McSalsa

OK, here's an idea: you are given $100,000,000 to spend on the park. What do you do? Nothing is off limits, so if you wish to remove or modify rides, add new rides, expand or add new areas, fix up the park, etc. But you cannot spend over $100M. Since Diamondback cost $22M to build, I assume $100M is plenty to do quite a lot. Have Fun.

1 Hour for Diamondback. It was 45 minutes but then a slight rain made us wait 15 more minutes. It was worth it.

OK, one MORE thing: this trip has given me plans for my NEXT KI trip, whenever that may be: #1- Ride Son of Beast, Firehawk, BLSC, Invertigo, Delirium, etc. I see now that it's hard to hit all of KI's big rides in just one day for various reasons. #2- Ride The Beast, Diamondback, and Flight of Fear again if possible. And Night Beast again, but before park closing (don't want to stay after closing because of ghost rumors, while they may not be true I don't want to take that chance!) #3- Stay for more than 1 day. See above. #4- Dry off after water rides...or get rash again (forgot to mention that!). #5- Bring own food or eat elsewhere, KI food is very pricey.

Oops! I forgot to list the 5 best rides I rode that day: #1-The Beast (fell behind Diamondback and Flight of Fear but came back with the Night Ride) #2-Diamondback (It's every bit as good as they said it was) #3-Flight of Fear (My sister loves it to death and I can see why) #4-The Racer (LOTS of airtime. Seemed to rival Diamondback in that area.) #5-Vortex (Could have been better if it had not caused me some minor pain but still #5)

Thanks. The night ride on The Beast easily made up for SOB's issues.

OK, it's been 2 weeks or so since my trip, and someone else did their May 16th trip report, discouraging me from doing this, but I've caved in and have decided to do this...probably out of boredom, but still. Here's how my May 16th Trip To Kings Island went... GENERAL INFORMATION FOR STARTERS & THE DRIVE For those of you who don't know, I live in Indianapolis, Indiana and Kings Island is the second closest theme park to me aside from Indiana Beach (I went there in '99 BTW) and is easily the largest theme park in my home region. I have only been to KI twice, in 2000 and then on May 16th 2009, the second of which I am reporting on. The drive to KI from Indy was pretty simple- lots of farmland and the occasional small town, and one casino. We stopped to eat breakfast and McDonalds, and then headed for Ohio. We reached Mason about 1 1/2 hours after leaving Indy. FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND PARK ENTRANCE My sister, who has been to KI several times now, told me "Diamondback is gonna be the first thing you see!" She was lying through her teeth, I saw Drop Tower, Invertigo (much bigger than I expected!), and The Eiffel Tower before Diamondback even came into view from behind the trees. I was so pumped up because this would be my first day riding big roller coasters, I was a little kid in 2000. There was a issue with my shoes at the main gate because apparently, they have some metal in them somewhere, but I got in fine. My ticket cost me a mere $29, a bargain. My friend suggested we head for the Eiffel Tower, my sister was afraid of it even though she would ride any of the roller coasters. Wuss. THE Eiffel Tower The views from the Eiffel Tower are truly incredible if you have never been up there in 9 years. I was suprised how many rides were "in your face" at that height: SOB, Drop Tower, and Diamondback were all up there with us. However, most of the rides looked very small from way up there. Even Delirium looked small! The clouds were also in our faces a bit as rain moved in. After some viewing, we headed down. Eiffel Tower RATING: 8/10 THE CRYPT It was raining (not much) by the time we got down, so my sister suggested the Crypt. I got in line and waited a good 30-45 minutes before we finally got on. The theming was very well done, but the ride itself left me wanting more and didn't satisfy. We got 2 good flips and that was it. = My sister also lied, saying the ride didn't go upside down. I didn't have a problem with it but was worried for my mom and friend's girlfiend. But we went on OK. I hoped this wouldn't be the best ride of the day...it actually ended up as the worst one, thankfully. CRYPT RATING: 5/10 The Beast After a dissapointing ride on the Crypt, we headed for the legendary Beast, and I accidently smacked my sister with a line handlebar not realizing line rules (it was my first time in 9 years). We only had a 30-minute wait, not bad for a legendary coaster, and I got to ride my first 100+ foot height roller coaster. And wow, the fear just evaporated. The ride shook more than I expected, but I had a blast and the second we got off, I wondered if anything would top The Beast. BEAST RATING: 10/10 Update: I am now being told that "The Beast" has been tamed this year and is nowhere near as fast or furious (no pun intended) as it once was. And yet I gave the tamed Beast a 10/10 (and then some when at night!). I probably would have given the old Beast...a 12 out of 10! The Vortex & SHAKE, RATTLE, & ROLL, PLUS SPONGEBOB 3D Me and my friend wanted to go on Vortex next, but my sister was in charge of the trip and made us go on Shake, Rattle, & Roll instead. It ended up being a pretty decent flatride, better than Crpyt. Next we got our wish and rode Vortex. Longer line than I expected this time. While the ride was amazing, my shoudlers got hurt by the OTSR. Owch. That affected the score BTW. My sister dragged us on Spongebob 3D next but it turned out to be a good ride. SHAKE, RATTLE, & ROLL RATING: 6/10 Vortex RATING: 8/10 SPONGEBOB 3D RATING: 7/10 SOME DOWNTIME We got in line for Firehawk next, but that line was 1 1/2 hours long and I am not waiting that long for a ride that is good, but not great. Plus I was hungry, so we bailed out and ate. We walked around a bit and debated what to ride next. We went to Nick-U and my sister got wet on the spongebob bikini bottom bash, and then we decided to head for...Action Zone! But...nothing was working except Drop Tower or Congo Falls. We all said "nah" to Drop Tower (we are chickens and that type of ride scares us) and headed for Congo. GETTING WET? We rode Congo Falls and got quite wet. It was fun though. Next, we decided "What The Heck, we are already wet, let's ride White Water Canyon!" We got even wetter on that ride. Both were good. We caved in and went to the Diamondback line and it was actually not that bad, so in we went. CONGO RATING: 7/10 WWC RATING: 8/10 Diamondback After a 45 minute wait, rain hit just as we got up to the ride. So we had to wait 10 more minutes. But boy, it was worth it. The ride was simply amazing. At this point, I even would have listed it ahead of The Beast (but, read on...). Diamondback simply ruled. Diamondback RATING: 10/10 YET MORE DOWNTIME An awesome ride like Diamondback had us heading around aimlessly, and we decided to rest a bit. We played some games, ate a bit more, and then we went back to Action Zone to ride Son of Beast. I was pumped up to ride it after Diamondback, figuring SOB would be like The Beast and Diamondback mixed together. But...THE RIDE WAS CLOSED FOR THE REST OF THE DAY! Trains were running fine, but it was "testing". WHY SOB WHY!?!? FLIGHT DECK, RACER, AND Flight of Fear Flight Deck was open, and we decided to ride it. I must say, this ride is a good distance from the rest of the park! The ride itself was very good, but too short. We next went back to Coney Mall, played more games, then my sister wanted to ride FOF. The line was very long, so me and my friend skipped and rode The Racer. That ride is a true classic and I loved it. We returned to find our Racer ride had shortened the FOF line dramatically! So we got in line and rode that, and yet again, we had another classic on our hands. That ride was simply amazing. My sister said that one is her favorite. FLIGHT DECK RATING: 8/10 RACER RATING: 9/10 FOF RATING: 10/10 Eiffel Tower II It was getting late, so we ate at Festhaus. Afterwords, half of us, including me, went back to the Eiffel Tower to catch the setting sun over Invertigo. I wanted to ride it, but assumed that since many of the Action Zone rides were down, Invertigo would have a massive line. I had a talk with a park employee about my day to that point while in the tower, and didn't even realize she was hitting on me. I am such a idiot! The Beast II: NIGHT BEAST!!! (AND ENDING) We then decided to hit one of the rides we had already ridden for a night ride: The Beast! The line for this monster at night is very, very long but we waited, already knowing how good the ride was. We got on and wow, The Beast easily reclaimed the #1 spot as the park's best ride. In her several trips to KI, my sister has never ridden The Beast at night (we had split up before Eiffel Tower II). I now have something over her! We then headed for Grand Carosuel because that girl was working there and ended our day at KI with a gentle ride...it was a big finish as the fireworks went off. Then, we went to the car, waited for the "losers" (who did not get to ride Night Beast) and then left. What a day. NIGHT BEAST RATING: 10/10 AND THEN SOME CAROSUEL RATING: 7/10 OVERALL OK, boy, this was a long TR. Here are my overall impressions of KI: ROLLER COASTERS: 9/10 FLATRIDES (Mind you, this is of those I rode): 7/10 THEMING: 10/10 KIDS AREA: 10/10 FOOD: 10/10 CLEANLINESS: 9/10 STAFF: 9/10 VALUE (FOR ONLY $30!): 10/10 OVERALL: 10/10 Yep. That's it. KI rules. Enough said. Thanks for reading this very long, late, trip report. Another Update: In another TR, a man complained of punk kids, line jumpers, and that stuff. Yes, I did see and experience these things too but did NOT let them ruin my trip.

Well, it's been a good week or so since I made this poll, and I thank everyone who voted. But, the winners are probably already decided at this point, so here are the Top 3 as of May 26th, 2009: #3: Son of Beast, 10 VOTES Wow...this one is actually a bit of a shocker. Who knew a ride that gets slammed so much would actually make the Top 3? Well, it IS the tallest, fastest, and 2nd longest wooden roller coaster in the world... #2: Diamondback, 26 VOTES The tallest and fastest of all the roller coasters in the park rampages its way to #2. Diamondback is a sure-fire hit and true B&M perfection. But sadly for it, it has to share the same park as... #1: The Beast, 47 VOTES In a recent KICentral video, Tom Rebbie, Owner of Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters Inc. said that there would never be a ride that would ever top The Beast. This poll supports his claim! Since 1979, Kings Island has tried their best to create a coaster that could top this monster. Diamondback, the awesome new B&M Hyper, can't even give The Beast a run as The Beast stands over 20 votes ahead of it. Tom, boy were you right! Thanks to all who voted. PS: Polls never close...for all I know, I could came back in a year and Diamondback will be winning. But I doubt it.

Um, why wouldn't SOB make it until then? It would only be 22 or 23 years old. The Beast is 30. I definitely see SOB being there in 2022 unless something catostrophic happens or it becomes VERY ubnpopular to where very few people ride it. Don't forget, if CF still owns KI in 2022, CP's 150th anniversay is two years earlier (2020). I'm not saying CP will get an expansion or something, but do keep that in mind. But, I hope, and do think that, KI gets a nice new section of the park in 2022. Maybe a roller coaster and a flat ride or two. I'm not asking for much, but it is definitely more then what would normally be given. Only 14 years to go. I'm pretty sure SOB will still be there in 2022. It may be helluva rough (don't know myself, not rich enough to visit KI over and over and last time SOB was broken down) but I have seen quite a few people on various websites that like SOB, sometimes even enough to list it in a "Top 10 Best Coasters" list. I made a poll on this very website (see "Best Coaster Ever To Grace KI"), and stunningly, only original Beast and Diamondback have gotten more votes than SOB. So I'm pretty sure as long as those people keep visiting KI, SOB will be there. Unless something really bad happens, like a MAJOR accident(deaths!), tornado,forest fire (which would royally suck because that would also destroy Racer, Beast, and even many of the steel coasters ) etc. As for a new section of the park, I doubt it will happen in current conditions unless X-Base becomes its own area with more rides. In fact, I would like to see X-Base become its own area, with futuristic flight themed rides. And for parking garage...uhh, no comment.

Here is a regular magic carpet: Have you seen the Giant ones that also have a standup section? It's just a big cage, no seat belts, no seats, you can freely walk around in them. Wait, they already have those!?!? !

Oh, one more thing, Photos of normal-sized versions of said flatride, if you say "other", are very welcome here. Here is a regular magic carpet:

I was just thinking and figured this would be a fun topic- since parks have started making giant versions of flatrides, such as Delirium being a giant frisbee and The Crpyt being a giant top spin, what other rides would you like to see giant versions of? I listed 5, but if you have a crazy idea of your own, click other. As for me, I voted Giant Magic Carpet, mainly because it might actually be feasible...it could even possibly be 300 feet high like Drop Tower!

Thanks. I was looking at a Park Map to help make the list, and missed them. Also missed Action Theatre, which is a bit of a ride...

This was my first KI ride in years on May 16th, as I had not been to the park since 2000. It was the worst ride I rode all day. Thank goodness I rode The Beast next, because from then on my day was pretty good.

While in Eiffel Tower, I saw 2 kids look at SOB and say "That's The Beast". Probably a common mistake, but still...I chuckled a bit, knowing that the original Beast was well hidden in the woods, not plainly obvious like SOB is.

OK, among all the flatrides, which one is the best? I decided to not include kiddie rides at Nick-U, simply because there would be too many to list then and many of them cannot accept older riders. Note: For those who don't know, a flatride is just about any ride that isn't a water ride or roller coaster.

Ideas for Fairly Odd Coaster... If it becomes HB Land again, change it to Scooby Doo, the ride's original name from 1972-1979. If it becomes "Ride Warrior Lab", change it to Beastie. But red-add the tunnel and paint it the same color as the real Beast. Just some ideas.

Oh, sorry. I meant it needs re-painted and fixed up badly, and could get a new color. The thing has rust all over it. But I get the joke. And yes, let's not "Paint It Bad" like Chang! I'll fix the title...

One more thing: the name "Flight Deck" kinda sucks in my opinion, so if you choose a different new color, and have a good idea for a name to match, you may post that, too.

PS: If you have a good idea for a possible new theme for the ride, you may place that too.

I rode Flight Deck a few days ago, and upon searching through some stuff here, it seems many think Flight Deck needs painted. I agree. But what color? I think black would look good...but after seeing some pictures of it when it was red, it looked great back then. Or should it stay Silver? So many choices...

As far as length is concerned, The Beast holds up well today even against Steel Coasters: 1st-Steel Dragon 2000 8133 feet 2nd-Daidarasaurus 7677 feet 3rd-Ultimate 7442 feet 4th-The Beast 7359 feet 5th-Son of Beast 7032 feet 6th-Fujiyama 6709 feet 7th-Millennium Force 6595 feet 8th-Voyage 6442 feet 9th-California Screamin' 6072 feet 10-Desperado 5843 feet Source: http://rcdb.com/rhr.htm?statistic=3

AND there's a picture: http://rcdb.com/ig2427.htm?picture=1 Thanks for posting that! Your welcome. I wonder how good that ride was...

Holy Cow! I just did a quick check, and there was a suspended roller coaster in 1902! http://rcdb.com/id2427.htm

OK, thanks for the info, TopGun1993. I thought The Bat was the first because it was classified as a "Prototype" and usually, that would mean "first". But not in this case. Then again, some cars go through several prototypes before production versions are made (The Ford Mustang is a good example, it was originally a true sports car in the 1962 prototype but the 1963 version changed that, and then the legendary production model came out in 1964). Also, thanks for correcting my 6-foot-off height mark for Kingda Ka, Terpy. And it doesn't look like The Beast is going to lose this. Not by a longshot. Heck, The Top 3 (Beast, DB, and SOB) seem locked in by now...

Um yes they have. Look at Son of Beast. 215 feet tall and the only wooden hyper coaster in the world. I think that Violakat03 meant OVERALL height among ALL coaster types (steel & wood). In that case, Son of Beast does come up short- it's only about half as tall as Kingda Ka, the current record holder at 450 feet. Given how big steel coasters are compared to most woodies today, it is suprising that The Beast ever held the overall height record at a time when Steel Coasters were showing up all over the place.