McSalsa

My Picks... "SMALL" WOODEN COASTER (Woodies under 90ft) The Racer vs. The Raven Racer is far from bad. But The Raven is amazing. MILLENNIUM WOODIES (Both opened in 2000, both have "dips" before first drop!) Son of Beast vs. The Legend As you may now, SOB has never been open for me to ride every time I visit KI, so Legend wins by default. But since Legend has a great drop, massive air, interaction with other rides, tunnels, head choppers, and more... SIGNATURE WOODIES (This one is obvious...) The Beast vs. The Voyage Beast, I am so sorry. I love you but Voyage is simply even better. HW sweeps the woodies! DROP/LAUNCH RIDE Drop Tower vs. Liberty Launch I have ridden neither, but my reasons for it? Drop Tower looks scary. Liberty Launch looked weak. Scary beats weak any day for a thrill seeker. RAPIDS RIDE White Water Canyon vs. Raging Rapids Raging Rapids is good fun and has great theming, but White Water Canyon gets you soaked nearly 100% of the time and really feels like a river! LOG FLUME Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown vs. Frightful Falls Log Flume I have never ridden RFYLCB, so FFLF wins by default. SWING RIDE Zephyr vs. Hallowswings Both of these rides are shockingly beautiful, but Hallowsings gets the edge for being just a wee bit more fun. SPIDER/MONSTER/ETC RIDE Monster vs. PR Midnight Ride Haven't ridden PR Midnight Ride...so for now, Monster wins. SCRAMBLER BATTLE KI Scrambler vs. Scarecrow Scrambler I have ridden KI's scrambler but it's been a long time...I won't vote on this right now. CAROUSEL BATTLE Grand Carousel vs. Star Spangled Carousel Another ride at HW I missed and don't want to unfairly judge...but I have ridden GC... TRAIN BATTLE KI & Miami Valley Railroad vs. The Freedom Train Kings Island's Railroad does more than go in a circle around the kids area, and I have actually rode it. Plus, it's bigger. SHOOT-EM-UP DARK RIDES Boo Blasters vs. Gobbler Getaway Another one I missed at HW...so KI wins by default... DODEMS Dodgems vs. Rough Riders I have rode neither. KIDDIE COASTERS Great Pumpkin Coaster vs. The Howler See above. I rode Top Cat's Taxi Jam back in 2000 though! STAFF (Overall Performance, includes friendliness and efficency) KI Staff vs. HW Staff WHAT!?!? ARE YOU CRAZY!?!? No, it's just I feel Kings Island's staff was just as friendly as Holiday World's, did a better job dispatching the rides, and was more energetic and had better spiels. It's an upset! PARK "LOOKS" (Which one looks better? As in scenery, theming, cleanliness, etc etc.) Kings Island vs. Holiday World Holiday World is beautiful, but there are dull sections, such as Thanksgiving. So does Kings Island, with Action Zone. It comes down to this- Holiday World is better themed, and thus wins. The great-looking Halloween and Christmas areas really helped. VALUE (Get-in-price, food prices, etc etc...) Kings Island vs. Holiday World Time for some math: KI 4 KI Tickets: $119.96 (I buy from Kroger!) Parking: $10.00 Lunch: $50.00 Total: $179.96 Holiday World 4 HW Tickets: $147.96 Parking: $0.00 Lunch: $25.00 Total: $172.96 HW Wins...barley. OVERALL Kings Island- 8 Wins Holiday World- 5 Wins KI WINS!!! In spite of losing all the "coaster battles". Although, I had to give free points to KI because I didn't ride some of Holiday World's flatrides. These are my opinions, yours may differ.

Time for yet another poll! OK, there have been a couple topics here on KIC comparing KI to other parks, noteably Kings Dominion and Cedar Point, mostly. But I have decided to make another "Kings Island vs." poll. The opponent: Holiday World. But wait? Doesn't KI have like, 14 coasters (counting SOB but not Surf Dog), versus 4 for HW? That's unfair! OK, well, this "battle" will be a little different...GO EQUALIZER!!! (Equalizer sucks up Diamondback, Vortex, Flight of Fear, Firehawk, and anything from KI I couldn't find a suitable HW opponent for) OK, now that that's over, here are the individual "battles". KI is on the LEFT, HW on the RIGHT. Highlight, delete loser, scratch-out loser, etc etc. Just like the "other" polls of this type. "SMALL" WOODEN COASTER (Woodies under 90ft) The Racer vs. The Raven MILLENNIUM WOODIES (Both opened in 2000, both have "dips" before first drop!) Son of Beast vs. The Legend SIGNATURE WOODIES (This one is obvious...) The Beast vs. The Voyage DROP/LAUNCH RIDE Drop Tower vs. Liberty Launch RAPIDS RIDE White Water Canyon vs. Raging Rapids LOG FLUME Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown vs. Frightful Falls Log Flume SWING RIDE Zephyr vs. Hallowswings SPIDER/MONSTER/ETC RIDE Monster vs. PR Midnight Ride SCRAMBLER BATTLE KI Scrambler vs. Scarecrow Scrambler CAROUSEL BATTLE Grand Carousel vs. Star Spangled Carousel TRAIN BATTLE KI & Miami Valley Railroad vs. The Freedom Train SHOOT-EM-UP DARK RIDES Boo Blasters vs. Gobbler Getaway DODEMS Dodgems vs. Rough Riders KIDDIE COASTERS Great Pumpkin Coaster vs. The Howler STAFF (Overall Performance, includes friendliness and efficency) KI Staff vs. HW Staff PARK "LOOKS" (Which one looks better? As in scenery, theming, cleanliness, etc etc.) Kings Island vs. Holiday World VALUE (Get-in-price, food prices, etc etc...) Kings Island vs. Holiday World OVERALL Tally up all the points and declare winner. Some of these will be no-brainers. Others...you will have to probably think or make a tough call. Enjoy the poll. If you don't like it, there is a back button.

I'm not sure. She says "I rode everything BUT the rides...( listed above)." But I doubt it, she only went for 1 day and doesn't Cedar Point have over 90 rides? Getting them all in 1 day seems impossible...

This kitty? PS: Here's a list of what my sister has told me she rode... Millennium Force (Scared her to death...she's afraid of heights) Magnum XL-200 Maverick (She says it's her new #1 coaster) Raptor (Loved it) Mean Streak (She says it's the roughest coaster she's ever ridden...and she likes Son of Beast! She said it was "rough even when going straight!" She still said it was "fun" though.) Wicked Twister Chaos (Loved it) Sky Ride Disaster Transport Cedar Creek Mine Ride (She didn't like it. Said it sucked and was super boring.) Shoot The Rapids Thunder Canyon She rode more but didn't contact me recently. She never even got me a park map (said she lost it)! She did note, however, that she did NOT ride: Blue Streak Corkscrew Top Thrill Dragster (If she was afraid of Millie...)

Well, my sister is at Cedar Point right now...I was going to go but she dumped me! (Goes into "Rage Mode" for 10 seconds) NOW I CANNOT RIDE MILLIE, MAGGIE, MEANIE, BLUIE, RAPTIE, MAVERI, TWISTY, MANTY, DRAGGIE, SKYHAWKY, MAXAIRY, OR ANY OF THE OTHERS!!! (BWA HA HA FUNNY NICKNAMES!!!) Actually, shockingly, I'm not too upset about it by now...but she visits theme parks a lot more than I do since she has lots more friends...here's our comparison: ME (5) ***** Indiana Beach (Summer 1999) Kings Island (August 2000) Kings Island (May 16th, 2009) Kings Island (May 8th, 2010) Holiday World (May 29th, 2010) HER (8) ***** Indiana Beach (Summer 1999) Kings Island (August 2000) Indiana Beach (2003-2007, I don't even know what year, all I know is it happened) Kings Island (Summer 2008) (Her telling me about this trip is what got me wanting to return to KI in the first place) Kings Island (April 18th, 2009) (Diamondback Grand Opening, she has the T-Shirt!) Kings Island (May 16th, 2009) Kings Island (May 8th, 2010) Cedar Point (August 3rd, 2010) (Going on right now...) Well, at least I have Holiday World on her...but must find way to catch up!!! Sorry this is a bit off-topic for this post, but it is a Cedar Point topic... PS: I'm guessing today the waits are far from 1 hour, since she has rode Raptor, Chaos, and Wicked Twister already from what she's told me. Her favorite so far is Raptor. She loved Chaos too.

I actually have ducked...3 of the 4 times I've encountered the Helix on Beast. PS: I also, very strictly, follow the "keep your hands in the car" warnings on every coaster I have ever ridden. I don't want to take the chance of losing my hands/arms/etc.

Tragically, I do not have a Platinum Pass and we probably cannot afford to stay on a local hotel and thus, no ERT. We aren't great on money and will likely have to settle for a cheap hotel. But we might stay for 2 days, my sister has mentioned.

It's going to be in about two weeks, in August, if it happens. I don't know what the weather will do. What I'm hoping for- light on-and-off rain, just enough to deter crowds but not enough to shut down rides.

Uh-Oh... What are the "average" wait times for rides at Cedar Point on a weekday?

OK. Didn't realize this park was so far from New York...then again, I've barley even heard of it until recently so I just learned something new. So, if I was going to NYC, I would have to go out-of-the-way to visit this park. Then again, might be worth it... PS: I live closer to Kings Island than Holiday World, by the way, Indianapolis is smack dab in the middle of Indiana, and Holiday World is at the bottom. Very close to Kentucky. Had we drove on for another 30 minutes the day we went, we would have been in Kentucky. And it helps up reach KI faster since there is a highway straight to Cincinatti from Indy which takes you close to KI, and the way to Holiday World involves a road that likes to break apart and go through lots of small towns.

Nice TR. I might be going to Cedar Point myself soon if things fall into place, as my sister is going in about two weeks. We are planning on going on a weekday though, and hopefully the local schools will have re-opened. Hopefully the crowds are more like Day 1 and not Day 2 of your TR!

Wow. Great TR. When I first clicked on it, I was like "Six Flags Great Escape? What park is this?" Then I saw the Comet roller coaster. "Oh...THAT Great Escape!" Then I realized something and was baffled: "THIS IS A SIX FLAGS!?!?" This park reminds me, in more than a few ways, of Holiday World- it a well themed, good looking little park. If I ever visit New York, I think I'll have to stop by here if I have the cash to do so. (Of course, a ride on the Coney Island Cyclone and a visit to the much bigger and also close SF Great Adventure would also be priorities!). PS: A GG woodie would not be out of place at a park like this in my opinion...perhaps to compliment The Comet and give this little park TWO great woodies.

Good point, B&Ms seem super-reliable if kept up well. Then again, not everything in the museum may need to be defunct. Beast will eventually need re-tracked again, so perhaps some old Beast track could end up there, and sometimes accidents occur and damage roller coaster trains too, though I'm not sure how I would react to seeing a wrecked Diamondback train or something...

While reading the "Vortex loop arch" topic, this idea popped in my head. It's sad, but eventually, all of KI's rides will be destroyed. Sure, the woodies can last up to 100 years or even more, but steel coasters usually "die" after 20 or so. Some of KI's steel coasters have already gone beyond this age. Removal may be the only option for some of them. Even Diamondback will, after a long time, have to come down. However, there may be a way to perserve the history and legacy of these rides after they are gone: build a Museum! The Museum could contain things such as: Old Roller Coaster Trains Defunct Ride Signs & Logos Old Shirts, Cups, etc. from defunct rides Pieces of track from old roller coasters Other things removed from other areas of the park Models of roller coasters in or that used to be in the park, such as the SOB and Diamondback models, etc. POV videos of defunct coasters on screens (probably next to a car or piece of track, etc) Pictures of Kings Island from the past A gift shop (selling defunct ride clothing and stuff perhaps?) and food court This was simply an idea that popped in my head, but I think it would be a worthy attraction to a park with so much history as Kings Island. They already have some stuff that could be put in there, such as the King Cobra trains (thus getting em' out of the FOF bowl!). It's also a bit of shame that some of the stuff that could have gone in has been scrapped though, such as the SOB loop (which would be a PERFECT thing to see as you walk in!) and The Bat trains...(I could honestly picture, if FD gets removed, a piece of its track right next to a piece of Bat track with cars on both tracks). What do you guys think about this idea? Suggestions? Etc?

I don't see Vortex being any higher than 3rd in the "Going to Scrap" list, with Son of Beast and Flight Deck in the same park. SOB has its well-known issues and Flight Deck is in far worse condition than Vortex. And Vortex was just repainted last year (it looked great when I visited on May 8th 2010), and remains pretty popular. It's also a capacity eater, and KI has plenty of room for new rides WITHOUT removing Vortex. So for now, Vortex appears safe. Now, if Six Flags owned KI, it would probably be a different story, as they are ripping Arrow Megaloopers out like it's no tommorow... However, the time will eventually come when Vortex grows too old and does finally meet its end. I don't expect this until after 2014 or so. However, I would love it if KI would keep parts of Vortex and use them in this manner. I would also like if they also kept the station, keeping the "Passing down of the former Bat station" tradition Vortex started in 1987 alive. In fact, if the case is indeed that KI must eventually start removing their rides, I could see a "KI Museum of Lost Rides" being built somewhere. Inside, track and cars from old roller coasters, framed pictures, and more "old stuff from KI" would be shown as decoration. A piece of Vortex track with a train on it, restored to look brand new, perhaps with dummies on it, would be fitting for said Museum if Vortex was ever taken down. And from what I've heard, the park still has the King Cobra sign and cars...they could start there! PS: Just got an idea- Vortex loop could be used as Museum entrance!

Youtube. Yes, Youtube. My sister had visited KI in 2008, and said she saw construction. I actually joked "maybe it's a huge steel roller coaster!". I had no idea how right I was...then, as I was watching Beast & Son of Beast POVs, I saw this video: And that's how I found out!

This is a good topic. PARAMOUNT THE GOOD STUFF +Added Flight of Fear (though it needed an overhaul to reach it's full potential) +Added Drop Zone (Now Drop Tower) and Face/Off (Now Invertigo) +Added Top Gun (Now Flight Deck) +Added Tomb Raider: The Ride (Now...Ugh...Crypt!) +Added Delirium +Did a great job on themed rides +Played excellent music while in line for rides, etc. +Did several overhauls to kids area (however...see below...) THE BAD STUFF -Did not do, especially in later years, a very good job running the parks or keeping them clean. -Added Son of Beast, one of the biggest head-aches KI has ever had. Some love it, but none can deny the ride has become a problem with injuries and lawsuits. -Removed the Antique Cars and Flying Eagles for a fun, but inapropriate, ride: Italian Job Stunt Track (now BLSC) -Removed the Wild Animal Habitat -Removed King Cobra -Removed Hanna-Barbera Land, replacing it with Nick, thus destroying a KI founding tradition -Plotted to remove Flight of Fear (thank goodness it failed!) Cedar Fair THE GOOD STUFF +Added Firehawk +Added Diamondback +Cleaned Up The Park +Made Staff Well Trained & Friendly +Made another kids area overhaul that seems to be going well +Added new landscaping to help certain areas of the park THE BAD STUFF -The "ride downgrades" of Crypt, BLSC, and Racer -The "feel" of Rivertown has been destroyed by a giant red roller coaster towering over it -Did not use a golden opportunity to undo the Hanna-Barbera land removal, placing Snoopy instead, and kicking the last HB Character, Scooby Doo, out of the park -Closed Son of Beast...though this wasn't a problem they started. I choose Cedar Fair, because I'll take a well-run, clean, fun amusement park over a run-down, dirty, and poorly run theme park any day of the week. Though I know from experience, it wasn't always bad during the Paramount years...

All are good options, but I would pick S&S Screamin' Swing instead of any of those. I would NOT mind if KI got a Screamin' Swing, Jump2, Tilt-a-Whirl, and a B&M Invert (plus a GG Hyper Woodie if SOB cannot be fixed) for 2012. That would be some 40th Anniversary! Though it might be quite expensive...

Summer 1999. Indiana Beach. Hoosier Hurricane. Loved it, rode it 3 times in a row, and feel in love with roller coasters. I was 9 years old. Then, we came to Kings Island in August 2000. I saw Son of Beast, and it scared the (Insert word for poo here) out of me (I could have rode it, but was too scared to do so!). Then, later in the day, we rode Racer, and I thought I was going to fly out (I know realize it was just airtime). I would not recover from that until May 16th, 2009...first, my sister tricked me into riding The Crypt (It was boring, but was my first upside-down ride) and then I rode Beast and was cured. Though airtime would return and scare me one more time before I realized what it was when I rode Diamondback that day...

Coaster: Beast easily. I'll even pick it over Diamondback (though in reality you can easily ride both on the same day so you don't need to choose!). The "mind games" this coaster plays on you are really what makes it stand out, and it also gives amazing night rides. 2nd place goes to Flight of Fear (since DB is DQed) and 3rd is Vortex (5-1 is awesome!). Flat: Delirium, though I have yet to ride Drop Tower, which at this point appears to be the only non-pay-per-ride flat that may stand a chance to take the big disc. Water Ride: White Water Canyon. Congo Falls is fun, but a bit too simple. Have yet to ride RFYLCB. These are MY opinions, though... And a suggestion: Put Adventure Express on the coasters list! There are probably some VERY angry KICers right now...and it may have been fair to include Diamondback, it's not everyone's favorite coaster at KI.

Wow. This stunned me yesterday when I found on on the local news. I had actually seen Will on my visit to Holiday World on May 29th, and he appeared fine. This came as a total and unpleasant suprise. My condolences to the entire Koch family.

OOPS!!! Sorry. I'll add them... ADDED STRONG/WEAK LATERALS TO LIKE/DISLIKE LIST.

Well, this seems like a good topic for yet another poll. We all have turn-ons and turn-offs for our coasters. Some of us can't get enough airtime. Some of us love going upside down. Some of us like head-choppers and tunnels. And then we all have turn-offs, too- things that, if a coaster has them, seriously hurt it's ride quality for us. And thus this poll. What do you like/dislike on your coasters? Enjoy the poll. If not, click back.

I haven't made a poll in a while, and mustn't get rusty! And look, it's...another Son of Beast poll. This time, I ask: "What kind of overhaul do you think would be most effective at helping Son of Beast?". I give 5 options (yes, sadly removal is one of them but that's only if you believe the ride has NO HOPE WHATSOEVER) but there is an OTHER option, if you have a different idea. I also ask "Does the Layout need changed?" and as a bonus, after an overhaul, should the ride be marketed or re-open quietly? This isn't a "What do you think will happen" poll, it's a "what do you think WOULD WORK THE BEST?" one. Though I am aware that some of the above options may not be available in real life for Son of Beast (for example, Intamin seems to have shown ZERO interest in doing an overhaul, etc) I did list them. Try to enjoy the poll...(though I have seen how these SOB polls can get!)...and if you don't like it or it gets too crazy here, click back. PS: Yes, I did check and there doesn't seem to be any SOB overhaul poll yet...so this.

PICTURES IS READY!!! (Note: This was my first time taking pictures.) Raven's Logo. It was the #1 rated woodie from 2000-2003! Raven's lifthill. My friend also took a picture of this, shown above. Here is my version. Waiting in line to get our tickets... The Legend. Big, forceful, rough, and full of airtime. I loved it. Voyage, Pilgrums Plunge, & Bakuli. 3 of HW's most famous rides. The Red Raven train is climbing Voyage's lift hill. The Bahari Wave Pool, with Legend, ZOOMbabwe, and Zinga behind it. The Wildebeest, new for 2010. Look at the ridiculously long line! A fun ride though. Even from clear across the waterpark, Pilgrums Plunge is still clearly visible! A huge fun ride. Not as intense as it's size makes you think it is, though. Legend's first drop and first tunnel. You get massive air coming down that drop and then this! The Voyage...it's big. REALLY, REALLY BIG. And it has equally big airtime. The parking lot, with the entrance, water tower, and Raven also visible. It was sad that we had to leave. This big yellow water tower...uhh...thing greets you when you arrive and leave Holiday World. Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed the Trip Report and Pics. See you soon! MCSALSA AWAY!!! (Flies away and doesn't look and smashes into the big yellow water tower thingy) OUCH!!!