2012Jarrett Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 In a fun but gruelling 27-hour day of bone-chilling cold, sleep deprivation, chemistry tests (this isn't a post about exams week in the winter, I promise!), 30 minute waits, boring walks out to The Bat, these really cool stackable disposable coffee cups with handles, coaster enthusiasts taking over an entire section of an amusement park, and most terrifying of all, free Banshee twists everywhere you look, one TPR member and two GOCC members drove to the city where pigs fly for the debut of a ride a year in the making. When we got there, I could hear her, but I couldn't see her. Seeing this at the end of the check-in line was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...because left my jacket in the car and this meant I was about to get something cool to take back and would therefore have an excuse to go get said jacket. Light was starting to pour over the horizon by the time we were through. Jacket? Check! Lanyard? Check! Time to go ride Banshee! This path felt so long! And here we are... They themed the queue out the nose with this one. Gravestones in some of the off-to-the-side areas, it was incredibly foggy, and they shone these spotlights shaped like little Banshees around the floor erratically. And it was definitely worth the wait I spent in it, the drive down, the months upon months of waiting, all the speculation, all of the checking the webcam between classes, all of it. This has to be the best B&M ever manufactured. It's as smooth as the newer ones like Intimidator, SheiKra, and Wild Eagle, but just as intense as the older ones like Montu, Afterburn, and Alpengeist. It has a significant amount of B&M roar but it isn't as loud as other ones like Mantis and Kumba. The drop is a great way to start the ride and it really whips you around and into your seat. The dive loop is also great and you get some old B&M snap going into it before diving down over the new tent (which provides a fabulous view). The entry into the loop (where this was taken) is just as intense as the drop and it really caught me off guard, though most of the pained expression is due to wind chill and the unexpected force. The zero-g roll isn't as good as Raptor's or Montu's but it still snaps a bit and still acts as a nice transition into the lower half of the ride. And then the drop. That drop off of the zero-g is as good as a good B&M first drop and hurdling into that trench is incredible. There is a trim there but I didn't notice it at all. It makes no sound and I didn't feel the train slow down at all. I'm guessing that either A. it's there but somehow switched off and only comes on on really hot days or B. it's like the little fins on Skyrush where they're there just to make sure that the top speed it was designed with is the top speed it uses, keeps it from entering the intense element with a Vknot higher than it's supposed to be entered with. Whatever the situation with the trim, you hit the bottom and she lives up to her name, that roar is deafening from the train! And then you go into the batwing, not much snap there but it still provides a nice visual, and then WHOOSH!!! She slams into that batwing and you get plastered into your seat. I didn't grey out but I felt like I might, because that's by far the most intense point on the ride. I love the batwing, it's easily the best part of it. After that the loop is pretty standard, nothing incredibly intense but a loop-the-loop is a loop-the-loop. Then came the spiral element which provided some really nice visuals of The Bat and the valley behind the park. It was definitely more floaty B&M than forceful B&M but that isn't a bad thing at all. And then came the inline. If you watch the music video I made it looks like just a harmless cartwheel. WRONG!!!! Those forces transfer strangely and you really get shaken around in that open restraint, it's absolutely terrifying that high up. The following helix acts as the intense finale of a great ride, no matter which seat you're in it's incredibly forceful and also provides some nice visuals. And then you hit the brakes which is just that, hitting the brakes after a nice long ride and wishing it continued. But it's not a short ride by any means, you'll hit those brakes plenty satisfied! And after that we got donuts. FREE donuts. With a line longer than Banshee's. They served as many free breakfast pastries as you wanted with free hot chocolate. Honestly, it outdid the catering my school does for its classy events. The donuts were huge (and I love donuts, they're quick and tasty, perfect college breakfast) and they had plenty of kinds. They blew those accomodations out of the water. I WANTED to get back in line, but the line was long. That and Banshee at sunrise. The fog and the rising sun made for some beautiful visuals from The Chicken Shack. Round 2, here we go! *ding!* Me being artsy with my iPhone photos that I posted to Facebook to make all my friends jealous. View from the station stairs. The sunrise ride was amazing! I got the same row as I did the first time but it was still fun!That allowed you to see clearly that the ground below the batwing was really muddy and you were about to get thrown close to it. The bottom of the dive loop is a good photo op, I could see quite a lot of pictures taken here. Banshee compared to the rest of the park. Going down! Delirium swings somewhat close to the new dive loop...but I'm not a fan of the new paint job personally. It matches Action Zone, true, but something about it seems off to me. And I kept hearing people complaining about the noise it made for some reason. I've lived near this ride for eleven years and it never bothered me. On Location is now Coaster Connection and it's awesome. Love some of the new Banshee stuff. Wish they had Bat stuff, though. Some gravestones somewhat away from the ride. Not sure if these are there to bring the experience to the overflow queue space back there or just to provide some backdrop to the ride. :? No picture taken of this coaster that I've seen has done its size full justice. It's absolutely massive and pictures don't convey that well. The fog is always on on the sign even when the night fog is off. After that ride I settled down to go hear the speeches. While waiting around, I saw Robb Alvey from TPR walking around and talking to people. Somebody approached him and got one of the buttons he had promised the first 100 people, so I took that as a cue that he wasn't busy. I approached him, held up my lanyard with my TPR card on it, and greeted him. He asked me, "did you get your button?" I just shook my head, he gave it to me, I told him, "thank you, sir," and left him alone. I was pretty nervous to meet him not because I didn't think he'd like me, but because I was worried that my first impression would be me bothering him while he was busy with the media. Having done that right was a huge relief, I met him in person for the first time. And then Don told us a heartwarming story about how they had to decide between keeping two attractions or removing them to build something bigger, and the difficult decision that a landmark ride had to go to make way for Banshee...so they removed the go karts. Lots of people gathered around to hear the speakers. They all did a great job and I found it fascinating, but the best had to be the guy (I forget his name) who talked about the engineering behind Banshee that the park did with B&M. As somebody going to school to design roller coasters, if I had to watch just one speech it would have been that one. The way Banshee rides is like somebody took the first part of a coaster and cut it off at the top of an element, and then took another and cut it off at the top of the drop, and stuck them together. As said by one of the speakers, the elements at the bottom of that hill are massive, and they were absolutely right. This right here is why "there is only one Banshee." These guys probably just had a fun time. Through the batwing! Some of the cattlepen theming. I like Eiffel Tower in this one for some reason. Back to the station! Snap into the dive loop A not-so-zero-g-zero-g roll (Five hyphens? Dang!) that still provides some snap. This picture does an okay job of showing just how massive the lower elements are. As said by a speaker, they re-opened Banshee, and also opened Skyflyer, Delirium, and The Bat. Banshee looks absolutely massive from this spot. And it really looks nice with The Bat's colors. Yay, they kept the station! I slept in this station during a rainstorm! Banshee towers over a train full of Bat riders. Three different types of below-the-track coasters in this shot. Once the trees fill out, you won't be able to see Banshee from here. Don't you hate it when people hover over you while you're trying to eat? Chicken Shack time! What a phenomenal free meal! Their chicken tenders are now my favorite anywhere and I love the sauce they serve with it. Only thing I noticed was that it's very much like Chick-fil-A's chicken, and the park has a Chick-fil-A just on the other side of International Street. And the park's own take on Chick-fil-A was better than actual Chick-fil-A. Could this mean a decline in business for Planet Snoopy Chick-fil-A? I love the tent they built. They have the Celtic interlocked three ring symbol (don't know what it's called) in brick on the floor, and the ends of each one stick out of the tent and can be seen from Banshee's dive loop. THIS is a good Banshee twist! I tried a paid one back in August and it made me miserable to eat all that ice cream but this small one is great. Good ice cream, not enough to make you miserable. They cut back on the blue dye, too, I think. I said on Facebook that if my status got fifteen likes, I would consume an entire Banshee twist and then ride Banshee. It didn't get fifteen...but I did it anyway! And kept it down! Modeling my new Banshee hat! https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1.0-9/1002534_824669624228733_3903184001647925613_n.jpg Through the loop... https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/r90/10268502_824669647562064_1305653254006178490_n.jpg ...AROUND THE LIFT!!!! https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/t1.0-9/10176208_824669660895396_2664562632594009351_n.jpg More gravestones in the path to the cattlepen. https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1.0-9/r90/1511712_824669730895389_4183236408917233318_n.jpg In line for the front row! Front row, left seat, easily the best place to ride! Forces aren't as good as the back (but still way more aggressive than the middle), but the astounding visuals make up for it. https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1.0-9/10270394_824669827562046_4003138592729912117_n.jpg They put up this really cool staggered LCD display behind the cash registers that has a little animated Banshee logo on a loop. https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1.0-9/1011636_824669847562044_6667015398553831141_n.jpg Went to go put my jacket and tat in the car and snapped this picture outside the park. https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/1623681_824669887562040_7029785325186140067_n.jpg Sooo, anything new for 2014? https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/1982332_824669934228702_7728790400934371602_n.jpg I love this banner, but that big blocky entrance building has GOT to go. Maybe in the next few years? I'd like to see this opened up. https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1.0-9/1888441_824669994228696_2702788121804940133_n.jpg Coming back for more! https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/10170956_824670017562027_5010678620299831787_n.jpg The wait spiked to an hour so I went to go ride Bat again. https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1.0-9/10246693_824670087562020_2569307838793142369_n.jpg Hello, Bat! https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/1510711_824670044228691_6093763639448082886_n.jpg On the way back I noticed that they didn't paint over this. In a few years it'll be really faded and it'll have people asking questions about the little air force stars on this concrete tunnel. Like the original Bat footers under Vortex. https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10262222_824670177562011_2098327052903473253_n.jpg I can't get over how awesome this sign is... https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/10177333_824670207562008_4431116251230266556_n.jpg Track behind gravestones https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/r90/10246537_824670217562007_1997457316382667382_n.jpg Here's that Son of Beast memorial they built. There's an eternal flame at the top that was hard to photograph but it's there. https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/10277792_824670260895336_6532528182729016724_n.jpg More artsy... https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/t1.0-9/10247442_824670284228667_9074776927473974876_n.jpg Three years ago I got a picture at Cedar Point of their Winseeker framed by one of Raptor's loops. Couldn't do exactly that, but I did this. It counts, right? https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/t1.0-9/1897838_824670350895327_1449694805317394286_n.jpg Waiting over there should be fun. https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/1798003_824670664228629_4165190427188141277_n.jpg ZOOM!!!! https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/10269571_824670717561957_260718193802724580_n.jpg I was about to be in their position! https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/1422598_824670750895287_296793468560570311_n.jpg I can't help but photograph it! https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/1502511_824670764228619_2940079762794134198_n.jpg Up, up, and into the dive loop! https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/1557479_824670780895284_4902356882178183368_n.jpg Taken from the station stairs. https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10151176_824670807561948_5362705781030992856_n.jpg One more ride! https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/10153307_824670827561946_3431742025402533777_n.jpg I'd love to take a long exposure of this to get the train blowing the fog around... https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/10264427_824670837561945_6154295355048070593_n.jpg Diamond ring loop. https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10289968_824670860895276_7895461375455733536_n.jpg Incoming! https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/10250286_824670900895272_5056317949685996155_n.jpg The trims weren't noticeable at all... https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/10247336_824670960895266_6079060230082606494_n.jpg Back up into the zero-g roll! https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/10174811_824671074228588_2232220123611323622_n.jpg Banshee dominates the valley. https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1.0-9/10150642_824671124228583_2817664146094483223_n.jpg They're about to have fun... https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/t1.0-9/r270/1502511_824671154228580_6026063020101224986_n.jpg I don't even remember taking this but I love it! https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/1482869_824671177561911_7624792687287488450_n.jpg Load 'em up! https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/10174910_824671237561905_2643406305601187593_n.jpg She looks so menacing here... https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1.0-9/1939631_824671250895237_47082137754605272_n.jpg The closest I could get to the dive loop. https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/r90/10150729_824671320895230_6971590859090013912_n.jpg You'll see plenty of these awesome Banshee banners around the park this season. https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/1551479_824671297561899_9180762880091422564_n.jpg What a fun day! Kings Island really outdid themselves, both on Banshee and the event! I look forward to coming back here to ride this one for years to come, it's easily their new best ride, both for Kings Island and B&M. The food was good, the operations were great, and the free stuff they gave us was enough to make Oprah want to step up her game. So glad Kings Island did this, it's a day I'll never forget. I wish there was a way to thank the people who put it together personally. https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/r90/10254003_824671340895228_4968308067997990103_n.jpg Taken after finishing my afternoon classes. This included two compositional drawings for my Themes in Visual Culture class and an exam (that could drop if it was low) for chemistry...and I think I aced it! https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/t1.0-9/10177279_824671360895226_982199657496927522_n.jpg Everything I got from left to right, top to bottom: *Banshee Media Day t-shirt- Free from check-in *Banshee park map: Free from gates *Banshee Lanyard and Tag: Free from gates *Banshee Hat: Bought for seventeen dollars at Banshee gift shop *Banshee On-Ride Photo of my first ride ever: Free from check-in, obtained from Banshee shop *Banshee Media Day Club TPR Button: Free, Robb from TPR gave them to us *Banshee Laser-Etched Paperweight: Free from check-in *Banshee Keyring: Bought for two dollars at Banshee gift shop RIDE TOTAL: Banshee x7 (once in front, once in back, once in row 4, twice in row 5, once in row 3, one in row 6) The Bat x2 (one in the middle, once in the back) Delirium x1 And the music video I made for this: Thanks for reading! Be sure to watch this forum for my Vegas trip reports in May! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcwizard13 Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 And I suddenly realize I met you. My buddy and I were right in front of you in line for Banshee at one point. I mentioned Falcon's Fury after you were telling a story about your experience with Cheetah Hunt. Do you remember me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2012Jarrett Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 And I suddenly realize I met you. My buddy and I were right in front of you in line for Banshee at one point. I mentioned Falcon's Fury after you were telling a story about your experience with Cheetah Hunt. Do you remember me? Yes I do. Glad to reconnect! And you should go sometime! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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