McSalsa

Here are the pictures, in no particular order. Since it was a phone camera they are of varying quality. Vortex through the trees My friend got his phone out and took this picture during our first Beast ride. I yelled at him for it. Nonetheless, he got it secured in time and nothing horrible happened. And we got a good picture. A good look at Invertigo. It pulled some good G-Forces and was a pretty good ride. More Invertigo goodness. THE ENTERPRISE!!! IT HATH CRASHED!!! NOOOO!!! Pikachu is over 400? Say WHA? Vader, Joker, and Leatherface explain why they chose Evil! Some of the "monsters" on International Street. I will have to post the other pictures in a little bit, there are more. For now, enjoy these ones!

Hi Everybody! As you may have known, I was planing a KI trip during haunt on Saturday, October 16th. I asked for some advice and I thank all of you for it, even if I didn't use it all. And so, here's the trip report. For the first time, there will be pictures...I will post them next. THE ROAD TRIP My sister, best friend, and one of my sister's friends were the ones on this trip. We left Indy for KI at 9:00, and around 10:30 we were close to KI but knew the park didn't open until noon. We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast, it was good, and I didn't know Ohio McDonalds were so much nicer than most of them in Indianapolis! We arrived and entered the park at 11:15 and headed straight for the Action Zone "barrier". When the park opened, we sprinted for Delirium. RIDE #1: Delirium WAIT: 0 MINUTES (Unbelievably, in spite of the massive line behind us, most of it was for X-Base or Invertigo, not Delirium!) Ahh, yes, Delirium again. It seemed to be running a lot better this time now that it has that new part! This was my friend's first ride on Delirium. I was worried he would get sick on it and not be able to ride other rides since he always gets sick on Midway flats that spin, but Delirium at worst only made him "a little queasy" and that was only for 5 minutes. He loved Delirium. I loved Delirium. Delirium rules! Delirium SCORE: 10/10 After riding Delirium, I was feeling very macho, and decided to face one of my greatest fears- a ride at KI that, until now, I wasn't ready to ride. A ride that towers 315 feet in the air, dropping you at 65mph. I was finally ready for Drop Tower. RIDE #2: Drop Tower WAIT: 5 MINUTES (The crowds were probably still heading for X-Base at this point!) The concept of Drop Tower is simple- it lifts you up high and then drops you nearly 300 feet at 65mph. So this ride relies on "Psychology" and your fear of heights to scare you. I looked at Son of Beast, you really get an awesome view of the massive SBNO wooden monster from 300 feet up. Then came the actual drop itself, which gives killer airtime all the way to the bottom but was nowhere near as scary as I had thought. Drop Tower, as it turned it, wasn't that scary. But boy was it fun. The only complaint I can possibly lodge against this ride is that now, having ridden a 300 foot Drop Tower, the smaller and older drop rides like Giant Drop @ Six Flags Great America are going to suck for me now! DT SCORE: 10/10 DT TIPS FOR NEWBS: Drop Tower is very tall, so if you look straight down, you WILL be scared. I suggest looking at something that is also tall, the Eiffel Tower or Son of Beast are good choices for this as they will still appear very large even at the top. The ride also has some "special features" to make it feel unstable, but these are just that- don't worry when they happen! (I actually thought they were neat) PS: I am now 100% ready when Wind Seeker debuts in 2011! After conquering Drop Tower, we headed for Flight Deck, which my best friend insisted we ride in front. Thankfully for us, there were only 4 people in line for that seat and most seats were a walk-on. RIDE #3: FLIGHT DECK WAIT: 5 MINUTES (Could have been a walk-on but we waited for the front) Flight Deck is even better from the front. Be able to see those poles coming at you clearly and swinging more really does enhance the ride experience. I really enjoyed Flight Deck. When we got off, there were still only a few people riding so we rode Flight Deck again. On the second ride, I kept bumping into the side of the car, it hurt a little bit but was OK. There are rumors that Flight Deck is in its final years of operation. This saddens me. I really will miss this ride if she goes. FD SCORE: 9/10 We headed back by massive SBNO woodie back to Action Zone, and decided that since all the other Action Zone rides has short waits, we should check Invertigo, a ride I had yet to conquer. The sign scared me- it said "90 minute wait". But looking at the line itself, we realized that was probably a lie. RIDE #4: Invertigo WAIT: 30 MINUTES (THOSE LIARFACES!!!) Invertigo is a Vekoma Boomerang. I'll say it now, these rides are everywhere and don't have the best repuations. But I enjoyed Invertigo. I mean, sure, it's not the best coaster ever but it packs some serious G-Forces and sends you upside down six times at what feels like crazy speed. It is really fun to sit face-to-face with a friend and watch their reactions! My friend smiled during the entire ride. It was fun. Simple, yes, but fun. PS: Backwards>>>Forwards! Invertigo SCORE: 8/10 While riding Invertigo, I looked over to check the parking lot. I was stunned. FULL. I knew our short waits would soon be over. My friend and I were heading for Beast, and he learned that a female friend of his who was trying to ride Diamondback and had arrived before opening like us had yet to ride it. I felt really lucky to have 5 rides under my belt at this point (remember, I rode Flight Deck twice). After meeting my friend's friend at Diamondback (before which be bought me a large soda...and I didn't have to pay him back!) we arrived at Beast, which had a 30 minute (phew!) wait. RIDE #5: The Beast WAIT: 45 MINUTES (We waited 15 extra minutes for the front) During the extra 15 minutes added as we waited for front seat, my sis and her friend caught up and rode with us. Beast was its usual awesome, speed-filled self, but was also quite rough this time. It was still not painful, so I liked it anyhow, as I realize a smooth Beast isn't a fun Beast. The ride needs to be wooden and somewhat rough to be fun. That's the whole point of this ride! BEAST SCORE: 9/10 (Not its best ride but great nonetheless) After Beast, we discovered that the park had become uber-crowded and was getting more and more crowded by the second. So we stopped at ate some LaRosa's Pizza. We started looking for a ride that had a short line. We kept drawing up blanks. Finally, after looking at numerous rides, we found Adventure Express. RIDE #6: Adventure Express WAIT: 15 MINUTES (Thank you, Adventure Express!!!) Adventure Express, for a "Big Kiddie Coaster", is quite good. The ride's theming was all working and the ride is pretty long. The finish, as usual, was...bizzare. I may only be giving AE a "7", but consider that I am a big time thrill seeker and for a ride like this, a 7 might as well be a 9 or 10. AE SCORE: 7/10 After Adventure Express, we checked Action Zone for "short lined rides" and those early waits we encountered seemed like just a memory. Everything was overflowing except Flight Deck, which we didn't check at this point. We wandered around for a bit and finally we decided to attempt Vortex's crazy long line...or so it seemed... RIDE #7: Vortex WAIT: 20 MINUTES (This ride eats people like it's starving for them!) Vortex is one of the biggest line-eaters I have ever seen, bar none! The line was all the way out by BLSC but when we got on, it had only been 20 minutes! We sat in 5-1 again but this time, the airtime was a bit weaker. Or did it just seem weaker now that I have ridden Voyage? Vortex SCORE: 9/10 After Vortex, I thought we were going to ride The Racer, but my friend managed to get me into...a haunt. Urgent Scare. Would I survive? HAUNT #1: URGENT SCARE WAIT: 10-15 MINUTES (We got there early) This wasn't as scary as I was expecting, but it was pretty intense. It became a lot more comfortable when I learned the scareactors couldn't touch you. The levels of blood & gore here were petty high and there were some scary moments. A very good haunt overall. URGENT SCARE SOCRE: 9/10 After Urgent Scare, we headed for International Street to wait for "the parade" I had heard about where 100s of scareactors head down International Street, and at 7:00, haunt began. But the parade I had thought was going to happen didn't (or perhaps we left too soon) so we headed for what I thought would be Racer. While we waited, the fog started up and the Haunt began. I was "tricked" again and we ended up in Club Bloob. HAUNT #2: CLUB BLOOD WAIT: 40 MINUTES Club Blood wasn't as intense as Urgent Scare, but it was MUCH more "suggestive" and had lots more fog. My friend couldn't stop thinking about the girls in spite of the fact they were covered in blood! A good haunt, but I liked Urgent Scare a bit more. CLUB BLOOD SCORE: 8/10 Club Blood ended up being the last haunt of the night, so I only got 2 in. After this, we headed for The Beast for a night ride. On the way, we encounterd the "Master of Ceremonies" who had a little chat with us. Afterwords, we headed for our destination. RIDE #8: The Beast @ NIGHT, HAUNT EDITION WAIT: 90 MINUTES An hour and half. This is the 2nd longest I have ever waited for a ride (the longest was Wildebeest back in May, which had a 2 hour wait). To make up for this wait, The Beast would have to deliever an amazing, breathtaking, mind blowing ride. It did just that. NOTE: This ride was a very "Zen" ride and thus I will desribe it in high detail. We boarded the trains, my back sore from standing for so long all day. We were sitting in the "front of the back" in the middle of a car, I think 4-2. The Beast departed the station and headed around the turn and began climbing the 110 foot lift hill. The music began playing as we very, very slowly climbed the hill. Near the top, the train sped up and we went over at a respectably high speed. There was some weak airtime coming down the first hill into the tunnel. Then it hit, and we flew around the turn into the dark forest ahead. The second drop hits, and it also packed some weak airtime, so the trims weren't biting very hard if at all. The next turn was quite rough and the train flew through the brake shed. Even this trim hardly bit at all. The Beast dove into the woods, faster, faster, faster! Suddenly, as we came around a corner, a huge patch of fog consumed the train! A few seconds later we were in the second tunnel, which was pitch black. The Beast countinued to gain more and more speed. We turned out of the tunnel and back into the woods, and as we came around the corner a huge patch of red glowing fog and the "suprise" appeared. Another turn and we could see lights up ahead. The second lift hill finally slowed our speed back to a crawl. We climbed the second hill, which was much faster than the first. As we reached the top, Kings Island emerged in all its haunted glory, everything was visible. Drop Tower, Delirium, Racer, Firehawk, Flight of Fear, Backlot Stunt Coaster, Vortex, Diamondback, and the Eiffel Tower all greeted us. BLSC even "gave us a flame" just as we turned for the helix. We headed for the dark tunnel. Faster, faster, faster. Last time we rode Beast @ Night, the helix was lit up. Not the case here. The Beast unleashed its wrath as the helix struck. The small specks of light in the helix tunnels made the ride feel like were going 100mph. Finally, the ride let up. We flew out of the helix, back into the station, and as if to testify how fast the ride was going we ended up not even stopping until we were back in the loading station itself. The ride was so good, I must now do it: Sorry, Voyage! Beast has returned to the #1 spot as my favorite coaster with this amazing, breathtaking ride. It seems this ride just won't let me have another coaster as my favorite! If I find something I "think" is better, I return to KI and Beast gives me a unforgettable ride. How it does this, I do not know...I wish they could keep the werewolf and fog all year though. HAUNT BEAST RATING: 12/10!!! After leaving Beast, we sat down near the Eiffel Tower and contemplated what to do next. Someone suggested that we might as well leave as we would only get in one more ride anyway and were were pretty much "wasted" at the time (we were not drunk). Right before we got up, the "Master of Ceremonies" showed up again. We had another chat with him, and discovered that he played center on his high school basketball team and is from Indiana like us. He is also really not 6'10, he is 6'9 when barefoot! This was a great visit. We didn't get that many rides in, and we missed Diamondback, Racer, Firehawk, Flight of Fear, Eiffel Tower, BLSC, and many others due to the crowds (we "broke up" and my sister and her friend did get in Racer). But so what? The rides we did get in made up for it. I am so glad we came. FINAL THOUGHTS Halloween Haunt at Kings Island is amazing. Sure, it is super crowded, but the fog effects, while they can be a bit annoying, are beautiful. The scareactors don't bother you too much if you don't let them scare you. As for the "uncontrolled fighting, drinking, etc etc"...we saw NOTHING of the sort. The park was very clean as usual. There were amazingly funny (and then just amazing) props all over the place. The crowds were our main problem and in spite of that we had a great time. On a side note, I have now completed all of KI's "major" attractions, with the exception of a closed wooden hypercoaster, and besides The Crypt I have enjoyed everything I've ridden in the parkHowever, I still have yet to visit Boomerang Bay, there are some Coney Mall flats missing, and I can't lay claim to all the coasters without Flying Ace(even though it's a kiddie ride)and Son of Beast(at least as long as SOB is still standing. Will it ever re-open?). Add the fact that Wind Seeker opens next year, and there is still plenty of incentive to return to KI in 2011. On that note, here are my grades for this visit: ROLLER COASTERS: A Kings Island has some of the best roller coasters around! If you cannot find one you like...you need help. There is a hiccup here and there but for the most part these are awesome coasters. Now if only they "fixed" SOB so they could re-open it...or replace it with something awesome... FLATRIDES: B+ The giant flatrides, save Crypt, are all excellent. So are the midway flats, but we need more of them. Wind Seeker looks to aid this area come 2011. PARK STAFF: A These guys (usually) rock. The park was uber crowded but the lines did keep moving pretty quickly on most rides. The scareactors did a good job scaring people. While there were some weak spots (the Invertigo staff was totally un-enthusiastic) for the most part KI has great staff. FOOD QUALITY: B+ LaRosa's Pizza was very good but not the best I've ever had. Worth the price but not by much. PARK APPEARANCE: A+ Kings Island is beautiful. There was no trash to be seen, save a dumpster I saw being hauled past me. The yellow & brown autumn leaves and fog effects only made the park even more lovely. VALUE: B At $30 (Kroger Ticket Price), Kings Island is dirt cheap- it's like paying $2 per coaster. But where KI loses a lot of ground here is their ridiculous food and drink prices. This would skyrocket to an A+++ even if the food prices stayed the same if they offered free drinks like Holiday World does. OVERALL: A+ Not an average. With awesome rides, great staff, good food, and good value you will have to look hard to beat Kings Island. In fact, KI would be unbeatable simply if they lowered their food prices! I hope you enjoyed reading this trip report. I certaninly enjoyed making it! Comments and Questions welcome. The pictures will be posted in the next post box. Have a great day! PS: I have learned recently that these were some of the worst crowds KI has seen in a long time. HOLY MAMMA!

This is a idea that popped into my head- a poll about coasters created by the legendary John Allen. Kings Island has 2 of his creations, Racer & Woodstock Express. So do many other parks, including numerous Six Flags parks, Cedar Point, Kings Dominion, etc etc. For a list of all John Allen coasters: http://www.rcdb.com/r.htm?ot=2&nm=na&pe=6850&page=1 (somehow, though, he is apparentley designing a steel roller coaster for Knoebels somehow...from beyond the grave?) Which one of them is your favorite? Enjoy the poll. If you dislike, click back.

List of parks I have been to recently (not needed but does help others by letting them see how many parks you had to choose from): Kings Island, Holiday World Best Amusement Park: Kings Island Best Theme Park: Holiday World Best Wood Coaster: (I'll do a Top 5 but you don't need to!) Winner-Voyage, Holiday World #2-Legend, Holiday World #3-Beast, Kings Island #4-Raven, Holiday World #5-Red Racer, Kings Island Best Steel Coaster: (See above) Winner-Diamondback, Kings Island #2-Flight of Fear, Kings Island #3-Vortex, Kings Island #4-Flight Deck, Kings Island #5-Firehawk, Kings Island Best Flatride: Delirium, Kings Island Best "New" Ride: Voyage, Holiday World Best Park Food: Kings Island Most Beautiful Park: Kings Island (by a hair) Best Water Ride: ZOOMbabwe, Holiday World (sorry Wildebeest, Pilgrums Plunge, and White Water Canyon!) Best Waterpark: Splashin' Safari Best Park Staff: Kings Island Best Kids Area: Kings Island Best Park Show: NA, I have seen NOTHING...yeah! Cleanest Park: Kings Island (by a hair yet again, HW loses only due to some water cups!) Best Halloween Event: NA, may be updated when I visit KI for haunt 10/16/2010 As I have only been to KI & HW, I had quite a limited selection for picks, but those of you who have visited other parks will have a better selection and thus picks will become more meaningful...

About a month or so (I think) ago, the 2010 Golden Ticket awards were released. And once again, numerous streaks remained intact and some among us felt that while many of the awards were indeed "deserved", others...not so much. And then I thought this poll up. You will have your own golden tickets. Give them to the rides/parks YOU think deserve them. The categories are: Best Amusement Park Best Theme Park Best Wood Coaster Best Steel Coaster Best Flatride Best "New" Ride (I'll need to go into detail on this, read below) Best Park Food Most Beautiful Park Best Water Ride (Includes river rapids, splash rides, and waterslides etc etc) Best Waterpark Best Park Staff Best Kids Area Best Park Show Cleanest Park Best Halloween Event (like KI's haunt, etc etc) Now, most of these are self-explanitory, save "Best New Ride". Since there are NUMEROUS rides many of us have YET to ride yet...anything you had never ridden until 2010 counts as "new", even if it opened in the 1920s! So that awards is basically "Best ride new to you for 2010". It can go to to either a coaster or flat. Still pretty simple eh? If do not need to give tickets for everything, and if you can think up some other award (as long as it's realistic and reasonable), go ahead and use it if you wish. Enjoy the poll. I'll post my own picks in the next post. If you don't like it, click back.

UPDATE: The trip has been confirmed, but it must be a Saturday, on October 16th, so I will have to deal with crowds. Figures. Oh well...at least by now I know what rides/attractions are good with crowds (Vortex, Diamondback, Adventure Express, and somewhat Beast etc etc) and which ones aren't, as well as what rides aren't uber popular. Thanks for all the advice. YAY, ANOTHER QUESTION NOW! At what point will the waits be longest, during haunt itself(7PM-1AM) or during "normal" operation? Because if it's going to be crowded I want to hit all the "big" rides when their waits are shortest.

All 3 are epic, but Voyage takes the win. My favorite part one that ride? MASS. EJECTOR. AIR. INTO. TUNNEL. (During the first few airtime hills). The triple-down in the dark is also great. But there are flaws- the 90* turns? They DOES NOTHING(for me anyway). And the last few turns are SUPER ROUGH. These flaws don't hurt the coaster enough, however, so it remains my #1...for now. Legend comes a somewhat-close 2nd place. That coaster has a good heap of airtime, EXTREME laterals, a great helix, head-choppers, and encounters with other rides (the Zinga and ZOOMbabwe waterslides in this case). It seems it has everything I could possibly want from a wood coaster...and yet somehow I still perfer Voyage. Legend was #1 for about 20 minutes though (then I rode Voyage). Last up is Raven. But in this case, even being in LAST PLACE for HW Woodies is STILL better than my #1 steel coaster, Diamondback (yeah, I'm a sucker for woodies...). Great airtime, good drops, a over-the-lake section and a race through the woods all in one coaster. If only it were longer...my one complaint is, the ride ends just as it's getting really good. Bummer. Raven also gets props for being "the most rideable" coaster at HW. Legend, I can take 10 or so laps, but it's just rough enough that after that I'd have to stop afterwords. I cannot see myself doing more than 3 back-to-back laps on Voyage without Timberliners. Raven? I can ride it over and over...

OK, here's the deal- I may be going to KI for Halloween Haunt this month. It's not 100% finalized, but it seems very likely as we do have some extra cash saved up and have talked about it. And I have a few questions... Ride Waits I'm not really into the "haunts" themselves, but simply want to return to KI to ride the rides...again, mostly, as by now I've gotten nearly everything (save Invertigo, Drop Tower, and of course Son of Beast). However, I have heard that wait times for haunts can be 1+ hours, but the wait times for rides I haven't heard. I went to KI earlier this year on a Saturday in May and there were tons of school kids, Beast and Diamondback had 60+ minute waits, and want to know- how long should I expect to wait for rides? Are the waits going to be longer or shorter during the non-haunt hours (12-7)? If you want to list rides and then "normal haunt wait times" next to them, I'd appreciate it. PS: If I go, it will be with a friend who has ridden Drop Tower and thus will probably get my first ride on it... Good Entry-Level Haunt? OK, I'm going mostly for rides but may still squeeze in a "haunt" or two as well, but being just a wee bit nervous, what would be a good "starter" haunt? One that is "scary-ish" but not extreme and still good, that may lead to more haunts if I end up enjoying it? Kroger Tickets Every time we visit KI, we buy tickets from a local Kroger because they are only $29.99. Can we do this for haunt, or must we buy KI tickets from another source? Wind Seeker Construction Is Wind Seeker under construction yet? If so, I wanna go take a look at the construction myself if we go... Good Night Rides Halloween Haunt is open until 1AM according to www.visitkingsisland.com. The sun sets around 7ish. That means 6 hours for night rides. Besides the obvious one (Beast) that I've already ridden at night (PS: Beast + Night= Super Awesome), what else at KI gets a good "boost" from a night ride? I've heard Diamondback is better at night, and would guess Flight Deck since it's also 'in the woods'... OK, that's about it. Man, I've been to KI 3 times now and yet still ask questions. Thanks for any replies! And if this happens, a TR is coming, of course. With photos? Maybe...

The 2010 regular season is behind us, and we must now wait for Halloween Haunt. I made a poll like this last year, and well, here comes the 2010 Edition. Basically, it's the same as last time- how good was Kings Island 2010? Average? Above Average? Below? Bad? Excellent? And what event (though this year there wasn't as much as last year) do you think was most important? A new question for 2010- how would you say Cedar Fair has run the park since obtaining it 4 years ago? Enjoy the poll. If you don't like it, click back.

I have: 2009 Kroger KI Ticket (Spongebob on it) 2010 Kroger KI Ticket (Diamondback on it)\ 2008 Kings Island Park Map (didn't go that year, but my sister gave me this map and it's the main reason I really started wanting to return to KI...) 2009 Kings Island Park Map (2 of them) 2010 Kings Island Park Map Diamondback Collector's Cup (Gift from friend when he went a second time in 2009) 2010 Holiday World Park Map Raven Postcard Legend Postcard Voyage Postcard 2010 Cedar Point Ticket (Another "Gift" from sister...) And a whole lotta memories...very much the most valuable of all.

Oh, and just for those who are curious, here's what KI already has: Diamondback- Hypercoaster (B&M Style) The Beast- Wooden Terrain Coaster Son of Beast- Wooden Hyper-Looping Coaster (Loop Removed Though) Firehawk- Flying Coaster (Vekoma Style) Vortex- Mega Looping Coaster (Arrow Style) Flight of Fear- LIM Launched "Bowl" Coaster Racer- Out & Back Wooden Racing Coaster (Covers 2 Types) Flight Deck- Suspended Swinging Coaster (unlisted on Coasterforce...) Invertigo- Inverted Boomerang Coaster Adventure Express- Traditional "Tube Track" Steel Coaster (Mine Train Style) Backlot Stunt Coaster- LIM Launched Steel Family Coaster Woodstock Express- Junior Wooden Coaster Flying Ace- Junior Inverted Coaster Great Pumpkin Coaster- Junior Steel Mini Coaster I had to come up with some of the types since Coasterforce doesn't list all of them!

There has been a good bit of a debate over "what kind of coaster should KI get next?". And thus, after looking over the Coasterforce "types of roller coasters" page, I have chosen to create...this poll! After eliminating types of coasters we already have and thus probably don't need (tragically this kills the B&M floorless since it falls under the same "class" as Vortex by coasterforce's standards), and also eliminating stuff that wouldn't stand a chance (Wild Mouses and stuff) here, I found 10 types of roller coasters we do not yet have at Kings Island. For descriptions and pictures of each type, here is the page: http://www.coasterfo..._Roller_Coaster There is also an option for "Other", just in case you can think of a type of coaster NOT listed above or want something like a wild mouse. Also, since coasterforce doesn't have descriptions for the types of woodies, I will do that: Wooden Twister Coaster A wooden coaster that "Twists" around like a tornado. The above picture, of Hersheypark's Wildcat, is a good example. These coasters usually don't take up much space and resemble the "classic horror woodies" of the 1920s. Dueling Wooden Coaster A pair of wooden coasters that "duel" each other at various points along the track and may or may not race. Shown is the infamous Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa. Plug N' Play Wooden Coaster This type of wooden coaster is built from pre-fabricated track and thus is very, very smooth. Plug N' Play wooden coasters are usually very highly ranked wherever they are installed and due to their smoothness, they can go to extreme heights without beating the tar out of their riders. Shown is El Toro @ Six Flags Great Adventure. OK, with that behind us, enjoy the poll, and make your choice. If you dislike...click back. PS: There is another type of woodie, the Moebius, that KI does not have but they are a bit too similar to the Racing woodies...which we already have one of. PS 2: Have decided to add B&M Floorless and Giga Coaster as options even though we already have Diamondback and Vortex.

OK, here's a new idea I came up with: a "what would you do if this happened" poll. The situation: You are on your way to Kings Island, and someone who is already there texts you and tells you Diamondback(some idiot threw a sock in the chain lift engine and it caught fire), Firehawk, Delirium, and Invertigo are all broken down and Son of Beast is still closed. Drop Tower is closed for high winds as well, but the weatherman says they will end at around 4PM. The park is also a bit crowded, it's not crazy but the lines for Flight of Fear, Beast, and Vortex are VERY long (Over 1 hour each) due to the closing of the other coasters/rides. It is also somewhat hot out, 85* F. Do you... ...turn around and go home to wait for another day to visit KI? ...go on, and simply ride rides that aren't broken/closed and endure the longer waits? ...go to the park, but avoid even the open major rides due to the lines (hitting stuff like Flight Deck, Racer and Adventure Express instead etc etc) ...go to a different park? ...throw a tantrum? What would you do? Enjoy the poll. If you don't like it, click back. PS: Yes, I am fully aware someone else did a similar "what would you do" poll, but that was about line jumpers.

Yes, Dark Rides & Log Flumes are also legit picks here. I was using the general term as in "anything that isn't a waterslide or roller coaster, etc etc". And truly "flat" rides are unrideable because...they are flat as squished pancakes!

Kings Island would have a kick-butt selection of flats had we never removed any of them. While the addition of Wind Seeker in 2011 will probably help Kings Island in the flats area, we still need more flats. Then I thought of this scenario. If you could choose 5 of the old flats to bring back, which ones would you pick? It's a pretty simple idea. If you need a list of the defunct rides, here they are: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_Kings_Island_attractions You may bring back any of the flats, plus log flumes, etc, but not the roller coasters. That would be a different topic. So, which flats would you restore? Enjoy the poll. If you don't like it, click back.

The flash also has The Racers switched; red on left and blue on right. It also shows the tower itself spinning at the bottom? Some parts of the video make it look like it will be located next to the bathrooms at the end (where the white geodome was). At least we are getting a new ride. Actually, pause at 1:10 in the video on youtube: The blurry thing to the very right edge of the screen? Looks like Son of Beast's shape to me! Take that for what it's worth. Drop Tower is the "teeny little poll thing". However, if you keep watching, when they "zoom out" and end the video, SOB and Drop Tower vanish! Weird. Also, they do have The Racers switched.

Wow. We get a new ride and before anyone even rides it, people are thinking it's going to suck. Let's wait and actually RIDE IT before we judge it. In my own opinion, I think this will be a great new addition to Kings Island, a ride that is both "thrilling" because of its sheer height yet gentle at the same time. It's a ride that plays "Mind Games" pretty much, just like Drop Tower does (does it do much other than Drop? Nope. But it terrifies you with its sheer height, which is also what Wind Seeker will do!). As I already enjoy smaller swing rides like Zephyr, they are one of my favorite classic flats, I think I'll love this ride. Besides, KI's 40th birthday comes in 2012, so we will probably get our new coaster then and then we have that, Wind Seeker, and everything we already had (DB, Beast, etc etc) too. However, as for Cedar Point getting the same ride, I am slightly dissapointed. I was hoping they would build a wooden roller coaster since Blue Streak is over 40+ and Mean Streak supposedly sucks, they need a good modern woodie and it's now been 4 years since Maverick. If they truly want to be the "coaster capital of the world", they need to fill this hole in their lineup. Wind Seeker @ CP will probably also be a great ride, but building it so close to Space Spiral? Weird. PS: I think Beast is hidden well enough in the woods that from Wind Seeker, you probably won't see anything besides the lift hills and maybe the helix, since the rest is buried in the woods. I assume this from looking at it from Vortex's lift hill.

Sudden anouncement FTW! This "Wind Seeker" looks like it would be an amazing new ride for 2011. Or we could see SOB overhauled, and grow bigger than DB, but that wouldn't really change the skyline since SOB is already clearly visible: So, in theory, what they are saying is whatever is it is the new ride SHOULD be visible from that angle, since Diamondback is (look to far right side)? Sweet!

I rode Flight of Fear twice. The first time, in 2009,it was quite smooth. The second time, I was in back pain THE ENTIRE DAY AFTERWORDS. Read my 5/16/2010 trip report to see more details. I still loved the ride, it's amazing, but I would like to know where I was sitting...so I can avoid that seat and never ride FOF from it again! It made Beast, Vortex, and Blue Racer (3 of the other "rough" rides in the park) look...super silky smooth. Not sure how the "Super Rough" Wooden Monster compares since it's always closed when I attempt to ride it...

I will spend my "day" now: FIRST HOUR (10AM-11AM) 1 Ride on Son of Beast (since I have never ridden it): 25 minutes 2 Rides on Flight Deck: 10 minutes 1 Ride on Delirium: 25 minutes SECOND HOUR (11AM-NOON) 1 Ride on The Beast: 30 minutes 1 Ride on Vortex: 25 minutes 1 Ride on Shake, Rattle, & Roll (to finish hour!): 5 minutes THIRD HOUR (NOON-1PM) Wait times now change to "Afternoon" 1 Ride on Adventure Express: 20 minutes 1 Ride on The Racer: 20 minutes 1 Ride on White Water Canyon: 20 minutes FOURTH HOUR (1PM-2PM) 1 Ride on Flight of Fear: 60 minutes FIFTH HOUR (2PM-3PM) 1 Ride on Diamondback: 60 minutes SIXTH HOUR (3PM-4PM) 1 Ride on Eiffel Tower: 5 minutes 1 Ride on Boo Blasters: 15 minutes 1 Ride on Monster: 5 minutes 1 Ride on Zephyr: 5 minutes 2 Rides on Shake, Rattle, & Roll: 5 minutes 1 Ride on Dodgem: 5 minutes 1 Ride on Grand Carousel: 5 minutes 1 Ride on Congo Falls: 10 minutes SEVENTH HOUR (5PM-6PM) 1 Ride on Drop Tower: 45 minutes 1 Ride on Congo Falls: 10 minutes 1 Ride on Monster: 5 minutes EIGHTH HOUR (6PM-7PM) 1 Ride on Firehawk: 45 minutes 1 Ride on Backlot Stunt Coaster: 10 minutes 1 Ride on Zephyr: 5 minutes NINTH HOUR (7PM-8PM) 1 Ride on Invertigo: 30 minutes 1 Ride on Son of Beast: 25 minutes 1 Ride on Flight Deck: 5 minutes TENTH HOUR (8PM-9PM) 2 Rides on The Beast: 60 minutes FINAL HOUR (9PM-10PM) 2 Ride on Diamondback: 50 minutes 1 Ride on Eiffel Tower: 5 minutes 1 Ride on Grand Carousel: 5 minutes WOW. THAT'S A LOT OF RIDES. Of course, in real life getting so many rides in would be nearly impossible...due to riding the rides taking time (Beast can take up 5mins by itself), walking, and stopping to eat. But this just shows that if one uses good strategy, how much you CAN do in a single day at Kings Island. My Totals: SOB-2 FD-3 Delirium-1 Beast-3 Vortex-1 SRR-2 AE-1 Racer-1 WWC-1 FOF-1 DB-3 Eiffel-2 BooBlast-1 Monster-2 Zephyr-2 Dodgem-1 Grand Carousel-2 Congo Falls-2 Drop Tower-1 Firehawk-1 BLSC-1 Invertigo-1 Total:35 Rides Must not have been very crowded...

This was a interesting idea that popped up in my head- Kings Island opens at 10AM and closes at 10PM. An old saying goes "Time is Money". Thus the idea: you will get so much time at Kings Island, and I will give you wait times (or "ride prices") for you to spend. These will change as the time-of-day does, to "simulate" a real day at Kings Island. The purpose of this poll: would you rather wait 60 minutes to ride Diamondback once or ride Flight Deck 4 times in that hour, etc etc? When you are really at Kings Island, you actually do make these choices! You have 12 hours. Wait times will be exact. For this poll, you can magically teleport to the end of the line and don't need to waste time eating/drinking, just to make it simpler. For this poll, SOB is open. MORNING WAIT TIMES (10AM-NOON): Action Zone Son of Beast- 25 minutes Drop Tower- 25 minutes Delirium- 25 minutes Invertigo- 30 minutes Flight Deck- 5 minutes Congo Falls- 5 minutes OKTOBERFEST Adventure Express- 10 minutes CONEY MALL Racer- 10 minutes Vortex- 25 minutes Firehawk- 60 minutes Flight of Fear- 45 minutes Backlot Stunt Coaster- 20 minutes RIVERTOWN Diamondback- 45 minutes The Beast- 30 minutes The Crypt- 30 minutes White Water Canyon- 15 minutes Planet Snoopy & INTERNATIONAL STREET Eiffel Tower- 5 minutes Boo Blasters- 10 minutes Woodstock Express- 15 minutes Flying Ace- 15 minutes Surf Dog- 15 minutes Great Pumpkin Coaster- 10 minutes AFTERNOON WAIT TIMES (NOON-6PM): The waits will be mostly longer since this is when the park is most crowded... Action Zone Son of Beast- 45 minutes Drop Tower- 45 minutes Delirium- 45 minutes Invertigo- 45 minutes Flight Deck- 15 minutes Congo Falls- 10 minutes OKTOBERFEST Adventure Express- 20 minutes CONEY MALL Racer- 20 minutes Vortex- 25 minutes Firehawk- 90 minutes Flight of Fear- 60 minutes Backlot Stunt Coaster- 25 minutes RIVERTOWN Diamondback- 60 minutes The Beast- 60 minutes The Crypt- 45 minutes White Water Canyon- 20 minutes Planet Snoopy & INTERNATIONAL STREET Eiffel Tower- 5 minutes Boo Blasters- 15 minutes Woodstock Express- 25 minutes Flying Ace- 25 minutes Surf Dog- 25 minutes Great Pumpkin Coaster- 15 minutes EVENING WAIT TIMES (6PM-8PM): The crowds are leaving...phew! Action Zone Son of Beast- 25 minutes Drop Tower- 25 minutes Delirium- 20 minutes Invertigo- 30 minutes Flight Deck- 5 minutes Congo Falls- 5 minutes OKTOBERFEST Adventure Express- 10 minutes CONEY MALL Racer- 10 minutes Vortex- 15 minutes Firehawk- 45 minutes Flight of Fear- 30 minutes Backlot Stunt Coaster- 10 minutes RIVERTOWN Diamondback- 30 minutes The Beast- 25 minutes The Crypt- 20 minutes White Water Canyon- 5 minutes Planet Snoopy & INTERNATIONAL STREET Eiffel Tower- 5 minutes Boo Blasters- 10 minutes Woodstock Express- 10 minutes Flying Ace- 10 minutes Surf Dog- 10 minutes Great Pumpkin Coaster- 10 minutes NIGHT RIDES (8PM-10PM): The park will close soon... Action Zone Son of Beast- 25 minutes Drop Tower- 25 minutes Delirium- 20 minutes Invertigo- 25 minutes Flight Deck- 5 minutes Congo Falls- 5 minutes OKTOBERFEST Adventure Express- 10 minutes CONEY MALL Racer- 10 minutes Vortex- 15 minutes Firehawk- 30 minutes Flight of Fear- 25 minutes Backlot Stunt Coaster- 15 minutes RIVERTOWN Diamondback- 25 minutes The Beast- 30 minutes The Crypt- 15 minutes White Water Canyon- 5 minutes Planet Snoopy & INTERNATIONAL STREET Eiffel Tower- 5 minutes Boo Blasters- 5 minutes Woodstock Express- 10 minutes Flying Ace- 10 minutes Surf Dog- 5 minutes Great Pumpkin Coaster- 5 minutes The park closes. How did you spend your day? Enjoy the poll. PS: I tried to make my wait times realistic. Also, somehow, there are no line jumpers. And no breakdowns.

UPDATED: August 2010 #1-Voyage @ Holiday World MASS. EJECTOR. AIR. INTO. TUNNEL!!! #2-Legend @ Holiday World It has very strong airtime, VERY strong laterals, numerous head-choppers, is well themed, and goes under some waterslides to boot. (If only not for Mass Ejector Air Into Tunnel...) #3-Beast @ Kings Island A very unique, high-speed ride through the woods with the best finale I have yet to encounter on a ride. #4-Raven @ Holiday World A airtime and lateral g-filled race through the woods. Would have been #3 if it were 10 seconds longer. #5-Diamondback @ Kings Island Airtime, Airtime, Airtime + Huge Drop= FUN. But a little uninspired in my opinion, which is why it is only #4. #6-Flight of Fear @ Kings Island Flying around not knowing which was is up in total darkness is simply amazing. Though getting beaten up by it isn't good (go back and read my Kings Island 5/16/2010 trip report for details...) #7-Vortex @ Kings Island First Ride: Meh, fun but I sat in the back of a car and was cramped up. Second: Much better, very intense. Third: 5-1. Bliss. #8-Firehawk @ Kings Island A very intense and thrilling flying coaster. #9-Red Racer @ Kings Island A classic woodie with lots of airtime. Red>Blue because it gives a bit more air and is smoother. #10-Flight Deck @ Kings Island Flying at poles at 50+ mph...whee!

Rivertown, because of Beast, Diamondback, and White Water Canyon. Plus there's a LaRosa's and Potato Works, etc. I'll ignore the big box though! My 3 ride lineup? #1-The Beast #2-Diamondback #3-Vortex (I would have picked Flight of Fear but the wait for it can be awful)

OK, yesterday I posted a topic called "Kings Island vs. Holiday World" where I had to "remove" some of KI's rides...ok, a lot of them, to make it "fair". Some people didn't like that, so I went back to the drawing board to find another close park that could compete with KI WITHOUT needing to remove rides from KI. Then it hit me- Six Flags Great America, in Gurnee Illinois! This park seemed a GREAT matchup against KI- neither is the "signature" park of their chain (KI has to "bow down" to Cedar Point, Great America has to do that with Great Adventure and Magic Mountain, I am not calling either park bad though!), both have mega thrill and family rides, and they do have some similaraties. I will let you adjust 1 thing though if you wish- I pit Racer vs. American Eagle and Beast vs. Viper, based on the fact American Eagle is a racing coaster. If you want to "switch opponents" feeling it better to put "smaller" woodies vs. smaller woodies and big vs. big, you may do so. Or keep it the way I have it. Here are the battles: B&M Hypercoaster Diamondback vs. Raging Bull Flying Coaster Firehawk vs. Superman Ultimate Flight Racing Woodies The Racer vs. American Eagle Signature Woodies The Beast vs. Viper "Short" Inverted Coasters Invertigo vs. V2 Vertical Velocity Dark Indoor Coasters Flight of Fear vs. Dark Knight Compact Steel Coasters (I got this idea because the track style appears similar...) Backlot Stunt Coaster vs. Whizzer Looping Steel Coasters Vortex vs. Demon Family Steel Coaster (If only SFGA had a Mine Train...) Adventure Express vs. Ragin' Cajun Inverted/Suspended Coasters Flight Deck vs. Batman The Ride Drop Ride Drop Tower vs. Giant Drop Defunct Coasters King Cobra vs. Shockwave The "Unliked" Coasters Son of Beast vs. Iron Wolf (I have heard people complain about B&M Standups...) River Rapids Rides White Water Canyon vs. Roaring Rapids Train Rides KI & Miami Valley Railroad vs. Scenic Railway Spinning Disc Rides Delirium vs. Revolution Top Spin Rides The Crypt vs. King Chaos Staff KI Staff vs. SFGA Staff Park Appearance KI vs. SFGA AND 2 BONUS QUESTIONS (Non-Related to the parks themselves...) Celebrity (LOLZ) Don Helbig vs. Mr.Six Local Football Team Bengals vs. Bears Overall Add them up. Same as last time. Declare winner. I haven't been to SFGA, so I won't vote on any of these. Enjoy the poll. And Terpy...if you need to use the back button again, it's right there! (or anyone else who needs it)

I understand completley. Since HW does only have 4 roller coasters, I decided to ignore all of KI's major steel coasters, so for this poll, Diamondback is a non-factor, Vortex doesn't mean anything, etc etc. Although in real life, that isn't true. Then again, I didn't compare Splashin' Safari to Boomerang Bay, the Kids Areas, etc etc...perhaps this poll is "incomplete"... PS: I won't do a CP vs. SFGadv poll for now, but someone might. I have not been to either park.