McSalsa

^ I know...I visited the park on a Saturday during Haunt, and had fun in spite of numerous 1+ hour lines. Even waited 2 hours for a Beast night ride that was TOTALLY worth the wait...I was just curious how the Sunday crowds might be, to see if it would be worth missing out on a Beast night ride for shorter lines... I have been to KI on Saturdays in May before, rain, shine, and even math & science days...so I know how crowds are then. (Fun Fact: On a math & science day at Kings Island in 2010, I rode more rides than I had ever ridden at KI before or since somehow, in spite of the crowds!)

Hmm...well, if even major rides are only a 10 minute wait early on Sunday morning...that really helps. I'd still want to head straight to Firehawk and ride it first, just in case... How bad would the post 1PM crowds be, in case we didn't end up getting everything in the AM for some reason (although if it is 10-minute waits, we'd probably be smart enough to get Firehawk, FOF, BLSC, Beast, and DB out of the way early). I'm guessing "worse than AM but still not horrible", like about 30 minutes for Beast...

OK, I too have a crowd question: how do you guys think crowds will be on Sunday, May 6th? I looked it up, and there are no "special events" like Math & Science Days or Music in The Parks, and the park closes at 8pm, which basically tells me park management doesn't expect crowds that day. I'm asking this because we are looking for a new day to go to KI and this and the 5th looked appealing, but this seems like it would be less crowded- but the downside would be no Beast night ride. So, if it isn't super-less crowded, we would probably still want to go on the 5th for the night ride... Perhaps I should ask like this...(assumed weather: 70* F, sunny) Your estimated Diamondback wait time , 5/5 (Saturday): Your estimated Diamondback wait time , 5/6 (Sunday): That would be a good crowd gauge, I assume...thanks for any info.

Well, I didn't think these existed but...I found these POVs of 2 historic and classic wooden coasters! First up...the Coney Island Thunderbolt, which operated from 1925-1983, was SBNO 1983-2000, and then demolished. I can't post the videos directly into here but here's the link... These videos by swampfoxer, not me. Enjoy.

^ Hate to say it, but...beat you to it a few days ago: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=25182 As for Screechin' Eagle, it was demolished in 2011, so it was SBNO from 2003-2011, or for 8 years.

^ Yep...he sure was.

Found this great interview online: Coastercrew.com's audio blog, In The Loop, did a great interview with Don Helbig recently. Here it is: http://www.coastercr...e=play&file=444 In this interview, Don Helbig talks 2012, why The Crypt was removed, the same ol' SOB stuff (no decision has been made), and an announcement of the park's 2012 entertainment lineup, plus some other stuff. And you get to see Don get stumped about the park where he works. Enjoy. WARNING: Audio is over 1 hour long!

OK, just checking out the US & IOA one and...WOW. This is great stuff right here...and Kings Island is actually getting this? Epic... PS: Wow, Universal Studios is super-well themed...

^ Oh! I didn't know that...wow, that will be even more awesome than what I found... (Perhaps they will even have the option to "drive by" in street view, then turn in and go into Kings Island...)

Uuh...TTD, I can get the street view for KI just fine (good images, but it is for 2009, while the park was closed getting ready for Haunt '09...) MCSALSA'S GUIDE TO GET KI STREETVIEW #1-Open Google Maps #2-Switch to Satellite view #2-Type "Kings Island" in the search box. You should come up to KI. #3-Zoom in until you can see the roads #4-Look for Kings Island drive #5-When you have located it, find the yellow man icon. Click it, drag it, and drop him on what appears to be a yellow line on the road. #6-Enjoy the view. NOTE: If you move too far away, the images will actually switch to 2008 when Diamondback was under construction! Hope this helps anyone...

^ WOW. Guess it wasn't just Kings Island that had a more down-at-home, well-themed, family-friendly atmosphere in the 1970s...amusement parks have changed so much since then, probably due to the "coaster wars" that began in the 1980s...

^ Original Beast is much, much more than simply the sum of its parts...that ride contains few hills/drops, only a few laterals through only a couple of gentle turns, and tons o' straight track not far from the ground. What that ride DOES have, though, is a great sense of speed and an amazing location hidden in the woods along with several tunnels, a great first drop, and the amazing helix finale the ride WORKS its way up to- basically, after the first drop, Beast is merely getting you ready for that helix, and it does it amazingly well. It's a bizzare, unorthadox coaster- but it has its fanbase for good reasons. I find it kind of funny that KI management says "We studied all the world's top roller coasters when building it!" because it ended up being like NONE of the other top coasters then, or even now (though the final helix was clearly inspired by Shooting Star at the Old Coney Island). Sure, there are other coasters that go through the woods, but they all have hills & sharp turns and more of that "traditional" stuff. Son of Beast, from what I've seen and heard, is also a very unorthadox coaster- but it lacks several elements that made Beast great. #1- It's not low to the ground, so it cannot interact with the woods the way its "daddy" can. #2- It really is just 2 big helixes with a spot where a loop used to be between them after the first drop. It's as-if Kings Island decided the best part of The Beast was the helix, not realizing why that was the best part of the ride, and tried to one-up it making a even bigger ride with a massive drop, 2 helixes, a loop...and not much else. I have seen a few people who claim Son of Beast wasn't super rough, but they still hate it because it's "boring". If SOB re-opens with the iron horse track, but the same layout, it will not win "Best New Ride" even if it is smoother than Diamondback. If it were up to me, I'd gut SOB starting from the bottom of the first drop all the way to the brake run and just build a new ride from there using what's left (station, pre-lift, and first lift hill) to start off the ride, adding airtime hills, twists, and drops along the "new" ride instead- possibly with pre-fab track or iron horse track or Timberliners. As for my personal experince with the ride: I head up to SOB. McSalsa: Here we go... Ride-Op Comes Up Ride-Op: Sorry, we're closed for the day. McSalsa: D'oh! (Turns and heads for Flight Deck) (A few weeks later, the ride shut down.)

Oh boy, you asked for it... After being scared to death by The Racer way back in 2000, I was terrified of roller coasters for 9 years and would refuse to even ride some of the more intense carnival rides. However, in 2009, with the addition of Diamondback, I decided to give roller coasters another shot and we planned a trip to Kings Island. We arrived May 14th, 2009 around 10:30 AM. Little did I know, the 230' Diamondback would not be the highlight of the trip, as good as it was...(and still is) After heading up the Eiffel Tower for some amazing views, we first tried the now-defunct Crypt (because it was raining and Beast was down), which (even though none of us knew it) was on its 2nd day of the "ultra-tame" ride cycle that the ride became lamented for during its final few years. While the ride, at first, caught me off guard and suprised me, it ended far too soon. I was dissapointed, and was a little worried that Kings Island might actually let me down. After leaving, the rain had stopped and Beast had re-opened. I entered, and smacked my sister with a q-line "gate" on accident. The Beast's crew was doing an excellent job getting people pumped up for what they claimed was the "best roller coaster in the world!". After a 25 minute wait, I boarded the ride..."Ok, here we go...a roller coaster..." The train left the station and around the turnaround. Thudthudthudthud..."Oh (Insert Curse Word Here) What Am I Doing!?! I'm on a HUGE wooden roller coaster! This might hurt..." Then, we began climbing the 110' lift hill...clankclankclankclank...to relieve some tension, I looked at my momma and cracked a joke: "Look ma, we're higher than da treez! " The ride reached the top of the hill, and one of the most famous images in all of coasterdom was before me: "Well, here goes no..." I couldn't finish because we began dropping! There is a trim brake on the first drop, but I didn't even feel it (In fact, I never have, even though I know it's there...) We hit the tunnel, and people were screaming, and I thought "Hey! This isn't so bad!". We dipped into a ravine, then back up, and flew into the brake shed, where I managed to catch my breath for a moment before the ride quickly turned again and darted into a tunnel. "Oh Man, this is a long tunnel!" I thought during that part of the ride...then, the ride exited into the daylight and made a few more downward turns into the woods before another lift hill emerged before us. We hit it, and I caught my breath again. My first thought "Momma, are you ok?". She said yes. My second thought was for a friend of mine who was also afraid of roller coasters, and he said he was loving it so far. So was I. Then my sister blurted out: "You ain't seen nothing yet!" "Crud!" I thought. Kings Island emerged in its glory, but I didn't get to view it for long before a 141' drop into a tunnel was smack dab in my face. The ride dived down, faster, faster, faster and into the darkness, where I was thrown around and the train began screaming as if it were trying to break free of the track. Then, we exited, and dove back in! All over again, and finally, the train calmly exited the second helix tunnel and turned right into a small drop, and then we hit the final brakes. "WOW!" I thought. "Welcome back riders, how was your ride?" My response: "WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" After that, I took on Vortex, later Diamondback, and numerous other rides at Kings Island. That night, I returned to Beast with my friend and we took a night ride on the wooden monster that put even the ride I described a minute ago TO SHAME. I have been on The Beast 7 times, and all 7 of those rides have been memorable for one reason or another, but never because they were bad. I've since been to Holiday World as well, and rode their wooden coasters, and yes, they are great...in fact, at one point I had both Voyage and Legend ahead of Beast in my coaster rankings, but a stunning Halloween Haunt night ride changed that so Beast was #1 again. And it hasn't lost that spot yet. (Granted, I've only been to 3 parks total and there are some pretty epic looking rides out there I have yet to go on, such as El Toro @ SFGadv, Bizzaro @ SFNE, Millennium Force & Maverick @ CP, etc etc) And I agree with KIFan73: I would go to Kings Island simply if Beast were the only ride/attraction there, no offense to Diamondback, Delirium, Flight of Fear, Vortex, Drop Tower, Racer, Flight Deck, etc etc. But, they are simply the cherry on top of a Beast sundae...MMMmmm...Beast sundae...

WOW. The ride itself looks...finished...well, now they have to paint the surrounding lampposts, as they are still red... PS: Invertigo looks awesome now.

I hope this pays off for the Koch Family. I for one am more than willing, having been to their other park (Holiday World), to give this park a shot- especially if it's fair-priced (anything less than $39.99, I'm sold...I would also be willing to pay a bit more, especially if new signature attractions are added, and if discount tickets are made avaliable that's fine too). Wonder what new rides they will add...I also LOVE that they are spreading their free drinks to another park. Also wondering if a "Super" Season Pass to both parks might be made avaliable...it would probably cost over $200 though... Well, it's barley 2012 and here I am planning a 2013 trip...(not to mention a KI Opening Day 2012 trip is already on my agenda)...

Well, just found this nice picture online and figured this would be a good spot to share it: It's a Kings Island park map I found while doing a google search...ironically it's on a Partridge Family Fan Club's message board. The poster claims this was from 1972, but I know the truth- because of Zodiac and Shake, Rattle, & Roll I would say this is a 1975 park map!

^ True, but this will be the first opening day with...gulp...Fast Lane. Which we cannot afford...so we must wait extra for the "Fast Lane" users. I'm fine with it if it's an extra 10 minutes for Beast/Diamondback or something, but have heard horror stories that it can DOUBLE a ride's wait time... However, it's not like I haven't been to KI before or anything...so, I'm not too worried if we only ride 10 rides or something. Just being at KI, even on a crowded day, beats sitting around at your house...

^ I also plan on at least riding Beast...Diamondback depends on the line, I enjoy that ride (quite a bit), but if it's over 2 hours, likely no (unless lots and lots of other rides also have super-duper wait times, in which case quality over and quantity and DB gets back in the running). Beast at night? I'll start waiting at 6PM if I have too...which, if opening day is as crowded as it seems it will be, may be the case, tragically. And I also plan on taking pictures- with my sister's new iPhone4. In particular, of Invertigo, since it just got a shiny new paintjob...(or is getting, ATM)...

^ Good point...I don't really like running anyway, if I can beat the crowds by simply walking (speedwalking even), that's actually better for me. Edited original post to discourage running as well...

Uh-Oh...I'm back to me old poll-making ways. Hehehe... Well, I just got some good news- my sister and her friends plan on visiting Kings Island this year, on...OPENING DAY! I have been to KI before, but not on OPENING DAY...anyway, I decided on a spur-of-the-moment influence to make this poll. What ride are you going to "walk" (you can try to run, but park management may not like it!) to for the moment you first get to KI? I did a similar poll like this last year...or perhaps it was for 2010...ahh, anyway but I decided most people who go to KI are going to go and RIDE SOMETHING first, but there is still a "I'm not doing a ride first!" option for you if that's what you're plans are. There's also an "undecided" for those who cannot yet choose. I tried to list all the "popular" thrill-based rides (plus Eiffel Tower, since it is the park's landmark and gives great views) but there is an "other" option...so, in case you wanna ride the Train first or something, you know. And since KI opening day is CHAOS and you never know what rides might not be ready/broken, there is even a "Plan B" poll! Enjoy the poll! And, even though it's still 60 days away...I can't wait for KI to re-open! This off-season, in spite of no major new rides (in fact, we are kissing Crypt goodbye and SOB still sits idle) is still agonizing...

Just a thought that popped into my head- what if the ride will secretly still be in the building but SBNO this year, and "hidden" from view during the haunt, then the whole thing being demolished until later (2012-2013 offseason)? It's possible...only way I think we could even tell would be this: look behind SOB at the KI Graveyard from the Eiffel Tower, and if huge metal pieces and seats from a top spin pop up, the building is probably staying. If not, they are demolishing it all at once, including building. (Unless they get rid of the top spin parts before the season even starts...)

OUCH...well, goodbye Crypt. It was such a shame seeing the ride in the state it was in, after hearing about how great it was when it opened. My one ride on it in 2009 sucked, but that was LONG after the ride was in its prime. Trying to get this ride to run a crazy 8-flip cycle in 2008 probably killed the old girl, but given how strict Paramount was with this ride, Cedar Fair had no choice. I'm hoping the ride that will replace it will be good- if it's a Suspended Top Spin (which can handle a 8-flip cycle), New Water Ride (similar to Shoot The Rapids, etc), Screamin' Swing, or using the Crypt "box" for a dark-ride similar to the old Phantom Theatre...or something else I'm not thinking of, perhaps...the fact the "box" may well be staying could mean something. And I just thought of something: In the 5 years since Cedar Fair purchased KI, how many rides have they ripped out? If I'm thinking correctly, this would only be #3- SOB still has a chance of re-opening (Amazingly, I was sure it would be demolished by now if that was their plan for it...seriously, 3 years?), and the only rides CF has removed have been small pay-per-rides like EuroBungee and EuroBobble (those attractions are #1 and #2)... RIP, old Crypt...I didn't like you as I knew you, but still...

OK, since there's some confusion over this, I'll talk since I (and a few others around here know as well, so I'm confirming for them): The "Bulls-Eye" on the Eiffel Tower, visible in the panorama, was for Nick Wallenda's World Record tightrope walk as a "promo". Here's a video of the amazing feat: And, for the record, this was not the first time the Eiffel Tower was used as a "prop". In 1998, to generate "buzz" for their new-for-1999 ride Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, Paramount put a sign at 264' (the height you drop from on what is now Drop Tower) on the Eiffel Tower that said "Drop This Far in '99!". Say what you will about everything else they did, when Paramount advertised a new ride, they did it with style! UPDATE: Original post had wrong video of RICK Wallenda's 2008 tight rope walk...sorry!

OK, while browsing around on that site (or somewhere- I may have been transferred to Google Earth or something, I'm not sure) I discovered this pic (Warning: This time it's not Kings Island): http://v14.lscache2....nal/3885483.jpg Who knew Cedar Point could be so beautiful...(well, probably everyone who's been there ...) And BLUE STREAK IS SMALL & PEWNY !!! (or at least it looks like it compared to TTD and stuff from the next beautiful CP pic): http://static.panora...al/10328622.jpg (Oh boy, found yet another purdy amusement park picture): Random Kayaker dude discovers Cedar Point...LOL. Actually, it's a kayaking club that apparently "kayaks" around Cedar Point. Sounds interesting, actually... http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/39541411.jpg

I found this super-huge, high-quality picture of Kings Island, taken in 2009 from the parking lot. I find it quite neat- if you zoom in, you can actually "look around" and it seems like you are really in KI's parking lot...too bad you can't go in and ride stuff though. April 28th cannot come soon enough, eh? http://v4.cache1.c.b...irect_counter=1 (Not actually POSTING the picture due to its huge size- slow connections will have problems with it, the image file itself is actually over 1MB...but why do you have such slow internet in 2012, unless you're on your phone or something?) Picture is from Panoramio.com- the user has a few more KI pictures too (I'm not sure if they are a KIC member or not...), but I found this one the "coolest". I love skylines (of both cities and amusement parks) and this "view" of Kings Island is one of my favorites. PS: If someone would be kind enough this year to take this same "shot", updated for 2012 with WindSeeker (only real major change to skyline from this picture)...perhaps even if I visit KI this year with a camera, when we go to our car for lunch...(NOTE: Even if I did take a "copy" of this image, I do not know how to make Panoramas so it would be a smaller shot or several smaller shots...) I would also have really loved if someone had taken a shot from this spot in '72...or any year prior to 1999, before giant roller coasters began to dominate the landscape of Kings Island, for comparison purposes...but I don't think pictures from this view from back then even exist, as I would expect this "shot" didn't start to become popular until Son of Beast was born... This isn't much of a topic (1 picture) but I hope someone can enjoy it...not my picture either if anyone was wondering.