Dvo

When I'm in Cincinnati, I listen to WEBN for the most part. A truly good rock station.

So, here's another shameless plug, haha. I operate a horror movie review blog, but it's really just turning into a horror review blog. And I put up a review of my trip to Sandusky last weekend for Halloweekends and Lake Erie Fear Fest at Ghostly Manor. Here's a link if you guys want to check it out! http://theunholycathedral.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/ohio/

Let's be serious. No KI top 10 is complete without some Adventure Express love.

I've been to the Dells a few times, but surprisingly never Noah's Ark. I will say, however, that Poseidon's Rage wavepool at Mt. Olympus is just awesome. Hands down the best wavepool I've ever seen.

7-1 on Vortex is still one of my favorite rides at Kings Island.

in beef or clothes!

I renewed my Cedar Point pass quite easily, to be honest. Took all of 5 minutes, and I didn't have any issues at the entrance gates.

You could probably also just buy the penguin online... Just saying.

If you're in Chicago, I'd absolutely say it's worth the trip, but make sure you allow for enough time in the park. Being near Chicago, it draws quite large crowds. So either go on a weekday/Sunday, or be prepared to buy a Flash Pass.

It's not the worst park to have nearby, that's for sure. I was also very intrigued by the season-long meal plan they're offering. Only $60 for the entire year! If I went more than a few times, I'd be all over it. Pretty good deal if you ask me.

Haven't done a trip report in a long time, so I figure this is a good reason to do one. I went up to SFGAm today to check out X-Flight. It was a hot sunny day, but the crowds were actually pretty light, especially for that park. I walked through the gates about 3 minutes before 10:00, and went straight back to X-Flight. By the time I got there, there was about a 15-minute wait. Well worth it. Now the nice thing about X-Flight is that even before you get on the ride, you can really enjoy it. This thing is just plain fun to watch. From the inverted first drop to the keyhole element, it's fun. And the queue goes right through the infield, so the coaster is always whizzing by. Not to mention some mist, water, and sound effects. Ok, now to the ride. I decided to start on the right wing, having heard that's better. And I sat in row 6, based on a friend's recommendation. And wow... what a ride. The first drop is pretty strange the first time or two you do it. On the right side you dip "under" the track ever so slowly, before diving down to the rest of the course. Then it's plenty of in-line twists and good turn-arounds, before you get to the keyhole. The keyhole itself is simply brilliant, and that's where the ride really differs from left and right. On the right side, it honestly looks like you're going to smack face-first into the walls of that tower, even after multiple rides. And the winged seats really help here too, because it doesn't matter if you're in the front, middle, or back. Just a fantastic element all together. And then there's a high-g helix to finish the ride. Overall, I thought X-Flight was fantastic. Easily my favorite coaster in that park. My second ride was front seat on the left wing. It was still very good, but I didn't really get the "scare factor" out of the keyhole on the left side. By that point, the line had gotten pretty long, so I did some other rides. Batman, American Eagle, and Vertical Velocity were all walk-ons, so I did a re-ride on Batman and V2. Then it was over to Southwest Territory for some Raging BullBore. After about a 20-minute wait, I was on the back seat. The first drop is fantastic. That's about it. Then I went to Viper for another walk-on. Every time I ride that thing I seem to forget how much fun it is. There are some really good airtime hills, especially when sitting near the back. I finished up Southwest Territory by getting a lap on Giant Drop, then it was back to X-Flight. I got two more rides on X-flight, both on the right wing, near the back of the train. It doesn't lose its fun value at all, even after multiple rides. Just a great coaster. Also, for those keeping track, I've been on Wild Eagle as well, and in terms of the actual ride, this thing is miles ahead of Wild Eagle. But the view of the Smokey Mountains is pretty incredible down south, and you're also not in a concrete paradise. I wrapped up the day by getting a quick lap on Demon, and then another ride on Viper. It was a relatively short day, but still very fun. Ride Count: X-Flight: 4 Raging Bull: 1 Demon: 1 Viper: 2 Batman: 2 V2: 2 American Eagle: 1 Also, I took a few quick pictures with my phone. Some turned out way better than others, haha. But if you wanna see them, here's a link. http://s1016.photobucket.com/albums/af282/dtrain1008/X-Flight/

Yeah, looks like a pretty poor day in terms of weather, haha. But still manageable.

Yeah, there's a lot more to action park than just that slide. But that's one of the crazier things they did, no doubt.

Pony Express at Knott's Berry Farm. This thing is a complete gimmick, and it's not even a good one. Runner Up: Raging Bull at SFGAm. Very fun first drop, then a barrage of trim brakes.

Well that's perfect then, because who wants SOB to run anything like what it did in its heyday?

I can help there! I think it depends what you're looking for. I live in the Chicagoland area now, and I just went down to Dollywood for opening day. If you're looking for a larger collection of coasters and such, Six Flags has a larger collection of rides and such. But the bad part is it's often very crowded, it's a concrete paradise, and it's pretty pricy if you're just going for one day (unless you have a season pass). Dollywood is a very charming park with some really cool views. Being in the middle of the mountains really helps out the atmosphere down there, at least for me. They have good live entertainment, good food, and as far as I can tell, smaller crowds. But they also have less rides. Thunderhead is a world-class woodie, no doubt about it. And Mystery Mine and Wild Eagle are definitely unique experiences. I'd even say Blazing Fury falls into that category. But after that, I think Dollywood benefits more from the overall feel of the park than anything else. So if you're just looking to ride, I'd say go to SFGAm. But if you're looking for a day at the park with the family, I'd recommend Dollywood.

^Me too. Absolutely loved Demon Drop.

Power Tower. That small jolt you get right when you reach the very top of the Turbo Drop side... Scares the crap out of me every time.

Completely agree. Gotta love Millennium Flyer trains. And wow, that ride is just incredible from start to finish. It's definitely in my top 3 wooden coasters (the other two can be found at a fun place in Southern Indiana).

I also rode Wild Eagle, and you're right. There's plenty of forces to be had, from the airtime on the first drop to the G's you pull in that final helix. The ONLY thing I can take away from it is that it has a lot of momentum going into that downhill brake run to the station. It seems like that coaster could have gone through a lot more track before returning to the station. But given the terrain and park layout, I think they did a fantastic job. Looking forward to X-Flight up here at SFGAm.

Pretty scary stuff. That's the kind of thing that everyone fears with that style of restraint, and to actually see it happening makes it even scarier. But at the same time, I don't think I've ever actually felt "unsafe" on a ride, and I don't think this changes anything for me.

I absolutely loved KC, for the same reasons mentioned above. The first drop and the loop were fun, but that airtime hill after the loop was just insane. I remember always going to KC at the end of the day for walk-on rides between 9:30 and 10:00 and just going again and again. Definitely one of my favorite rides ever at Kings Island. As far as the B&M stand-ups go, I actually like all of them, including Iron Wolf Apocalypse. They may be jerky and induce a lot of G's into your calves, but I like the layouts (especially Riddler's Revenge), and they do some crazy inversions.

B&M Invert

Wow, yeah. Those trains would be a massive improvement on the junkers they had on CCMR. Those things aren't accommodating for an average size person, much less someone who is 6'6". Maybe I'll have to give it a spin for once this year.

^Exactly my thoughts. Almost all of these stories are related to the Orlando-area parks or their sister parks throughout the world. I think Cedar Fair getting a new CEO is a much bigger story than Halloween Horror Nights' changes.