Trip Report 8/6 - 8/9

[disneyjoel]

Greetings all!

I'm back from my first trip ever to King's Island, and here is a brief synopsis of my adventures.

My airport shuttle dropped me off at the King's Island Resort and Conference Center shortly after 10am Friday morning, and I felt my first tingle of excitement as I observed a gathering of hotel guests waiting for the shuttle that would take them across the heavily trafficked "moat" to an island of pleasures that beckoned with its coaster-laden skyline in the mid-morning sun. Upon checking in, I learned that my room would not be ready until at least 4pm - possibly later, since they were booked solid and a tad understaffed in the housekeeping department - so I purchased my two-day park pass, stored my luggage, and headed for the shuttle. By this time, is was about 10:30, so there was still eleven and a half hours of park time to indulge in.

My first shuttle driver, whom I would encounter many times throughout the course of my stay, was Doug. All drivers were very personable and informative, but Doug was especially memorable for the tidbits he offered about other places of interest in Ohio and Kentucky. Another driver - whose name, I'm sorry to confess, eludes me - offered a wonderful tip: Rather than spend $3 or more on bottled water, always ask for a cup of iced water, which any food establishment will provide for free upon request. This was a fabulous convenience! Since it was a weekday, and unseasonably cool, the line-waiting was very bearable, but having a cup of ice-cold water to enjoy in the queue lines added immeasurably to my overall comfort.

As I entered the front gate, things seemed fairly quiet and unpopulated in the fountain area. By this time, people were most likely spread out all over the park enjoying various rides, which made International Street seem barren. Since there was no line for the Eiffel Tower, I hopped onto the elevator, with about six other newcomers trailing behind. We were warned that it could get quite chilly at the top, since it was only about 72 degrees and breezy. The elevator operator was right! Fortunately, it was a quick 5-minute visit, so I didn't suffer too much.

Then I was off in the direction of Hanna Barbera Land, in search of a short queue line. The first ride I wanted to try - Scooby Doo's Haunted Castle - was temporarily closed, and two PKI employees were out front to apologize and suggest that visitors try it later. So I pushed onward. Finding nothing else of interest in HB Land, I kept walking until I hit the Crocodile Dundee area, and saw no one waiting at the train station there. So I hopped on the train, and listened to the corny jokes recited by the train host du jour, George. (Ex: "My poor dog seems to have gotten a fever. So you know what I gave him? Mustard. Isn't that what you put on a hot dog?" You get the idea.)

I got off at Rivertown and went to the first thing I saw - Tomb Raider. The wait was a reasonable 35 minutes. I enjoyed the theming, but I didn't expect the ride itself to be quite so intense! Sadly, I didn't get to find out how it ends, because it broke down in the middle of the ride. Luckily, we got stuck in a reclined, upward-facing position, so we weren't left hanging uncomfortably for five minutes. Finally, we were lowered back into the original loading position, so we could exit. I decided that I didn't want to come back and try it again, just to see how it ends. I'll get by on the memory of what I was able to experience before it went kerplooey.

Then I rode the Wild Thornberry's log flume, because the wait was short. Nothing too exciting. You don't get very wet, and the theming is almost non-existent.

Walking back through HB Land, I noticed that Scooby Doo was now up and running, and there was a long line to prove it. Figuring there would be no short lines anywhere at this point, I joined the queue. This was a cute little ride, obviously inspired by the Buzz Lightyear ride at Walt Disney World. This one also had some trouble, but it was very temporary. The cars stopped moving for a few minutes, but much to my child-like glee, mine stopped directly in front of a mess of targets, so I just kept firing away and racking up points! By the end, I had a little over 3,000 - not bad for a first-timer, I'm thinkin', even though I did have that extra advantage of unmoving targets for about 3 full minutes.

This was also the day I rode Son of Beast. The wait time was surprisingly reasonable, considering it was the middle of the afternoon. I was at the loading area after only 15 minutes, but that turned into 45 minutes when I waited for the front car. This coaster was as rough as everyone warned. I find myself laughing through every "ouch," though.

After reading at this site about people's favorite places to eat, I decided to try LaRosa's Pizza for lunch. I wasn't all that impressed, truthfully, but it made the hunger pangs go away. There were other eateries I enjoyed more, but I'll discuss them later.

At this point, it was time to call my hotel and see if my room was ready. It wasn't, so I checked the show schedule. A performance of "Tune In" was about to start, so I decided to check it out. At first, this looked like a typical Six Flags kinda show, but I was happy to see that the performers sang live rather than lip-synched, and they were all excellent singers and dancers.

From there, I bolted to the other end of International Street, so I could see the Paramount Theater show "Magic of the Movies," which started in five minutes. This was a real treat, from beginning to end. Even the pre-show entertainment was fun, with all the trivia questions and comments being shown on the movie screen, encouraging people to yell out answers. The show, once it started, reminded me of the kind of live show you'd see at Universal Studios. I was pleasantly surprised.

By this time, I was ready to head back to my hotel and crash for a little while, since I had been on the go since 4am (back in New Jersey, pre-flight). My room was decent, if a bit removed from the main building, which required some outside walking. I didn't mind so much, because I was able to step outside my room for a great view of the fireworks, and I was right across the parking lot from the indoor pool and hot tub. That hot tub, btw, became a favorite part of my stay after long days in the park!

I'll stop here for the moment, only because I have to log off now. (lol) But I'll write a Part 2 soon!

TTFN, everyone!

Bob, aka "DisneyJoel"

[disneyjoel]

Okay, here's Part Two!

I forgot to mention a couple of things in Part One, which are definitely worthy of inclusion:

I also saw the 5pm Nickelodeon parade on my first day. This was a fine parade, but very short, I thought - roughly 5 minutes. An average Disney parade is about 20 minutes, for example. It was still enjoyable, for what it was. The floats are well-constructed, and the costumes are nicely designed. I recognized many performers from "Tune In," so it's obvious that PKI likes to recycle its performers from show to show. I had chosen a spot near the starting point of the parade route, so I wouldn't be waiting long for the first float to appear.

My spot was directly in front of the entrance to the Adventure Express coaster, so I hopped right on with very little wait. This one exceeded my expectations, actually. In addition to being a fun ride, which packs quite a punch for its size, I was also pleasantly surprised by the extent of the theming, which was clearly going for an Indiana Jones motif. (I had forgotten that those Indy movies are Paramount flicks. I assumed Disney had the rights, because of the Indiana Jones attractions at Disney-MGM Studios in FL. Apparently not.)

I also managed to squeeze in The Racer, going forward. Fun, but I've felt better air time on similar coasters elsewhere. On Sunday, I rode it going backwards, and had much better hang time.

Before going back to my hotel, I did stop for a snack. It was the first of what was to become many visits to The Chippery. I fell in love with this place! I was thrilled to see a special article about it on your website upon my return! In fact, I was served by Brett personally, who was very accommodating and allowed me to sample many flavors before making my decision. Throughout my stay, I tried White Cheddar, Dill Pickle, and Cinnamon/Maple with a caramel dipping sauce. Everything was terrific!

After returning to the hotel and checking in, I rested for a while to recuperate from my long day, and then decided to try one of the hotel restaurants, Coasters. For those of you who don't know, their menu features a burger called The Beast, which costs $23.95, but if you can eat the whole thing by yourself in under an hour, it's free. It consists of 2 pounds of meat and an additional pound of toppings - bacon, cheese, etc. I did not embrace this challenge, but apparently there are three people who have done it since Coasters opened in March, and their names are on a plaque at the entrance. I settled for the less intimidating Son of Beast burger, which is a half-pound.

I returned to the park, rested and well-fed. I wanted to ride The Beast at night, as so many folks had recommended, but it wasn't quite dark enough yet. I decided to see what the wait was like at the Sponge Bob 3-D movie, in the meantime. The line seemed reasonable, but the wait proved quite long after all, due to numerous technical problems with the ride, which caused delays. I finally got on, after an hour. (An hour's worth of that queue video with the Sponge Bob theme song is enough to make you crave "It's a Small World" music as an alternative!) Once seated inside, there was one more delay before the ride started. I'm happy to say, this is a fun attraction, even if it's not worth an hour-plus wait. The 3-D effects are well-done, and the humor works on many age levels.

Because of the wait, I was afraid I wouldn't make it to The Beast in time, but I just narrowly made it. I got out of Sponge Bob at 9:45pm and raced over to The Beast. The wait was just under 30 minutes - I got to the loading area by 10:15 - but I increased the wait by another 20 minutes by waiting for the first car.

Ah, what can I say about The Beast ... how much do I love it, let me count the ways! This coaster is truly a masterpiece. It works on every level - it has suspense, thrills, optical illusions, sound effects, and beautiful views. Riding in the front car at night is absolutely the best way to ride. (I rode it again on another day, in the last car & during the daytime. Still fun, but not quite as special.) It lived up to the hype and then some! It was also fun to be among the last to ride it that day - my group of riders was the second to last.

Back to the hotel for a lovely soak in the hot tub, and a blissful night's sleep.

Day 2 was spent recuperating from Day 1, so I pretty much hung out at the hotel and lounged by the pool. Enjoyed the prime rib & crab leg buffet which the King's Island hotel offers every weekend. Well worth the all-you-can-eat price of $17.95. Much better than the same restaurant's breakfast buffet. Watched the fireworks from outside my room. A nice display, but also quite short at 6 minutes.

Day 3 (Sunday):

Got up bright and early, and had breakfast in the park at 9:30am, chowing down on an apple dumpling and coffee, while waiting for the rides to begin at 10am.

I had a strategy which proved quite successful. Once the rope dropped, I headed straight for Flight of Fear. I was third in line. Loved it! As expected, it was very similar to Disney's Rock'n'Roller Coaster, but I actually thought this was more thrilling than Disney's. Because I was so early, none of the theming in the queue area seemed to be operating yet - the room with the space ship was dark, as if they'd forgotten to turn the lights on, making it hard to see which way to navigate through the maze leading to the loading area.

From there, I worked backwards and hit Vortex, which had about 10 people in line, so that was also quick. Once again, they didn't seem quite ready to have every part of the ride open, because people were jumping over the locked gate to reach the queue, even though it was obvious from the outside that Vortex was running. This one was merely okay - a typical Six Flags-style coaster, in my estimation.

Continuing on, I found myself passing The Racer, so I decided to try it backwards this time. Again, no wait. Much more fun this way, as I said earlier, but my body was starting to revolt against all the inversions and hills being experienced so close together in a half-hour period. Slight nausea was setting in.

The next one I hit was Face Off, and this was my first wait of the day, which I didn't mind so much, because it allowed time for the motion-induced nausea to subside. I'd heard great things about this one, but I wasn't so sure it was worth any kind of lengthy wait. Another Six Flags-esque experience.

Now that lines were getting longer, I decided it was time to enjoy the water park section, since it was now shortly past 11am and it had just opened. Weather-wise, it was the best day, so far, for this area. It was about 82 degrees and hardly a cloud in the sky. I enjoyed the water stuff for about 3 hours. The "surfing" area was a first-time experience for me and, I'm embarrassed to admit, I totally sucked at it. I lasted all of two seconds! (Sounds like a personal problem, but I won't go there. I'm tryin' to keep things G-rated, when I can.) The lazy river, while always nice, is unfortunately restricted to one time around only. Other water parks, like Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, offer unlimited use of their lazy rivers.

It was time for a late lunch/early dinner. I decided to try a Coney Dog, so I could sample the Skyline Chili that comes with it as a topping. Not bad, I suppose, considering I'm not much of a chili fan, but I had heard so much about it, my curiosity was peaked.

After a rest and a shower at my hotel room, I returned at 6pm to finish off the rides I hadn't tried yet. I skipped Drop Zone because of the long line, and never got back to it, but I've ridden so many rides just like it, I assumed I wasn't missing much. I'm glad I did Top Gun, however! It was a wonderful suspended coaster - one of the best I've been on! Based on the long queue area, this ride must have once been a big deal attraction, requiring a lot of room to accommodate line-waiters. On this day, I was able to walk through the empty labyrinth to the loading platform, for a wait of only 5 minutes! Good times!

Even though it wasn't dark enough to have a perfect repeat experience, I went for my second ride on The Beast. A bit rougher in the back, but no less fun.

At this point, it was time for the Karaoke show to start at Internation St. - the only live show I hadn't seen yet. I stopped at the The Chippery again for a bag of tasty tater treats, and sat down for the show. Unusual range of talent on display here, as is to be expected when you use park visitors in your show. It was enjoyable, though, and I got to meet and chat with one of the park performers afterwards - a lovely college girl named Lauren. (Lauren, you rock!)

My last ride of the night: Another trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower, this time to watch the fireworks. I was expecting some music to accompany the display, but it was just the fireworks, with no additional bells and whistles. From the tower, it's easy to see the clearing behind the park from where they're shot off. I also took the time to appreciate the size and detail of the Antique Car ride from up there - it's bigger than it appears to be when looking at it from the ground level. Now that I've been reading news about it closing soon, I'm sorry I didn't make time for it. It looked like a nicely designed track, with fairly scenic grounds. A shame to see it go.

Well, that was my first-ever King's Island experience! It was worth going, most definitely, and I'm glad I chose it as the place to get my coaster fix for the summer!

TTFN!

Bob, aka "DisneyJoel"

[jjmisskick]

I'm glad you had a good time!

and also glad you liked 'Tuned In'! and the Nick parade! yeah and I recognize alot of the performers in the parade from 'Tuned In'! espeshaly a certin one........hehehe

[KIBeast]

Good TR. Can I get the abbreviated version?

[Mr. Christopher]

One of the best TR's I've ever read. Good job.

[Scooby_Doo]

That one the coolest Trip Reports I have read in long while Glad you had fun.

[italianchef]

DisneyJoel,

Did you fly all the way from New Jersey to visit Paramount's Kings Island?

If so, how would you compare it to Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey? I'm originally from New York City and Great Adventure was my park until I moved to Greater Cincinnati and fell in love with Paramount's Kings Island.

Have a great day!

Italian Chef

:chef: