Kings Island 2018 Discussion Thread

[MDMC01]

20 minutes ago, King Ding Dong said:

Anyone go to Soak City this weekend and how were the operations? Were all the attractions open?

Reports are Cedar Point Shores had major staffing issues with both rivers, the bucket complex and lily pad all closed.   That is a major chunk of an already limited water park.  

 

I was there on Sunday and operations were great! As far as I could tell, everything was open (even the left side of (the slide formally known as) Sidewinder, which is like never open!), though Breakers/Surfing shut down momentarily due to an supposed "incident" in the pool...

[KImom]

Anyone go to Soak City this weekend and how were the operations? Were all the attractions open?
Reports are Cedar Point Shores had major staffing issues with both rivers, the bucket complex and lily pad all closed.   That is a major chunk of an already limited water park.  
 

We were there all day Sunday - it was crowded but everything was in good shape! Ate at Island Smokehouse a couple times using all 4 meal passes so we sampled everything lol It was excellent! The smoked wings are legit. We saw Chef Major back there working hard, too. So refreshing!


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[Tera Ryzing]

Saw this while in line for wwc.

A washer on the ground and the bottom 3 bolts look to be loose?  Correct me if wrong.  With the lock nut the top bolt is snug.

 

[flightoffear1996]

Do they not do the torque stripping on wooden rides?

[Jiddle]

50 minutes ago, Tera Ryzing said:

Saw this while in line for wwc.

A washer on the ground and the bottom 3 bolts look to be loose?  Correct me if wrong.  With the lock nut the top bolt is snug.

 

The washer on the ground looks to be old IMO.

[King Ding Dong]

1 hour ago, Jiddle said:

The washer on the ground looks to be old IMO.

Agreed.   It is not galvanized like all the other hardware and is rusty.   

I agree some of those nuts do not appear to be tight but hard to tell visually.  

Those are lock washers and nuts not lock nuts.  

[spooky21]

Those are not lock nuts, those are however a type of lock washer. I'm not an engineer but I would say they are torqued to spec and that I highly doubt they are suppose to be super tight as we all know these rides need to flex and move.

 

EDIT: The bottom does look loose to me. A major issue? Probably not, however anything questionable can be brought up at guest services.

[Tera Ryzing]

Yes lock washers.

[Oldiesmann]

The Indy Star decided to write an article comparing KI to Holiday World... https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/2018/05/29/heres-how-kings-island-compares-holiday-world-indiana/633416002/

[King Ding Dong]

Huh, KI only has 12 coasters.  I did not know that.   

[McSalsa]

15 minutes ago, Oldiesmann said:

The Indy Star decided to write an article comparing KI to Holiday World... https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/2018/05/29/heres-how-kings-island-compares-holiday-world-indiana/633416002/

Interesting article, but I did notice some typos. Like how the listed Kings Island as having 12 roller coasters, but a quick check on RCDB says they have 15 (16 if you count Surf Dog like the park does). If you are only counting the family and adult coasters, there are 12, but then they list Holiday World as having 5 but for HW to get 5, you need to count Howler. So depending on if you are counting kids rides or not, its 15/16 vs. 5 or 12 vs. 4. I think the article was trying to boost Holiday World's numbers while trying to minimize KI's, because on pure numbers, a large park like KI can make a smaller one like Holiday World look weak. (However if you are only going on highly-rated coasters that usually make industry lists, it's a tie as both parks have 4- Kings Island has Beast, Mystic Timbers, Diamondback, and Banshee. Holiday World has Raven, Legend, Voyage, and Thunderbird. Though after that, Holiday World is out of coaster ammo and Kings Island still has its "undercard" coasters...)

Also they did claim they felt Holiday World would be better for small kids, but just doing a quick comparison on both park's web sites, at least on the dry side, Kings Island has Holiday World beat. I count a maximum of 14 rides in their 2 kids areas (Christmas & Holidog's Funtown), plus thecanoe ride which is also kids only, combined. Planet Snoopy has 19 rides, the petting zoo, and a few of those rides are roller coasters designed for kids! Maybe they were also counting kid-friendly rides that are outside the kids areas, as well as waterpark stuff, but Kings Island has some of that outside its main kids area as well.

The flat ride collections, ironically, are about the same size with KI having 1 or 2 more. Kings Island does have one edge- they have 3 huge flat rides with Drop Tower, Delirium, and WindSeeker while Holiday World has nothing on that scale. Holiday World's flats seem to run slightly better ride cycles, however, and their dark ride is vastly superior to Boo Blasters. With the removal of Giraffica, Kings Island has the slight edge on in-park water rides thanks to Congo Falls. But overall I'm just gonna call the flat ride category a tie, IMO.

When it comes to the water park though, Holiday World blows Kings Island out of the water. (Pun intended, LOL.) Kings Island's waterpark just does not have anything that can stand up to Wildebeest, Mammoth, Hyena Falls, Bakuli, or ZOOMbabwe when it comes to big epic water slides, and Holiday World also has 2 water play areas and lots of kid-friendly attractions to boot. I've seen some parks with much worse looking water parks than KI, but compared to Holiday World, there is no contest.

Holiday World is probably gonna have the better food experience, based on what I have seen as of now and what I recall from my trips to Holiday World. KI may have some decent options that taste good, but speed of service can be slow, and Holiday World is usually cheaper (a combo that is $15 at KI will often be like $10 there). As far as staff goes, at both parks I have had nothing but good encounters, though Kings Island does seem to get their rides out a bit faster but based on my recent trip to Cedar Point, that may be a PTC trains being slow to load/unload thing since that is all Holiday World uses on their woodies. I have not been to Holiday World since Thunderbird was added in 2015 (might go back to Holiday World this year at some point, though) but I have to see how fast that one is loaded/unloaded to truly tell.

TBH, the article does "get the right idea" at the end, besides maybe the where to go with kids part. Kings Island is the better park if you are looking for dry thrills, as there are more large coasters and flat rides there so you can do more without needing to re-ride something over and over, but if it's waterslides you are after, Holiday World is your place. Though I will also note this: the whole reason Kings Island probably did this was likely not Holiday World, but Kentucky Kingdom's $39.99 deal they have had for a few years now and had success with, and they don't even get a MENTION?

 

 

 

[chuck norris]

Lots of tents set up today in what is normally the bus parking area, any one know what event that's for?


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[King Ding Dong]

What kind of tents?  Big event catering tents or Marmot backpacking tents?  

[Magenta Lizard]

JDRF run, I believe. 

[chuck norris]

Stage and some event tents. It's for JDRF run.


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[chuck norris]

Yep, JDRF run. Tents and a stage area.

Photo taken from preferred parking lot.




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[KImom]

Did anyone make it to the kickoff of the Peanuts celebration this weekend?


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[Ki Man]

I had 24 hours in Cincy visiting family on the way back to Chicago and I decided to head up to KI with plat pass in hand at 9:30 yesterday since rain moved out of the picture.

I was only at the park for 90 minutes but I'm so glad I went because I got to do everything I wanted and much much more! I went to Winterfest last year, so I technically haven't been to the park while fully operational for almost 2 years. 

Banshee was open for passholder ERT and there was only a wait for the front line as usual. Great invert with a nice snap in the back seat down the first drop and then a buffet of big inversions. Having been on Afterburn just days before the two couldn't be further apart. I like the old trains and pace of B&M inverts over the modern designs; still Banshee is a fun re-ridable coaster that I seem to enjoy more as I ride it! 8/10

With more ERT going on across the park, I was excited to check out Mystic Timbers since my previous rides had been during Winterfest It was running just as well as it did during Winterfest! It's a really fun GCI and the GP do not stop talking about the shed, haha. I prefer this coaster in the front seat, I think the air is stronger there. The train absolutely rockets through the course and hits each element so quickly. Just put your hands up and laugh the whole time. 8/10
**The ops are definitely aware of enthusiasts checking out this ride as on my 3 different rides I was told to "Enjoy your ride on Fury THREEE TWOOO FIIIVE FIVEEE FIVEEE" and "Have a great day at America's Rockin' Roller Island, Ride On!" I think it's so cheesy that it's funny because it probably bugs the sh*t out of some enthusiasts, haha. 

By now it was 10am and the whole park opened, so I went over to The Beast. Skyline Chili, seeing the local MLB/NFL team lose, shopping the world at Jungle Jim's, having a German beer, and riding The Beast in the front seat... it's a must do when in Cincinnati. While the night rides are stellar, the rides during the day are still all around fun. The fast front row ride through the woods was just as I remembered with the final helix being just as crazy as it always has been. 8/10
**They added The Beast claws on both "Don't Stand Up etc" signs at the top of the lifts - anyone know when these were added? Great touch!

The Rivertown area in general (aside from the tacky games) seemed like it was given a refresh and had an atmosphere that reminded me of Frontiertown at CP. The music, greenery, and farming-esque little things made a difference to me. 

With about 40 minutes left it was time to get reacquainted with the park's B&M hyper, Diamondback! This ride is the most nostalgic to me since I worked on it the opening year and spend a **LOT** of time riding it, walking around the layout, pressing buttons, cleaning bugs off the teeth, etc. Diamondback looks like it shed its skin with those new seat covers and restraints! Looking as good as it did in 2009. It's just a big 'ol floater air machine going out to the woods and back. What I love most about this ride is how you get different types of floater air -if you have time, ride row 2, 4, 10, and 15. 
Row 2 is great because you're out on the edge in the front. Hanging over the first drop 230ft in the air is breath taking and each following hill you're pushed up and over the top and float back down. 
Row 4 gives you less of a push over the hills, but more floating over the entire hill.
Row 10 is my favorite for the first drop because it's the perfect spot on the train to get lifted out of your seat. The train no longer relies on the chain lift to get over the hill and you really feel that. It's a middle-back seat so you get all of the floaty-ness with a little more of a pull down each hill.
Row 15 is smoother than 16 which is the only reason why I prefer 16. You get yanked over every hill, you know the drill!

While I like Diamondback, Raging Bull, Intimidator, Goliath all the same Diamondback gives me the feels. 

The ops were all doing a great job running each ride at full capacity and sounding off every half hour/fifteen minutes on their pacing. It was a slowwwww Sunday morning with a threat of rain and everyone was crushing it like they have an incentive of unlimited blue ice cream for the best capacity.

[Ki Man]

8 hours ago, KImom said:

Did anyone make it to the kickoff of the Peanuts celebration this weekend?


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All I noticed was a bunch the characters out roaming around and banners. Lucy at the advice booth, etc. Cedar Point has got to be jealous of KI's staffing situation because every ride had 4-6 ops in the station, greeters, and there must have been 6-8 Peanuts roamers. Pretty impressive, the kids will love it if they love the Peanuts. 

[KingsMills79]

Hey guys, did a quick park visit on Saturday from Charlotte via Delta and just wanted to share some unique pics I took that some might enjoy. 

 

1) Coneys and coasters

2) Nostalgic postcard retro pic 1

3) ET Arch 

4) Looking up (referencing Keith Partridge)

5) More arch goodness with iconic Carousel 

6) Perfect architecture in a perfect setting.

7)  Sommes-nous en France

8)  More great architecture (well done on keeping things fresh over the years)

9) another odd view

10) Nostalgic postcard retro pic 2

11) Woodstock Express ("Scooby Doo") love

12) "There's a snake in the train station"

13) Proverbial Beast pic

14) Pic was taken behind Woodstock Express entering the gate. Anyone know what they use the Peanuts Trolley for?

15 & 16) Me at 16 yo in May 1978 working at football toss in Old Coney (1st row. 4th from the left)  I know, I know whats with the feathered hair? See 1978 Charlie's Angels reference for those under 40. Last pic is me at approximately the same location June 2nd, 2018 at 56 yo.    (GOD I'm old)

[whengodsaysgo]

On ‎6‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 3:11 PM, KingsMills79 said:

 

Does anyone else think that that looks like @electricsun on the top left? @IndyGuy4KI?

 

[IndyGuy4KI]

I am not seeing it myself @whengodsaysgo? Lol

[King Ding Dong]

I don't see it either.  

[whengodsaysgo]

16 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

I am not seeing it myself @whengodsaysgo? Lol

 

1 minute ago, King Ding Dong said:

I don't see it either.  

Shrug.  I thought so.  Maybe the sun was in my eyes. LOL!  If you squint a little? Nothing?

WGSG, perhaps going blind.

[chad_1138]

Show on the stage at the petting zoo.

 

[chad_1138]

The Peanuts Trolley

[Rivertown Rider]

Looking forward to seeing Peanuts celebration in person.  I did meet Pigpen at Kings Dominion earlier today though.

[King Ding Dong]

I see KD is removing their Tornado Slide.   Knotts took theirs out and the one removed from Wildwater Kingdom has not shown up anywhere.   It looks like KI and MA have the only two left in the chain.  I wonder how long before KI retires our tornado? 

[BlondyRidesOn]

1 hour ago, King Ding Dong said:

I see KD is removing their Tornado Slide.   Knotts took theirs out and the one removed from Wildwater Kingdom has not shown up anywhere.   It looks like KI and MA have the only two left in the chain.  I wonder how long before KI retires our tornado? 

There was an accident on the one at Kings Dominion which resulted in one rider being sent to the hospital for a concussion and other injuries. 

I originally posted the article, but deleted it due to the sensitive nature.

[King Ding Dong]

Was there something about that particular installation the made it inherently more dangerous than the others?   Injuries happen on rides occasionally and they don’t tear them down.  If one clone is unsafe are the not all?