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So hear me out. I think I’m onto something. If you’re a seasoned KI visitor, you might know that Mystic Timbers features a strange poster at the greeter booth, station, and on a locker in the shed. It’s of this character named Yard Boss Campbell who works in Wood Shed 2. I’m not sure if this is an extension of the lore of the ride or not, but I think it’s safe to assume as much. Either way, I happened to find a high-res version of this poster, and I think there’s some interesting stuff in it that might help lead us to more clues. If you zoom in to Yard Boss Campbell’s Miami River Lumber Co. Hoodie, you’ll see a hidden pieces of text. It’s pretty blurry, but with some Photoshop work, I was able to make out the phrase “Check Wood Shed 2”. You can also see “9:59 PM" If you’re familiar with the queue, the first queue-house is labeled Wood Shed 2. It features a backpack and a walkie-talkie that will occasionally make noise. Just the other week at 9:59 PM, I made my way into the Wood Shed 2 part of the Timbers queue to take a peek. I’m not sure how anyone has missed this so far (probably because the fireworks start just a minute after the fact, sneaky KI), but at 9:59PM every night, the walkie talkie says 1 specific line: “Call Coriell’s. Ask for Outpost 5.” Crazy stuff. It turns out Coriell's is a clothing company that must have created the outerwear for the Miami River Lumber Company, and is based in Idaho (The same state as RMC!) I called Coriell's HQ and was met with a kind woman’s voice, asking me if I had any questions about their apparel. I kindly asked about Outpost 5. There was silence at the other end of the line. 10 seconds. 15 seconds. 30 seconds. Then a different voice came on the line, this time a gruff sounding old man. He asked me for the password. I scrambled, as this was an unexpected turn of events. There was no such information provided on the Yard Boss Campbell poster as far as I could tell, so I instead just came up with the first Mystic Timbers-related word I could think of. “Shed.” The man’s tone suddenly changed from gruff and staunch to warm and inviting, perhaps even relieved. What he said next will stick with me forever. “The Son will return. But there’s more for you to discover first.” I’m convinced these Yard Boss Campbell signs are meant to act as teasers for a new KI attraction. Probably worth looking into more.

You've wanted this... What's in the Article? No, just joking. To be serious, I am working on a Flight Commander Article as we know it. It'll be on Wikipedia.

I feel like this is a Portal 2 reference...

Key word on that post: "rumored"

Bayern Curve, Himalaya/Musik Express, Swing-Around, Air Race, Skyroller, Trabant

See my theory is that clearing way back there is not for employee dormitories but for 2019’s new ride SOB. Son of Bat

Hi everyone! Well, after having to go to Holiday World instead last month due to bad weather, we were finally able to go back to Kings Island again last Sunday. Before we get into the meat of this Trip Report, as usual, the ride (and food/show) rating system: F- Garbage. I regret ever riding this and will not make the same mistake of ever riding it again! D- Mediocre. A disappointing, or painful ride, though there might be a little fun here. I might give a D-Tier ride a second chance but it is gonna need to be a walk-on or something. C- Average. A fun ride, but either there is enough roughness/pain to dilute it, or it just does not blow me away. Will still ride this if the wait is not too bad, though. B- Good. A ride I enjoy, but it may have some flaws, but I will happily re-ride this unless the wait is pretty crazy. A- Awesome. These rides leave me with a huge grin usually, and I will ride them over and over if there is a short wait. If there are long waits around the entire park, I may aim for these anyway, as if you are gonna wait, best to be for something worth it. Surpassed only by... S- Epic. The best of the best. I am usually giddy and my happiness meter is maxed out after riding one of these. Tragically, these are not the most common rides out there, however.  Note: If you wanna take this as a 1-10 system, S=10, A=9, B=8, C=7, D=6, and F=5 or worse. We missed a exit on the way to KI (I noticed but didn't realize our driver didn't until it was too late), so we arrived around 9:45AM, thus we kinda missed ERT. We decided we would just line up and go to X-Base to begin the day. Firehawk was still doing morning testing and wasn't ready to open, so for our first ride, we did the other major coaster in X-Base. Ride #1: Flight of Fear Wait: 1 Train (>5 Minutes) As we did not get to ride this on in June, this was my first ride on FOF since April. We rode in the very back car, as that seat had no wait. It felt like your typical FOF ride: a little rough, very forceful, and fun. Being in the back kinda made it feel a bit slower though since you could see the elements coming by looking at the cars ahead of you on the train, so the 2nd half of the ride was a bit more predictable. Still a solid ride though, and a nice way to start the day. Rating: B After FOF, Firehawk had finished testing and had opened, so we headed to that next. Ride #2: Firehawk Wait: 1 Train (>5 Minutes) I love getting to X-Base early when there are no waits. It has been a while since I had last ridden Firehawk, as this was my first ride in 2018. I had forgotten how loose the restraints feel, it is actually a bit unnerving. The ride was still fun though, the loop may be the best loop in the park due to the flying coaster nature and I didn't realize how close you get to some of the trees near the ride. A fun ride. Rating: C While riding Firehawk, I saw Vortex running either empty or near-empty trains, and wanted to go ride that since I had to miss it due to a hurt shoulder last time. My friends/sister went off to smoke, and I rode Vortex. Ride #3: Vortex Wait: 1 Train (>5 Minutes) I decided I wanted maximum airtime, so 7-1 it was. And I got what I wanted- first drop had some nice air. The ride, for Vortex standards, was pretty smooth but there was a slight wobble on the drop into the 2 loops. I did not get headbanged at all, though I realize this is probably because my head goes well above the restraints, and my neck has a good 3-4 inches or so on each side to move before it bumps them. As usual the ride had nice forces and fun inversions. A fun ride overall. Rating: B While climbing Vortex's lift, I noticed Beast had a very short, if any, wait. I returned to my friends and we discussed it, and decided to head that way since waits were apparently short around the park. Before Beast, however, we decided to ride... Ride #4: Backlot Stunt Coaster Wait: 5-10 Minutes There was a short wait for BLSC, but nothing enough to deter us from riding it. We boarded, and got another fun ride on the small-but-spunky coaster. All the remaining effects seemed to be working too. It did feel like it was running a wee bit slow due to it being early morning still, though. Also, on exit, I noticed the audio for the exit has been edited- there is a gap when he says "Enjoy the rest of your day at...Kings Island!" Hmm, wonder what was cut out. Rating: C After BLSC, it was onto the park's 1979 wooden monster. Ride #5: The Beast Wait: 20-25 Minutes The wait should have been like 5-10 minutes tops, but there was a barf train, so we had to wait more. However soon after that train was cleaned up, we waited a few cyles and were on. We rode in the very back car since I had a good experience with it last time (it was a back wheel seat ride in the 2nd car that hurt my shoulder, not the rear car). The ride was good fun, but it wasn't quite running at the blazing speeds it was back in June, even though it was kinda hot already. Plus I had ridden Voyage a few weeks ago, and Beast is not very crazy at all compared to that, save for the helix. Still a very fun ride though. Rating: A After The Beast, we headed further into Rivertown. I had heard Mystic Timbers was down to 2 trains, but I did a quick visual check and found all 3 were running now, so whatever had been the problem was fixed. We found the wait didn't look too bad either, so Mystic was our next ride. Ride #6: Mystic Timbers Wait: 15-20 Minutes The line had a decent amount of people in it, but it moved pretty fast too since the dispatches were frequent. We arrived at the station, and I saw a sign above the ride exit: "Outpost 5". LOL, apparently Outpost 5 has been moved to Mystic Timbers. We were assigned row 11, near the very back of the train (this was becoming a theme for me). We could barely hear the security guard going up the lift from this seat, but it didn't matter much because this seat gave lots of airtime on every hill, more than I have become used to on Mystic Timbers. We went into the shed, and got the snakes ending. Oddly, no music played, though. WHO BROKE THE RADIO!?!? Rating: A The snakes ending on MT was fitting, as we were trying to get our friend who is overcoming his fear of big coasters to try Diamondback. Apparently Mystic Timbers agreed with us by giving us that ending. He survived Voyage, we figured he could handle DB if he could get over the height, and he did do Magnum XL-200 which isn't too much shorter. We got him to cave, and thus, we got in line for Diamondback. Ride #7: Diamondback Wait: 10-15 Minutes The ride crew was doing a good job dispatching trains, so the line moved fast. We rode around the middle of the train, got seated, and climbed 230 feet into the air. Solid floater air on a lot of the drops, and a very fun ride. But did our friend like it? Yes. He loved it actually, and wanted us to come back to this coaster later! We would try to do just that. We are proud of him. Rating: A After Diamondback, we headed onto I-Street, planning to go to our car to begin waterpark adventures. But we got distratced, as we saw the Stunt Show begin. We did not see the entire show but the Motorcycle part was very cool. We were a little hungry/thirsty, so we went into... Food: Starbucks Wait: 10 Minutes (for food- it was empty) My sister got herself some coffee and a banana bread for me and her to split. However they at first forgot our bread, but they gave her a free lemon bread to make up for it. That was nice of them! It was pretty good, too. Rating: B Ride #8: The Bat Wait: 5 Minutes The wait was not very bad at all, which I have come to expect from this ride. The Bat was running pretty well, a little rough but it also had some weak airtime at points, which surprised me. Alas, the ride was also as usual pretty short. Fun though. Rating: B After The Bat, we headed up the path, and decided to do Banshee since we were in the area. Ride #9: Banshee Wait: 10-15 Minutes Our friend may be overcoming his fear of coasters, but he cannot do inversions, they make him sick, so he saved us locker money here (and at Firehawk/FOF, so we only need lockers at Mystic Timbers). This was the typical fast, forceful ride I have come to expect from Banshee. My friends keep thinking it is faster every time for some reason though, I guess they forget how fast it truly is. Also, saw the former gift shop turned into claw machines. Ugh, that is kinda sad, even if that gift shop was not selling much merch. Rating: A After Banshee, we decided to stop in Chicken Shack to get some sodas, but we were also hungry so we caved and got some food. Food: Chicken Shack Wait: 5-10 Minutes (for food to arrive) My sister and I decided to split a Chicken Wrap, since it looked share-able. It was huge, so yeah, 100% share-able. And wow, it was delicious! Probably a challenger for one of the best tasting food items I have eaten at an amusement park (it's main rival would be the Pulled Pork BBQ Fries at Cedar Point near Steel Vengeance). The chicken was 100% white meat and cooked well, and the lettuce and veggies were fresh. It also had bacon bites in it, which is almost always a plus IMO. And it recharged me, I was feeling a bit drained before I ate it but after, I was energized! Rating: S After eating that delicious and amazing food, we headed out to our car and grabbed our waterpark stuff, and headed back into the park, since we wanted to take the train. On the way, I saw a rare sight: THE TRAIN Coke FREESTYLE WAS OPEN! I should have took a picture for proof. It was closed when we returned, though. Ride #10 (Part 1): Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad Wait: Walk-On (Train was right there as we showed up!) We boarded the Green Train, and set off for Soak City. Diamondback dropped as soon as we began to leave, so we got to see it run its entire course, which was cool. When we got near all the fake stores/houses and stuff, the train ride op pointed out one of the most amazing things I have ever seen at Kings Island: there was a freakin' deer! It was a young deer, looked almost full grown in size but had its young markings still, so I assume it was a teenager. It wasn't far from the train, either, so we all got a good look at it. Before this I have ever only seen a wild deer ONCE, and it was from far away. So for me, this was very cool. A few minutes later, we arrived at Soak City and departed. Rating: B We arrived at the waterpark and changed into our swimsuits, and then headed to the wave pools. Ironically, the older one had a big crowd in it, so we headed to the new one, which had less crowds because it was further away. Ride #11: Tidal Wave Bay Wait: None Because Wave Pool Ahh! Since it was pretty hot- over 90 degrees- this wave pool felt very good to relax and chill in for a while. In fact, I lost track of time- we ended up staying in or around it for a whole hour. It cooled me off well though, so it did its job. Rating: B After a whole hour of Wave Pool, we exited and got some drinks, my friends and sister smoked for a bit, and then we hit up the "Lazy" River. Also, I was looking at the park's scenery and flowers a lot this trip and will point it out here- they did a GREAT job on that this season, there was a lot of sections of the park that look very pretty. Ride #12: Splash River Wait: 2-3 Minutes Much like at Holiday World a few weeks ago, the waterpark was so crowded even the Lazy River had a wait! At least it was not a bad one at all, only a few minutes. Also my eyes were not sore this time, so I could enjoy this better. There are a LOT more water elements on this lazy river versus Holiday World's, even though I am pretty sure this river is much older. I went around twice- also, I would try to avoid the waterfall with the Soak City logo, it is pretty fierce. Another fun wet relaxing ride. Rating: B After Splash River, we toyed around with the river's interactive "soak people" features for a bit. I checked out some nearby flowers and found a big bee was having a field day with them, he was kinda fun to watch. Then my sister and friends did 2 sets of Water Slides (Pineapple Pipeline and the body slides of Tropical Plunge- I was already wet enough, I felt). In spite of only doing a few things, we ended up spending about 4 hours in the waterpark this time, and I had fun and was relaxed. However, it was time for some more roller coasters. We boarded the train again, since that would get us back to our car faster. Ride #10 (Part 2- Gotta go all the way around for it to count, LOL!): Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad Wait: 5 Minutes (for train to arrive) The ride op on this train gave us the "corny bad jokes" version of the train ride. Some of them were a bit funny, at least. Also we saw...MORE DEER! This time, it was a Momma and her baby. The ride op said these deer actually like the train tracks for some reason and come around quite a bit. Cool to see more deer, though. Rating: B After the RR got us back to the park, we headed out to the car, and dropped off our stuff. Then we headed back into the dry park, headed for Oktoberfest. We were gonna ride Adventure Express, but we saw no wait for... Ride #13: Viking Fury Wait: Walk-On Viking Fury was fun, but once you have ridden Skyhawk or Wicked Twister, this isn't nearly as scary as it once was. Also I should mention I could not start or do any chants, because I had caught a cold my sister had and did not realize it until a few hours before this ride, and my voice began to go out. (I took some medicine and it is coming back though now) Rating: C After Viking Fury, we hit up the ride we had come for... Ride #14: Adventure Express Wait: Walk-On I rode on a rear wheel seat, because the friend I was riding with picked it not paying attention and with my voice out I couldn't say anything. It was a bit rough, but nothing crazy, though when we connected to the first 1 lift there was a THUNK that even our friends on a non-wheel seat felt. The ride was still quite fun though, it was running at a good speed and the tunnels were very dark with the sun going down. Rating: B After AE, we headed for the last big coaster we usually ride, The Racer. Me and a friend went Red, and our sister and other friend went for Blue. We both rode in 4-2, the middle seat of the 4th car. Ride #15: Red Racer Wait: Walk-On Thank goodness we didn't sit on a wheel, because I feel this would have been a pretty rough ride from a wheel seat as it was quite bumpy. We did get a lot of airtime though. The trim brakes on the turnaround bit hard, we went around them pretty slow. We did win the race, though, and apparently Blue got no airtime and was just as bumpy if not more, so Red was the right choice. A bumpy (would have been rough if on wheel seat) but fun ride. I don't think the coaster needs a full RMC I-Box conversion based on this ride, it just needs smoothed out and the rumored re-tracking+new lighting package+restored paint job would fix a lot of its problems IMO. Rating: B After Red Racer, we headed towards Rivertown as our friend was still really wanting to ride Diamondback again, and we had time still so we figured sure, let's do it again. And that is what we did. Ride #16: Diamondback (Night) Wait: 25 Minutes We decided to ride from the very back car, since it had the best airtime. By the time we got on, it was dark out, so this was gonna be a night ride. And wow, this was probably the best ride I have ever had on Diamondback...heck, this was the best ride I have had on anything B&M! We got YANKED off the top of the lift hill, and the airtime was very strong and maintained all the way down- it was almost ejector air! And this level of strong airtime was found on seemingly every hill. Add the darkness of night and the smooth ride, and you have a truly epic ride experience. PS: Our friend is so glad we talked him into riding this, though getting yanked over the lift was a bit scary to him. Rating: S After Diamondback, we headed over and got in line for The Beast. It was around 9:30, so we knew it would probably shut down for Fireworks before we were on, and it did. We also saw a Skunk go under the bridge we were waiting on, and it had some Pizza, LOL. At 10:00 the Fireworks went off (I saw some of them but not much) and some time later, they got the all-clear to re-open. Ride #17: The Beast (Night) Wait: 1 Hour (Due to Fireworks) We rode in the last car again, but I was in the front this time, 6-1, so my sister would get a non-wheel seat. Our friend was a bit nervous on this, still, but we talked him into it. We headed out and climbed the 110 foot lift, and dropped into the tunnel that begins the epicness. Beast was hauling now, versus how it ran in the morning, and the darkness of night further added to the sense of speed. The tunnels were pitch black and really amped up the sensory experience with how LOUD they were. And then of course came the epic view of the park from the 2nd lift, and the insanity of the final helix at night. Diamondback was amazing at night, but Beast managed to beat it somehow. My sister loved the ride, but apparently she got tossed hard at some point because she got a bruise from her seat divider. Ouch, she got "The Beast Bite". She didn't even think it hurt bad until she went in a bathroom and saw it though. Rating: S After The Beast, we headed out of the park, with all other rides closed (we even saw the Mystic Timbers crew exit and leave the ride) and headed home after yet another epic day at Kings Island. This was my 4th time in 2018, a new personal record for most visits in a year. Now for the Pros/Cons of the trip: Pros +Amazing Rides. Almost everything we rode was fun. Though Beast and Diamondback at Night were the clear stars. +Great park staff. Employees were friendly and were working hard. +Beautiful scenery- there were lots of flower arrangements and the park was looking pretty good. +Clean park- did not see any trash or anything laying around in the park. +Short waits in the AM hours- granted they picked up a bit later on, but we had ridden almost everything by then! +Chicken Shack Chicken Wrap was AMAZING. +Wave Pool and Splash River were fun and helped us "Beat The Heat". Cons -Racer and Beast, while fun, could both use some re-tracking as both were kinda rough. -Big crowds especially in the Waterpark, but that is still to be expected this time of year. And that does it for another amazing Kings Island trip in 2018! This is really my best year ever at Amusement/Theme parks, and it is NOT over, as we are planning to return to Cedar Point later this month. Then you still have Haunt (looking forward to the night rides!) and Winterfest after that! Anyhow, questions and comments welcome. MCSALSA AWAY!!!

I can’t tell if this sarcasm and photoshop or something meaningful. I may just be gullible lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I finally figured it out. All this "Outpost Five" stuff is pure fluff. If you have watched Gravity at all, it is so clear what the next coaster is going to be: Intamin GiGa launched. Space themed in X-base. Why else would they have a spaced themed Cirque show? Why else would Lt. Phil complain (in the pre-show audio) that the seat belts are too tight? Why else would the pre-show audio focus on Lt Phil's digestive issues and flatus? (Intamin will use the S&S tech that used air compression to launch the coaster they had at Kings Dominion.) Why else would the spaceship have the 5-10 numbers? Outpost 5! Doubled the speed (of the launch) of TTD, using Lt. Phil's compressed methane. Elementary sleuthing. All from Gravity. S/He who has ears, let her/him hear. Disclaimer: Pure parody. Continue on with speculation. Edit: for gender inclusivity.

Additional questions answered by Chad Showalter at Kings Island. Thanks Chad for answering these! 1. Will the band organ on the Grand Carousel be fixed anytime soon? By the reports I’ve received, the band organ works, although there are times throughout the season when it may temporarily not work. Check out this story about Mikey Mills, and his pain-staking efforts to get the band organ working again from 2015 https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2015/09/08/kings-island-wurlitzer-band-organ-carousel/71642452/ 2. Any plans to give Viking Fury some long over due TLC? I love the Viking Fury, and it’s one of the first attractions I rode at Kings Island. I even remember eating at the Bier Garten with my family in the Fall of 1981 when it was being constructed across the lake. Personally, I like the ‘old theme park’ feel that Viking Fury has, but I know that park leadership addresses painting, refurbishment, etc. by prioritizing each attraction by its need. Unfortunately, it’s a living document that can change multiple times throughout a season or year, so it’s not something that we make public. 3. Any chance that Kings Island could start selling those big giant fun size park maps that Cedar Point sells for $1.99? It is something we’ve talked about. I would not be surprised if it’s something we offered in the future. 4. Where do you store all the Winterfest stuff?’ WinterFest items can be found all over the park, behind the scenes. From buildings be constructed just to house the decorations, to previously unused areas, our team has done a great job making sure that all WinterFest materials, décor, props and more are safe during the offseason. 5. Is there a list of attractions/shows that were in the Kings Island theater? If so, can that be shared? The information is available, but unfortunately, it’s not compiled into one document.

Yes, plus it is a revenue generator for 12 months as opposed to 6. Probably amortized over 12 months as well.

The benefits for the early renewal will probably be announced when they make official announcement for 2019 season passes on sale. You do qualify for the renewal cost for platinum pass of $190

...just make sure your read all the fine print. All of it.

Oh by the way! That was me that sent that over to Brendon on Amusement insiders! I'm bwb.32 on insta haha!

If I remember correctly (this is going back about 10 years), yes, you manually release both sections. The block brakes (furthest from the station) were left open unless you had the button pressed down or if their was a train in the ready brakes (closest to the station).

Some ohio drivers would be out $2,450 and walking within a week.

Will do, also check out some of the crazy AADTs on Highway 401, it's usually considered to be one of the busiest freeways in the world. This is directly from the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO), http://www.raqsb.mto.gov.on.ca/techpubs/TrafficVolumes.nsf/3939fb2aad39e6538525792c0064ad64/f51986ea499a13b08525745f006dd30b/$FILE/Provincial Highways Traffic Volumes 2016 AADT Only.pdf Page 38 of the PDF....or Page 32 of 55 of the actual document itself, you can see the AADT between Rutherford and Major Mack. For the record, Rutherford is the exit coming from the south to go to Wonderland. In the Province of Ontario, it is $490 + 3 Demerit Points. I believe if you accumulate 15 demerit points you lose your license.

My biggest issue with the park is the lack of family bathrooms. They tote a friggin Golden Ticket for best Kid's Area for what, 15 years? Yet kiddie land has three family bathrooms, if you count the family center's two. More often than not outside the family center every family bathroom is taken up by some lazy dude that wants to stretch out while he relieves himself for 25 minutes, while I'm standing outside with a 3 year old who is saying it hurts because she is holding it so hard. Take them into the men's room you say? The I-street as pointed out has one stall for how many thousands of people walk through the gates? Even if there are more stalls they are all ****ed all over, the floor is wet with things I don't even want to think about, and the high pressure air dryers scare my kids so bad they **** themselves again (not kidding). Who the heck though a concrete rectangle with no sound absorption was the best place to have a 100+ decibel air dryer festival? No short sinks, and soap dispensers that anyone under 5 feet tall can't reach.

Gary is over 16K on Diamondback now.

This sounds like one of those projects where they’re lucky if the ground gets broken before investors start pulling out.

No. There are plenty of family attractions in Ohio that people are able to do for a day. Zoos, museums, down here in Cincinnati and Dayton there's Scene75, sporting events, outdoor activities...I find it highly unlikely many families will begin to choose this overly hyped, and in my opinion, most likely underwhelming entertainment center that seems to be an oversized, as I mentioned before, Scene75. Kings Island and Cedar Point are still the go-to destinations for major trips around the area. This will be a mere blip on the radar, in which a parent will wake up one day and think "Hey, let's all go to Planet Oasis". I may be pretty scathing on this development, but I really don't think it's going to be all that. Edit: I am also getting annoyed by news headlines describing it as "an amusement park four times the size of Disneyland". It is not an amusement park. And it is no way anywhere in relation to Disneyland. Coney Island is more like Disneyland than this will be.

To quote the mechanics that worked on Enterprise “I hope they rip the thing out, it’s a huge pain in the *** to work on and the parts take forever to get here”.

Im going tonight, ill try and get some photos, but theyll be on our facebook/instagram

I'm beginning to question a lot about seasonal amusement parks' business model, some of them longstanding concepts. 1) Have we reached peak season pass? Necessarily season passes lessen the experience for ticket buying guests. More people equals more lines and money upfront means that your business has already been earned. 2) Have we reached peak youth? Many parents treat Kings Island as a day care for big kids. These kids get in with there passes and some eat with their food passes. Other than that there probably isn't a whole lot of money there. Grandma and Grandpa don't have as much to do with the kids as they once did. They no longer have as many shows to watch and can't take the tram from the massive parking lot. 3) Are people tired of being "gouged"? Food prices are on par with the Reds concessions and the quality is about the same. On busy days people watch long lines of people cut them through Fast Lane. That has to sting for those that are making a once a year family trip. These families are the ones that spend the most money on a visit. There's got to be a better way! The rides are better than the've ever been, but I'd argue almost everything else has taken a dip over the last few years.

By now I know all too well how hard it can be to determine the day which I will hit a milestone ride, especially if it follows a multi-day vacation. My original plan was to hit a certain milestone on a certain ride on the anniversary of my first time riding that certain ride (July 23) before I left for my Darien Lake vacation the next day. But since I could stay for only two hours after my open shift (I got off work at 4 and had to be home by 7) and I was still 14 rides away, I did not have enough time so I determined I would reach it on Saturday, the 28th, the day after arriving home from Darien Lake. But the 28th was more crowded than I expected, due to the "bring-a-friend" day, the nicer weather, and the fact that this was the last midnight close, as well as only being able to stay until 10:30 (and I worked a swing shift that ended at 9). So I figured that if I stayed as a guest after my open shift on Monday, July 30, I could finally do it as I knew a Monday would not be as crowded as Saturday. My dad told me to be home by 8, which meant I could do whatever at the park until 7. My shift ended at 4 so I had about three hours to enjoy the park as a guest. I entered the park just before 4:30. I had just enough time to slip in a ride on Vortex and make it back to the KI Theater to see Gravity at 5. I had test ridden it at work in the morning so my count was at 595 1/3 when my guest visit got underway. My pre-Gravity Vortex ride was enjoyed in 6-1 on Train 3. I often underestimate how fun of a ride the sixth car offers (as car 7 is superior) but the sixth car still offers a decent amount of airtime! It was just after 4:40 when my ride concluded, so I skedaddled all the way to the front of the park, where I entered the Kings Island Theater as the pre-show was beginning. I hopped into the front row next to @whengodsaysgo (whom I saw earlier at WindSeeker and decided to enjoy the park together after work!). I had not seen Gravity since June 12 when the rola-bola act last performed, so I got to see the new contortion act for the first time. That act was AMAZING and unlike any other contortion act I have seen! The bicycle act is still my favorite though. The seat next to mine remained empty, so Toothless, my Vortex beanie bear and my stuffed bumblebee got their own seat! And of course, we had to get a picture with the cast afterward. For the first time I was first in line for the meet and greet. We headed back to Vortex (yes, I know, you're SO surprised ) and rode the rest of the way to 600...er, 600 1/3 together. For #597 1/3, #598 1/3, and #599 1/3, we rode in 2-1, 7-1, and 4-1, respectively. Taking #599 1/3 aboard Train 3 was special, as I was on Train 3 when I got the 1/3 ride (PM me if you want more details) a.k.a. my incomplete 547th ride last month, so it paid homage to that atypical ride as without it my count would have been 600 that time. Also a side note: if/when I say "600th ride" or the like, the number refers to the number of completed rides, i.e. right now I have ridden Vortex 602 1/3 times, yet I might tell someone I have ridden it 602 times. As we got back in line for the momentous 600th 1/3 ride, Train 1 was departing and there were two groups of two in front of us in line for the front row, which meant we would board Train 1 when it returned and I would ride in the EXACT SAME SEAT where I took my 100th, 200th, 300th, 400th, 500th, and first test rides of 2017 and 2018!! Finally, I was next to board the front seat, and Train 1 arrived for my milestone spin. We stepped aboard and my crewmate at Unload snapped the traditional picture... As always, my "milestone train" gave us a great ride as I experienced my first six inversions for the 600th time! I'm glad things worked out so I could enjoy yet another milestone ride with a friend! Thanks for joining me @whengodsaysgo! It was 6:20 when we boarded, but a brief delay in the station had us sitting in the brake run for several minutes (no worries, it was a nice way to relax!) so we got off at 6:30. We parted ways, as she wanted to see Gravity again at 7, but I had to leave at 7, so after saying bye, I "celebrated" by riding Vortex again of course. I rode in 5-1 this time to wish "smooth sailing" for the ride to 700! And yes, 5-1 was smooth, but not the smoothest ride I've had in that row. This was 5-1 on Train 1, by the way, and I think my earlier rides in 2-1 and 6-1 on Train 2 were a little bit smoother (or at least didn't vibrate as much) which I found funny. Gotta love Arrows, where the ride experience can vary by the day! Toothless got his own picture with Train 1 after disembarking from #600 1/3. This is my drawing closer up, with Train 1 rolling in in the background. Using various pictures as my guide, it took me four hours to draw and another two to color this thing! I still had 20 minutes before I had to leave so I decided to give WindSeeker some love. I was assigned to Seat 15, right next to another single rider in Seat 16. I noticed her "Coaster Hair Don't Care" shirt and mentioned how I had seen it in the shops and always thought about getting one. I eventually mentioned that WindSeeker and Vortex are the rides I work and that Vortex is my favorite ride, and then she mentioned that we saw each other earlier in the day when she rode Vortex because I had apparently said the same thing to her earlier about how Vortex is my favorite ride. When she mentioned that, I did remember seeing her earlier! It was so cool riding WindSeeker with one of the very same guests that I helped while working! The timing of that is simply amazing! We talked throughout the ride about various things, all while enjoying the view. As we touched down on solid ground once again, we decided it would be fun to ride Vortex together. So we went back over there. Train 1 was departing as we arrived, which meant we would end up riding Train 2, where I had experienced my smoothest rides this day. We were going for 2-1 but the row was taken so we rode in 1-2. In the meantime we talked about the experiences we have had with riding Vortex, and I eventually mentioned to her the riding habits I developed as early as my second ride. Our ride together was fun and mostly smooth (other than the Arrow-esque transitions as always) and she and I both had a good time! The advice I gave helped her and she didn't get a headache like on her previous ride. But even on her previous ride she still enjoyed it, from what she told me. We exchanged our "it was nice meeting you" 's and headed our separate ways, as it was now 7:00 and I needed to leave. She has a Gold Pass so we will likely see each other again, and I hope we do because we had a nice time riding WindSeeker and Vortex together! I made my way out of the park, including walking past Off the Charts as they performed. I'm glad they came back this year. They sound great! +Vortex: 8 YTD: 109 1/3 Total: 602 1/3 +WindSeeker: 1 YTD: 17 Total: 136

That is very good advice. We got 11:40am tickets around 11:10am on a Sunday, but we were very lucky. The people behind us in line had to wait until after 4:00pm. Time Traveler is indeed awesome. Ride it several times, as every ride is different. The spinning itself isn't too crazy; I wouldn't worry too much about getting dizzy, if you're sensitive to spinny rides. Thunderation and Outlaw Run are fantastic rides as well. I would recommend avoiding Thursdays for that park, as those are busier than Mon-Wed or Fri. If you visit between now and this upcoming weekend, the park is open until 10:00pm instead of the usual 7:00pm closing time. (Night rides!)

I think it's pretty interesting with the poster that reads "Oak Strong and Iron Bound" with "Mason-Sandusky" underneath. A lot of people on Reddit are speculating with the "6919 site," suggesting that if you combine the 3,415 feet of track on both sides of The Racer, you get 6,830 feet, and can possibly be lengthened with an RMC Möbius loop conversion. I certainly hope that isn't what's being teased here, as its ridership from last season was higher than in 2015 when they led people to think it was closing then.

Changing your screen name to Steel Vengeance 44?

I combined your two threads and changed the name. It should be good now. I have been to Six Flags St. Louis a couple times, though I have yet to make it to Over Texas. As for St. Louis, The Boss is running very well after the work on it prior to this season. Six Flags doesn't have a great reputation for maintaining wood coasters, so I was more than pleased. You may find that you don't need a full day there, in which case you might want to explore something else in the area. I very highly recommend visiting City Museum if you have time.

He might be able to explain it better

Ok guys, we're not going to turn every thread into an SOB thread. Got it?

Son of Beast was the 5th major coaster to be removed at the park Outpost 5 is the abandoned Son of Beast site The original station is still there There's a crate in the poster Fred Grub was rumored to be sighted at the park Good lord...

Interesting poster. I'm having 2012 KIC flashbacks, though...

Can I just say, wow. The park was like a ghost town, all the rides where pretty much a walk on. Coney Mall? Dead. Racer? No riders. The Beast? No one. I ended up riding everything a good 6 times! I also didn't have to wait in line for LaRosa's! (Which is what I eat every time i'm there) I ended that night off well.

So, my brother's fiance works for an insurance company, gave me tickets to go to KI. Their company's outreach I believe. My son and I went while my wife decided to sit this one out. We arrived at 9:40am, I purchased the preferred parking and was literally 8 cars over in the front row. Excellent place to be. We started our day having him measured. Seeing how we were at Cedar Point last month, I assumed he would miss the 54" mark. However, the bar literally skimmed his hair and I was surprised that he was even closer than just a month ago. He was excited at the prospect of being able to ride Banshee, considering the height requirement is 54" for Raptor. Not really sure why it's different, but it is. I am figuring it may have something to do with the forces on each coaster. It was actually my first time on Banshee as well and we were both really impressed. This one by far is the best between the two. Trey loved it so much that we got right back in line. We probably waited 10 minutes each time. I am not sure I can pick a favorite element, but that slow inline twist at the end is really freaky. Next, we headed over to Delirium. He wanted to ride it even though maXair is a clone, but with a longer ride cycle. He enjoyed that as well and was surprised it was so close to that rooftop. We went to Adventure Express after that, which is a favorite of ours. After riding Cedar Cree Mine Ride last year, clearly AE is the superior mine train coaster. CCMR is slow and boring, comparatively. Next, we went to The Racer, followed by The Vortex and The Beast. We were meeting with my brother and his fiance Michelle at 12 at the Eiffel Tower, so we did not have enough time to get to Mystic Timbers before then. I felt like getting in 7 rides was pretty good to be noon. After meeting with them, we headed off to Mystic Timbers. Couldn't afford Fast Lane, so we waited about 30-45 minutes. We both felt that it was a reasonable wait. I had been on MT last season, so not new, but boy, that coaster does not let up for a single second. However, my brother had not been on MT and he said he liked it even better than Thunderhead. Next, we went back around to catch another lap on The Vortex, Delirium and Banshee. At that point, it was time to meet up for lunch with our group. Trey had wanted to try to win us some Fast Lane passes, so we stopped there before heading over. This kid of mine not only hit Mystic Timbers once, but hit it a second time, which I thought was fairly lucky. I can't recall exactly what we did in what order (old age catching up with me), but we did manage to get a lap on The Bat. We wanted to save one of our FL for a night ride, so we found other things to get into. The only thing we found disappointing was that Shake, Rattle, & Roll was closed the entire day. We love that ride, but nothing was going to ruin our day. We eventually made our way around to Mystic Timbers so we could use one of the two passes. We showed our ticket to the attendant at the entrance and were sent through. We got to the station where I showed that attendant our pass. He looked at me and said, "shhhh, don't tell anyone, but put that back in your pocket, come back later and use it again." I thanked him and told Trey when we boarded about what had taken place. Very nice of him to do that for us. Around 8:00pm, we bought a drink and headed to the car for some much needed rest and A/C. Came back in at 8:30 and ate dinner at LaRosa's on International Street. I actually think the pizza was better this year than previously. Not that it was bad last year, but it had too much sauce. As we were in line, we were held up by an angry younger lady who wanted to purchase and all day drink cup, but picked up an all season cup. He informed her of the price and she asked why it was so high. The cashier told her that it was because it was an all season cup. She was very belligerent and couldn't understand why he couldn't just adjust the price of the cup. I knew it was because of the color of the cup and subsequent bar coding of said cup. Finally, a manager came out with more all day cups and problem solved. When I proceeded to pay for our meal, I commended him on holding it together while being screamed at. He said that he had just started working in there after being pulled from working as a sweep. What a way to begin that shift. We decided to finish our night with rides on Banshee, Mystic Timbers, and The Beast. As we waited on Banshee, the queues emptied out with four people in front of us. They headed towards the back. The ride attended asked how many in our party. I replied two and then asked if we could go to row 1. She said, "sure". What luck! Yet another great ride and we purchased an on-ride photo to commemorate the event. Afterwards, we rented a locker near MT and went through the FL with our final ride. We previously had a night-ish ride, but it was not quite as dark as this time. MT is a fantastic ride in the dark and at one point, I couldn't see anything and was quite thrilled with the sudden changes in the pitch black. Afterwards, we traveled over to The Beast, watched the fireworks since it was not running, and then waited for the announcement that it was all clear to ride. As per usual, it delivered the best ride of the night. We promptly went back to our locker to pick up our on-ride photo, bought some cotton candy at a nearby cart and headed out. My son says that I am a cotton-holic Lol. We headed for the front gate and went to the Super 8 Mason where we shared a room with my brother and Michelle. All in all, a great day where we managed to get in 17 rides. Considering my brother bought a FL and only managed 20, I'd say we did pretty well for ourselves.

^If Cedar Fair wants to truly do something about this, then report these videos to YouTube as being illegal videos so that they are removed. Next ban Wesley Redding for his POV on Steel Vengeance and Millennium Force. Revoke season pass if he has one and whoever else was with him. Ban him from the park. Run a promo video that says this is what happens if you do this. Next ban Mike Boilard for his POV of his little princess on Iron Dragon and Pipe Scream. Revoke the whole family's season passes. Ban them from park and ...(see above).. Next do a simple search of YouTube and find these other videos and do the same as above... Until the park does something to get these removed from social media, they will continue to be posted. It really isn't that hard to figure out who most of the people are that post this stuff and then cross-reference the season pass holder names to find said person... Until they set an example like Kentucky Kingdom of what will happen if you have a cell phone out on the ride, it will continue to happen. Make some of these people poster boys for breaking the law and a lot of people will stop (there will always be some that still do) but let's get real with enforcement!!! With an injury from a flying cell phone, the lawyer will have a field day finding these videos and using as evidence that CF doesn't care...

I'd would hurt the launch experience but don't think it'd hurt the ride as a whole. The launch doesn't go the whole way up the hill so it slows down a lot before cresting the top. I'm sure a chain lift could match the speed it ends up at to keep the remainder of the ride the same.

Looks like this attraction is coming along nicely.

It's difficult for me to ride that anymore. When they do replace Vortex they need to alert everyone so those who wants can ride it last one time. Maybe have it sponsored by TriHealth...lol