McSalsa's Coaster Adventures: A Chilly Opening (KI Opening Day April 20th, 2019)

[McSalsa]

Well, I have rested up, and now it is time for another trip report- Part 2 of Opening "Weekend", Opening Day (For Part 1, which was passholder preview night, see "McSalsa's Coaster Adventures: Drenched"! Since the ride rating system won't be used here either, I won't add it to this post (you can see it in Part 1). Let's begin the trip report!

My group (Me+Sister+Same 2 Friends from before) woke up at 6:15AM at our hotel (The Baymont near The Beach) and then we headed over to the Big Boy across the street for breakfast. I got the breakfast burrito combo, which was very good, and I also met many KIC members for the first time. After that, we finished eating and returned to our hotel to grab our stuff and put it up since our stay there was over. Then we headed over to the park at 9:15AM. There was a big line just to get into the park, and then when it opened, we headed in to the renovated Interntaional Street (I miss the pedestals but think everything else looked much better than in 2018 BTW) and then went towards The Beast, as the park was celebrating its 40th Anniversary on this day and was giving out free T-Shirts. We found they had actually made a seperate line for T-Shirts versus ERT riders, too.

RIDE #1: The Beast
We waited 2 hours for The Beast- 30 for ERT to end, and then 1 1/2 to actually get on the ride. They were eventually using every que (when we got in line it was in the house before the ramp but it got longer), something I have not seen in a long time, and eventually the line even got as far back as Planet Snoopy, I am told. Woah, Beast has not had a line like that in years, I bet! They were assigning seats (due to huge line I expected it) and I was given...the very back seat, 6-3. Oh boy.

Lucky for me, it wasn't too painful (maybe a tiny bit of back pain at most) but WOAH, was this ride intense. I was thrown around quite a bit in the turns, and the double helix was pure insanity. Also luckily, there was no rain this time so no rain bullets which kinda hurt the ride yesterday. I'd say this was probably the best ride I have ever gotten on Beast outside of night rides! And yes, I got a T-Shirt, Extra Large though (I wear a Large normally- I can wear the shirt but it is kinda big on me).

After a epic ride on The Beast, I broke off from my group (who wanted to smoke for a bit), since I wanted to ride...

RIDE #2: Diamondback
There was about a 20 minute wait for DB, which was nothing compared to what I just waited for Beast. I rode near the back, and had a fun ride with good airtime, but this would be nothing compared to later. Read on...

After Diamondback, I called my sister to check with her and we agreed to meet at Racer. Somehow, I beat her there from Diamondback, AND SHE WAS AT SCRAMBLER. Man sis, how were you so slow, LOL? Afterwards, since we were there, we rode Racer. I chose Blue because now I had my glasses on (didn't wear them Friday due to rain) and wanted to see the clearing...

RIDE #3: Blue Racer
Holy cow, that is a huge clearing! Whatever is coming in 2020, it is gonna be huge. Also Blue Racer was once again running great, smooth (even more than Friday because I was on a middle seat this time) and with good airtime. And still no trims on the turnaround!

After Blue Racer, we decided to go up the Eiffel Tower to get a even better view of the clearing.

RIDE #4: Eiffel Tower
Ahh, the Eiffel Tower. Such awesome views of the park- even on a cold day like this. From up here, you really get a sense of how much space has been cleared- there's a spot that seems cleared in the old SOB area, Firehawk's old spot, and then more clearing near Blue Racer in the old Dinos area. You also get a better view of the "S" shape on the updated fountains from up here.

After we came back down, we did some shopping on International Street looking for cheap items. I found a awesome fridge magnet of The Beast celebrating its 40th Anniversary for under $5, so I got that. Heck, there was tons of awesome new Beast stuff in the shops. My sister and friends then decided to smoke again, and I wanted to join the KIC meetup, so I headed off. It was not quite 2pm yet, so I headed into Action Zone to find Delirium a walk-on...

RIDE #5: Delirium
Ahh, Delirium. Such good spinning swinging fun. Kinda cold going 76mph though when it is only 45 out, though.

After Delirium, I found Drop Tower had no wait either. I hesitated a bit- this ride still scares me a bit- but talked myself into it by remembering the clearing, and that I could get a great view of the "SOB section" from this ride.

RIDE #6: Drop Tower
I didn't hype myself up for nothing- Drop Tower did indeed give a great view of the SOB clearing. As well as great views of the rest of the park. Before I knew it, we were at the top, somewhere about 290 feet in the air. And then we dropped as I was distracted looking at something. A very fun drop, as usual.

From Drop Tower, I walked down Coney Mall to the Antique Autos. I got my first good look at them earlier when "racing" my sister to Racer, and got another good look here- as well as seeing the huge line (main reason I didn't ride the Antique Autos on this trip). Even if I never ride these (unlikely- I'll probably do them at some point) I must say this ride has made this section of the park MUCH nicer. Then I met up with the KIC Group, and joined the group photo. I also got to meet and shake hands with Don Helbig. Afterwards, we rode...

RIDE #7: WindSeeker
If Drop Tower gives you the best view of the SOB Area clearing, WindSeeker gives the best of the former Dinos clearing (Blue Racer kinda whizzes by it a little fast). Looking around at various things also helps here, as well as it did on Drop Tower. It was also pretty cold and windy up top, but nonetheless, this was a fun ride on WindSeeker, and it was also fun to ride with other KIC members for the first time.

After WindSeeker, we headed for Mystic Timbers, but that ride never happened. After passing by...uhh, I won't say it because we vowed to keep it a secret from King Ding Dong...we decided to ride the train.

RIDE #8: Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad
Riding this with the KIC Group was fun. In addition to the sights and sounds of the train, including the Goose family, we pointed out random stuff and made up fake(?) 2020 coaster rumors based on the random stuff. LOL.

We got off the train, and it had begun to rain, and we had gotten kinda cold so we headed over to Boo Blasters to warm up and dry off.

RIDE #9: Boo Blasters on Boo Hill
There was a short wait for Boo Blasters, about 10-15 minutes or so, as I guess we were not alone in wanting to warm up and dry off here. One of the other KIC members I was riding with didn't wanna shoot stuff, so I used his gun too: I ended up going "Terminator" on the ride, and scored 1800 on my "main" gun (right hand) and 900 on my 2nd gun (left hand). The 1800 alone was my highest score ever on this ride, but someone else from the KIC Group scored 2800, which beat my COMBINED score. Holy cow some people are good at this ride!

After Boo Blasters, we headed to the fountains. I checked in with my sister, and she was about to eat, and since I was hungry I decided to go meet them again. I bid farewell to the KIC Group- it was fun hanging with you guys- and headed back to my main group who were at the Antique Autos. They waited about a hour to ride it, and I saw them on the ride. Afterwards, we headed into Rivertown for food.

FOOD: Miami River Brewhouse
New-for-2019! The food service here was decently quick, we got through the line at a decent pace. There was a slight issue with my sister's debit card, which could have been opening day woes on the park or her bank. But it was resolved. We got some of the pull-apart bread, since it was cheap, and it came to us pretty quick. I must say- this is some good bread. Nice dipping sauces too. Would eat this again, no question.

I finished eating first, and headed outside to see Diamondback running empty test trains. One of our friends, who loves Diamondback, came out and suggested since it was testing often that we should go get in line because it was probably gonna re-open.

RIDE #10: Diamondback #2
It did, and we only had to wait from the stairs because it had broken down. We rode from near the back yet again (for me), and got good airtime, but still nothing compared to later (keep reading).

After Diamondback, we headed over to Mystic Timbers, since it was also in this area.

RIDE #11: Mystic Timbers
There was about a 15-minute wait for Mystic Timbers, so not too bad. We ended up riding in the front 2 rows, and the ride gave some nice airtime with aggressive turns and twists as is usual for Mystic Timbers. We got Bats in the shed...again, same as we got on Friday.

After Mystic Timbers, we headed over to Action Zone, because unlike me my group hadn't done anything over there yet. On the way, we stopped near Festhaus, and the Glockenspeil played- It felt amazing to see it working! In my 10 years visiting the park since 2009, I had never actually seen it run...until now. Thank You Cedar Fair for fixing this! Afterwards, we headed into Action Zone, and saw Delirium still had no line.

RIDE #12: Delirium #2
This was running pretty similar to earlier, save now my sister and a friend were riding with me, and the kid next to me (a boy who screamed like a girl) kept screaming which was VERY ANNOYING.

After Delirium, we saw Invertigo was running, which was not the case when I was back here earlier. So we went over to ride it.

RIDE #13: Invertigo
There was about a 15-20 minute wait. I was hoping for a "smooth" Invertigo ride, but alas, it was shufflin' noticeably. I did figure out that I could stick my head forward and avoid the headbanging on the return trip, though. Probably my least favorite coaster ride of the day. Which is typical for Invertigo. Also, I didn't realize it had gotten Stinger's train. I honestly felt the Invertigo train was running better last year during Haunt versus this.

While we were in Invertigo's que, we saw a Squirrel/Chipmunk (not sure 100% which) eating nuts. As we left Invertigo, we saw it again, and then some dumb kid comes CHARGING out of the que, sees it, and he RAN INTO IT ON PURPOSE...THEN CLAIMED IT WAS A "ACCIDENT"! What a Jerk! Thankfully, a kind-hearted old dude grabbed the now-hurt animal with his coat and took it to guest services in the hopes something could be done for it. Everyone around us felt the same way as me. I hope the animal was OK. Afterwards, my sister and friend decided to ride Drop Tower with me, since there was no wait still.

RIDE #14: Drop Tower
This time I ended up facing Invertigo as we dropped, and the ride op gave us a fake countdown that stopped at 7 (then we dropped- but we knew he was gonna do this because our other friend saw him doing it during our Invertigo ride). Otherwise, same as before, another fun drop.

After Drop Tower, we decided to ride Banshee next, as it was now 100% dry. Our friend who does not do inversions held our stuff and saved us a locker fee.

RIDE #15: Banshee
Ahh, Banshee is so much more fun when it isn't dumping water on you (aka what happened Friday). There was no wait for regular seats, but we waited 5 minutes for front row. Great speeds, huge inversions, and strong G-Forces as usual (just a bit cold because 45 degrees). Another excellent ride on Banshee, which I have come to expect given the last 5 years.

After Banshee, we headed to Chicken Shack to get a wrap, but it turns out that it was removed from the menu! One of my favroite food items from 2018, gone! NOOOOOOOOO!!! So we got nothing. After that, my friends headed for the Bier Garden in Oktoberfest to smoke, and I went to ride Racer while they did.

RIDE #16: Red Racer
Might as well try Red Racer and see how it is comparing to Blue...and while in 2018 I thought Red Racer was better, now, Blue is. Red felt noticeably rougher, and had less airtime. It was still a good ride, just not as good as Blue.

After I rode Red Racer, I rejoined the group, and headed directly back to Racer.

RIDE #17: Blue Racer #2
I tried to race my sister and friends, but a walk of shame ruined that as my train stayed in the station while theirs left. Oof. Still, even with no racing, Blue Racer had enough airtime to be a good ride by itself.

After our failed race, we headed down Coney Mall. We checked out the line for Flight of Fear, but it looked to be about a 30 minute wait so we said no since we rode it on Friday. We then decided to ride...

RIDE #18: Shake, Rattle, & Roll
No wait, but we did have to watch 2 test cycles, as the ride was coming back up after a breakdown. But whatever broke was fixed, the mechanics left, and the ride re-opened. Then we got a fun, spinny ride on Shake, Rattle, & Roll. This was also one of our friends first ride on it because he feared it might make him sick, but it didn't.

After SR&R, we headed into Rivertown, as we were hungry and had decided on...

FOOD: TOM+CHEE
We got some Mac+Chee sandwiches, and split them up (we got 2, and each of us ate half of one). These sandwiches were very good, too. Nice and cheesy, and the mac tasted great on them. Tom+Chee has become one of our go-to food spots at KI, for good reason.

After we ate, it was getting dark, and thus it was...NIGHT RIDE TIME! First up, Diamondback!

RIDE #19: Diamondback #3 (Night)
OK, where earlier in the day Diamondback was running normally, for some reason when the sun went down, it decided apparently it wanted to do a Steel Vengeance impression. Granted, we rode in the very back, but the ride was giving actual EJECTOR AIR. SUSTAINED OVER THE HILLS. I was not expecting to get yanked over the lift hill, and then launched over every other hill, but it happened. And I even had like a inch or so of free room via my lap bar. Add in the fact it was dark, and you have probably my best ride on Diamondback...EVER.

After the Diamondback epicness, we got a locker for Mystic Timbers, but headed to The Beast for now instead.

RIDE #20: The Beast #2 (Night)
Beast is known for its epic night rides, and this was no exception. Crazy fast speeds, loud and dark tunnels, and a general out-of-control ride in the woods are the norm and this was no different. This coaster has been doing this for 40+ years now and probably won't stop anytime soon.

After more epicness on Beast, we headed over to Mystic Timbers.

RIDE #21: Mystic Timbers #2 (Night)
Another great night ride, but compared to the other 2 we just had, Mystic Timbers felt like a slight step back. It still had good airtime and awesome twists and turns, but the short ride hurts it. It was still a great ride, just not epic. We also got Bats yet again!

After Mystic Timbers, we split up as part of our group wanted to ride Banshee and then see the Fireworks, and the other part wanted to ride Diamondback and Beast again. I stayed with our friend who didn't do inversions, and made up the latter.

RIDE #22+23: Diamondback #4+5 (Both Night)
There was no wait, so we rode twice in a row. Once again, epicness and ejector air, even when we moved up a few rows. I still have no idea what made Diamondback run so great, but if we are getting a B&M Giga and it runs like this with even more height and speed...it is gonna be one of the best coasters in the world, easily.

After Diamondback, we headed for Beast. However, when we arrived at the station, it had closed for Fireworks. My friend went to meet our group, while I stayed alone to ride. I had a nice chat with the ride ops and a lady in line, and learned that apparently in 2007 MaXair at Cedar Point had a disastrous engine failure and the ride swung in free-swing for a good period of time, while dripping oil on riders. Can anyone verify if this actually happened (the lady claimed to be a Raptor ride op)? After the Fireworks (which was still the 2018 show I learned) I got a last ride of the night (for me)...

RIDE #24: The Beast #3 (Night)
I rode from 6-2, I was kinda gonna do 6-3 again but a small line had formed for it. From 6-2, the ride ran about the same as earlier, I was kinda hoping for some extra craziness but it was more the same. Still, that same was a epic night ride, so no anger. When we reached the 2nd lift, I sang "Happy Birthday 2 Beast", and when the final drop happened I was on the last line so I didn't say the last "Beast" until we entered the double helix. Happy 40th Birthday Beast! Still such a epic coaster.

After riding The Beast one last time (for this trip), I headed out towards our car. Walking through Kings Island at night with next to no one around is eerie. The fountains had also shut off, which made I-Street very quiet and calm. I arrived at the car, got in, and we headed home.

What a trip! Friday was a bit bad due to the heavy rain, but Saturday was MUCH better and actually ended up being one of my best KI days ever. 24 rides is just shy of my personal record of most rides in a day, which was 25 (in April of last year). Not bad, especially since it was opening day. The crummy weather was actually a plus then! Though I do hate that it never hit 50, so the Arrow rides could not open. I will have to give Bat, Adventure Express, and Vortex extra love on my next visit. I rode just about everything else though (I got BLSC and Flight of Fear on Friday).

Now, for Saturday's Pros and Cons!

PROS
+The New-for-2019 Revamps Look Beautiful Including Antique Autos
+Not as many ride breakdowns as you'd expect from Opening Day
+Almost all shops and vendors were also open
+Rides were running great, especially Beast and Diamondback at the end
+Very Light Crowds, Only T-Shirt Beast had a signifigant wait all day
+Riding rides with other KIC Members for First Time

CONS
-Removal of Pedestals on Royal Fountains (Mostly "countered" by the rest of I-Street looking much better and the new founatins are OK IMO, but still...)
-Still Cold (But Thankfully Much Less Rain)
-Thus No Arrows Could Run (I Like Arrow Coasters)
-JERK KID RUNS OVER SQUIRREL/CHIPMUNK! (Thank Goodness for Old Man)

And that does it for this trip report, and my opening weekend trip report in general. I really am looking forward to more KI trips in 2019. Also, as usual, Questions and Comments welcome!

[Theoutdoorkid107]

@McSalsa. Diamondback in the back row at night is a totally different “Beast”. Seriously, it is a lot of fun. 

[McSalsa]

5 hours ago, Theoutdoorkid107 said:

@McSalsa. Diamondback in the back row at night is a totally different “Beast”. Seriously, it is a lot of fun. 

I know- I've actually ridden Diamondback in the back before. On this night, for whatever reason, it was running even crazier (even better) than usual compared to all my past rides in that same row. Maybe the cold temperatures had something to do with it, I'd guess (maybe the rails shrunk ever-so-slightly due to the cold).

I am definitely going to try and get more Diamondback rear car night rides this year after this. 

[Theoutdoorkid107]

5 minutes ago, McSalsa said:

I know- I've actually ridden Diamondback in the back before. On this night, for whatever reason, it was running even crazier (even better) than usual compared to all my past rides in that same row. Maybe the cold temperatures had something to do with it, I'd guess (maybe the rails shrunk ever-so-slightly due to the cold).

I am definitely going to try and get more Diamondback rear car night rides this year after this. 

I think I know what you may be talking about. I did 12 night rides on closing night in 2016. It seemed so much faster than usually. The track could of expanded ever so slightly because of being at cold temperatures for a certin amount of time, then having stress applied to it via the passing trains, I may be wrong though.