I took a mini trip to Mason yesterday and stopped at a few places. I stopped at Kings Island, Great Wolf Lodge and The Beach! (Well, we got dinner at Bob Evans and I took a few pics of the sign)

I have never been to Great Wolf, so I just stopped in for a few minutes just to "explore."

I got pics of Kings Island's Soak City, and the new Invertigo!

Check them out and comment!

Kings Island Soak City and Invertigo Pictures - http://coastergeek10...ls.php?album=27

Great Wolf Pictures - http://coastergeek10...ls.php?album=29

The Beach - http://coastergeek10...ls.php?album=28

And more detailed blog postings are on my website: Coastergeek101.com

great pictures, thanks:

Nice pics, Invertigo looks awesome!

"Welcome to PARADI E"?

P.S. ...metal detectors...

Great Wolf is a great waterpark in my opinion. Also those pictures of Invertigo look so pretty!

Thanks guys!!

@CedarPointer - I couldn't find the "s" and metal detectors?

@jdawg1998 - I liked the waterpark, but when i looked online at daily rates.............. and i purposely made the pics look pretty!

The metal detectors by the front gate seem to be gone.

The fences between them appear to still be there, so perhaps they're just undergoing annual maintenance somewhere else.

Yeah, I noticed the lack of metal detectors, maybe they got rid of them!

And, i took a panorama 360 view at the front gate, anybody know any free software on how to stitch the pics together?

Well they have made one move (First come first serve parking) that is more in line with what Cedar Point does, why not another (eliminating the metal detectors) I wouldn't even mind if they replaced it with something like what Busch Gardens Williamsburg does, and just checks bags. Maybe have a wand for random security checks.

They never worked! I went through them all the time with my cell phone and camera and nothing happened! I think they were just for show.

They most likely weren't even turned on. The only time I've ever seen them on was Haunt opening night last year.

Yeah! I remember they were on on haunt opening night.

Great pics and thanks for sharing.

Are you always able to get up that close and personal with KIs entrance when it's closed?

The fences between them appear to still be there, so perhaps they're just undergoing annual maintenance somewhere else.

The huge shade structure over them is gone too, it looks like. Even the support poles.

I like what they appear to have done with Invertigo's station. They seem to have added some new color to it, too, and I approve- it was in dire need of some "charm" and now it has a little (not too much, but a little). Though it still lags far behind Beast and Vortex's awesome-looking stations (then again, many of KI's rides besides those two do).

As for the coaster itself, wow. When they announced the ride would be changing colors to blue, I was worried the ride would lose the "LOOK AT ME!" appeal it had when it was bright yellow & red. Those fears are gone- this ride still screams "RIDE ME!" as much as ever before. I actually like this new paintjob more than the old one, even when it was in its prime.

Great PIcs! Invertigo looks a lot better than I thought it would!

@Kifan73 - Sure, glad you like them. I usually am. When I walked up to the front entrance, nobody said anything. I mean, if someone said to leave I would, but am I not supposed to be up that far?

@McSalsa - Yeah, I really liked how it looked.

And Guys, I have a video that is coming out tomorrow that features the construction!

Great pics.

It's interesting that the new Soak City entrance building seems to be similar to the WIldwater Kingdom entrance up in Aurora, itself a leftover structure from the former SeaWorld Ohio. I approve, as I love the three-gabled design.

Awesome pics! How do you have access to the K.I. ones though, do you work there?

Nope, I don't work at KI, I just took the photos and nobody said anything

Saw your post about this on your site and you said you didn't know what the whole thing in front of the clock was in the Great Wolf main lobby. It's not just for theme! it's actually a show that plays every night, they are animatronics! They sing and dance about nature, haha! It's so cool. You should go for real some time.

The metal detectors or at least the shade thing were taken down fairly recently, compare those pictures to this aerial shot from March 21st (pardon the cell phone quality picture):

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

You can just barely see the metal detector shade thing in the right side of the picture. So if I were to venture a (fairly uneducated) guess, that with them taking it down this late in the offseason, I'd say it's safe to say the metal detectors are gone. Keeping my fingers crossed!

Edit - Also great pictures by the way CoasterGeek, thanks for sharing!

I thought the display at the Great Wolf might have been a show, but I wasn;t sure. I have never been there before so I wouldn't know.

^^Delirium13, do you have any other photos? Particually of Soak City and WindSeeker?

I do have a few more pictures (only like 4 I think), they aren't anything too special. My dad took them when his friend took him flying and snapped a few pictures of KI for me, but they're all cell phone pictures and with him not being a big enthusiast they're basically just overview pics like the one above, he didn't know any of the new stuff to look out for since he hasn't been to the park in a few years. However, WindSeeker is in all but one I believe and Soak City can be seen in the distance in a couple if that counts for anything haha. I can post them though if you'd like.

Great pics of Invertigo! I still want to know if the logo colors will be changing. From the parking lot signs, that answer looks to be no, which is silly.

I have a feeling the "S" was taken out of paradise from vandals. Get it? Parad-DIE which is what happened to the Beach.

^Funny you mention that. The day after they announced their closure, a friend and I were up that way and had lunch at Waffle House. We swung by the Beach afterwards and I snapped this photo of the sign:

I drove by again with my girlfriend the next day and the S was gone.

Duh duh duh...