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You probably think you know what to expect in this trip report. You probably know what I think of this park. You're probably wrong. I decided today around noon to visit Kentucky Kingdom. I wanted to go for a drive, and that seemed as good a destination as any. So I hopped in my Sky, put the top down and got on the road. Yes, I drove my beloved Sky to Kentucky Kingdom, It's still in one piece, so hooray for that! Anyway, I drove all the way there and only got rained on for a few minutes. The rain wasn't very hard and the patch of rain wasn't very large, so I just soldiered it out and left the top down rather than try to get off and find a place to park. Side note, I got very badly sunburned on the way there and am now red like a lobster. I got to the park around 3:00 and happily, I'm still allowed in! I realized when I got there that I did not have a glasses strap with me, so I went to buy one. I was happy to see that they were a reasonable $1.59 rather than the outlandish $5 that they were selling for on opening day. I will not complain about dropping that amount of money in the name of safety, and I think the park has realized that they'd rather have people be safe than to gouge them for that little extra profit. I'm not going to go in detail about the rides (excluding the new ones that I rode). You all know what The Runs are like, and if you don't, GO EXPERIENCE THESE RIDES. Nothing I can say will do them justice. They are GREAT. Seriously. So, the first bit of my trip was just walking around, exploring the improvements. First new thing I saw was Cyclos. It looks great on the midway. Its lighting package is very eye-catching and makes the park feel alive. I didn't ride it because inverting pendulum rides are not my cup of tea. As I walked through the park, I noticed lots of misting fans everywhere. The misters were not turned on, but the fans were on. I could be wrong, but I'm ALMOST positive that these are new. I do not remember them being there at all. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, next I went to the back of the park, toward Raging Rapids and T3 (Which you can walk back to despite its being not open yet). There was one train sitting in the station. Nothing on the transfer track. This leads me to worry that T3 will remain a one-train coaster. That said, on opening day, only one train was on Lightning Run and the other was not on the transfer, and they were both there today. Perhaps train two will appear later. While the color scheme is still questionable, the paint job itself is VERY high quality. I'd almost guess Baynum was involved. It looks every bit as good as the new paint on Invertigo, Bat, and Rougarou in each of their first years after getting fresh paint. Very impressed. I stepped into the Taco Tequila stand to look at offerings and prices. It is a very small food stand (I believe that in the days of SIX, this was a simple clothing stand, so there wouldn't be much room for a restaurant) but there is a bar facing into Hurricane Bay with the restaurant and another side of the bar accessible from the dry side. I sent a picture of the menu to a friend who I might call an "alcohol enthusiast" and he had some complaints with the choices on the menu, but said that the prices appeared to be quite reasonable. Given that it is alcohol, I do not know if the 20% discount for season passholders applies, but if so, that's a nice savings. The menu had a lot more options than Hank's does, and prices were about the same. I did not see the portion sizes. While I was back there, I rode Raging Rapids. Most of the themeing from Penguin's Blizzard River is still there. There are a lot of penguin sculptures in the ride and it is obviously themed to the sewers of Gotham City. It even has one water effect involving The Penguin's signature black and white umbrella. Poor effort in de-themeing it, but honestly, if DC Comics is OK with it, then it's whatever. All in all, the ride is decent. I wish there were cannons that you can pay to blast people with like on every other rapids ride I've ridden, but you don't REALLY need them. The wettest riders will not get as drenched as on White Water Canyon, but unlike White Water Canyon, there is NO escaping completely bone-dry. The wetness is a lot more evenly dispersed. There is also no center hump on which to put your feet to escape them sitting in the bottom of a wet boat, so avoid riding this with socks if possible. One issue is that they only have three boats, and that leads to a lot of time sitting waiting for the next boat. But perhaps I've just been spoiled by WWC's continuous loading. Either way, I digress. Good ride. Not the best rapids ride I've ridden, but CERTAINLY not the worst. Better than the one at Holiday World, which I'm sure is the only thing they really care about. Next I went to SkyCatcher. I do not at all like its placement in the park. It's awkwardly located in a corner near the waterpark, and it's a chore to get to. The ride itself is pretty fun though, but very VERY scary. I don't mind WindSeeker. Heck, I LIKE WindSeeker. It's a great ride and it's very relaxing. SkyCatcher is not. It is much more open-feeling and the rotation is faster (by my guesstimation, 10RPM as opposed to WindSeeker's 8) and it really is a white-knuckle ride. I did encounter one disappointment. I went to Swampwater Jack's for food, and they were out of pepperoni pizza at 4:45 PM. Inexcusable. Yes, there is another pizza place nearby next to Thunder Run, but at that location, the pizza costs more (though the portions are larger) and it is a flatbread, whereas Swampwater Jack's is a bit smaller, almost $2 cheaper, and has a crust that is more to my liking. I did notice, however, that there is a flat path to get to Swampwater Jack's that is much more wheelchair accessible than the old bumpy bridge. I don't THINK this path is new, but I was specifically on the lookout for it today. I do not know if it is precisely ADA compliant in terms of width (I'd estimate it around 4.5 feet wide based on it being about one and a half arm-lengths on me) but it's something. Still no automatic door, but I've been told that isn't a hard-set requirement under the ADA. It would be very nice to have one or to prop the door, but it's something. Speaking of accessibility, there is NONE whatsoever for the Up, Up, and Away ride. to access the ride platform REQUIRES riders to walk up stairs. As for the other rides, I did notice that the ride operators were VERY focused on guest safety above ALL else, and I applaud that. Lightning Run operators reminded those waiting in line several times that they need to stand behind the yellow line. Most guests followed instructions the first time. One bull-headed guest decided to stand right on the gates, past the yellow line despite being told not to numerous times.. They were told that the ride cannot be dispatched until they stand behind the yellow line, and so, it sat, for about a minute and a half while the guest stubbornly stood there. When they finally decided that they were being a fool and got tired of waiting, they stepped back and the ride was dispatched. Security was present at every ride to check for line jumpers, and I saw line jumpers told to return to the end of the line on three occasions. Good on them for catching that and enforcing the rules. All in all, I had a good day. The park has improved tremendously since opening day and almost all of my complaints have been fixed since then. It's not perfect. It's still a small park. It still can't really expect to compete with Holiday World or Kings Island. And that's OK. Be a great small park before you try to be a big park. I'd rather have a straight-four that's firing on all cylinders than a V8 that is only firing on half of them.

They were moving the arms some when I first saw them but locked the control box and walked away before I could get my phone out. Soon.... Edit: some cars are on. I bet it will be open by this weekend

$2,300 for a week at Disney with park tickets, meal plan and photo package is a very good deal for the start of peak season. I would challenge anyone to price a vacation to any popular tourist destination at a comparable time for a family of 3 including food and entertainment. The cost is very similar. As a family we have been pricing Myrtle Beach and a weeklong stay in a basic hotel room is ranging from $1,600 to $1,800. Factor in food and any entertainment and we are around the Disney vacation price. The article fails to mention that the cost of all vacations has risen, for my family it is more cost effective to visit Disney off season during free dining. The cost is quite reasonable.

I don't understand why people wear flip flops to an amusement park anyway. My feet would be killing me, you can walk up to 10 miles plus in a day at a park. I wouldn't want to walk 10 miles in flip flops. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

There are many different shops selling the same pins but these pics are from Coaster Connection, the shop in the middle of Action Zone. The sets are $13*, and the singles are $8-$9. The Racer single pin has trains that move up and down the track, which is pretty cool. I forgot to photograph the commemorative pin for the Flying Eagles. *the Action Zone set which includes the Flight Deck pin has also been seen in Coney Confections, the discount store at the entrance to Coney Mall. If it is still available, it is 70% off there, I bought a set at that price ($3.90) last week. But, be sure to watch, because it may not ring up that way automatically and you'll have to point it out. Edit: there weren't any still there when I checked this evening. Either they sold out, or decided they weren't supposed to be discounted and sent them back to the other shops. I don't know how much luck they're going to have selling them at full price when one of them has an outdated name, but I guess it's worth a try.

While at Carowinds having lunch in Harmony Hall, the large TV screen said something like "connecting to Kings Island" and brought up the POV of The Beast. I was watching how many people we paying attention to the video. There were several people pointing at the screen, smiling and commenting. I saw more than 1 person say "that is a long ride". I take for granted for having the greatest wooden coaster in our backyard. It truly is a legendary coaster.

We will try not to rib you about it, nor call you spineless.

Only that its name was announced, which you've already seen. Don't expect much more. It's still a year away. They'll certainly tease more as that date approaches, but nothing substantial for a while I'd say. What we know so far is that the ride WILL reuse Maelstrom's trough and boats which - to me - is very bad news. Along with announcing the ride, they announced that it would last 3.5 minutes (same as Maelstrom) which will be woefully disappointing for those who wait hours and hours. No question - Frozen deserves park presence. But it doesn't belong in Epcot, it doesn't belong in Norway, and it shouldn't be a 3 minute boat ride.

I don't get why people want to take a bath with 20,000 other people, many of whom badly need one. But that's just me.

Methinks you have no idea what those things cost or weigh. I doubt the average house floor could safely support such a thing.

Please note the date on that article. "Teething problems"? Please. What an utterly stoopid thing to say. Because of "teething problems," a young lady lost her leg. Disgusting.

Disney is part of the American Dream? I just want a room, a garage with all sort of tools and gadgets, and a nice car sitting in it. Oh and a fireplace where I can sit in front of and ponder Now that's the dream

I decided to create one thread where I can post any reports and pictures I may have, since I usually end up writing a lot of trip reports in a given year. This way they will all be contained in one spot. Plus since I'm starting to write most of mine on a separate blog, this will be a good way to give out the link for each new one instead of bogging down the forums with tons of new threads that only contain a link and a few sentences. I hope you all enjoy following along with my amusement park adventures! I plan on using this thread each year from here on out. I'll go ahead and give out the link to my first trip report of the year again to be sure all of my reports starting this year and into the future end up here. Here's my photo trip report of my first amusement park trip of the season to Cedar Point for Passholder Preview Night! https://handsuprideon.wordpress.com/2015/05/09/rougalicious-preview-night/

I was at the park Sunday with my family. One of the ride Ops on the Raging Rapids told another guest in my boat that the T3 delay was due to the "Train getting stuck in the loop with the water dummies"...I assume he meant it it valleyed. He may in fact be as reliable as the Dippin' Dots guy but I guess it could also explain the lack of a second train on the tracks, gotta get the first one through the course before we add a second. What would you do in that case? faster wheels? add weight? I also thought I saw a section of track missing from TT last weekend from the top of MHF but with no picture I did not want to mention it. I could not see it from the ground so there was no way to prove it.

If you have the itch, scratch it this year. Next year may be too late.

I wonder if Kings Island is interested in selling the carts from Son of Beast, when I own a house in the future, that would make a great conversation piece.

Wonderful trip report. Thanks for sharing. You gave quite an honest and real perspective as to what's actually behind the gates of the Kingdom. Glad to hear it's doing so much better. This is great news. I'm going to try to make it out there again after T3 opens.

Back in the 70's and 80's, some paid quite a bit for grass.

After that restraint system, it's a wonder I remember anything!

I'm not being a monster, but the temporarily passing out on looping roller coasters happens a lot- especially to small persons with low blood pressure. I have to put some time between looping rides when I go, or I'll grey out, or pass out. I passed out on the King Cobra once, and came too when it came to the sudden stop at the end. (It freaks me out how well KI's restraints works, and I'm very glad they exist as they do.) The newspapers are posting every unusual event that occurs after the Smiler accident to catch the wave of the news cycle. Eat more fries, drink some liquids, put time in between rides to enjoy the ambience of the park, and these passing out events will be less likely.

I have searched and have not found a thread for The Beach. If I missed it close this and point me towards it. We are going to the beach for the first time in about 8 years. I don't remember a whole lot about it. I'm looking for some tips with the park if any. I am mainly concerned with finding a decently shaded area for my wife and kid to make home base. Also if anyone is looking for a deal to this park this is what I got off of Groupon. We are going Friday. https://www.groupon.com/deals/the-beach-9-22587410?offerReferralId=e1d8705c-d099-49da-919e-57827a8e47c3&utm_campaign=OfferReferral&utm_source=bwf_fb&utm_medium=bwf

I am new to this forum, as Cedar Point is my home park. I do get to come down to KI a few times each season though. Does anyone know if any of the shops at Kings Island sells ride patches? If so, which shops and where are they located? Cedar Point just recently got new ones in for all of their coasters, and I would love some of the KI coasters as well. I am going to be traveling through on business in a week or so and would like to stop and pick them up if I can. Knowing if they exist and where would really help! Thank you so much!

Hmm, was the ride teething on her leg? I mean no jokes, I simply do not understand how a ride that not only was designed and tested virtually, but tested in the real-world, then run without accident for multiple years could possibly have "teething problems". That's like saying that you should expect your car to start developing issues after you've had it a couple years. Uh, no..

I don't understand why anyone wears them at all.Faerie wench, who hates flip flops

I wouldn't even joke about something like that. Parks do NOT find it funny, nor would the state. Allowing the public to ride before a ride is licensed is a severe offense...and given who runs that department, I am quite certain they'd relish catching Hart and his Democrat pals doing that. It could literally end Kentucky Kingdom.

Apparently, the event had "teething problems." Terp, cross threadin'

Well, if they are doing something with the Twins, I hope both Stella and Lola survive the surgery and we don't lose one...

Crowds have been very light today, though a few lines have been long at times. The KI app wait times have been really useful for getting to each ride when the wait is minimal.

A mom standing outside the KI Theater talking to her young son: It's "Sir K image"

Having a good day. Finally got to sit and listen to the KI Five. Actually have run into them a few times. Monster is showing signs of life. As I was approaching the theater just before door opening for Cirque, I noticed someone familiar walking out of the "Authorized Personnel" area next to it. Well, he'd be hard not to notice or recognize, since he was already in makeup tho not costume: it was the shorter performer on the trampoline. I smiled and nodded at him as we passed one another. Crowds are weird. I skipped AE because the line was to the back of the covered area. Walked around to the back of the park and almost skipped Beast because I assumed it must be 30-45 minutes then. But, it was a one train wait.

I know it's over a month late, but better late then never! On Sunday, May 10th, I went to Cedar Point for a post prom celebration. Check out the full report and pictures! https://handsuprideon.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/post-prom-paradise-get-to-the-point-51015/

I will admit I'm starting to kind of change my mind a bit on whether to go or not. I know I've pretty much grounded myself in not wanting to support the park, but I'm also a bit intrigued by this park as well. I do see that despite the upper management issues, they do alright (in the most basic interpretation of the word 'alright'). I may contemplate a visit by the end of the summer out of sheer curiosity. Also, Terp's praising of Thunder Run is starting to become an itch I need to scratch.

Banshee Brew Fest was a lot of fun. Got to try some breweries I've never had before, as well as some old favorites. At beer fests, I normally try to avoid breweries that I really don't consider to be craft breweries, such as Blue Moon, Leinenkugel and Shock Top at this one. The exception to this is if they have something unique, or one that I really like. So I had to go to Leinenkugel because they had Crispin Pear (which was on the list as being at the Blue Moon booth) and Shock Top had one of my all time favorites that I've had before, their Shocklate Wheat (yes, that's chocolate beer... I went back a couple times for this one). Thirsty Dog had a good Raspberry Ale (I was hoping they would have their chocolate one, Old Choco, but no such luck), and Jackie O's Razz Wheat was also very good. The biggest surprise though came from Kentucky Bourbon; I like their regular Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, but their Old Fashioned Barrel Ale was excellent. I can't stand IPA's; I like wheats, hefeweisens, bocks & dunkels (which are hard to find). One of my friends who hates everything I like and loves IPA's liked the Old Fashioned as much as I did, and commented that it was strange that two people who have opposite tastes in beer would agree that this one was now one of our favorites. The food was good, but the portion sizes were not equal. I used my first food ticket for the pierogies: I got 3 pierogies with bacon and sour cream on a small plate. I got to our table and my friend had a large plate full of pulled pork, corn pudding and cole slaw. The pierogies tasted very good, but it was nowhere near the serving size that my friend had. So yeah, with my second food ticket I went to the pulled pork station! As I predicted, there were no problems that I saw with the attendees. There was enough of a security & police presence that if anything had come up it would have been taken care of quickly. Last pour was at 9:00, so after that is when we used our 2nd food tickets. I hadn't planned on riding anything that night, but once we were done we did ride one thing: Dodgems. We may have crashed into other cars there, but we were all responsible in regards to driving away from the park: Mrs. Gator picked me up, a friend's dad took 5 others in my group home and the 7th person in our group's girlfriend had been riding rides by herself that evening so that she could take him home. Hopefully they have this event again next year, because I will definitely go again if they do. I don't get out to bars or breweries very often, so I like trying new beers from different places in a setting like this to see what new things I'll like.

I'd elaborate on Rail's point by saying that Disney is emphasizing affordability by focusing construction on more of the "value" (and AOA-like) hotels than deluxe, while also catering to the Vacation Club folks by adding capacity there as well. For every $400-500 a night room at Yacht/Beach, Floridan, etc. there are also an ample number of rooms available for $100-150 a night on property, depending on the season.

Riders are being told today that flip flops (but nothing else) can remain in the station.

........... I've seen a few Hawaii plates in Kentucky before, but I could probably only count them on one hand obviously.

Of course, the fact SIX has had nearly that many managements had something to do with that.

That would be a slippery slope in my opinion that the park probably is hesitant to go down especially since they pride themselves on the high capacity of the ride and that would take down the capacity numbers.

Vortex(*) is plenty awesome with the restraints it currently has. * of the Kings Island variety

They were when I was there today. When my train came back they were flip flops under me. And Kings Island is going to have a huge law suit if someone would get smacked in the face with a flip flop they made u hold while on the ride. KI's loose article problems on rides is getting out of hand. Almost ever ride I rode in my less than 4 hour visit today someone had a phone out. Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

New rule for Banshee, re flip flops: They must now ride with you-either you have to sit on them or wear them. ( I thought but I am not sure that they said you could hold them while riding-I doubt this but will clarify next time at park. ) At any rate you cannot leave them at the station any more.

Universal's "free" lockers are not free, but rather EVERY guest gets to pay for them with the exorbitant gate entry, whether they use them or not. Cedar Fair's system seems much fairer. There, I don't pay for lockers I never use.

It's nice to see a park that was closed in the 1990's reopening after so many years. Just like I did at the movie theater on Friday.

That little Beastie? It's a Fairly Odd Coaster!

Flats dark rides needed to compliment coasters.

I'm not sure I agree with that. Yes, if the choice is food, shelter or Disney, I agree. But small choices over time can make what is for some a once in a lifetime trip obtainable. No Coke in the house can help finance The Mouse.

The comments on my article are telling. One says, "Many of us who struggle with paying bills can no longer afford a day at the park. Until hourly wages rise to meet inflation, the problem of Disney park admission will continue to be controversial." If you struggle to pay your bills, you shouldn't go to Disney World. *shrug*

So, this happened. Matt Ouimet has previously been quoted as saying the Rougarou transformation could start a trend throughout the company. If successful, it would seem that California's Great America will see the next ride transformation in a Cedar Fair park. Vortex at CGA is another B&M stand-up coaster. Source: Surging Cedar Fair isn't just enjoying the ride Note: You may have to Google the article title to get past the paywall.

I am glad they are no longer allowing flip flops all over the station. A couple weeks ago I hopped out of my seat and my left foot landed on the edge of one of those thicker pair and I rolled my ankle. It was sore the rest of the day. Plus the station can be an absolute mess up there with pair strewn all over the station. They probably should have some small cubbies that allow for flip flops to be placed only. No other loose articles.

Well, thinking about this really long and hard- it all depends on what Cedar Fair wants to add, and if they really wanted something no one BUT Intamin could offer, they might do it. But what does Intamin offer that other companies can't? All I can think of they really have are the Rocket Coasters like TTD, Polercoasters, Impulse Coasters, and the 10+ Inversion coasters as nearly everything else coaster-wise Intamin makes, B&M or Mack Rides offers a rival version boasting better reliability. Cedar Fair sure isn't buying any more Shoot-the-Rapids boat rides after what happened with that one either. A Drop Tower could be possible but I think most of the parks already have one. Unless Polercoaster takes off and is a success or some Cedar Fair park decides it wants a Strata for some reason, Intamin just doesn't seem to have an opening without someone else rushing in to make a better offer. Intamin's only real option with Cedar Fair right now would probably be to offer a large discount, and hope Cedar Fair can't resist it (like Arrow did with Kings Island for Vortex in 1987). They might lose some money short-term this way, but if they don't screw up the "apology" install and it actually runs well, then Cedar Fair may start working with them again. But I don't know if Intamin will be willing to do this, or just work with foreign parks and hope they can repair their image with those. If Intamin can get their reliability and safety up, and keep it up, their odds of getting back in the coaster wars increase. If they stay the same and keep giving parks major problems, then they will go the same way Arrow did and be a famous coaster company from the past.