I won't even title this a trip report. My dad and I got to Kings Island at 9:30 this morning and somehow Diamondback's line reached all the way to Blue Ice Cream! We were absolutely stunned. Unfortunately, I didn't get to ride Diamondback today. Hopefully next week.

We then went to The Beast. The line extended to the Rivertown games. Once again another must ride for us was passed up on. The park hadn't even opened yet - still 15 minutes, so we waited at the rope until the park opened. We went directly to BLSC and walked on to the front seat. By the time we got off, the line was about to fill up the queue under the shade structures (whatever they're called). Wow.

I took some decent pictures from BLSC to The Racer that I will post when I get home.

Vortex's line filled up the outside queue, Flight of Fear as well, and Firehawk of course wasn't open.

The Racer was the only ride with a decent wait. We rode it, and I gotta say, it doesn't feel as rough as usual. It was actually kind of smooth.

That was it for our day in terms of rides. But I took some pics of the Bier Garten, the new banners in Action Zone, and the mysterious fence around the Thunder Alley area. Pictures coming soon.

We will be going next Sunday, because today was just a disappointment. Sunday we will also eat at the Reds Hall of Fame and Grille, which I'll review.

Overall it's good to be back.

Well, I am a bit glad I didn't go today, with those lines I would just walk around and not ride a single ride. Thanks for the TR!

Sounds like its packed! Hopefully you'll have more luck ride-wise next week.

Keep in mind this was from 9:30-10:30. The park had barely even opened yet. I can't imagine what it's like right now.

Well, you just up my mind about whether or not we were gonna make the 2+ hour drive to spend the afternoon at the park. Rain should be in the are by 7 so looks like I will be doing Laundry instead.

Yeah we just made the same decision!

Well, you just up my mind about whether or not we were gonna make the 2+ hour drive to spend the afternoon at the park. Rain should be in the are by 7 so looks like I will be doing Laundry instead.

LOL That's exactly what we're doing

Picture time!

It's good to be back!

The entrance - doesn't look to busy because I took this on my way out.

Hello Eiffel Tower.

I'm pretty sure this is new ... maybe I'm not remembering correctly?

The Bier Garten looks awesome!

I love the pond's fountain. As you can tell from the picture above, new fencing outlines the rest of the pond.

Reds Hall of Fame and Grille's back patio, overlooking Diamondback.

If you look closely, you can see the crazy long line ... taken at 9:30am ...

Simple Diamondback first drop picture ...

The Beast's line extending outside the queue.

Action Zone's new banners and lack of a water tower looks nice.

...and last but not least, the mysterious fence around Thunder Alley (or, what used to be)

A closer look...

It kills me to see how faded the yellow on Diamondback has gotten over the course of 4 years.

Nice pictures!

I ike the pictures!

Is WindSeeker open today?

It kills me to see how faded the yellow on Diamondback has gotten over the course of 4 years.

In just a few more year's they'll match the rest of the supports!

I ike the pictures!

Is WindSeeker open today?

When I was there - no.

WindSeeker didn't look like it would be opening at all today.

And yeah, it was crazy crowded.

And I'm wondering how crowded it is right now. Still another hour and 20 minutes of opening day left. I wish I was there.

The new evacuation system is behind a fence around Dinosaurs Alive 3D, and it's viewable while riding The Red Racer.

Hmm...WindSeeker still down...I kind of expected that, since the KBF one has yet to re-open and is still testing...I'll bet you Cedar Point's will not be ready for their opening day in a few weeks, either. I don't see these rides re-opening until June or later for most of the parks they are at, since these rides seem to need extensive testing done and the one at Knott's has been testing for I think at least 2+ months. I don't even think WindSeeker has done the normal testing that other rides like Diamondback, Beast, or Drop Tower have yet.

As for the crowds...not suprised. Nice weather on opening day=CROWDED, as we should have learned back in 2011. At least the rides seemed to no break a bajillion times this year...also, a tip for some: if The Vortex line is way out past its normal queue, don't panic, that's still a 25-30 minute wait at most (learned this during Halloween Haunt 2010, on a very crowded Saturday)...same deal for Adventure Express, but that one is only 15-20 minutes. These are good "fall back" rides on crowded days.

Although I find it odd that WindSeeker wasn't open today, as Kings Dominion's is fully operating.

Thanks for your update Jdawg

The picture you posted of The Beast line has me and my sister in it. We are at the end of the line, I have a blue backpack on my back and she is next to me.

When I got to the park at 7:00 p.m., it was still a bit crowded. I had to wait 15 minutes to get my new Platinum Pass processed; when I entered the park, Vortex and the Eiffel Tower went down, and Shake, Rattle & Roll did the same thing about 20-30 minutes later. But during the last hour, the lines were pretty short. Racer and Adventure Express had station waits of about 5 minutes each, Zephyr was nearly a walk-on, and Vortex's line was about a walk-on as well. I was able to marathon Vortex for 4 consecutive cycles with the last one (my 140th Vortex ride ever) being a fireworks ride!

I'll be writing the TR shortly

The picture you posted of The Beast line has me and my sister in it. We are at the end of the line, I have a blue backpack on my back and she is next to me.

Hah! That's funny! It would be even weirder if I had actually gotten into line...

^^ I also ran into Eiffel Tower being shut down cause the elevator was stuck.

Where People on it?

^^ I also ran into Eiffel Tower being shut down cause the elevator was stuck.

Nice TR and PTR JDawg!

Where People on it?

^^ I also ran into Eiffel Tower being shut down cause the elevator was stuck.

Yup, people were on it.