints while the ride is in motion? Not much in my experience Do all the seats give the same ride experience? Yes Would you want to ride this ride again and again? Me personally no, but I know people who do. How long are the lines for this ride? How long is any line at any moment? No one knows what it will be like at the time of your visit.

Hey you're more than welcome to do that. I hope you also enjoy those parks. I had no plans on doing Kenufky Kingdom this year, only reason I am making it there is to make sure I get a chance on Lightning Run in case the park does fail. Look I don't have blinders on and just happily going about everything while there needs to be improvement, but I'm also not going to sit back and relentlessly bash the place. I've read a lot of good reports and not just by fanboys, I've also seen bad reports like what happened with terp. Balance is nice, but there really doesn't seem to be any on this site when it comes to the park. Anyway I'm kind of dreading that T3 will open the day we are there. I was hoping to avoid crowds and that won't help one bit. Oo well I should be able to get Lightning run in within 3 hours.

Is it done on purpose or is it for reasons such as licensing? Do you have inside info? Nothing but music gets buried when you add more songs into the mix. Daily guests who don't know what to expect from the playlist would not complain that they didn't hear (insert a particular song here). Who claimed the music was bad? I personally mentioned that I personally find a lot of it uninteresting. Some annoying. "Bad" is vague here. People have varied tastes; I like some songs that most people don't and vice versa. Fortunately, I haven't come across anything obscene. That said, if the music was targeted at the majority of the guest population, one might expect more mainstream music. If the ads are carefully chosen, in my opinion, they're doing it way wrong. GameFly in particular is a huge contrast from the chain's previous message of getting people to put down the controller and come enjoy the park. Now that you're in the park, they're telling you to go back to that couch and pick the controller back up. FunTV can be used to get guests to put away smartphones and engage more in the crowd atmosphere of the queue. Some of the park trivia already does this; guests who don't even know each other discuss the questions. The sports/news section doesn't really do that. You can get all that.. on your phone. Maybe mix in less of that and more of things like Cash Coaster. That gets guests paying more attention to the content and less to their phones. It's only the second year of FunTV and one team at KI has a lot of parks to build out. By no means is the current content set perfect. It's alright for what it is, but I'm sure even the team knows that there is a lot they can do to improve, given the time.

Yeah, I want the park to get out of the government's hands ASAP and be successful, but they've done little to show that'll happen. And until evidence of that happens, I will be enjoying myself at many other parks.

Makr you are using a stretched version of what I said to make your counter point. A physical limitation is different than a mental. Also my comment about forcing kids to do things is not limited to only coasters. Children do not have the capability to make decisions based on what's good for them till they hit the age of reasoning (12-14 years of age). Before that age a child reacts to events and objects that stimulate pleasure or dopamine. So when given the option kids will choose the easiest way to release dopamine. As adults we have to do our best to expose children to as many new experiences as possible. If we don't expose children they run the risk of the following: limited world knowledge, limited vocabulary, limited real world experiences, limited problem solving, etc. Do coasters or not riding coasters in of itself determine the trajectory of a child? No. But if you don't push children outside of their comfort zone then yes it will. Also congrats to your nephew. It appears that his family has helped push him in other directions.

Uh... jcgoble3, backing slowly away from the thread

SlingShot, as the name of a Kings Island attraction, is always capitalized here. It's nearly as much fun as a midwinter nap, interrupted by a leaky roof. To me. Almost. Your experience may vary. Ride it and see.

Park rules require all guests to wear a shirt, unless in Soak City. That the ride ops did not attempt to enforce this may speak to their incompetence, or maybe they just feel that the potential argument and/or fight with a tough-looking shirtless guy is above their pay grade (i.e. "I don't get paid enough for this crap"). See also another thread in this section regarding rule enforcement or lack thereof, which has generated some arguments...

With the same policies. Many employers terminate any employee that discloses what they make.

That is the kind of information that employees are not allowed to give out. I happen to know the wages because that was my job, but i can assure you there are relatively few of us who know, and no one who would tell. The only way to find out would be to interview and get the job, really. As for Kamans, no clue- they are their own company.

We're still in the park. I'll post more when I get home tonight. Sent from my LG G3 using Tapatalk

We stopped by Kentucky Kingdom on the way back from Holiday World. The entire time, the only Kentucky Kingdom billboard I saw was just east of the Santa Claus exit. Meanwhile, there's a Holiday World billboard right outside the entrance to Kentucky Kingdom... Sent from my LG G3 using Tapatalk

Telling my Daughter that she will be OK and I will give her ten bucks to take a ride, is far from forcing her. Sometimes I went home with a lighter wallet, sometimes she wouldn't take the bait. She is learning the rides are nothing to fear and having a good time. Obviously and really goes without saying but if she actually got ill on rides she would no longer be asked to ride. As a child I needed no bribing, forcing etc. The first Coaster I ever saw I immediately wanted to ride.

If I had waited until I wasn't scared, I don't know that I would have ever rode a coaster as a child, heck maybe not even now. I think it all goes back to knowing your children, their likes and dislikes, how far they can be pushed, what they are truly scared of, etc. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Your Woodstock jokes are for the birds, Charlie.

Well, I missed the Gliders, but Crosby, Stills & Nash really had a groovy set! Oh, wait... (I'm full of Woodstock jokes). Seriously, though, it's good to just to glide along, gently turning into and out of the breeze.

I'd even go so far as to say the person paying rapt attention to the programming for more than a few moments at a time is not the target market. Consider media outlets that play the same ad twice in succession. It's not usually a mistake.

Skipping today. Weather is looking much better Tuesday. Crowds should be smaller too!

I think that is a very different scenario than what many have described here. If I had a child who rode coasters, hated them, and actually became physically ill, obviously that is something that I would not make them do. I thought people were mainly discussing children who were tall enough to ride and had never done the big coaster thing before. Those that haven't tried it so they don't even know if they like it or if it makes them sick or not. Maybe I misinterpreted the topic but I would never force someone that has already tried coasters and hated them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My interpretation too Jsus. And with all due respect, I do not think pushing a child to ride when they are reluctant or unwilling is right either. It just seems like a lot of enthusiasts can get a little carried away with trying to force their love of coasters on others, both children and adults, when it is not their cup of tea. I am crazy about coasters but my sister cannot stand them and gets very ill on them. However, we both respect each others' differences. My sister blesses my enjoyment of my hobby while I understand why my hobby is just not for her. That is the key word, RESPECT in the words of Aretha Franklin.

That may well be but I'd call to confirm because it's listed on Cedar Point's site, even the reservation system, as a platinum rate. That rate also isn't supposed to include early entry or parking as it's included with a platinum pass. Edit: I just double-checked on the reservation system. For Hotel Breakers, it clearly lists "Pass - Platinum Pass Holder Rate" yet it shows "Rate valid with 2015 Platinum/Season Pass only" in the fine print. Breakers Express just says "Pass - Season/Platinum Pass Rate". Yay, inconsistencies on the site..

^ The PASS discount code is advertised on Kings Island's passholder portal for KI gold passholders. Staying at a CP resort would give you access to Early Entry and let you buy tickets at deeper discounts.

A week ago was Soak City's Opening Weekend. With the warm weather over the past week, the water has probably warmed up a bit since then. I'm debating doing the waterpark tomorrow (with the air temperature in the upper 60s), assuming it doesn't close for low attendance before I'd get there. It couldn't be worse than Zoombezi Bay's 2014 opening weekend. (Air temperatures in the upper 50s, cold water, and perhaps a dozen other guests in the park.)

The Cedar Point resort discount perk is available to all platinum passholders and only to platinum passholders. Kings Island gold or silver passes are not recognized there, nor are Cedar Point season passes and anything else that isn't platinum.

Breakers Express is reasonably priced, close to the park, you get early entry (can knock out at least three "big" rides then), and you get resort rate admission. If you have a gold pass, I believe you get a discount as well (use promo PASS). As far as two days, maybe consider just a Starlight on one day, stay the night, and then do a full day the second day. Tuesdays and Wednesdays seem to be least crowded!

The ride is a fun, once a trip visit, first thing after the Anthem. The restraints are the most backward, and freakishly unsecured feeling of any ride I have rode outside of a fair midway. Goofy.

Firehawk remains as the ride I dislike the most in the park, simply for the restraint system alone, something about it just doesn't feel safe to me even though I'm sure it's more than safe.

My point was that it's not just from one day to the next. Even with a one-day visit, it gets old fast hearing the same uninteresting music and the same annoying commercials.

Yet another example of the media's ignorance. Paramount brought Montel for the media and attention, similar to their media day for Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay.

Sometimes when I extend my arms to go for the Superman style, they start to feel tired due to how the g forces affect them. Make sure to hold on to the grips for the brakes, its a very hard stop.

It never did storm even though a few times it looked like it. They did close rides down on two occasions but the storms never hit the park.

Whatever you do, if you get either of the inside seats, plug your ears before hitting the lift hill. The anti rollbacks are insanely freaking loud. I find the restraints comfy. If you are going to ride a flyer, Superman it!

And one more thing-please do not take this the wrong way but I find some of these assertions that you are being over protective of your child and that your child will have trouble in later life if you do not force them to go on a silly amusement ride to be other nonsense. My niece is a happy, healthy 23 year old young lady who successfully earned her mechanical engineering degree and has a great job. And many other kids who decide that amusement rides are not their cup of tea have also been very successful in life. OK, I feel better now that I have gotten this off my chest. ( lol.)

The Firehawk has only seen me once. I'll ride it again at some point. Probably. Maybe? Nobody has fallen out yet, but it does not score high on my comfort rating scale. It's obviously very safe. The "shoulder harness" you mention is unlike any of the other rides. Hold on all you want...it might not make you feel much better...lol.

For some? Very, very hard. For others, not so much. Example? On Wednesday, storms knocked the power out around 2:30p. DTE Energy provided an estimated restoration time of 11:30p - 1:30a. It was back on hours before then, if I recall correctly. After power was restored, our Comcast cable service went out. Their estimated restoration? 10 pm. Calling back around that time yielded a response to check back in 24 hours. In other words, they'll get to it eventually. Eventually it was.. 12m-1a on Thursday. DTE is doing it right. Comcast.. Well, need I explain?

As a drag racer and go kart racer, sometimes we depend on our winnings from one weekends racing events to be able to afford fuel, tires, food, etc to make it to the next weekend...... Sparky, just pointing out things.

Underpromise. Overdeliver. How hard is it? Sigh.

When you can retire your old "favorite spot to eat in the park" and start enjoying this awesome patio behind Festhaus, with its view of Delirium, Banshee, and thousands of people experiencing happiness.

My purse becomes full of receipts and smells like Congo Falls...

When guests start saying the darnest things again...

....when I have a doctor appointment in Mason and wonder if I should go take a ride on Banshee before returning to work

When a trip to the ATL suddenly has side trip possibilities. When Steel Force is calling your name. When you find yourself plotting a great advencha. When you wonder why you continue working when every day could be a leave day...