malem

A lost post from shark6495, from Wednesday, June 17: We as a family visited EPCOT today. It was meh.... First we rode test track. I was pumped for it and well, I was severely underwhelmed by it. Maybe it was me being 29, but it honestly felt like I was driving a convertible and then was dumped into a Chevy new car sales lot. We then did Nemo which was very aged and then Crush. the Crush encounter was very nice as it was a great blend of animation and real interaction. Then we walked the world showcase. Not enough shows in each area, and to be honest if I had paid $100 for a day there I would have been upset. I was on the fence of adding Frozen to Norway, but after today I wish there would be something. I never had the chance to ride Maelstorm. But as it is right now, we had very little to do in the individual country areas. The "local shops" appear to be nothing more than knic-knacks, but I did almost by a German Beer Stein. The character meet and greets were nice to see something as we walked. We also saw a wonderful drum performance in Japan. But EPCOT was nice as a slow down wander around park, but it really does need something, anything, everything. If each themed land had a Dark Ride or such that integrated something to "do" in each section it would be nice. On a plus, we did eat at the Seas and I had a delicious Mahi Mahi meal...

Posts were lost, but the ride is back open as of Saturday. Some pictures that were posted on June 17 by Bansheeback:

upstop: Part 3 On Tuesday, I decided to spend the day at Universal Studios and IOA. I had had plenty of time on the freeway so I decided to take Sand Lake rd. to Universal. I entered through the back of the parks between Jurassic Park and Cabana Bay ( there was a huge mound of sand near Cabana....I'm guessing that was the beginning of the new waterpark volcano...but I digress.) I decided that since I was that early, that premium parking would not be necessary. I ended up on top of the parking garage facing due west...I was hoping the car wouldn't melt in the heat....lol. I headed towards IOA first. I followed the hoards and went towards the park. I had bought my annual pass in advance and used the Will Call kiosk. It was a very quick, and easy process and within minutes I was in the park. Within minutes, I realized that my feet were beginning to hurt from the last two days worth of walking, but I pressed onwards. I knew there was a locker/ride policy but didn't know how much, if anything they would cost, so I checked out the prices. Believe it or not the were rather reasonable. I don't remember the exact prices, but I was certainly considering renting one, however, I decided to check out the rides lockers. My first stop was Hulk. I checked out the lockers and they stated a free rental would be for 1hour 40 minutes... so I tested the process...again another super easy process of fingerprinting and placing stuff in the locker. I tested myself in the test seat and entered the line. I decided I needed the big boy seat. The line actually started at the ramp to the ride. I asked for the large seat and had plenty of room. This is a very aggressive ride. I loved it!!! It was wonderful to ride this again, because on my last visit I didn't fit. Next I decided to go to HP and the Forbidden Journey. As I rounded the back of the park into Potterverse, I noticed the line was at max. I walked up to the test seat. I watched a large couple get into the seat and the attendant pushed the overheads down. The attendant explained something to them and they looked at each other and discussed something then got in line. My turn!!!....I sat down and a different attendant pushed down..."I'm sorry, you don't fit....at least you didn't wait through all this line to find that out!". Grrrrrrrr.....I immediately walked over to Hogwarts Express. I knew my fat butt would fit on a train...LOL. I'm not going to spoil anything, but the train ride is very immersive and has lots of surprises for those riding the train. It was quite enjoyable and entertaining. After exiting the express, I came to London...I walked around for a few minutes and had to follow people to find out where Gringott's Bank was located. After entering a split in a brick wall, you are in Diagon Alley....a VERY congested area with shoulder to shoulder people all wandering around. They had what appeared to be a magic show, a stage show/concert and a talking "sprite/fairy" statue that occasionally spit water...but enough of that I wanted a roller coaster...So I had to look for the bank. After finding the bank there was a Bank Guard directing people through the door....I followed in and there was a single line going into the main lobby of the bank. Yay this line must be short. Everyone was directed to follow the line. Soon we were going to reach the end right...suddenly we went out the door and to the left and down a ramp then to the right and there it was a huge hidden queue...and it was completely full. Being used to long lines now I took a deep breath and fell into line. As long as a line moves, I'm happy, standing in hot stagnant lines is a pain in the rump. This line moved fairly nicely. Eventually we back tracked into the bank lobby....WOW...they must have spent millions on the queue line alone...just incredible. Before long we were headed into the bank chambers for an obligatory ride snapshot/bank id and headed into a preshow room. The next room was an "elevator" that took us deep into the subterranean vaults. From here you pick up your 3d glasses and climb the stairs to your transport. In there you board rollercoaster cars that look like the cars on the Mummy ride. I won't give away too much, but so you are not disappointed if you want to ride...it is NOT a rollercoaster by my standards. The car is only a conveyance for the ride. It's fast and the trains rotate to some degree and it's aggressive....but not a coaster at all. It was enjoyable, but I won't wait an hour for it again. After I left the ride I decided to head over to Transformers. I waited in the standby line for this one and got to enjoy the Blues Brothers concert while waiting...that was fun. The queue line moves fairly quickly and I really wanted to see the set up. The ride is very similar to Spiderman in IOA, however it is more elaborate. The scenes contain sprays of water and fire and is very Michael Bay loud. The simulators are very aggressive, but I highly recommend riding this one...fun fun fun! By now my feet were ready to fall off from walking, so I decided to go to Universal's AMC theater to rest from the heat. I decided to see Poltergeist. If you haven't seen it....don't. It was a totally useless remake. The best part was I was alone so I took off my shoes and propped my feet on the railing in front of me....after an hour and a half rest, I hobbled back into IOA. I rode Hulk again and headed back to Cartoon Lagoon. The line for Ripsaw Falls was really short so I decided to get drenched.....and you do get drenched but it felt wonderful!!....I headed past the new construction of the Kong ride and it is moving along nicely. The main entrance is HUGE with the skull drawbridge...looking forwards to that attraction for sure....Since I was already wet, I headed to Jurassic River Adventure. Something is slightly different about it...it seemed that some of the dinos are now missing, but the attraction is very effective. Unfortunately as we were approaching the drop the T-rex stopped roaring and started yelling "please put away the cell phone...please put away the cell phone...thank you"...and then we dropped. Freakin idiots.... As I rounded the corner I saw the HP FJ ride queue was empty...I said to my self..."Self....even if you don't fit you can at least say you tried...". So I held my chins high and got in line. This line was just as extravagant as Gringott's Bank and just as visually entertaining. Soon you come to a boarding platform with cars that looks like little open door confessionals with an overhead restraint. The way you are sitting, you actually feel like you are sitting on a broom...lol... Soon Hermione casts a spell and off you fly......O.....M....G what an incredible ride!!! I am so glad I got to ride this because this was the highlight of my trip. The 3d is dizzying and the scenery is phenomenal. The "arm" you are riding on swings fluidly in every direction from straight at the ceiling to flying sideways....also as a small warning, if you have arachnophobia, you may want to reconsider riding...hint hint..... I loved it and would wait an hour to ride next time for sure! From here I decided to check out Dragon Challenge...It's required to put all loose items in the lockers to ride...this was later in the day and a total walk on!!! I decided to ride both sides. I like the old "fire" side the best... In fact the second ride was the final ride and now it was park closure time.... I decided to leave and have dinner. My favorite pizza place is Pastamore.....What? Its gone replaced with Red Oven Pizza Bakery...big difference...only pizza and only a whole pizza. Shoot, I couldn't eat a whole pizza.... so I ate next door at Vino. I had pasta Bolognese and a beet salad with water. It was supremo!!! After eating, I took my leftovers and went back to the hotel. And thus ends part 3. Be sure to check our part four tomorrow night!

jcgoble3: Sounds like it wasn't too bad of a day. What did you think of Fantasmic? The week I was there, I was so tired by the end of the day that I never did catch any of the big nighttime shows except for one showing of Wishes from the California Grill observation deck. upstop: Crowds were humongous...i cant function well in wall to wall people. So there's that plus it was extremely hot and humid.... Fantasmic is great as usual, but having not been in the parks for about 7 years, it looks quite dated and old. The story and show needs to be updated.... but why make these changes when the show is still pulling capacity crowds, right? RailRider: I do not envy you visiting Disney during the Summertime rush. I have been in August and July and will never do that again. We are off season travelers for sure. upstop: ^^ Point taken for sure! I have never seen such huge crowds anywhere....wait until you hear about day four...it was a spectacular cluster of people and events. Coming soon.... Voicetek: I've been down to Disney World 3 times in the past 4 years. First in August of 2011, next in November of 2013, and finally in October of last year (2014). Of all the 3 visits, the November visit was by far the best! The August visit was hot, humid, rainy, and EXTREMELY crowded. The day we went to Animal Kingdom that year, it was so hot and humid that you could barely function. I've got pictures of myself after just 10-15 minutes in the park and my face is already red and sweaty. Horrible! The November visit was awesome! This was during my wife's and my honeymoon and we decided to drive down to Magic Kingdom from Hilton Head for a day. The weather was nice, about 80 and low humidity, and the crowds were super light. We rode pretty much everything we wanted with no FastPass and little wait. I think the longest line that day might have been a half hour tops. We walked around the park at our own pace and would jump on a ride whenever we wanted to with no hassle. It was quite a lovely day! Now last October was similar to the August visit. It was hot, humid, and crowded. There were wall to wall people including about a half a million kids. I couldn't believe so many kids were there considering it was a random weekday in October and not a holiday. Why were so many kids there, we thought? Why aren't they in school? Who knows, but it seemed like the entire world's population of children were in the Magic Kingdom that day. It was crazy! Of all the times I've visited Disney world, I've been in March, August, twice in October, November, and December. The best visits I've had by far were the November and December trips. The weather was great and the crowds were low. If I don't have to, I don't think I'll ever take another Disney trip in the Spring/Summer time. It's just too hot and too crowded. It's hardly worth all the fuss! Gabe: A few notes: 1. You arrived at the "Welcome to Main Street" parade. Its more of gathering of the 'citizens' populating MSUSA as they hop a horse drawn trolley and sing their way towards the castle. 2. The closest FP+ kiosks to Space are next to Philharmagic in FL. It would be nice if the MK had more. 3. Thunder is notoriously finicky, The two sides have very short blocks and if not done in the right order, the ride e-stops. 4. As for Aerosmith-did you see the Single Rider Line? Never more than 10-15 min wait. 5. Rumor has it World of Color would migrate over..still waiting..same with Main Street Electrical Parade. RailRider: My daughter absolutely loves Fantasmic!, mainly because Pocahontas is her favorite Disney character and she has a cool part in Fantasmic! We have visited in May(early) July, August, September and December. Never going in the Summer again its just so stinking hot. We planned to visit the parks on their least crowded days during our Summer visits and the lines and crowds weren't bad, but that just speaks to the importance of planning. Dieseltech20: What day of the week did you visit BGT? I have yet to encounter a massive crowd at the park. upstop: I visited BGT on the Sunday before Memorial day....lots of schools and military personnel and their families. Even the Quick Queue lines were long. I waited about 25 minutes in the Cheetah Hunt Quick Queue line, including a protein spill cleanup of one train.

(Restored post) Upstop: Part 2 I woke up and got ready to go on the next leg of the trip on Monday, May 25. Soon I was back in the Dayton 500 or I4. I was only slightly delayed as the inner lanes of the freeway were moving at 80 mph while the outer lanes were moving at 65 or so...there were several tense moments as traffic would surge and slow a bit, but I made it to the Magic Kingdom by 9:15 am. I managed to pick a lane where the attendant was on the passenger side of the car (incidentally the same thing happened at BGT, but I digress). The attendant was extremely nice and actually came out of the both so I wouldn't have to reach so far...at least that's how I'm looking at it...hehehe. I merged into the traffic and followed the crowd around the "Driving Experience track" and was immediately ushered into Mulan Row 23...As I parked my car, I could see brigades of strollers being unpacked and the immediate sound of uncomfortable children suddenly thrust into the searing heat that was flowing over the parking lot. From where I was parked, it seemed like 4 city blocks to the loading area. I merged into the crowd of people and waited for the tram. When the crowd was given the ok, the tram instantly filled to capacity...and there I was with a goofy surprised look on my face looking up and down the tram for an opening...I decided to wait for the next tram, which by the way was right there waiting. When told that I could enter I immediately took my seat and my stomach was jumbling with elementary school joy, ready to ride the rides and meet THE Mouse...As we started to move past the line of trees that divides my section, I made a note of the general direction and scenery to find my car...and off we went to ticketing and transportation. After arriving at the ticketing kiosks, the tram virtually exploded in a rocking motion as the hoards of patrons flooded out onto the plaza. I had debated on what type and duration of tickets that I would need for weeks...in the end I figured that the best deal in the end would be the annual pass...so I took the plunge and passed the credit card. I decided to take the Ferry over to the park, rather than the monorail. What a relaxing ride....Upon arrival, I went through the bagless line and tapped my card to the mouse head and entered the park. For some reason, I always arrive at the park at the beginning or ending of a parade...today was no different. Parades tend to draw everyone within site to Main Street USA....I had to stand near Town Hall Until the parade had ended, and the crowds dispersed...but that didn't happen...Then I thought of where I parked. The parking lot was 2/3 full when I arrived at 9:15....that plus resort guests packed the park...I stepped around the corner from Town Hall to the center of Main Street and what I saw was an endless river of people all the way to the castle. My first thought... the sign outside said "Magic Kingdom - population 600,000,000"...and ever last one was in the park that day. Soooo.... I worked my way through the back route through Tomorrowland Terrace...I beelined to Space Mountain (all attractions had lines outside of their prospective buildings) and the mountain was no different...I looked around for the FastPass kiosks but could not find them...so I headed out of the area and into Fantasyland. I figured if I had to wait on anything it would be for the new Fantasyland attractions. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train line was only 30 minutes...hey that's average right? Outside the attraction was an attendant with a sign in the air..."this is the end of the line for The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train"....Interesting because the area was uber congested. The line followed the edge of a wall and finally entered a covered area where an attendant classified each guest....standby this way, FastPass that way....in the heat of the day the line seemed to move slowly in small surges. I have to hand it to Disney...they surely know how to disguise queue lines. This line moved into a trench with absolutely no air flow. Fans would provide a brief and blessed breeze occasionally, however the line seemed never ending. When you get closer to the station, you are serenaded by songs from the movie and there are diversions to entertain the little ones from matching gems, and playing music by waving hands in front of streams of water, to spinning barrels to flash images on the ceiling of one of the seven dwarfs. I finally made it to the front of the line and was placed in the front seat...It's a fun and interesting concept, but kind of short in my opinion. The little ones seem to love it though and that's what counts. The new facial animation to bring a more cartoonlike image to the animatronics is really cool. The ending scene with Snow White dancing is fascinating. It looks real...that is what Disney does the best. Upon leaving the line, I checked my phone for time and it actually took an hour and a half....wow.... I then ventured to the Little Mermaid ride...The line for this ride was on the plaza at the entrance. There was a sign at the front stating that the attraction would take 30 minutes...the attendant said "this sign is wrong. This line is actually over an hour long"...I started to hesitate and though...nah...I'm going to do it now....so I jumped into line...It started off slowly but continued to move steadily...Just before the building, the person behind me said to whomever they were with "he just called and said it is storming in the parking lot". I looked up and there were black rain clouds over head. It started sprinkling and I thought "so close and so far". In five minutes we would be drenched (not bad since it was 90 degrees... but afterwards...). I made it into the building and found it entertaining to watch the people play with the animated crabs. If you point at an object in Ariel's treasure trove, they will pick it up and pile it away....must be some kind of spatial recognition, but it was pretty cool. I did see something rather heart warming. There was a little child super excited about getting to see the Little Mermaid and was totally bouncing off the walls with excitement. As it was 90 degrees outside and 70+ inside the building she calmed down. They were several people ahead and as they boarded the car the little girl leaned into her father and...she fell asleep in the cool air...more to the story in a minute. The attraction is really cool, from the flowing backwards to the bottom of the sea to all of the catchy tunes...the new flowing hair Ariel animatronic is amazing. Now to the heart warming stuff....upon exiting the ride I saw the father and child. She was sobbing about "missing the Little Mermaid". The father said "She's right here.", "But I missed her" and he said "Come on...lets ride it again". and off they went back into the line...brought a smile to my face. This line actually took 20 minutes to ride...Was I beginning to see a trend of stacking ride times to push crowds away? (It sure didn't seem that way on the mine ride for sure.) Now it was close to noon. I wanted to see The Beast's Castle restaurant. In order to get in you have to "make a reservation" by accepting a menu and waiting in line. This by far was the most interesting restaurant concept that I've seen. You wait in a short line and then come to an attendant who asks two questions Are you a resort member and Cash or credit? Not being from a resort they gave me a plastic "rose" disk, then sent to a touch pad kiosk. You hold the rose to a "mouse head" and once it is acknowledged, you touch in your order, pay and look for seating. You get your fountain drink if you order one then wait. A server will appear with your order in a covered cart! If you have seen the movie, the dining set is spot on to the castle scenes. It was elegant for a quick service dining experience. The food was awesome as well. I had a shaved turkey sandwich and fries, water and soft drink, with "the masters cupcake" a super delicious strawberry cheesecake cupcake. After the meal I took a brief tour of the castle rooms and I love the "forbidden west wing" it was just incredible. I left the castle and was slammed with 90 degree heat and now added humidity from the rain...yuck. The crowds in Fantasyland were unbelievable...it was shoulder to shoulder of people and quite alarming for me. I needed to use the restroom so I headed to the right of Peter Pan's Flight....oops they are not there anymore, they are across the walkway...and through the massive crowd...it took what seemed like several minutes to get across...I was floating in my shoes by the time I got there. The next ride is my all time favorite dark ride.... The Haunted Mansion!!! I love, love, love, love that ride...did I say I love that ride?....Surprise 1hour 30 minutes....for the second time that week my jaw hit the pavement. I bit the bullet and got in line...grumpy as all get out for this CRAZY line. It amazes me though that even though the queue is essentially one long line 12 or so feet wide, that people will still try to stand single file...anyways it didn't take nearly as long as posted....maybe 20 minutes at the most. I have the entire script for the ride memorized and of course I repeated them as I rode the ride...lol... I exited the ride at the end and guess what a parade was starting....no line in the Mansion...so I rode it again!!! After this ride I headed to Big Thunder...closed for some reason but would be opening later....Splash Mountain 2 hours... Although I love both rides, the heat of the day was taking a toll on me...I headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean. The line was about 45 minutes in a blessedly cool interior queue line. This ride still performs well after all these years, although now it seems rather short to me. I finally left the park to go to my motel room to check in. I stayed at the Best Western in Buena Vista. I was given a beautiful room on the 11th floor facing the parks. The Disney Springs area is very much under construction and believe me... right now the traffic flow in that area is really bad. I left the Magic Kingdom around 5 and got to the motel around 6:30! (might have just been because of the holiday...can't be for sure). I decided to "hop" over to Disney's Hollywood to catch Fantasmic. I decided to ride TOT....Line was super long but I waited that has to be one of the coolest, most immersive rides ever designed. I then went to Rockin Rollercoaster. Based on timing, I apparently arrived after the ride "reopened". The line started just outside of the studio door. It still took a while to get on this ride for some reason....loved the ride though! I saw something heartwarming earlier in the day, but this time I saw something heart breaking. After riding RRC, as I was exiting there was a young boy in a wheelchair. His friends were just ahead of me as they approached him, he said, holding back tears and in a sad voice "was it fun?" and his friends shook their heads yes....I would have given my spine for him to have had the experience...it just broke my heart. Now it was time for Fantasmic's first showing. I approached the entrance... they now have FastPass for the show. I was of course standby. When I got to the top of the walkway, they announced the show was standing room only...it was an hour before the show... jeesh! I talked to an attendant who said, "we have a second show in an hour and a half"...great I'd check out the park and come back later. I decided to ride "midway mania"...2 hour wait so back over towards Fantasmic...I decided to have dinner and I had pizza and a salad. soon Fantasmic ended and the people were released....I got into the standby line and was near the front. Just before the showing, they opened the Fast Pass and if you think line cutting is crazy...I watched 500,000 FastPass holders enter before standby could enter..lol....When we were released, I sat near the front...(not too bad at first) as the show progressed, the mist got heavier and heavier. I ended up drenched by the end of the show! Well that wraps up day two.

(Restored post) VekomaRulz: First I want to thank everyone from these forums for all the great information posted. I started reading the forums not knowing when I was going to get to Kings Island but wanted to read up on information about the park and the forums were really helpful. My home parks are Great Adventure and Dorney Park and I thought it would be great to try some new coaster types that both of those parks don't have. The reason for this trip was to go to Great American Ballpark and see the Phillies play the Reds. We left Monday 6/8 and drove to Cincinnati. The baseball game was on Tuesday and I thought maybe I could get to Kings Island before the game but didn't want to go to the park and not have time for all the rides I wanted to try so we decided to drive to Louisville and go to the Louisville Slugger Factory Tour and Museum. I never expected to go to Kentucky anytime soon and although Kentucky Kingdom was right near by, there wasn't time for it and wasn't really a priority for me. Tuesday night we went to the baseball game and not surprisingly, the Phillies lost 11 - 2 which sounds bad but is nothing compared to the 19 - 3 loss that just happened a few hours ago. On Wednesday morning, we saw they changed the forecast and it wasn't supposed to rain until 9 pm on Thursday so it looked like we would be able to get to Kings Island and then drive to Cedar Point that night and go to the park on Thursday. Cedar Fair has a good deal on their site with a 1 day admission to Kings Island and a 1 day admission to Cedar Point for $64.99. Cedar Point discounted tickets were $44.99 so adding on Kings Island for $20 with the combo ticket was a good value. They also offered discounted parking online at $12 instead of $15 and a souvenir cup for $10.99 with free refills all day and $0.99 refills the rest of the year like the red cup at Great Adventure. We got to Kings Island just after 10 and although it was going up to 90, the humidity was low so it wasn't that bad. I later saw it was 95 in Sandusky with a 99 heat index so I was glad we waited a day to go to Cedar Point. Banshee was the first coaster we saw but it was broken down. A worker announced to the riders waiting that they suggested we go to other rides as they didn't know how long the breakdown would be. We left about 5 minutes later and then right after we walked away they opened the ride so I got back in line and got on the 3rd train after the ride had reopened. They were not assigning rows and I went to the last row. I was looking forward to this coaster not only because it has great reviews but also because it was my 100th coaster. I have been waiting to get my coaster count to triple digits for a while now and this was a good coaster to be my 100th after my 50th coaster was a somewhat bad coaster- Rollie's Coaster at Morey's Piers. The new restraints were comfortable and at first I felt like I was about to ride Superman Ultimate Flight with the vest restraints. Banshee was an excellent coaster with lots of inversions and the dive loop was different compared to the immelmann that other B&M inverts have. I also liked the pretzel knot and the in line twist taken at a slow speed. It is a great addition to the park and really complements Diamondback for 2 great major steel coasters. I skipped Drop Tower for now since it had a bit of a line and thought I would go back to it later if I had time. I also skipped Invertigo since I really don't like Stinger at Dorney and knowing how unreliable Stinger is, I didn't want to take a chance on getting stuck on Invertigo (which turned out to be an issue with another ride later in the report). Next to Banshee was The Bat. I have wanted to try an Arrow Suspended coaster for a few years and didn't get a chance to get back to Busch Gardens Williamsburg before Big Bad Wolf was removed. The queue was a long walk similar to Superman and Green Lantern both at Great Adventure. The station was mostly empty and I thought for our first Arrow Suspended coaster, we should wait 2 extra trains for the front row. I didn't realize it at the time that it was my sister's 50th coaster and if I had realized it, I would have ridden The Bat first so we could get our 50th coaster and 100th coaster credits at the same time. The Bat was a fun ride and didn't let up until the brake run where the car was still and a high angle entering the brake run. It's a shame that Arrow didn't build more of these coasters and more parks didn't keep the ones that are open since they are really fun and good for kids who want an "in between" coaster that is more than a family coaster but not a major thrill coaster. Adventure Express was next with a 2 train wait. It had individual lap bars like Runaway Mine Train and Trailblazer and I liked how right out of the station there wasn't a lift and the train started the circuit right away. The ending lifthill that was enclosed with the moving statues was cool and felt like it could fit in an Orlando park. Racer only had the blue side running with about a 10 minute wait. I should have waited for a non wheel seat and picked the 3rd row of a car since that was a shorter wait. It wasn't really rough but not as smooth as some other wooden coasters I have ridden and I knew since I didn't like Rebel Yell that much, I probably wouldn't think this ride was that great either. It was still not a bad coaster and Kings Island was a local park, it would probably be a coaster I tried to ride once a trip if the line was short. Firehawk had a posted 90 minute wait with even the Fast Lane Plus line being 30 minutes (I decided against Fast Lane since the lines were so short except for Flight of Fear and Firehawk). The coaster wasn't worth a 90 minute wait to me and I didn't feel like even taking the chance on how I would feel knowing how the pressure of the pretzel loop at Superman Ultimate Flight can be forceful and didn't want to possibly get a headache with the warm weather. Flight of Fear had a posted 45 minute wait but took about 30 minutes. I was looking forward to Flight of Fear since I never rode Batman and Robin The Chiller and the launch into the cobra roll would probably be the closest I would get riding the Robin track of Chiller. The ankle grabbers were kind of annoying not leaving a lot of room for your feet but I was glad that the ride had lap bars as I can imagine that this ride was brutal when it had OTSR's. The launch into the inversions reminded me a little of Rock N Rollerocaster and I wasn't expected a complete stop when the train got to the MCBR. Overall the ride was fun and I'll have to get to Six Flags America to try Joker's Jinx and see what the ride looks like outside. WindSeeker was closed which didn't matter to me since there was no way I was going to try it with the problems they have had at other parks. Vortex was next with a 5 minute wait. I was looking forward to Vortex because I miss Scream Machine at Great Adventure and other than Viper at Magic Mountain, Vortex looked like it would be the next closest ride to Scream Machine. I liked how after the drop there was a hill and a turnaround before going into the double loop and I also liked how the corkscrews weren't at the end like most Arrow loopers to make the ride a little different. The batwing reminded me of how much I miss that inversion from riding Scream Machine. It was a little rough but not too bad and another good coaster. Backlot Stunt Coaster was next with about a 10 minute wait. I could see this ride having a very slow moving line on a crowded day with the low capacity, I had seen a POV of the ride before a few years ago and never expected to like the coaster as much as I did. The uphill helix was fun and the show scene with the helicopter and fire was cool. I forgot from the POV that there was an indoor section. This was probably the surprise coaster of the park for me. Next was a coaster I have been wanting to ride after a friend from school told me about Kings Island in 2nd grade and how great The Beast was. There was just under a 10 minute wait. While it won't be overtaking Boulder Dash or El Toro, it is a top 10 wooden coaster for me with the great ride time, a great first drop and the forceful helix during the ride. I hear that night rides are even better but sunset wasn't until after 9:00 and there was no way we could stay until closing since that would have meant getting to Sandusky at around 2:00 a.m. The train was next with a great ride op at the microphone giving lots of information about the train and the park. From what I could see from the train, Soak City looked really nice and not very crowded and if we had more time, I would have spent a couple of hours there. We had lunch at the Reds Hall of Fame Grille. The prices were reasonable for an amusement park with most sandwiches under $10. It was themed nicely with lots of Reds memorabilia. They had multiple TV's in the restaurant but for some reason the Reds vs Phillies game was not being shown, maybe because the game started at 12:35 which isn't that common so no one realized the game was being played then? I was going to try Diamondback next but it had broken down with riders stuck on the lift. The train was not that far out of the station. I kept checking back while we were in Planet Snoopy and the riders still hadn't been evacuated. We later found out that the riders were stuck for 90 minutes before being evacuated. While it wouldn't be pleasant to be sitting for 90 minutes in the train, I didn't think it would be a news story that we later found out many of the local news stations and papers were reporting on. Race For Your Life Charlie Brown was next with about a 5 minute wait. I was glad to see Kings Island still had a log flume with so many parks removing them. I also wasn't expected to get drenched on the final drop with it being a smaller flume and then have a Snoopy figure at the end shoot some jets of water at you. With the warm weather, it didn't matter though. Flying Ace Aerial Chase was the next coaster. It only runs 1 train but today that didn't matter with it being a 2 train wait. I had heard the earlier Vekoma Junior inverted coasters were rough compared to newer models like Freedom Flyer at Fun Spot with a lap bar but the coaster was mostly smooth with just a few spots of headbanging. I'd rather ride this version over a regular SLC any day. We saw Woodstocks Whirlybirds and were happy to see no rule about needing a kid under 54" to ride. At Dorney, the only ride in Planet Snoopy that has that requirement is the rocket ship monorail even though other parks in the chain don't require a kid to ride. The difference with Woodstock's Whirlybirds is that they are pedal powered although they still move without pedaling. They were running 9 cars and loading 3 at a time. It was about a 10 minute wait and this is another ride I can see having a very slow moving line on a crowded day. Boo Blasters on Boo Hill was another ride I was looking forward to as I really like dark rides, especially interactive dark rides. I liked how it had an omnimover system for faster loading. The ride was very well done with lots of show scenes, lots of targets to shoot at and when shot at, many of the props moved. I still hope that Great Adventure gets the Justice League Dark ride since I'd like to have an interactive dark ride closer to home besides the one at Hersheypark. Woodstocks Express was running 2 trains with no wait. Other than the Junior PTC trains not having a lot of leg room, it was fun for a smaller coaster. Diamondback's riders were now evacuated but the ride was still closed. They weren't sure when or if it would re-open that day so we left the ride area and went to some of the shops at the front of the park. We were ready to leave when we saw a couple of trains test and then 2 trains with riders. We quickly walked back to the ride and it was open with a short wait of 10 minutes. I knew Diamondback was supposed to be good but thought it would probably be equal to Nitro. I liked the different seating with the last row of each car away from each other so you don't have any seats close to you on either side giving the ride a more open feeling. I ended up liking the ride a lot more than Nitro with the better hammerhead, lots of air time hills (it seemed like more than Nitro, not counting Nitro's smaller hills after the MCBR) and the splashdown. I was disappointed that I was going to miss Diamondback but thought since it's a B&M Hyper and not something I have never ridden before like some other coaster types in the park, it wouldn't be a huge deal. After riding Diamondback and seeing how great it was, I would have really regretted missing it now knowing how great it was. It was around 6:00 and with the drive to Cedar Point, we decided we should leave now to get there at a reasonable hour so we wouldn't be tired the next day. Kings Island was a very nice park with some signature attractions and a good collection of other coasters as well plus some great family rides. It was a better park than I had expected. I also want to mention that I really liked Kings Island and Cedar Points bins in the station for loose articles. Although I didn't use them, I thought it was great how they used a seatbelt buckle to close the bins for the train running the circuit and that could only be opened with a key from a ride operator similar to the seatbelts used on the kiddie rides. violakat03: Awesome trip report! I really enjoyed reading it. I love seeing my home park from the perspective of someone who's never been there before and I really saw KI through your eyes when reading this. Glad you enjoyed our park and I hope you can get back here again some time in the future for a legendary Beast night ride. It really is amazing and it's a huge difference from a day time ride. MDMC01 Great stuff; I too like hearing from a first-timer about the park that I also call home. Speaking of home parks, I'll be heading up to Dorney (and Hershey) in a few days, and I'll be sure to post a trip report soon afterward detailing the trip. Also, next time you visit KI, you should check out Drop Tower (it's really a great ride) and Cirque Imagine. Cirque Imagine is an amazing show that a lot of people on here (including myself) love. Again, I'm glad you had a great time! EDIT: Congrats on making Banshee your 100th coaster; I'm hoping to hit 100 next year! electricsun: I agree with violakat03 and MDMC01 - it's nice to hear someone's experience with Kings Island. I find myself at times taking what we have for granted. It is good to reminded that we are pretty lucky. (My niece and nephew's reaction tend to serve as my reality check.) Thank you for sharing! I too will be at Dorney Park and Hershey later this week/weekend. (What a coincidence MDMC01!) VekomaRulz - will you add a trip report for Cedar Point? I'm curious as to how that experience was and how you would compare the parks. VekomaRulz: Thank you all. I don't know when I will get back but next time I am in Ohio, I'm going to try to return to the park. Besides trying Drop Tower and to stay until closing for a Beast night ride I also hope I can spend some time in Soak City. I'm going to write a Cedar Point trip report sometime later this week. I found Kings Island to be more relaxing of a park, that might have been because of the lower crowds though. Dorney and Hershey are both nice parks. Although Dorney doesn't have a lot of coasters Talon and Steel Force are great (although I think Banshee and Diamondback are much better) and the park rarely has lines except for the water park. Hersheypark has one of my favorite coaster collections of any park I have been to.

Is there a plan to import any content from the week of IPB4, or should I continue reposting things from my browser cache and Google/Bing cache? Also, when the server move does happen, will current posts be lost? (If so, I'd wait to post things until the move is complete.)

(restored post) Voicetek: So this summer, so far, has been pretty busy. Last year, my wife decided to go back and get her MBA. Unfortunately, this past semester has been extremely busy for her and she has spent many nights in class and doing homework. She's also had a few business trips she's had to go on, so we haven't really had too much time to spend together and even less chances to get out to the park. Well, she's finally on a 3 week summer break, so today we decided that we'd both take a vacation day from work and spend the day doing some fun stuff. Part of the day we decided to spend at Kings Island! So we didn't get out there til around 2 (we decided to sleep in a bit), and first thing we noticed was that the parking lot was pretty empty. Yay! We quickly found a place to park and headed through the gates. First thing we wanted to do was catch a ride on Banshee, so we hung a left and headed towards Action Zone. As we neared the queue, we noticed that the line didn't start until the stairs leading up to the station. This was awesome! Pretty much a walk on. I think we waited just a few minutes before we were being seated. Again, another amazing ride on Banshee and a great way to begin the 2015 season! After Banshee we left Action Zone and headed around towards Coney Mall (is it still Coney Mall? Where is the sign?), but first, a ride on Adventure Express. What is there to say about this ride? It's a classic and only around a 5 minute wait! Great ride - however, it needs a little love - I'll talk more about this issue later on. After Adventure Express we walked the entire length of Coney Mall (yes I'm still going to call it that anyway) and eventually made our way to Stunt Track. This is one we usually pass up on weekends because of the long waits, however, the line was pretty short today so we decided to ride. This was probably our longest wait of the day which was only about a 15 minute wait. Not too bad for this ride really. It's fun and all the effects seemed to be working today - even the fire, which wasn't needed on this 90 degree day! After Stunt Track, we decided to head towards The Beast. On our way there, my wife mentioned she was hungry so we decided to peak in LaRosa's and see how much just a single slice of pizza would be. Now for the next little bit, I want to talk about something I noticed here today. First, we were shocked by how much the prices are now. We noticed that the combos were $14.29 for 1 slice of pizza, 2 breadsticks, and a drink. $14.29!!! Well, the combo was definitely not happening. So we asked how much just one slice of pizza would be, we were told it was $3.99. We stopped and thought for second, if one piece of pizza is $3.99, then how does a combo get to be $14.29? I decided to do the math. 1 slice of pizza = $3.99, an order of breadsticks, which includes 3 = $3.99, a large drink (30oz) = $4.59. So if you bought all the items separately, It would only total $12.59 AND you'd get an extra breadstick. Come on Kings Island, what are you trying to pull here??? An extra 2 bucks for the same items bundled in a combo minus one breadstick? Crazy! Needless to say at those prices, we kept on walking. Our next stop was The Beast! It's been a whole year since we've been on, so we were looking forward to it. We got in line and it was only about a 10 minute wait. Amazing ride as usual and well worth any wait really! After The Beast it was on around to Diamondback which had about a 10-15 minute wait. The line moved rather quickly and we were up to the loading station in no time. We had an awesome ride with great airtime! It amazes me how smooth this coaster is. Always a nice ride! Well, it was nearing 4 by this time, and we were pretty hot and hungry. We decided to hit up one more ride then head out and great some lunch someplace outside of the park. We decided to take a ride on Boo Blasters since it was indoors and it would at least be cool and we could sit down and rest for a bit. So my wife and I entered the queue and immediately noticed the horribly placed "Fun TVs." Now, I knew they were in here because I've read about it on here, however, my wife was unaware and was immediately taken back by them. She couldn't believe that they could care so little about the theming that they would put Fun TVs in this queue. Even though we don't care that much for the ride, we were both upset with how little KI seems to care about the whole "theming" thing. It was here that we had a short conversation. My wife mentioned that KI should take one off season and invest a little bit of money on updating some of the rides they already have that need a little bit of love, such as Adventure Express and Boo Blasters. Why just let these rides fall to pieces like they have? I agree and I know some of us have mentioned it on here before. I'd love to see some love put into Adventure Express and of course I'd love to see an entire re-theme done to Boo Blasters, if not a whole new ride altogether. And I'd definitely ditch the Fun TVs inside that queue. Come on Kings Island, that's just lame. Act like you care a little bit about the theming! After Boo Blasters we decided to go ahead and leave the park for the day and move on someplace else. It was a nice couple of hours and we got to ride quite a bit in that short amount of time, but it was way too hot to spend time in the dry park today! We have passes, so we don't feel like we have to stay all day to get our money's worth. We always make multiple trips out there throughout the season. Now, just some things I noticed today: First, I like the new Coke building near Adventure Express. It's very nice! Next, why on God's Green Earth did they remove the Coney Mall sign/arch? I know they've pretty much de-themed the park, but now they're just messing with local history and that ticks me off! Also, we noticed quite a few people with Fastlane passes today, on a Monday, when the longest wait was about 15 minutes. Gosh, I'd hate to be the person who spent 60 bucks and really only saved myself a few minutes per ride. All in all though, the park looked great and we had a great time!

(Restored post. Unfortunately, the rest of this trip report isn't in Google's cache, Bing's cache, or my browser's cache.) shark6495: The family (Mrs. Shark, Baby shark, myself, my dad, my mom, my sister, my brother in law, and my nephew) all made the pilgrimage to Orlando to see the city Walt Built. For points of reference, we stayed in the Art of Animation and my family stayed in Pop Century for most of their trip. SUNDAY (Day 1): We arrive in sunny (and humid) Orlando and wheel my son off of the plane. My parents and sister's family would be arriving 20 minutes after us at the other airport. Upon arrival, we were instructed at the Disney Magical Express to wear our Magic Bands in the air port. We do so, connect the "Mickey to Mickey" on the posts and proceed to the busses. Our bags would make their way to our rooms within the next 3 hours, so we had to pack a few essentials in our carry on. We board the bus and make the trip to WDW. The bus played a 40 minute video/commercial for things to see and do (and buy) in Disney. We arrive at Art of Animation and check in, walk to the room, Click Mickey to Mickey and get to see the inside of our Little Mermaid Suite. The room was great to look at but the cleaning company missed some spots and there was dust on the counter. On the way back down to catch Disney transportation to head over to Downtown Disney, I stopped in to talk with a hotel clerk to get the room re-cleaned for us. They did, it was fixed. Disney transport is awesome and horrible. Takes forever to arrive and sometimes the busses are stuffed full. The ride to Downtown Disney took about 20 minutes. We got there just in time for our reservations for Portabello's. But... my sister and family stayed night 1 at a Marriott and drove to downtown Disney. They took about 90 minutes to get there. But the restaurant was willing to work around our delayed start. Dinner was great and the portions are good enough to share. Woodburning stoves create tasty thin crust pizzas. We ended the night walking around Downtown Disney, looking into the shops, playing in the Lego store, and then waiting 60 minutes for the busses to take 100s of people back to our resort.

upstop: Part 3 On Tuesday, I decided to spend the day at Universal Studios and IOA. I had had plenty of time on the freeway so I decided to take Sand Lake rd. to Universal. I entered through the back of the parks between Jurassic Park and Cabana Bay ( there was a huge mound of sand near Cabana....I'm guessing that was the beginning of the new waterpark volcano...but I digress.) I decided that since I was that early, that premium parking would not be necessary. I ended up on top of the parking garage facing due west...I was hoping the car wouldn't melt in the heat....lol. I headed towards IOA first. I followed the hoards and went towards the park. I had bought my annual pass in advance and used the Will Call kiosk. It was a very quick, and easy process and within minutes I was in the park. Within minutes, I realized that my feet were beginning to hurt from the last two days worth of walking, but I pressed onwards. I knew there was a locker/ride policy but didn't know how much, if anything they would cost, so I checked out the prices. Believe it or not the were rather reasonable. I don't remember the exact prices, but I was certainly considering renting one, however, I decided to check out the rides lockers. My first stop was Hulk. I checked out the lockers and they stated a free rental would be for 1hour 40 minutes... so I tested the process...again another super easy process of fingerprinting and placing stuff in the locker. I tested myself in the test seat and entered the line. I decided I needed the big boy seat. The line actually started at the ramp to the ride. I asked for the large seat and had plenty of room. This is a very aggressive ride. I loved it!!! It was wonderful to ride this again, because on my last visit I didn't fit. Next I decided to go to HP and the Forbidden Journey. As I rounded the back of the park into Potterverse, I noticed the line was at max. I walked up to the test seat. I watched a large couple get into the seat and the attendant pushed the overheads down. The attendant explained something to them and they looked at each other and discussed something then got in line. My turn!!!....I sat down and a different attendant pushed down..."I'm sorry, you don't fit....at least you didn't wait through all this line to find that out!". Grrrrrrrr.....I immediately walked over to Hogwarts Express. I knew my fat butt would fit on a train...LOL. I'm not going to spoil anything, but the train ride is very immersive and has lots of surprises for those riding the train. It was quite enjoyable and entertaining. After exiting the express, I came to London...I walked around for a few minutes and had to follow people to find out where Gringott's Bank was located. After entering a split in a brick wall, you are in Diagon Alley....a VERY congested area with shoulder to shoulder people all wandering around. They had what appeared to be a magic show, a stage show/concert and a talking "sprite/fairy" statue that occasionally spit water...but enough of that I wanted a roller coaster...So I had to look for the bank. After finding the bank there was a Bank Guard directing people through the door....I followed in and there was a single line going into the main lobby of the bank. Yay this line must be short. Everyone was directed to follow the line. Soon we were going to reach the end right...suddenly we went out the door and to the left and down a ramp then to the right and there it was a huge hidden queue...and it was completely full. Being used to long lines now I took a deep breath and fell into line. As long as a line moves, I'm happy, standing in hot stagnant lines is a pain in the rump. This line moved fairly nicely. Eventually we back tracked into the bank lobby....WOW...they must have spent millions on the queue line alone...just incredible. Before long we were headed into the bank chambers for an obligatory ride snapshot/bank id and headed into a preshow room. The next room was an "elevator" that took us deep into the subterranean vaults. From here you pick up your 3d glasses and climb the stairs to your transport. In there you board rollercoaster cars that look like the cars on the Mummy ride. I won't give away too much, but so you are not disappointed if you want to ride...it is NOT a rollercoaster by my standards. The car is only a conveyance for the ride. It's fast and the trains rotate to some degree and it's aggressive....but not a coaster at all. It was enjoyable, but I won't wait an hour for it again. After I left the ride I decided to head over to Transformers. I waited in the standby line for this one and got to enjoy the Blues Brothers concert while waiting...that was fun. The queue line moves fairly quickly and I really wanted to see the set up. The ride is very similar to Spiderman in IOA, however it is more elaborate. The scenes contain sprays of water and fire and is very Michael Bay loud. The simulators are very aggressive, but I highly recommend riding this one...fun fun fun! By now my feet were ready to fall off from walking, so I decided to go to Universal's AMC theater to rest from the heat. I decided to see Poltergeist. If you haven't seen it....don't. It was a totally useless remake. The best part was I was alone so I took off my shoes and propped my feet on the railing in front of me....after an hour and a half rest, I hobbled back into IOA. I rode Hulk again and headed back to Cartoon Lagoon. The line for Ripsaw Falls was really short so I decided to get drenched.....and you do get drenched but it felt wonderful!!....I headed past the new construction of the Kong ride and it is moving along nicely. The main entrance is HUGE with the skull drawbridge...looking forwards to that attraction for sure....Since I was already wet, I headed to Jurassic River Adventure. Something is slightly different about it...it seemed that some of the dinos are now missing, but the attraction is very effective. Unfortunately as we were approaching the drop the T-rex stopped roaring and started yelling "please put away the cell phone...please put away the cell phone...thank you"...and then we dropped. Freakin idiots.... As I rounded the corner I saw the HP FJ ride queue was empty...I said to my self..."Self....even if you don't fit you can at least say you tried...". So I held my chins high and got in line. This line was just as extravagant as Gringott's Bank and just as visually entertaining. Soon you come to a boarding platform with cars that looks like little open door confessionals with an overhead restraint. The way you are sitting, you actually feel like you are sitting on a broom...lol... Soon Hermione casts a spell and off you fly......O.....M....G what an incredible ride!!! I am so glad I got to ride this because this was the highlight of my trip. The 3d is dizzying and the scenery is phenomenal. The "arm" you are riding on swings fluidly in every direction from straight at the ceiling to flying sideways....also as a small warning, if you have arachnophobia, you may want to reconsider riding...hint hint..... I loved it and would wait an hour to ride next time for sure! From here I decided to check out Dragon Challenge...It's required to put all loose items in the lockers to ride...this was later in the day and a total walk on!!! I decided to ride both sides. I like the old "fire" side the best... In fact the second ride was the final ride and now it was park closure time.... I decided to leave and have dinner. My favorite pizza place is Pastamore.....What? Its gone replaced with Red Oven Pizza Bakery...big difference...only pizza and only a whole pizza. Shoot, I couldn't eat a whole pizza.... so I ate next door at Vino. I had pasta Bolognese and a beet salad with water. It was supremo!!! After eating, I took my leftovers and went back to the hotel. And thus ends part 3. Be sure to check our part four tomorrow night!

jcgoble3: Sounds like it wasn't too bad of a day. What did you think of Fantasmic? The week I was there, I was so tired by the end of the day that I never did catch any of the big nighttime shows except for one showing of Wishes from the California Grill observation deck. upstop: Crowds were humongous...i cant function well in wall to wall people. So there's that plus it was extremely hot and humid.... Fantasmic is great as usual, but having not been in the parks for about 7 years, it looks quite dated and old. The story and show needs to be updated.... but why make these changes when the show is still pulling capacity crowds, right? RailRider: I do not envy you visiting Disney during the Summertime rush. I have been in August and July and will never do that again. We are off season travelers for sure. upstop: ^^ Point taken for sure! I have never seen such huge crowds anywhere....wait until you hear about day four...it was a spectacular cluster of people and events. Coming soon.... Voicetek: I've been down to Disney World 3 times in the past 4 years. First in August of 2011, next in November of 2013, and finally in October of last year (2014). Of all the 3 visits, the November visit was by far the best! The August visit was hot, humid, rainy, and EXTREMELY crowded. The day we went to Animal Kingdom that year, it was so hot and humid that you could barely function. I've got pictures of myself after just 10-15 minutes in the park and my face is already red and sweaty. Horrible! The November visit was awesome! This was during my wife's and my honeymoon and we decided to drive down to Magic Kingdom from Hilton Head for a day. The weather was nice, about 80 and low humidity, and the crowds were super light. We rode pretty much everything we wanted with no FastPass and little wait. I think the longest line that day might have been a half hour tops. We walked around the park at our own pace and would jump on a ride whenever we wanted to with no hassle. It was quite a lovely day! Now last October was similar to the August visit. It was hot, humid, and crowded. There were wall to wall people including about a half a million kids. I couldn't believe so many kids were there considering it was a random weekday in October and not a holiday. Why were so many kids there, we thought? Why aren't they in school? Who knows, but it seemed like the entire world's population of children were in the Magic Kingdom that day. It was crazy! Of all the times I've visited Disney world, I've been in March, August, twice in October, November, and December. The best visits I've had by far were the November and December trips. The weather was great and the crowds were low. If I don't have to, I don't think I'll ever take another Disney trip in the Spring/Summer time. It's just too hot and too crowded. It's hardly worth all the fuss! Gabe: A few notes: 1. You arrived at the "Welcome to Main Street" parade. Its more of gathering of the 'citizens' populating MSUSA as they hop a horse drawn trolley and sing their way towards the castle. 2. The closest FP+ kiosks to Space are next to Philharmagic in FL. It would be nice if the MK had more. 3. Thunder is notoriously finicky, The two sides have very short blocks and if not done in the right order, the ride e-stops. 4. As for Aerosmith-did you see the Single Rider Line? Never more than 10-15 min wait. 5. Rumor has it World of Color would migrate over..still waiting..same with Main Street Electrical Parade. RailRider: My daughter absolutely loves Fantasmic!, mainly because Pocahontas is her favorite Disney character and she has a cool part in Fantasmic! We have visited in May(early) July, August, September and December. Never going in the Summer again its just so stinking hot. We planned to visit the parks on their least crowded days during our Summer visits and the lines and crowds weren't bad, but that just speaks to the importance of planning. Dieseltech20: What day of the week did you visit BGT? I have yet to encounter a massive crowd at the park. upstop: I visited BGT on the Sunday before Memorial day....lots of schools and military personnel and their families. Even the Quick Queue lines were long. I waited about 25 minutes in the Cheetah Hunt Quick Queue line, including a protein spill cleanup of one train.

Upstop: Part 2 I woke up and got ready to go on the next leg of the trip on Monday, May 25. Soon I was back in the Dayton 500 or I4. I was only slightly delayed as the inner lanes of the freeway were moving at 80 mph while the outer lanes were moving at 65 or so...there were several tense moments as traffic would surge and slow a bit, but I made it to the Magic Kingdom by 9:15 am. I managed to pick a lane where the attendant was on the passenger side of the car (incidentally the same thing happened at BGT, but I digress). The attendant was extremely nice and actually came out of the both so I wouldn't have to reach so far...at least that's how I'm looking at it...hehehe. I merged into the traffic and followed the crowd around the "Driving Experience track" and was immediately ushered into Mulan Row 23...As I parked my car, I could see brigades of strollers being unpacked and the immediate sound of uncomfortable children suddenly thrust into the searing heat that was flowing over the parking lot. From where I was parked, it seemed like 4 city blocks to the loading area. I merged into the crowd of people and waited for the tram. When the crowd was given the ok, the tram instantly filled to capacity...and there I was with a goofy surprised look on my face looking up and down the tram for an opening...I decided to wait for the next tram, which by the way was right there waiting. When told that I could enter I immediately took my seat and my stomach was jumbling with elementary school joy, ready to ride the rides and meet THE Mouse...As we started to move past the line of trees that divides my section, I made a note of the general direction and scenery to find my car...and off we went to ticketing and transportation. After arriving at the ticketing kiosks, the tram virtually exploded in a rocking motion as the hoards of patrons flooded out onto the plaza. I had debated on what type and duration of tickets that I would need for weeks...in the end I figured that the best deal in the end would be the annual pass...so I took the plunge and passed the credit card. I decided to take the Ferry over to the park, rather than the monorail. What a relaxing ride....Upon arrival, I went through the bagless line and tapped my card to the mouse head and entered the park. For some reason, I always arrive at the park at the beginning or ending of a parade...today was no different. Parades tend to draw everyone within site to Main Street USA....I had to stand near Town Hall Until the parade had ended, and the crowds dispersed...but that didn't happen...Then I thought of where I parked. The parking lot was 2/3 full when I arrived at 9:15....that plus resort guests packed the park...I stepped around the corner from Town Hall to the center of Main Street and what I saw was an endless river of people all the way to the castle. My first thought... the sign outside said "Magic Kingdom - population 600,000,000"...and ever last one was in the park that day. Soooo.... I worked my way through the back route through Tomorrowland Terrace...I beelined to Space Mountain (all attractions had lines outside of their prospective buildings) and the mountain was no different...I looked around for the FastPass kiosks but could not find them...so I headed out of the area and into Fantasyland. I figured if I had to wait on anything it would be for the new Fantasyland attractions. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train line was only 30 minutes...hey that's average right? Outside the attraction was an attendant with a sign in the air..."this is the end of the line for The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train"....Interesting because the area was uber congested. The line followed the edge of a wall and finally entered a covered area where an attendant classified each guest....standby this way, FastPass that way....in the heat of the day the line seemed to move slowly in small surges. I have to hand it to Disney...they surely know how to disguise queue lines. This line moved into a trench with absolutely no air flow. Fans would provide a brief and blessed breeze occasionally, however the line seemed never ending. When you get closer to the station, you are serenaded by songs from the movie and there are diversions to entertain the little ones from matching gems, and playing music by waving hands in front of streams of water, to spinning barrels to flash images on the ceiling of one of the seven dwarfs. I finally made it to the front of the line and was placed in the front seat...It's a fun and interesting concept, but kind of short in my opinion. The little ones seem to love it though and that's what counts. The new facial animation to bring a more cartoonlike image to the animatronics is really cool. The ending scene with Snow White dancing is fascinating. It looks real...that is what Disney does the best. Upon leaving the line, I checked my phone for time and it actually took an hour and a half....wow.... I then ventured to the Little Mermaid ride...The line for this ride was on the plaza at the entrance. There was a sign at the front stating that the attraction would take 30 minutes...the attendant said "this sign is wrong. This line is actually over an hour long"...I started to hesitate and though...nah...I'm going to do it now....so I jumped into line...It started off slowly but continued to move steadily...Just before the building, the person behind me said to whomever they were with "he just called and said it is storming in the parking lot". I looked up and there were black rain clouds over head. It started sprinkling and I thought "so close and so far". In five minutes we would be drenched (not bad since it was 90 degrees... but afterwards...). I made it into the building and found it entertaining to watch the people play with the animated crabs. If you point at an object in Ariel's treasure trove, they will pick it up and pile it away....must be some kind of spatial recognition, but it was pretty cool. I did see something rather heart warming. There was a little child super excited about getting to see the Little Mermaid and was totally bouncing off the walls with excitement. As it was 90 degrees outside and 70+ inside the building she calmed down. They were several people ahead and as they boarded the car the little girl leaned into her father and...she fell asleep in the cool air...more to the story in a minute. The attraction is really cool, from the flowing backwards to the bottom of the sea to all of the catchy tunes...the new flowing hair Ariel animatronic is amazing. Now to the heart warming stuff....upon exiting the ride I saw the father and child. She was sobbing about "missing the Little Mermaid". The father said "She's right here.", "But I missed her" and he said "Come on...lets ride it again". and off they went back into the line...brought a smile to my face. This line actually took 20 minutes to ride...Was I beginning to see a trend of stacking ride times to push crowds away? (It sure didn't seem that way on the mine ride for sure.) Now it was close to noon. I wanted to see The Beast's Castle restaurant. In order to get in you have to "make a reservation" by accepting a menu and waiting in line. This by far was the most interesting restaurant concept that I've seen. You wait in a short line and then come to an attendant who asks two questions Are you a resort member and Cash or credit? Not being from a resort they gave me a plastic "rose" disk, then sent to a touch pad kiosk. You hold the rose to a "mouse head" and once it is acknowledged, you touch in your order, pay and look for seating. You get your fountain drink if you order one then wait. A server will appear with your order in a covered cart! If you have seen the movie, the dining set is spot on to the castle scenes. It was elegant for a quick service dining experience. The food was awesome as well. I had a shaved turkey sandwich and fries, water and soft drink, with "the masters cupcake" a super delicious strawberry cheesecake cupcake. After the meal I took a brief tour of the castle rooms and I love the "forbidden west wing" it was just incredible. I left the castle and was slammed with 90 degree heat and now added humidity from the rain...yuck. The crowds in Fantasyland were unbelievable...it was shoulder to shoulder of people and quite alarming for me. I needed to use the restroom so I headed to the right of Peter Pan's Flight....oops they are not there anymore, they are across the walkway...and through the massive crowd...it took what seemed like several minutes to get across...I was floating in my shoes by the time I got there. The next ride is my all time favorite dark ride.... The Haunted Mansion!!! I love, love, love, love that ride...did I say I love that ride?....Surprise 1hour 30 minutes....for the second time that week my jaw hit the pavement. I bit the bullet and got in line...grumpy as all get out for this CRAZY line. It amazes me though that even though the queue is essentially one long line 12 or so feet wide, that people will still try to stand single file...anyways it didn't take nearly as long as posted....maybe 20 minutes at the most. I have the entire script for the ride memorized and of course I repeated them as I rode the ride...lol... I exited the ride at the end and guess what a parade was starting....no line in the Mansion...so I rode it again!!! After this ride I headed to Big Thunder...closed for some reason but would be opening later....Splash Mountain 2 hours... Although I love both rides, the heat of the day was taking a toll on me...I headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean. The line was about 45 minutes in a blessedly cool interior queue line. This ride still performs well after all these years, although now it seems rather short to me. I finally left the park to go to my motel room to check in. I stayed at the Best Western in Buena Vista. I was given a beautiful room on the 11th floor facing the parks. The Disney Springs area is very much under construction and believe me... right now the traffic flow in that area is really bad. I left the Magic Kingdom around 5 and got to the motel around 6:30! (might have just been because of the holiday...can't be for sure). I decided to "hop" over to Disney's Hollywood to catch Fantasmic. I decided to ride TOT....Line was super long but I waited that has to be one of the coolest, most immersive rides ever designed. I then went to Rockin Rollercoaster. Based on timing, I apparently arrived after the ride "reopened". The line started just outside of the studio door. It still took a while to get on this ride for some reason....loved the ride though! I saw something heartwarming earlier in the day, but this time I saw something heart breaking. After riding RRC, as I was exiting there was a young boy in a wheelchair. His friends were just ahead of me as they approached him, he said, holding back tears and in a sad voice "was it fun?" and his friends shook their heads yes....I would have given my spine for him to have had the experience...it just broke my heart. Now it was time for Fantasmic's first showing. I approached the entrance... they now have FastPass for the show. I was of course standby. When I got to the top of the walkway, they announced the show was standing room only...it was an hour before the show... jeesh! I talked to an attendant who said, "we have a second show in an hour and a half"...great I'd check out the park and come back later. I decided to ride "midway mania"...2 hour wait so back over towards Fantasmic...I decided to have dinner and I had pizza and a salad. soon Fantasmic ended and the people were released....I got into the standby line and was near the front. Just before the showing, they opened the Fast Pass and if you think line cutting is crazy...I watched 500,000 FastPass holders enter before standby could enter..lol....When we were released, I sat near the front...(not too bad at first) as the show progressed, the mist got heavier and heavier. I ended up drenched by the end of the show! Well that wraps up day two.

(restored post) upstop: Part 1 I determined that this year I would make the pilgrimage to foundation of every child's dream here in America (and apparently throughout every inch of earth known to man as a matter of fact).... that fun filled bastion of rides, character costumes, and squeaky clean environments with happy, happy employees....Central Florida's play land... The I4 corridor. I started the trip by driving to SC to stay overnight at my sister's house and begin the following day on a six hour journey to Tampa. I must say on Sunday, I95 was nearly empty until I got to I4....then I got to try the Daytona 500 first hand....I4 traffic was driving at about 80mph and bumper to bumper. That was probably the most exciting attraction that I did during my vaca. I arrived at Busch Gardens, Tampa at 10:15. At the toll, I used my BG Platinum Pass to park and got premium parking...good thing I did, because the park was at capacity within an hour. I ventured through the gates and began swimming upstream through the crowds and to the right heading to Cheetah Hunt. I was excited to finally be at the park when I arrived at the ride entrance my jaw hit the faux cobblestone pavement...Cheetah hunt was a two hour wait....so I went onward to Montu...It was an hour wait. Soooooo....I meandered through the crowds back to guest services to get a Quick Queue (why you ask since you can buy them through kiosks near the entrance of the coasters? The one near Montu wasn't working and the one at Cheetah hunt had a mile of customers....I waited approximately 45 minutes and got my Quick Queue. First coaster Cheetah Hunt....what a cool ride from the launch to the treetop twist and through the African Savannah it is an exciting ride. Next was Montu... Got to say, I like Banshee a lot - because it's fun and close, but I like Montu more. The tunnels and close calls to the ground are more exiting to me. Plus the final corkscrew and change of direction is the coolest optical/physical illusion on an inverted coaster. Next I had a brief visit with the African Elephants.....such incredible creations they are!!! I continued onwards to Pantopia. You can see and hear Falcon's Fury from every inch of the park...It is the strangest sound...kind of like a very loud release of air....not quite a fart but close...hehehe... Watching people ride was hilarious. The ride itself seems to begin breaking the instant it is released, but drops very fast. Many of you know that I'm terrified of heights, so I was working up my courage to ride...I decided that it would be the icing on the cake for the day...so I would do it later (a decision that I would regret). I decided to ride Sand Serpent (wild mouse ride...Kings Island really needs one of these...hint to those who might be reading). I headed from there to ride Kumba....It was like meeting an old friend....and then getting beaten up by them. Kumba is fast and furious and has many directional changes....Obviously the designers where trying to fit a lot into a little space...very effective little ride and FUN!!! Next I rode Congo River Rapids. To ride this, I decided to get a locker. I put in my money and twisted the key...the money fell and....no key. The darn thing took my change...I had to get more change and try another locker. I put my stuff in the locker and quickly went to the line. About ten seconds into the line I realized...I didn't memorize the locker number...oh well the number is on the key....except it wasn't on the key....LMAO....Anyways, I quick queued to the ride and quickly seated myself with 10 other people (luckily I had my own seat of two...more in a minute.....). We sat at the end of the conveyor for quite a while then we drifted slowly into the river. As we rounded the corner, I was listening to the conversations when I looked up to see a gigantic stream of water headed straight towards my head....I quickly ducked over into the empty seat and a man and woman to my left caught the entire stream...LOL!!! I figured that my turn would be coming soon as we bounced down the river we would start to turn to where I was sitting, then bounce off the wall to turn the other way....I didn't get too wet...but the couple to my left got EVERY dip and drench along the way...after the tunnel there is a waterfall and you guessed it, they caught that too. The most wet that I got was at the end where the get pushes the inner tube either left or right and that got me good. Now since my key did not have a number on the end, I had to "try" lockers...that was embarrassing...finally found my locker and retrieved my stuff. Next I visited the tigers. The enclosure for the tigers is really neat...nothing like standing within a couple of feet of such a big kitty cat. They are just beautiful. I then continued into Stanleyville. I Quick Queued the Stanley Falls ride...that is one fast flowing flume ride and I got completely drenched. I was beginning to get hungry so I decided to eat at the Smokehouse....all I can say is wow....I had a Barbecued Pork sandwich with coleslaw and fries, with a slice of carrot cake with a soft drink and water. I sat near the Sheikra splashdown and was enjoying watching the sprays of water. About halfway through my meal, an announcement over the loudspeakers said that all attractions would be temporarily closing due to weather. I looked into the sky and all I could see was sun and clouds... It was quite puzzling....until....BOOM! Lightning...we were instructed to take cover. Those little "tent" shops do not hold that many people, and that is shoulder to shoulder. The locals were calming the crowd with "eh this is Florida weather...it'll be over in a few minutes and all the rides will start up again...about 45 minutes later...the rain stopped...so I queued up for Sheikra. I was loaded into the fourth train to dispatch. All seats were checked and all thumbs were up when....BOOM! Storms again....I went into the little shop next door and checked out the wares. Finally the rain stopped again...I rushed over to Sheikra. Finally I was strapped into the middle row and off we went...Such a fun ride!...So much fun that I rode it again from the back row. After I exited the ride it started raining again. I decided to head on around the loop towards the aviary. I walked up to the enclosure right at feeding time. The birds were so beautiful! I whistled a couple of times and a dozen or so beauties flew up to the net structure and perched....I actually got to lightly pet several of them...such bright colors. I continued around past Sesame Street onwards. I stopped to view the flock of flamingos. They were all beginning to rest for the night and were resting on one leg. Now was the time to start all over. I went back to Cheetah Hunt and rode Montu two more times. I then headed back to Pantopia. I rode Scorpion (fun ride!!)...then on to Falcon's Fury...BOOM lighting...park was ready to close...Oh well next visit. Doesn't seem like I did much that day, but time flies when your having fun. I left the park to my hotel, Travel Lodge which is right across the street and third world country clean...Yuck. However, it served it's purpose. I woke up the next morning and headed to the Magic Kingdom!!! Part two to come tomorrow night...

Got it: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/31120-stashua123s-double-trip-report-613-and-619/

(Restored post) stashua123: Arrival: June 13th, 2015 11:45 AM I flashed my gold pass at the parking toll booth and my mom was nice enough to not drop us off right at the drop off center and instead drove us all the way to the Soak City Waterpark Entrance (Thanks Mom! ) Me and my friend Dylan got dropped off and we entered. We first rented an all day locker which is fairly expensive at about 15$. After that we changed and went swimming. I first went in Breakers Bay, the first Wave Pool built at KI. Its a nice wave pool but its surface is a little bit rough to walk on. After getting ourselves used to the water we then went on Pipline Paridise were my friend was a master at the waves and I wiped out on my first try. Me and Dylan then walked over and rode Thunder Falls, a fairly good intertube slide that has some crazy turns. We then went on Paradise Plunge, a group of four intertwining waterslides. I rode the orange one and it was a bit slower than the other slides. We then went to the train station to wait up for Dylans date. The date and her sister came and we went swimming in Breakers Bay again. After a short period of time, they left to ride Pipeline Paridise which I did not want to wipe out on again. Instead I went and swam in Tidal Wave Bay, the newest Wave Pool at KI built as apart of the Soak City transformation in 2012. It has way bigger waves than Breakers Bay. I then spent about an hour roaming around Soak City and swimming before I finally met back up with Dylan. We then took the train over to the Main Park, that train is a great ride and fairly relaxing. Dry Park Time: 2:45 PM We arrived at 2:45 PM. The first ride we went on was Banshee and here is the fairly uncomfortable experience I complained about in another topic. I was boarding the ride expecting my sandals to not be an issue. But I was unpleasantly surprised when the Restraint Checker said "You are either going to have to wear them or sit on em'" I then sat on my very thick Nike Sandals and heard "8-4" and I knew I was the one going to have an issue. This was the first time I've ever been asked "Sir can we push down a little more?". For those who have not seen me recently I am a 6'5 257 pound 15 year old. It took ten seconds for me to fit with the sensors, however I was fairly tight in the train on top of the uncomfortable feeling of my thick sandals made one of the worst Banshee rides I have had. For this ride I give it a rating of 6.5/10. I got off feeling fairly uncomfortable and it ruined the mood of the park for the next hour and a half. We next went on The Bat. The Bat was a great ride and fairly intense right in the helix turnaround. I give it a rating of 8.0/10. We then decided to eat at the Festhaus. Since Dylan had a season long meal plan, I did not have to pay for anything and we shared 2 pizza slices and 2 breadsticks. After the Festhaus we went to ride some rides in the Action Zone to find out every ride except The Bat and Invertigo had closed due to "technical difficulties". So instead we went to ride one diamond-in-the-rough rollercoaster, Adventure Express. It was a great ride and I am glad to see they have restored some of the theming in the final lift hill. I give it a rating of 7.5/10. We then rode Racer, which with Racer and Beast I have a unique problem, I have such long legs that I have to fold them over a little bit to the other side to be able to fit in the ride properly. We rode Blue Racer which was not racing with Red because Red Racer had just opened. It was still a great ride and I'm glad I rode with my friend's date's sister who has very small legs. 7.5/10. We then walked back to the train because it was hot and humid. Soak City Round Two: 5:45 PM It was around 5:45 by this time so we went back to Soak City, changed and said goodbye to Dylan's date and her sister. We mostly went over here to just swim in the tidal wave pool and relax which we did for about an hour before we got tired of it. We went back to the changing area when Dylan shouted at me "Dude were are my shoes?" That's when we realized that someone had stolen them, Dylan left them there somehow and someone stole his $140.00 pair of Nike Airs. For some reason though, they left him his socks . I saw a security guard entering the Changing Rooms and told him about my friends situation. He was sympathetic to us and said that you guys can check the Lost and Found one more time and if you could not find them, you can fill out a stolen items report. I ran back and told Dylan about this. We checked the Lost and Found one more time to no avail. Met up with the security guard and went into the Soak City Security Office(Obviously we were not in trouble) to fill out a Stolen Items Report. The security office is compact with a computer and a small table I presume they use for interrogating(which we were not here for.) and sat down at that small table. You pretty much fill out your personal information and how much your item cost. It was very nice to just relax for a bit in a very air conditioned building. One of the Security officers went over to a store and brought Dylan a free pair of flip flops so he could go back to the dry park. We thanked the three officers and were on our merry way. Kings Island Dry Part 7:30 PM. We realized we did not want to wait for another train, so instead we walked through the Picnic Grove Area, this area could have a lot of potential if they just used it. We then traveled to Rivertown so we could eat some fries as apart of the meal plan, this time I used my money to buy some fries. We sat down and ate for about 40 minutes. We then got up and went on a couple of rides. We first went on Vortex, which had no wait. It was a very nice ride and since I am so tall, I don't get any headbanging. I give this a rating of 8.0/10. We went on WindSeeker, which gave a great view of the park at Sunset. After WindSeeker we went on the Zephyr. For some reason two people behind me kept on shouting ""Murica" and I shouted it once. We got off and rode the Red Racer, it was a good ride and this time we were racing, 8.0/10. After Racer we left the park at 9:30 and waited at the drop off zone for my brother to pick me up. Fun fact after dropping off my friend, my brother got a speeding ticket for going 45 in a 35 zone, so he now has to go to court in early July. It was fairly scary. Final Thoughts Overall the visit was a very memorable one in both good and bad ways. I would say it was a great visit but not worthy of a 10 so I would give it a 9.0/10. The Park has been improving every year I have been there and I hope it keeps on Improving. There are some things they need to work on(Expanding Soak City a little and filling the empty void in the Carousel Area). But my experience was far better than opening day. Thank you Kings Island for a great visit! 6/19 Trip Report will be up soon. Thank you all for reading, -Joshua

The previous forum version, along with a database backup from last week, seems to have been restored. I use an add-on to back up text that I type into websites, so I reposted some of my recent posts. The site still seems to be on the old server, so it's possible that there will be more post loss when Dane's announced server move happens.

Perhaps he met Zach?

Crowds have been very light today, though a few lines have been long at times. The KI app wait times have been really useful for getting to each ride when the wait is minimal.

A mom standing outside the KI Theater talking to her young son: It's "Sir K image"

There are a few large groups here today, making lines a bit harder to predict. Banshee has had a longer line than a triple stacking Diamondback most of the day. I really enjoyed seeing the 2015 edition of Cirque Imagine for the first time.

Riders are being told today that flip flops (but nothing else) can remain in the station.

There are days at Cedar Point when there seem to be as many Michigan plates as Ohio plates.

The sign-up funnel cake bonus should be there when you visit the park after registering with your e-mail address. If you never got it, you might try registering again. It's a new system, so there may be some lingering technical issues. Aside from that, users of KI app may receive various offers while in the park, including savings on food, upcharge attractions, merchandise, and even Fast Lane. Make sure to use the app (& keep Location Services enabled with appropriate permissions granted on iOS devices, as noted above) whenever you're at the park! Note that most deals are only good on the day that you receive them.

I wonder if this incident took place in an area where lock and tag procedures are required to enter.

The better benches are around the corner at Frontier Town Station. You get to sit in the shade, then you get to ride the train.