Avatar Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Hi everyone I have looked forward to writing this trip report for so long, mostly because as I write this Kings Island has opened for the 2009 season. This years opening day offered so much that I wish I had another day to get it all in. But that is wishful thinking and I enjoyed the time I had, so lets just get right to it. With the new addition of the 22 million dollar roller coaster called Diamondback at Kings Island and it's opening with the rest of the park on April 18 2009, it offered a rare opportunity for Kings Island to raise money to benefit a charity by auctioning off the first riders seats. A Kid Again organization was selected to be the beneficiary of Diamondbacks first rider auction. I had the opportunity to witness various activities leading up to the ceremonial first rides. So my Family decided to arrive in Mason on Friday so we would be well rested to arrive at Kings Island on Saturday morning by 6AM without a 2 hour drive beforehand . We checked into a local area resort and decided to have a early evening dinner at Frisch's Big Boy Later back at the resort while I was fulfilling a promised swim with Miss Rae and experimenting with my new waterproof camera I decided to enter the hot whirlpool to relax and to reflect on Kings Island opening day in conjunction to Diamondbacks auction of the first rider and how that not only benefits A Kid Again organization but many others who we may not have realized. Such as the area's restaurants and lodging facilities Employment for workers, on and off Kings Island property, money raised from various taxes generated form park. Interest in Organizations and Clubs such as KICentral. Below is a video that was part of the opening of Diamondback ceremonies and shows how much the state of Ohio appreciates Kings Island. Many of us guests look forward to our visits to Kings Island for building memories and to be entertained. I think knowing how Kings Island contributes to the local community all the while they are trying to focus on being a top notch amusement park shows incredible leadership and to us enthusiast it is the cherry on top to a beloved park. Saturday April 18, 2009 Review of Kings Island Opening Day Opening day at kings Island offers park guest and enthusiast alike the opportunity to tour the park and ride their favorite attractions. More than this it opening day usually comes with some park changes that I myself look forward to seeing while also enjoying some once a year events. Below is my review of my day and my thoughts about them. This year as most who will be reading this report know Kings Island opening weekend corresponded with the opening of Kings Island new 22 million dollar roller coaster called Diamond back and offered a auction for first riders. I submitted a bid several weeks back and added to it earlier in the week so I could support a great cause, also because a winning bid guarantees you to be a witness to a new iconic attraction and it's opening ceremonies. I arrived at the park at 6 AM and waited in various lines leading up to the opening of Diamondback. Things seemed to be running a bit rough and I thought to my self along with many others how do they plan to process 256 donors through one processing window in one hour, that would mean they would need to process 4.2 donors per minute. I think this early snafu caused the park to make changes on the fly and was cause for the first rider process to come across to the donors to be disorganized. The area around Diamondback was beautiful and looked as the planners really paid attention to detail. I had the privileged to meet up with many KICentral members while I waited, such as Indianapolisman and IBEW Sparky During the ride I was seated next to a true coaster enthusiast Gigacoaster2k. Diamondback lived up to the hype of being a fast air time coaster with stunning feature elements. I would add that if I was to describe the ride experience would be something like "Its a fun enjoyable ride with lots of floating air time that makes you want to ride again and again". Including a beautiful water area complete with a waterfall stream at the end of the ride. The splash the Diamondback trains make as they travel almost effortlessly over that area is beautiful to watch as well. After the first rider ride we were given a voucher for a free photograph of our ride in the new DB Trader Post After our ride the donors were given a appreciation gift bag in addition to the free park ticket and on ride photo voucher, I feel the appreciation gifts were generous and felt the park and the A Kid Again organization showed their appreciation. After leaving the staging area I was lucky enough to witness the running of the General Public to get their opportunity of their first ride. One of the great things about a park opening a thrill coaster is the attention it brings from many theme/amusement park enthusiast and Diamondback brought many enthusiast from around the country. One particular site called RexandtheBeast.com brought Rex in from Colorado gave Kat (a member of KICentral) a free first rider ride. Rex, Kat and many other KICentral members decided to walk over to the Beast roller coaster for our first ride of the season and to experience the ride after some rehabbing of the track and a updated entrance area. In opinion The Beast is running better and smother than anytime I can remember all the way back to it's opening in 1979. kudos to the maintenance crew for the fantastic work. I had the honor to ride with Rex and threw that ride I have become a bigger fan of the RexandtheBeast.com. At this point we meet up with some other members and some left the group to ride others various attractions. The attractions we rode ran smoothly and the crews were very friendly except the very late opening of one of my favorite rides Flight of Fear. I decided at this point to take a break from the group to change into some cooler clothes and to escape from the hustle of this days high adrenaline activities. As I reentered Kings Island front gates I was drawn to the beautiful yearly display of the tulips around the Royal Fountain. One last one with Diamondback the new iconic thrill ride in the background. When Kings Island opens a new show, shop, restaurant or ride I like to go by as soon as I can to review for myself. Kings Island was debuting three new shows, a upgraded restaurant and a special one day concert on this opening day so my afternoon was going to be busy or I would not be able to experience them all on this visit. First up was a new kid show called Marty's Party playing at Putz Headquarters Theater. Most shows I have seen in the kids area usually appeal to the toddler age children or to the 7-10 age group and rarely if ever to both groups. I feel Marty;s Party does appeal to both groups but mostly to the older children who can follow along with some of the complexities of the special effect props. It is in my opinion that Marty's Party is the best show I have seen in the kids area since the early nineties and was my best pick for new shows so far this year. If you have children please do not miss this fun entertaining show. Hungry Lets Eat!! Rivertown Junction is a buffet restaurant which was formally named "Wings" The park announced that the restaurant was to be renamed and was being slightly rehabbed. The price is $16.99 for adults which is a $1.00 increase from last year. With the increase they now offer Carved Roast Beef in my opinion a slightly better pasta bar and the usual buffet selections. I also felt the desert selections had some better choices with 3 flavors of Edy's Ice Cream. This will be my lowest review of the day. The food was good and hot, we had to wait for the carved beef for over 5 minutes. The rehab is hardly visible and the bathrooms...Oh My. $16.99 and the best service ware is cheap flimsy plastic. If my video turned out of me trying to cut through my serving of the carved beef with that plastic fork and knife, I would have posted it here. Bad Bad Bad. Bottom line if you ate there last year and liked it then go back if you are willing to pay an extra dollar for it. If you have not eaten there the food is OK the atmosphere is very lack lusting. Next up is a special one day concert of a group called Parrots of the Caribbean. I attended the 2:30 show, the group was entertaining while playing the crowd favorites from Jimmy Buffet best hits. Several members and staff from KICentral gathered to watch the show and to take a group photo which did not turn out. So I will just post a video of one of the songs from Parrots of the Caribbean. Big portions of this day was spent away from my family so I decided to take some time to meet with them and to ride a couple attractions with them. Miss Rae insisted that since the temperature had reached the mid 70's that we need to ride White Water Canyon to cool her off. She was pleased as you can see but I seemed to get the worst of it. We also took some time to go up the Eiffel Tower so I could take a minute and watch fondly over one of my favorite rides in the park "Avatar". Yes we watched Diamondback from the air too. Next up was a walk over to Festhaus for a couple new shows there. First up is Mr. CowPie I did not know what to expect from the show but was pleased as it seems Mr. CowPie really resonates with the smaller children in the audience. His corny songs mixed in with live animals tidbits was a show that I could similarly find on a morning children's channel. I caught myself watching the various small children in the audience and they all seemed captivated with Mr. CowPie's show. I think it is a nice touch that the children have two shows this year and shows that are geared to two different age groups. I was a bit concerned why have a children show in Festhaus but after thinking about it, I feel it will be a great place for families to come to get out of the weather to eat. The show will keep the younger children's attention while the parents can regroup and eat their meals too. I like Mr. CowPie show in the Festhaus and I truly think the entertainment department should get a nice pat on the back for thinking out side the box and moving a children's show into the Festhaus. Right after that show I decided to stick around and watch " Down Home Country". The performers sing a lot of old great classic country music. I liked Down Home Country, it has lots of action and I really enjoyed the song selections, plus the constant quick song rotation keeps things interesting. I think most county music fans will enjoy the show as long as they don't come to it to critique it like they paid $50.00 to see it. I know I will be enjoying many lunches at the Festhaus this season. After the show I meet back up with the KICentral members over at Diamondback so we may get a few final night rides in. It is always a highlight to visit with fellow members in the lines. It make the waits go so much quicker. We all rode The Beast at night which in my opinion is still the best night ride, it's so classic, I do not see anything being better at night. Our last ride was Diamondback and as we waited in line visiting with each other about that days activities the fireworks started and we watched them just above Diamondback's lift hill and we watched some trains splash down all the while the fireworks exploding in the background. Picture below does not show well but at least it will give you an idea how magnificent the atmosphere was there. I usually do not gt to emotional about park visits but standing there at that time with fellow park friends/enthusiast at our home park Kings Island was about all I could take. It truly felt good to be home. Avatar/Jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Debating sticky-ing this one as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom76257 Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Good trip report, Jesse. It was a pleasure to meet you and all the other KIC'ers I met on Opening Day. I hope to see all of you again on Ride Warriors Weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indianapolisman Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Avatar, It goes without saying your detailed Trip Reports are highly anticipated by all of us. And this was no excepton. It was great hanging out with you I'm glad we got the chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveTheSmurfRide Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Great report. I may need to put one of your panoramic pics on my PC background at work if you don't mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
standbyme Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Jesse, Well, it’s about time! I was beginning to wonder if you were going to do a trip report or not. When I know that you went to the park I know that there are 2 options for you…the first being “Well, everyone else has already said everything…so I’ll just skip it this time”…or that you have got SO much to say it takes awhile to get it all down…I am glad that it was the latter in this case! I must admit you completely threw me with your opening photo…my first thought was that it was Miss Rae in some kind of hoodie…and then my next thought was “Boy, she needs to put on some weight”. (It wasn’t until the second photo of the Avatar doll that I figured it out.) Your trip reports are unlike any other members here…I find your reports fun, but more importantly, more of a historic document of the time period…if anyone were to read this (or any of your other reports) they have all of the facts that everyone else (including myself) leave out because we just take it for granted that everyone reading them already knows. If your reports are still available in years to come I feel that they will be very useful for anyone who wants to totally understand what was going on at that point in time. You should be very proud of this. As for this trip report, some of the things I like are the small things you captured…like the tulips by the fountain…it set the mood very well for this report…it just felt like Spring! Your shot of the (second) First Riders running was funny…I would have liked to have just stood to the side and watched that whole scene transpire…that kind of moment doesn’t happen very often. As we have been told countless times, the park’s management does read this forum often…so with that in mind, let me say that I thank you for having an honest trip report…not one with rose colored glasses on. I trust your opinion…and because of this report, I will make more of an effort to see some of the shows…something I wouldn’t have done. On the flip-side of the coin, I was really disappointed to read your review of Rivertown Junction. I have been waiting a few years for it to be re-themed…and I had high hopes that it had improved. I have eaten there in the past, and I have never quite felt it was worth $15.99...so now that it is $16.99 and seemingly not improved disappoints me. And, once again, to any of the park managers reading this…does Avatar’s review stop me from trying Rivertown Junction once? No…BUT, it will be a one-shot chance…if after I eat there I have the same experience, I will assume that that is the “norm” and not bother to go back. (I sincerely hope that things were a little disorganized that day.) And so, to wrap it up…it sounds like you had an amazing time at the park…I love the shot of Miss Rae on White Water Canyon…I also bought a waterproof camera just for that ride! (Those are some of the best shots I get at Kings Island.) It was also fun to see the group shot. I look forward to seeing you at Coaster Warriors! See ya, J.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomTheater Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 After leaving the staging area I was lucky enough to witness the running of the General Public to get their opportunity of their first ride. Thats me next to the light pole in the blue jacket, I didn't notice you were there as i had my eyes on the prize. This TR was worth the wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittenpooh Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Amazing trip report! I cant wait till I can make a tr with other kic members in it...LOL thanks Jesse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailRider Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Jesse, Loved the trip report. As always, great insight and pictures. Really loved your views of the day. Like others mentioned I was waiting for your report more than anyone elses and you did not disappoint. Thanks for sharing. Although I was a bit concernced with this part, I honestly hope parents aren't eating themselves... Couldn't resist. The show will keep the younger children's attention while the parents can regroup and eat themselves. Avatar/Jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveTheSmurfRide Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Jesse, Although I was a bit concernced with this part, I honestly hope parents aren't eating themselves... Couldn't resist.The show will keep the younger children's attention while the parents can regroup and eat themselves. Avatar/Jesse I'd rather they eat themselves than eat other parents. For goodness sake, it's a buffet, they HAVE to be able to find something more to eat than other people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted April 22, 2009 Author Share Posted April 22, 2009 Thanks everyone for the comments it really means a lot, I do enjoy doing these. We I posted this last night it was way past my bedtime on a work night so forgive me for some of the rough parts, I have now gone back through and cleaned the report up a bit with grammar mistakes and elaborated on some of the event reviews. In addition to that my PC's have decided to work with my photo/video host so I have now added a few more videos in the report (Mr. CowPie, Down Home Country). It was great to meet/meet up with many members here I was planning to include more in this report but as you can see it was getting to long as it was plus if you seen my list of who I seen at the park It would take another day to type this report up. I think the RWW report will focus more on the meet ups and rides. LongliveTheSmurfRide – absolutely you may use any of the panoramic pictures, just be aware that in many of them you can see the stitching edges and some are not so smooth. I used them any way because I felt they helped the viewer to be able to see the whole area better. J.D. - There were many reasons for the delay and I had planned to wait until tonight to post which I should have after reading some of the errors. Yeah the tulips are a must for me in the spring, I just love how they brighten that whole area up. I do enjoy the little things in the park as well as you probably noticed, in fact the way some get excited about Diamondback and other rides, well thats how I feel about the other areas of the park. I love to see the new shows or the little changes here and there if they are good or bad I just makes it interesting.I do like the y new camera although it point and shot it adds some tools I did not have with my other one. Phantom sorry I did not say hi but to be honest trying to stay in the seated area to keep from getting ran over you all were just a blur. RailRider thanks for the support and I was editing that out as you were posting I was wondering how long it took for someone to jump on the eating themselves part. LOL ,BTW any news yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiko_coaster Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 Great PTR! It was nice meeting youu on Friday and then again on Saturday!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 We all rode The Beast at night which in my opinion is still the best night ride, it's so classic, I do not see anything being better at night. Our last ride was Diamondback and as we waited in line visiting with each other about that days activities the fireworks started and we watched them just above Diamondback's lift hill and we watched some trains splash down all the while the fireworks exploding in the background. Picture below does not show well but at least it will give you an idea how magnificent the atmosphere was there. I usually do not gt to emotional about park visits but standing there at that time with fellow park friends/enthusiast at our home park Kings Island was about all I could take. It truly felt good to be home. Avatar/Jesse I was in this line at this time. Paperg and I. There's another pic that someone has of the fireworks and we are in it. Just trying to find it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBEW_Sparky Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I enjoyed reading this report jesse, and seeing the pics brought a great day back. I definitely enjoyed spending the good part of the day with you and the others I spent it with... and we will all DEFINITELY have to hook up at RWW... details coming soon!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted April 22, 2009 Share Posted April 22, 2009 I love Jesse's trip reports. They truly are the next best thing to being there....all day, even! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windshawne Posted April 23, 2009 Share Posted April 23, 2009 Even though I worked late and didn't meet up with you guys til about 7, I will have to say those 3 hours were probably one of the best times I've had at the park. Thanks a bunch!! Not sure if I will make RWW, but I am open to a more impromptu gathering this summer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogrmac Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Excellent trip report, as always! Robin and I enjoyed hanging out and riding with all you fine folks. I am looking forward to seeing everyone again at Ride Warriors!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 Jesse -- again you blow us away with your detail. You are an asset to this site and their park. It is in my opinion that Marty's Party is the best show I have seen in the kids area since the early nineties and was my best pick for new shows so far this year. If you have children please do not miss this fun entertaining show. Marty's Party was absolutely hilarious. We actually went and saw it twice with no regrets about it. I don't care how old you are - go see it. It's clever, funny and exciting... everything that makes for a good show. I did not know what to expect from the show but was pleased as it seems Mr. CowPie really resonates with the smaller children in the audience. Did anyone else see the sick humor in the fact that the man in the cow suit essentially did his show in a bar setting on the Down Home Country set? I want to take him to a bar some time. He apparently lives near me. The performers sing a lot of old great classic country music. I liked Down Home Country, it has lots of action and I really enjoyed the song selections, plus the constant quick song rotation keeps things interesting. I think most county music fans will enjoy the show as long as they don't come to it to critique it like they paid $50.00 to see it. I know I will be enjoying many lunches at the Festhaus this season. I'm not sure how fair of a critique that is. Although with County Line you needed SOME sort of soft spot for country music to enjoy it, it's simply not the case here. The songs performed are tunes that even a 13-year-old rap music die-hard would recognize. The talent in these shows improves ten-fold every year. See this show. Bring a friend. Bottom line if you ate there last year and liked it then go back if you are willing to pay an extra dollar for it. If you have not eaten there the food is OK the atmosphere is very lack lusting. I've been in RT Junction a few times now and I think the environment has improved a little. I mean, let's face it -- the place is basically the same. They've cleaned it up quite a bit and removed some of the room dividers, but all in all it's the same. I think the way it's set up now makes it look quite a bit bigger. I have yet to try the food, but I'll take your word for it. That place needs music, or TV or an XBox or something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 ...table service and a menu would be nice... Terpy, who just HAD to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIfan1980 Posted April 24, 2009 Share Posted April 24, 2009 A random question inspired by this trip report. Is Mr. Cowpie the same show that replaced Dora during the fall weekends last year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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