Hoeter

The way I see it...I have a Platinum Pass this year so I might as well use it. I (shockingly) have never been up to Cedar Point. This year, hopefully, that changes as well. We now return to regularly scheduled programming...

^ I never had the opportunity to ride the Flying Eagles when they were at Kings Island...good thing I'll driving through Charlotte in a month and a half and have a Platinum Pass.

On the topic of Banshee, I visited B&M's website. They have pictures of Banshee already on the website and none other than Don himself on the ride. http://www.bolliger-mabillard.com/product/inverted-coaster

Amazing job on the video! I still enjoy the ride as if it were my first. My first ride in 2008...wow I couldn't describe the feeling coming back into the station. Be thankful we still have The Beast to enjoy after 35 years. Hell, it's only 1 of 3 in the park that have been open 30+ years. The other two are The Racer and Woodstock Express. Edited to reflect PKIVortex's comment. Slipped my mind at first, forgot that one was over in Planet Snoopy.

Jordan, I saw this a little while ago as Avatar linked this on Facebook. Absolutely impressive- I thoroughly enjoyed the video. And you took the video with a T4i...wow! I've been looking at DSLR's for awhile. May have to splurge here soon. A week in Georgia with buddies and a day with Bart Kinzel and the Flying Eagles comes first money wise! Saving those nickels!

Thanks for sharing Devan...good seeing you at Media Day!

As for the Invertigo sign, it now lights up but overall it's still the same colors as in years past.

There's a couple of comments in that article that I laughed at. Can't share them here as they violate the TOS. This here be a family environment.

http://us.cnn.com/2014/04/21/travel/best-usa-new-roller-coasters/index.html?sr=fb042114rollercoaster330pStoryGalLink Our own Banshee made the list! Discuss...

5-1 is the ideal seat on Vortex. In fact, it's the very seat in which Ron Toomer designed the ride around. The drop in 7-1 is amazing.

Some people assume that KIC is ran by the park and that any rumor posted here is coming straight from the horses mouth. KIC is not, nor has it been ran by Kings Island or Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. I can relate to Don in this situation. Being in my line of work (in the past), those situations are not fun- AT ALL.

Last night I got the chance to experience my first night ride on Banshee, in Row 1 at that. I was impressed. Since I took my first ride on Thursday, I have thoroughly enjoyed the ride and think that it's a great addition to Kings Island. The lighting effects and the environment at night makes it a completely different experience. The Beast, however, in Row 1 is also an amazing night ride. The Beast has the edge as that it's in the woods and you can't really see what's coming next. The Beast is the winner here in my books. Something about no lights and total darkness...

I've heard 90 minutes between visits, I've also heard 2 hours. Please report back to us and let us know Billy.

I just checked the website for the All-Day Dining Plan (no mention of the Season Long Dining Plan at all) and it only mentions the entree and the side, nothing about the drink. If this is the case, getting the souvenir cup the first time for the $9.99 on the website and refilling for $.99 the entire season seems like a good supplement to this.

April 19, 2014: First Saturday of the Season! Arrived around 4:45pm for a quick visit since I was out that way already. After hearing today was a lot better than Opening Day was, it was a no brainer for Round 3! Today I got in rides on Adventure Express, Blue Racer, Firehawk, Diamondback, The Beast, and a night ride in Row 1 on Banshee. Waited no more than 45 minutes for each of these. I will have to say though, that I took my first Row 1 ride on Banshee. Wow. It was also a night ride as well. Absolutely impressive. The lighting package looks good!

April 18, 2014: Opening Day Arrived to the park around 10:00am to find the line for the tolls almost back to the traffic light at Soak City Drive. Took a good 20 minutes or so to get to past the tolls, parked and headed towards the gate. The line to get into the park was back almost to the picnic tables. Yes, there were that many people here almost an hour and a half before the park opened. I wore my Media Day shirt and was approached by a handful of people asking me where I got it and if I liked the ride. I wasn't actually in the park itself until 11:45am. The line was moving slower than molasses and was to be expected, also given the new system installed at the front gates during the offseason. This mostly for me was a people watching day. I did get rides in on Adventure Express and Red Racer, both 15 minute waits or less. Red Racer was a front seat ride. After this, I headed up to the tower and got some pictures- I saw Don up there doing the same. I remember 5 years ago that same day, that same line for Diamondback. That last picture was the end of the line at that point. I left around 1:45pm, went back to the apartment and proceeded to get some much needed rest.

Always remember this quote: "Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know" Or something along those lines...

Yes. Married members as well! Seriously though, I put faces to names on Media Day. He may or may not have been one of them.

Most of the time I don't even eat inside the park. I'll usually head up the road and grab something from one of the places off of Kings Mills. The season long dining plan isn't that bad of a deal if you think about it...$85 will pay for itself in a handful of visits if you spend $15 each time you eat. I stopped in Larosas in Rivertown and was between $10-$11 for two slices of pizza and breadsticks, this including of course the 10% discount for being a gold or platinum passholder. It was $13.49 for the same thing including a drink.

I wouldn't mind seeing an update every so often of wait times around the park. That way people can plan on where to go once they are done riding. Thursday, I noticed Banshee did not have one of the wait time signs. Not sure if they installed one between then and yesterday or if they did away with them altogether?

Not sure what was going on today, but there was no music or sound effects on Adventure Express at all. None in the queue and none on the ride. The final tunnel with the natives was completely silent. No music, talking or anything. Not sure if it was just when we rode it, or if it was like that all day. We were on it probably around 6 or 6:30. It was like that around 12:30 when I rode, no music or sound effects. Additionally, Racer queue does not have FunTV.

I honestly don't think there's a bad seat on the ride. I rode in Row 3 and it was enjoyable but I recommend Row 7 or 8 to everyone!

^ Glad to hear. What row did you ride in?

I was out there for a little bit. Got in one ride on Red Racer and Adventure Express. Those lines weren't too bad. Diamondback had all switchbacks full with the line extending almost to the Reds Hall of Fame Grille. Beast had a line out by the games, not sure if all switchbacks were being used for that. When I left (1:45pm) there was still a line to get in the park and the line to get to tolls was back past the Soak City Drive traffic signal. Busy day for sure.

I took 7 laps today on Banshee. All good experiences however the only gripe that I have is with the seatbelts themselves. It was in an awkward position to where the ride op had to push it in the rest of the way for me. Obviously in Row 4 this was a non issue. I jammed my finger on my second ride but wasn't too big a deal later on in the day.