KI 8/12- First rides on Diamondback and Invertigo!

[KIghostguy]

Honestly, I don't really write trip reports anymore because I go to Kings Island so often, it would just get boring writing (and for you guys, reading) the same things over and over. I mostly just save it for when something landmark happens to me, and today just so happened to be one of those days! I was at the park all day with a friend, instead of just my usual evenings, so we had a lot of time, and for the sake of sheer repetitiveness, I'll only talk about the two landmark rides today, Diamondback and Invertigo.

I used to have a rule: no coasters higher than Banshee. I would never go on Diamondback, I thought. But after a trip to the Ohio State Fair and some strange dreams the past week or so, I decided to go on Diamondback. We got to the park at about 10:30 and ran straight towards Diamondback and we were able to walk right on. I got in, shakily buckled my seatbelt and pulled down the lap bar. "Clear!" There was no turning back now...

The train lurched forwards. It's a long way up, I thought as we began quickly ascending the hill. I was shaking, absolutely terrified, but I had to ride! The train picked up speed a bit, curving over the hill! SHOOM! Down we went! Up and down, twisting and turning, until finally, SPLASH! The train zoomed back up and slowly made it's way into the station. It was amazing! It's safe to say Diamondback is my new favorite steel coaster: 5/5. Because there was no line, when we got off we went on three more times in a row. As we circled the park, we were constantly coming back, until we had ridden Diamondback a grand total of 10 times today. On our final ride, the man standing in front of us had a red Diamondback shirt that said he had ridden over 14,000 times. Just curious, with that many rides, does anyone on this forum know who he is?

The other first ride for me was Invertigo. We were able to walk right on, and I sat facing down the hill, so I went forwards the first time and backwards the second time around the track. It was very jerky, shaking my head very hard. On the second time around the track, after the pretzel loop it felt like my head was being forced down. We only went on it once. All in all, I rate it 3/5. Vekoma's idea is pretty creative, and the track layout is fine, but it's just so jerky!

I also went on Vortex for the first time in two years, but almost nothing had changed since the last time. The layout is good, but it really slams my ears into the restraints, maybe even more so than the last time. It's fine to ride maybe once a Kings Island trip, but I honestly don't see why people on these threads love it so much.

I hope you enjoyed these snippets from my day, because I had a great time!

[DontWantToWait42mar0]

Most likely you are talking about Gary Coleman.

[electricsun]

Congratulations on overcoming Diamondback! I know its height can be terrifying for some and exhilarating for others. Sometimes even both on a first ride! I'm glad it worked out and you had such a great experience on it.

[PKIVortex]

Because Vortex don't do that to me, been riding it since it opened back in 1987. I don't think it's rough and still one of my top rides.

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[KIfan73]

I still don't ride Diamondback on a regular basis because it still freaks me out.  It's a shame, because I do enjoy it when I ride it, and it is so smooth and easy to ride over and over.