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Great to see your having fun and thanks for the live update. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Personally I like the tough stand on the line jumping rule and the designated smoking area, just as long as they are providing adequate smoking areas (I don't smoke but respect others). The family who shot the video should be very happy that Six does not have a tough policy for sitting on hand rails.

Corey So good to hear from you and I am glad you were able to get to Kings Island so early in the year. Wow no wait time at most the rides that must have been a real treat for you and your son to experience together. It's one thing for a young man to get beat by his mother at the SDATHC and it's a whole different story having her tell the whole world about it, I hope he still talks to you after this. Well thank you for the report I enjoyed reading it and hope there are more trips for you guys in the near future.

Nice Job, I am so looking forward to two days of riding fun!!!! Looks like Kings Island has planned another great event and form the looks of it there will be a lot of KICentral members in attendance.

Thanks everyone for the comments it really means a lot, I do enjoy doing these. We I posted this last night it was way past my bedtime on a work night so forgive me for some of the rough parts, I have now gone back through and cleaned the report up a bit with grammar mistakes and elaborated on some of the event reviews. In addition to that my PC's have decided to work with my photo/video host so I have now added a few more videos in the report (Mr. CowPie, Down Home Country). It was great to meet/meet up with many members here I was planning to include more in this report but as you can see it was getting to long as it was plus if you seen my list of who I seen at the park It would take another day to type this report up. I think the RWW report will focus more on the meet ups and rides. LongliveTheSmurfRide – absolutely you may use any of the panoramic pictures, just be aware that in many of them you can see the stitching edges and some are not so smooth. I used them any way because I felt they helped the viewer to be able to see the whole area better. J.D. - There were many reasons for the delay and I had planned to wait until tonight to post which I should have after reading some of the errors. Yeah the tulips are a must for me in the spring, I just love how they brighten that whole area up. I do enjoy the little things in the park as well as you probably noticed, in fact the way some get excited about Diamondback and other rides, well thats how I feel about the other areas of the park. I love to see the new shows or the little changes here and there if they are good or bad I just makes it interesting.I do like the y new camera although it point and shot it adds some tools I did not have with my other one. Phantom sorry I did not say hi but to be honest trying to stay in the seated area to keep from getting ran over you all were just a blur. RailRider thanks for the support and I was editing that out as you were posting I was wondering how long it took for someone to jump on the eating themselves part. LOL ,BTW any news yet?

Hi everyone I have looked forward to writing this trip report for so long, mostly because as I write this Kings Island has opened for the 2009 season. This years opening day offered so much that I wish I had another day to get it all in. But that is wishful thinking and I enjoyed the time I had, so lets just get right to it. With the new addition of the 22 million dollar roller coaster called Diamondback at Kings Island and it's opening with the rest of the park on April 18 2009, it offered a rare opportunity for Kings Island to raise money to benefit a charity by auctioning off the first riders seats. A Kid Again organization was selected to be the beneficiary of Diamondbacks first rider auction. I had the opportunity to witness various activities leading up to the ceremonial first rides. So my Family decided to arrive in Mason on Friday so we would be well rested to arrive at Kings Island on Saturday morning by 6AM without a 2 hour drive beforehand . We checked into a local area resort and decided to have a early evening dinner at Frisch's Big Boy Later back at the resort while I was fulfilling a promised swim with Miss Rae and experimenting with my new waterproof camera I decided to enter the hot whirlpool to relax and to reflect on Kings Island opening day in conjunction to Diamondbacks auction of the first rider and how that not only benefits A Kid Again organization but many others who we may not have realized. Such as the area's restaurants and lodging facilities Employment for workers, on and off Kings Island property, money raised from various taxes generated form park. Interest in Organizations and Clubs such as KICentral. Below is a video that was part of the opening of Diamondback ceremonies and shows how much the state of Ohio appreciates Kings Island. Many of us guests look forward to our visits to Kings Island for building memories and to be entertained. I think knowing how Kings Island contributes to the local community all the while they are trying to focus on being a top notch amusement park shows incredible leadership and to us enthusiast it is the cherry on top to a beloved park. Saturday April 18, 2009 Review of Kings Island Opening Day Opening day at kings Island offers park guest and enthusiast alike the opportunity to tour the park and ride their favorite attractions. More than this it opening day usually comes with some park changes that I myself look forward to seeing while also enjoying some once a year events. Below is my review of my day and my thoughts about them. This year as most who will be reading this report know Kings Island opening weekend corresponded with the opening of Kings Island new 22 million dollar roller coaster called Diamond back and offered a auction for first riders. I submitted a bid several weeks back and added to it earlier in the week so I could support a great cause, also because a winning bid guarantees you to be a witness to a new iconic attraction and it's opening ceremonies. I arrived at the park at 6 AM and waited in various lines leading up to the opening of Diamondback. Things seemed to be running a bit rough and I thought to my self along with many others how do they plan to process 256 donors through one processing window in one hour, that would mean they would need to process 4.2 donors per minute. I think this early snafu caused the park to make changes on the fly and was cause for the first rider process to come across to the donors to be disorganized. The area around Diamondback was beautiful and looked as the planners really paid attention to detail. I had the privileged to meet up with many KICentral members while I waited, such as Indianapolisman and IBEW Sparky During the ride I was seated next to a true coaster enthusiast Gigacoaster2k. Diamondback lived up to the hype of being a fast air time coaster with stunning feature elements. I would add that if I was to describe the ride experience would be something like "Its a fun enjoyable ride with lots of floating air time that makes you want to ride again and again". Including a beautiful water area complete with a waterfall stream at the end of the ride. The splash the Diamondback trains make as they travel almost effortlessly over that area is beautiful to watch as well. After the first rider ride we were given a voucher for a free photograph of our ride in the new DB Trader Post After our ride the donors were given a appreciation gift bag in addition to the free park ticket and on ride photo voucher, I feel the appreciation gifts were generous and felt the park and the A Kid Again organization showed their appreciation. After leaving the staging area I was lucky enough to witness the running of the General Public to get their opportunity of their first ride. One of the great things about a park opening a thrill coaster is the attention it brings from many theme/amusement park enthusiast and Diamondback brought many enthusiast from around the country. One particular site called RexandtheBeast.com brought Rex in from Colorado gave Kat (a member of KICentral) a free first rider ride. Rex, Kat and many other KICentral members decided to walk over to the Beast roller coaster for our first ride of the season and to experience the ride after some rehabbing of the track and a updated entrance area. In opinion The Beast is running better and smother than anytime I can remember all the way back to it's opening in 1979. kudos to the maintenance crew for the fantastic work. I had the honor to ride with Rex and threw that ride I have become a bigger fan of the RexandtheBeast.com. At this point we meet up with some other members and some left the group to ride others various attractions. The attractions we rode ran smoothly and the crews were very friendly except the very late opening of one of my favorite rides Flight of Fear. I decided at this point to take a break from the group to change into some cooler clothes and to escape from the hustle of this days high adrenaline activities. As I reentered Kings Island front gates I was drawn to the beautiful yearly display of the tulips around the Royal Fountain. One last one with Diamondback the new iconic thrill ride in the background. When Kings Island opens a new show, shop, restaurant or ride I like to go by as soon as I can to review for myself. Kings Island was debuting three new shows, a upgraded restaurant and a special one day concert on this opening day so my afternoon was going to be busy or I would not be able to experience them all on this visit. First up was a new kid show called Marty's Party playing at Putz Headquarters Theater. Most shows I have seen in the kids area usually appeal to the toddler age children or to the 7-10 age group and rarely if ever to both groups. I feel Marty;s Party does appeal to both groups but mostly to the older children who can follow along with some of the complexities of the special effect props. It is in my opinion that Marty's Party is the best show I have seen in the kids area since the early nineties and was my best pick for new shows so far this year. If you have children please do not miss this fun entertaining show. Hungry Lets Eat!! Rivertown Junction is a buffet restaurant which was formally named "Wings" The park announced that the restaurant was to be renamed and was being slightly rehabbed. The price is $16.99 for adults which is a $1.00 increase from last year. With the increase they now offer Carved Roast Beef in my opinion a slightly better pasta bar and the usual buffet selections. I also felt the desert selections had some better choices with 3 flavors of Edy's Ice Cream. This will be my lowest review of the day. The food was good and hot, we had to wait for the carved beef for over 5 minutes. The rehab is hardly visible and the bathrooms...Oh My. $16.99 and the best service ware is cheap flimsy plastic. If my video turned out of me trying to cut through my serving of the carved beef with that plastic fork and knife, I would have posted it here. Bad Bad Bad. Bottom line if you ate there last year and liked it then go back if you are willing to pay an extra dollar for it. If you have not eaten there the food is OK the atmosphere is very lack lusting. Next up is a special one day concert of a group called Parrots of the Caribbean. I attended the 2:30 show, the group was entertaining while playing the crowd favorites from Jimmy Buffet best hits. Several members and staff from KICentral gathered to watch the show and to take a group photo which did not turn out. So I will just post a video of one of the songs from Parrots of the Caribbean. Big portions of this day was spent away from my family so I decided to take some time to meet with them and to ride a couple attractions with them. Miss Rae insisted that since the temperature had reached the mid 70's that we need to ride White Water Canyon to cool her off. She was pleased as you can see but I seemed to get the worst of it. We also took some time to go up the Eiffel Tower so I could take a minute and watch fondly over one of my favorite rides in the park "Avatar". Yes we watched Diamondback from the air too. Next up was a walk over to Festhaus for a couple new shows there. First up is Mr. CowPie I did not know what to expect from the show but was pleased as it seems Mr. CowPie really resonates with the smaller children in the audience. His corny songs mixed in with live animals tidbits was a show that I could similarly find on a morning children's channel. I caught myself watching the various small children in the audience and they all seemed captivated with Mr. CowPie's show. I think it is a nice touch that the children have two shows this year and shows that are geared to two different age groups. I was a bit concerned why have a children show in Festhaus but after thinking about it, I feel it will be a great place for families to come to get out of the weather to eat. The show will keep the younger children's attention while the parents can regroup and eat their meals too. I like Mr. CowPie show in the Festhaus and I truly think the entertainment department should get a nice pat on the back for thinking out side the box and moving a children's show into the Festhaus. Right after that show I decided to stick around and watch " Down Home Country". The performers sing a lot of old great classic country music. I liked Down Home Country, it has lots of action and I really enjoyed the song selections, plus the constant quick song rotation keeps things interesting. I think most county music fans will enjoy the show as long as they don't come to it to critique it like they paid $50.00 to see it. I know I will be enjoying many lunches at the Festhaus this season. After the show I meet back up with the KICentral members over at Diamondback so we may get a few final night rides in. It is always a highlight to visit with fellow members in the lines. It make the waits go so much quicker. We all rode The Beast at night which in my opinion is still the best night ride, it's so classic, I do not see anything being better at night. Our last ride was Diamondback and as we waited in line visiting with each other about that days activities the fireworks started and we watched them just above Diamondback's lift hill and we watched some trains splash down all the while the fireworks exploding in the background. Picture below does not show well but at least it will give you an idea how magnificent the atmosphere was there. I usually do not gt to emotional about park visits but standing there at that time with fellow park friends/enthusiast at our home park Kings Island was about all I could take. It truly felt good to be home. Avatar/Jesse

dare-to-fly nice long detailed report I enjoyed the read but must admit trying to read all these reports while trying to type one out myself is daunting. I agree with about the night ride on Diamondback (although I have had just one) was nice but I think The Beast night ride is still the night ride of choice for me and we rode both those back to back Saturday night.

If your ITouch has GPS in it it should and it works on the 3g which is why the ITouch will not work with that App then as I am figuring out as I type this.

Hi Indyguy4KI well if you have an Iphone a good App for that is called Bubbl'in users create a password and a user name then everyone can see each other on a map (within 10-15 feet). So Far i have no takers to try it at KI but i use it at times to keep track of my drivers to see if they are actually moving.

DVO nice report i am glad you had such a great time kyurthich (alan) Welcome to KICentral we look forward to you input.

Great report indianapolisman, I meant to ask about your shirt but figured you were showing support for that weekends walk but like a fool I did not make the connection to think you had a more personal reason for wearing it. I am so glad everything worked out for you and that you got to come for the first rider auction, I think you were more worried about giving to the cause than the Diamondback ride. Standbyme you was missed Saturday and I actually said to my self a couple times "Standbyme would love to see this". Also that picture you referenced to Standbyme there was 7 of us park enthusiasts there and while the firework fanaily was going off there was a Diamondback train going up and one was splashing down. All seven of us was in complete awe.

Hey Nemo it was great to see you over the weekend, I think your signature needs an update to "now it past" i never really watched the web cam but was glad some of you did and caught some great shots like Standbyme's trip report. I guess i would look in to see the crowds during the summer.

Great to see you at the park and look forward to hopefully see you at Ride Warrior Weekend.

Rex it looks like you finally got the rest you needed and we all hope that Beast's condition has improved. It was nice having you guys take such an interest in Kings Island as you can tell we take pride in our home park. Seeing others who have such a vast experience of theme/amusement parks such as you and The Beast coming to Kings Island brings excitement and interest for for us and I know we are all looking forward to your report. I enjoyed our conversation and spending some time with you.

Nice report Giga and thanks for the ride, nothing like the first time. sorry for the misdiagnosis of your emotion as I usually only see tears for those who are scared while waiting in line for coasters. Until know I have never seen tears from excitement for a coaster, that is proof positive your a true coaster lover and why they make shirts that say that.

Nice report and I like your idea of running one ongoing thread for your reports, almost like a KI diary. I was bummed that the only time I saw you was passing you on The Racer while you waited in line. I know one of theses days our paths will cross so we may get that longer visit with you.

Yes Cory was the man of the hour Saturday night!! I will add a tidbit to your numbers ZosoBeast the numbers in the station for the attendant to assign guests to, is odd number row is for the seats that are close together while the even number row is for the seats that are separated and sit further out closest to the edge of the train. When I reached the row assigner I politley ask for a even number row. They obliged each time. The Crew on Diamondback is awesome.

Something else I noticed yesterday while appeasing Miss Rae on a ride on White Water Canyon. They have cut down trees and cleared the vegetation between the train and the WWC platform with the exception of a few evergreen trees with the branches trimmed way up the tree. Also on the other side of the track they cut down all/most of the tress between the train and the picnic grove. I was amazed that on WWC loading platform you can see almost the whole picnic grove with nothing in between to buffer, WWC will feel odd in the open like that and in a way lose some of its wooded river ride feel. you'll see what i mean the next time you ride, I just wished i had took a picture of it.

The rates vary wildly depending on the day and the season and usually after the June they are way to expensive for us to consider. Your idea of one night at GWL (Great Wolf Lodge) and one night at a discount motel is one I was discussing with someone else as a reasonable way to enjoy Kings Island and the GWL while trying to keep the cost down. keep in mind you can use the facilities at GWL until 10-11PM on the day you check out. So an example could be considered go to KI on Friday night stay at the discount motel then back to KI in the morning and into the late afternoon. Then check-in at GWL swim or enjoy the amenities that evening and untl late the next day. We have stayed on our check out date past 7PM and will do that sceneio again in the future. Of course you can do GWL on Friday and the discount on Saturday. Good luck

Sorry to be late jumping in but after my recent stay at Kings Island Resort and Conference Center, I can now feel comfortable recommending them as a close alternative as long as you can get a decent rate. In past years the Resort has shown a lot of wear but this past weekend we received great service and a very nice comfortable room. The Resort offers a very large indoor pool and whirlpool, So if you have a family and need a place close with a pool I think at least take a look at their rates to see if they may be an alternative for you.

Having the construction equipment in the picture was another great reason to buy that picture. Now that we all know were the camera is located and the way they position the graphics I think it would be neat to see/do one as if you were scared of the snake coming from behind you.

Nice Kittenpooh, I really enjoyed your choice of pictures it really helped me put a visual to all the stories I have been hearing about the lines. I also like the picture of the webcam and the open today closed tomorrow.

Here is list of a few people I can across yesterday at Kings Island Popwar ToastNJelley CoastersRZ Ogrmac Robin BoddaH1994 Dane Caption Nemo Gordon Bombay violakt03 pkiruller102 Kawana Rex (From RexandtheBeast.com) Beast1979 Trooper Mom Indianapolisman Cory Butcher Tom76257 Phantom Theater Beastman Rollercoaster19 Keiko Coaster Rwildman IBEW Sparky PKIboy Don Helbig windshawne adventure2007 Dvo gigacoaster2k Gforce Ksings STDegner Miss Rae TopGun1993 PKIDelirium CPTP (plus a friend I'm sorry) Terpy maybe maybe not, that remains to be seen. Chris from Beast faeriewench Asher XGatorHead 8904 kjkjkj Zosobeast – Sorry I missed you I would have really liked to have seen you. My picture did not display in the reader so luckily a supervisor recognized me and vouched for me. IBEW Sparky – I tried to call you guys and evidently you guys where at the time on Diamondback, half the group wanted a night ride on The Beast and the other half wanted to hurry to go to finish some rides in Action Zone. I may try to Photo shop you in later. BTW thanks for finding windshawne and bringing her to The Beast.

"YES" in your heart you know he would want us to answer this way. A better question would be did Terpy see you? My answer would be "it was one of my highlights of the day"

Dave, I too dislike lines and go to Disney world every year with a basic plan, I use the Tour Guide Mike System which teaches us how to make plans that fit us, which i use to help me plan a trip to Kings Island and other amusement parks. Since you will not be going till next Sunday I will PM you with a plan that I would follow as a basic guide. BTW Welcome to KICentral!!!!