PHOTO TR: The Life of Diamondback (So Far)

[Ki Man]

Hey everyone!

I love working and riding Diamondback, so why not show my support for the ride! Most of you know I do a bit of photography at theme parks, so I'd like to show off Diamondback's life so far! Starting with construction, winter tour, opening day, and regular season, oh and night time! It's almost April 17th...

Enjoy,

-Zach

Here we are in 2008, when Diamondback's construction started...

Then BAM! B&M is erected.

Diamondback gets lonely in the freezing cold Cincinnati winter.

Lots of curves look very nice...

Station is coming along nicely...

Massive 2nd hill, fantastic airtime heaven here.

Snow snow snow....

Cincinnati winter sucks!

Opening weekend! What a horrible day...2nd day open and it's sleeting.

Who cares, there's new B&M hotness!

The watersplash is a neat new feature.

Who said watersplashes don't interact with guests on the ride? Yeah, come sit in Diamondback's Row 16 and look backwards right here.

It's like Old Faithful shooting up right behind you! Very refreshing on a hot day.

Let's not forget the amazing 215ft drop at 78* angle.

Quick, steep lift with fantastic views.

Count those hills, then try to imagine floating in your seat and getting your butt kicked out of it! Each time.

Longer trains = huge pull down the drops in the back.

Front seat leaves you hanging over a 230ft cliff.

Weeeeee

She's pretty.

Front, back, or middle...all completely different rides.

4 seconds of pure free fall from 230ft in the air.

New hotness.

Pick your poison: Brown train, Red train, or Green train

Old scool and new school

Airtime heaven

At night it just gets better!

Yeah you can't see anything in those woods.

Oh joy, more coasters nerds will come to Kings Island now!

Wow, just gotta be here to see this!

Plan your visit to Kings Island now!

Night rides are a must...

Snake skin.

Hey, I work here! Oh, check out those new B&M trains.

Guy demonstrates how to ride!

The train's approaching, come on over to Cincinnati and get in line!

Into the final drop

Helix - Diamondback slacks on the intensity that Goliath at SFOG has.

But makes up for it with airtime!

Layout isn't too bad either!

Best drop on any coaster I've been on.

Millennium Force, get out of here. Diamondback's on top in Ohio.

What's hiding in the woods..

Perhaps the funniest expression I've captured!

Mmm..coaster track and fireworks.

Hope you all enjoyed! Kings Island opens April 17th, stop by Diamondback and say hello!

--Zach

[Diamondback FOF]

Nice photos. This reminds me, I need to try again on figuring out a way to turn my PowerPoint of Diamondback into a video so I can share it.

[Beast1979]

dekfjaso;fihq What's left of my brain just spilled out of my ears...you spilled a wave of memories back to me. Great pictures! I want to ride now!!!

[TheCryptRaider]

Gee, thanks for making me miss it even more!

Just kidding though, this is pretty cool. Thanks for posting.

Josh, who has butterflies who have booked a stay in his stomach for the next 35 days.

[countess_of_tuscany]

Awesome pictures, great captions! Makes me miss Kings Island even more -- can't wait to go back!

[Ki Man]

Thanks for the comments!

[IslandAddict]

I can't stop laughing at the second to last picture. New background/desktop/whatever it's called.

[Fear the Four]

These pictures made me tearful!

Nice pics though. I love looking at the riders faces! They make me burst into laughter.

[Beast79]

Love the pictures, I love the expressions. DB is a easy coaster to get pictures of the guest facial expressions.

[gad198]

Zach, it's always great seeing your photos. Diamondback really captured the attention of a lot of people this year and I think that part of that is due to pictures like this really capturing the essence of the ride. Keep up the good work!

[The Interpreter]

Incredible, my good man! Just incredible!

Thanks for sharing!

[iChase]

Zach, these are fantastic! Thank you for posting them. A whole flood of memories just hit me. I'm really upset I have to miss this operating season.

[KIfan1980]

Kind of cool - I'm looking forward the 2010 album!

[alluna]

Zach, these photos are awesome! I love the old school/new school photo and 'snake skin' the best. Is it April yet??

[beastrider97]

Wow zach, amazing photos! It brought a little Diamondback goodness into my home for the off season. I love it!

[Tomkatt7]

Great pics! Thanks for posting them! It seems like so long ago that we were watching the progress on the webcam, and riding the train just so we could see the excavated land in the back!

[Jasper]

Thank you for those pictures Zach. It brings me back to the first day I went to the park in 2009, first Sunday it was open. I remember just waiting in line for Diamondback and watching it eat the line up and making the wait shorter and shorter. After my first time I was snake bitten. Can't wait for opening day to get here, but, I get to catch my first glimpse of Diamondback tomorrow, actually my first glimpse of Kings Island overall as I am going to get my pass processed. Once again thank you for the photos Zach!

[Ki Man]

Ah, only two weeks from Saturday. I'm ready for some Diamondback. Thanks for the comments I promise them to be 10x better this season!

[BoddaH1994]

Some of the best photos I've ever seen of Diamondback. Ever.

Very good!

[HTCO]

Best photos ever! Expect a PM from me soon.

[Ki Man]

^Answered. And thanks, Ryan and KIC! Less than 2 weeks until I can get some more photos. Perhaps I'll post some more later!

[dragsterfan420]

Thanks Zach. Always love seeing your pics, especially of DB. It brings back the memories of seeing the land being cleared and anticipated what could be going in the space. When you get back to KI take some pics of DB through the woods near White Water Landing. I got some great pics there last year.

Can't wait to see more!

-Kyle