violakat03

Considering my love for King Cobra (it's still in my top 10 steel coasters), you may be surprised that I didn't vote for it. I voted for recaR. Why? Because I can ride Shockwave at Kings Dominion or Sky Ride at Canada's Wonderland. I can't ride Rebel Yell, Thunder Road or any other wooden racer in reverse. So therefore, it is a ride experience I can no longer get anywhere and that makes me miss it the most.

Grizzly was running great! It was very smooth for an old woodie and I was pleasantly surprised by the air time throughout the whole ride. It has a well-placed tunnel, so I applaud the designers for that one. So few rides utilize tunnels correctly. When I return next week, I will definitely be riding it again. Maybe again and again and again.

There's DDR SuperNova machines in the Coney Mall and Rivertown arcades.

Chaos at Opryland is still in my husband's top 10 coaster list. I too wish I'd gotten a chance to ride it. I'm hoping we'll be able to make a trip to Chaos's sister in Belgium eventually.

I will probably be at the park on Friday. Depending on weather and travel factors, I may be there on Sunday and/or Monday. Sunday, only if it rains and Monday, only if I'm not on my way to Virginia for my coaster trip. Except for the small group of Math & Science kids that will likely show up, I think Friday should be a pretty good day. Most of the GP will probably wait for the events on Saturday and most kids are going to be in school. Saturday will be a madhouse. Sunday we're supposed to get thunderstorms, so it's a hit or miss on what the crowds will look like. Monday is also supposed to rain and will be Memorial Day, which has potential for big crowds.

Depends on where you get it. Half the time they just hand you the wristband rather than putting it on. I've seen people put them on sunglasses, backpacks, fanny packs, etc, as well as on their wrist loose enough to remove it at the end of the day. Like Terpy, I also wonder if anyone's working Loss Prevention, or if they realize and/or care that they're being taken advantage of. I've even heard accounts of people flashing their Kroger card and getting into the ERT.

I've given random shout outs to people in a KIC shirt (so if someone randomly yells "KIC!" at you, it's probably me. ) and also been like "hey, you're on KIC aren't you?" if I think I recognize you from pictures on the site. I've met many people this way.

The OSU band is just an extra thing, not a music in the parks event. I looked at the event calendar and it looks like currently there is nothing planned for that Saturday. That should mean normal Saturday crowds so it won't be too bad. If I had to pick a Saturday to go, I'd pick the one you did!

Also check out the KIC gallery. Tons and tons of pics of both current and former rides. RCDB.com has lots of pics of the coasters, and flatrides.com can be used for some of the flat ride pictures.

They'll probably stay until a.) it costs more to run them than they are making in profits or b.) they need the space for something else. They are definitely less popular than Cedar Point's karts - probably because they have a very boring track layout and go much slower than the fast ones at CP. Kings Dominion has a similar layout and appeared to be equally unpopular. But unless they have a reason to take it out, it's unlikely that they will. Though I wouldn't be surprised to see them take it out for a newer and therefore more popular up-charge attraction.

Some of the seats have a higher first locking position than others. The brown train especially seems to have more forgiving seats. The green train is less forgiving (especially the back seat) and red train is hit or miss. The test seat out front is the same as the tightest fitting seats on the train (such as rear seat, green train) but many seats are more forgiving and appear to only require 2 clicks to ride. As long as you can see the black line at the base of the pole, you're clear. It's a slightly snug fit for me on the test seat and the tighter seats, but on the looser seats, I actually could take it another click if necessary and choose not to. 2 clicks (or a loose 3) is perfectly fine with me, though it does create that falling out sensation.

Found the helicopter on BLSC! It sits much lower down than the one at KI, and is pretty much completely invisible from anywhere in the park except the ride itself and the Eiffel Tower. So, officially, all of their effects from what I saw were still working on all rides. Which is more than can be said about Maverick's water cannons.

You have one credit that I would give at least one body part to have been able to ride but never will. Drachen Fire. Grrrrrrr.

This list was compiled using the handy Coaster Tracker app on Facebook, where you can also see my top 10 steel and wood coasters. Kings Island 1. Adventure Express 2. Backlot Stunt Coaster 3. The Beast 4. Diamondback 5. Beastie / Fairly Odd Coaster 6. Firehawk 7. Flight Deck 8. Flight of Fear (with and without OTSR's) 9. Invertigo 10. King Cobra 11/12. Racer (forwards/backwards and red/blue) 13. Runaway Reptar 14. Scooby's Ghoster Coaster 15. Son of Beast (with and without loop) 16. Vortex Still missing Little Bill's! Cedar Point 17. Blue Streak 18. Cedar Creek Mine Ride 19. Corkscrew 20. Disaster Transport 21/22. Gemini (red/blue) 23. Iron Dragon 24. Jr. Gemini (w00t!) 25. Magnum XL-200 26. Mantis 27. Maverick 28. Mean Streak 29. Millennium Force 30. Raptor 31. Top Thrill Dragster 32. Wicked Twister 33. Wildcat 34. Woodstock Express LeSourdesville Lake (only went when it was Americana and I was too small to ride Screechin' Eagle) 35. Little Dipper Walt Disney World 36. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Libertyland 37. Revolution 38. Zippin' Pippin Six Flags Over Georgia 39. Batman the Ride 40. Dahlonega Mine Train 41. Georgia Cyclone 42. Georgia Scorcher 43. Goliath 44. Great American Scream Machine 45. Mind Bender 46. Ninja 47. Superman Ultimate Flight Holiday World 48. Legend 49. Raven 50. Voyage Kings Dominion 51. Anaconda 52. Dominator 53. Flight of Fear 54. Grizzly 55. Shockwave 56. Volcano: The Blast Coaster They aren't in order. Volcano was #50, and Woodstock Express is my most recent new coaster.

Joker's Jinx at Six Flags America (about 2 hours from KD) is the 'outdoor FOF' - it's the same model, but not enclosed and minus a mid-course brake run. I can't wait to ride it! I was really amazed at how well preserved the atmosphere of Kings Dominion was. It reminded me of the old Kings Island (pre-Paramount), with the old trees and shaded pathways, real gas lanterns along the path, International Street really feeling international, all their theming working on the rides (except the mysteriously absent helicopter on BLSC), etc. They still have their vine tunnel too, it's over by Grizzly.

I would say if you feel Kings Island would be worth an 8 hour trip just for it, than the same could be said for Kings Dominion. They have a great collection of coasters and flat rides, the park is very lovely and clean, though the employees left a lot to be desired. They weren't enforcing park rules (smoking, line jumping), weren't very enthusiastic (on both games and rides) and just seemed like they'd rather be somewhere else.

Don't go this week. Or during any Math & Science days/weeks. It was absolutely insane on Monday - it looked like a Halloweekends Saturday instead of a mid-May Monday.

Leaving the park turned out to be the best idea we had all day. After an hour break for lunch at the Wendy's about 5 miles away (there is NOTHING at the exit for KD except a truck stop), we returned to find the parking lot mostly empty. We snagged the first non-handicap spot in the lot, danced excitedly at the lack of busses, and headed for Dominator. What had been a 2 hour wait earlier in the day had shrunk to 20 minutes. We went for the very back seat, because of my great experience in Diamondback's back seat, though now I kind of wish we'd gone for the front of the train instead. I was a little surprised at just how violent Dominator was for a B&M. It banged me around a lot. Worse than Anaconda, an Arrow looper. I shot some videos while waiting in line. I thought the train would be coming from the other direction for some reason, which is why I'm staring at the same piece of track for a while then suddenly turn to look the other way. Whoops. The way the floor comes up is pretty cool to watch. After Dominator, we decided we wanted a good ol' woodie. By the time we got aaaall the way back to the back of the park to a walk-on Grizzly, it was just starting to get dark outside. Dark enough that the tunnel rocked. I'm a big fan of airtime inside of tunnels (like Voyage) and Grizzly had good airtime and a great tunnel. It was a tad on the short side, but otherwise a great ride. I rank it right next to Legend in my list of favorite woodies. And dare-to-fly - no trims! I looked longingly at the flying scooters as we passed them, but wanted coasters and the scooters had a long line (as well as "no snapping" signs, boo!!) so we passed them up to head for Anaconda. I wanted to ride this interesting looking Arrow because it's completely over the water except for a tunnel that goes under it! I've never been on a coaster with an underwater tunnel before, so I had to give this a try. After a short 10 minute wait, we decided to see if the magical 5-1 works on Arrows other than Vortex and away we went. The tunnel was ... ok. Nothing special after all. But being completely over the water was very cool. It jams on the midcourse just like Vortex does, making the rest of the ride almost painfully slow. And to answer the question, yes, 5-1 is the magic seat on Anaconda as well! No headbanging what so ever! My husband was very pleasantly surprised and is even willing to give Vortex another whirl with this discovery. After Anaconda, my husband recommended Flight of Fear since he knows it's a favorite of mine and thought I'd like to compare the two. Kings Dominion has almost all of their theming still in place, something Kings Island lost long ago. The announcements made over the loudspeaker outside are still operational, the outside of the hangar is still completely themed, and the lights on the saucer still work. The biggest difference is that they use their interior queue as a haunt during the fall, so it's all blocked off inside and there's no movie going. After about 15 minutes of waiting, we ran into another surprise - a ride op assigning seats! I haven't seen that on FOF since opening year! We had to practically beg her for the rear seat, which she did give us. The ride ops were having a lot of fun with the launches, such as counting down, or as seen in my video, saying "goodbye" right at launch. And of course, the obligatory empty train shot. By the time we got off Flight of Fear, we had about 20 minutes before park close. Watching Volcano shooting off it's fire and rumbly volcano noises made me really want one more ride in the dark. My husband didn't have a problem with that, so over to Volcano we went. I spent about 10 minutes trying to get the perfect video of the fire and launch before I finally did, and then it was into the short 20 minute line for our second ride of the day. Once again, Volcano did not disappoint. That launch is really intense! Definitely the most intense LIM coaster I've ridden. Whipping around in the dark was a lot of fun too. A great end to a great but short day. On the way out, I snapped a pic of their version of The Crypt, which still has all it's theming and effects, such as water cannons and fire working, as well as what looks to be a pretty intense program. I counted at least 5 complete flips out of it. Then it was into the car we went, stocked up on 5 hour energy, Mountain Dew throwback, and iPod tunes. We left Doswell at around 11 p.m. and switched off driving until we arrived in Sandusky at approximately 10:30 a.m. for a fun-packed day at Cedar Point!

So I took my trip to Kings Dominion a little early, at that made it possible for me to get some extra coaster credits I wasn't expecting before Cedar Point, including my 50th coaster! My husband and I spent last week in Washington D.C. for police memorial week. I'll have a TR up for that trip as well, but I want to put up my coaster trips first. On Friday afternoon, we were intending to leave, drive to Sandusky, and be at Cedar Point right at opening. We ended up not doing that and staying an extra night at my brother's apartment in Virginia. Saturday morning, I got a text from two different people saying Cedar Point was packed, so my husband and I decided we didn't want to drive 8 hours, get there in the late afternoon or evening, and have to wait forever for rides we've already ridden. Plus, Dragster wasn't running, so my chance for a rollback was dramatically reduced. Considering my brother lives just over an hour from Kings Dominion, we decided we'd take the world's most random detour and head south first instead. After packing up the car, eating a late breakfast with my brother and sister-in-law, cashing a paycheck, and a pit stop at Target to pick up a few things we needed for a day at the park (like sunscreen), we approached Doswell at about 3:00. First glimpse of their Eiffel Tower. Dominator lives up to it's name, dominating KD's skyline. Entering the parking lot, I had to take a picture of an interesting car. Look closely, you'll see that there are two chandaliers hanging inside! Their entrance gates look very nice. The metal detectors are after the ticket takers. The sheer amount of trees in this park amazes me. You can see how many surround the fountains and International Street, and it continues throughout the entire park. Their midways are very nicely shaded in almost all areas of the park. I knew I only had one 'freebie' coaster before my landmark 50th coaster, which I wanted to be on Volcano. After looking at the map, I saw that Shockwave, their Togo stand-up, was located conveniently behind the Eiffel Tower and was the closest coaster to us at that point. Approaching the ride, I was hit with a big wave of nostalgia for King Cobra. King Cobra was one of my favorite rides at Kings Island before its removal, and hearing that loud clattering of the train running through the helix brought back a lot of fond memories. You enter under the second hill, which gave me a nice photo op. After an issue with a line jumper (I was honestly expecting it to turn physical, luckily it didn't), and a 40 minute wait because the park was packed, we were in line for the front seat. I saw several things that reminded me once again of King Cobra, such as the Togo ride plaque: and the seating directions: Finally, we climbed aboard the front seat and I got my first Togo ride since 2001. It really was everything I remembered. Shaky, loud, a little on the violent side, but lots of airtime pops and somehow still a ton of fun and way better than Mantis. While in line, of course I shot a video. We took a walk through the midways, exploring the park a smidge and trying to decide if we wanted to get something to eat, because by this time it had been about 6 hours since breakfast. I wanted to get my 50th coaster in before heading out, so we went towards their Congo section, where Volcano is located. The line was long. Very long. The people in front of us said they'd never seen it this long, that usually it's a 20 or 30 minute wait, not an hour and a half. Either way, I wanted to ride it, so we stood for an hour and a half in the well-themed queue, where I got a few pictures. Ooo creepy tunnel! First set of queue switchbacks is inside the mountain. Second set of queue switchbacks looks like you're in a grass hut. In between the two areas you get a nice shot of the top of the mountain where the ride shoots you out the top. You can still see parts of the former rides in many areas. Mmmm twisty track. Here comes our train! We rode back seat, because back seat on launch coasters usually rocks, and Volcano did not disappoint. I was actually incredibly surprised by the launch. It really launches you! You don't immediately shoot out the top of the mountain. First you are launched, then you go flying around a corner outside the mountain, go back inside the mountain where you are launched again, just to gain a little extra speed, and come flying out of the mountain upside down. The rest of the ride is a lot of rolls and fast corners, and overall just a lot of fun. This ride definitely jumped into my top 10 steel and I was very glad to have decided on it for coaster 50. Now we were really hungry, and on our way out of the park we wanted to check a few lines. Anaconda was over an hour, Backlot Stunt Coaster was over an hour, Volcano was still an hour and a half. We'd heard a lot of the school groups talking about leaving at 6, and now it was 10 till 6, so we decided to head out of the park for dinner and hope that it'd be like Kings Island and clear out in the evening. On the way out, I snapped a shot of their BLSC which still has working water effects, but strangely, the helicopter appeared to be missing, though the sound effects were still there.

Pre-purchasing your tickets will remove one potential wait from your day, definitely. Get there early to avoid lines at both tolls and the metal detectors. Avoid bringing in a bag if at all possible to cut down on the time it takes to clear security. I manage to keep everything I could possibly need in my cargo pockets. The lines that Saturday shouldn't be as bad as previous Saturdays if there are no events. If it's a music in the parks day, which I'm thinking it may be, it will be jam packed. The advantage to music days is that they all leave between 5 and 7 and the park returns to normal crowd levels for the evening. I'd say expect hour long waits for rides such as Diamondback, Beast, Son of Beast and Vortex. Everthing else will probably be around 30 minutes though you may run into longer waits in Action Zone at times. Nick U shouldn't be too bad but you may have to wait a while for the more popular rides like Fairly Odd Coaster (Beastie) and Scooby's haunted castle. Posted from the backless BlackBerry mobile device.

I have a fail proof anti-staple method. Hasn't failed me yet. Even with the infamous Racer stapler! Pretty sad when you think about it that we all are familiar with a particular ride op because of his method of checking restraints. Posted from the backless BlackBerry mobile device.

Indeed I was! We only hit Maverick together during ERT. I grabbed him on the main midway as we were heading for Raptor but decided to hoof it for Maverick instead to beat the crowds and it's a good thing too or I wouldn't have gotten a Maverick ride that I actually enjoyed, unlike my first experience on it last year. We were then together for the rest of the day. So if anyone saw a chick with a grey coaster freak hoodie and orange sunglasses, a guy with long hair and a Canada's Wonderland hat, and a guy with a green plaid shirt and a camo hat (my husband), that was us!

^ it didn't. Imagine a Math & Science or Music in the Parks Saturday at KI and multiply it by 2. That will give you the crowds for today. It was ridiculous until the mass exodus at 6. Magnum had been running an hour wait, we waited 15 minutes at 6:10. We're in line for Dragster now and it's about a 40 minute wait, was 2.5 hours earlier. Millie and Raptor were both 2 hours. Even Mean Streak was an hour. Posted from the backless BlackBerry mobile device in the Top Thrill Dragster queue.

Most ACErs are indeed cool people. As several people have already pointed out, both myself (who created the list) and giga (my awesome coaster buddy) are members of ACE. It's a great club with a lot of great people. Unfortunately, it attracts a lot of not-so-great people. I have yet to meet anyone who is a "stereotypical ACEr" who isn't also a stuck up snob. I still couldn't get over the fact someone made a comment that I must not be a true enthusiast because I was wearing a KI shirt at KI. Who says that kind of thing? Also see Gator's TR about the jerk we ended up talking to at the Festhaus. Unfortunately, a lot of those who fit the stereotypical profile listed earlier (though not all) tend to think that their home park is the greatest and refuse to listen to what anyone else has to say, talk a lot of unfounded smack about great parks and rides, complain about things that make no sense and they have no right to be complaining about (such as being too big to fit in a ride, who's fault is that? Not the park's), and otherwise be general pains to those around them who are trying to enjoy themselves. The stereotypical ones also tend to congregate in groups of others like them and shun anyone who does not conform to their standards. The non-stereotypical ACErs are actually really cool and fun to hang out with, on top of being very knowledgeable about parks and rides everywhere. In fact, I'm sure Angie and I are not the only non-stereotypical ACErs that are on this board, and I have yet to find someone on this board that isn't cool.

I haven't ridden Firehawk this year either. It's always either broken or has a long line due to 1 train operation. I refuse to wait more than 20 minutes for it. I've ridden it probably 3 times before and have been completely unimpressed with it and do not find it to be worth a long wait. Plus I've been so spoiled by all the short wait times I've experienced this year (8 walk-on rides on Voyage, short Friday lines on Diamondback, 8 non-stop laps on Flight of Fear during ERT, etc) that I just can't handle a 30+ minute long wait for any ride anymore.