Hoeter Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Made my third trip out to Kings Island this season. Arrived at 3:45pm and saw many buses in the parking lot. Started off, as usual, with the longest wooden roller coaster in the world- The Beast. Good ride, but I still complain about that trim break in the straightaway killing the momentum and bringing the train into a leisurely stroll through the tunnel. Waited 20 minutes. Second ride of the day was Diamondback. Used the SRL, waited in line 25 minutes or so, and got assigned row 14 on red train. Cory Butcher was working, so I chatted with him for a little bit. Being only two rows from the back, I felt no mist at all from the splashdown. Kings Island has really hit a home run with Diamondback! After Diamondback, I headed over towards Action Zone and checked out Flight Deck for the first time this season. Flight Deck desperately needs a paint job- it looked much worse to me than it did last season. Ride was fun, but short and was a walk-on as well. Following Flight Deck, I decided to hit up Son of Beast. Last week when I rode it, it was my first ever time on that ride, it had little to no wait, and was very enjoyable. Tonight was a complete 360. I waited about 40 minutes for Son of Beast, or as I like to call it now: Whiplash Express. Part of this blame lies on me as I sat towards the rear of the blue train over a wheel. I've seen many times mentioned on this board that Son of Beast will beat the absolute snot out of you if you are riding over a wheel. Last week when I rode it, I was in the front of a car in the middle of the blue train and wasn't as rough as my experience tonight. Son of Beast is an awesome structure to look at, and the ride is enjoyable as long as you aren't getting jolted to death. I decided to head towards Coney Mall to hit up Vortex. I rode it last week in 5-1 and had a very good ride. No headbanging against the OTSR's, plenty of legroom, and later I find out that 5-1 is the very row in which the ride is designed around. For some reason, 5-1 had a very long wait, so I figured 5-2 wouldn't be that much different. Boy, was I wrong! Sitting in 5-2 was very painful for me for a couple of reasons: I'm a taller guy, about 6' 2'' or 6' 3'' and found I was very cramped in the seat. Also, my neck and head banged into the OTSR's the whole ride. When I ride Vortex in the future, I will definately make sure to ride in 5-1, no matter how long the wait is. I waited about 10 minutes to ride. After this, I decide to take multiple laps on Diamondback. I first rode Diamondback last Friday, and absolutely loved it. I rode two B&M's last month while down in Florida and they were smooth as glass and the best rides you'll experience anywhere, and Diamondback certainly isn't any different. Used the SRL for my second ride of the day, waited 30 minutes and was assigned row 5 on red train. Row 5 delivered by far my best ride on Diamondback yet! After I got off, I went to the entrance of Diamondback to find that the SRL was closed. Since the SRL was temporarily closed, I decided to walk around a little bit and take in the sights. I returned to Diamondback about 9:00pm and got in the SRL since it reopened. I was in line for 15 minutes or so at the top of the stairs, getting ready to await my seat assignment when my ears were treated to the lovely tune of a downtime spiel. Green train was stuck in the station-already boarded with passengers, Red train was on the brakes after the splashdown, and gold train was on the MCBR. I decided not to wait and took a relaxing ride on the train. I haven't been on the train since before construction started on Diamondback. The track from the first drop going into the second hill runs very very close to the train, and it's cool how the entire ride looks back there from the train. Walked right onto the train without waiting, and upon return 10 minutes later, I find out that Diamondback is running again. I get into the SRL for my third and final ride of the night. Waited 15 minutes and was assigned row 10 on green train. My first night ride on Diamondback was amazing...not as amazing as a night ride on The Beast, but very close. That about sums it up for my experience. What would a PTR be without pictures?!? Please note that these pictures were taken with my cell phone so they're not going to be the best quality, but at least I tried. Enjoy these pictures that I captured... Thanks for reading my PTR. Take a look at my signature for my latest creation: The Kinzel Nickel Count! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DropZone99 Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Nice PTR. I like The second photo alot. And Next time you ride SOB sit in the very front seat on Red Train It'll be a great ride! And on Vortex I personally think 7-1 Is the best seat and never seems to have a wait either. And another trick on Vortex is have your Restraint as far away from you as possible and lift your feet on the main drop and you'll just float til' your coming up the next hill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 My second favorite seat on Vortex is 1-1. I recommend it highly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdrptrks Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 I was also there yesterday and had some similar experiences. I rode Vortex right before I had to leave and I didn't have time to wait for 5-1 or 1-1, so I ended up on 2-2 and it was a very painful ride. I rode Beast and I thought it was boring because of the increased braking. They either should have retracked the tunnels and left the breaks alone or changed the brakes and left the tunnels alone, but not both! I also thought 1-2 was pretty rough for the first half of Flight of Fear. I enjoyed Diamondback, especially Row 2, but my last (4th) ride I was assigned a seat towards the middle (Row 8?) on either the red or gold train and there were unusual rough vibrations at the bottom of each hill. That DB ride shook me up more than The Beast did. I did not notice unusual vibrations on my other 3 DB rides. Also, of my 4 rides, only once did the ride op assigning seats allow any requests from the people in the regular line. I agree that Flight Deck really needs to be painted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabelogan99 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 For being a low quality pic, the last pic is really good. Can you or someone clarify where 5-1 is on Vortex? I usually ride the front but I might have to see what all the fuss is about this 5-1 the next time I go. By the way, every time I have rode Vortex this year, I have heard the ride ops refer to it as The Vortex. Is anyone else noticing the same thing? I got to thinking about that after reading Andrew's signature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 5-1 means the fifth car, the front row of it. It is the seat around which Ron Toomer designed the ride. That seat delivers the ride experience Ron wanted you to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_heart_pki Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I sat towards the middle on Vortex and it was painful. The headbanging on the restraints was insane. That was also yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Sigh. You must look to where you sit in A CAR. Not the train. Invariably, when I tell non-enthusiast friends where to sit on Vortex or Beast, they come back saying..."But I sat in the middle of the train." Usually right over a wheel.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_heart_pki Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 I was in the front of the car in the middle but closer to the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 The fifth car is the third to last...since there are seven cars on the train... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_heart_pki Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Def need to change my seating on that one! I think we rode there because it was the easiest to get to without having to walk through a bunch of people haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Hmmmm...so you rode there because few people were in line for that seat. Gee, I wonder why! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabelogan99 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 OK thanks I actually have always wondered that. And, actually, I thought that when someone said 5-1 it meant the fifth row of the train, inside seat or outside seat--didn't know what the 1 meant. Turns out, I guess I didn't know what any of it meant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I_heart_pki Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 haha. It all makes sense now. -Ashley slapping hand to forehead and then remembering she has a sunburn.- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 OK thanks I actually have always wondered that. And, actually, I thought that when someone said 5-1 it meant the fifth row of the train, inside seat or outside seat--didn't know what the 1 meant. Turns out, I guess I didn't know what any of it meant. The numbering system is different on Diamondback...where odd row numbers are inside seats and even row numbers are outside seats... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paperg Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 still dunno what you people are talking about... I just know that front seat of the train threw me around. I have heard of talk about a certain train (row) & number, but makes no sense to me, yet. Glad you got it, i_heart_pki... Guess terpy will get me on this one too.... I'll give ya a hamburger, terpy, it don't even hafta be on Tuesday.... he he he he Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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