misselaineeuss

Thanks for the tip! I am now on a mission.

The family and I are going Saturday. Probably not the best day, but it is what worked with our schedules. We haven't been since 2012, and I'm really excited! Better yet, I get time to MYSELF to ride coasters (three kids under age 9. The oldest is not tall enough yet to ride everything)! So, if you see an approaching middle-aged mom by herself having a blast, that's me! The must-dos on my list: All the coasters. ALL. THE. COASTERS. Rivertown Fries LaRosa's Pizza (I have been to the restaurants, but the pizza just doesn't taste the same as in the park... Maybe it's the mass-production flavor I'm missing. ha!) Snoopy... errrr... blue ice cream Fudge push-ups (say what? Must try those. It is dangerous if I even go near the Sweet Spot, though. What else is new since 2012 that I might be missing?

Great topic. For me, KI LaRosa's is a slice of nostalgia. I loved eating it as a kid, though I could never remember the name of it. It was KI to me (along with Smurf Ice Cream, those heavenly fresh thick-cut french fries and those delicious thirst-quenching plastic Fred Flintstone-shaped juice containers they sold in carts on your way out of the park at night. Yes, I'm a Child of the '80s). A few years ago during a non-KI visit to Cincinnati, I ate at a real LaRosa's. I thought it tasted different, but was still happy to be eating at one. And then they opened one about an hour from where I live. We visit it about once a year. It still doesn't taste the same as KI LaRosa's, though. I thought I was just getting the wrong kind of crust. But it makes sense that KI LaRosa's is more mass produced. Still, nostalgia! And now this topic makes me want a slice ... or three.

Thanks for the nice comments, everyone! I suppose that after a 35-minute wait, I was expecting more. I remember Flight Desk (typo, but it's staying) being fun when I rode it in high school (as Top Gun). I understand that not every coaster at a park can be the fastest-highest-best. But, I wish I had chosen something else for my final ride of the trip. Terp: What's your take on the train being so close to the Diamondback footings? Will they add a fence between the train and Diamondback? I was rather surprised at how many people had scrawled their names along the rides in places I thought would be difficult to impossible to reach (one example is at the end of the red Racer. In the covered area to the left are several names. Of course, they could have been added while the ride was not operating, but that's just one example). Also, I was looking at The Beast trains, because I remembered you mentioning that middle seats are the smoothest. But, from what I could tell, it was four seats per car. I couldn't figure out which seat would be the middle seat in that setup. And, finally, the husband drank a lot of water that day, and was mostly blaming the not feeling good on that. Delirium just happened to be the ride that broke the husband's stomach. Yes, I believer we were seats 44-45. Still, HUSS sure has some crazy ideas for rides. =) The husband and I thought it would be insane if Delirium spun all the way around. hehe.. I'm sure HUSS is working on that. We ate at the Waffle Hoose (as we call it) around 7 a.m., so our food was definitely settled by the time we got to KI at 11 a.m. =) Yes, men, go hug your wives, sisters and mothers!

For my upcoming 30th birthday, I decided I wanted to spend it like a teenager (except without using my parents' credit cards, heh..). I told my husband I wanted to go to Kings Island, since I love amusement parks but hadn't been to one in about five years. Our trip began at 6 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 3. After stopping to fill up our stomachs at a Waffle House, we hit the AA Highway across northern Kentucky (which, incidentally, must be one of the most boring roads. I'm pretty sure I saw tumbleweed.). Finally, seven days later, we got to Kings Island around 11 a.m. It's always so exciting to see the skyline of the park. I couldn't wait to get in line! Here are the rides we did the first day (and any pertinent thoughts): Firehawk: About a 45-minute wait. I decided to try this one first, since we had never been on it. Gentlemen: If you've ever been curious about the experience of a gynecological exam, this might be as close as you could ever get to it. As the seats tilted backward, it occurred to me that's pretty much how a gal feels during such an exam: vulnerable and exposed. The ride itself was OK. I wasn't crazy about the seemingly loosey-goosey shoulder restraints (I REALLY didn't feel restrained.. which, I guess could be considered a good and a bad thing). If we had the time, I was going to try the ride again, but time ran out on us before that was possible. Flight of Fear: About a 30-minute wait. The theming on this ride is really creative. (We were extremely thankful for the air-conditioned wait, as it got up to about 90 that day.) The launch is absolutely breathtaking. I was surprised that there were a few lights inside the building. (Do they ever run it completely in the dark?) We liked FOF so well that we rode it again on Monday and got stuck at the end for 20 minutes (stay tuned for that story, folks). AVATAR: About a 10-minute wait. Thanks for the tips to ride this one (my husband laughed at me for suggesting it, but then he loved it). It was great fun. (As a side note in Nickelodeon Universe, is my sense of smell too keen, or does SpongeBob's Bikini Bottom Bash just really reek?) LUNCH: This is important enough to break out as a separate item, hehe. LaRosa's is my absolute favorite pizza, so I was quite happy when lunch time rolled around. I keep hoping LaRosa's will venture north into Columbus, as my father-in-law lives there and we visit every few months. So far, no such luck. Adventure Express: About a 10-minute wait. This is still a fun ride, and I'm still waiting "to pay." Eiffel Tower: Whoever thought to build this is close to genius. Great views of the park, from all sides. THE CRYPT: I had ridden TR:TR before and thought it was really great. I also had read the several posts here of people upset about the lack of theming for The Crypt and the poor ride program. While I completely agree with the theming complaint, the ride program rocked my socks (as the kids say these days)! But first, back to the theming, or lack thereof. Although I hesitate to complain because have no better ideas, is that the best they could come up with? The queue theming is OK, I suppose. Skeleton here, skeleton there. It was strange to me that they aren't using the giant sliding door between the final two queues. When I first rode TR:TR, I thought that part was really cool, because I just couldn't figure it out. Anyhow, it's unfortunate that they couldn't use the heat at the bottom/cool at the top elements of TR:TR. While I was still rather disoriented on The Crypt, at least the heat/cool features of TR:TR gave me some idea of what was happening. Now, for the ride program. I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly – and sincerely – surprised. I can't even begin to tell you what the ride did, but I was shocked a couple times at the quick flips. WHITEWATER CANYON: About a 20-minute wait. A nice cool-down on a hot day (though, I would have preferred getting my front wet as opposed to my back). I must say, though (as a West Virginia native), that West Virginia whitewater is much better! =) Son of Beast: About a 30-minute wait. It was my first time on SOB. After all I had read here on the forums, I was a bit … apprehensive, to say the least. But, for me, the ride was awesome. A little bumpy, but not overly rough as I've heard it described. The husband disagreed, though. It shook him like a rag doll. We both took an Advil after that one. Delirium: About a 30-minute wait. We were also newbies to Delirium. What an awesome ride (although it KO'd my husband's stomach and he was pretty much out the rest of the day). Toward the beginning of the ride, it was just nice and pleasant. BUT, it then went way beyond nice and pleasant. I suppose, looking at it from the ground, I didn't realize how high that crazy thing goes. But, I loved it! Drop Tower: About a 25-minute wait. This is the only time I fear heights at KI (the final 25 feet or so just about get me). But it's always a thrill. Invertigo: We got in line and were about halfway to the train when it experienced technical difficulties. We didn't try again after it opened. DINNER: For dinner, we ate at Festhaus. My husband got pizza again, and I wish I had, too. I got a cheeseburger, and was less than thrilled with it. Later, I got my favorite Rivertown fries, and all was well with the world (except for my arteries). Kings Island RAILROAD: I'm sure it's been discussed elsewhere, but I was surprised at how close the footings for The Diamondback are to the railroad. My husband seemed to remember the train going all over the park and was disappointed that it was so short. I asked if he was remembering the Lion Country Safari monorail, but he swore it was the train. Was the train's path ever different? Finally, I was too slow to snap a photo, but I giggled at the bear carving to the right on the way back from Boomerang Bay. The Beast: About a 25-minute wait. Thanks for all the tips to ride The Beast at night. Completely awesome! (The husband skipped out on this one, too, because of the shaky factor. He has ridden it a half-dozen times before but said the older the ride got, the shakier it got.) Backlot Stunt Coaster: About a 15-minute wait. This was our final ride of the night (another first-time ride for us). I remember reading several posts that the effects didn't work anymore, but I didn't notice anything amiss. It's a fun little coaster. HOTEL: We stayed at the Wingate, about 20 minutes from the park in West Chester. Despite getting lost (the Internet directions were bad), the hotel was really nice and decent on the price ($116 through Hotels.com – though we found out later we could have had the room for $80 had we just gone through the hotel to book it. Lesson learned.). MONDAY, AUG. 4 After a quick (and cheap) breakfast at MickeyD's, we were back at the park about 10:30 a.m. The goal was to catch the rest of the rides on our (well, OK, my) list, perhaps do a couple repeats and get out of the park around 2 p.m. Vortex: A walk-on in the very back seat. Still one of my favorite coasters, it's a great way to start the morning. RED RACER: Almost a walk-on. I love the saturated grease smell of old woodies. Flight of Fear: About a 15-minute wait. We liked FOF so much that it was a definite repeat. BUT we got stuck on the ride. In the train in front of us, the ride ops could not release the restraints on a seat. So, we were stuck for about 20 or 25 minutes. At least we were out of the sun and in air conditioning. At first, the riders in our train were acting rude and generally stupid. So, one of the ride ops came back to talk to us – and she brought two reinforcements. It's funny how well the folks behaved after that. Anyhow, maintenance came and worked on it. From where we were, it looked like the crew had to take the back panel off the seat to get it unlocked. It was certainly nice to stretch my legs after getting off that ride! After getting stuck on FOF, it seemed like the lines were really long on everything. FLIGHT DECK: About a 35-minute wait. I thought I would get in one more coaster before leaving. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong one. I remember Flight Deck to be fun and fast. My memories must be failing me. The line was way too long, and the ride was way too pitiful. So, around 2 p.m., we left. I was missing our 15-month-old baby (it was our first overnight trip away from him) and wanted to get home. I can't wait until he's old enough to properly enjoy KI! Thanks for reading (link to photo gallery below)! Aug. 3-4, 2008, Kings Island

Nice photos, welchce! If nothing else, it sounds like the new ride has increased ridership on the train. I've been to KI about 7 times in my life, and I've never ridden the train. But, I'll be sure to when I go in early August! =)

100+ photos of Camden Park through the years on Herald-Dispatch.com Video: A ride-along on Camden Park's Big Dipper Video: Big Dipper turns 50 I grew up going to Camden Park. I haven't been in years, and I can't wait to take my son (maybe next year).

Here's another one: ERT.

Yeah, I'm really hoping they're gone by the time I go (early August). I know they're harmless, but they seriously creep me out. <---- Not a big fan of bugs, spiders, snakes or bees. These are all great tips, thanks! (I'll definitely take some allergy meds.) I'm currently checking out some hotel threads. Haven't decided where to stay, though. (Somewhere definitely under $100, though.)

Leave the samurai swords at home. Check!

Actually, just my husband and I are going (to celebrate my upcoming 30th birthday). For me, the baby is still too young to take to a park. But, he will definitely go when he can properly enjoy it. =)

Thanks for the information. I was considering a stop at HRP when we go to the beach later this year. Think I'll save my money and spend it at KI.

Thanks for the laugh, Justin. I really needed it today. Andrea

Thanks! But if I were to hit only one or two of those spots, which would you recommend? Are any of those in that link outlet malls?

Why is this, Beatle?