lizardgi Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Hey All, first of all, great site you have here and I’ve already read quite a bit and learned a lot! My wife and I are planning our first trip to Kings Island on May 8th and 9th (Friday and Saturday). We’re driving from Wisconsin and are planning to spend Friday night at the park from 4-10, and all day Saturday from 10-10. On Sunday we’re thinking of heading to Holiday World before we drive home Monday. My few questions are: Will the 18 hours be enough to experience the entire park? We are open to buying Fast Lane plus on Saturday. Goal is hit every coaster, with multiple rides on the majors, as well as a sampling of other attractions. Would you suggest making the trip to Holiday World or would we be better suited to another day at Kings Island? Thanks in advance for the responses! We’re both theme park junkies and my coaster count is at 98. I’m ecstatic to get a chance to ride The Beast, and am hoping to make it my 100th coaster! 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Welcome to KIC! You should do fine at Kings Island. The trip to Holiday World is worth your time as well! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
electricsun Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 May 8th is one of KI Education Days so you may see a higher than expected number of middle school/high school students. Typically though, most groups start leaving between 2-5p....depending on the school and their drive. In the times that I've been there during those days, the park hasn't been jammed packed. As The Interpreter said, you should be more than good to experience everything in the two days. Have fun! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 May 8-9 may not be terribly busy in the park. Weather, plus, the fact that kids are still in school might make it easy for you to hit everything w/o Fast Lane. Many others have suggested waiting until you're in the park to see whether buying Fast Lane is worthwhile. Generally speaking, if the major coasters are sporting 45 min waits or more, buying Fast Lane would probably be a good idea if you're looking to get it all done in one day. There are a couple coasters (Firehawk, Invertigo, Flight of Fear) which have very low hourly capacity, so the lines for those rides get long quickly and stay long all day (think at least 45, more like 60+ minutes on peak days). Given the fact that Soak City won't yet be open for the season during your visit, one day is all you should need. As for Holiday World, it's a very nice park with 2 (and in a few weeks 3) solid coasters, plus other nice rides as well, so it's worth checking out as well. Enjoy KIC! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingsislandfan1972 Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Welcom To KICentral, and I hope you have fun! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanna Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I was thinking as I read this, "This is what Fast Lane is for.", then I started rifling through my mind of the 'must rides'. I drag my visiting guests onto The Beast as soon as they are adjusted to the extremes of the coasters. The Banshee is also a must, though I've had an out of state visitor insist it wasn't a coaster per se, as the ride is nothing like anything they've rode before. It's very elegant. Your plan will give you plenty of time to experience the park, and get quite a few extra rides in. The Holiday World excursion sounds like a winner, and I envy you, as I have yet to get there. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magenta Lizard Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 When I've been there during Education Days in the past, I've noticed that the youngsters don't ride the larger coasters as much, so they don't affect the waits nearly as much as you would expect for the size of the crowds. They did seem to like Adventure Express and Back Lot Stunt Coaster, though. If you aren't adverse to riding Flight of Fear and/or Firehawk as near to opening as possible on Saturday morning (they tend to have longer lines as the day goes on) I wouldn't expect you to have any trouble getting all of the coasters in, probably multiple times, without Fast Pass. Especially if the weather isn't unseasonably beautiful that weekend. I'd suggest getting a ride on The Beast Friday after dark (especially if your Sunday plans mean you'll be leaving sooner Saturday), as it is so much fun in the dark. I also like Adventure Express in the dark quite a bit. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfanatic83 Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Whenever you have a chance to go to Holiday World, you go to to Holiday World. It be because familiarity breeds contempt, but I would rather spend 1 day at Holiday World than 3 at Kings Island. That place is awesome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizardgi Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 Wow, thanks for great, quick replies everone! Sounds like we've got a good plan. Can't wait to check out your park! We're staying near the park Saturday night so we will definitely be there until 10. We're theme park troopers through and through and have no issues hitting the lower capacity rides early in the day. Will there be fireworks both nights? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medford Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 If your goal is to ride all rides at least once, then you really don't need a Fast Lane ticket. If your goal is to ride as many rides as your body can handle thru the coarse of 2 days, then you'll get a ton of use out of it. Over two days, no matter how crowded, you should be able to get multiple rides on everything, and a several more on the rides you like best. As someone said above, try to hit a few low capacity rides right at rope drop (Flight of Fear & Firehawk on Friday, Invertigo on Saturday would be my recommendations). The lines for The Beast, Diamondback, Vortex & Banshee all move pretty quickly. If your staying all day, I'd recommend a few night rides in addition to day rides. As long as your in line at 10:00, the policy in the past has been to let the line run thru before shutting the park down. On that note, The Beast will shut down during fireworks due to the proximity of part of the track to the launch area, but once the fireworks are over and everything is clear, they'll cycle the ride back thru until the line has been expired. The Beast, Adventure Express and Banshee are all worth a night ride. Depending on when the sun sets during your visit, you may be able to get a couple of rides in as long as you can get back in line by the start of fireworks. Also note that the waterpark will be closed when your there, just in case you had that in mind. I just saw that you weren't expecting to get in to the park on Friday until 4:00, so I guess you can scratch the rope drop item for Friday, so since you'll be getting there when the park is relatively crowded (still don't think it will be that crowded, but who knows for sure) I'd recommend going up the tower first and getting a lay of the land from up high just to take it all in, then head over to whatever attraction you want to ride the most. Oh, and please report back on your experience, hope you have a blast. 2 days is more than enough, if you have the energy, I'd recommend going to over to holiday world on the way home. Shouldn't need a 3rd day at KI as the 2 will give you ample time to take in everything. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 If your goal is to ride all rides at least once, then you really don't need a Fast Lane ticket. If your goal is to ride as many rides as your body can handle thru the coarse of 2 days, then you'll get a ton of use out of it. Over two days, no matter how crowded, you should be able to get multiple rides on everything, and a several more on the rides you like best. As someone said above, try to hit a few low capacity rides right at rope drop (Flight of Fear & Firehawk on Friday, Invertigo on Saturday would be my recommendations). The lines for The Beast, Diamondback, Vortex & Banshee all move pretty quickly. If your staying all day, I'd recommend a few night rides in addition to day rides. As long as your in line at 10:00, the policy in the past has been to let the line run thru before shutting the park down. On that note, The Beast will shut down during fireworks due to the proximity of part of the track to the launch area, but once the fireworks are over and everything is clear, they'll cycle the ride back thru until the line has been expired. The Beast, Adventure Express and Banshee are all worth a night ride. Depending on when the sun sets during your visit, you may be able to get a couple of rides in as long as you can get back in line by the start of fireworks. Also note that the waterpark will be closed when your there, just in case you had that in mind. I just saw that you weren't expecting to get in to the park on Friday until 4:00, so I guess you can scratch the rope drop item for Friday, so since you'll be getting there when the park is relatively crowded (still don't think it will be that crowded, but who knows for sure) I'd recommend going up the tower first and getting a lay of the land from up high just to take it all in, then head over to whatever attraction you want to ride the most. Oh, and please report back on your experience, hope you have a blast. 2 days is more than enough, if you have the energy, I'd recommend going to over to holiday world on the way home. Shouldn't need a 3rd day at KI as the 2 will give you ample time to take in everything. I don't know... I'm not the biggest fan of Fast Lane myself, but if it's your first visit, you're driving that far, and the park happens to be crowded... it's worth considering. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtk1378 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I would go with the Flight of Fear then Firehawk combo over Invertigo to start the day, both rides are superior, but you will still want to check it out. Maybe after riding Banshee, it'll give you some time to let that adrenaline wear off lol, or just go to The Bat afterwards to keep the adrenaline. ;-) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustbucket Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Friday night in early May is not very busy. I rode Banshee 15 times in one Friday in May. Saturday, however, can get rather busy. The Fast Pass may be worth it but this does not cover everything unless you get the Fast Pass Plus. On Friday, I recommend going to Diamondback and then The Beast. I recommend the very back of Diamondback and the middle row of the last car on The Beast. BTW, welcome to 100 club. Walk over to Back Lot Stunt Coaster and Vortex. After that go to Flight of Fear and Firehawk area known as X-Base. You may still have time to ride The Racer and Adventure Express. Make sure to ride The Beast after dark. This time try for the very front. On Saturday, morning go to Banshee. If you have platinum passes, get there by 9:30 am. The park is open for early rides. You can get at least 3 rides on Banshee before 10 am. After Banshee, go to Invertigo and Bat. If you like any thrill rides, make sure to ride the Drop Tower and Delirium. They are extremely thrilling flat rides. This should cover all of the "Adult" coasters. Planet Snoopy area has 4 coasters (some will say 3 roller coasters and 1 "power" coaster ). You can ride them except for Great Pumpkin coaster. Boo Hill is a nice dark shooting ride which is located next to Woodstock Express. This coaster is one of the gems at Kings Island. This still has old style lap bars. Diamondback, Banshee, and The Beast are high capacity rides that are quite probably the best three coasters in the park. The other two "must" are Firehawk and Flight of Fear which are low capacity coasters that will have long lines. Enjoy your time at Kings Island! I may see you there. Can someone confirm that Holiday World still has a discount if you bring a Pepsi can? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I believe you mean Fast Lane... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWAddington Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 We made our first ever trips to Kings Island last year and both visits were on Saturdays. One in mid May, the other in early August. We waited until we got to the park to buy Fast Lane Plus, it was well worth the money, especially driving 5 hours to get there! Even if a line was only 15-30min long, it was pretty much a walk on for us. Having that be our wait to get on rides, it was a great experience! The longest waits were for the coasters obviously (45+ minutes), but those were pretty much a station wait to 5 minutes with FL+, depending on what seat you wanted. I think we did a mini marathon of The Beast, Banshee, and Diamondback. The looks we got were bad, but if we are there for just the day and they don't put a limit on it, might as well do it! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 When you're at a large park and your time is limited, the "skip-the-line" pass (whichever branding the park in question uses) can be a real commodity. I went to Six Flags Great America on a Saturday during Fright Fest last season, and had I not purchased The Flash Pass, riding all of the coasters would definitely not have been possible. While it made the trip a bit more expensive, the luxury of taking my time to really explore the park without worrying about scheduling my day around the "must rides". At that park, had I not bought The Flash Pass (or even if I had bought the lowest tier instead of the Gold) I would have missed out on a LOT of fun coasters. Now, for Kings Island on a weekend in May, the experience will likely be quite different. You SHOULD be able to get one ride on everything, no problems in a day and a half. However, if you want to get Fast Lane, I definitely recommend waiting until you get there. I'd be quite disgruntled if I spent good money on Fast Lane tickets, only to find that it is not crowded. And while Fast Lane tickets can ostensibly sell out, I wouldn't expect crowds of that caliber in the early season (except perhaps opening day) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdude86 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Yea I think for early in the season you should be fine to get around to everything while you're there but if you're wanting to get multiple rides on most of the stuff you might need to get Fast Lane. BBut as others said wait until you get there. Rarely sell out and can decide fi you need it or not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goettablitz Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Don't forget to try Banshee at night also. I feel like inverts like Banshee are definitely worth the wait to ride in the front if you have the time. Last season they were assigning rows on Banshee but would often take requests if you wanted the front. The other thing to keep in mind is that it seats 4 across so that wait for the front may not be as long as it looks. I agree that Banshee, Diamondback and Beast are the star attractions here. Diamondback is a very different experience depending on where you are in the train. As stated above, Firehawk is a pretty fun ride but has a painfully slow line. Vortex has a line that can be deceiving. It has almost not queue area so the line can spill onto the midway and appear super long but in actuality is not and the ride has a very high capacity. I wouldn't expect super lines on Friday night, Saturday could be a different story though. So I would just play the Fast Lane by ear. Something else to consider is the food at the park. Two Cincinnati favorites are Skyline Chili and LaRosa's Pizza. Kings Island offers both but I fee like their food is better if you try it at an actual restaurant location outside the park (and cheaper too). I believe both can be found close by. Holiday World is absolutely worth the trip. The Voyage is one of my all time favorites and I can't wait to try Thunderbird! Depending on which way you are traveling from Kings Island to Holiday World you could drive through Louisville and also check out Kentucky Kingdom if their season has started yet. Hopefully that helps a bit. Have a great time! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medford Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Worth considering, absolutely. But my comment was more geared toward if you attitude is that you want to ride everything a couple of times, or do you want to ride as much as you can possible fit in. In a day and a half, assuming decent weather, you should be able to get multiple rides on everything in the park w/o a Fast Lane ticket. For some people, like myself, that would be plenty, but for others that would prefer to get as many rides as humanly possible in, then Fast Lane is your best bet. My body couldn't handle 15 trips on Banshee in a day, let along throwing 10 rides on The Bat, 10 more on The Beast, Vortex, Diamondback, etc... I am not the target audience, they may be, or they may just want to ensure they get on everything at least once, which I think they could easily do w/o Fast Lane in a day and a half. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Unless the park has changed direction, Fireworks happen on all nights when the park is scheduled for a 10PM or later close. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malem Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Unless the park has changed direction, Fireworks happen on all nights when the park is scheduled for a 10PM or later close. Except during Haunt; fireworks end for the season on Labor Day weekend. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdude86 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Don't forget to try Banshee at night also. I feel like inverts like Banshee are definitely worth the wait to ride in the front if you have the time. Last season they were assigning rows on Banshee but would often take requests if you wanted the front. The other thing to keep in mind is that it seats 4 across so that wait for the front may not be as long as it looks. I agree that Banshee, Diamondback and Beast are the star attractions here. Diamondback is a very different experience depending on where you are in the train. As stated above, Firehawk is a pretty fun ride but has a painfully slow line. Vortex has a line that can be deceiving. It has almost not queue area so the line can spill onto the midway and appear super long but in actuality is not and the ride has a very high capacity. I wouldn't expect super lines on Friday night, Saturday could be a different story though. So I would just play the Fast Lane by ear. Something else to consider is the food at the park. Two Cincinnati favorites are Skyline Chili and LaRosa's Pizza. Kings Island offers both but I fee like their food is better if you try it at an actual restaurant location outside the park (and cheaper too). I believe both can be found close by. Holiday World is absolutely worth the trip. The Voyage is one of my all time favorites and I can't wait to try Thunderbird! Depending on which way you are traveling from Kings Island to Holiday World you could drive through Louisville and also check out Kentucky Kingdom if their season has started yet. Hopefully that helps a bit. Have a great time! Also as far as night rides, a night ride on Beast is a must. Best ride in the park that way. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 ^ This could not be more true. Having ridden The Beast many, many times, it is honestly not that thrilling to me during the day. I find it tame and dated. But at night, the experience is improved SO MUCH that at night it is one of my favorite roller coaster experiences, and in just over 48 hours, I'll have ridden over 100 of them. I will say though, that if you haven't ridden The Beast, it is still unlike anything you've likely experienced and you should not hesitate to ride during the day. Just make sure you go back for that night ride. Also as has been said before, Diamondback is like two coasters in one if you ride in the front and the back. In the front, you sort of hang over the first drop for a while and get gentler, more sustained airtime. In the back, the airtime is much stronger but doesn't last as long. Many on this site will tell you that the best seat on Vortex is 5-1 (front row of the fifth car). While I will say that 5-1 is great (as is ANY seat on Vortex in my humble opinion), my personal all-time favorite is 7-1 (second to last row of the entire train). I personally find it less headbang-y than 5-1 (though others seem to disagree) and it has one pop of airtime on the first drop that I think is the best single instance of airtime in Ohio (even better than anything that the big orange Arrow in Sandusky has). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magenta Lizard Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Then there are crazies like me who think the center of the train on Diamondback (rows 7-10) is the best. At the peaks of the hills, I just float and feel like I'll never come down. It is my single favorite feeling in the park. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsus Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 So what you're trying to say is that The Beast comes out at night? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Indeed it does Only Come Out At Night. And if you have valid park admission, it's a Free Ride. But you can't experience it in the Winter, Edgar. And with it being one of the tallest rides at KI and having a drop that goes underground, it is true that the mountain is high and the valley is low. And there's very little light in the nighttime, so indeed, you're confused on which way to go. When you make unintentional allusions to classic rock, I have to chime in, you see. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsus Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Unintentional? I assure you that any allusions I have made were fully intentional. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 While any illusions probably are not? Terp, who likes to ask questions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailRider Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 You have received some great advice on how to tour the park and such so I will add just a few minor things. Have some blue ice cream, a Kings Island must and go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Just a few things that make the park unique. Also the Reds Grill is a great place to sit down and have a meal in the park. Like others have said, Visit Holiday World if at all possible. Worth the effort. Most Importantly have fun 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsus Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Terpy, what are you alluding to regarding my carefully concocted illusions? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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