McSalsa

Well, I had some sleep now and thus, as stated, here is my full trip report (I did a quick summary of my day in the Kings Island 2016 thread). First up, my new ratings system (first used at the state fair a few weeks ago), which is a 1-5 scale: Fun Factor: How fun I thought the ride was. 1 is boring and lame, 5 is awesome. Intensity: How intense and forceful I thought the ride was. 1 is tame, 5 is super forceful and intense. Comfort: How comfortable the ride felt- this includes roughness. 1 means I was in horrible pain by the end, 5 is super comfy. With that explained, let us begin...I went with only a small group of only 3 people this time- me, my sister, and one of our close friends (more her friend though). We left around 2:00PM to do a quick Wal-Mart run before hitting the highway at 3:30. After a 2-hour drive (10 minutes due to super slow traffic at one point due to road construction) we reached the park at 5:20PM, and waited 40 minutes for it to open. The Undertaker came out and greeted everyone (and he pulled no punches) and at 6:00PM, the monsters came out and we were in. We headed to Flight of Fear, but it was broken and we didn't want to get a locker for Firehawk, so we headed instead to Vortex. #1: Vortex Wait Time: Walk-On 5-1 was taken (surprisingly) so I hopped in the "other" good seat, 7-1. The ride was maybe a LITTLE rougher here, but there was amazing airtime on the first drop. Nice forces throughout too. An awesome ride to start the day with. Now I'll have to make a choice (probably based on lines) when I ride Vortex of which of the two seats I want. Fun Factor: 5/5 Intensity: 4.5/5 Comfort: 3/5 After Vortex, we decided to ride Beast before it got dark (with a night ride planned for later of course), but since the waits were super short on the way we hit BLSC. #2: Backlot Stunt Coaster Wait Time: 5 Minutes BLSC was its usual, spunky self with good forces (especially the helix) and its nice pop of airtime after the police chase turn. The helicopter attack and tunnel finale are still great fun. We also got the Blue Train for what I think is the first time, but I'm not 100% sure. Fun Factor: 4/5 Intensity: 3.5/5 Comfort: 4.5/5 After BLSC, we headed for Beast as planned. #3: The Beast (Daytime) Wait Time: 10 Minutes The crowds were starting to pick up a bit, but were not terrible yet. The line had gotten pretty big by the time we got off though. The sun was setting during the ride, so it made for some BEAUTIFUL views. With a loaded train and the reduced trims for fall, Beast was flying through the course on this ride, and it was dark enough that the 2nd tunnel and helix were awesome. My favorite coaster was on-point once again. There was also some cool theming around the que, with references to the ride's lore as well as Son of Beast, Mystic Timbers, and oddly, Flight of Fear. Fun Factor: 5/5 Intensity: 4.5/5 Comfort: 4/5 After Beast, we headed to check on Diamondback as it had broken down but we saw it testing, but we stopped to get Ice Cream which tasted exactly like Pumpkin Pie (not a bad thing as I enjoy Pumpkin Pie) and checked out Mystic Timbers construction. That ride looks like it's gonna be awesome when it opens. The line for Diamondback to re-open was pretty long surprisingly, so instead we rode Boo Blasters on my sister's request. #4: Boo Blasters on Boo Hill Wait Time: 5 Minutes Well, while not truly awful, I am starting to feel Boo Blasters is one of the weakest rides in the park. The shooting aspect of the ride seems random and you can't actually tell where you're aiming and thus will miss some of the effects, and I would have preferred a traditional dark ride where the scenes run automatically instead, like Enchanted Voyage or Phantom Theater were. Alas, my sister loves this for some reason so I must ride it again I assume. At least it was comfy and didn't have much of a line. Fun Factor: 2.5/5 Intensity: 1/5 Comfort: 5/5 After Boo Blasters my sister wanted food, and we had seen 2 food trucks near the Eiffel Tower (which I should mention looked awesome with those evil eyes and from here on out I am calling it Evil Tower) but before we ate, we went up since the ride was surprisingly open. #5: Evil Tower (Eiffel Tower) Wait Time: Walk-On We went to the lower of the two platforms (not counting the 50-foot-high closed one) for the first time I have done, since I assume the Evil Eyes atop the tower are on the higher one and would otherwise block the view. My sister didn't even realize there were 2 decks. The views of the park at night with the fog were beautiful and the air felt cool and crisp. We didn't stay up too long but it was fun. Fun Factor: 4/5 Intensity: 1/5 Comfort: 5/5 Afterwards, we did hit up the Food Trucks, and I got a Grilled Cheese for $4 which was tasty. The other truck had Pizza for cheaper than the park's own LaRosa's Pizza ($8 for 2 slices versus $11) but my sister got Hot Cider. I needed to use the bathroom so I went over to the one on I-Street near the entrance, and my sister and her friend got LaRosa's for some reason (they could have saved money at the food truck). Also we saw some scareactors for the first time since the park opened here, which makes this a good time to point out...where were they? I was under the impression they would be all over the park long before this. Later in the day I did see more but early on, they seemed MIA. No problem for me as I was there for rides, not haunted houses, but if you came for haunts I can only assume you would be disappointed. We then headed for Action Zone where we found Delirium and Banshee both had huge waits. I would wait that long for Banshee, but they wouldn't. So instead we headed for The Bat, which... #6. The Bat Wait Time: Walk-On WTF!?!? Banshee GETS ONE HOUR LINE AND BAT GETS NOTHING!?!? What makes this even sadder is this ride does have pretty good capacity and probably could have reduced Banshee's line considerably if more people would have come back to ride it, and that this ride is very good...especially after dark. It is lit up more than Beast, but it still gets a bit of that night vibe and has its own great views during the ride. It also felt very fast this time. Fun Factor: 5/5 Intensity: 4.5/5 Comfort: 4/5 After The Bat we headed back to I-Street, and watched Blood Drums (or some of it least). It was cool. Our friend went and got some cider which was cold instead of warm since the trucks were close (she let me try it and I prefer it cold as well). After a few songs, we headed for Adventure Express, which I really wanted to try at night. #7. Adventure Express Wait Time: 15 Minutes Wow- AE is a really, really good ride to ride after dark. It is in a wooded area, and the tunnels are very dark (save intentional lighting of course). The ride was a bit jerky but didn't seem as bad as last time. After The Beast, AE probably is the ride that improves the most after dark. Fun Factor: 5/5 Intensity: 3.5/5 Comfort: 3.5/5 After AE, we planned on going through Coney Mall and then my sister would break away to do a haunt. Our first ride was The Racer, since the line didn't look too crazy at all and they were running both sides, which if I recall they usually don't do during Haunt... #8. Blue Racer Wait Time: 5 Minutes One of the best parts of racing coasters? Since they are technically 2 coasters, double capacity! We chose Blue Racer, which I have not ridden since at least 2011 I think. The ride itself ended up somewhere in the middle of my 2012 and 2014 rides- not amazingly smooth like 2012 but not overly rough like 2014. There was decent airtime, especially on one of the big hills near the turnaround where there was also a rough spot at the same time. That made for a intense moment. Also for some reason my lapbar was taped up- somehow, someone broke it earlier. Overall this was good fun. Fun Factor: 4/5 Intensity: 3.5/5 (though that one moment was a 4.5) Comfort: 3.5/5 (a little rough but not too much) After Blue Racer, our group split up as my sister left to do Field of Screams. We instead checked the line for the now-open Flight of Fear. It was full on the outside, but we asked a employee if the inside was full and they said no, so apparently the park was making the line look longer...probably to sell Fast Lane passes. I also didn't see too many people using Fast Lane in spite of the crowds to be honest. So we got in line... #9. Flight of Fear Wait Time: 25 Minutes When you consider FOF is a 90 minute wait when full, this confirms that the inside was empty. The start of the ride was normal. Forceful launch, Cobra Roll, and then some twists and turns...then we hit the MCBR. I was expecting the train to stop, and gradually pick up speed, like it normally does. It didn't. On this ride, the train barely slowed down on the MCBR, and we flew through the 2nd half of the course at even higher speeds than I am used to. The G-Forces were crazy, and the final Corkscrew was even more intense. We hit the brakes, and all I could think was "WOW". That was pretty darn crazy, IMO. Fun Factor: 5/5 Intensity: 6/5!!! Comfort: 3/5 (FOF is one of the rougher coasters IMO even with the MCBR on...still not terrible though) After the crazy ride on Flight of Fear, we began heading towards Diamondback so I could do it solo (our friend who was with us is too large and my sister was still at the Haunt- I also never did get that ride in, see later...) but our friend suggested we ride WindSeeker, and I do like WindSeeker so we rode that first. #10. WindSeeker Wait Time: 10 Minutes My 3rd ride on WindSeeker was similar to the 1st- it was night, and the cool air blew in my face as we flew 270 feet in the air and spun around. Seemed like a longer ride cycle this time though. Great views of the park, as usual, which also showed how crazy far back my sister's haunt went. Fun Factor: 4/5 Intensity: 3/5 (due to height really, not so much forces) Comfort: 5/5 After this, we used the nearby restroom and then my sister met up with us. It was getting a bit late and with the huge crowds, we expected a huge line for Beast, and it wasn't far so we went to ride it for the night ride. #11. The Beast (Night) Wait Time: 40 Minutes OK, 40 minutes for Beast @ Night with crowds like this? Not bad. The ride itself? It's The Beast @ Night, of course it was amazing. It felt like it was even faster than it was earlier in the day, and it was far from slow then! (My sister complained it felt TOO FAST for her...) And the helix...oh boy was that fun. One minor complaint- they put a fog machine right at the base of the 1st lift. Horrible spot- I would have preferred it near the middle tunnel or something, especially since it was sending fog into the brake run. In spite of that, this was still an amazing ride and easily best of the entire day. Beast night rides are legendary for good reason! Mystic Timbers will have to be something amazing if it hopes to challenge them. (Though I at least expect Mystic Timbers will put up a fight!) Fun Factor: 6/5!!! Intensity: 5/5 Comfort: 4/5 Afterwards we checked out the Diamondback line (for me mainly), and it looked too long still, so we headed home as we were hungry and heard there was a Sonic drive-in nearby. Also from the parking lot, you could see the insane amounts of fog- Diamondback looked like its lift lights were floating in midair! However they closed on us just as we had pulled up so we ended up getting Subway instead. Overall It was a super fun day, and I had a blast. I eagerly await my next trip to Kings Island. OVERALL SUMMARY PROS +Great Rides (well execpt maybe Boo Blasters which is just "Meh") +Ride Ops did a great job dispatching trains which probably helped the waits +Good food, even if one item was from a food truck and not the park +Blood Drums is awesome +The Undertaker guy is great at his job +Cool Haunt props as usual...especially "Evil Tower"! CONS -They overdid it on the fog...when you can't see a 230 foot B&M Hypercoaster, you know they did... -Scareactors seemed few and far between at points, which is bad if you came for haunts -Making lines look longer for the sake of selling Fast Lane? A wee bit shady IMO...just a bit but still...at least if this is why they did it, could have just been a mistake. Comments and questions welcome.

Well, just got back from Haunt at Kings Island. Had an awesome day...here is a quick summary, a full trip report might come later...these are roughly in order I noticed them as I went through my day: -Tried Vortex's 7-1 seat for the first time. It was actually very good with awesome air on the first drop. I will now have to choose (probably based on lines) between this and 5-1 on future visits. -The Beast was running GREAT. Awesome speed (though I now notice the trims which is probably me being used to the ride) and not overly rough at all. Rode once during daylight and a 2nd time after dark, both were awesome but the 2nd ride was superior for obvious reasons. I can only imagine how crazy fast it would have been if trimless...maybe too fast as my sister complained it actually scared her. The ride also had some great new seasonal theming touches, and references to Son of Beast, Flight of Fear, and Mystic Timbers. -The Bat and Adventure Express are amazing rides at night. The Beast and Banshee might get all the attention, but these rides also improve drastically at night. -Speaking of Banshee, due to it having a huge line, we didn't ride it. We tried to get Diamondback before the crowds built up, but it broke down and then had a huge line when it re-opened. So I didn't ride a single B&M...or Vekoma, for that matter, as I didn't do Invertigo or Firehawk either. Rode all the other adult coasters though (kids coasters were all closed). Unless you count Red Racer because we rode Blue. -Flight of Fear was our attempted first ride, but it was broken so we did Vortex instead. Later me and a friend returned and rode it while my sister did Field of Screams, and I got a ride with the MCBR...OFF (we slowed down just a bit when we hit it but came nowhere near stopping). One of the most intense rides I have ever taken on a roller coaster so far. That final corkscrew really packed a punch with no MCBR stop. -The Eiffel Tower looked awesome with those evil eyes, so I dubbed this version "Evil Tower". We also rode it for the first time in a while and went on the lower 265-foot platform for the first time. -There were some food trucks parked at the base of the "Evil" Tower, selling Pizza and Grilled Cheeses and stuff for dirt cheap compared to the park's food ($8 for 2 slices of Pizza versus $11 for LaRosa's). I got a Grilled Cheese. It was good. We also got Ice Cream that tasted almost EXACTLY like pumpkin pie, which is good because I like pumpkin pie. -Racer was pretty fun, but had some rough spots. The memorable moment for that ride came when I got ejector air on a very rough spot at the same time, which was like "WHAM!" (launched out of seat). My lapbar was also apparently damaged as it was taped up, but as I am still here to post this and you are not reading some "Man launched from Racer and killed" post, it was obviously fine. -Mystic Timbers is looking very good so far, and based on my Beast rides today, if it is anywhere near as fast feeling as Beast with more airtime, and in the woods, Beast may well have a challenger for my favorite ride in the park title. It isn't skyline dominating huge though- then again most of the lift remains to be built so we shall see when I come to ride the built coaster hopefully next year. -I also rode WindSeeker and BLSC, which were their fun usual selves, and Boo Blasters (not as big a fan of that one). Didn't do any haunts as I come to KI for the rides. -I also saw my first show (or at least the first few songs of it): Blood Drums. It was awesome with the pyro and cool effects. -Kings Island may have overdid it on the fog. As we were leaving, I looked back and the "Evil" Tower and Drop Tower were all I could spot, as well as Diamondback's lights which appeared to be floating in midair. They also put the fog machine on Beast in a bad spot, right next to the lift hill...which meant there was a lot of fog when we hit the brake run. And that is a 12-point summary of my day. It was awesome. But now I am sleepy, and will rest. But I also await my next visit to Kings Island...though I expect Mystic Timbers will be open by then.

Umm, it isn't "almost" 10 years now. It has been 10 years- Cedar Fair obtained the ownership of the former Paramount parks on June 30th, 2006. It is September 21st, 2016 now so it has been more than 10 years. As for what could come in the next 10 years? The only guesses I have at the moment are... -More B&M Coasters will be built since they seem to be Cedar Fair's go-to company right now. Probably a Giga Coaster at Kings Island at some point in the future -Probably more GCI's too, but depending on if RMC is doing Mean Streak and how that ends up if it does happen, they might get tossed into the mix in which case I could see Cedar Fair adding rides from both to some parks -More dark rides such as the EA ones and Triotech rides -If the 2017 Winterfest events (such as the one at KI) go over well, more of them will probably happen at more parks. -More used flat rides from Europe, Japan, and maybe even the USA since that seems to be working well and can yield some rare old rides you can't get new anymore -This next one is kinda sad but...more rides will probably be shut down due to age or other issues. It's inevitable. IMO, first decade of Cedar Fair has been pretty good to the former Paramount parks as they have all gotten major new additions that they NEVER would have gotten under Paramount. (For example, Carowinds never would have gotten Fury 325) Hopefully decade #2 is even better.

Uh-Oh. Here is some bad news out of Indiana Beach- a ride mechanic was apparently hit by a ride train while working on Cornball Express, I assume it was the same ride that hit him. He survived but is badly injured. http://wishtv.com/2016/09/03/man-severely-injured-by-roller-coaster-at-indiana-beach/ Hopefully this guy makes a full recovery.

Huh- no RMC Conversions this year, or any brand-new roller coaster installs besides the S&S Free Fly's. Though the flat rides that parks are getting look good, and from what I have heard the Justice League rides are good dark rides. And no Larson Loops in 2017. The "most exciting" of all the new-for-2017 Six Flags rides, IMO, has to go to Fiesta Texas though. Their water coaster looks awesome, and if it compares to the amazing Wildebeest, that park has a winner.

^ To be honest, a few of these rides (especially Yo-Yo) did make me a little nervous. I am fine with nearly any roller coaster, but some fair rides do still scare me a bit.

Disclaimer: Despite my normal TR title, there were zero coasters ridden on this...uhh...trip. Well, yesterday I went to the Indiana State Fair (something I didn't even think would happen even yesterday) and had a fun time. So, here is a trip report of what I did, ate, etc etc... Oh and I have added a bit to my scoring system. There are now 3 scores for each ride, from 1-5 based on... Fun Factor: How fun was it? (Most important) 1 is zero fun, and 5 is super fun Intensity: How scary/strong forced was it? 1 is super tame, 5 is super intense Comfort: How comfortable was it? (For a roller coaster this would be roughness), 1 is painful, 5 is super comfy Upon arriving at the fair, we headed through the horse barn (beautiful horses, but they so stinky ) and onto the main Miday. While mythe friends went into the beer/wine festival thing (I don't drink alcohol so I didn't join them) I went and got a hot dog since it was a $2 Tuesday, and I was a bit hungry. It was fairly good and satisfied me enough for that moment, but I was still a bit hungry. After the others came out from the beer festival and we headed off, we eventually stopped at a stand selling "Western" style sodas- I got Orange Cream. It was delicious. We then headed to a stall selling...cooked Bison/Buffalo!?!? My sister insisted I try it, so I did by getting a $2 Bison Quesadila...wow, Bison is shockingly delicious. She also gave me one of her egg rolls (she got 2 and only wanted 1) and that was also delicious, and now I was full. After that, we met up with a group of friends, and headed for the rides midway. Half the group went off to ride Speed (similar to Cedar Point's old Skyscraper ride) but the line was super long. I saw no line for Mega Drop, so me and my sister went and did that instead. Ride #1: Mega Drop Basically a 1/3rd scale version of Drop Tower at Kings Island, minus the spinning. Still a fun ride, but it can't match up to the bigger version KI has- of course. Fun: 4/5 (Still pretty fun but it's not Drop Tower) Intensity: 3/5 (Drop Towers need to be much taller to score higher here) Comfort: 4/5 (This ride was actually pretty comfortable) After Mega Drop, we headed to Crazy Mouse (which was awesome when we rode it in 2014), but it broke down and never re-opened. So we headed to a old school classic instead... Ride #2: Tilt-A-Whirl If you know flat rides, you know what this is. Fun: 5/5 (WHEE!!! WHY DOES Kings Island NOT HAVE ONE OF THESE!?!?) Intensity: 4/5 (It spun...a lot. And fast.) Comfort: 4/5 (Not very painful though later on a re-ride a friend pushed the lapbar into my leg like an idiot and that 2nd ride was a 3/5) After the awesome fun that was Tilt-A-Whirl (KI ride pickers...grab one of these...) I saw a short line for a ride that looked uber-crazy. Ride #3: Remix Basically it's Shake, Rattle, and Roll gone insane is probably how I would describe this one. Fun: 5/5 (It was as crazy as it looked) Intensity: 5/5 (Halfway through the ride I didn't know which way was up!) Comfort: 3/5 (Not painful until later in the 2nd half, but it only lasted a few seconds thankfully) If KI adds one of those, it would be a thrilling flat ride that isn't huge like Drop Tower. Afterwards, we re-rode the Tilt-A-Whirl which was not as fun as the first ride but still fun, then we headed to... Ride #4: Thunder Bobs It spins around and swings the cars, so it reminded me of The Bat/Flight Deck/TOP GUN in a way. Fun: 3/5 (I was expecting a bit more from this...) Intensity: 3/5 (Not as intense as I was expecting either) Comfort: 4/5 (At least it wasn't painful) After Thunder Bobs, we went and split up even more. I was alone now to ride the Music Express, named "Blizzard" while my sister and her boyfriend rode Gravitron. I didn't wanna ride that one as I got sick on one in the past. Ride #5: Blizzard (A Music Express ride) I had never ridden one of these...Kings Island used to have one I think though. Fun: 4/5 (some decent airtime in spots, though most of it is a little weak, and some HARD laterals) Intensity: 4/5 (mainly due to laterals) Comfort: 2/5 (again mainly due to laterals, but also due to how LOUD they were playing the music...my ears hate me now.) After Blizzard, we re-grouped again and rode the trailer-ed Dark Ride, Tomb of Doom. Ride #6: Tomb of Doom A dark ride, in the back of a Semi Truck... Fun: 2/5 (Boring, but the cheesiness was a bit of a chuckle) Intensity: 2/5 (No intensity at all here besides a jumpscare or two) Comfort: 5/5 (But, it was very comfortable at least) By this point, it was getting late, and I just wanted to ride one more ride- Yo-Yo- before we left. I was expecting it to be similar to the Wave Swinger rides I had ridden... Ride #7: Yo-Yo A swing ride. Fun: 3/5 (Uhh...would have been a 4, but...) Intensity: 5/5 (I nearly hit the kid in front of me a few times at max speed, did once at low speed, and the speed and forces were much higher than any Wave Swinger I have ever been on, catching me off guard...WindSeeker is far less intense than this!) Comfort: 4/5 (would have been 5/5, but the ride made me bump into the kid ahead of me while it was stopping) After the crazy Yo-Yo ride, we headed home. We stopped by a very high-end Kroger on the way back though. I hope you all enjoyed this trip report. McSalsa away! (Comments and questions welcome of course)

This is neat- the Kings Island Youtube page uploaded Beast & Banshee POV's today...AND THEY ARE IN 60 FRAMES PER SECOND (aka much smoother video with a more accurate sense of speed)! Here are links... The Beast Banshee My only gripe is these were filmed with empty trains, so especially on Beast you can tell it seems to be a bit slower than if the trains were full. Other than that though, these are awesome IMO. Now I want 60FPS POV's of all the other coasters/rides though...

I love me some Flight of Fear- it has very good theming compared to nearly all of the other coasters in the park, there is a backstory to the ride (which is always a plus in my book), and it packs some very nice forces and is intense and disorienting. The only real drawback is it can be a bit on the rough side- once it even caused my back to be somewhat sore the rest of the day, but that was in 2010 so it's not some new issue that just came up. Usually it's more than do-able though. I would list Flight of Fear as one of the coasters I "love" at Kings Island along with Beast, Diamondback, Banshee, and Vortex (which IMO is also underrated). It is also my sister's favorite ride in the park.

Well, 4 years later (since my 1st post here) and with more rides under my belt, I still love Beast but have found some things about it. First up- having now visited the park a few times on far less crowded days, Beast is a ride I actually WANT to see a line for (though not TOO long of one)- when the train isn't full, it just doesn't seem as fast, and I actually was able to notice the trims when this was the case. This was obvious on my most recent trip where I rode Beast twice- first time there was no wait, and it was slower than usual, and later we rode again and there was a decent line and the ride was its normal self. Also during the daylight hours I would say I have been on a few coasters I liked even more (Diamondback, Banshee, and The Legend @ Holiday World and if it is running well and not super rough also The Voyage) but after dark, Beast obliterates everything I have been on so far. Also that final helix is awesome even on the somewhat "meh" rides- I can only imagine how crazy it must have been for those first few riders back in 1979 who rode it before its official debut during testing when it didn't have trims there! Granted the tunnels were not there until 1980... Even if someday I do find a new favorite coaster (which is possible as I have only been to like 3 parks and KI is the biggest of those), Beast will still be the coaster that got me back into them after 9 years. And for that I will always have a soft spot for it.

And with Mystic Timbers announced, the entire "wood" coaster section of my earlier post can pretty much be eliminated since I don't think Kings Island will get yet another Woodie anytime soon (though looking at it, Mystic Timber isn't as "twisty" as I was expecting and seems much more airtime focused but that is still OK). The steel coasters section remains unchanged though, of course, with a Giga probably being the most likely next coaster- and I do want one, based on how awesome Fury 325 is supposed to be.

Well, can't say this is super shocking- Mean Streak has had a rough rep for years now, and plain old re-tracking can only do so much. But with news of Mean Streak's imminent demise, all 3 of the record breaking Dinn Corporation wooden giants (which also included Hercules @ Dorney Park and Texas Giant @ Six Flags Over Texas) will now be either gone, or changed into entirely new coasters. Even the 2 RCCA's that broke records around the same time period (Rattler @ Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Son of Beast @ Kings Island) have met similar fates. Meanwhile, smaller rides like Holiday World's Raven built during the same time period continue to win awards and get rave reviews. I see that as proof that in many cases, size doesn't really matter, and being bigger can actually be a handicap. RIP Mean Streak...with your end, the wooden giants of the 1990's will be gone. But it will be a period of coaster history future generations will look at, if only to see what not to do when building wooden coasters. As for what will replace Mean Streak? Based on the fact they did a whole teaser video, and the fact it's footers have been marked, I would think either a RMC conversion or a VERY intensive re-profiling and possibly partial re-build from GCI with a name change included. Note: I have not actually had the chance to ride Mean Streak...yet...so I don't have an opinion on the coaster for myself. Though there is a chance that could change before it closes...

I saw The Beast one- these are amazing.

^ For those who do not know who #Jonathan is (aka they were not on KIC then)..."he" was here at Kings Island in 2014. I met him. It was amazing.

Well, I did this for Banshee, so it is only fair...what are your first impressions of Mystic Timbers, now in poll form? Also due to the cliffhanger ending on the POV and stuff, and 2nd question...what do you think is in the shed? My opinion: While nothing here looks "OMG DIS IS SUPER NEW AND MIND BLOWING" this does look like it is going to be a very good roller coaster, though whatever is in the shed could be a game changer. As for what I think is in the shed, I am guessing Drop Track. If for whatever reason you dislike this poll, you can always click back. Thank you and enjoy the poll.

I have not been to many parks (Kings Island, Holiday World, and Indiana Beach way back in 1999) but I kinda get a "Legend mixed with Voyage" vibe from this. The ride looks like it has a fast pace, and it should have decent airtime and laterals. Well, then there is that shed at the end which neither Legend nor Voyage have...I am probably gonna really like this new ride though, and it should be even better after dark- look out Beast, you might actually have a rival for night rides now. It should also be a good coaster for those who think Beast is a bit much but want something bigger than Racer, which this is. And based on how much wood coasters cost, this looks like it was probably a bargain compared to what Diamondback and Banshee cost. The name is a bit "meh" IMO, but I have been on quite a few rides I liked before this with a "meh" name. Also the themed trains look awesome. But...the 2nd announcement that comes next month also has me wondering. Winterfest returns? A new flat or flats to go with Mystic Timbers? 2017 Kings Island sure is getting interesting...

Oh boy- having only been to 3 parks (Indiana Beach, Kings Island, and Holiday World) my list is huge. I'll try to narrow it down to 10 though... 1. El Toro, Six Flags Great Adventure A massive wooden coaster that won the Mitch Hawker poll 4 years in a row, and probably could have done more had more polls been made. Reviews, On-Ride POV, and pictures make this thing look amazing to me. 2. Fury 325, Carowinds I really enjoyed Diamondback @ Kings Island, and this looks like an even better ride with more height, more speed, and more intensity. Reviews have also been amazing for the coaster so far as it currently sits at #1 on the Coasterbuzz Top 100. 3. X2 @ Six Flags Magic Mountain One of the craziest coasters I have ever seen. Over 200 feet tall with a straight-down drop, flipping wing cars, fire effects and music? Holy cow...Arrow may be gone, but apparently they went out with one more masterpiece. 4. Magnum XL-200 @ Cedar Point Speaking of Arrow masterpieces...Magnum XL-200 created the hypercoaster concept, and promises tons of airtime next to a beautiful beach location with a bit of old-school Arrow jerkiness to add to the intensity. 5. Maverick @ Cedar Point Another CP coaster, Maverick packs some tight turns, a few inversions, and some wicked-looking airtime hills and also features a beyond vertical drop and a launch tunnel, plus cool-looking water cannons. The location (on a lagoon next to a huge lake) is also great. I could fill this list with CP coasters probably, but will stop here so other coasters at other parks have a chance to shine (especially sorry to MF- I already have 2 Giga's on this list, still really wanna ride you badly though...). 6. Intimidator 305 @ Kings Dominion Basically it looks like Maverick, minus the lake and inversions, but with a 305-foot lift hill. Probably the most intense roller coaster in the entire world. 7. Kumba @ Busch Gardens Tampa This just looks like a really, really good looping B&M coaster. 8. Wildfire @ Kolmarden (Sweden) The only foreign coaster on my list (not that there are not more good ones)- RMC coasters have gotten rave reviews, and while I will probably ride the first one I come across (probably Storm Chaser @ Kentucky Kingdom which also looks great), this one looks like the best of the bunch to me so far. 9. Cyclone @ Luna Park (Coney Island NYC) A super old-school, legendary wooden coaster with a classic 1920's layout. Probably the most famous roller coaster in the world. It's too bad Tornado and Thunderbolt (the old wooden coaster- not that new Zamperla ride) are gone as those looked great too... 10. Phoenix @ Knoebels Another old school classic wood coaster, packed with airtime and with buzz bars. And that is my list- well, cut down to 10 at least. There are a LOT more coasters I wanna ride but have yet to go and get, but I'm hoping to build my list up...

In addition to those already mentioned, I can name at least a few more... Wild Mouse (and Spinning Wild Mouse) Euro-Fighter (example: Mystery Mine @ Dollywood) Impulse Coaster (example: Wicked Twister @ Cedar Point) Bobsled Coaster (example: Avalanche @ Kings Dominion) Stand-Up Coaster (we used to have this one with King Cobra...) Blitz Coaster (example: Maverick @ Cedar Point) Air Launch Coaster (example: Hypersonic XLC @ Kings Dominion) Dark Ride Turned into Roller Coaster (example: Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain @ Indiana Beach) El Loco Coaster (example: Steel Hawg @ Indiana Beach) 4th Dimension Coaster (example: X2 @ Six Flags Magic Mountain) Water Coaster (NOT Waterslides that Mimic Coasters- aka what Holiday World has... example: Poseidon @ Europa Park) Basically, there are TONS of various coaster types. Also if you wanna ride a Wild Mouse, usually the state fair is a good bet- in 2014 I went to the Indiana State Fair and they had a Zamperla Spinning Model. It was pretty good, and a ride of that type would be a good addition to KI- probably in the kids area with a Snoopy theme, but it could work elsewhere.

Reading through this, I noticed this comments... "Holiday World does not have the money for a B&M" 4 years and $22,000,000 later...they have Thunderbird. Edit: Re-read and noticed the comment on GCI was for a full coaster installation, which HW still does not have so I edited that part of the comment out.

Ironically my sister is doing that right now- and she is gonna stream them for me at home.

Well, to be honest part of me expected this, but it is still good to see Raven earn its rightful status as a roller caster landmark. While it is my least favorite of the 3 Holiday World wooden coasters (though that's only because something had to be the worst- all 3 are amazing IMO and Raven's only real flaw in my eyes is that it feels like it ends too soon) the other 2, and Thunderbird, would not exist had Raven not come along- this ride's popularity got the ball rolling, which led to Legend...then that lead to Voyage...and so on and so forth. Holiday World is on their way to leaving small family park status and becoming a regional juggernaut, and Raven is where that began. It also proved bigger wasn't always better as it humiliated the other then-new wooden coasters of its day (like Texas Giant, Mean Streak, Hercules, and Rattler...notice how most of them are gone now) even though it was barely half their size (if even that!), and as such could probably be credited with the new wave of CCI, Gravity Group, and GCI woodies that followed that also didn't go a billion feet in the air and still found success. So, to end this post...congratulations to The Raven, its designers Dennis McNulty and Larry Bill, Will Koch+Pat Koch+Natalie Koch, and everyone else who worked on this ride that not only has given a lot of people some serious thrills in spite of its small size, but took a small park that had little to offer to coaster fans and gradually made it a regional destination with over a million visitors a year. Personal Raven Tip: Ride in the very back seat for some good ejector air on the 5th drop.

My sister, who is at the park today, got a real kick out of the petting zoo that was added a few years ago (she live streamed it with her phone), so there's that too- granted you have to enjoy barnyard animals. Terpy summed up the rest of the things I would have listed though.

If the version of Google Maps I just used is correct, it's from 2012- 4 years ago. Invertigo is sporting its blue paintjob, WindSeeker is there, the 2nd wave pool is there and while Son of Beast is there if you zoom in you can see the trucks parked next to the MCBR as they were preparing to begin demolishing it. What is odd is for a while in 2015, the map for KI was from 2014 because it had Banshee, but it was taken on a day when FOF had a minor smoke incident and fire trucks and ambulances could be seen park near FOF in X-Base. Edit: See post below- turns the map from 2012 into 2015.

^^ No, if this layout is indeed true, I too expect some tunnels and this to be another great night ride alongside The Beast. (So long as they don't take out too many trees...) Also- if this is true- this is exciting whether it be a RMC or GCI, since both of those companies have made some of the best roller coasters in the world. I'm leaning towards this being a GCI though- Cedar Fair has worked with them before several times with no issues, it looks like it has 2 stations (a GCI hallmark) and a curved drop after the lift hill (another GCI hallmark). I am just wondering what the heck that large straight section in the middle could be...the lift would be BEFORE that, I'd think...