Bansheelover

The tables are turning. KI got Mystic in 2017, and in 2037 CP will get a GCI woodie.

Kings Island got Flight of Fear in 1996.

Don't forget the 20 year rule. Magnum 1989 Diamondback 2009 MF 2000 Ki Project X 2020 TTD 2003 KI strata 2023!?!?!

Would you all be upset if there were no teasers? Maybe seeing a giant structure start to rise out of the ground be enough for the GP to get really excited. They would not really know what it is, except that is may be a huge roller coaster. A lot of people have not traveled to a park with a giga so they will be amazed by something rising higher than the Diamondback.

The Bansheelover family has returned from their first trip to Carowinds. We planned on doing two full days, but it turned into 4 days of fun. Day 1 Monday June 10 This was initially planned as a travel day, but we made incredible time arriving at our hotel at 5pm. We checked into the hotel, and Carowinds was only 3 miles away. Knowing we had the meal plan we decided to go check it out, and scope out the crowds, eats, and layout. We arrived at 6:30 and found the place to be deserted. If there were 500 people including employees there that might have even been a stretch. There was a lot of bad weather around the park that day, but was cloudy when we arrived. First thing we did was go to Harmony Hall, and grabbed a variety of meals. I had the beef brisket very dry, and didn't go back there again. You would think North Carolina would have some killer BBQ, but Harmony Hall is in South Carolina so it did not. The kids hate the pizza which I too snagged a bite and enjoyed. With the excitement of hardly anyone there we knew Fury would be walk on. Before the last bites of food were swallowed we were headed towards Carowinds' famous monster giga coaster. Looking at the teal coaster it is a magnificent, intimidating, and beautiful ride. We board the four wide train with clamshell restraints. Chris the ride attendant came, and made sure we were not getting out. He was best restraint placer ever. Never once did we have problems with our restraints. The all clear was given, and up we went. Never had I rode a coaster that was so smooth and forceful. The initial drop into the twists was amazing. The turnaround, and following airtime hills were amazing. We rode it 3 more times before we turned out attention to Copperhead. Copperhead did not have a line either. I'm not going to go into detail on this amazing ride. You need to experience it for yourself. A great thing the Carowinds staff did today was they did not require us to exit and walk around. As long as no one was waiting for your row just ride on. We stayed until closing exploring, and finishing with riding Ricochet which is terrifying. Day 2 Tuesday June 11 This day was planned to be an all day event. We arrived at 10 and stayed until 8. The kids got tired, but we rode everything multiple times. Nighthawk was our longest wait, and it was no Firehawk. It was terrible. Afterburn was fun, but Banshee is superior in every way. Hurler has a lot of new track, but is a very tame mild wooden coaster even our youngest thought it was a kiddie ride. Carolina Cyclone was a longer version of Cedar Point's Corkscrew, but just an old arrow coaster. Intimidator was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the Dale Earnhardt theme I really enjoyed the hard turn to the back of coaster. A lot of force there. We ate Chic Fil A, and Carowinds cafe. Their version of Hank's it was very good. Day 3 Wednesday June 12 This day was a rainout, and supposed to be our last full day. Before the heavy rains we got two rides on Fury, and ate lunch at the Blue Ridge Country Kitchen. It was a lot like Coney BBQ. The park closed at 6pm and we left around 12. Day 4 Thursday June 13 Due to the heavy rains we decided to return to the park. Although original plans called for us to leave for Cincinnati at 10 am. We went to the park and had a great time. We got 4 more rides on Fury and 2 more on Copperhead. The youngest wanted to ride Ricochet again, which is the still the scariest ride I've ever rode. All in all we had a wonderful time. The kids enjoyed seeing familiar things, and discovering new. The ride attendants made sure you could ride, and would not just tell you to get lost. Having Platinum passes is well worth the extra money, and Charlotte is an easy beautiful drive down I-77. Fury 325 is the king of their coaster lineup. It dominates the drive in, and everyone is focused on it. The staff knows it is their money ride. We will return the littlest is able to ride Fury.

Don't get me wrong, I love the separators. I believe they make the line organized, and flow better. However yesterday after waiting for quite a while for Diamondback the separator assigned us to rows 3-4. He asked us if that was ok, which I thought was a little odd considering how busy they were. Then right as our train entered the station he moved us to 7-8, and placed four different people in our previous location. I was like whatever, but the kids were upset after the ride because they wanted to ride towards the front. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

Very interesting concept here, I do not track anything at all. I am however disappointed in the low number of Banshee rides you have taken.

To all those complaining it might be as big as you want please don’t ride it, so I don’t have to wait in a line. Thanks. Thank you to whoever went and got the prints this is an exciting time!

I just hope they remember us bigger folk.

Just rode the Diamondback three times. No problems no issues, sat higher in my seat.

It curious to see the current clearing footprint so close to The Beast, but I’m going to put my understanding of this to the engineers, and Cedar Fair knowing exactly what needs to be done to make a world class ride.

It was exactly how I sat. I sat really low causing the the restraints to hit me farther up my thighs. Usually I sit really tall, and it’s lower. I laughed it off, and will ride it again next time.

Tonight after the rainstorms the the eldest daughter and I went to Kings Island. We rode The Beast twice, and then turned our attention to the Diamondback. After enjoying three rides, we decided to go for a fourth ride on the Diamondback. Being a 6’3” 250 lbs individual I am able to ride all the rides at KI. This time however I did not sit in my seat right, and didn’t push my restraint down correctly. So comes over am employee, he tried multiple times to get me in, and then told me I could go ride The Bat or Vortex as they are more likely to accommodate my size. I told him I had just rode this, and never had a problem, but I’ve never had the walk. So I can put that on my list of Park accomplishments.

The excitement of the new season is here, and anticipation for a great new roller coaster is reaching a fever pitch! Here are things we know 1. Firehawk has been torn down, and the land has been excavated. 2. Large amount of clearing has taken place behind The Racer. 3. Cedar Fair and Kings Island have a contract with B & M. 4. There are large amounts of track being made with MRT written on them. Things we are speculating 1. Where is the track marked MRT going? 2. Is this summer the summer they finally announce a Giga? 3. What are they building deeper in the woods? 4. Will we hype it up to much, and be disappointed? I truly believe in about 4-6 weeks we will begin seeing teasers throughout the park, and by August 1 we will know what is happening. Cedar Fair and Kings Island have been listening to the guest we received new antique cars, and a refurbished Istreet. I doubt we are let down, and will be seeing a record breaking Giga coaster. Cedar Fair loves to break and make new records that is why I think this will be their most impressive Giga coaster yet. I could not find any other park besides Hershey who was getting a large coaster. I will be surprised and disappointed if Kings Island does not receive its Giga.

We ate at the Chicken Shack Friday night. The food was hot and fresh, however took along time, they were very busy. One complaint about the Chicken Shack. The employees were very hard to hear when they called out your number. Be loud!!! Saturday we ate at the Brewhouse very good. I had the BBLT which was great, and my daughter had the KI Salad which was also wonderful. I was envious of her selection. That evening we ate at Panda. Hot and fresh. Good first weekend on the food front!

I'm usually a 2-3 click guy on Mystic, but Saturday only 1. I don't know if it was the layers of clothing I wore, or my off season weight gain program I enjoyed.....

Does anyone have any exciting plans for this summer? The Bansheelover family has purchased Platinum passes for the first time ever, and are taking the show on the road! We have made plans to hit Carowinds, Cedar Point,Michigan's Adventure, and of course Kings Island. We have been to Cedar Point, but never the others. Does anyone have any do's or don't's or any great hotels to stay in? Hope everyone as an "amazing" summer.

As much as I love hearing about the on goings of park, and the blog post was beautifully written, I kind of wish they left this a secret for us to discover on opening day. I have to be honest. I thought 2019 was going to be a non-eventful Kings Island season. I was not thrilled for the antique cars, and have been waiting for the big roller coaster announcement. However as the time has gone by, and the announcements of International Street Renovation, new eateries, and now a Glockenspiel return I am very excited to see everything. I am going to pay closer attention to the details. Hats off to Kings Island management for paying attention to the little details that make Kings Island such a wonderful place for us all.

I am also more excited about the rehab of IS then cars. I actually keep forgetting about the cars.

These pictures you can tell they're just ripping it down, and with they way they are piling it up, off to scrap yard for the Firehawk. However with B & M on board for an unknown project, if they do start grading the land get excited something big is coming. I believe with all the people desperately wanting a Giga, and the newsmedia clamoring around the way they have, Kings Island and Cedar Fair may have been painted into a corner to where they have to go Giga. Anything else would probably be a huge disappointment, and see an attendance drop.

We are very lucky, and I am lucky to have kids who love roller coasters. There have been times they say I know you have to cut the grass or do something, but can we please go ride The Beast one time? I cave we go ride The Beast 2-3 times, and come home.

The Bansheelover family had a great 2018 season at Kings Island. We visited the park 43 times this year. 25 dry park trips,12 Waterpark trips, 3 Haunt trips, and 3 Winterfest trips. Living only 5 minutes away has many benefits. Many of our dry park trips were on errands that were being run down to Fields Ertl seeing the parking lot was not very full. We would run in, and ride a ride the kids wanted to ride, usually Diamondback, and then go home. Most of the trips were 3-4 hours max on very slow days. We rode every coaster 40 plus times with the exception of Firehawk. I only rode it 5 times, and my kids were scared of it. This year my oldest topped 54 from day one, and rode every ride except Firehawk. My middle topped 54 in August, and began riding everything except Firehawk, and the littlest finally hit 48 in October, and took on The Bat, Adventure Express, BLSC, and Mystic Timbers. She expressed fear of The Racer and The Beast. With having a daughter who did not cross into the big rides we also spent a lot of time in Planet Snoopy allowing her to ride multiple rides. We also spent a lot of time in the waterpark, the kids rode everything they were tall enough for more times than I can count. This was also the first year they all wanted to Haunt. It was a great time watching them experience it, and we were able to experience all of Haunt in our three trips. We made three trips to Winterfest experiencing everything it had to offer, and drank way too much hot chocolate. Overall 2018 Kings Island was our greatest year yet! I also took my two oldest to Cedar Point for a day, and they cannot wait to go back. Unknown to my family I have upgraded our passes to platinum, and with food passes. 2019 looks to be the greatest amusement park year of our lives!

Maybe they're going to take a page from the comic books. "Kill off" a major character, (Son of Beast) only to explain they were in a different dimension upon their return...

No, last few years have been a disgrace. I would never pay exclusively for Haunt. The original post asked what my expectations were,and I have high expectations for my experience. Kings Island should want their guest to have a great experience, and I believe this will go a long ways in helping that.

My expectations is that the large crowds will be handled appropriately, and that each group receives time to enjoy the maze instead of being pushed through like cattle to slaughter.