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McSalsa

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Everything posted by McSalsa

  1. Steel Vengeance is now...running all 3 trains! I can't link it, but FYE Coasters on Facebook have a video showing Chess leaving the station. A 2nd train can be seen parked on the brake run, and then a 3rd flies past overhead on one of the overbanked turns! I would still expect 60-90+ minute waits though. Even with the improved capacity, I imagine Steel Vengeance is still gonna be stupid popular and Maverick and Valravn can easily get wait times that big so there is no reason Steel Vengeance won't.
  2. Oh...my bad. Also, that is even cooler in a way. Also, since we renewed our Platinum Cedar Fair passes, my friends and sister were looking into other Cedar Fair parks we could visit in 2019. Carowinds was already on our radar as an option. This probably just pushed them to the top.
  3. Woah, Six Flags adding new roller coasters that are NOT RMC's for once? That's a nice change of pace. Maxx Force looks awesome, probably the new-for-2019 coaster that excites me the most so far, but West Coast Racers also looks pretty cool. I do also like the nice selection flat rides the other Six Flags parks are getting. While this is otherwise a pretty standard year for Six Flags, the 2 new coasters (not counting the S&S Free Spin) bump it up a notch. I give Six Flags 2019 a thumbs up!
  4. This thing looks fun. Reminds me pretty heavily of Maverick, and it should have lots of airtime and hang time. The stats are not exactly the biggest or baddest, but stats are not everything, and this should be a excellent addition to Carowinds coaster lineup. Also, bigger Mack rides have finally come to the USA with Time Traveler and Copperhead Strike. I also love how the logo is a robotic snake. With Six Flags' announcements of Maxx Force and West Coast Racers, it is looking like 2019 will be the year of the launched coaster, kinda like how 2017 was pretty heavy on woodies.
  5. I never got to ride it (closest I ever got was in 2009, we walked up to it and before we could get in line it broke down for the day and then closed forever shortly after), but Son of Beast was a very beautiful structure. I remember it looming over Action Zone on my visits from 2000-2012, even when it was SBNO, and watching it on my first ever trip to Kings Island in 2000 is one of the strongest memories I have of that day even though it was 18 years ago (I was too chicken to ride it, though). In some ways, Steel Vengeance (my current #1 coaster BTW) reminds me a little bit of Son of Beast, since it does have a wooden structure and is also over 200 feet tall, even if the ride is a steel coaster. Like how Son of Beast loomed over Action Zone, Steel Vengeance looms over Frontier Town, and it is intimidating just like Son of Beast was. It even has a super loud lift hill to boot! Granted, Steel Vengeance also has very twisted track obviously visible in places, adding to the intimidation factor. Though I did just look over a few pics of both coasters, and I would say due to the "dip" in the track at the top of the lift, I would give just a slight edge to Son of Beast still in terms of looks. Plus SOB really only had Diamondback as competition for looking huge and scary at KI, SV has to run against Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, Valravn, and Magnum XL-200 which are also all huge, intimidating-looking coasters in their own right.
  6. Hello and welcome to the latest (as of now) McSalsa Trip Report! I went to Cedar Point this past weekend for 2 1/2 days (all weekend plus half of Monday) and here is my trip report for it. But first off, here is my ride rating system: F- Garbage. I regret ever riding this and will not make the same mistake of ever riding it again! D- Mediocre. A disappointing, or painful ride, though there might be a little fun here. I might give a D-Tier ride a second chance but it is gonna need to be a walk-on or something. C- Average. A fun ride, but either there is enough roughness/pain to dilute it, or it just does not blow me away. Will still ride this if the wait is not too bad, though. B- Good. A ride I enjoy, but it may have some flaws, but I will happily re-ride this unless the wait is pretty crazy. A- Awesome. These rides leave me with a huge grin usually, and I will ride them over and over if there is a short wait. If there are long waits around the entire park, I may aim for these anyway, as if you are gonna wait, best to be for something worth it. Surpassed only by... S- Epic. The best of the best. I am usually giddy and my happiness meter is maxed out after riding one of these. Tragically, these are not the most common rides out there, however.  Note: If you wanna take this as a 1-10 system, S=10, A=9, B=8, C=7, D=6, and F=5 or worse. Now, since this was a 3 day trip, I have decided to try something different since my last 3 day trip report was, well, huge. Maybe a bit too huge. And I re-rode lots of stuff on this trip so I would be repeating myself a lot. So I am instead gonna cover the rides & stuff in sections, and just list how many times I rode them. They will be ordered by when I took my first ride though. The sections will be: Roller Coasters Flat Rides Food Other Note-able Stuff I didn't do any water rides or visit the waterpark, but if I ever do any of that on one of these big trips, they will also have their own sections. Also worth noting, we took advantage of the season pass renewal offer and got Fast Lane Plus for Sunday. Our group included me, my sister, and 2 friends- one of which was still kinda overcoming huge coasters (Friend A), and the other did do them but was still not 100% for some rides (Friend B). We left very early trying to get to the park in time for ERT, which was just barely did. We stayed all day Saturday and Sunday, and left around 3PM on Monday. We also stayed at Hotel Breakers again. Now, let's get to...DA ROLLER COASTERS!!! ROLLER COASTERS Maverick (4 Rides) Maverick was running GREAT on this trip. Great forces, lots of airtime, a powerful launch and lots of twisty goodness. I rode it twice at night, the 2nd night ride in particular was awesome and one of the best rides I have ever had on any roller coaster. The ride was also up and running all 3 days, which is great for this ride since it typically seems to have at least 1 issue on most of my trips to this park. We even got our friend who doesn't like coasters to try it, he normally can't do inversions but he was fine here since they go by so fast on Maverick, and he LOVED it. We rode it during Saturday ERT, Saturday Night (longest wait for this ride for me, was about 30 minutes), Sunday ERT, and Sunday Night. On Monday it had a 1+ hour wait all day, so we didn't ride then. Still, I am very happy to have gotten 4 more rides on the incredible Maverick on this trip. Rating: S+! Iron Dragon (4 Rides) We headed over to Iron Dragon early on Saturday to sign up for the VR, since I remembered Cedar Point made you do that at one point, but apparently now they don't. We rode it anyway since there was no wait, and had a fun ride swinging through the trees, though it felt very slow since I had just ridden Maverick right before. Later on Saturday we returned and got in line for the VR version, and we got in line fast enough to be on the first train. And my VR didn't work! The image I saw never began moving (though I could look around), so I essentially rode Iron Dragon blind. To my surprise, however, the ride ops were kind enough to let me re-ride (they moved me to a open seat as a single rider) with a new headset, and I got to ride Iron Dragon WITH WORKING VR! It was actually very cool, even if it wasn't the best graphics ever, and it made the coaster seem more intense than it actually was. Iron Dragon just seems like the perfect type of coaster for this, too: not too rough or intense, and it is a older ride that isn't as popular. I don't think this would work on any of KI's coasters, though. We also went back on Monday for 1 more ride, which was still decent fun. Rating: Iron Dragon- C, Iron Dragon VR (Working)- A Millennium Force (2 Rides) We rode Millennium Force after Iron Dragon, and Friend A who is still overcoming bigger roller coasters (though TBH he is doing great at it, he will ride all but the biggest and loopiest roller coasters now) went with us this time. Like my sister, he was not a fan of the first drop, but he loved the rest of the ride. I loved the entire thing though. We rode first on Saturday morning after Iron Dragon, and a storm was moving into the area, so there was a mist during the entire ride which felt great TBH. The coaster did feel a tiny bit slower than I remembered, but it was morning and it may not have warmed up 100% yet, so that was probably a factor. It was still a awesome ride. Later on that night, after our first Maverick night ride, we hurried over and managed to get in line for a night ride, and that was a great choice because the ride was incredible. It was running faster than in the morning, had stronger airtime, and the darkness of night always adds more to most coasters including this one. However, that would be our last ride on MF, as it went down on Sunday and then went down again Monday morning, and it didn't open back up. Ugh, Intaminitis strikes again! Rating: S Magnum XL-200 (6 Rides) I rode this one at least once all 3 days, Magnum XL-200 is a great coaster and it usually has little to no wait, making it IMO one of the best "value" coasters I have ever run into. Thus I rode it more than anything else on the trip! I tried a few different seats, and I think I like the back of the train a bit more as 5-2 gave the best ride I had on the coaster (6-2 was always taken so I never rode that seat) as the first drop actually had a tiny bit of airtime. The final few hills, of course, have the most and strongest airtime on this coaster as they send you flying up into your lap bar. I also love the tunnels, they add to the mayhem this coaster offers, especially at night. It is a little on the rough side, but I don't think it's too bad. On Sunday this was my last ride of the night, and me and Friend A rode it together twice in a row (he loves it too). He actually got kinda mad when the ride ops joked about us riding again but then said no because the park closed. I kinda see why, Magnum XL-200 is awesome. I actually like it a bit more than Diamondback, to be 100% honest (though DB is no slouch and I also love that ride). Also, I was shocked to see at one point on Saturday this thing had a 45-minute wait and was actually using its Ques! You know CP is packed when that happens. Rating: S Gemini (5 Rides) Here is another fun ride by Arrow with little to no wait time, thus I also rode it many times. I rode both sides, and usually either in the very front car (2nd row) or very back car (also 2nd row). I think my favorite seat is 5-2, Red Train. Red feels smoother to me than Blue does, and the back car was actually dishing out VERY good airtime, even giving out ejector air on some rides (right before a head chopper too)! I also rode very first race of the day on Saturday, as the ride did not open earlier due to rain. We rode this at night a few times as well, though on Sunday when we did that it was not racing and only Red was running, though the MCBR was off so we got some nice laterals through the final turn (trims before helix were still on, and I think that might be for safety reasons). The front seats didn't have as much air, but did offer some great views. Gemini is yet another fun coaster at a park filled to the brim with them. Rating: B Steel Vengeance (3 Rides) We got beat by the crowds on Sunday for the "Running of the Bulls", so we went over and rode Maverick for ERT instead, then came back and waited for the park to open so we could be the first few in the Fast Lane Plus line (Friend A sat this ride out every time but he held our phones and stuff for us). The ride had also had a minor issue and needed to do a few test runs, but it re-opened at around 10:05 AM, so we got in and waited about 10 minutes for the coaster. Steel Vengeance was still crazy, but didn't feel as crazy as it had on my previous rides, though it was also morning. I went back later Saturday by myself (I had broken off from the group) around 3-4PM, and waited in the 45 minute Fast Lane line (which was kinda annoying because of how little the line moved) and got rewarded with a ride that DID feel as crazy as before, as by then the ride had warmed up, plus I was in the 2nd to last car. I did get trimmed a little at the MCBR, but to be honest only the first hill after that felt different, the rest of the ride was the same. So much airtime on this thing, it is crazy! And then we as a group (Me+Sister+Friend rode again at night, finding a 15 minute wait (crowds had gone way down), and got a even crazier ride thanks to the darkness of night, a full red-looking moon, and the fact the train was right below us during our ride so we got a face full o' steam. What an amazing ride- even if it is so violent and forceful at times it kinda hurts! It ran well both Saturday and Sunday, but it did have issues at opening on Monday, though it did open around 11AM. We only rode on Sunday because that was the day we had Fast Lane Plus, and without that we would be looking at a 90+ minute wait every single day. Still, I loved my rides on Sunday, and in spite of a great push by Maverick, Steel Vengeance remains my #1 roller coaster. Rating: S+! Top Thrill Dragster (2 Rides) We waited until Sunday, when we had Fast Lane Plus, to ride this one but when we did, I was for once not alone (also due to rain it was down most of the day Saturday). My sister decided to suck it up, face her fears, and ride with me and because of this Friend B did the same (Friend A still sat out). We got on pretty quickly, and the ride was running well, so no breakdowns this time (at least on Sunday). The ride launched, it was very forceful, and we went over the top and dropped 400 feet to the ground with a twist. I loved it. But what did my sister and Friend B think? They actually loved it too, and felt stupid for being scared of this ride! We went back and rode it again Monday morning with about a 10 minute wait, and the launch on that day felt even more powerful. Also I am proud of my sister and our friend for facing their fears, and conquering Top Thrill Dragster! We actually wanted to do it again later on Monday, but it went down (it did the same near the end of Sunday as well). Ugh, more Intaminitis. Rating: A GateKeeper (2 Rides) This was the first of Cedar Point's B&Ms I rode and I did not even ride it until Sunday! (Saturday I rode nothing but Intamin and Arrow rides) My Fast Lane Plus was worthless here, besides getting me to the merge point a few seconds faster, as the wait was under 15 minutes for both rides I took (one solo and one with my Sister and Friend B, Friend A cannot do slow inversions). Both times I rode the left wing, since I enjoy flipping upwards on the first drop. Actually got some weak airtime again on the hill, and the inversions were good fun. GateKeeper isn't very intense, but I still really enjoy this roller coaster, it is just fun. We could have probably easily rode a 3rd time on Monday, but we were tired and ready to head home so we didn't do it. Rating: A Wicked Twister (1 Ride) Only 1 ride on this on Sunday, but it had a very short wait (Fast Lane was useless) and it was a fun ride. I also was the only one in my group to do it, as I was going solo at the time. Wicked Twister is good, twisted fun and a lot more intense than it looks like from afar. You essentially get Maverick's launch, and go up and down the giant spires over and over. I rode pretty far back so going down the 2nd spire looking straight down from high up was pretty crazy. Rating: A Raptor (2 Rides) I rode this once solo on Sunday (5 minute wait with Fast Lane- Regular Wait was 75!), and with my sister and Friend B on Sunday (Also a 5 minute wait). Raptor is a solid ride, very fun and pretty intense. It is a little rough, mostly due to some rattling though, there really is not much headbanging however save for maybe 1 or 2 spots. I also realized said rattling is what made me and my sister to think our restraints were coming undone, but in reality this ride gives you some wiggle room and locked about 1 inch off of me, so when it rattled the restraint would wobble and shake, making it seem like it was loose but it was really locked. The final turn after the helix is really abrupt, and I did get headbanged there. I still prefer Banshee out of the 2 B&M inverts I have been on, but this is still a very fun coaster I would like to ride more. Rating: A Blue Streak (4 Rides) Ahh, Blue Streak. Cedar Point's 1964 wooden classic. It is a fun ride, though as I ride it more and more, I do think I like The Racer a bit better now as the 2 rides are very similar, but Racer has the racing element and is larger. I got about the same amount of airtime on both coasters (I remember Blue Streak having more on my first few rides but since then it has seemingly declined), and both can be a little rough if you sit on a rear wheel. Blue Streak does have a better turn-around, though, since it has some actual laterals there. There was no wait at all on Sunday or Monday whenever we came back to this ride's area, so I ended up riding it 4 times total. Also, it is just us, or does it feel like the cars on this ride flex and bend on the way up to the lift hill? No other woodie I have been on, PTC trains or not, seems to do that. This was also the last thing we rode before we left on Monday. Rating: C Rougarou (2 Rides) My solo ride on Rougarou on Sunday was fun, and was decently smooth, only 1 or 2 small headbanging moments which is not bad considering this ride's bad reputation most give it. We went back on Monday, and it was a bit rougher then, I was headbanged around 3 times which is not too bad (and none of them were super hard) but my sister who is shorter got it a lot worse and hated the ride. It also didn't help we sat in the big boy row, so she was pretty deep in the seat to boot. I like Rougarou, it is a fun ride to me, but I can also kinda see why some may not like it as much. I do like how it never has a wait though, so people who do like it like me can go grab a ride when everything else has crazy long lines, and it is almost always open due to B&M reliability. Also on my Sunday ride, I got to see Physics in action because a kid in the row in front of me lost his quarter on the lift hill and it landed on the back of his seat, and I had a clear view of it, and I thought it would fall out on the loop but it stayed in place! It did drop off later on, somewhere just before the MCBR. Rating: B Valravn (2 Rides) During my solo run on Sunday, I checked Valravn's wait time and found it had a 30 minute wait...for Fast Lane! I decided if I was gonna wait for a ride even with Fast Lane, I would do Steel Vengeance, and then come back later when the wait was reduced. So, around 7PM with the group re-united, we did just that and found a much shorter Fast Lane wait. Friend A sat this out due to the slow inversions. The first drop on this coaster is epic, due to the size and the fact it dangles you for a few seconds before you drop, and then you get some nice g-forces. The 2nd drop is also pretty fun, and the final few inversions pack more of a punch than you may expect. On our Monday ERT ride, we didn't get any airtime on the airtime hill though. That was a first. Anyhow, yet ANOTHER great roller coaster. Rating: A Cedar Creek Mine Ride (1 Ride) Friend A really wanted to ride this, and it had no wait, so we did. This ride doesn't have much in the way of big drops, but it does have some nice laterals that can be surprisingly strong. The scenery around the coaster is also nice, and you can get a great view of Maverick and Steel Vengeance from the first lift hill. But IMO, Adventure Express is still the far superior mine train coaster. Rating: C- And that does it for roller coasters. I did not ride Corkscrew this time (have the credit), or the kiddie coasters. Now, onto...FLAT RIDES!!! FLAT RIDES Ocean Motion (1 Ride) This ride is smaller than Viking Fury, but for some reason it felt a little more intense. Maybe because the lap bar seemed higher up? It was also the only flat ride I rode on Saturday. It was decent fun. Rating: C MaXair (2 Rides) I didn't get to ride this one on our May trip to Cedar Point as it was down for some reason, but this time it was open, and I did ride. It was kinda hot by Sunday, when I rode it, so MaXair was a great ride to cool off on. I love the spinning and swinging aspect of the ride, and it kinda feels relaxing to me, though you do get strong G-Forces at the bottom. This one also has a longer ride cycle than Delirium, thus making this the better frisbee. One of my favorite flat rides. Rating: A WindSeeker (1 Ride) These make me nervous (as you are held up nearly 300 feet by a single bolt essentially), yet I enjoy them at the same time as I like swinging rides and the view is usually awesome. I rode Kings Island's version earlier this year, and this one felt identical other than the fact the view was very different. Due to that, I liked this one a little bit better as you get awesome views of the many giant roller coasters and Lake Erie. Rating: B Giant Wheel (1 Ride) Another ride that actually makes me nervous. In 2014, I rode the Indiana State Fair Giant Wheel, and hated it as it wobbled around and creaked when loading/unloading and left me dangling in the air. I agreed to ride this one only because my sister had done TTD earlier in the day. Thankfully, the Giant Wheel at Cedar Point is much more stable, even if it is even bigger. The views from this ride are very nice, though I still became slightly uncomfortable when near the top at load/unload. Thankfully the ride cycle began soon, and I was disappointed we only went around once. I did enjoy this much more than the State Fair Wheel though. Rating: C- Witches Wheel (1 Ride) Here is another wheel ride- and sadly this one is going to close soon. We rode this on Monday, our last day in the park. This was my first HUSS Enterprise style ride, and I found it pretty fun. It is pretty disorienting and has some nice G-Forces. Though I can understand why it is being removed, given how expensive parts must be getting and stuff. Considering Witches Wheel opened in 1977, though, I would say it has had a very good lifespan for a intense flat ride. Hopefully, its replacement is another ride that will be around for 40+ years. Rating: C+ Pipe Scream (1 Ride) Friend A suggested we ride this on Monday, and it had no wait so we did. And I am glad he did- we actually got a LOT of spinning on this ride this time, and it felt faster and more intense than usual- I thought we were gonna bump the edges and get a E-Stop a few times! Though my sister actually felt a tiny bit sick after riding it, she recovered after getting a drink. This was pretty fun. Rating: B- Lake Erie Eagles (1 Ride) It has been a little while since I had been on a Flying Eagles type ride, so when the group wanted to ride this I was not opposed. I had some fun experimenting a bit with steering my eagle, but I also was careful not to snap since I had heard Cedar Fair was yelling at people for doing that and I didn't wanna get yelled at. I did go sideways for most of the ride though, which I found fun. I called it "Driftin' Eagles", LOL. Rating: C+ Skyhawk (1 Ride) Ahh, Skyhawk. This ride is fun and the restraint isn't as serious as MaXair's, but I think the spinning aspect adds a bit more to that ride. I still really enjoyed Skyhawk though, I got some nice pops of airtime at the top of the swings, and looking straight down is still a bit scary. Rating: A- Cedar Downs Racing Derby (1 Ride) The last flat I rode, we hit this up on our way to ride Raptor on the final day. This high-speed carousel is good fun, and "simulates" a actual horse race. I actually didn't come in last for once, but I did come in 2nd to my sister. Rating: C And that does it for flat rides. Onto da grub! FOOD Dairy Queen Wait, wut? Why am I reviewing a off-site food place? For 1 reason: it is actually, I have learned, owned and operated by Cedar Point. Thus, I will include it in the trip report! We came here on Saturday after riding Millennium Force as it began to rain, closing down many of the rides (my friends needed to get some cigarettes too- hence why we went off site). It was also MUCH cheaper than the in-park food options, as the prices were normal for a Dairy Queen. You could get a Steel Vengeance Ice Cream Cake here, though. I got the $6 Chicken Sandwich Lunch combo, which came with sandwich, fries, a drink, and a sundae. The sundae actually came out to us first, as the food was taking a minute to make, but once it did come out it was all fresh and tasted good. The Sundae was the highlight, of course since it is DQ. If you are willing to go off-site to save some money, I would say this Dairy Queen near the Express Hotel is a good option. Rating: B Melt Bar & Grilled When I went solo, I was kinda hungry, so I stopped in here not realizing it was table service. There was no line though so I just went ahead and ate here, plus I had plenty of time. And I am glad I did eat here- this place is full of old CP memorabilia, like old ride logos, ride pictures, etc etc. I ordered the 2018-only Chicken Vengeance Sandwich, because it looked good and I do enjoy Chicken and Bacon Sandwiches. It took a minute to get to me, but it was VERY fresh, and came with nice hot fries. The sandwich was AMAZING, it tasted so good and was very filling, so I ended up having to take half of it back to the hotel (where I ate it later). I would even say it was probably my favorite amusement park food item I have eaten in 2018, beating out Sidewinder Sue's BBQ Loaded Fries! I am so glad I stopped in at Melt and ate there, even if it was a slight mistake. Rating: S Chicken Coupe (Food Truck) The Ohio vs. Michigan food truck festival was also underway when we went to Cedar Point, so we ate at a few of them on Sunday. We just got the $5 sampler at this one, since I was not starving, I thought I would get a chicken strip on a bun but it came on waffles! I have avoided chicken and waffles since I thought those 2 would not pair well but, in a random decision, I decided to try them. And to my shock, IT WAS GOOD! The chicken was very well cooked and breaded, and the waffle was soft and delicious. Even dipping the chicken in maple syrup was not bad at all, I thought it would be gross but I was way off. You actually don't taste both the chicken and syrup at the same time, they feel like the tastes occur separately (first I tasted syrup, then came chicken). I am happy to report, I was pleasantly shocked at how good chicken and waffles can be. These guys got my vote for best food truck, due to extra points for making me try something new (and me liking it). Rating: A+ Forest Fun Food (Food Truck) This food truck was serving Asian food, so my sister got some Asian Tacos, and she gave me one. It tasted very good, and was kinda spicy. Kind of like Asian Chicken but on a soft Taco Shell. I was still more impressed by Chicken & Waffles, but this was still great. Rating: A Firehouse Grilling Co. (Food Truck) 2017's Food Truck Festival winner, my sister decided to get a brownie from this truck and split it with us. It was delicious, soft and chocolatey. While I voted for Chicken Coupe, I think these guys will probably win 2018 just because they are local and usually show up at Cedar Point all the time, so there may be some bias. Rating: A Bosco Sticks (Food Cart) Our final food item at Cedar Point was some Bosco Sticks we got at a food cart in Frontier Town, near Frontier Trail. They were only $5 for 2 of them, so why not? These were pretty good, but tasted like regular Pizza. Which is good, but I didn't think these really stood out. Good snack though. Rating: B- That does it for food. Now onto the final category, OTHER STUFF!!! OTHER STUFF As I stated near the start of the trip report, we stayed at Hotel Breakers, which was a great choice due to the convenience. The room was clean when we arrived in it, and it gave us a great place to go back, snack on stuff we brought, and relax when the park got too busy. So Breakers was great, as usual. There was ONE major screw-up Cedar Point did on us, though. When we were coming back into the park from Dairy Queen (because our room had become ready) on Saturday there was a car accident, and so they did some weird stuff and blocked off the main entrance to Perimeter Road, making people drive through the main lot...WHICH WAS AT NEAR CAPACITY DUE TO CROWD LEVELS. Thus, it caused confusion and madness, and they were lucky there were not more accidents (at least as far as I saw). It took us a half hour just to reach Perimeter Road, which was crazy. Luckily, this did not happen again, but it was a bit of a issue when it did happen on Saturday. Also, the bathrooms could have been cleaner in the main park. In Breakers, our personal bathroom was great, but sometimes you just had to go and were far from the Hotel. There were also TONS of spiders in the Millennium Force and Steel Vengeance ques. Not really the park's fault, and I realize spiders and gnats are things, but worth mentioning I feel. And that will do it for this trip report. In spite of some of the gripes I listed in "Other Stuff", I had a blast. Even though we renewed our passes, we will probably not be returning to Cedar Point for Halloweekends, so it will be May of 2019 at the earliest we will return. But between now and then, we will be visiting Kings Island for Haunt, and Winterfest. So I will still be able to get my coaster fix at KI. And now, finally, the overall Pro's and Con's of the trip... PROS +Amazing Roller Coaster Collection +Great Flat Ride Collection +Good Food, and even some GREAT Food +Most of the staff was very nice +Park looked very nice and scenic all around, and the outside was clean +Maverick shockingly staying open the entire time CONS -Mayhem in Parking Lot on Saturday -Some of the bathrooms were kinda dirty -Huge crowds on Saturday and big crowds on Sunday (though we had Fast Lane+ on Sunday to kinda negate a bit of that, and Monday was not busy) -Millennium Force only working on Saturday, and then breaking down the next 2 days. TTD, Gemini, Steel Vengeance, and even Valravn went down a few times as well. And that will do it for this trip report. Did you like the new format for huge trip reports (regular single day trips will probably use old format still)? Also, questions and comments are welcome. And finally... RIP Witches Wheel 1977-2018
  7. ^ The official name for that ride type is Screamin' Swing. They are made by S&S rides. http://s-s.com/rides/screamin-swing/
  8. Well, this document is very interesting. I would say I am about 90% sure we are getting a B&M in 2020. Is it the long-rumored Giga? Possibly. Could also be... Dive Coaster: These things are GP magnets, Valravn at Cedar Point is crazy popular (it drew a ton of people away from Millennium Force when it re-opened on a Friday when I was there, Millie's wait dropped from 90 minutes to 45 almost as soon as Valravn when up) and they are not as expensive as other B&M models, so I would not be 100% shocked if Kings Island got one, though they did just announce Yukon Striker for Canada's Wonderland and Valravn is in the same state and is still pretty new, and they may not wanna undercut Valravn's long term legs. Floorless Coaster: This is another option, though they would need to make it huge and do stuff Banshee does not do to keep the 2 from feeling too similar. However, it would not be much cheaper than the Giga, and since so many people seem to want a Giga, why not just go for that? Wing Coaster: The craze for these seems to have died down slightly in recent years, but this is still an option. They could also pull a Thunderbird on this (TBH Floorless too) and have it be launched, though Kings Island is pretty close to Holiday World and I imagine people would notice if KI ripped off Thunderbird. Also, this would also be fairly expensive and not too much cheaper than a Giga. B&M's other models are options, save for a Hyper and Invert since KI already has them, but the chances for any of those seem VERY low to me. There is also the option that KI gets a brand-new model of B&M, such as the rumored 4D coaster, but we would have nothing to speculate on that until construction started. If I was gonna bet, though, I'd go Giga. There have been enough requests for it, it was speculated for BOTH Banshee and Mystic Timbers by fans (some of whom got annoyed when it turned out those were a Invert and GCI Woodie) and it would be a HUGE draw to Kings Island. Millennium Force no longer needs protected, it will be 20 years old in 2020 (off-topic: I see MF becoming a ACE Landmark in 2020) and CP has new draws like Valravn, Steel Vengeance, and possibly their own new 2020 coaster. If KI and CP both get huge new coasters in 2020, it could draw people to BOTH parks, meaning even more money for Cedar Fair. It would also be a warning to Kentucky Kingdom not to step on KI's toes, since there are rumors about KK getting a hyper coaster. It just seems to make sense- though if we do get a Giga in 2020, I would not expect another big coaster for at least 4-5 years after, so not sure what the park would do for its 50th in 2022. Probably bring back Phantom Theater or something?
  9. That document is actually exactly what I meant by "leak". It is very interesting, being honest- though I will post my speculations over in that thread, not here. Also Ginkgo Trees would be a awesome thing to bring back.
  10. Yup- I knew about that, I imagine that was probably from people who work at those local news stations looking at sites like this and seeing people post about the "teasers" (which were really probably just easter eggs) and going "Wow, this will make a great story for our news site!". And they just interview some random people and stuff, and bam, quick news story based on rumors. If the 2020 "leak" is true (or whenever the next big coaster comes), I wonder how these guys are gonna respond to/cover ACTUAL teasers the park puts out. I expect it will probably get pretty crazy.
  11. I like this addition. Antique Cars really aren't my thing, though if this set has nice scenery added that could be a different story, but this will be a great ride for older people and kids outside Planet Snoopy. The removal of the original cars in 2004 was one of Paramount's biggest mistakes, and it seems Cedar Fair wants to fix and undo as many of Paramount's mistakes as they can. If they are putting ALL of it on one side of Racer though, that is gonna be pretty cramped, I would think. I was kinda hoping Racer would get a re-track and stuff though, which I guess it still can (they wouldn't really need to even announce that) but I'll still ride it as it is for now. I never really bought into "ZOMG SON O' BEAST IS RETURNING!!!" because that was based on 1 poster at Cedar Point (WTF why would they even tease a new KI ride there and not at KI!?!?) and some Son of Beast logo symbols Mystic Timbers has had since 2017. Kings Island does not tease new coasters that way. Now, if a big construction fence pops up, there is actual land clearing, and there are posters on said fence (if the "leaked" documents are true, we may see this next year) then you probably have a new coaster coming. This is how Diamondback, Banshee, and Mystic Timbers all were.
  12. I don't think so- Son of Beast still had its loop, and was running, on June 6th, 2006. Its accident happened on July 9th, about 1 month later, and that's when it shut down for the season (Re-Opening in July 2007). I think the "something was missing" part is because in 2006, the Antique Cars were gone and had been replaced by BLSC.
  13. While I have never even been close to Canada's Wonderland, and the only dive coaster I have ever been on is Valravn, I'll say from the video of this ride: it looks fun, and it has a few elements like the old school loop that make it different from other dive coasters. Canada's Wonderland is a park that needs more good roller coasters (since the reviews on most of them are mixed, at best) and this ride looks like it will help that category come next year. It is probably gonna be a smash hit with the public, if Valravn's popularity at Cedar Point is any indication.
  14. In addition to the SOB Logo and stuff popping up around there, in the Mystic Timbers station, if you look above the ride's exit there is a sign that says "Outpost 5" and another that says "Shipping and Receiving". So, uhh, Mystic Timbers is Outpost 5 now? It is a neat easter egg, which is pretty much all I can assume it is at this point, and it does pay homage to Son of Beast and Adventure Express. I like it. Also, at the Son of Beast eternal flame near Banshee, I dunno if I just noticed this on my visit yesterday or if it is actually new, but there is some broken wood that looks like wood coaster supports with flowers placed at the base of the tombstone, like something people would put on their deceased families graves IRL.
  15. Hi everyone! Well, after having to go to Holiday World instead last month due to bad weather, we were finally able to go back to Kings Island again last Sunday. Before we get into the meat of this Trip Report, as usual, the ride (and food/show) rating system: F- Garbage. I regret ever riding this and will not make the same mistake of ever riding it again! D- Mediocre. A disappointing, or painful ride, though there might be a little fun here. I might give a D-Tier ride a second chance but it is gonna need to be a walk-on or something. C- Average. A fun ride, but either there is enough roughness/pain to dilute it, or it just does not blow me away. Will still ride this if the wait is not too bad, though. B- Good. A ride I enjoy, but it may have some flaws, but I will happily re-ride this unless the wait is pretty crazy. A- Awesome. These rides leave me with a huge grin usually, and I will ride them over and over if there is a short wait. If there are long waits around the entire park, I may aim for these anyway, as if you are gonna wait, best to be for something worth it. Surpassed only by... S- Epic. The best of the best. I am usually giddy and my happiness meter is maxed out after riding one of these. Tragically, these are not the most common rides out there, however.  Note: If you wanna take this as a 1-10 system, S=10, A=9, B=8, C=7, D=6, and F=5 or worse. We missed a exit on the way to KI (I noticed but didn't realize our driver didn't until it was too late), so we arrived around 9:45AM, thus we kinda missed ERT. We decided we would just line up and go to X-Base to begin the day. Firehawk was still doing morning testing and wasn't ready to open, so for our first ride, we did the other major coaster in X-Base. Ride #1: Flight of Fear Wait: 1 Train (>5 Minutes) As we did not get to ride this on in June, this was my first ride on FOF since April. We rode in the very back car, as that seat had no wait. It felt like your typical FOF ride: a little rough, very forceful, and fun. Being in the back kinda made it feel a bit slower though since you could see the elements coming by looking at the cars ahead of you on the train, so the 2nd half of the ride was a bit more predictable. Still a solid ride though, and a nice way to start the day. Rating: B After FOF, Firehawk had finished testing and had opened, so we headed to that next. Ride #2: Firehawk Wait: 1 Train (>5 Minutes) I love getting to X-Base early when there are no waits. It has been a while since I had last ridden Firehawk, as this was my first ride in 2018. I had forgotten how loose the restraints feel, it is actually a bit unnerving. The ride was still fun though, the loop may be the best loop in the park due to the flying coaster nature and I didn't realize how close you get to some of the trees near the ride. A fun ride. Rating: C While riding Firehawk, I saw Vortex running either empty or near-empty trains, and wanted to go ride that since I had to miss it due to a hurt shoulder last time. My friends/sister went off to smoke, and I rode Vortex. Ride #3: Vortex Wait: 1 Train (>5 Minutes) I decided I wanted maximum airtime, so 7-1 it was. And I got what I wanted- first drop had some nice air. The ride, for Vortex standards, was pretty smooth but there was a slight wobble on the drop into the 2 loops. I did not get headbanged at all, though I realize this is probably because my head goes well above the restraints, and my neck has a good 3-4 inches or so on each side to move before it bumps them. As usual the ride had nice forces and fun inversions. A fun ride overall. Rating: B While climbing Vortex's lift, I noticed Beast had a very short, if any, wait. I returned to my friends and we discussed it, and decided to head that way since waits were apparently short around the park. Before Beast, however, we decided to ride... Ride #4: Backlot Stunt Coaster Wait: 5-10 Minutes There was a short wait for BLSC, but nothing enough to deter us from riding it. We boarded, and got another fun ride on the small-but-spunky coaster. All the remaining effects seemed to be working too. It did feel like it was running a wee bit slow due to it being early morning still, though. Also, on exit, I noticed the audio for the exit has been edited- there is a gap when he says "Enjoy the rest of your day at...Kings Island!" Hmm, wonder what was cut out. Rating: C After BLSC, it was onto the park's 1979 wooden monster. Ride #5: The Beast Wait: 20-25 Minutes The wait should have been like 5-10 minutes tops, but there was a barf train, so we had to wait more. However soon after that train was cleaned up, we waited a few cyles and were on. We rode in the very back car since I had a good experience with it last time (it was a back wheel seat ride in the 2nd car that hurt my shoulder, not the rear car). The ride was good fun, but it wasn't quite running at the blazing speeds it was back in June, even though it was kinda hot already. Plus I had ridden Voyage a few weeks ago, and Beast is not very crazy at all compared to that, save for the helix. Still a very fun ride though. Rating: A After The Beast, we headed further into Rivertown. I had heard Mystic Timbers was down to 2 trains, but I did a quick visual check and found all 3 were running now, so whatever had been the problem was fixed. We found the wait didn't look too bad either, so Mystic was our next ride. Ride #6: Mystic Timbers Wait: 15-20 Minutes The line had a decent amount of people in it, but it moved pretty fast too since the dispatches were frequent. We arrived at the station, and I saw a sign above the ride exit: "Outpost 5". LOL, apparently Outpost 5 has been moved to Mystic Timbers. We were assigned row 11, near the very back of the train (this was becoming a theme for me). We could barely hear the security guard going up the lift from this seat, but it didn't matter much because this seat gave lots of airtime on every hill, more than I have become used to on Mystic Timbers. We went into the shed, and got the snakes ending. Oddly, no music played, though. WHO BROKE THE RADIO!?!? Rating: A The snakes ending on MT was fitting, as we were trying to get our friend who is overcoming his fear of big coasters to try Diamondback. Apparently Mystic Timbers agreed with us by giving us that ending. He survived Voyage, we figured he could handle DB if he could get over the height, and he did do Magnum XL-200 which isn't too much shorter. We got him to cave, and thus, we got in line for Diamondback. Ride #7: Diamondback Wait: 10-15 Minutes The ride crew was doing a good job dispatching trains, so the line moved fast. We rode around the middle of the train, got seated, and climbed 230 feet into the air. Solid floater air on a lot of the drops, and a very fun ride. But did our friend like it? Yes. He loved it actually, and wanted us to come back to this coaster later! We would try to do just that. We are proud of him. Rating: A After Diamondback, we headed onto I-Street, planning to go to our car to begin waterpark adventures. But we got distratced, as we saw the Stunt Show begin. We did not see the entire show but the Motorcycle part was very cool. We were a little hungry/thirsty, so we went into... Food: Starbucks Wait: 10 Minutes (for food- it was empty) My sister got herself some coffee and a banana bread for me and her to split. However they at first forgot our bread, but they gave her a free lemon bread to make up for it. That was nice of them! It was pretty good, too. Rating: B Ride #8: The Bat Wait: 5 Minutes The wait was not very bad at all, which I have come to expect from this ride. The Bat was running pretty well, a little rough but it also had some weak airtime at points, which surprised me. Alas, the ride was also as usual pretty short. Fun though. Rating: B After The Bat, we headed up the path, and decided to do Banshee since we were in the area. Ride #9: Banshee Wait: 10-15 Minutes Our friend may be overcoming his fear of coasters, but he cannot do inversions, they make him sick, so he saved us locker money here (and at Firehawk/FOF, so we only need lockers at Mystic Timbers). This was the typical fast, forceful ride I have come to expect from Banshee. My friends keep thinking it is faster every time for some reason though, I guess they forget how fast it truly is. Also, saw the former gift shop turned into claw machines. Ugh, that is kinda sad, even if that gift shop was not selling much merch. Rating: A After Banshee, we decided to stop in Chicken Shack to get some sodas, but we were also hungry so we caved and got some food. Food: Chicken Shack Wait: 5-10 Minutes (for food to arrive) My sister and I decided to split a Chicken Wrap, since it looked share-able. It was huge, so yeah, 100% share-able. And wow, it was delicious! Probably a challenger for one of the best tasting food items I have eaten at an amusement park (it's main rival would be the Pulled Pork BBQ Fries at Cedar Point near Steel Vengeance). The chicken was 100% white meat and cooked well, and the lettuce and veggies were fresh. It also had bacon bites in it, which is almost always a plus IMO. And it recharged me, I was feeling a bit drained before I ate it but after, I was energized! Rating: S After eating that delicious and amazing food, we headed out to our car and grabbed our waterpark stuff, and headed back into the park, since we wanted to take the train. On the way, I saw a rare sight: THE TRAIN Coke FREESTYLE WAS OPEN! I should have took a picture for proof. It was closed when we returned, though. Ride #10 (Part 1): Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad Wait: Walk-On (Train was right there as we showed up!) We boarded the Green Train, and set off for Soak City. Diamondback dropped as soon as we began to leave, so we got to see it run its entire course, which was cool. When we got near all the fake stores/houses and stuff, the train ride op pointed out one of the most amazing things I have ever seen at Kings Island: there was a freakin' deer! It was a young deer, looked almost full grown in size but had its young markings still, so I assume it was a teenager. It wasn't far from the train, either, so we all got a good look at it. Before this I have ever only seen a wild deer ONCE, and it was from far away. So for me, this was very cool. A few minutes later, we arrived at Soak City and departed. Rating: B We arrived at the waterpark and changed into our swimsuits, and then headed to the wave pools. Ironically, the older one had a big crowd in it, so we headed to the new one, which had less crowds because it was further away. Ride #11: Tidal Wave Bay Wait: None Because Wave Pool Ahh! Since it was pretty hot- over 90 degrees- this wave pool felt very good to relax and chill in for a while. In fact, I lost track of time- we ended up staying in or around it for a whole hour. It cooled me off well though, so it did its job. Rating: B After a whole hour of Wave Pool, we exited and got some drinks, my friends and sister smoked for a bit, and then we hit up the "Lazy" River. Also, I was looking at the park's scenery and flowers a lot this trip and will point it out here- they did a GREAT job on that this season, there was a lot of sections of the park that look very pretty. Ride #12: Splash River Wait: 2-3 Minutes Much like at Holiday World a few weeks ago, the waterpark was so crowded even the Lazy River had a wait! At least it was not a bad one at all, only a few minutes. Also my eyes were not sore this time, so I could enjoy this better. There are a LOT more water elements on this lazy river versus Holiday World's, even though I am pretty sure this river is much older. I went around twice- also, I would try to avoid the waterfall with the Soak City logo, it is pretty fierce. Another fun wet relaxing ride. Rating: B After Splash River, we toyed around with the river's interactive "soak people" features for a bit. I checked out some nearby flowers and found a big bee was having a field day with them, he was kinda fun to watch. Then my sister and friends did 2 sets of Water Slides (Pineapple Pipeline and the body slides of Tropical Plunge- I was already wet enough, I felt). In spite of only doing a few things, we ended up spending about 4 hours in the waterpark this time, and I had fun and was relaxed. However, it was time for some more roller coasters. We boarded the train again, since that would get us back to our car faster. Ride #10 (Part 2- Gotta go all the way around for it to count, LOL!): Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad Wait: 5 Minutes (for train to arrive) The ride op on this train gave us the "corny bad jokes" version of the train ride. Some of them were a bit funny, at least. Also we saw...MORE DEER! This time, it was a Momma and her baby. The ride op said these deer actually like the train tracks for some reason and come around quite a bit. Cool to see more deer, though. Rating: B After the RR got us back to the park, we headed out to the car, and dropped off our stuff. Then we headed back into the dry park, headed for Oktoberfest. We were gonna ride Adventure Express, but we saw no wait for... Ride #13: Viking Fury Wait: Walk-On Viking Fury was fun, but once you have ridden Skyhawk or Wicked Twister, this isn't nearly as scary as it once was. Also I should mention I could not start or do any chants, because I had caught a cold my sister had and did not realize it until a few hours before this ride, and my voice began to go out. (I took some medicine and it is coming back though now) Rating: C After Viking Fury, we hit up the ride we had come for... Ride #14: Adventure Express Wait: Walk-On I rode on a rear wheel seat, because the friend I was riding with picked it not paying attention and with my voice out I couldn't say anything. It was a bit rough, but nothing crazy, though when we connected to the first 1 lift there was a THUNK that even our friends on a non-wheel seat felt. The ride was still quite fun though, it was running at a good speed and the tunnels were very dark with the sun going down. Rating: B After AE, we headed for the last big coaster we usually ride, The Racer. Me and a friend went Red, and our sister and other friend went for Blue. We both rode in 4-2, the middle seat of the 4th car. Ride #15: Red Racer Wait: Walk-On Thank goodness we didn't sit on a wheel, because I feel this would have been a pretty rough ride from a wheel seat as it was quite bumpy. We did get a lot of airtime though. The trim brakes on the turnaround bit hard, we went around them pretty slow. We did win the race, though, and apparently Blue got no airtime and was just as bumpy if not more, so Red was the right choice. A bumpy (would have been rough if on wheel seat) but fun ride. I don't think the coaster needs a full RMC I-Box conversion based on this ride, it just needs smoothed out and the rumored re-tracking+new lighting package+restored paint job would fix a lot of its problems IMO. Rating: B After Red Racer, we headed towards Rivertown as our friend was still really wanting to ride Diamondback again, and we had time still so we figured sure, let's do it again. And that is what we did. Ride #16: Diamondback (Night) Wait: 25 Minutes We decided to ride from the very back car, since it had the best airtime. By the time we got on, it was dark out, so this was gonna be a night ride. And wow, this was probably the best ride I have ever had on Diamondback...heck, this was the best ride I have had on anything B&M! We got YANKED off the top of the lift hill, and the airtime was very strong and maintained all the way down- it was almost ejector air! And this level of strong airtime was found on seemingly every hill. Add the darkness of night and the smooth ride, and you have a truly epic ride experience. PS: Our friend is so glad we talked him into riding this, though getting yanked over the lift was a bit scary to him. Rating: S After Diamondback, we headed over and got in line for The Beast. It was around 9:30, so we knew it would probably shut down for Fireworks before we were on, and it did. We also saw a Skunk go under the bridge we were waiting on, and it had some Pizza, LOL. At 10:00 the Fireworks went off (I saw some of them but not much) and some time later, they got the all-clear to re-open. Ride #17: The Beast (Night) Wait: 1 Hour (Due to Fireworks) We rode in the last car again, but I was in the front this time, 6-1, so my sister would get a non-wheel seat. Our friend was a bit nervous on this, still, but we talked him into it. We headed out and climbed the 110 foot lift, and dropped into the tunnel that begins the epicness. Beast was hauling now, versus how it ran in the morning, and the darkness of night further added to the sense of speed. The tunnels were pitch black and really amped up the sensory experience with how LOUD they were. And then of course came the epic view of the park from the 2nd lift, and the insanity of the final helix at night. Diamondback was amazing at night, but Beast managed to beat it somehow. My sister loved the ride, but apparently she got tossed hard at some point because she got a bruise from her seat divider. Ouch, she got "The Beast Bite". She didn't even think it hurt bad until she went in a bathroom and saw it though. Rating: S After The Beast, we headed out of the park, with all other rides closed (we even saw the Mystic Timbers crew exit and leave the ride) and headed home after yet another epic day at Kings Island. This was my 4th time in 2018, a new personal record for most visits in a year. Now for the Pros/Cons of the trip: Pros +Amazing Rides. Almost everything we rode was fun. Though Beast and Diamondback at Night were the clear stars. +Great park staff. Employees were friendly and were working hard. +Beautiful scenery- there were lots of flower arrangements and the park was looking pretty good. +Clean park- did not see any trash or anything laying around in the park. +Short waits in the AM hours- granted they picked up a bit later on, but we had ridden almost everything by then! +Chicken Shack Chicken Wrap was AMAZING. +Wave Pool and Splash River were fun and helped us "Beat The Heat". Cons -Racer and Beast, while fun, could both use some re-tracking as both were kinda rough. -Big crowds especially in the Waterpark, but that is still to be expected this time of year. And that does it for another amazing Kings Island trip in 2018! This is really my best year ever at Amusement/Theme parks, and it is NOT over, as we are planning to return to Cedar Point later this month. Then you still have Haunt (looking forward to the night rides!) and Winterfest after that! Anyhow, questions and comments welcome. MCSALSA AWAY!!!
  16. 2018 UPDATE!!! NOW FEATURES Mystic Timbers!!! The Beast- 5/5 Mystic Timbers- 4.5/5 (Lots of pops of moderately strong airtime and good intensity!) Banshee- 4.5/5 Diamondback- 4.5/5 Flight of Fear- 4/5 Vortex- 3.5/5 The Bat- 3.5/5 The Racer- 3.5/5 Backlot Stunt Coaster- 3.5/5 Adventure Express- 3.5/5 Firehawk- 3/5 Woodstock Express- 3/5 (Re-rode this one in 2018, pretty good kids coaster) Surf Dog- 3/5 Invertigo- 2.5/5 Most rides drop about half a point, due to the fact I got out to Cedar Point in both late 2017 and this year and rode a TON of new rides, so I had to toughen up my ratings scale (only Beast kept a 5/5 and that's due to night rides), and Mystic Timbers has become my #2 coaster at KI after The Beast. Besides that, though, my ratings remain the same in terms of rankings. Still can't rate GPC or Flying Ace.
  17. I cannot be 100% sure because I have only been there 1 day this year, but I was at Holiday World last Saturday and it got pretty darn packed. The waterpark (the biggest draw at HW) was wall-to-wall people in the afternoon with nearly all slides having 45 minute plus waits, and I even had to wait 5 minutes for the Lazy River. And this was with a 50% chance for rain, which may have driven some of the crowds away. And the biggest discount we could get was only $2 off gate price. Granted, after 6pm as the water park neared close the crowds dropped to much more manageable levels but at peak hours, it was packed. They seem to be doing fine, at least from what I can tell. Though this was just 1 day, and Holiday World has not released attendance numbers since Thunderbird opened. (Apparently it did not increase their attendance much or they even had a drop- I imagine KK re-opening may have had a effect on that though)
  18. While we originally planned to go to Kings Island on July 21st, storms and the threat of heavy rain and lightning changed our plans. However, we were still hungry for a amusement park trip, and Holiday World was on our radar, and the weather there looked much better. So we changed the trip. I had not been to Holiday World since 2013, and apparently some changes had been made, mainly the addition of Thunderbird, the park's launched B&M Wing Coaster. But I have ridden many new rides since 2013: mainly Banshee, Mystic Timbers, and everything at Cedar Point. Would this affect my opinions on the coasters at Holiday World? How is the park itself doing? Is the fudge still amazing? But first, as usual- the ride rating system (which has also changed since 2013): F- Garbage. I regret ever riding this and will not make the same mistake of ever riding it again! D- Mediocre. A disappointing, or painful ride, though there might be a little fun here. I might give a D-Tier ride a second chance but it is gonna need to be a walk-on or something. C- Average. A fun ride, but either there is enough roughness/pain to dilute it, or it just does not blow me away. Will still ride this if the wait is not too bad, though. B- Good. A ride I enjoy, but it may have some flaws, but I will happily re-ride this unless the wait is pretty crazy. A- Awesome. These rides leave me with a huge grin usually, and I will ride them over and over if there is a short wait. If there are long waits around the entire park, I may aim for these anyway, as if you are gonna wait, best to be for something worth it. Surpassed only by... S- Zen. The best of the best. I am usually giddy and my happiness meter is maxed out after riding one of these. Tragically, these are not the most common rides out there, however.  Note: If you wanna take this as a 1-10 system, S=10, A=9, B=8, C=7, D=6, and F=5 or worse. We arrived about 15 minutes before Holiday World was to open, and found the Raven lot pretty full. I was hoping the weather and threat for rain would make the park a ghost town, but I was wrong. We entered the park, scanned our tickets, and walked in. When the park opened at 10AM, we headed for my usual 1st ride of the day... RIDE #1: The Raven Wait: 20 Minutes Yeah, 20 minute wait for Raven at the very start of the day. Not a good sign for crowd levels. We rode in the very back car, with me and my sister on the very last seat, because no one wanted to ride there for some reason. I was confused, sure it may be rougher, but that last car I remembered having really good airtime back in 2013, so I thought someone would realize this and take it. But no one did, so we took it. Thankfully, the ride wasn't too rough- it was bumpy but nothing worse than Blue Streak or Racer. There was great airtime on the 1st drop and 5th drop, but not much anywhere else (though it was not Magnum XL200 or Steel Vengeance crazy levels). Rushing over the lake and the turns in the woods were still fun though, but the ride is short and ends rather quickly. A fun ride and a good start to the day. Rating: B As Raven pulled into the final brakes, I looked over at Legend and it was down. We went over and saw it do a test run, but the ride ops said it was down for the day. Agh! I wanted to ride Legend to see if GCI's 2016 refurb had made it better or worse! We went over to ride Liberty Launch, but it ALSO BROKE DOWN. We stopped in to the Fudge gift shop, and we saw Santa and had a nice chat with him. He said Legend had become the smoothest of the 3 woodies since GCI worked on it, and also we found out Mrs. Claus loves Diamondback. After that, we headed down to see the wait for Voyage, and...OVERFLOWING!?!? Nope, we'd come back to that later. So instead, we hit up a ride only Holiday World would make. RIDE #2: Turkey Whirl Wait: 10 Minutes Even the flat rides had waits, that's when you know the park is packed, LOL. This was a fun Tilt-A-Whril, but I think we screwed up our weight distribution because we did not spin that much. The ride cycle was long though. And the theme- a Turkey Tilt-A-Whirl. It's so Holiday World. Rating: C After Turkey Whirl, we decided to see if Thunderbird had a longer wait than Voyage, because we noticed it was sending trains out much faster. We headed over there and decided just to suck it up and wait...one of our friends, the one who cannot do loops, sat this one out. Also, Thunderbird is very far from the rest of the park, making it kinda like The Bat at Kings Island, just for anyone who might be wanting to go. RIDE #3: Thunderbird Wait: 1 Hour Yep, waited a hour. Thankfully the line for this coaster moves pretty good, and the station has Air Conditioning! Add the excellent theming around the station, which I would say rivals Mystic Timbers (my sister thought it was even better but I dunno if she paid attention to all of MT's small details) and it made the hour wait a little more bearable. But was the ride at the end of this worth the wait? Yes. Thunderbird is another fine creation by B&M, with a pretty good launch and some good forcefulness in the inversions. The storm sound effects and fog before the launch are pretty good and at first confused me when we approached the ride, I was worried a actual Thunderstorm had come into the area, LOL. The final slow roll is similar to Banshee's, but even slower. Thunderbird is a solid coaster, but to be 100% honest and I am probably in the minority here- I think I did like GateKeeper just a wee bit more, due to that ride's longer track and extra inversions. However Thunderbird is still a great ride, it WAS worth a 1+ hour wait after all. Rating: A After riding Thunderbird, as my friends went to smoke, I checked out the Thunderbird Plaza. This area is really nice, and the gift shop has some cool stuff in it. They have CoasterDynamix models of Thunderbird and Voyage, which kinda surprised me- I had thought those were Cedar Fair exclusive, guess not. They also had completed ones sitting out for display, which was cool. I was hoping they would be to scale, but nope. My friends finished smoking, and we decided to ride the other ride in this section as it now had no wait. RIDE #4: Crow's Nest Wait: Walk-On This ride is like a Mini-WindSeeker, but with chains. I had ridden this before, but as Sparkler, when it was in 4th of July. I forgot it came down and then went back up, instead of simply staying at the top the entire cycle. A fun flat ride. Rating: C After Crow's Nest, we headed to 4th of July, as one of our friends really wanted to do Liberty Launch since it was a "mini version" of Cedar Point's Power Tower. So, we headed that way. Along the way, I saw Legend...running...with RIDERS!?!? THE RIDE OPS LIED TO ME! I would have to ride it, but first, we still needed to ride Liberty Launch. RIDE #5: Liberty Launch Wait: 5-10 Minutes This ride really isn't too intense, and is nothing in terms of fear factor compared to say, Drop Tower. The first launch up is probably the only intense part, as the launches that follow are not super forceful or anything. You get a nice view from the top though. It is a fun ride, and would be good if you are scared of the bigger towers. Rating: C After Liberty Launch, we decided to go to our car, get our waterpark gear, and then we would go ride Legend, and then do the waterpark. So we did just that: after coming back in the park, to Legend we went. RIDE #6: The Legend Wait: 30 Minutes Yeah, it didn't feel like 30 minutes because the line moved pretty well, but it was. After the wait, I boarded Legend and got front row! They had to unlock all the restraints because the ride op didn't see my sister go over to put our bag in the bin, and he had locked the restraint down before I got a chance to even go "Wait!". After that goof-up, though, we rode Legend. The first drop on the coaster is still one of my favorites, I love how it curves and then goes into a tunnel. There didn't feel like there was as much airtime on the section under the waterslides, but that could have been because we were in the very front row. The spiral drop was fun, and then came the 2nd half. Oh wow, I had forgotten how strong these laterals are. In comparison, even Beast's laterals in the helix are weak. The final 4 turns have been banked a little more, so the laterals there are a little weaker than in 2013, but they are still more than strong enough to make the finale good (they still hurt a little). The ride was also running very smoothly, GCI did a great job in that regard. Legend is still awesome, I would say I like it just a bit more than Mystic Timbers. Rating: A After a great ride on Legend, we headed into the waterpark, and found it was PACKED. We decided we were gonna try to get wet anyway, so we got a locker, and headed for the lazy river. RIDE #7: Bahari River Wait: 5 Minutes We had to wait for the lazy river. What kind of madness is this!?!? The River is fun, though I found it does not have as many water elements to drench you as Kings Island's version, which could be either a minus or plus. I accidentally flipped myself over trying to fix one of my water shoes mid-ride, that was embarrassing. It was a nice lazy ride for the most part though. Rating: C After Bahari River, we got a snack at the Wildebeestro. FOOD: Wildebeestro Wait: None OK, here comes our 1st real issue of the day. The people working at Wildebeestro seemed to be oblivious to what came with their own combo meals, we got the kids burgers since we just wanted a snack and they forgot they came with fries and a juice box. They also charged us $3.79 for a $1.79 cookie, when the board clearly said $1.79. On the plus side, besides the Grilled Cheese one of our friends got (which looked very bad) our burgers and the fries were pretty good. But the service was pretty bad. Rating: D (B Taste, but D service) After our snack (during which it rained for the only time during the day which lasted like 5 minutes and nothing even went down- Mammoth and Voyage kept running) we decided to suck it up and since everything had waits in the water park, to ride... RIDE #8: Mammoth Wait: 1 Hour The capacity on this is great, but it is still stupid popular, so it had a 1-hour wait. At least the line moved pretty well though. We finally got on (the 2nd half hour felt like it went by much faster) and were paired with a dude from California. And wow, did riding this bring back memories. Mammoth drenches you quite a bit, with COLD water. It also has some epic drops and airtime, including a very steep drop about halfway through the ride, and it ends with a great splashdown finale. Mammoth is a epic, amazing waterslide and I would actually rank it higher than even some of the best roller coasters! Rating: S (Yep. First S for a non-roller coaster!) After Mammoth, we decided to do the OTHER water coaster... RIDE #9: Wildebeest Wait: 30 Minutes Crowds were easing up by this point (it was now 6:30PM), so Wildebeest had much less of a wait than Mammoth. Wildebeest is a great ride too, but since I was not solo here like I was in 2013, I actually think I liked Mammoth a bit more because when you ride as a group, Wildebeest does not have as much airtime (though it still has lots). This slide does, as stated, have lots of airtime and twists and turns, and while you get pretty wet it does not drench you like Mammoth does. Another great waterslide. Oh BTW, I would rank Wildebeest and Mammoth as follows: Solo Wildebeest>Mammoth>Group Wildebeest. Rating: A (for this ride, it is a S if you can ride solo) After Wildebeest, I was pretty soaked, so when my friends rode Zinga (Funnel Slide) I sat it out, but watched them do it from the observation platform. Afterwards, the waterpark was gonna close within the hour, and we still had a big roller coaster in the dry park to do, so we got ckour stuff and changed and headed out. Into the Thanksgiving section we went, where would found a much shorter wait than it was earlier for... RIDE #10: The Voyage Wait: 15 Minutes My history with this coaster has been a little mixed. I rode it in 2010 and loved it, but in 2011 it had not been re-tracked and was super rough. In 2013, on my last visit, the first half was amazing but the 2nd half was still very rough. Around 2015, 2 years after my visit, Holiday World began to slow the coaster much more on the MCBR and this season they re-tracked a lot of the 2nd half of the ride. So, how is Voyage running in 2018, with all these changes? In short: 2010 Voyage is back (sorta- the MCBR is used now)! The roughness, though there was some, is not at all bad this year, so you can actually enjoy the intensity of the ride much more now. Yes, the train does come to a near-stop on the MCBR, but that gives you a much-needed second to breathe, because the ride re-gains its speed, and I actually got airtime in the 2nd half for the 1st time since 2010 as well. The 1st half was as good as ever, too. I got off the coaster giddy, smiling, and very happy...that also hasn't happened on this ride since 2010. When it runs good like this, Voyage is a truly amazing coaster. If turning the MCBR on was what was needed to keep it running well, then keep it on (save maybe for enthusiast events). Also the ride ops were saying "Voyage sets sail" and "Voyage returns to dock" whenever a train would leave or come in, which I thought was kinda cool. Rating: S After the epic ride on Voyage, my friends went off to smoke, where we met a employee cleaning up. We mentioned Pilgrim's Plunge, the ride that used to be in that spot, and the employee told me what he had heard regarding its removal- apparently, the park was not planning on demolishing it, but a part had broken and they found it was gonna cost $2,000,000 just for that one part. That much money buys you 1 or 2 good, brand-new flat rides, BTW. They figured the ride was not nearly worth that to fix (on my visits to Holiday World it never had a line even when it was new so it was likely not popular) so they demolished it, then decided to build Thunderbird, leaving that section of the park a "mess" since now Hyena Falls was all by itself in a otherwise dry section of the park. Also apparently a new human resources building is their current "big project" and it is currently under construction. After the nice chat, we headed to Thanksgiving's dark ride... RIDE #11: Gobbler Getaway Wait: 5 Minutes This ride is like Boo Blasters in many ways, but TBH, I perfer this one. I like the theme a lot more- it is cheesy but feels more original and in-place. And some of the Jokes in the ride are pretty funny, especially the ending. The animatronic old grandma is very well done. This is a decent shooter dark ride. I would still prefer a non-shooter ride though. Rating: C After Gobbler, it was dark out, and Voyage still had a very short line. Realizing that night ride opportunities at Holiday World are rare, and knowing the ride was running good, I talked my friends (save the one who was not into huge coasters that much- he did do it during the day, it scared him a little but he was OK, but he would not ride at night) into grabbing a quick night ride... RIDE #12: The Voyage (Night) HOLY TOLEDO, this is a incredible coaster at night! Once you hit the twisty bowl section at the furthest point, it becomes super dark and you can't see the little dips or turns, making them feel like they come outta nowhere. The tunnels were pitch black, and the triple down was pretty wild with 3 airtime moments in a row in pure darkness, even if the train wasn't going super fast since the MCBR was right before. My friends thanked me for suggesting this, we felt this at night might have been even better than Beast at Night (though maybe not Beast at Night during Halloween Haunt). A red shirt manager was working the ride and saw my face when we returned, he asked how it was. I told him "It was amazing". Rating: S+!!! After the even MORE epic ride on Voyage, our friend who had passed on it for the night ride (he does NOT like not seeing where he is going thus he skipped in spite of riding earlier) wanted to ride Liberty Launch again before we left. So we headed that way. RIDE #13: Liberty Launch (Night) Pretty much the same as the 1st time, except now, I got pretty views of Raven and Legend at night. For a few seconds. Rating: C And that was last ride of the night for us. We headed into Christmas, and visited the main gift shop because we had $20 worth of Holicash (which we had used earlier- we got it when we entered the waterpark). I got a Thunderbird Fridge Magnet, and some of the delicious Holiday World fudge. Then we came home. Just ate said fudge, it was great. In spite of the big crowds, we had a blast at Holiday World and Splashin' Safari. Now, for the final Pros/Cons of the trip... PROS +Amazing roller coasters. Raven, Legend, and Voyage are a tough trio of awesome wooden coasters and Thunderbird is a rock-solid B&M. +Amazing waterpark. Wildebeest and Mammoth being highlights. +FREE SODA!!! +Friendly Employees (Mostly) +Very Clean Park, even more than Kings Island or Cedar Point +Bins on all coasters, even Thunderbird, so no need for ride lockers unlike KI or CP. +More reasonable prices than Cedar Fair on food CONS -Somewhat slow dispatches on the coasters (even Voyage would stack), though they mainly are trying to not be rude, and be safe. -The Legend ride ops LYING about the coaster not re-opening, when it was open again by noon. Also they forgot to let my sister sit down and had her restraint locked as if there was no rider and gave her a rude look when they had to unlock the coaster because of this. -Poor food service at Wildebeestro (though the food itself was decent) -Huge crowds, though it was a July Saturday so it was to be expected I guess That will do it for this trip to Holiday World. I cannot believe that in 1 year, I have been to all 3 parks I visited since 2009 (Kings Island, Cedar Point, and Holiday World) in a 1 year span. Speaking of that, Cedar Point will probably be my next trip, we are looking into going back there in August. Anyhow, questions and comments welcome...MCSALSA AWAY!!! (Gets on a Vintage 1700's Boat and begins to sail away but smashes head-on into a huge rock and destroys the boat) Uh-Oh... EDIT: Oops. Also, My Top 10 Coasters have changed, here is the new updated list... #1- Steel Vengeance, Cedar Point #2- Maverick, Cedar Point #3- The Voyage, Holiday World (rises massively due to epic rides!) #4- Millennium Force, Cedar Point #5- The Beast, Kings Island #6- Magnum XL-200, Cedar Point #7- Top Thrill Dragster, Cedar Point #8- The Legend, Holiday World #9- Mystic Timbers, Kings Island #10- Banshee, Kings Island Raptor, which was #10, falls out due to Voyage's huge rise.
  19. TBH, me too- I would love it if Kings Island got a ride like that, in the former Dinosaurs Alive! area. Keep as many trees as possible, and do like The Beast and actually hide most of the ride from the views of the midways, save the lift hill (which would be around the same size, maybe just a bit larger than Maverick's hill). And of course, have a mid-course launch inside a tunnel just like Maverick has. Hidden by the trees and terrain, the twists and turns would seem to come from nowhere and be unpredictable, especially at night. If Intamin is off the table, maybe Mack could even create a coaster like this. The other coaster I would like KI to get even more than a Giga would be massive, 200'+ ground up RMC coaster. This would not be easy to hide like the Blitz, but it would give Kings Island a towering 200'+ wooden structure once again after the demise of Son of Beast, and this one would probably be a far superior ride. Not to mention if it was anything like Steel Vengeance in terms of ejector airtime, there would be TONS of it. None of the rides at Kings Island really have super strong airtime like that, so this would easily fill that hole. A Giga would be my #3 pick though, and from a marketing standpoint, seems like the obvious choice for the park to make- you go above 300 feet, and the GP come running. Due to their super-high capacity and reliability, B&M would be the obvious go-to for this. All 3 would easily be world-class, epic rides IMO though.
  20. I did post about this here (there are already some comments): The ride looks fun, though I can see the Steelers theme possibly being a turn-off for various reasons. However, if Kings Island wants to respond by I dunno, building a huge Bengals-themed area with a massive B&M Giga or something, that would be interesting. (Even though I am a Colts fan- I don't hate the Bengals though so I would still ride if it was a good coaster. Now, if it was New England Patriots themed, which would happen at Six Flags New England I imagine...)
  21. And it has been revealed at last. Bengals fans (due to where KI is I imagine there are a decent amount of you guys), prepare to be ENRAGED. https://www.kennywood.com/steelerscountry The main attraction in this section of the park will be a massive S&S roller coaster, known as Steel Curtain. It will be 220 feet tall and feature a top speed of 75mph, 9 inversions, and a 197 foot inversion- breaking GateKeeper @ Cedar Point's record for highest inversion. Here is the official POV: Well, looks like the "Curtain" is finally starting to come off the New-for-2019 roller coasters. I wonder what else is in store, besides the ones we already know are coming like Carowinds Mack or Canada's Wonderland's B&M...
  22. I like Rougarou- I've had both very smooth rides on it, and one kinda headbangy one (It wasn't that bad, though I was also sitting in the very last row on that ride). I liked the strong G-Forces and thought it had a great layout. Then again, I have pretty high coaster durability apparently because I also like Vortex and Magnum XL-200 and rarely do I get off a coaster in pain or with a headache . But my sister, who is a foot smaller than me and dislikes Vortex, did like Rougarou (she HATED it as Mantis though). Also if Kings Island did get a B&M Floorless Coaster, it would likely be very different. Not only has B&M gone from the OTSRs to Vest Restraints (Rougarou could not get vests due to being a former stand-up) they also have more "graceful" designs these days that don't "snap" from element to element as much like their 90's coasters did. Of the 6 B&M coasters I have ridden, Rougarou and Raptor feel very different in that regard from Banshee, Diamondback, GateKeeper, and Valravn (Though Rougarou's 1st half feels much closer to the newer coasters it whips around plenty after the MCBR). I imagine if Kings Island did ask B&M to build them a floorless, it would be similar to a sit-down Banshee with lots of large high speed inversions and smooth transitions. TBH, thinking about it that way, B&M would need to be careful not to create "Banshee, but ABOVE the track!". I would probably go with a different drop style, include some inversions Banshee lacks (Cobra Roll, Corkscrews, etc.) and maybe even add some tunnels. Having some inversions seen on Banshee would be OK, but I would not use too many (Loop + Zero G Roll might be enough). If designed properly to compliment Banshee instead of compete with it (B&M could probably pull it off) a coaster like that could be a valuable addition to Kings Island's lineup, especially considering as a B&M it would have great capacity and reliability. Make it too much like Banshee though, and guests will wonder why Kings Island dropped $20M+ on a similar ride.
  23. According to the Kings Island Blog, Mystic Timbers has surpassed 2 million riders, as of today. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2018/july/west-virginia-youth-is-2-millionth-rider-on-mystic-timbers-at-kings-island
  24. ^ If you look at what I would call a "GP" poll (from a regular news site, not a amusement park fan site like KIC, TPR, etc etc.) Beast almost always wins when the topic is "favorite Kings Island roller coaster). For example, here is a poll run before the park opened this year by Cincinnati.com... (Some people here may have voted in this and remember it- I did...) https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2018/04/09/less-than-week-until-kings-island-opens-lets-reminisce-lets-vote-our-favorite/489217002/ Beast won, with 100+ more votes than 2nd place Diamondback. Also Flight of Fear votes were being pushed by the Premier Rides Facebook Page (no other company was pushing their rides in this poll) allowing it to get 3rd. Another poll I remember was done in 2014, before Banshee opened, and I can't confirm this 100% because the page was deleted but Beast took over 40-50% of the total votes in that poll and won as well (Diamondback was the runner-up there too). It also gets pretty long lines on even mildly busy days, in spite of being able to handle over 1,000 riders per hour (and if the park closes at 10 or later and it gets dark, the line gets even longer as people want their night rides). Even enthusiast polls rank Beast fairly highly- it's 43rd on the Coasterbuzz 100, with a average rating of 4.28 out of 5, putting it ahead of rides like SheiKra, Raptor, The Raven, and Kingda Ka. It was also in the Top 50 usually on the Mitch Hawker poll, which was VERY enthusiast-centric. These are signs that the coaster is successful, and you don't RMC coasters that don't need it, unless you want to get the huge fan backlash. (Not to mention RMC has had some issues, which would make the Backlash 10x worse if repeated) As much as I love Steel Vengeance, and want to see Kings Island get its own RMC monster, I would rather see KI build something from the ground-up than convert Beast, or Racer for that matter. I would be happy to see either of the classic woodies get some re-tracking at least though, they are both running pretty rough this season, and I don't think too much major work has been done on Beast since it got a major re-track in 2014 (I remember it felt super smooth that year). Also I don't think there will be any new coaster in 2019, as usually there are teasers, and we know Canada's Wonderland and Carowinds are both getting big new coasters, along with maybe Dorney Park as well. My guess is, for 2019, Kings Island will probably get some flat rides or something.
  25. ^ TBH, those same 2 you listed. Steel Vengeance is just incredible with how much strong airtime it has, and it is a long ride that makes great use of its immense wooden structure to boot. It is probably pretty close to what I would create if you asked me to build a super-ultimate roller coaster, and thus is my favorite coaster in the state. Maverick gives it a run for its money though with its intense launch, twists and turns, and while it does not have as many airtime moments it does make good use of the ones it has. Millennium Force would round out my podium for its sheer size and speed, with a side of decent floater airtime. The Beast is my favorite wooden coaster in the state (it would be #4 on my list)- sure, it doesn't have any real airtime to speak of save for like 1 hill, and it is mostly straight sections but due to its secluded nature it really doesn't need any of that fancy stuff. It's a big out-of-control feeling wooden coaster in the forest, with a epic helix finale that remains my favorite ending to any roller coaster (though Magnum XL-200's final bunny hills and Steel Vengeance's final hops give it a run for its money). It also gets a huge boost for night rides due to the seclusion.
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