auge.dog

Yup, I get nostalgic everytime I go. I remember going when I was a small kid. We went the first year it was open, and it was my firts amusement park. My very first ride at the park was on The Racer, back when there used to be about a 45 minute wait for it. My family would go 1-2x per year, and everytime I would get overcome with excitement. When I took my family for the first time in 2007, it had been about 17-20 years since I had been to the park. It has certainly been one of the perks of moving back to town.

BTW, I'm pretty sure you can run in the Flying Pig if you are on a running team. In fact, the winner this year is part of a running team. At least he mentioned such when being interviewed by Ken Brue after the race.

Well, Saturday started for me with running the 10k as part of the Flying Pig Marathon weekend. The race started at 8 a.m., and conditions were pretty ideal - Nice and cool with little wind. I ran to support my friend who has lost 70 lbs in the past 16 months or so, and would like to lose about 40 more. He plodded along, and I provided encouragement the whole way. His time was slow, but there is no way that last year at this time he could have even completed this event. We hung out for awhile, and then I headed home at about 10:15. When I got home, the weather actually looked like it was going to be pretty good, so I told my kids that we would in fact go to KI for what I hope is our first of several trips this year. We left the house about 1240 and got to the park about 1:20. After applying sunscreen to my 7-year old daughter, my 5-year old son and myself, we made our way inside. Got them measured at the entrance, son well over 48", and daughter just a bit over 54". My son had indicated he wanted to go on The Racer first, so off we went, and the kids chose Blue. The ride was fun as always, and our 2009 adventures had begun. From there we went to Flight Deck, and this was the first time this ride had any line to speak of in the 4 times we have been to the park over the past 3 years. We waited for about 30 minutes. Always a fun ride, but too short. As an aside, the park was the most crowded we have seen it in the 4 trips we've made over the past 3 years. There were many middle school and high school aged kids there from the various music groups. Contrary to the other reports I've read, I thought most of the kids were pretty well behaved. Sure they were a bit loud and goofy at times, but I thought for the most part it was just pre-teens and teens being pre-teens and teens. There was one group that got behind us in line on Vortex, and they were being totally inappropriate. Way too many cuss words and sexual innuendos. They could surely see me with 2 young children in front of them, but they did not in any way curb there behavior. I did not say anything as I did not want to draw my kids attention to them. However, my daughter was upset by their language and attitudes. I did my best to have her ignore them, and think about her upcoming great ride. Back to the ride rotation - from Flight Deck, we convinced my son to go on AE - wait - 10 minutes. He remembers that ride being loud - and my son and loud do not get along. He rode it, and to his surprise, it was not too loud. I'm not a big fan of AE, but the kids enjoyed it - and that is the main thing. From there it was the swings - wait = 1 ride. Then to Vortex, which was down for maintenance. However, I noticed they were testing the trains, so I figured they were going to open the line back up shortly, which they did. When the opened, a few rude people jumped ahead of us, but we still got to the que pretty quickly, and had perhaps a 10 minute wait. I thought we might need to try to persuade my son to ride, but he needed no convincing. After he rode it, he declared it was his new favorite ride. Next we went on Shake, Rattle and Roll - virtually no wait. I go them a frozen limeade, and then we were off to The Beast - sign said 45 minutes, but actual wait was about 30-35 minutes. They were hungry, so we stopped and ate at LaRosa's in Rivertown. They had been asking to play some Arcade games, which I usually put the kabosh on due to costs. However, the water gun game right by the LaRosa's had no one playing, and the operator indicated only 2 people had to play for there to be a winner. Knowing one of kids would win, I let them play. My son won the first race, and I could see the disappointment in my daughter's eyes, so I let them play once more, and told her to really concentrate. She did and won the second time around, While leaving my son said, "This is the first time I won anything, dad!" That made it worth it for sure. From there we did the old Log Flume, where our shoes got wet, but not much else. We then started with Avatar at Nick U, and they rode Go Diego Go and the little car ride, while I watched. We all went on FOC and then on Scooby Doo for the first time for all of us. Again, the wait time posted for Scooby Doo was 30 minutes, but it only took us 10. Kind of a fun ride, especially once my kids figured out how to shoot. It was getting late, so I told them they needed to decide the 3 or 4 rides they wanted to ride before we left. They definately wanted to go on Vortex again, but the line was pretty long, so we headed up towards The Racer. There was virtually no line for the bumper cars, so I let them go on that first. My poor daughter got a car that was not working. She was pressing the gas, and nothing - no sparks up above or anything. People were staring at her, and she is very self conscious to begin with. The only time she moved was when someone hit her. It was certainly the low point for her. I told her we could take care of that frown with a ride on The Racer. I told them they couldn't beat me there, so they ran ahead and I plodded behind. They had so much fun, we did it again - 2 in a row. From there, we went to AE as I had read it was great at night. It was not dark quite yet, but we went anyway, and the line was now a walk on. We then headed back towards The Vortex, and my son decided he wanted to see Sponge Bob, so we did. When we got off, we got in line for Vortex as the line was much smaller. Other than the poorly behaved teens behind us, it was a great ride. It was almost dark now, and the wait was only about 10-15 minutes. We then headed back over to The Beast for a night ride on my favorite. After a 25-30 minute wait, we got on just before they temporarily stopped operations for the fireworks. After the ride, my son commented, "That Beast is some Roller Coaster, dad!" Another great quote for the day. We stopped and watched the fireworks on our way out, and then headed home. They were both asleep within 5 mnutes. Next time, hopefully my wife can make it, so she, my 7-year old and I can all ride D'back, and perhaps Firehawk and FOF - all rides I have yet to ride. We were at the park about 8 1/2 hours and they got in 20 rides, and I got in 17. Not too bad for a fairly crowded day. Sorry for the length and the lack of pictures - but my wife is the picture taker, and she had to work.

Well, I ended up taking the kids on Saturday. We went to the park once in 2007 and twice in 2008, and this Saturday was by far the most crowded we've seen the park. However, it was still not bad at all. We had no problems convincing my 5-year old to ride The Vortex, and we ended up riding it twice. Longest wait we had was about 30 minutes - once for Flight Deck (first time I had ever seen this ride with a line), and 2x for The Beast. We did not ride FOF, Firehawk or Diamondback, as my son is not yet tall enough. We still had a great time though - I may post a TR with more details.

Well, if your cousin goes again, have him/her have his/her son measured at Nickleodean. Towards the end of last year, my son was pushing 48" with shoes and socks. At the front entrance, he did not make it. At Nicleodean, he did. Same day, same shoes, same socks. I'd say there was about a 1/4 - 1/2" difference in the measurement.

Tomorrow, I'm running in the 10k race which is part of the Flying Pig Marathon weekend. The main reason I'm doing it as to help a buddy out. Over the past 16 months he has lost about 75 lbs. from 350 to 275. He's 6'4", so at 275, he's looking pretty good. Anyway, his long term goal is to get to 235. He ran the 10k at Thanksgiving, and he uses these races as incentives to keep working out. On Thanksgiving, he ran the 10k in 1 hour and 19 minutes. I'm going to try to push him tomorrow to get his time down to 1 hour and 10 minutes. If successful, I'm going to try to get him to sign up for the 10k at KI, with a goal of 1 hour. Personally, I run 2-4 x a week. for the purpose of staying in shape and keeping the weight off - not for running in/competing in events. However, if I can continue to help him lose weight and get in shape, I'm all for it.

Well, fortunately my son is over 48", and there is plenty we can all ride. My daughter will not mind if we cannot ride FOF, Firehawk and others this time around. She loves Vortex, The Beast, BLSC, Flight Deck and many others - and we can all go on those. (Well, maybe not Vortex, as we still have to persuade my son to ride that one.)

Good points, everyone. The parent swap idea probably will not work either, as my daughter is only 7. She'll be 8 over the summer, but still, I would not feel comfortable leaving them both while I rode. Since sometimes some of the ride ops appear to not have much responsibility, I thought that might be an option. Since it is not, no problem. We'll be there other days. Perhaps I'll see Jesse or someone else who I recognize from pictures here.

Thanks everyone for your replies - some of you made me laugh. He is tall enough to ride and has ridden The Beast and AE. We may be able to convince him to give Vortex a go as he is tall enough. He loves Flight Deck and The Racer, so there is no problem with those rides either. He's only 5, so I'm not sure I feel comfortable just having him wait for us. I'm not sure he would like it either - he may get a bit apprehensive, and I do not want to unnecessarily upset him. As I said, I thought I would just ask, and it really is no big deal. We have plenty of rides (The Beast, Flight Deck, AE, The Racer, perhaps Vortex, BLSC, all the flats, except Delirium and the Crypt. all Nickelodean Universe rides, all water rides) that will keep us plenty entertained. As much as we anticipate riding new rides (for us, anyway), we can be patient and wait until we make the trip with my spouse.

I'm thinking about taking my two children to KI one day this weekend. It will be our first visit this year. My spouse is working, so it will be just the 3 of us. Anyway, my daughter is now over 54" and has expressed interest in riding Firehawk and Flight of Fear. (Yes, I would like to go on these as well.) She's not too sure about Diamondback, yet, and while I will encourage her, I won't push her. My son is over 48", so there is plenty there for him to ride. However, if my daughter and I want to ride, say Flight of Fear, is there an option for what we can do with my son? Would the ride ops keep an eye on him? He does not mind waiting with us and then not being able to ride - so long as we only do this a couple times. He's a good sport and understands. Anyway, if there is not a good option, it's not a big deal, as there is still plenty for all of us to ride. I just thought I would ask those with more knowledge and experience with the park.

I saw one of the middle sections downtown for the first time one day last week. Looked pretty cool.

Hey Terpy, the four-year old comment is possible. My son had just turned 5 in August of last year and was right on 48". It would seriously depend on the shoes he was wearing and the place where we had him measured. At the gate, he did not make it, but at the measurement station in Nickleodean, he just made it. Anyway, as he was 48" and now able to ride some of the bigger coasters, we started out on Flight Deck. That seemed to be a great one for him, as he still states it is his favorite at KI. We then went around and went on AE, The Racer, and BLSC. We continued on through the day, and finally he had the courage to ride The Beast. I think it scared him a little bit, but as the season approaches this year, he is psyched to ride The Beast. I would caution against taking him on Diamondback first. My daughter, who was 6 when we went to Busch Gardens early last year, was a Roller Coaster enthusiast having ridden on many of the KI and Disneyland coasters the year before. I could not persuade her to ride the Lochness Monster due to the loop. However, she was over 52" so she could go on Appollo's Chariot. Well, the shear height of the ride really scared her, and we had to work the rest of the day to get her confidence back. I spent a good portion of the day riding Big Bad Wolf as this ride was the only roller coaster my son, who was 4 at the time, and her were both tall enough to ride. Although she was tall enought, she was not going back on Appollo's Chariot, and LNM was not on her list. Later in the summer when she was now 7 and my son 5, we took her on the same rotation at KI as my son. This got her confidence back up, and she was requesting rides on Beast . She also overcame her fear of loops and went on Vortex. She liked that so well, it is now her favorite. Bottom line, I think I would work up his confidence on rides such as Flight Deck, Racer and BLSC before attempting The Beast or Vortex. I would definately hold off on SOB until he has experienced several rides on The Beast. At 49", he is not able to ride some of the others. BTW, my daughter is now over 54", so I'm hoping I can experience the rest of the coasters at KI this season. She has said she is ready for Firehawk and FOF - but she is not so sure about D'back. I am not going to push her. She'll be ready soon enough.

Well, I can relate a recent story about the Disney bus system that I found a bit troubling. When my family was there this past Nov, we were staying at one of the Disney Resorts, so we eligible to participate in the extended park hours. On this particular day, Animal Kingdom had extended evening hours from 8-11 p.m. We were at Epcot, and left right around their closing time, and headed straight to the bus station for the direct route to Animal Kingdom. We arrived at this station a few minutes before 8, thinking a bus would surely be by quickly. We waited for over 30 minutes, and by the time we arrived at Animal Kingdom, it was pushing 9. It's a minor complaint, but I felt like their planning could have been better to accommodate those of us who wanted to take advantage of these extended hours. The time of year we went, the parks were very crowded, and the extended hours were those few windows of opportunity where we could enjoy some semblence of freedom of movement.

The bridge Gabe referes to is the Purple People Bridge. You can still walk over it - I do on a weekly basis. I believe there were other activities you could also do on the bridge, but those existed before I moved back to town about 2 years ago, and I am not aware of the particulars.

Tommybear, I would recommend 2 days, so you can take your time and enjoy all KI has to offer. I have 2 kids about the same age as yours seem to be, and we went 2x last year, and I thought that was just about right to get to do everything without being rushed. As for other attractions, in addtion to the ones you mentioned, the Museum Center is worthwhile - http://www.cincymuseum.org/ If you go to a ballgame, if you do not mind walking a bit, I suggest parking at Newport on the Levee and walking over the Purple People Bridge - info here - http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/04/2...lebridge20.html Actually, you could spend the day at the Aquarium, take in dinner at a restaurant on the Levee and then walk over to a game. It's about a mile each way. My kids did it no problem. You can actually come back on the white bridge, which makes the trip just a bit shorter, but the white bridge is a both a car and pedestrian bridge and not nearly as interesting. Finally, my kids always enjoy going to the Cincinnati Zoo, which is pretty decent as zoos go - http://www.cincinnatizoo.org/ I have not been to the various water parks other than KI's so other people will have to chime in to help you with that info.

Screamin Demon in its first year - 1977. And no, I was not in my 20's. I was not in my single digits either. My 7-year-old daughter conquered her fears last year (while she was 6) and rode The Vortex. I think it is now her favorite. She said she is ready for Firehawk this year. She is not so sure about Diamondback - it's a height thing.

2 years ago, I took the family one time - it was the first time I had been to KI in about 16-18 years. Last year, we doubled that number. Now that my daughter is over 54" and my son is over 48", we bought gold passes for everyone. So, I'm hoping we at least double last year's total. We're lucky as it's only 40 minutes away .

I'm as excited as the next person to ride this new coaster, and with my 7-year old daughter being over 54" this year, I should get the chance - along with being able to ride Firehawk, FOF and Invertigo for the first times. Everything about it looks great, but I do have one very minor complaint. I would have liked the seats to match the color of the ride or to at least contrast it. Right now, I think they are kind of ugly and do not match the ride. The orangish restraints and pinkish-red seats almost look cheapish. Again, this is a very minor complaint - but it is the thought that ran through my head when viewing pictures such as: http://www.kiDiamondback.com/public/latest...ge&chip=509

I enjoy threads such as these as it allows me to reminisce some. I was 7 when KI opened in 1972 and went there every year at least once from that time up until I graduated HS in '83. From 83-93, I probably went to KI a total of 3-5 times. I do remember riding The Bat, King Cobra and Vortex, but each only 1 or 2 times. For that reason, I cannot really remember either KC or The Bat well enough to say they are the rides I miss most. From 94-2006, I did not go to KI at all - mostly because I no longer lived in the area. In the middle of 2007, we moved back to Cincinnati. Now, I have kids, so they definately wanted to go. We went once in 2007, 2x in 2008, and now have season passes for 2009. While it is still a fun park, I believe it caters a bit more to older kids now. Perhaps not, but I know there a few rides my kids would have loved that are no longer there. Their current ages are 7 and 5. My kids love to 'drive' anything, so I know they would have loved the Antique Cars or even the Marathon Cars. They certainly loved the Tomorrow Land Speedway at Magic Kingdom. They also certainly would love a ride like Enchanted Voyage - something that allows their imagination to run wild. They also would have enjoyed the Sky Ride, as they like to be able to see everything down below. Finally, I think they would have gotten a kick out of rides like the Rotor, Tumble Bug, and the Bayern Curve.

Avatar, you did not sound like a know-it-all. We did in fact already have the park hopper option, which is one thing I already knew about. Our trip was excellent, and when I have some time, I'll post a trip report. Many of your tips went to good use - and I'll surely include such in my report.

Thanks for the tips, Jesse. We are thinking about leaving Animal Kingdom after the Parade on Friday and going to either Epcot or Hollywood Studios for the night shows. They both begin their holiday activities on Friday, 28 Nov. We're also flexible, so nothing is set in stone.

My daughter is 7, son is 5. She'll probably want to stay until the park closes, so we will likey make the later Spectra parade. My son may call it quits sometime before then. He barely makes it to 48", so I think they both can ride everything at Disney, and he can ride all but 3 rides at Universal. My daughter is about 53" with shoes, so she can ride all but 2 rides at Universal. This will be the first venture for any of us to Universal. I do not believe we have anything special planned for Friday night, but who knows. We may cut out of Animal Kingdom late afternoon, and head back over to Magic Kingdom. We are not leaving Orlando until Saturday afternoon, so the kids can sleep in a bit. I've printed out your trip report minus the pictures to save on ink and paper. It will be good reading material for me on the flight there. The only current planned meals we have that I know about are the Thanksgiving meal at the Hard Rock, and dinner at Germany on Wednesday while we are at Epcot. My son absolutely loves all things motorized, especially race cars, so he is going to love Test Track and the Lights, Motors, Action Stunt Show.

Well, our tentative itinerary will go something like this - Leave CVG sometime in the morning - arrive Saturday afternoon. Spend the day at Downtown Disney or somewhere similar. I'm not sure where we are staying the first night, but I know it has bunk beds and the kids are excited about that. Sunday - Magic Kingdom. It has extended evening hours and it is already open to 11 p.m. We'll see how long the kids want to stay. The good news is, we will be spending the rest of the time at Shades of Green, so it is easy enough for us to travel back and forth. If one kid poops out, one of us can take him/her back and the other can stay with the other kid. Monday - family goes to some Ice Sculpture event - daddy plays golf at the Magnolia course. Tuesday - Hollywood Studios Wednesday - Epcot Thursday - Universal Studios with Thanksgiving Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Friday - Animal Kingdom RailRider, when we went 3 years ago, most of us actually stayed at a house, while my wife's parents stayed at Shades of Green. This year, my one sister-in-law and her child actually live in Orlando now, so we probably do not need a house. We have 2 rooms at Shades of Green for my family (4), my wife's parents and my other sister-in-law, who is single and childless. They actually had planned on Seaworld for Friday, but I told them that would be $60 extra per person, while going from a 3-day to a 4-day Disney pass only cost about an additional $7/person. Also, I told them I did not think 3 days was really enough to see and do most of what the kids would want to do at all the Disney parks. I think they actually listened to me, and are looking to change the plans to be more like the above. Since my one sister-in-law now lives there, I do not think we will not have the opportunity to visit Sea World on a future visit. Besides, by that time Mantra will be built and my kids may be tall enough to ride it.

Great report - I will be sure to use much of the info provided for our family's upcoming trip. Jesse, I also want to thank you for taknig the time to email me the Excel file. We have a full crew going as well. My wife, 2 kids and I, her parents, her two sisters, and our niece. I think they have too much planned, but I let them do whatever they want. I know my kids will be up for most of it.

BavarianBeetle, it's just that last year SOB scared my daughter so much, that it took all of this year to help her regain her confidence. She went from a rollercoaster enthusiast to someone who did not want to ride any coasters. Now, after regaining her confidence, she is an enthusiast once again. I did not want to go through that with my son this year. If they are willing, I will not hesitate to take them on it next year. I just want them to have plenty of confidence before they choose to ride it. Hopefully, what I am writing makes some sense.