Living within a reasonable drive to Cedar Point, I go there as often as I can, but for some reason I've never gone to KI before. Don't ask why because I don't even know. Well, it turned out perfect since every fall my marching band has a big banquet with raffles. One of the raffle baskets last year included KI tickets and a hotel stay. And wouldn't you know it, I was the winner. So my mom, dad, and I left for the park early Thursday morning (6/27) and arrived at the park around 11 am.
First ride of the day was The Beast. My parents had been on it before but they hadn't been to the park in a long time, so they sort of forgot exactly what it was like. It was an awesome ride. It had a 45 minute wait, but I actually think it ended up being closer to a half hour. Not bad at all. It was fast, smooth, and I loved that it was built into the terrain and forest. My favorite part was the 2nd lift hill. It was deceiving, and since I was in the front row, I saw what was coming and didn't expect much. Once at the crest of the it all I saw was a turn and then slight incline. It didn't look too thrilling, but I was so wrong. You pick up so much speed as you clowly begin to go down that hill. By the time you enter the helix tunnel, you are really flying and I loved it! Plus I loved The Beast since it's such a long ride. Overall it's a million times better than Mean Streak at CP...
Next was Diamondback. This ride was way more intense than I thought. I sat in the last row, and the first drop caught me offguard. That had some crazy airtime, and I'd even compare it to El Toro. It had both extreme positive and negative G's, and the splashdown at the end is really cool. By the way, we only waited about 20 minutes to ride.
Then we went on the Backlot Stunt Coaster. It had a 30-45 minute wait, but I thought it was a fun little ride. The theming was sort of cool. Can you tell I'm used to the Point?
When we first got to the park it was cloudy and actually felt sort of cool, but by this time the sun had come out, and since it was humid we were starting to get pretty hot. We bought some fries, and we wanted to cool off and get lunch someplace air conditioned and got pizza in the Festhaus in the Oktoberfest area. While there we saw the show "Rock'n'Roll Never Forgets" and were impressed with the talent.
Next we went up on the Eiffel Tower. We spent a good amount of time up here checking out the 2014 construction site and just getting an idea of the layout of the park. Plus there was a nice breeze. After this we headed to The Racer. It was a walk on, and it sort of reminded me of the Blue Streak at CP, but I was surprised at how rough it was. Despite the roughness, I enjoyed it. I still love those classic coasters.
Next was Firehawk. I've been on B&M flyers (Superman clones) so I sort of knew what to expect, but I knew it would probably be a little different. If I'm correct, I believe this ride used to be at Geauga Lake under the name X-Flight? But I never went on it at GL so this was my 1st time on the ride. The line was about 45 minutes (maybe just a litte less) but it was worth it. You definitely felt more insecure than you do on the B&M flyers IMO, but it sort of made the ride even better due to this. The feeling that you were going to fall out added to the ride experience.
Then we went on Flight of Fear. The air conditioning felt really nice. I couldn't help to think of Disaster Transport, but I tried to keep an open mind. Yeah, I think the theming in the queue was pretty cheesy especially the video, but it was way better than DT could have ever been. The ride was pretty fun, but it was also pretty rough. You really get jerked around on this ride, but not as much as on The Racer.
Next was Adventure Express. I think I like Mine Ride at CP better, but it was still a fun ride. I appreciate the theming that was put into it, but the ending totally ruined the ride for me. Come on, a lift hill into the station. Really? I was all ready for more hills and turns, but to my dismay we were suddenly back to the station. Bummer.
Then we went on Drop Tower. Only waited 1 ride cycle, and I loved this ride, and I like it better than Power Tower. Sorry to keep comparing CP to KI but I can't help it haha. There was a concert going on in the amphitheater area, which I later found out was a Christian rock concert. Next was Invertigo after a 20-30 minute wait. It was a fun and somewhat disorienting ride.
We wanted to get back on Diamondback and Beast again, so we headed back for DB. Once again, it only had a 20 minute wait. Sat in the back row again and still I loved it. I think it might have become my favorite B&M coaster. Then after a half hour wait we rode The Beast, and I was in the front row again. Had another awesome ride.
By then we were ready for dinner and got some amazing turkey legs we saw earlier. They were delicious and the lady cooking them was really nice! Then we got an ice cream and headed toward International Street. I visited a gift shop and then we went outside to watch the fireworks. However, we were all disappointed. They only lasted maybe 3 minutes and were nothing special. I know they do this almost every night, but I feel like they need to be a little longer. I also think a show like Luminosity would make a great addition.
Overall I had an awesome 1st visit to KI. The thing I was most surprised with and most pleased with was the friendly staff. Every single staff member that day was kind and pleasant, a huge improvement over CP's staff. Plus the rides were really good too. No, there isn't the huge selection of massive coasters like CP, but the rides the park does have are very good. I can't wait to get back there again!
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