McSalsa's Coaster Adventures: A Very Very LATE May 16th TR (AKA IT BEGINZ)

[McSalsa]

OK, it's been 2 weeks or so since my trip, and someone else did their May 16th trip report, discouraging me from doing this, but I've caved in and have decided to do this...probably out of boredom, but still. Here's how my May 16th Trip To Kings Island went...

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR STARTERS & THE DRIVE

For those of you who don't know, I live in Indianapolis, Indiana and Kings Island is the second closest theme park to me aside from Indiana Beach (I went there in '99 BTW) and is easily the largest theme park in my home region. I have only been to KI twice, in 2000 and then on May 16th 2009, the second of which I am reporting on. The drive to KI from Indy was pretty simple- lots of farmland and the occasional small town, and one casino. We stopped to eat breakfast and McDonalds, and then headed for Ohio. We reached Mason about 1 1/2 hours after leaving Indy.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND PARK ENTRANCE

My sister, who has been to KI several times now, told me "Diamondback is gonna be the first thing you see!" She was lying through her teeth, I saw Drop Tower, Invertigo (much bigger than I expected!), and The Eiffel Tower before Diamondback even came into view from behind the trees. I was so pumped up because this would be my first day riding big roller coasters, I was a little kid in 2000. There was a issue with my shoes at the main gate because apparently, they have some metal in them somewhere, but I got in fine. My ticket cost me a mere $29, a bargain. My friend suggested we head for the Eiffel Tower, my sister was afraid of it even though she would ride any of the roller coasters. Wuss.

THE Eiffel Tower

The views from the Eiffel Tower are truly incredible if you have never been up there in 9 years. I was suprised how many rides were "in your face" at that height: SOB, Drop Tower, and Diamondback were all up there with us. However, most of the rides looked very small from way up there. Even Delirium looked small! The clouds were also in our faces a bit as rain moved in. After some viewing, we headed down.

Eiffel Tower RATING: 8/10

THE CRYPT

It was raining (not much) by the time we got down, so my sister suggested the Crypt. I got in line and waited a good 30-45 minutes before we finally got on. The theming was very well done, but the ride itself left me wanting more and didn't satisfy. We got 2 good flips and that was it. = My sister also lied, saying the ride didn't go upside down. I didn't have a problem with it but was worried for my mom and friend's girlfiend. But we went on OK. I hoped this wouldn't be the best ride of the day...it actually ended up as the worst one, thankfully.

CRYPT RATING: 5/10

The Beast

After a dissapointing ride on the Crypt, we headed for the legendary Beast, and I accidently smacked my sister with a line handlebar not realizing line rules (it was my first time in 9 years). We only had a 30-minute wait, not bad for a legendary coaster, and I got to ride my first 100+ foot height roller coaster. And wow, the fear just evaporated. The ride shook more than I expected, but I had a blast and the second we got off, I wondered if anything would top The Beast.

BEAST RATING: 10/10

Update: I am now being told that "The Beast" has been tamed this year and is nowhere near as fast or furious (no pun intended) as it once was. And yet I gave the tamed Beast a 10/10 (and then some when at night!). I probably would have given the old Beast...a 12 out of 10!

The Vortex & SHAKE, RATTLE, & ROLL, PLUS SPONGEBOB 3D

Me and my friend wanted to go on Vortex next, but my sister was in charge of the trip and made us go on Shake, Rattle, & Roll instead. It ended up being a pretty decent flatride, better than Crpyt. Next we got our wish and rode Vortex. Longer line than I expected this time. While the ride was amazing, my shoudlers got hurt by the OTSR. Owch. That affected the score BTW. My sister dragged us on Spongebob 3D next but it turned out to be a good ride.

SHAKE, RATTLE, & ROLL RATING: 6/10

Vortex RATING: 8/10

SPONGEBOB 3D RATING: 7/10

SOME DOWNTIME

We got in line for Firehawk next, but that line was 1 1/2 hours long and I am not waiting that long for a ride that is good, but not great. Plus I was hungry, so we bailed out and ate. We walked around a bit and debated what to ride next. We went to Nick-U and my sister got wet on the spongebob bikini bottom bash, and then we decided to head for...Action Zone! But...nothing was working except Drop Tower or Congo Falls. We all said "nah" to Drop Tower (we are chickens and that type of ride scares us) and headed for Congo.

GETTING WET?

We rode Congo Falls and got quite wet. It was fun though. Next, we decided "What The Heck, we are already wet, let's ride White Water Canyon!" We got even wetter on that ride. Both were good. We caved in and went to the Diamondback line and it was actually not that bad, so in we went.

CONGO RATING: 7/10

WWC RATING: 8/10

Diamondback

After a 45 minute wait, rain hit just as we got up to the ride. So we had to wait 10 more minutes. But boy, it was worth it. The ride was simply amazing. At this point, I even would have listed it ahead of The Beast (but, read on...). Diamondback simply ruled.

Diamondback RATING: 10/10

YET MORE DOWNTIME

An awesome ride like Diamondback had us heading around aimlessly, and we decided to rest a bit. We played some games, ate a bit more, and then we went back to Action Zone to ride Son of Beast. I was pumped up to ride it after Diamondback, figuring SOB would be like The Beast and Diamondback mixed together. But...THE RIDE WAS CLOSED FOR THE REST OF THE DAY! Trains were running fine, but it was "testing". WHY SOB WHY!?!?

FLIGHT DECK, RACER, AND Flight of Fear

Flight Deck was open, and we decided to ride it. I must say, this ride is a good distance from the rest of the park! The ride itself was very good, but too short. We next went back to Coney Mall, played more games, then my sister wanted to ride FOF. The line was very long, so me and my friend skipped and rode The Racer. That ride is a true classic and I loved it. We returned to find our Racer ride had shortened the FOF line dramatically! So we got in line and rode that, and yet again, we had another classic on our hands. That ride was simply amazing. My sister said that one is her favorite.

FLIGHT DECK RATING: 8/10

RACER RATING: 9/10

FOF RATING: 10/10

Eiffel Tower II

It was getting late, so we ate at Festhaus. Afterwords, half of us, including me, went back to the Eiffel Tower to catch the setting sun over Invertigo. I wanted to ride it, but assumed that since many of the Action Zone rides were down, Invertigo would have a massive line. I had a talk with a park employee about my day to that point while in the tower, and didn't even realize she was hitting on me. I am such a idiot!

The Beast II: NIGHT BEAST!!! (AND ENDING)

We then decided to hit one of the rides we had already ridden for a night ride: The Beast! The line for this monster at night is very, very long but we waited, already knowing how good the ride was. We got on and wow, The Beast easily reclaimed the #1 spot as the park's best ride. In her several trips to KI, my sister has never ridden The Beast at night (we had split up before Eiffel Tower II). I now have something over her! We then headed for Grand Carosuel because that girl was working there and ended our day at KI with a gentle ride...it was a big finish as the fireworks went off. Then, we went to the car, waited for the "losers" (who did not get to ride Night Beast) and then left. What a day.

NIGHT BEAST RATING: 10/10 AND THEN SOME

CAROSUEL RATING: 7/10

OVERALL

OK, boy, this was a long TR. Here are my overall impressions of KI:

ROLLER COASTERS: 9/10

FLATRIDES (Mind you, this is of those I rode): 7/10

THEMING: 10/10

KIDS AREA: 10/10

FOOD: 10/10

CLEANLINESS: 9/10

STAFF: 9/10

VALUE (FOR ONLY $30!): 10/10

OVERALL: 10/10

Yep. That's it. KI rules. Enough said. Thanks for reading this very long, late, trip report.

Another Update:

In another TR, a man complained of punk kids, line jumpers, and that stuff. Yes, I did see and experience these things too but did NOT let them ruin my trip.

[The Interpreter]

Wow. I don't think I have ever read a KI TR that ended with a trip on the Carousel (and you had an excellent reason for it)! I'm glad y'all had a great time!

[McSalsa]

Wow. I don't think I have ever read a KI TR that ended with a trip on the Carousel (and you had an excellent reason for it)! I'm glad y'all had a great time!

Thanks. The night ride on The Beast easily made up for SOB's issues.

[McSalsa]

Oops! I forgot to list the 5 best rides I rode that day:

#1-The Beast (fell behind Diamondback and Flight of Fear but came back with the Night Ride)

#2-Diamondback (It's every bit as good as they said it was)

#3-Flight of Fear (My sister loves it to death and I can see why)

#4-The Racer (LOTS of airtime. Seemed to rival Diamondback in that area.)

#5-Vortex (Could have been better if it had not caused me some minor pain but still #5)

[McSalsa]

OK, one MORE thing: this trip has given me plans for my NEXT KI trip, whenever that may be:

#1- Ride Son of Beast, Firehawk, BLSC, Invertigo, Delirium, etc. I see now that it's hard to hit all of KI's big rides in just one day for various reasons.

#2- Ride The Beast, Diamondback, and Flight of Fear again if possible. And Night Beast again, but before park closing (don't want to stay after closing because of ghost rumors, while they may not be true I don't want to take that chance!)

#3- Stay for more than 1 day. See above.

#4- Dry off after water rides...or get rash again (forgot to mention that!).

#5- Bring own food or eat elsewhere, KI food is very pricey.