McSalsa's Coaster Adventures: A Storm is Brewing (KI 5/14/2011)

[McSalsa]

Kings Island: MAY 14TH, 2011

Ola! It's McSalsa, and I come to you with...no, it's not a poll! A TRIP REPORT! I actually like making these more than polls, believe it or not. Before we begin, as usual, here

is the ride rating system:

10=Brilliant

9=Excellent

8=Very Good

7=Good

6=Decent

5=Meh

4=Bad

3=Garbage

2=Poop

1=Superpoop

0=Ultrapoop

THE ARRIVAL

Our huge group, of which I was mostly with my friend, mom, and friends cousin left Indianapolis to head to Kings Island around 7:30 AM, and we arrived at the park around 10:00AM. I was curious- when Kings Island first comes into view, which will look bigger- Drop Tower or WindSeeker? To my suprise, both rides looked the same size!

However, when I saw the parking line, I was stunned- it was raining and I was told Kings Island is not supposed to be crowded when it rains. I don't understand why it was so crowded, apparently it was some kind of school music festival. My mom needed to get a wheelchair as due to a past injury, she cannot walk far at all. We got one, but forgot the special access papers and headed for Delirium.

RIDE #1: Delirium

Wait: 10 Minutes

Delirium had not yet built up a super-long line and we were on quickly. This ride was the first ever test of my "new" glasses strap, and...It worked! My glasses stayed on not only on Delirium, but on numerous other rides as well. $2 well spent. As for Delirium itself, it was its usual fast, thrilling self...with a bonus. This was not just Delirium. This was Super-Soaker Ultra Wet N' Wild Delirium. It was raining quite a bit during the ride, which I actually enjoyed...though my friend and his cousin thought it hurt. Not to me, it didn't!

Score: 10/10

After Delirium, it was off to Drop Tower.

RIDE #2: Drop Tower

Wait: 15 Minutes

Ahh yes, Drop Tower- a ride that I once feared. Now, I adore this thing! The ride was the same as usual- stunning views of the park followed by an intense drop. I ended up looking at Flight Deck- which was repainted this offseason and looks beautiful now. The rain had no effect on this ride's performance.

Score: 10/10

After Drop Tower, we started heading towards Racer, but as we passed Adventure Express we noticed it didn't seem to have much of a line. However, little did we know...

RIDE #3: Adventure Express

Wait: 15 Minutes

...The wait was still 15 minutes, because only 1 train was running due to the rain, even though it was starting to back off a little by now. The ride was a bit better than last time, it seemed faster and most of the effects were working (thus this particular ride gets an 8, last time I gave AE a 7). They need to fix up the last tunnel's theming though,some of the aztec dudes arms don't work!

Score: 8/10

After "zig-zagging" through AE's line with a wheelchair, we realized we needed those papers BAD. So we got them, and then I learned that when you are with someone in a wheelchair, you can join them and skip most lines! Cool! We headed for Beast, but we found out due to the 1-train operation they were using due to the rain, only 1 of us could ride with mom, and there were 3 (not counting mom). We got hungry at this point, so we headed to the car and ate some food we brought. We then returned and decided to wait for Beast the hard way...and it took 90 freaking minutes!

RIDE #4: The Beast

Wait: 90 Minutes!!! (Curses, 1 train operations!)

After a brutal wait, we boarded Beast. The Beast lived up to its name, and it sure acted like a...well...Beast! The ride was violent, rough, and had VERY strong laterals. Stronger than I have ever felt on this coaster. Where did they come from? And believe it or not, they were not as strong in the final helix. Weird. I enjoyed the ride, as I am a Beast fan and have come to expect and enjoy a ride like this (worth the wait!), but my mother HATED it. Too rough for her tastes. In fact, she vowed to stop riding anything at that point! I would "convince" her to ride more later, however...

Score: 10/10

After Beast, we ended up hungry yet again from that giant line and smelled LaRosa's Pizza. The Pizza was better this time than it was during Haunt, it had better sauce and cheese and the breadsticks were soft & delicious. We also bought several of those overpiced large Cokes. Afterwords, we headed for The Racer because during our Beast ride, we saw both sides running and decided that meant shorter lines. We were sorta right.

RIDE #5: BLUE RACER

Wait: 20 Minutes

My friend selected Blue Racer. This 1972 John Allen classic delievered a solid ride, with respectable amounts of floater air (no ejector air here) and that classic woodie appeal. And, as usual, Blue lost. D'oh!

Score: 8/10

After Racer, we headed up to check out WindSeeker. This ride looks like it will be awesome when it opens later this year. Then we decided to check Flight of Fear to find the line at 1 hour. Not too bad considered the ride's popularity and the fact it was pretty crowded. Knowing it would be running all its trains, we boarded.

RIDE #6: Flight of Fear

Wait: 60 Minutes

Wow, this ride does need some Q-Line work BAD. The coaster itself is still awesome, even though they have increased the brightness of the lights so you can see the ride quite a bit now. On my last FOF ride (in May 2010), I was brutally beaten by this ride. This time? The ride was a bit rough, but nothing crazy. And thus, Flight of Fear still earns very good marks in my book. BUT FIX THE LINE!!!

Score: 10/10

After Flight of Fear, we tried Firehawk...then ditched it, for the usual reason (Super...Slow...Line). They really need to do something about this. Soon after, I was riding Monster.

RIDE #7: MONSTER

Wow! Monster even packed a punch on this day, with extra spinning and twirling. Needless to say, the rides were running GREAT.

Score: 8/10

After Monster, we headed for Vortex.

RIDE #8: Vortex

Wait: 15 Minutes

Still a line muncher with only 2 trains! Excellent work, Vortex! My friends decided to let me ride by myself this time, a first- I have NEVER ridden a coaster without a friend or relative somewhere else on the train. However, having ridden numerous other coasters and Vortex before, I did it and it went quite well. I chose 5-1 again, and it delievered yet again...and now, there is the "OH MY GOD WE ARE GONNA HIT WindSeeker!" moment that was not there in 2010. Yet another ride that gets a 10/10! This was going quite well...

Score: 10/10

With 8 rides down the hatch, I talked to my momma. She was still thinking about how rough Beast was, but said she was not scared of it, it was all roughness that bugged her. A group of neighbors who live with my friend said Diamondback was a short was in the single-rider line, so we checked it out. My friend, who barley fit in Diamondback in '09 and was "stapled" in and thus did not enjoy the ride due to the pain, tried the test seat. He has lost around 20-30lbs since '09 and now he fit! I convinced my mother to ride it, promising her that Diamondback was NOT rough at all. Using her wheelchair pass, we boarded with NO wait! SWEET!

RIDE #9: Diamondback

Wait: 0 Minutes (Line Pass HO!)

My first ride on Diamondback had kick-butt airtime. My second did not have so much. And now, it was time for #3...and Diamondback has redeemed itself. Yes, it is still a bit of a one-trick pony, all it really has is airtime. The hammerhead turn is not much, and the splashdown is a visual effect for non-riders. But it pulls that one trick off so well, and is so comfy, it still rules. In an oddball note, Diamondback has a few sections that seem to need painted now, and has roughed up just a little bit since its rookie year. It's still very smooth, but no longer "buttery smooth". Even B&Ms age, I guess.

Score: 10/10

After Diamondback, we decided to go across the park and ride Flight Deck. Long walk. But we got there and I used the line pass again, as I know Flight Deck isn't very rough either and thus would not bug my momma.

RIDE #10: FLIGHT DECK

Wait: 0 Minutes (Line Pass again)

Wow, she be purdy now...but, the Q-Line area here needs some work to match the coaster itself in "cleanliness and quality". The ride still runs the same as before- fast and furious fun. And it's still short. Ah well, a good ride...that ended up being our last.

Score: 9/10

After Flight Deck, we headed up to try Delirium again, then we planned on a Beast night ride. But wait, Delirium was CLOSED?!?! Then we looked towards Planet Snoopy, and ominuous black clouds were coming. We knew what was coming, and left the park. No night ride on Beast this time, which is a shame because Beast was running great. 10

rides in 10 hours...yeah, it was a bit crowded and we did waste quite a bit of time just sitting and enjoying BEING at Kings Island. Overall, this was a great trip, in spite of the numerous problems we faced. And now, as usual, a summary:

THE GOOD STUFF

+Brilliant Rides. Nothing we rode on this day earned less than an 8. They ran great on this day.

+Great Staff (Mostly). The Beast crew did all they could with 1 train, and tried to entertain us to help the long line. The Firehawk crew must learn from them!

+Good Food. LaRosa's was DELICIOUS today.

+Clean Park. Nuff said. No trash.

THE BAD STUFF

-Rides closed/not ready. Son of Beast and WindSeeker drew my eyes to them more than once, as they are both beautiful rides that look epic, but neither was open. At least WindSeeker will eventually open, but what about SOB?

-Food prices...but you already know that.

-Some Q Lines and Theming on Flight Deck, Adventure Express, and Flight of Fear need work.

-They need to learn how to run more than 1 train on coasters when it rains...ugh. Long lines.

FINAL WORDS

I really enjoyed this visit to KI. I am still kinda sore, a lot of the rides were a bit rough, though it was mostly "added up" and no 1 ride did me major damage. I am happy my glasses strap worked so well and I had a blast with my friends, family, and compadres. Even if it was ended early by a freak thunderstorm. Now, if you will excuse me...

(Gets out Beam O' Mass doom)

TAKE THIS, YOU FREAKING THUNDERSTORM!!!

(Blasts Thunderstorm into Oblivion)

UPDATE:

OOPS! This is a 2011 trip, not 2010. Sorry, Typo!

UPDATE #2:

Made this easier to read by fixing errors. This TR was originally written after a long, fun but exhausting day at Kings Island so please forgive me!

[BavarianBeatle]

Glad you had a nice time! But the lines you describe make me glad that I avoid Saturdays like the plague!!!!!

[McSalsa]

Glad you had a nice time! But the lines you describe make me glad that I avoid Saturdays like the plague!!!!!

Yeah, they were pretty bad until the rain finally stopped, then the coasters all started running more trains, which really helped most of the lines. Beast, I am told, dropped to just a 45 minute wait when all 3 trains started running.

[TombRaiderFTW]

Haha, I like your enthusiasm, McSalsa! Great trip report. I also liked your pros/cons list there at the end--creative!

Glad you had a nice time! But the lines you describe make me glad that I avoid Saturdays like the plague!!!!!

So far, just about every day the park's been open has been jam-packed. I'm willing to guess it's because the park is having various events involving school choirs until this week--I know opening day was full of kids in shirts representing various choirs. In the past few years, Saturdays haven't seemed to be too bad until schools let out for summer/the park hosts events like this. But since the park opened unusually late, we haven't gotten the good old little-to-no wait weekends that the early part of the season usually provides. *insert wistful sigh*

[CoasterGeek101]

Thanks for sharing your good report.

[windshawne]

Fridays are usually a great time to go. Problem with me is I'm tired after work and miss a lot of them. I had planned to go this past Friday, but we had a crisis at 10 til 5 at work, plus it was raining and after all that I let it go.