diamondhawk

Oh my goodness! This is the best news ever!!!

Why did Canada's Wonderland benefit the most? Am I missing something?

Yes! It is finally here! We were promised this during the offseason and we finally get it! Yay for the 70s!

41.32% to level four! Diamondhawk FTW!

On June 19, I went to Carowinds. Yes, I realize I am over a month late, but I've been busy. Okay, here we go. I didn't really want to pay full admission and I didn't want to upgrade to a platinum pass because it will most likely be only Cedar Fair park this year (besides KI). I decided to try the Starlight Ticket and hope for the best. At 3:30 we stopped at McDonald's because the last thing I wanted to do was buy food in the park. We entered the park at exactly 4:00. First stop was Vorex. Why? I've never been on a stand-up roller coaster before! Ride Reviews Vortex- 8.5/10, Wait Time- 0 minutes. To be perfectly honest, the coaster wasn't as exciting as I expected. Plus it's not the most comfortable ride for a, um, man. I rode Vortex twice since I have never been on a stand-up coaster. Fun ride, but I guess I'd rather have a working Derlirium than a King Cobra. After this we headed to Intimidator. Of course, it broke down while we were in line (just my luck)! So we headed to Nighthawk. Nighthawk- 8/10, Wait Time- 15 minutes. For those of you who know of or have been to Carowinds, Nighthawk is the same thing as our Firehawk. The dual loading station doesn't help wait time for Firehawk. The same size line at Carowinds took about the same waiting time. Anyway, I thought it would be fun that the ride was over a lake, but it was actually pretty disgusting. The water was greenish and dirty. I think water geysers would be very cool for this ride, but what do I know. If I remember correctly, there was no helix at the end of the ride and the corkscrews were rougher (hence the 8/10 rating). As you can tell from the name Diamondhawk, I am a Firehawk freak! Back to the now open intimidator! Intimidator- 9.5/10, Wait time- 10 minutes. The problem with this ride is that I can compare it to Diamondback! It was a very fun ride, but it was not as fast as DB, there was less airtime than DB, and there was no splashdown. Not to mention the ride was not in the woods and part of it was almost in the parking lot. However, giving credit where credit is due, I liked the racing theme (even though I'm not a racing fan). Diamondback doesn't really have a theme. I don't know if this had anything to due with the break down before, but the ride-ops were telling us we had 20 seconds before the train left, with of without us! Yikes! What happened to Southern Hospitality? We rode this ride twice because it was still fun and a nice variation from DB which I ride around 50 times a year. Off to Planet Snoopy? Oh don't worry, we're just making a pitstop to the Woodstock Gliders! Woodstock Gliders- 10/10, Wait time- 5 minutes. In case you don't know, this ride is our Flying Eagles. This statement basically sums up my ride review- bring them back to KI! Top Gun, excuse me, Afterburn was next. Afterburn- 10/10, Wait time-0 minutes. Amazing ride! By far my favorite coaster at Carowinds. If you're ever at Carowinds, this ride is HIGHLY suggested by me. Blows Invertigo out of the water (sorry about that Invertigo). I just liked everything about the ride. Of course it may just be personal prevence, and everyone else here hates it, but oh well. I love the G-Forces you get, the batwing and loop. Rode this a total of 4 times. I could've keep riding but the rest of my group wanted to move on (losers). Southern Star- 5/10, Wait time- 5 minutes. Wait, I left Afterburn for this? For those of you who want Delirium of Viking Fury to go upside down, DON'T. It's actually painful hanging at the top for your thighs pressing against the restraint, and all the blood goes to your head. Not to mention unfriendly ride ops, but I'll get to that later. Thunder Road- 6/10, Wait time- 0 minutes. Basically a rougher version of The Racer IMO even worse than the blue racer side. Exactly the same layout even though I think Thunder Road kept it's last drop that The Racer lost. To make things worse, Only the South Carolina side was running. Boo Blasters- 7/10, Wait time- 5 minutes. I like our ride cars better. More room and a equal advantage for everybody. I also wasn't a fan of banging into the doors, and the que being outside. Carolina Cobra- 7.5/10, Wait time- 5 minutes. Non-inverted Invertigo. Nothing more, nothing less. I felt less G-Force on this ride than Invertigo, but that's just me. Ricochet- 8/10, Wait time- 0 minutes. I've always like wild mouse coasters for some reason. Maybe I like the way it feels like you'll fall off the side. I think KI should get one, but I know, capacity nightmare. Carolina Cyclone- 7/10, Wait time- 0 minutes. Rough and not as long or fun as Vortex (KI's Vortex). I know I sound very critical, but I guess KI spoiled me! Hurler- 3/10, Wait time- 0 minutes. Oh my this hurt. Not fun at all. I made the mistake of putting my hands up for the first drop, and ouch. Many will disagree, but I thought it was almost as bad as SOB is terms of roughness. The good news is Hurler is a lot shorter than SOB! We went to ride Vortex one last time (since we may never be on a stand-up coaster again). We had the train to ourselves, which was fun. Same review and rating as above. I then bought a Carowinds shirt since it was 8 and we left after a fun day! That's it for part 1. In part 2, I will compare KI to Carowinds and point out special things that I noticed. Thanks for reading!

RFYLCB is too long for me. I call it the baby log flume.

The very sneaky Dip'n dots guy is known to have inside information that nobody (including the park itself) is given. Watch your back around them, you never know what to expect.

The long wire could be the ride's cabels, right? But if both rides are down this is horrible for Action Zone.

I swear, we might as well call it Drop Tower 1.

It depends on the ride. I hate the name Drop Tower for a ride.

In 2013, I would demolish Son of Beast. This could free up land that we will use later. I would be excited to announce The Racer getting painted red white and blue, and a ferris wheel added in Coney Mall. Luminsocity: Ignite the Night replaces Snoopy’s Starlight Spectacular. The Tower Gardens get a major upgrade.

The good news is that the games are probably so hard that nobody wins!

I just feel bad for all the Son of Beast crap that Don has to deal with.

Do you know what parks would get the Flight of Fears?

Don't laugh, but my first coaster at Kings Island was Son of Beast. It's a miracle I still enter the place.

I really miss hearing the Top Gun soundtrack in the park.

Did you see how much a shirt is? The gift stand thingy by the entrance of X-Base had $7 t-shirts on Monday. They had lots of Firehawk shirts, but I also saw a few Crypt shirts that looked pretty nice.

The truth can hurt.

It truly pains me to see The Racer in it's current condition. I went on the blue side today and it was just painful. I got a headache. The only other rides at KI that can do that to me are Vortex (in a seat other than 5-1) and Son of Beast (in any seat).

It seems like Rivertown has the top two coasters at KI. Not to mention it had best flat ride from 2002-2007.

FAMILY RIDES (15 rides & attractions) Backlot Stunt Coaster Zephyr Monster Adventure Express Scrambler Shake, Rattle, & Roll Congo Falls Viking Fury Eiffel Tower Dodgem Boo Blasters on Boo Hill White Water Canyon K.I. & MV Railroad Grand Carousel Thunder Alley ($) My Score: 13/15 Next visit I'm going to ride Thunder Alley with my free coupon from fun perks. THRILL RIDES (15 rides & attractions) Diamondback The Beast Delirium Drop Tower Firehawk Flight of Fear Invertigo The Racer: Red The Racer: Blue Vortex WindSeeker Flight Deck Sling Shot ($) Xtreme Skyflyer ($) Son of Beast (SBNO) My Score: 14/15 Curse you upcharge! Planet Snoopy (18 rides & attractions) Surf Dog Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown Flying Ace Aerial Chase Peanuts 500 Kite Eating Tree Joe Cool's Dodgem School The Great Pumpkin Coaster Peanuts Off-Road Rally Snoopy's Splash Dance Charlie Brown's Wind Up Woodstock Express Woodstock Whirlybirds Sally's Sea Plane Linus' Beetle Bugs Snoopy's Junction Linus' Launcher Snoopy vs. Red Baron Character Carousel My Score: 9/18 Soak City WATERPARK (16 slides & attractions) Note: Link to KI Soak City page for pictures to help determine what is what as this may confuse some- I am aware most people don't remember waterslide names: http://www.visitking...-city-waterpark Aruba Tuba Breakers Bay Tidal Wave Bay Castaway Cove Splash Landing Coconut Cove Lookout Lagoon Pipeline Paradise Mondo Monsoon Zoom Flume Paradise Plunge Thunder Falls Rendezvous Run Tropical Twister Pineapple Pipeline Splash River My Score: 13/16 Dinosaurs Alive! (2 attractions) Dinosaurs Alive! ($) Dinosaurs Alive! 3D My Score: 0/2 Total Score: 49/66 rides, slides, & attractions BONUS!!!: DEFUNCT RIDES Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle The Crypt Action Theater(when it really was an Action Theater) Antique Cars Scooby's Ghoster Coaster Flying Eagles(at Carowinds, not sure it counts) My Score: 5 Total Score with Bonus: 54 Not too shabby! I decided not to count Flying Eagles(Woodstock Gliders).

I got home from the park tonight and checked my funperks account. I have no new reward offers. I normally wouldn't mind this but I bought: All-day drink wristband ($5) La Rosa's Pizza ($23) XL Slice and Breadsticks ($8) Ice Cream ($10) Cinnabon ($6) Gift Shop ($20) Total: $72 I was in a group and personally only spent $10. I feel that something isn't right here. Maybe I am wrong but it seems that I should at least have new offers. Should I ask GR? I know that they scanned my pass because my visit is in and I got an instant reward (free Thunder Alley ride). Sorry to complain, I am just a little concerned.

I can't believe that Six Flags wouldn't give out free water. I remember one very hot day, the ride-ops at Diamondback were actually encouraging people to go get free water. But, a large cup of water at McDonald's was $0.50 last time a asked for it.

I have finally leveled up to the two-star status. I have visited 4 times and probably spent about $85. I am buying a couple pizzas at La Rosa's for a birthday next visit, so I'll have to see what happens.

Thank you all, this is very helpful information. I was already leaning toward Dollywood, but I wasn't sure wether to go to SFOG or Carowinds. I didn't have a great experience at the last Six Flags I went to, but it seems like SFOG is a good park. I'll let you know how everything went with a trip report after I go!