DaveStroem

We were at the park yesterday with the family. Myself, Wife, & kids 12 & 10. While I and my 12 year old are both coaster riders, my wife is not. She won't do anything that spins or has any kind of G force at all. (I blame this on a poor childhood as she never went to amusment parks growing up). There doesn't seem to be many rides for people like her. I felt bad getting in to queue after queue and leaving her on a bench waiting. While she could do some of the things in the kiddie area. This is almost demeaning. While I know that KI is a thrill park I would think it would be wise to broaden the range of rides and follow a bit from the mouse in the south. Toy Story Mania comes to mind. I think things will get better for her when the water park opens and the shows begin. Any thoughts?

I agree with OP but if you are going by yourself, DB has a single rider line that I used 3 times yesterday. The wait was generally less the 3 trains.

Crowds were manageable today. The longest wait we had was getting our Platinum Passes and that was only 20 minutes. For DB I saw mostly a 30 minute wait listed but only rode it SRL so I don't have any idea how accurate the times listed were. I did see that SOB was listed at 45 min at 7:00pm but did not ride this one either. We did walk on FD as the kids wanted to do this again.

I was so relieved that it was ZERO problem for me on DB. I guess the restraint works well because after pulling it back I never touched till we got off the ride. Now it was a tight fit to get the buckle latched on Drop Zone. Really had to suck it in for this one. The overhead was fine, it was just the buckle. TWO HANDS IN THE AIR FOR Diamondback

Well we started them off with Flight Deck which the both loved. We then did Racer, Adventure Express, Reptar and Backlot Stunt Coaster. Couldn't get them on Beast or anything else. Maybe a bit more time to get over the fear of heights. Even my DD12 coaster buddy chickened out on me for DB. That ended up being OK because the SRL RULES. Most I ever waited was 3 trains. I also met Derek from the boards. He was on his 12th ride of the day as I was riding for my 3rd time. Thanks for the suggestions. Dave AKA Sulley

I am wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt with khaki cargo shorts.

BTW they are all girls. I totaly agree with not forcing kids to ride but I am hoping that some peer pressure will help. My 10 year old daughter gets so worked up before a ride and then has an ear to ear smile during the ride. We were at WDW last month and she did Tower of Terror the first night that we were at DHS. She loved it and thought it was so cool. She then guilted my wife into going on it the next day (Iron Dragon is too much for her). This time my wife was all ready for it but DD10 got cold feet and took my wife kidding her that she was going so DD10 would have to go since no one else would be there to wait with her. Again she loved it. I live with a house full of females (even the dogs are girls) so I am used to this kind of hysteria and changing of minds.

Can't do FoF due to height restrictions. I was thinking that if they couldn't see much of the ride that they might not be as scared of it and thus my thought of The Beast. I think that we will start with Flight Deck, then AE, Racer, Vortex & Beast.

I was just thinking that my first Coaster at KI was The Racer. Of course that was really the only coaster then. My first coaster of all time was the one at Zoo Park in Columbus that is now Zoombezi Bay at the Columbus Zoo. This might make an iteresting thread.

We will be there too Jasper. Dave AKA Sulley

We will be heading down to KI tomorrow (3/26). I will have DD12 (my coaster buddy) DD10 and her BFF9. The younger 2 have not done any real coasters before. So what ones should I start them off with? BFF9 is only 51" so that will limit some of the rides because of height requirements but will still allow for a nice selection of coasters. Should I start with my all time favorite, The Beast, and if they don't like that just have them skip the other coasters or ease them in with The Racer or something else? Thanks Dave AKA Sulley

Now you guys have me worried. I am not a small guy but at 6' 245lb I have never had a problem. I can wear mostly XL shirts but sometimes XXL. So what is too big to ride. With Americans getting heavier and heavier, I feel pretty normal sized. I would think that they would consider this when designing the seat/restraints.

1. Disney World 2. Cedar Point 3. Holiday World 4. Kings Island I guess I have only been to 4 that I would consider favorites. The others like the old GL & SeaWorld totally underwhelmed me.

Thanks Avatar, I look forward to hearing from you. Dave

Great TR. I too loved the Nemo show. I would have to say it was my favorite thing in all of WDW. I can't understand how people say that AK & DHS are 1/2 day parks. The shows at both of these parks are great. If all they want is thrill rides, they should come to Ohio.

If the wait is 5-6 hours, it sounds like a great day to everything else in the park. I am almost glad not to be there. I hope crowds will settle down just a bit by next Sunday. Yea Right.

Just got back from 9 days at Disney World. Planning on multiple visits to Kings Island Cedar Point Then heading back September 26th for 5 days at WDW with Free Dining.

We just got back from WDW the end of last month. It was great. Boy I wish I joined this forum a week ago for you. WDW is its own world. It is twice the size of Manhattan and does things its way. I just posted my top 10 list for Disney Newbies. There are 3 main things to know about Disney. Be there for Rope Drop, this is when the park opens. You want to be at the turnstiles 30 minutes before the park opens. EMH or Extra Magic Hours. These are where 1 of the 4 parks opens 1 hour early or stays open 3 hours after closing for Disney resort guests. If you are not park hopping or are not staying on site, AVOID the park that has an EMH. If you are hopping you can go to the EMH then leave that park when it starts to get busy. The 3rd thing is understanding FastPasses. They are free to all ticket holders. They are mostly only available for the headline rides. On the top rides, they will all be distributed by early afternoon for the day (depending on season). Get a FP first thing for the top ride, then either ride the ride standby for Toy Story Mania, or move on to another headliner. Then as soon as your FastPass window opens get another one. Dave

I just got back from WDW and found many people asking me for tips on getting the most from their trip. After the 2nd time of hand writing some ideas for them, I decided to come up with a Top 10 list. Fell free to ask any WDW questions and I will try my best to answer. Research – You will likely be spending thousands of dollars on your Disney Vacation. Spend some time researching your trip. Get maps so you will know your way around. Pick up a touring guide like the Unofficial Guide to Disney World. Check out bulletin boards like DISBoards.com, they can be invaluable and have lots of Disney experts that are happy to help you have a Magical trip. On these boards you can find out everything from menus to information about hidden Mickeys. Have a Plan – Choose your dates trying to avoid holidays. Once you have your dates, chose which park you want to go to each day. Consult the calendar on the Disney.com website for current hours. Disney hours are not the same everyday and can change often. Disney also offers Extra Magic Hours for Disney resort guests. These times allow resort guests only in the park before and after the non resort guests may enter. These can make the parks extra busy on the day that a park has an EMH. Decide before getting in the park which rides you want to do first, second and third and know where these rides are at. This will save a considerable amount of time trying to figure out where to go. There are also pay sites like touringplan.com, tourguidemike.com and ridemax.com. Considering how much a trip cost, spending an extra $20 for some great advise is cheap. ADR – Advance Dining Reservation. If you want to eat at a sit down restaurant while at Disney World you should have reservations. ADRs can be made 90 days in advance by calling 407-WDW-DINE. Most of the better restaurants will fill up quickly and not take any walk up requests for dining. There are also many Counter Service restaurants that don't take reservations. Eating early will lesson the crowds, as there is a huge difference in the lines from 11:30 to 12:00. Park Hopping – If you want to go to more than one park on the same day you need a Park Hopper ticket. You cannot just use an extra day from your Magic Your Way ticket to hit 2 parks in the same day. If you are unsure that you will use park hopping, don’t get it but put the money aside (currently the hopper option is $50 per ticket for your entire stay whether it is one day or 10) and then if you need to add the hopper option you can upgrade at any ticket booth or even at your Disney resort. If you don’t end up hopping you just saved a considerable amount of money that you can spend on that stuffed Mickey you have been eyeing. Transportation – Getting around the parks is easy, but can take a while. Buses, monorails and boats go between resorts and theme parks and from theme parks to theme parks but not from resorts to resorts. Allow for 30-60 minutes to get from a resort to a theme park and a bit longer to get from one resort to another. Disney Magic Express provides free airport transportation to and from Disney resorts. (advanced booking for DME is required) Rope Drop – Disney gets crowded. The earlier in the day you start your tour of the parks, the more you will get done. If you get there 30 minutes before the park opens for the day you will be at the turnstiles when they open 15 minutes before the park opens. From the turnstiles you will be held inside the park by a rope. When the park officially opens for the day they remove the rope and you may then proceed to the attractions. You will get more done in the first hour than you will in the next 3 hours and more done in the first 3 hours than you will the rest of the day. Fastpasses – They are free and are included with your park admission. You get a Fastpass by inserting your Key to the World card or park ticket into the Fastpass machine at the attraction you want the Fastpass for. This will give you a ticket with a return time that will allow you to ride with a minimal wait. You can get a second Fastpass as soon as the return time on the ticket or 2 hours from the time you got the previous Fastpass whichever is less. Fastpasses may be used after the return time that is printed on the ticket but never before the time printed. Take Care of Yourself and Your Group - Make sure to drink plenty of water. Dehydration can cause meltdowns and muscle fatigue. If someone in your group starts to imitate Grumpy from the Seven Dwarfs have them drink some water. There are many drinking fountains around the parks but filtered water is also available for free from any location that has fountain drinks. Bring a couple of pairs of comfortable shoes that are broken in. Take a first aid kit with moleskin for putting on blisters and check your kids feet regularly to make sure that they don't have a blister starting. Extra dry socks are a good idea to take with you into the parks. Medicated powders can be helpful for keeping chaffing under control. If your in pain, your not feeling the Magic. Know your Group – Gear your trip to the needs and interest of all members of your group. Not all people are into big coasters or meeting characters. Plan something for everyone. Also remember that you are only as strong as your weakest link. Young children (some adults too) may need a break in the afternoon whether it is a nap or a swim in the pool. You will then be better rested to hit the parks in the evening. Remember that you can get Fastpasses before you leave that you can use when you get back to the park. Have Fun – Remember that this is a vacation and not a military exercise. You will not be able to see and do everything in a single visit. Slow down and enjoy what you are doing instead of rushing around trying to get it all done. If you miss something, don't get upset about it. Just think of it as being the reason for your next trip to the Mouse House.

Yes this is exactly what I mean. This was our plan for Animal Kingdom on March 22. There is even software for WDW called RideMax where you select what time you want to start, what rides you want to do, shows you want to see, where and when you want to eat and when you want to leave. Then it goes to his server and makes an optimized plan with the shortest wait and walking times. While I know that there is nothing like this for KI. I was hoping for something more like what touringplans.com has for WDW. I see that there was a Unofficial guide to PKI but from what I saw, it looked rather out of date. Again, Thanks

Wow you guys are fast. No I won't be able to make it tomorrow. I work 6 days a week so it will have to be next Sunday (yes I know the park is closed on the 19th). I agree from my WDW experiance, rope drop makes all the difference.

Hello all, I am new to this forum so please be kind to a poor noob. I am a bit of an Uber Planner. We just did spring break at WDW for 9 days with waits of under 15 minutes for everything. Now that we are back I am needing to get a coaster fix so we have just decided to get Platinum passes for Cedar Fair. I live just north of Columbus and love both KI and CP but have not been in a couple of years. When we were at WDW we had a touring plan that was responsible for the low wait times. Is there any Touring Plan available for KI? I think I have gotten spoiled by the short waits at WDW and don't know if I could handle 60 min or more that I remember from past visits to KI & CP. Any suggestions would be great. Does KI have anything like Fastpasses at WDW? TIA Dave