June 11, 2017- My first ever visit to KI

[AndrewAnto86@gmail.com]

I had a very fun and enjoyable day at King Island yesterday. I would like to share my feelings (and some of the girlfriends) about the rides I went on and the overall pro's and con's (there was one HUGE con) about the park.

First off, I haven't been to many different park's. I've probably been to Cedar Point over 1,000 times. I was a season pass holder for 8 straight years when I lived in Fremont, OH. So obviously it's natural to compare everything to Cedar Point. Boblo Island in Windsor/ Detroit and Universal in Orlando are the two other places I have been. 

In regards to Kings Island, the first thing that I noticed is how incredibly clean the park is, which is something I expected from a Cedar Fair park. Every bathroom I was in was very clean, and there was literally no trash anywhere in the park. So A+ for that.

Now on to the rides-- We decided to work clockwise around the park and hit everything once, so the following list is in that order.

1. The Bat- Shattered expectations. I thought it would be similar to Iron Dragon at Cedar Point, but it was a lot better. We went on this 3 times, once in the front, once in the back, and once in the middle, and the front is clearly the best experience which was not unexpected.

2. Drop Tower- Met expectations. It goes up, and it drops. It was fun, but not something we did more than once. 

3. Banshee- Exceeded expectations. Totally destroyed Raptor at Cedar Point. But like Raptor the very front is the only place I would like to be on this.

4. Delerium- Met expectations. Fun ride the first time.

5. The Racer- Met expectations. I enjoy the old woodies very much. Only the Red car was running so I didn't get to experience the racing element. 

6. Firehawk- Didn't meet expectations. This is one I was really looking forward to riding and I was really disappointed. The big con about this IMO are the foot/leg restraints. They were very uncomfortable. They hurt my shins a lot, and because of this I did not enjoy the ride. I'm 6'4, so maybe that had something to do with it because the GF loved it, said it didn't hurt her, but she's only 5'9. So maybe it's just not for us taller folks, or maybe it was just me. As a football coach I always preach the difference between discomfort and pain, and for me it was definitely painful to ride this.

7. Vortex- Didn't meet expectations. This is another one I was really looking forward to. Unlike a lot of others, I love the old Arrow coasters. I've heard the horror stories about this ride, how it is painful to ride and what not.. The first time we went on it we were in the very front, and it was not painful at all, but at the same time it was not as fun as I thought it would be... The second time though we sat in the very back, and I felt completely squished. I had no leg room which made me sit higher and the shoulder restraints dug into my shoulders causing pain on the two bones that are right on top of my shoulders. Now the 5'9 GF did not experience any of that... But when riding in the front I could stretch my legs out more which also allowed me to sink a little in the seat and spare me from the shoulder pain. If the shoulder restraints were the same one's that the Banshee has that would make this ride so much better IMO.

8. Beast- Didn't meet expectations at first, then met expectations- Let me explain... Of all the coasters  this is the one I was looking forward to the most, and based on everything I've heard about this coaster my expectations were sky high, impossible to exceed. The first ride was in the very back and while it was fun, I walked away thinking-- what's so special? But once we found the right seat, which was the very front, and learned how to ride this, at the end of the day it was by far my favorite in the park and only second favorite all time next to Millennium Force. This ride broke a lot of tendencies for me. I usually prefer the back on classic train style coasters, on this I prefer the front. I am also not usually fond of tunnels, but I found the tunnels very enjoyable on this especially during the double helix at the end, which is my second favorite ride element of all time next to the Millennium Force drop. We went on this about 15 times. I just wish we stayed long enough to ride at night, but I've had 3 knee surgeries thanks to my football career and my knee unfortunately swelled up too much for us to stay until it got dark. 

9- Diamondback- Met expectations. I was expecting air time, and D-Back delivered. The very back is my favorite seat because I got wet on the splash down, but I thought the overall ride experience was pretty equal in any seat. We went on this at least 10 times.

10. Mystic Timbers- Exceeded Expectations. My 2nd favorite ride at Kings Island. I love how it throws you around and at the same time is not uncomfortable. I love how it's one element after another and never lets up. The stats on the ride are very misleading. Even though the drop is not too high, the curve is a great element and makes it very fun, especially when I didn't know it was coming. And it seems WAYYYYYY faster than 53 MPH... Now my feelings on the shed... lame... I'm not into themes. Now if the shed had AC or some powerful fans or something I could give it my blessing. 

 

Overall the coasters and thrill rides met expectations. 

 

Now for the con's, and there was one huge con that I eluded to in the beginning which I will save for last.

1. No Ferris wheel. It's an amusement park staple. How KI doesn't have one is beyond me. Yes of course most people go for the coasters and thrill rides. But I get drained at some point, especially on a hot day like yesterday and I want to go on something that is fun but relaxing. Something where I can cuddle with the GF. a Ferris Wheel is perfect and KI doesn't have one. 

2. The train ride is another way to do something fun and relaxing, cuddle, etc... KI's is extremely lame compared to Cedar Point's. The train ride at KI doesn't show enough of the park, is slower and is shorter than Cedar Point's.  

3. The water rides. On a hot day there's no better cure than getting soaked, except none of the water rides soak you. 

4. No ride and refresh ticket like Cedar Point. Yes KI offers the cup that you can refill, but you have to carry it around, and Banshee, Mystic Timbers, and Firehawk don't have storage area's for it so you have to get a locker or hide it somewhere. It would be much better to have a wristband.

5. This is the major con and disappointment that I had with the park--- The food. Now of course I wasn't expecting award winning food, but except for the La Rosa's pizza (which wasn't great, but acceptable), the food was just awful. I tried to find a decent burger, couldn't find it. Reds hall of fame grill-- nasty. Juke box diner--- even worse. We ate dinner at Subway, which I wouldn't even consider in the real world. Unless there is a place to get a good burger, steak, etc... that I didn't know about-- in the future I think the best option for eating dinner would be to leave the park and then come back. 

 

I don't want to end this on a negative note because the day was great, the park was great, and I definitely will be back hopefully sooner rather than later!

 

[Saerenzea]

Great trip report! I agree about the food. Everyone I know praises La Rosa's but I think it's on par with frozen pizza. The only thing I'll buy is Potato Works and that is far from what I would call good. It tastes like canned cheese. And I hate waiting ten minutes or more for simple food items like this. 

Sometimes the water rides will get you. Most of the time not. 

I buy my tickets for friends through my work and they offer the ride and refresh. After reading this I looked at the main KI page and didn't see that option. Odd that it's gone. 

I'm glad you had a good time at KI! 

[jcgoble3]

Food quality and service has been an ongoing complaint of many here on KIC for a few years now, and the issues are management's fault, not the rank and file employees. Part of the problem is the existence of the dining plan; with the majority of visitors being season pass holders, and many of those having the season dining plan, there's little to no incentive for them to improve the food quality and service because they already have people's money, so they cheap out as much as possible because why bother when the potential gain is so low?

On the subject of water rides, I actually prefer KI's collection of water rides over CP's collection, precisely because every water ride at CP is designed to soak you to the bone. Getting wet is a great way to cool off, but I don't want to walk around in soaking wet clothes for the next several hours. I prefer the light mists and splashes that you get from KI's water rides; they're enough to cool you off without leaving you in wet clothes forever. Speaking of which, the one saving grace of CP's water rides is that they are all in a "water zone" where shoes and a shirt are not required, meaning I can ride in my swim trunks and then change back into my dry clothes afterward. (At least that was the case last time I visited CP in 2014.) I sometimes wish KI could do that, but having one of the water rides all the way across the park from the other two makes it impractical.

As for the drink wristbands, as @Saerenzea alluded to, they are available at KI, but only through group sales. They are not available as a general ticket option for everyone.

[King Ding Dong]

If you want to get soaked at on WWC just make some arrangements with @Thrill_Biscuit I am sure he will be more than happy to accommodate.  

Also new this year the All Season drink plan has the option for disposable cups every 15 minutes vs the souvenir cup.  If you already have the cup there is a $3 charge to switch plans.  

[AndrewAnto86@gmail.com]

3 hours ago, King Ding Dong said:

 

Also new this year the All Season drink plan has the option for disposable cups every 15 minutes vs the souvenir cup.  If you already have the cup there is a $3 charge to switch plans.  

I looked at that but I was under the impression you could only get that as an addition with the season pass. 

[King Ding Dong]

23 minutes ago, AndrewAnto86@gmail.com said:

I looked at that but I was under the impression you could only get that as an addition with the season pass. 

I believe you are correct.  Sometime I forget not everyone on here has some sort of pass.