4/24/09 Or...Walk On Friday

[dare-to-fly]

My obligatory TR is finally finished for what was an absolutely FANTASTIC evening at Kings Island. It was literally among my favorite days at the park!

If you would like to see favorite pictures, please look at them on...

http://negative-g.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=3048

And here is the TR.

Happy reading!

Flyer

Kings Island – 4/24/09 Or…Walk-on Friday

Arrival:

My brother Adam and I were planning to be at Kings Island on Friday, so we made the trek down and arrived shortly before 4:30. Upon arrival we were concerned at the number of people that we saw at the front gate despite how the parking lot looked. Our concern quickly faded away when we realized it was the line for season pass processing. We quickly sped through the metal detectors and the front gate, made our typical pit stop that is necessary after 1.5 hours in the car, and then proceeded toward the gold pass entrance. After flashing our Platinum passes, which I’m happy to report they were checked this time – smiles and all – we were quickly on our way back to The Beast to find a nearly empty station. YEE HA!

I’ll discuss the rides one at a time to avoid being scattered about how this TR is put together. Skip around or omit if needed. The longest wait for Diamondback was 15 minutes, and early in the day it was about 5 minutes from entrance to ride. The rest of the park was very minuscule wait down to walk-on. Even Firehawk was observed to be a walk-on at least once.

The Beast:

Beginning with 5 rides on The Beast felt more like normal, as did the rides on it. Lets get the trim count out of the way. Drop: 5 – normal. Second hill: 6 – up from 5 last week. Brake shed – still missing one, but one that was out last week has been replaced. Helix: 4 – up from 3 last week. Due to the trim dial-up, the first rides were pretty much like normal morning rides are. If you want good Beast rides, the only time to ride is evening when he’s fully warmed up and running full trains. We rode periodically throughout the evening, each one getting better, and finally ended at ride 8 with the 3rd to last train of the night with Coasterguy (KIC). By the night ride, full train + warm + dark = FANTASTIC RIDE. Ending on The Beast is always preferred, as those are the best rides, and The Beast continues to be my very favorite night ride ever. I’m also happy to report that the lights that were on in the helix tunnel were off again for the night rides this weekend. It was hopefully a fluke.

For my last report, I failed to notice that the TV’s have all been removed from the queue except for the ones in the station. This is true of many of the other rides as well. KI seems to be doing something with their audio, and I’ve noticed many differences – more to come later. The music on the lift hill seems to be more pronounced, but they have edited out the voice that says “Welcome to The Beast. Remain seated throughout the entire ride. Please keep hands and legs inside the car at all times. Thank you.” They seem to be just playing the audio, though occasionally you can still here a really low version of the above – weird. Also the “keep hands and arms inside the car” spiel from the second lift hill is gone, and they have replaced it with audio similar to that of the first lift. This one is a very welcome change.

It was also fun to see several familiar faces at The Beast. It really is a pleasure to get to know some of the operators, and they were all doing a fabulous job as always, with the possible exception of being stapled once. (It hurts with three clicks…dag nab IT. My legs are too long for three.) I’m sure I’ll make new friends this season as well since I’m there frequently, and I can’t wait for a full season of thrills.

Backlot Stunt Coaster:

Why does there have to be a seat assigner on walk-on Fridays? It was so much better last year on days when the seat assigner was not present. As far as the ride is concerned – no changes noticed.

Vortex:

The mid-course is definitely back to normal, but that paint and the new wheels have her FLYIN’ through the course. We decided to be brave and ride in the front seat once. I expected a little air on the hill coming up out of the first drop. Uh, it was there, but not in a place where you’d expect not to mention more intense than expected. What an awesome surprise. The rest of the ride was also very enjoyable, but I still prefer the ride from 7:1. I’m also happy to report that they were running three trains today. Why not on opening day? Interesting.

During supper at Rivertown Pizza, we ate in the usual location under Vortex, and noticed that a certain sloppy maintenance guy got Texer paint all over the last table. I can now see how the paint stays on the track. You can’t scrape the paint off to save your life. I don’t know what paint they used, but it is HARD. I want some to paint the shed with. My luck - $200.00 a gallon for that paint…anyone know? I’m also convinced now that they painted the railings going up and over the track to the main part of the station. Maybe I’m wrong, but it looks fresh to me.

By the way, said Rivertown Pizza was the best pizza I’ve ever had at KI. Keep up the good work!

Flight of Fear:

I’m starting to see signs that new track is in order for parts of FoF, but it was still just as much fun as ever. I also noticed that the mid-course was just an almost complete stop rather than a completely complete one. It was still nuts, but I’ll take what I can get. The lights were on in the tunnel, which was a little odd for me, but the normal lights were present during the ride…why it can’t just be pitch black is obvious, but I wish it was.

Red Non-Racing Racer:

Since Blue was closed – color me surprised – we took a ride on Red Racer. There seem to be no changes to report, and the ride was just as much fun as ever (the trim wasn’t ridiculously strong either…oh, how I hate that trim).

Adventure Express:

Well…crap! Maintenance did exactly what I didn’t want them to do and fixed the trim right before lift 1. While not as strong as it once was – thank you – I strongly preferred it in the non-existent phase. For some reason the…uh…whatever you call the guys…were off during the second lift. They must have been taking a nap. The one at the top of the lift also looked different, and seemed to have moved the bowl of lava. I’m wondering if this is a much needed overhaul in progress. I certainly hope so!

Son of Beast:

The early ride was normal, but man he was flying through the track later on in the evening. There was actually descent airtime on the ride after the drop. We didn’t get the coveted trimless ride (humph), but still at least one very good one. SoB is still my second favorite night ride. If you want to experience the best one, I suggest a night ride after the rain. Those are amazing!

Flight Deck:

No changes, and for no longer than it is, it’s still an intense ride. I like it better every time I ride it. Not only is it a wonderful coaster, but it’s trimless! Yay! Now if we could just get them to paint it.

Diamondback:

Why save it until last? I don’t know – best for last, last on the circle, who knows. The seat assigner is still irritating, but I have gotten used to it since they will usually honor requests if you ask nicely. Talk about seeing familiar faces. I’ve seen at least 4 familiar faces from Beast working at Diamondback, and I just love it. We’ll start with Chelsea and Lauren, who I saw all last year at Beast, and end with KIC’s Captain Nemo and Cory Butcher. Entering the familiarity zone. 

The night rides on Diamondback are very impressive, but I have to admit that I still have a very strong preference over the night rides at Beast. That won’t change anytime soon, I have a feeling. Diamondback is still impressing me with its second and third hills, and they are rapidly becoming some of my favorite coaster elements in the park. Just don’t make me rank them! The trim on the fifth hill seems to be doing what it’s designed to do…holding tongue here…and varying by speed. The first ride – nothing. Second – a little. Third – a lot. This seems to make sense since DB is warming up throughout the day. I’m not even going to mention the mid-course. I’ll just focus on what a blast the ride is, and despite any qualms I may have about the aforementioned ride kil…I mean brakes, I have really enjoyed Diamondback every time I’ve been on it. I’m up to 6 now.

People report:

During his lunch and my shortcut through the Festhaus, ichase (KIC) spotted me and waved hi, so I talked to him and his friends, keiko_coaster and STDegner.

David along with representative Brian Neal from ACE were spotted several times throughout the day.

Karen (ACE) was spotted enjoying a ride on Diamondback.

Beast08 and tycoonrebel (KIC) were hard at work at Beast.

Captain Nemo and Cory Butcher (KIC) were hard at work on Diamondback. By the way – Nemo, what do you mean by encouraging line jumping? I heard you with my own ears, but couldn’t believe it! 

Coasterguy (KIC) and I had a great conversation while waiting for an amazing night ride on The Beast.

[Captain Nemo]

encouraging line jumping? NEVER!

Everyone by now should know my sense of humor. I don't remember saying that though.

Great TR, sounds like you had a blast.

[Ki Man]

I saw Nemo Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I think Saturday...hahaha. All weekend counts.

Same with Karen! She witnessed my firefighting skills at 3 Point, haha.

[DropZone99]

I really hope KI is dead this weekend on Friday and Saturday cause I couldn't make it to the Island this weekend. Nice TR, Sounds like you had a great time and your TR made me miss FoF alot cause my last visit the queue was too filled to ride since it was already 9pm. and we wanted a night ride on Beast and Diamondback.

[Zach]

Haha. That picture you have of SOB's trains has me and my dad in the front seat.

[footballfreak]

Dare to fly, On Friday I also saw Chelsea and Lauren at Diamondback. I also saw nemo and cory butcher at Diamondback. At Beast I saw Beast08 and tycoonrebel7188(my brother) both working hard. I also saw Gordon Bombay on Friday.

As I say it's all about who you know not always what you know. Lol

Also it looked like you had a good time.

[Ki Man]

^^

ZACH HA! I saw you while I was on Diamondback the other day. I think Saturday...maybe Friday. I was in either the front or the back, and you were outside The Crypt..I yelled to take a picture! hahaha. I've recognized you from being around with Paul all the time.

[Zach]

Haha! That was you! Thats crazy!

[dare-to-fly]

Haha. That picture you have of SOB's trains has me and my dad in the front seat.

Now that is hilarious timing!!

Everyone by now should know my sense of humor. I don't remember saying that though.

Your sense of humor is awesome! What I heard you say was to a (10-12ish) boy outside the line for Diamondback who was looking for his mom. Your instructions were "go on through and tell them you're looking for your mom." I'm just giving you a hard time, but in all honesty, I'm much more annoyed with the mother who left her son out of line and went in anyway.