Scott Evans

To celebrate my 37 birthday I bought myself tickets to Kings Island with Fast Lane as a gift from my wife. A friend of mine went with me as my wife does not like rides for the most part. Anyway on the hottest day of the year the Fast Lane really came in handy. While the park was not that crowded the last thing I needed to do was stand in line and bake in the sun. We arrived at the park at 9:40, got our Fast Lane tickets and walked through the stores to try to stay in the AC. Finally the park was opened and we hit Diamondback. Honestly here we arrived to the station about the same time as the normal line but the rest of the day Fast Lane was a huge help. Due to the heat we didn't make it the entire day and actually spent time in shows just to cool off. The British Show was bad, the magician was horrific, the Country show was not too bad. Also rode Boo Blasters 4 times as that was in the AC. My friend needed something minor form the first aid station and that was a great place to cool off. We left around 6:30-7p as I was on the verge of heat exhaustion/stroke, unfortunately not making it to night. Still a good day go getting in 26 rides. Ride count: Adventure Express Backlot Stunt Coaster - 2x Boo Blasters - 4x Congo Falls Diamondback - 3x Drop Tower - (this was on the sign as closed when we entered but evidently they got it operational) Flight of Fear - 2x Flying Ace - first time riding, for a kids coaster it was pretty quick/intense Inveretigo - 2x Race for Your Life Shake, Rattle & Roll The Beast - 2x The Racer Viking Vortex - 2x White Water Canyon Couple of comments: Instead of the 15 dollar unlimited drinks in the souvenir cup, why not offer a 15 dollar unlimited drink band that doesn't require carrying around the cup. Though that did come in handy yesterday and I stuck mainly with water. Why did they remove the misting stations and replace it with a produce stand. How is one supposed to eat a full pineapple or watermelon? Boo Blasters had one of the best crews in the park.

We used it on AE and passed a surprisingly and relatively long line.

I'll put up a full trip report later. But Fast Lane did come in handy even though most lines were non-existent. Due to the heat severely taking a toll on my body (20 years and 40 lbs ago I would have been better) we only got in 26 rides, 3 Diamondback 2 on beast and 4 on the Haunted House ride (I hate the new name). Was shocked to find no misting fans around being replaced by fruit that requires a knife to eat. Bought the 15 dollar wrist band for drinks but was disappointed that they wouldn't honor it at the fudge shop where the Coke Freestyle was. Overall a good time and with the heat not having to stand in line with the 108 degree weather was a blessing. Hopefully next year me and my friend plan our annual park trip (we went to CP last year) in May.

At 37 it will be a challenge to make it the full 14 hours, lol. I'm thinking its best to arrive around 9 or 9:30 so we can get our wrist bands and start riding at 10.

I was on the SOB on 7/9/06 shortly before the train that caused the injuries (as oblivious as I am it could have been that train). It was my first time on the ride, I remember hearing a cracking noise at one point during the ride and noticed it was extremely rough ride. When the ride came into the station it was not the cheering you usually hear but more of a quiet nervous sound as if something wasn't right and heard some others complaining of pain. I felt weird but then got an ice cream, walked on to Vortex (literal walk on, the gates opened as I got there), then we left just as the first responders were arriving on the scene. So I was one of the last riders to experience the loop which was the best part of the ride. Next couple of days I was sore with symptoms close to whiplash but nothing major. I also would agree that when the ride came back online it wasn't as rough but still did not find it to be a fun ride.

Thanks for the clarification on the 20 oz drinks. Really don't want to carry a cup around all day Saturday but still sounds to be a good deal. My goal is to hit 100 rides on Saturday with the Fast Lane with at least 5 on DB & Beast ea.

Breakers Express was nice for what it was. Biggest benefit is early ride time.

I can't believe how cheap that is. Made my birthday weekend even better especially in 90 degree heat. Thanks everyone for the info.

Next stupid question. Where do you buy the $5 20 oz drink wristbands? Yes I want to be in the 1% that day :-)

Awesome. Looking forward to it. I didn't renew my pass this season due to my new part time job and other expenses so this will probably be my one time to KI this year. Goal is to ride Diamond Back at least 5 times and Beast at least at night front seat. Not to mention Invertigo for only the second time. One ride I will not use fast pass on is Firehawk as I simply don't like that ride.

So how does Fast Lane work? I got Fast Lane passes for my birthday for this Saturday. What should I expect? What would the average wait time be if any? Also where do the Fast Lane entry points begin? I'm assuming for Stunt Track & Diamond Back they use the SRO & former Fast Pass lanes. What about Beast, Racer, etc?

Such as? Only thing I could tell was they couldn't load 2 trains fast enough to keep up with a third.

Also it seems on busy days that Raptor is the busiest at the start of the day due to being the first ride in the park.

Did not ride Mean Streak on purpose. Rode it last year when I had a much shorter visit to the park and did not like it at all, way to rough to be fun (for me). Friday's crowd wasn't that bad, Saturday was bad plus they had two company events that day as well. Though if me and my friend go there again next year it would be a Sunday Monday trip or a Thursday/Friday trip.

Just got back from a great trip to Cedar Point where if the theme was "Do It All" it would be mission accomplished. We left my house at 5:30am on Friday morning in Verona, KY and drove from there through Dayton in one of the heaviest downpours of rain I have ever driven in (and I drove through Tropical Storm Faye in 2008). That slowed us down about an hour but we kept going only stopping at a rest area that warned us about the lying and non-creative beggars (they evidently kept telling the same lies) and heard two guys in the bathroom talking about how it would take a guy as big as Hulk Hogan to kill them...we got the heck out as quickly as possible, and I loaded the directions to Cedar Point in my Iphone (as I knew the navigation system would not know where Breakers Express was.) When we finally arrived in Sandusky the navigation took me to first street and I turned left towards the causeway rather than right towards the hotel. The girl at the parking window was nice, gave us a turn around ticket, though the traffic directors sent me in the wrong direction so we went down the row of houses before turning around and once again driving through the parking lot finally arriving at Breakers Express. The check in and ticket buying process (for my friend, I have a KI platinum pass) was fast and painless. Then we were finally on our way to the park. Also the Car Locator feature on the Cedar Point app is awesome. We finally made it to the park and hit our first ride Raptor, which was an hour wait, which worried me about the rest of Day 1 as I thought it may be a sign of crowding, the ride was awesome and we moved on, and it was the longest wait of the day. Other notes from the day: *Rode Top Thrill Dragster with only a 10-15 minute wait. Guy in front of me lost a pair of glasses he was holding for his friend that rode on the train before him. *Should have only been a 30 minute wait on Mel Force but the operators just as we got to the gate, wasted 10 minutes taking a train off the tracks for no good reason. *Surprise of the day was how much I enjoyed Wicked Twister which only had a 15 minute wait *WindSeeker was about a 15 minute wait and was an ok ride. It is very windy at the top. *Got soaked on Snake River Falls * The Midway Market was a great value for the meal for the day at 12.99. * We rode every major ride on Day 1 other than Maxair, Iron Dragon, & Maverick Day 2: Arrived at 8:40 for early ride time. The girl taking the tickets was confused by the Kings Island logo and had to ask three people if it was valid. Cedar Fair really needs to train the employers better. Anyway got in and didn't realize that people ran as if they were in the Running of the Bulls. We of course were heading towards Maverick but were beat by the marathon runners. Still had a 30 minute wait despite early ride time and the line seemed to move slow. Ride was great. Second day since we got most of the major rides out of the way, we took our time and didn't worry about the ridiculous lines. Most disapointing ride of the day was Shoot The Rapids as we barely got wet, though Thunder Canyon more than made up for that so much that me and my friend used the "family" dryer just to dry off enough to walk comfortably. Lunch on Day 2 we went outside the park to the Brown Derby Roadhouse which was excellent. We came back later that night to ride a few more rides and caught the Wheels Extreme Show. Got in Wildcat, Dragster, & Raptor as we left the park around 8:30 after 2 long days at the park. Ride Count: Top Thrill Dragster 2 Raptor 2 Cedar Creek Mine Ride 2 Wicked Twister 2 Rest of rides - 1 Blue Streak Calypso Cedar Downs Racing Derby CP & Lake Erie Railroad Corkscrew Disaster Transport Gemini Iron Dragon Magnum XL-200 Mantis Matterhorn Maverick Millennium Force Power Tower Shoot The Rapids Sky Ride Sky Hawk Snake River Falls Super Himalaya Thunder Canyon Wildcat WindSeeker Top 5 Coasters 1. Top Thrill Dragster 2. Maverick 3. Millennium Force 4. Wicked Twister 5. Raptor Worst coaster: Disaster Transport Best non-coaster ride: Sky Hawk Worst : Shoot The Rapids Also Breakers Express was a good hotel and place to stay, not sure why it gets such bad reviews and the cost was on par with other hotels such as Fairfield Inn or Hampton Inn, especially with the discounted ticket.

I have a platinum pass so free parking. BE does not include parking but my friend does get the 29 dollar ticket and ert.

Thanks. That weekend is already booked and meant to say Breakers Express. I was expecting as much on those two waits. July 8 weekend I chose because A) its my birthday and I wanted to be as far away from the NASCAR weekend as possible, lol. Hopefully gas prices and the 4th of July weekend being the week previous reduce the crowds slightly :-). Friday we won't make it for ERT, so may concentrate on the lower wait rides that day.

I'm planning a 2 day trip July 8-9 to Cedar Point, planning on spending 18-22 total hours at the park. My question is on a Friday & Saturday what should I expect in terms of wait times? Are there long waits on the early ride times (I'm thinking Maverick and/or Millennium Force should be the two to try to get in first)? Also I'm staying at Hotel Breakers, any comments, do they have WiFi?

Scott, just to be fair/clear, I think the pot just called the kettle black. I am not someone who "can't see past their own politics". I'm in a political and moral tornado right now and am re-evaluating many of my beliefs. I also really like having a friendly debate where we can attack each other's ideas (not each other) with curtesy and respect. The tax incentives you describe, as you describe them, are fair and good for everyone involved. EDIT: your point may not have been aimed at me. When you quote, you can erase anything between the two sets of html code saying "quote" Was not aimed at you or anyone here, mainly at the groups protesting in the articles that always overblow any news release that involves religion, usually from those who follow another religion just as vehemently, in this case Atheists. If the park was getting actual cash (from budget or bonds) I would be completely against it whether it was a religious park or a coaster park. The only exception to that would be if it were voted upon by the tax payers, which is rare in Kentucky. My comment about thinking outside of your politics also meant to actually read what the facts are rather than react by throwing out catchphrases and talking points from "your team". Its something we all struggle with, including myself.

Probably my imagination but kinda looks like T-Rex. If true some of the smaller Dino's should be questioned :-)

The church state separatists can't think outside of their politics. 1.) The park is not receiving one dime of taxpayer dollars to build the park. What they are being given is a tax incentive that any business would receive to locate in the state. In other words for x number of years they will receive tax breaks either on their income (this will be a for profit business) or as an additional discount on their sales tax (Businesses in Kentucky already get a 1% discount on the 6% tax you pay if the business pays their taxes on time). 2) Regardless of where the roads lead, it is the responsibility of the state to maintain and improve the road. This would be done even if there were no tax incentives, especially if you're looking at 1.6 million people per year traveling to the park. 3) There is not a call for separation of Church and state in the Constitution. Currently tax breaks are given to those who donate to Church's, the Amish are exempt from Social Security, and Church's are also not taxed. In God We Trust is on our dollars and President Bush & Obama may invoke the name of God in their speeches. In fact FDR actually led the nation in Prayer on the eve of D-Day. The Supreme Court just refused to hear the appeal of Michael Newdow with his claim that Obama violated Church & State at his inauguration. 4) There is a big difference between charging Ark Adventures less in future taxes that may never come to be than what Kentucky Kingdom was asking for, which was a $50 million dollar bond. Issuing a bond is borrowing money that the state does not have to pay for improvements to a park that may see no economic return. With the Ark the risk is still with the park if it fails. With the bond issue the risk is with the state, as the state would still owe the debt even if the park would fail in 2 years. I'm all for anything that would bring 900 permanent jobs to Kentucky not to mention the construction jobs as long as it doesn't involve debt.

There are height restrictions due to the airport there. There is a complex mathematical calculation to determine the maximum height allowed by the FAA based upon distance to the airport and length of runway or if there are any taller structures in line of sight that were previously built prior to the runway. Tower heights for all communication towers are set by the FCC with FAA approval. Don't believe the state has any jurisdiction on tower height. Also WFTK's tower is 810 feet above average terain and is located near KI. The formula and regulation is found here http://edocket.acces.../14cfr77.23.htm And http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2004/janqtr/14cfr77.13.htm

With it having to pass the Legislature and 2011 being the big year in Politics I don't see this getting passed. Take out the tea party, mounting debt, budget shortfalls, job creation, etc... when you have Beshear on one side and Williams on the other its not going to happen with both guys agreeing on a spending issue. If Williams supports it Beshear will veto it and if Beshear supports it Williams will see that it doesn't get through the Senate.

If it was funded by any manner other than debt I would agree with you, which is what the deal that Six Flags was asking for would have done. However adding 50 million dollars in debt to give to a private individual is not the answer. The Keynesian economic approach simply does not work which is why you have stadium funds running deficits in Cincinnati, why there's been very negligible job creation despite just under a trillion dollars spent in "stimulus" spending, and why the New Deal didn't create any jobs until America's involvement in World War II. The state would be better off just giving the guy the land free and clear and let him spend his own money developing the park rather than borrow 50 million dollars when the state already has problems meeting budgets for the things the State Constitution calls them to do such as roads, police & schools.

If I'm correct, the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis was funded by tax dollars. Either way, I don't think tax dollars should go to things like amusement parks or football stadiums. As a Kentucky resident I hope they reject this deal. Plus there is absolutely no chance this passes next year, David Williams is the Senate leader and is running for Governor next year with his running mate Ritchie Farmer who is the current Ag commissioner. If anyone on the Republican side runs against them that would be a major primary issue for voters. Also issuing a bond to build the amusement park will not fly in this political climate. The best solution is for the state to sell the property to a private company/investor and get out of the entertainment business. The money saved from operating costs should go back into the State Park budget which are among some of the best in the country. The board made a huge mistake by not working a deal with Six Flags and even if the state gave away the land free & clear they would have been better off long term. Tax issues for stadiums in most cases are local issues voted on by the local citizens. My guess is even with a 10 game season that the NFL generates more local business than an entire summer of an amusement park due to the secondary jobs created at local bars, restaurants, and liquor stores. Not to mention other events that can be held at a facility such as Lucas Oil Stadium such as a WrestleMania, Super Bowl, etc..