Pillsberry123

^ We eat in the parking lot about 50% of the time. It's cheaper than eating in the park and it's more convenient than leaving the parking lot and trying to find a restaurant. A sub from Subway or Penn Station can be thrown in the cooler with the drinks which can be bought for $6 a case instead of $4.25 a piece. EDIT: I'll be honest and say that so far this year we've bought food from LaRoasas, Skyline, and Outer Hanks. If I was smart I would have bought myself a souvenir cup earlier in the year, but i'm not dat smrt.

Welcome to KIC! The path that the general public usually follows starts with Diamondback early in the morning, flowing through Rivertown, then ending in the Action Zone in the evening. Since you'll be visiting in the evening, the lines around Rivertown and Coney Mall should be short enough. If you stay until late the park will clear out giving you short waits on just about all the rides. I would suggest starting in Rivertown and working your way to Action Zone. However, before you leave I recommend stopping by The Beast and getting a ride on it at night. Flight Deck and the Adventure Express are usually short waits, I've never waiting more than 15 minutes for either. Firehawk is a strange ride. In my experience it's shut down as much as it runs. Not only this, but the wait is always long because of the terrible capacity. I've never bothered checking the line in the evening, but it may be shorter. I'll put in my 2 cents by saying that it isn't worth more than a 30 minute wait, especially if lines for other lines are shorter. If you plan on eating at the park you can stop by the Rivertown Buffet. It's the best deal in the park as far as food goes (everywhere else the food is pretty expensive) I hope I helped.

If the ride is removed it would be for any reason besides the land it sits on. King's Island has only used half of its acreage and has plenty of room to expand. I haven't seen Vortex down yet this season, and Cedar Fair invested in a paintjob. There's nothing that suggests that the ride will be removed within the next five years.

I believe that Pepsi cans have discounts. (*Pillsberry123 looks at the Mountain Dew can in his hand) Present this can at Holiday World & Splashin Safari and SAVE on admission: $7 in May, $5 in June or $4 all season except Saturdays in July and August Or SAVE up to $11 dollars in admission after 3 p.m. Discounts apply to general admission tickets purchaes at main gate only. Save $2 on Guest under 54"/senior admission. Save $2 on Saturdays in July and August. No double discounts. One can is valid for up to 8 discounts.

That's not good!

Mid-August: Cons: School Pros: New attraction to be announced Sounds like an even trade to me.

Vortex won't be removed too soon. It's a popular ride, and there's nothing wrong with it. When the ride is finally removed I would like to see the entrance building stay, since it has more history than the ride itself.

This (insert word for anger) me off. Seriously? What a stupid story. Of COURSE people from the Louisville area are going to visit Holiday World, Kings Island, and Beech Bend. What do you want them to do? Stand outside Kentucky Kingdom and look at it? NO! They're going to go to the nearest amusement parks, and of course other parks are going to capitalize off of it. "No, I'm sorry sir, your family isn't allowed in the park since you live in Louisville." Business is Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection at play. Survival of the fittest. If one species (or business) gets knocked out then others are going to thrive, that's just the way it works. Kentucky Kingdom was closed for a reason, and these people are acting like the Kochs, Cedar Fair, and Beach Bend came in and burnt the place down. Talk about idiots... /rant

Well, Rivertown has been fixed up, Planet Snoopy has gotten redone... I'd like to see Coney Mall get fixed up. A fresh coat of paint on The Racer and some of the buildings would suffice. To be honest, I don't think Kings Island needs any new attractions at the moment. A new flat in X-Base would be fine, but I'd rather see older things restored/improved before new things come around.

Cool! I don't think I would get married at King's Island but I've thought about proposing on top of the Eiffel Tower or something.

In my opinion King's Island didn't seem prepared for something like this to happen, especially on a holiday. I'm sure the attendance rose during the day, and the park was at its peak in terms of crowds, but a lot of people left unhappy and ticked off. They should have stood there at the exit gates handing people free tickets for another day (I think this would make more sense than a refund, but that's just me). They payed to get in but they didn't get to do anything. It would have made them look better on the news AND would have regained the trust of the many people that have probably lost it at this point. In this economy and job market people aren't going to just kiss off the price of admission as if they don't need the money.

I've seen a family of groundhogs near The Beast several times.

Something tells the park will be packed tonight for the 4th of July fireworks. The park was mild yesterday, but once again, the fireworks aren't until tonight.

^ If we lived any further away we probably wouldn't get the chance either. We live in Richmond, so we hit the road at 6:30!

We went in the park today expecting it to be crowded from opening to closing. Since we had nothing to do, me and my Dad decided to hit up King's Island for ERT but leave soon after. I love Saturday ERTs since you get the extra half an hour to spend on the rides, not to mention the fact that most people don't get there at 9 o'clock anyway. We got there at 8:45 to see that there was a small crowd with whom we would be sharing ERT. We got in at 9, flashed our passes, and headed off to Diamondback. Diamondback is always our very first ride of the day since that's usually the only time you can choose your own seat. We rode second to front. We got on the 4th train of the day, which was the green(?) train's second cycle. Needless to say it was a good, airtime filled ride. At 9:10 or so we headed over to The Beast. I don't know why, but everyone seems to spend all of ERT over at Diamondback. The Beast doesn't seem to get any lovin' from the season pass holders. We arrived to an EMPTY station. The train returned with just two people riding near the back. We took 1:1 and we were off. This was immediately followed by a ride in 2:2, another in 4:2, and two in 5:2. All this without leaving the station with time to spare before the end of ERT. Our ride in the front felt a little slow, but this was probably because only two people where on the train with us. The trims are also felt quite a bit more in the front seat. Our ride in 2:2 was a better ride, but the rides in 4:2 and 5:2 were impressive. The Beast ride-ops were really friendly this day, and they joked around with us. After our rides on The Beast we left the ride and waited at the Coney Mall entrance. We realized that my dad hadn't ridden Firehawk yet this season, so we headed over to X-base to see if it was running. It was. However, right before riding we noticed that my dad's keys were gone. Our great day was starting to get bad very fast. We jogged over to The Beast after our Firehawk ride. He was positive that he had the keys when we got off Diamondback, so we assumed that they were sitting in the seat of The Beast. We walked up the exit and asked the ride-op if any keys were found, and sure enough a set was found in 5:2. Great. We walked on over to Coney Mall and got ourselves some rides before heading out. The park looked like it was going to get crowded pretty quickly. We rode Vortex, The Racer, and Flight Deck. For the people wondering, the Delirium wasn't running. Before leaving we told the people at guest services to give props to The Beast operators for making the morning fun and (more importantly) finding and holding on to our keys. Beast x5 Diamondback x1 Firehawk x1 Racer x1 Flight Deck x1 Thanks for reading!

Yeah, at night the park is filled with employees. Be it security, maintenance, or cleaners. Even if you COULD sneak in for the night, I've heard some pretty creepy stories about the woods surrounding WWC to make me want to stay away. :o

If you have a Platinum Pass then I wouldn't recommend staying at a resort if it's value you are looking for. The resort rates are overpriced, and rooms can be found for hundreds (no kidding) of dollars cheaper by looking at motels a couple of miles away. If you don't have a Platinum Pass, then do your math. You get discounted tickets (30 dollars) when staying at a resort, so you may save money this way. Keep in mind, you can get in early with a Platinum Pass, so there's no point in staying at a resort unless you feel like you have to stay "close to the action". Putting that aside, if you're looking for the combination of convenience, hospitality, and value the best place to stay is the Hotel Breakers. It's a short walk from the beach, Cedar Point, Soak City, and Challenge Park. It isn't the nicest hotel in the world, but it's a lot nicer than the cheap motels you'll find in Sandusky. The cheapest resort is the Breakers Express. However, it's located off the peninsula. It's obviously marketed towards families on a budget, but if you have Platinum Pass there's no point in staying there since you don't need the cheap tickets. Castaway Bay is the most expensive and it's the furthest away from the peninsula (it isn't even located on the same road as the causeway) but it has an indoor water park. Take that for what you will. Then there's Sandcastle Suites. Only stay here if you have a larger family for obvious reasons. I believe Lighthouse Point is another resort. If I'm correct, you can rent a cabin. I haven't bothered looking. If you won't be staying at a resort, I recommend the EconoLodge. It's on Cleveland Road right by the Cedar Point sign where Cedar Point Drive crosses with Cleveland Road. If you bothered reading this whole post then you've made me feel special. : )

I haven't ridden Kingda Ka, but I can agree with you about the experience based on Top Thrill Dragster. When you're actually riding it the height is the LAST thing you're thinking about.

Wow Terpy, this gives me a whole new feeling about the helix! I've always wondered if anyone's gotten their hand hit on the roof or skid across the wall of the tunnel. Whenever I ride the left side I think that my head's going to hit the wall! That's what makes that part of the ride so fun, but I was never aware that there's any real danger. Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks for the replies guys.

To be honest, I've never thought that the Voyage was a perfect coaster as people say it is. Do I love it? Yes. Does it have airtime? Yes. Is the Triple Down in the dark amazing? Yes. Is it a ride I want to ride all day long? Absolutely not. I don't understand how people can ride it 50 times in a single day and not go home with a back ache or head ache. I've done it five times in a single day and I went home with a migrane and the need for a nap. I can't imagine what ten rides in a single day would do to me, not even beginning to think about 50. It's a fun ride, and the first half has all the workings that make it a great coaster. However, after the triple down the ride becomes way too rough, and by the time the train reaches the station I find myself in a crouched position waiting for the ride to end. This is why I think the Timberliners are needed. If the Voyage could somehow be made as re-rideable as the Raven, then it could easily become one of my top 5 coasters, but until then it will have to remain where it is. With that being said, I don't think the Timberliners will be ready this year. Is it possible? Certainly, but I doubt it. This post isn't a rip on Holiday World OR the Voyage. The Voyage is a great ride, but as with any ride, there will be some cons.

The Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom is farrrrr worse than BBoBH. I remember being terrified (in a good way) when riding that as a kid. That's the fun of amusement parks! You experience stuff you're not able to on the outside. I can also vividly remember riding Phantom Theater as a 2 or 3 year old and being terrified by it, but it didn't mentally destroy me. Looking back at it, it is probably my favorite memory of a kiddie ride at King's Island.

I just finished watching it as well. It is an old special (notice that the Phantom's Revenge was still the Steel Phantom) but it pointed out a lot of the smaller parks around the country that highlight the old wooden coasters of John Allen, Prior & Church, ect.

Whatever happens, I would hope that the new ride will be put in the field next to the Pilgrim's Plunge. Nothing worse than having a collection of old, traditional rides with a brand new, modern thrill ride towering over them. Holiday World has one of the nicest collections of traditional flat rides I know of. No steel coasters either. Holiday World is a traditional park, B&Ms don't fit the bill. I don't think the new ride will be a coaster. I just don't see it happening. The Voyage still has national attention and attracts people on road trips to visit the park. Adding a new coaster would really seem redundant. Management seems determined to expand the water park and build new water rides, since that is the park's main draw. With that being said, they've given us two new water rides for the past two years. I don't know if they'll keep with that or if they'll build something different. A new flat ride would fit nicely in the Thanksgiving section.

Wicked Twister in the evening from the Giant Wheel. My favorite picture from the trip. The sky and lake look great! Favorite flat ride? I think so... Magnum at sunset The skyline at sunset Another great Wicked Twister shot! If the rail wasn't at the bottom of the picture this would be a great shot! No caption needed Another great sunset shot From the parking lot Monday night The next few shots are of Raptor the next morning... My attempt to get the expressions of some of the riders Millennium They were switching trains on the Mantis so we decided not to ride. We rode Wildcat for the first time in a few years. Fun ride! Better than I remember. Don't know what to say here, Magnum blew me away this year! Going up! Two great rides in one shot (make that three)! I love the blur of the train! Thanks for reading! That's all the pictures...