7/11/2016 Trip Report

[KIfan73]

      I finally made it back to the park since my only other visit of the season, which was the Gold Pass preview night.

      I'm going to start off by saying something about the new entrance.  The only other time I've used the entrance was during the preview night, and I entered from the south, as I had spent the night in Mason.  Yesterday, I entered from the north (left turn), which is the normal way I usually enter the park.  I've read about some confusion on here, and figured it was probably kind of exaggerated, and that I would have no problems.  Luckily, I did make it in the right way, but just BARELY!!  I can't believe how "unmarked" the turn into one of the world's largest amusement parks is!!  I could easily see how the cars should exit there, but, just at the last second, I realized that I needed to turn into that section of pavement.  The car just in front of me completely missed it, and had to make nearly a complete U-turn and turn LEFT into what is the right turn entrance for those entering from the south.  Really, completely unbelievable.

      Now that I said that, that was really the only negative aspect of the day.  I really had only planned to stay a few hours, but I ended up leaving at 6pm, nearly 9 hours after I arrived.  This was truly one of the most enjoyable trips to Kings Island that I've probably ever had.

      Started the day of with The Beast, then AE, Racer, Bat, SR&R, and possibly the best ride of the day...Congo Falls.  Hadn't ridden that in a few years, but it was easily the funnest thing I did all day.  Of course, I had to ride the Train to check out the construction.   Attempted to ride WWC, but it had the longest line that I've ever personally witnessed, so I passed on that.  Also went up in the Tower, enjoying the much cooler atmosphere up there.

      I also took the opportunity to see a few shows.  I watched "Let It Rock" while I ate lunch.  I really enjoyed this.  The music was everything I listened to as a kid.  I also checked out the dog show at the International Showplace.  Really enjoyed this one too.  Then I made the 3:00 showing of Origins.  This was the first time I watched this, and also enjoyed it, as well.  Some pretty amazing stuff goes on during that show.

      I had dinner at RHOFG.  The service was pretty amazing.  They brought my food out within just a couple minutes after I ordered it.  I even remarked that they were faster than McDonald's.

      Below are few random pics from the day:

 

Landscaping

 

 

Was cutting through Tower Gardens, and took a double take when I saw this on a power unit located there:

 

 

 

Not sure if I have saw this mentioned, but this was rebuilt, with the original bricks being replaced that surround it:

 

construction:

 

Being the Kings Island history buff that I am, I spotted these on display in Starbucks (these are two, there were a couple more):

 

 

They don't make them like this anymore:

 

Live music at, IMHO, a really hidden gem of an area of the park:

 

First time I've seen this open in my 24 years of visiting the park:

 

Still a huge fan of the Dinos:

 

Wore my Apple watch today.  First time I've ever documented how far I walk in a day at KI:

 

Thanks for reading!

 

[Magenta Lizard]

Fun little report.

Surprisingly, Paradise Island has been open more often than not during my visits the last couple of months.

[KIBeast]

Nice trip report. Thanks for sharing the pics as well. Looking forward to my next trip in August with my girlfriend and her kids.