MagnumFan Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Though Cedar Point is my home park, the wife and I decided we couldn't wait any longer to ride some coasters so we headed to Kings Island for the weekend. We got a great rate ($76/nt) at the Springhill Suites which was a fantastic hotel for the money, and I'll definitely be staying there again. We arrived Friday around 4PM and hit up Diamonback, front seat, for our first ride of the year. Wow. This ride just keeps getting better and better. There were hardly any lines at all at the park. As evening wore on, the lines all but completely evaporated as most of the field trip kids left the park. Had some LaRosa's pizza for dinner which was good, but the girl shorted me $.90 in change and then when I told her about it, just as she shut the register drawer, she shrugged and said "sorry, I already closed my drawer". HUH??? I would be embarrased, first of all, to make that mistake, but worse yet was her flippant response. Terrible service. Fortunately, this was our only bad service experience of the weekend. Beast was a walk on all day Friday, even at dark! The new track on a few of the turns was a welcome change. They need to repeat this for the turn heading into the long covered "tunnel", the one without walls. Heading into that stretch is still really rough. When I rode Beast on Saturday, there were lights on in the tunnels. I don't remember these from years past. Even the double helix had lights on throughout, which really ruined the experience. Saturday we got there for early entry and got in 6 rides on DB (three of which were front seat) and then headed over near the Eiffel Tower to be the first ones on Firehawk shortly before 10. There were some teenagers with the same idea who thought they could beat me in a foot race, which they initially did, but as a marathon runner I took them down at the end. This was a lot of fun for everyone (including my wife who was laughing histerically when I told the teens to "bring it" during the national anthem). We exchanged high fives at the end and had front seat on Firehawk for first train of the day. Saturday's lines were definitely longer than Friday's but still really not bad at all. I think the forecast for rain all day scared most people away, but it only rained briefly, and that was during the time we went to Viva Tequila up the road for dinner. $3.99 32oz ice cold beers were awesome, as was the food. Highly recommend this place! Sunday we again arrived for early entry, but was very surprised to find the line to get into the park MUCH more crowded than Saturday. No big deal because we had to leave by noon, but it was evident that the forecast had indeed been a factor on Saturday, as the Sunday lines were much longer all around. In short, a fantastic trip to start the year. Here's the ride tally. Not really impressive given the low crowd levels, but then again I was there with the wife and we were just having a good time being at the park, not in a hurry to do anything. Diamondback - 14 (6 front seat) Beast - 6 Firehawk - 2 Racer - 4 Delirium - 1 (for wife, not me, I can't handle it) Flight Deck -2 Backlot - 2 Vortex - 1 (I'm getting too old for this one, it hurt my neck) Invertigo - 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kifanblh2011 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Great trip report MagnumFan. Looks like you didn't get in any rides on Flight of Fear. Was it down this past weekend or is it a coaster you'd rather not ride? FOF is one of my favorites and I'd be sad if it ever shut down during my trips. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 When I was at the park Friday evening, Flight of Fear`s line was out of the building. Since other lines were walk ons, I didn`t want to wait in the line for Flight of Fear, even with the indoor queues not open. I opted to get in rides on other rides that I was unable to ride on opening day due to the crowds. Glad to hear you had a fun time at the park! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnumFan Posted May 10, 2011 Author Share Posted May 10, 2011 Yeah, I don't particularly care for FOF. It's OK I guess, but I've been dealing with a neck injury for a while now, and FOF and Vortex are two rides that give me problems. Something I meant to add in the OP, I have always been a huge fan of Magnum XL200 and Millenium Force at Cedar Point. Probably my two favorite rides. But I'm 90% certain that my new favorite is Diamondback, with the caveat it HAS to be the front seat. Leaning way forward on the downhills is amazing, there is no other ride like it. I may have to change my screen name here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexican Eric Bischoff Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 This is what visits to the park are all about, glad to hear you had a good time. Viva Tequilia is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterGeek101 Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Thanks for sharing! You got a lot of rides in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pillsberry123 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Beast was a walk on all day Friday, even at dark! The new track on a few of the turns was a welcome change. They need to repeat this for the turn heading into the long covered "tunnel", the one without walls. Heading into that stretch is still really rough. When I rode Beast on Saturday, there were lights on in the tunnels. I don't remember these from years past. Even the double helix had lights on throughout, which really ruined the experience. I know exactly the turn you are talking about (the turn before the brake shed). That's the only spot on the coaster that I now consider excessively rough, but you're right, some retracking there would have been a much welcomed improvement. Lights on in the tunnels are sometimes on and sometimes off. They seem to be on more often early in the season, but it seems that during Haunt they make a point to turn them off. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what it seems like to me. So they were off on Friday and lit on Saturday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOPGUN1993 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 The turn right after the "Brake Shed" along with the turn right out of the tunnel have a noticeable difference, for the better. Good job wood coaster maintenance! Maybe in the future we'll see more portions retracked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendrick Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 The retracked portions were much smoother. I was amazed at the difference. They did an excellent job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagnumFan Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 The lights were on in the double helix on Friday, but off in the second concrete tunnel. Saturday, the second concrete tunnel lights were on, but the double helix lights were off, thankfully. And yes, the retracked portions were immediately noticeable, even to my wife who hates the ride. Don't ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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