thegajone

My longest wait of the day so far has been 10 minutes for The Bat.

The weather is cooperating so far! Already been on Delirium, Banshee, FoF, Firehawk, BLSC, Beast, DB, WWC, and taken a 30 minute lunch break.

I'm hoping the rain holds off tomorrow....

Ok thanks for the info, much appreciated.

I know this has been covered in here but a search didn't help me too much and I can't find the info on KI's website, but what rides are open for ERT this year? I'm pretty sure Banshee, The Bat and Delirium were all open 30 minutes early the one time I went early this year, but is anything else?

I loved Invertigo when I was young. It was one of my favorite coasters at KI at one point and I had no problem waiting in the long lines caused by its low capacity. Now though? No thanks.

I meant July Second, not June first. And no, i didnt win. (Those choice of prize displayed boxes must weigh 10 pounds!) And in this post you meant July 1st, not July 2nd, considering your trip report was posted at 12:04 AM on July 2nd. Edit: beaten!

Those arrows were there well before 2 Ride Tuesdays.

I'm hoping crowds will be pretty light on 7/7 because I will be there that day as well. I'm thinking they won't be too bad because it's tough to get off work at a lot of bigger companies the next business day after a holiday, but at the same time I imagine some people will go for the epic 4-day weekend and opt for having Monday off instead of Thursday, like I am. At the end of the day it's a Monday and it's not a holiday, so I doubt it will be too bad.

All of those trigger "garbage can" in my mind more so than a big ol' Dumpster.

Of those you listed, Band-Aid is most surprising to me. Dumpster I think is more surprising than any of those though. I would have never guessed that. So what's a generic word for a Dumpster? Giant metal trash holder contraption?

Kings Island, if memory serves correct, did have re-ride days for those with Gold Passes at one point in time. I made sure to avoid the parks on those days though, even though I had a Gold Pass. Like I said I would be all for CF offering more pass tiers with more options, but at the same time adding too much could also add a lot of confusion.

Please rank your top 10 favorite rides ever at KI, and if you feel like it, where you prefer(red) to sit on them. Feel free to include any defunct rides, upcharge attractions, waterpark attractions, etc. I'm almost 30 so I never got to ride the old Bat or Demon or several others, but I have been lucky enough to experience some great rides over the years. I cheated and did a top 20, and even cheated on that also, but here's my list: T-20. Phantom Theater - It was kind of cheesy and not very scary, but had great music and was a must-ride every visit up through the time it was converted to the Scooby Doo theme. It's a shame that it wasn't kept in better shape towards the end of its life though. T-20. Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal - My 2nd favorite water ride ever at KI, it was taller than the other flume ride and floating at the top winding through the tree tops was very relaxing. 19. Flying Eagles - I'll admit I thought the Flying Eagles were lame until my cousin showed me how to snap them, then it became a must-ride and one of my favorites in the park. 18. Viking Fury (very back row facing Festhaus) - To this day I still love this flat, especially in that top row facing Festhaus. This was a favorite of mine, my cousins and my brother growing up, so this holds a lot of nostalgia for me and I'm glad it's still there. 17. Flight Commander - Looking back it was probably lame, but my brother and I couldn't get enough of this one. He would just hold the joystick to the left and do barrel rolls the entire time. 16. Skylab - This is my brother's favorite flat ever, so I got to ride it a ton. It's one of my favorites ever, too, and I can't really even explain why. 15. Delirium - I think this is an awesome flat, even good enough to be ranked ahead of some other great ones that have the nostalgia factor working in their favor, which shows just how much I like it. 14. White Water Canyon - If you haven't ridden WWC in a while, do it with a group of close friends or family. I guarantee the smiles on your faces and amount of giggles will exceed any other ride in the park. My cousins liked this ride more than any other. One of the best family rides I can think of anywhere. 13. Son of Beast - By now you've probably figured out that I'm a coaster/thrill ride junkie, so the rest of my list is going to be thrill rides. While I love some of the flats and water rides (and 1 dark ride) listed above, I go to amusement parks for the coasters and thrill rides. I desperately wish SOB wouldn't have been so rough, as the 1 or 2 times I rode it and DIDN'T feel like I had just gotten the crap kicked out of me were phenomenal experiences. This coaster was as thrilling as any I've ever been on anywhere. 12. Banshee - I'm sure I have this way lower than just about everyone else, but I've only ridden it once and while it's great, I just don't think I like inverts all that much. Maybe a few more rounds on it will make me change my mind. 11. Vortex (1-1) - I actually like the front row more than 5-1. I LOVE this ride from station through the bottom of the first drop, and from the drop into the corkscrews through the end of the ride, but the only thing keeping this from being WAY higher on my list is the section in between. I either get beat up or grey out every time, which is no fun. But the rest of the ride keeps me coming back each time. 10. Flight of Fear (no seat preference) - The blast-off is still one of the biggest thrills in the park for me. After that it gets a little rough at times. Removing the OTSR's helped quite a bit, but the new restraints are pretty uncomfortable on my legs. The theming and takeoff are what keep me coming back though. The fun certainly outweighs the discomfort. 9. Firehawk (front row) - There will be plenty of people who disagree with me putting this ahead of Banshee, Vortex, FOF, etc. but I really do like this coaster a lot. I don't find the restraints or anything about the ride to be uncomfortable. The "flying" sensation is really neat to me and it's a must ride every visit. 8. Top Gun (front row of back car) - The queue theming was really neat and I loved it when it had the fog. The Bat is still a must-ride every visit though. It's actually pretty surprising how much G force you feel towards the back of the train. 7. Adventure Express (middle row of back car, at night) - Even after being tall enough to ride the bigger rides, AE was still one of my favorites and remains so to this day. And the ride was even better when all of the theming and fog were functional. It's also one of the best night rides in the park. 6. Tomb Raider: The Ride - One of the best flats/dark rides anywhere ever. Great theming, great ride experience, great everything. 5. King Cobra (right side of any row) - It looked like a pretty simple layout and wasn't very long, but man I loved this coaster. I really liked the right side because there was no railing over on that side on the lift hill, pre-drop and drop, so it felt nice and open to the rest of the ride. Beside the drop and pre-drop (best pre-drop ever?), my favorite parts were the helix where it felt like you were laying down sideways, the twisty part, and the bunny hops. I miss this coaster dearly. 4. Drop Tower (facing anywhere towards the park and away from the parking lot/I71) - This is my favorite flat anywhere. I have a fear of heights so this is the most thrilling ride in the park for me. I can't get enough of it. The best part of course is the anticipation at the top right before the drop. 3. Backwards Racer (back row) - FWIW, regular Racer would either be 3rd or 4th on my list. It's one of my favorite coasters that I've ever ridden, and the back row of the backwards train took it up to a whole new level. 2. Beast (the middle row of any car, at night) - The Beast at night is about as good as it gets IMO. While the magnetic brakes feel like they "grab" more than the old brakes did, you still fly through the woods at a high rate of speed, and the double helix at the end is pretty much an unbeatable element. 1. Diamondback - I really like every seat on DB, but if I had to pick a favorite I guess it would be 1-2 on the left side. I love floaty air-time and DB crushes everything else in that department. I never thought I'd like any ride more than Beast at night, but DB surpasses it IMO.

I was just browsing the events and promotions page today and noticed that the Dinos After Dark event says "Walk through a 12.5 Jurassic forest setting at night" -- I think they forgot the word "acre" in there.

Not that I'm aware of. The park has handicapped parking. The preferred lot is not designed for that. Handicapped parking is. The standards are very strict. Indeed they are. I visited on a crazy busy Saturday during Haunt with my handicap placard in hand, only to find the handicap parking lot was completely full. When we pulled up to the preferred parking booth to ask if we could park there since the handicap lot was full, we were not only turned away, but were turned away rather rudely. Thankfully that was the only rude employee we encountered that day.

I know I'm in the minority but I find FOF to be far more enjoyable when it comes to a complete stop at the MCBR compared to just speeding on through it.

Throwing a 2-3 year old in one of those alone might be a little much, I'll agree with that.

I legitimately giggled out loud over this. Nice!

I would have gone up to Platinum if the difference between Gold and Platinum was like $30-40 instead of $85 or whatever it was. I might hit up CP for a day this summer, but that would be about it. As far as I can tell there are no additional perks to Platinum over Gold other than admission to all Cedar Fair parks, so you'd have to visit other parks twice to make up for the difference, and 2 visits would only barely cover the difference, so really it would take 3 or more visits to other parks for me to really see a value in Platinum. For some people Platinum is a huge value, but I am obviously not the target consumer for that deal. I would definitely be all for CF offering more season pass options at higher price points with more creative perks, but I'm sure they've looked at countless options and feel that the options they offer now best optimize revenue while minimizing confusion.

My situation is very similar to yours! I had a 7 year KI hiatus because my family and friends outgrew KI. I thought I did too so I never really pushed anyone to go with me or even thought to go by myself. Then I went again this past fall and realized I hadn't outgrown it at all and still love the place just as much as ever! I also work (and obviously live) with my wife, so we are together darn near every moment of every day, so getting some alone time is pretty rare and I've come to appreciate it immensely. Plus like you said, getting to ride whatever you want whenever you want can make for quite a fun day. While I do enjoy spending time at KI those times my wife does decide to go, a trip with her consists of riding the major coasters once each as quickly as possible and then heading for the exit. I like going by myself and picking the seats I want to sit in even if it means a longer wait, riding certain rides more than once, and best of all, riding the flats and water rides that she would never go on with me. Some 29-year-olds might feel awkward joining a family of 5 to ride WWC with them or going on RFYLCB by themselves, but not this guy!

I can't and therefore won't argue against that concern. If that is why you don't want to leave your child in those pen things, then I can buy that reasoning way more than the "you're a bad parent for making your child wait in line with you and then wait 5 minutes for you while you rode a ride that they can't" argument. Times are certainly different now than when I grew up and I can't blame anyone who chooses to keep an eye on their child at all times.

I'm glad I'm in the minority, and maybe it's just because I don't go to the park as often as most of you, but during my most recent visits I have encountered pretty much none of the rude guest behavior that many of you have described, knock on wood! The only off-putting behavior that I have witnessed this year has been the couple that gets a little too "romantic" in line, and I've seen that more than once. Outside of that though my experience with other patrons has been really positive.

Thanks for visiting, sorry you didn't like more rides but not every ride is for everyone. I can see your point about Banshee; it's almost too fast and disorienting for some. And I agree that DB is awesome, definitely my favorite in the park. Can't say I agree with too much else in your post though.

And you can see the old queue! How cool! I've tried to look for pictures and videos of the queue with no luck, thanks for sharing!

The kid is in there for what, 5 minutes? I think they'll be fine. They probably don't need a hug from some bleeding heart stranger who "couldn't imagine" their own child being left un-entertained for a few minutes. Some parents aren't quite as soft, however....thankfully.