McSalsa's Coaster Adventures: Banshee's Deadly Brew (without the Brew!) May 6th, 2016

[McSalsa]

Ehh, I know I said I'd wait, but what the heck...TRIP REPORT COMES NOW!!! Also...I have decided to ditch the old 1-10 rating system in favor of a 1-5 star system...

 

5 Stars: Loved It

4 Stars: Liked It

3 Stars: It was OK

2 Stars: Meh, I could live without it

1 Stars: Garbage

0 Stars: Somehow worse than Garbage

With the new rating system in place, let the trip report begin.

 

THE JOURNEY TO THE ISLAND
This trip had me, my sister, my sister's friend/co-worker, and her friend's dad.We left for Kings Island at 7:30AM, and after stopping at a McDonalds (which was hiring at $8 an hour) we arrived at the park around 10:15 so we missed the opening. My sister had to get her gold pass replaced, so we let her do that, and then we entered the park. We then decided to hit our first ride since I was expecting big crowds (which didn't really show up) and I knew it would build up a line.

 

#1- Flight of Fear
Wait: 5 Minutes (1 or 2 dispatches and we were on)

My 500+ day streak of not riding roller coasters ended was by this ride, and like a Brock Lesnar F-5, it was furious, fast, and hurt my back (not terribly though). A very fun ride and a great start to the day...also the upgrades this ride has gotten since my last visit are freaking AMAZING. What an awesome lighting package!
Rating: 5/5

 

After FOF, some of us needed to use the restroom, so we headed towards WindSeeker's bathrooms. On the way we passed Scrambler and saw Shake Rattle & Roll- both are beautiful with their new paint jobs! After using them, since we were in the area, why not hit up that huge blue Arrow Megalooper next door?

#2- Vortex
Wait: Walk-On

This would be my sister's first ride in 5-1 after several attempts in the past to convert her (including one case where she chose 5-2 and got thrashed)...she has been converted now. We got some solid air on the first drop, and the ride was actually pretty darn smooth for Vortex standards (granted by now I know where to brace!). An awesome old school coaster, I hope it can stay around for years to come if it can keep giving rides like this.

Rating: 5/5

 

And since we were there...

 

#3- WindSeeker
Wait: 5 Minutes (loading/unloading Gondola)
WindSeeker...actually working!?!? And letting me ride it!?!? Again? I guess I am starting to get on this ride's good side a bit more in recent years after years of failures. While going 270 feet in the air (as stated by ride-op) is a bit nerve wracking, once you get up there the awesome music and amazing views take your mind off it. And the cool breeze at the top was refreshing. A great ride on a huge flat.

Rating: 4/5

 

As we continued our journey around the park, we decided to head to the right. This led us first to a small but spunky coaster formerly known as the Italian Job...

 

#4- Backlot Stunt Coaster
Wait: 10 Minutes

The crowds didn't seem to have yet emerged by the time we rode this. BLSC was its usual, spunky self with a very forceful helix and all the effects were working. And the "exit" lights in the final tunnel...are those new? Also the ride-op said we were at Cedar Point in a very trolly fashion.
Rating: 4/5

 

And after BLSC, I knew what was coming next...my favorite coaster in the park, Beast. But what I did not expect...

 

#5- The Beast
Wait: Walk-On

The walk-on was surprising to me, and what was worse is because apparently this meant there was less weight in the train...thus Beast gave its slowest, least exciting ride I have ever had on it. The trims bit HARD. I even noticed a part of Diamondback off in the distance before the 2nd lift, killing the "you are not in an amusement park" immersion. The final helix tried to make it up, but even that felt nerfed because the helix tunnel lights were on (had they not been, I might have pushed harder for us to stay longer and get a night ride later). Even a bad Beast ride is good, but considering the epic adventures I have had here in years past, this was a disappointment.
Rating: 4/5 (even Bad Beast is decent)

 

After a dissapointing Beast ride, we headed around to Diamondback, but skipped it for now as we were getting hungry. My sister and her friend wanted to do Boo Blasters, so we did that.

#6- BOO BLASTERS ON BOO HILL
Wait: Walk-On

HOLY COW MOST OF THE STUFF WAS ACTUALLY WORKING THIS TIME!!! Save the cool fog face...you can't win them all I guess. I also lost in my group, with a score of 660 (my sister had 700+ and her friend was 900+). The ride also felt awfully cheesy even with all of it working.

Rating: 3/5

 

After Boo Blasters, we were hungry so we headed to International Street LaRosa's Pizza, where we found a huge line. Thankfully at least here, service was fairly fast and we got our food in a fair amount of time. But the greasy Pizza upset my stomach a bit, which made the next few rides...interesting, to say the least. We headed to Action Zone...

 

#7- Invertigo
Wait: 30 Minutes
My stomach was not happy while we waited in line for Invertigo, so I was worried once we got on the ride, something bad might happen- thankfully nothing did (I threw up a little in my mouth but it was barely anything). We rode in the very front which meant backwards first, and...Invertigo was actually pretty smooth in that seat. Very little headbanging, which is a drastic change from my last ride on it in 2014. The G-Forces were also insane (I think it is 5+ G's, the highest of all KI Coasters), which pushed my stomach into the seat. Thankfully after sitting down and having some water I recovered a bit. Would have been more fun had my stomach not been acting up, but still my best ride ever on Invertigo.
Rating: 4/5

 

Next up, we rode Delirium...

 

#8- Delirium
Wait: 5 Minutes

Delirium with a slightly upset stomach felt weird. At the tops of the arcs, relief. At the bottoms, pressure. I also felt the ride bounce a bit at the arc points, and started to predict it with good accuracy. A very fun (and weird due to the slight nausea) ride on Delirium.

Rating: 5/5

 

After Delirium, we took the long hike to the lair of The Bat...aka the former Jet Carrier...

#9- The Bat
Wait: Walk-On...and it's a 5 minute walk

The Bat was its usual, fast, fun, swing-y self but there were a few rough points and those did mess with my stomach just a bit. Otherwise it was about the same as my past Bat rides (including its Flight Deck days) and was fun. Nice to ride it again after a year and a half.

Rating: 4/5

 

After The Bat, it was time to ride Kings Island's newest coaster, 2014's Banshee. We got a locker and boarded...

 

#10- Banshee
Wait: 5 Minutes

Due to the fact this is a huge B&M invert with lots of inversions, I was expecting Banshee to be heck on my stomach. Shockingly, it was not at all! In fact it felt better than Bat did...which meant here I could enjoy all of the speed, inversions, and general craziness without my stomach complaining. B&M- you guys amaze me to create fun rides like this that somehow DON'T induce too much nausea...

Rating: 5/5

 

Our Journey around the park was nearing completion, and it was barely 2PM (I think)! Next up was a ride that vows to "Make You Pay"...

 

#11- Adventure Express
Wait: 5 Minutes (had a line but in Arrow fashion it ate it)
OW. Was Adventure Express ever somehow ROUGHER THAN Vortex!?!? Because somehow, it did it. Thankfully since the speeds weren't crazy it wasn't too bad, but probably one of my weaker AE rides (in spite of the fact all the theming was working...which was actually a common theme on most of the rides I rode...good job KI!)
Rating: 3/5 (Would be a 4 but loses points for roughness)

 

Racer had actually developed a big line since only 1 side was running, and some of us wanted to ride The Beast again, so we changed our plans after AE and did that instead.

 

#12- The Beast 2

Wait: 20 Minutes

OK, this is more like it. With an actual wait this time, Beast had more weight in the train, and we sat further back in 5-2. End result- a far superior and more intense Beast ride! The trims still bit but not quite as hard, and it felt like the train got the speed back fairly easily. Got a TINY amount of air on the 2nd drop, too. And the helix was even more intense, though the lights in it were still on, but here they made for a good "LOOK HOW CRAZY FAST YOU ARE GOING LOL" marker. (My stomach had some minor hiccups in rough spots but was fine for the most part here) Also on the 2nd lift, we saw WindSeeker stuck around 100 feet in the air, but it was working again within 30 minutes or so.

Oh, and one more thing- Ride Op Quote: "If you're excited to ride The Beast, be quiet!" (Total silence) "Awesome!"

Rating: 5/5

 

After Beast 2.0 (which was far superior to Beast 1.0), we headed towards Diamondback again, only for my sister to want to do some rides in the kids area first. We also had a chance to head to the car and I took some Pepto Bismo (which helped a lot). First up, a new (to me) ride that was not there in 2014...

#13- WOODSTOCK GLIDERS
Wait: 5 Minutes

Me and my sister tried to ride together, but it was too much weight. I was about to just go around and get back in line since it was short, but the ride-ops were super nice and let me on the next cycle without going through the que. I saw some dude go crazy and snap a few times. I was nowhere near that crazy (and my sister critiqued me on it) but I still had a lot of fun. This is a great new addition to Kings Island's ride lineup, IMO.
Rating: 4/5

 

After that, she wanted to ride Surf Dog.

 

#14- SURF DOG

Me: "It's a dog, it's a dog, it's a...Surfin dog! It's a..."

Sister: "No!"

Me: " :("
I did not get to sing the Surfin' Dog song while riding it this time. (I did in my head though) A fun ride but it also aggravated my stomach a bit due to the spinning, more than most of the other rides.

Rating: 3/5

 

For my final ride of the day, my sister let me break off and ride Diamondback by myself so long as I agreed to meet at the Eiffel Tower. I agreed.

#15- Diamondback
Wait: 20 Minutes (Single Rider Line, I would have so used you here...)

The Pepto Bismo was starting to kick in, but my stomach still felt a bit woozy. Thankfully, like Banshee, Diamondback was easy on it. I got some great airtime even though I was in the middle, and the ride was pretty smooth though I would call Diamondback more fun than intense. A great ride yet again.

Rating: 5/5

As I exited Diamondback, I ran into Don Helbig with a stack of park maps. Not knowing what to do, I just nodded and smiled at him. He nodded back. I then headed back to my sister at the Eiffel Tower, and we went and got some funnel cakes- well they did, I was going easy on the stomach. Also the funnel cake stand didn't open until this point (5PM) because many places were closed or understaffed- probably because school kids work those jobs. This led to huge lines for food, which were most visible from Banshee's lift since you look down Coney Mall from it. Luckily my sister was able to get her funnel cake fairly quickly, and she shared it with me- it was Apple Pie with whipped cream flavor and it was DELICIOUS. Also somehow helped with my stomach. Shortly afterwards, we figured we had done all we really wanted to do, so we headed home.

 

And now, some final thoughts...

PROS
+Lots of awesome rides

+Amazing staff

+Funnel Cake was delicious, Pizza was OK (but...)

+Almost all theming was working!

CONS
-Long food lines (staff was trying hard it seemed though at the places I saw)

-Pizza made stomach angry

 

Well, that's it for yet another McSalsa Trip Report...which I just realized was my 10th trip to the park. I am sure there will be more in the future, as I will be returning. For now...MCSALSA AWAY!!! (Crashes into WindSeeker) OW.

[Oldiesmann]

I think the long food lines yesterday were due to not enough staffing. They even had a security guard working at Scrambler yesterday. I still haven't gotten to Surf Dog yet this season, but hopefully will be able to knock out the few things I haven't ridden yet during Coasterstock in a couple weeks.