Adventure Port Ride Reviews

[IndyGuy4KI]

We will use this thread to post reviews of Adventure Port. Post your reviews of Adventure Express, Cargo Loco, Sol Spin and overall theming.

If you don't want to see spoilers, I would avoid this thread until you have a chance to experience it for yourself. 

[beastfan11]

All right, spoilers ahead. Unfortunately, AE went down as we were getting into the station  for our second ride and we had to split. So I only got one ride in. I’ll give my best overview for those interested, though I may have some of the details skewed. 
 

Spoiler

The theming in the queue and station are top notch. A KI nerds dream. I managed to catch what I think was the old station master spiel in the queue amongst other voiceover theming. The station itself is filled with lots of jungle-y noises. Keep you’re eyes peeled for a Knott’s reference! 

The ride itself kicks off with the cool abandoned track switch to the right of the ride. 
 

New signage all over the ride, but the first tunnel remained pretty much unchanged and dark. Not sure if that’s the intent or if there’s still some work to be done. The train whistle effect is back!
 

The second tunnel going into the lift has been refreshed greatly, with updated lights, props, etc. Our skeleton explorer guy is still there, unchanged and still stabbed. Must be a tough gig. 
 

The lift hill has voiceover work akin to that of Mystic Timbers, but for the life of me I couldn’t make it out. Get that volume up! I wanna hear it!
 

One of the coolest additions of the ride is the crashed mine train that’s been overtaken by monkeys. Similar to what you’d see in The Jungle Cruise at the Disney parks. So. Cool. 
 

The third tunnel was seemingly unchanged save some lighting upgrades. Maybe it missed some new stuff. It looked nice, though! 
 

The final lift/tunnel looked like it wasn’t up to snuff 100%. Many of the drummers weren’t working or lit. The ones that were working looked remarkable. The temple guy at the top worked perfectly and seeing that in conjunction with the “now you will pay!” audio back is just rad. Love it. The additional thematic elements really bring a refreshed feel to this section. 
 

Also, I could be totally wrong but I think there might be two monkey statues from Tomb Raider at the bottom of the lift. 
 

There was some additional voiceover work as you going into the break run, but I couldn’t make it out. 
 

I feel like I missed 1000 details, so forgive me. But seriously. Absolutely A++ commitment to the theming. 12/10 for me. Easily my favorite ride in the park. Well done! Can’t wait to get back this week. 

Photo dump. You’ve been warned! 
 

Spoiler

[brenthodge]

THIS!!!! This how you do a ride. Just these queue pics make me so happy. Is it a HUGE expense? no, not really, but does it make a huge impact? TOTALLY. It is so on theme, on narrative and well done on a pretty basic budget, that I expect this all the time now guys. YOU CAN DO IT!!! (well, hiring JRA didnt hurt LOL). Mystic, Orion and now this have proven there is a new focus in this company of doing things that engage on all levels. I don't see "just" a record breaker coaster coming in a long time - if ever to this park. I see a combining of stats with story (Orion) or filling a demographic niche (family coaster) with a story-rich experience (Adventure Express). I also think the approach of taking essentially "off the shelf" flats and integrating them into existing, or developing new "park lore" with supporting themed infrastructure is working very well these days. 

[Bwb.32]

WOW, absolutely impressed! this retheme is exactly the kind of reserved but effective theming Cedar Fair parks need to strive for and should continue to invest in!

curious how many "outpost" and "southern yellow pine" references, clearly management still knows what the community loves lol

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

I know people are quick to anticipate disappointment, but the park is really ramping up the Outpost 5 stuff a lot. I can not help but feel serious anticipation for something big.

[TombRaiderFTW]

1 minute ago, CorkscrewMcPuke said:

I know people are quick to anticipate disappointment, but the park is really ramping up the Outpost 5 stuff a lot. I can not help but feel serious anticipation for something big.

You should probably know that the Outpost 5 stuff is originally based on Adventure Express's original queue audio. You're seeing more mentions of it because Adventure Express just got its makeover. There's a really good chance you're setting yourself up for disappointment by looking into things any more deeply than that.

[Taylor.B03]

4 minutes ago, CorkscrewMcPuke said:

I know people are quick to anticipate disappointment, but the park is really ramping up the Outpost 5 stuff a lot. I can not help but feel serious anticipation for something big.

I'm wondering if this is the start of a multi season teaser, there is really no time for something of such magnitude for 2024. If this truly is for this theoretically I would say this would be something that requires much hype. Now, could this just be one big tease / misunderstanding, yes. But, in a theoretical sense if this was for something like that, like I said it would need more time.

[CoastersRZ]

I haven`t had a chance to ride Adventure Express yet.  Our son is about a 1/4 inch too short at the moment.  We did catch two rides on Cargo Loco today.  It was rather difficult to get the barrels spinning too wildly.  The operators were saying to spin them counterclockwise.  It was difficult to do, but we did manage some spinning.  The ride has twelve barrels, and each can seat up to five people, so in theory this ride can hold 60 people.  Another great benefit, is those under 42" just need to ride with a supervising adult.  That means that our two year old daughter could ride with us!  It is one of the few flat rides on that side of the park that she can ride with us on.  Huge kudos to KI for installing a ride like that which can be enjoyed by so many people.  The queue line isn`t terribly long, but it is long enough and the theming is pretty good.  The speakers in the line weren`t playing any music yet.  My only real grip with the ride is that the queue area didn`t have any shade over the main queue.  There were also a couple of bamboo pickets that were loose on the bottom.  The ride operator called those in on our first of two rides.

Can`t wait to ride Sol Spin once it opens.  Hopefully soon.  

The whole area is really well done.  I love the boat and the other thematic elements that were added around the lake.  I can`t wait to see what else Cedar Fair and Kings Island do in future seasons.  

[Taylor.B03]

18 minutes ago, CoastersRZ said:

It was rather difficult to get the barrels spinning too wildly.  The operators were saying to spin them counterclockwise.  It was difficult to do, but we did manage some spinning.

I guess this may change in time. Gotta wear it in

[brenthodge]

28 minutes ago, CoastersRZ said:

I haven`t had a chance to ride Adventure Express yet.  Our son is about a 1/4 inch too short at the moment.  We did catch two rides on Cargo Loco today.  It was rather difficult to get the barrels spinning too wildly.  The operators were saying to spin them counterclockwise.  It was difficult to do, but we did manage some spinning.  The ride has twelve barrels, and each can seat up to five people, so in theory this ride can hold 60 people.  Another great benefit, is those under 42" just need to ride with a supervising adult.  That means that our two year old daughter could ride with us!  It is one of the few flat rides on that side of the park that she can ride with us on.  Huge kudos to KI for installing a ride like that which can be enjoyed by so many people.  The queue line isn`t terribly long, but it is long enough and the theming is pretty good.  The speakers in the line weren`t playing any music yet.  My only real grip with the ride is that the queue area didn`t have any shade over the main queue.  There were also a couple of bamboo pickets that were loose on the bottom.  The ride operator called those in on our first of two rides.

Can`t wait to ride Sol Spin once it opens.  Hopefully soon.  

The whole area is really well done.  I love the boat and the other thematic elements that were added around the lake.  I can`t wait to see what else Cedar Fair and Kings Island do in future seasons.  

I think that’s one aspect (mix of rides throughout) that CedarFair, and KI specifically are trying to address and do better at. It’s great to have an “award winning” kids area, but parks like Dollywood really excel at having rides of similar theme but different intensity and height requirements all coexisting in the same areas through the park. For Thunderhead, there’s whistle punk. For Dropline, there lumberjack lifts -all within eyeshot of each other with food (pizza) in the middle. Family units can all hang in an area and have things for all ages to do instead of one adult being sentenced to kiddie land. Now, I’d venture that our kiddie land has more “adult rides” than most, but it’s nice to see a better mix throughout. Now there needs to be a few lower height requirement flats in the area formerly know as action sone when that gets its retheme. 

[FUN&ONLY!]

A lot of people seem to have had a hard time spinning the barrels on Cargo Loco. Apparently, some of the barrels were tighter than others, and that is supposed to be adjusted. I had the chance to ride in one of the “looser”barrels, the potatoes barrel, and I was able to spin so much that it hurt (in a good way). Hopefully, the other battles are like this soon.

[robintodd]

7 hours ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

A lot of people seem to have had a hard time spinning the barrels on Cargo Loco. Apparently, some of the barrels were tighter than others, and that is supposed to be adjusted. I had the chance to ride in one of the “looser”barrels, the potatoes barrel, and I was able to spin so much that it hurt (in a good way). Hopefully, the other battles are like this soon.

Rode salt and wasn't able to spin it at all.  I'm sure they are governing the barrels because of some safety issue but I agree they all need to be adjusted as the manual spinning of the barrels help with re-ridability.  My 10 year old grandson was so upset he couldn't spin the barrel to try and make grandpa dizzy   

The ride overall is good and a needed addition but for those of us that remember Keggers, Loco is no Keggers.  First, keggers had 3 turn tables of 6 barrels each along with the "tilt" of the table itself.  Most importantly they were easy to spin.  I remebmer spinning them so fast it was a challenge to sit up and the only reason I could was because I was holding on spinning the barrel.  You can see it in action here: 

 

[super7]

7 hours ago, robintodd said:

Rode salt and wasn't able to spin it at all.  I'm sure they are governing the barrels because of some safety issue but I agree they all need to be adjusted as the manual spinning of the barrels help with re-ridability.  My 10 year old grandson was so upset he couldn't spin the barrel to try and make grandpa dizzy   

The ride overall is good and a needed addition but for those of us that remember Keggers, Loco is no Keggers.  First, keggers had 3 turn tables of 6 barrels each along with the "tilt" of the table itself.  Most importantly they were easy to spin.  I remebmer spinning them so fast it was a challenge to sit up and the only reason I could was because I was holding on spinning the barrel.  You can see it in action here: 

 

And Sol Spin is no Skylab.  Small diameter, less capacity, restraints, solo ride.  
 

The park definitely needed flat rides   Unfortunately they went with one of the lesser manufacturers.    
 

Cedar Fair is on a budget now with installations.  it’s obvious with the 24 seat Endeavour instead of 48.     I am glad though part of the budget is going towards theming.   So much better than the Paramount days or even early Cedar Fair days (Diamondback’s station). 
 

I preferred what they did several years ago when they located used quality flat    Carowinds got an excellent quartet of flats and great theming in their new County Fair.   A Zierer wave swinger, Huss troika, Mondial top spin and Mack music express.  All top tier manufacturers. 

[robintodd]

1 hour ago, super7 said:

And Sol Spin is no Skylab.  Small diameter, less capacity, restraints, solo ride.  
 

The park definitely needed flat rides   Unfortunately they went with one of the lesser manufacturers.    
 

Cedar Fair is on a budget now with installations.  it’s obvious with the 24 seat Endeavour instead of 48.     I am glad though part of the budget is going towards theming.   So much better than the Paramount days or even early Cedar Fair days (Diamondback’s station). 
 

I preferred what they did several years ago when they located used quality flat    Carowinds got an excellent quartet of flats and great theming in their new County Fair.   A Zierer wave swinger, Huss troika, Mondial top spin and Mack music express.  All top tier manufacturers. 

I'll hold off judgement on Sol Spin till I ride it.  It being open air alone will be different than Skylab.  My comments on Cargo Loco had nothing to do with capacity and more with the ride experience.  I never saw the queue spill into the midway and my wait was about 20-25 minutes.  

I've seen alot about the capacity of Sol Spin and on the surface to me it seems like the right call.  Remember a smaller diameter could actually mean a faster ride experience or a more forcefull one.  We'll have to see when it opens.

I think lines may be long to start but by the end of the season and for seasons going forward I would see it as another Monster/Scrambler type people eater, which the park needed.  Double the seats means twice the restraints to not only check but to have issues with causing the ride to go down as well as more cost that in my opinion was better spent on themeing of the area.  If the lines for both of these rides are out to the midway next year I may see the point of getting the 48 instead of the 24.  

This new area was to give a nice faclift to a part of the park and add some general rides that are found at other parks, not put in something that would bring people from around the country to ride.  Either way, the people in line for these rides are less people in line for The Beast, Orion, etc.  Which is a good thing.

[SonofBaconator]

1 hour ago, super7 said:

Cedar Fair is on a budget now with installations.  it’s obvious with the 24 seat Endeavour instead of 48.     I am glad though part of the budget is going towards theming.   So much better than the Paramount days or even early Cedar Fair days (Diamondback’s station). 
 

I preferred what they did several years ago when they located used quality flat    Carowinds got an excellent quartet of flats and great theming in their new County Fair.   A Zierer wave swinger, Huss troika, Mondial top spin and Mack music express.  All top tier manufacturers.

I might not be as well educated when it comes to flat rides and their respective manufacturers, but does the average park goer really care where we get our rides from? Is dad going to be watching the ride from the pathway with his son going “you know these are Zamperla models, they must’ve been wanting to save money.”

I get people have their preferences, but at the end of the day it’s not going to stop people from riding.

[silver2005]

I'd also like to know where the Zamperla disappointment comes from.   I've never known them to be particularly bad at anything.  

[super7]

Well both if the rides that KI got are inferior knock offs of superior rides (Intamin spinning barrels and Huss/Schwarzkopf enterprise).  They are smaller lower capacity versions of those rides.   Their Nebula is an inferior version of Zierer hexentanz (and slower loading as well.).  Their Demolition Deby is an inferior cuddle up.  Etc.    I feel they add an air of cheapness to the parks.  

Then there was this with their Giant Discovery  https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/202106/8300/

 

Zamperla builds coasters   Would one rather have one of their shaky coasters or one from B&M, Mack, Intamin etc  If KI would install a Zamperla Thunderbolt in Vortex spot im sure people would think it would be three inferior choice  

They just don’t have the look of quality.   I’m guessing the low price is getting them sales.  Especially with Cedar Fairs 2.5 billion current debt load.  
 

[FUN&ONLY!]

Here is my review of Cargo Loco and Adventure Express as well as my thoughts on Adventure Port as a whole. During this review, I am keeping in mind that not everything is necessarily 100% finished so far.

For starters, I thought Cargo Loco was really fun. The ride is very quiet, and the barrels can be checked quickly by the ride operators since there is not really a restraint. The presentation and theming of the ride are also on point. The queue line is on the short side but well themed. I do not think any of the speakers in the queue line were tuned on yet, but I hope that the speakers play themed music once they are activated. Overall, Cargo Loco is a great addition.

With Adventure Express, I absolutely love the new entry plaza and theming in it. I also really enjoyed the posters and props in the queue and station. The theming is on point. Again, the speakers were not turned on in the queue or entrance plaza, so I cannot comment on the music selection. When it comes to the actual ride experience, I like the additional props and signage throughout the ride as well as the station master spiels. I also liked the audio in the final tunnel was more audible. I know Kings Island is probably still working on it, but the effects in the final tunnel were not great. Many of the statues were at least not lit up at all, but I assume this will be addressed soon. I also was sad that the audio is the station is still very quiet. There is a whole new station master spiel in the station or at least the old one has returned, but I could barely hear it. Overall, I really did like the new Adventure Express, and I hope Kings Island addresses the broken effects soon.

Moving on to the area as a whole, I LOVE the theming around Adventure Port and the overall aesthetic of the area. It is just really presented well. I especially love the physical props placed throughout the area and the details painted on the buildings. The Coca-Cola Marketplace, especially, looks really nice (the park just needs to replace one of the lightbulbs). I am not crazy about the the brown roof of the Mercado and Enrique’s or the unthemed exterior of the restrooms building, but these shortcomings do not detract much from the area in my opinion. I do feel like the theming is a little bare in the open space beyond the planter and seating in front of Enrique’s, but I hope the hanging flags over the midway do happen in that area. Once again, the speakers around the area have not been turned on yet (outside of the Mercado’s patio), so I cannot really comment on the music selection in the area. Also, is it just me, or should there be sign hanging from that one pole in front of Enrique’s. These are just nitpicks about an area that may not be complete. Like I stated above, I really do love the new area so far. The pictures below are from the Coaster DAD.

I cannot wait to see Adventure Port once it is all finished and ride Sol Spin!

[Benjamin22]

27 minutes ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

Here is my review of Cargo Loco and Adventure Express as well as my thoughts on Adventure Port as a whole. During this review, I am keeping in mind that not everything is necessarily 100% finished so far.

For starters, I thought Cargo Loco was really fun. The ride is very quiet, and the barrels can be checked quickly by the ride operators since there is not really a restraint. The presentation and theming of the ride are also on point. The queue line is on the short side but well themed. I do not think any of the speakers in the queue line were tuned on yet, but I hope that the speakers play themed music once they are activated. Overall, Cargo Loco is a great addition.

With Adventure Express, I absolutely love the new entry plaza and theming in it. I also really enjoyed the posters and props in the queue and station. The theming is on point. Again, the speakers were not turned on in the queue or entrance plaza, so I cannot comment on the music selection. When it comes to the actual ride experience, I like the additional props and signage throughout the ride as well as the station master spiels. I also liked the audio in the final tunnel was more audible. I know Kings Island is probably still working on it, but the effects in the final tunnel were not great. Many of the statues were at least not lit up at all, but I assume this will be addressed soon. I also was sad that the audio is the station is still very quiet. There is a whole new station master spiel in the station or at least the old one has returned, but I could barely hear it. Overall, I really did like the new Adventure Express, and I hope Kings Island addresses the broken effects soon.

Moving on to the area as a whole, I LOVE the theming around Adventure Port and the overall aesthetic of the area. It is just really presented well. I especially love the physical props placed throughout the area and the details painted on the buildings. The Coca-Cola Marketplace, especially, looks really nice (the park just needs to replace one of the lightbulbs). I am not crazy about the the brown roof of the Mercado and Enrique’s or the unthemed exterior of the restrooms building, but these shortcomings do not detract much from the area in my opinion. I do feel like the theming is a little bare in the open space beyond the planter and seating in front of Enrique’s, but I hope the hanging flags over the midway do happen in that area. Once again, the speakers around the area have not been turned on yet (outside of the Mercado’s patio), so I cannot really comment on the music selection in the area. Also, is it just me, or should there be sign hanging from that one pole in front of Enrique’s. These are just nitpicks about an area that may not be complete. Like I stated above, I really do love the new area so far. The pictures below are from the Coaster DAD.

I cannot wait to see Adventure Port once it is all finished and ride Sol Spin!

I think you summed up my feelings perfectly. The area feels like 85%, once they hopefully polish out the area with music & AE missing elements then it’ll really feel special. It’s a great step in the right direction and is by far the best themed area of the park. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

The Cargo Loco page has been updated: https://kicentral.com/rides/cargo-loco/    The new gallery for it is on that page. 

Here is the video taken today.

 

[IndyGuy4KI]

I will now add my review of Cargo Loco and Adventure Express. Cargo Loco was a fun ride. I do wish that our barrel would have been able to spin to get the full affect, but I also spent most of the cycle seeing how others were reacting. The theming of the area looks awesome and I think they have knocked it out of the port with the area.

There are spoilers so you may want to hit that back button now before you keep reading.

Adventure Express: I was more than surprised with the theming of the entry plaza, the queue, and in the station. 

 

I don't know why, but I loved seeing all the stuff up in the rafters as well.

 

This was a cool sign in the station

 

I rode AE 3 times and each time saw some more details I didn't see the last time.

 

Now for the ride experience. You really get whipped around a lot of AE, especially when you are trying to see the extra items placed on the ride.

The old Arrow train and the monkeys are absolutely awesome. A very cute and efficient way to add theming that kids will enjoy, as well as the adults to play along with the closed track theme. The first tunnel you really can not see much. I don't know if there is more to come in there or is was intended to be that way? The second lift there are a few surprises in there including a throwback to Tomb Raider. We rode close to the front on our 3 rides, there is another voice in there that I am not sure what is said. Maybe it can be heard if you are further back in the train?  I really do like that after you are coming into the brake run you hear "Remember, AE is always on the right track."  I just wish I could know what they said before that. I know they are still working out the tech of trains and people on the ride. Being a radio guy, I know extra noises totally change how audio comes across. and heard and they have not had a chance to fine tune it yet.  

See the full new theme gallery for AE here: https://kicentral.com/rides/adventure-express/

[Kenban]

Due to the multiple spinning platforms on Cargo Loco, unless you try to balance the weight around the barrel you’re going to have a really hard time getting the barrel spinning.  A single person, or groups who sit together are just going to be fighting against the ride too much.

As the smaller platform spins when your barrel approaches the outer edge your weight will be forced to the outer edge.  You can try to take advantage of this imbalance because it does accelerate the barrel, but so far I have not been able to do so.  Load a barrel with 5 people and they spin really easily.

I wonder if the issues people have had getting the barrels moving is not differences between the barrels, but differences in weight distribution.

[SOBwasaSOB]

My girlfriend, my friend, and I rode together (all adults) and we got the barrels spinning unbelievably fast.  My girlfriend was laughing hysterically the whole ride, it was the highlight of the visit for me.  The new area really looks great.  I know a seasonal park is never going to get Disney or Universal level theming, but to me the added bits make a world of difference and look amazing.  I would love to slowly see the rest of the park get the same effort.  I'm really happy with the additions.

[chad_1138]

Rode Cargo Loco today.  Fun time.  The only negative I have is the lack of shade.  That line and ride are going to be absolutely brutal this summer.

[Cedar Fair Fanboy]

I think they should crank up the volume so that everyone can hear it, especially in the middle rows.

[WoodVengeance]

2 hours ago, Cedar Fair Fanboy said:

I think they should crank up the volume so that everyone can hear it, especially in the middle rows.

Yeah, I couldn't hear it all when I rode AE today. It doesn't help that AE's lift hill is pretty loud as well.

[Klabergian Empire]

Rode Cargo Loco and Adventure Express today:

Cargo Loco is a fine addition to Kings Island and a very fun ride for pretty much anyone.

Adventure Express is running better than before. The theming is very good and the operation is smooth.

Overall, big thumbs up!

[BoddaH1994]

Not sure where this idea that Zamperla is a discount manufacturer comes from. They are the premier flat ride manufacturer by a mile. 
 

I’m wondering if the spinning problem is a break in thing. When I rode, I could get it going a little with all of my force. A group of kids would never be able to begin to get it to spin. I’m sure that’s not their intention.

Also, I don’t think they’re governed to prevent spinning to this extreme. There are a lot of these things out there and they can spin a lot, and I’ve never seen a park intentionally tamper them down, which leads to me to believe that the perception is that there is no danger in “extreme” spinning. 

[Tr0y]

1 hour ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Not sure where this idea that Zamperla is a discount manufacturer comes from. They are the premier flat ride manufacturer by a mile. 
 

I’m wondering if the spinning problem is a break in thing. When I rode, I could get it going a little with all of my force. A group of kids would never be able to begin to get it to spin. I’m sure that’s not their intention.

Also, I don’t think they’re governed to prevent spinning to this extreme. There are a lot of these things out there and they can spin a lot, and I’ve never seen a park intentionally tamper them down, which leads to me to believe that the perception is that there is no danger in “extreme” spinning. 

I’m guessing that because of how far behind schedule they were that it was a mad dash to just get it running for Memorial Day Weekend, and not much time was spent tweaking the ride to give an ideal experience. 

[PKIDelirium]

It's probably both a matter of a new spinning ride getting broken in, and there's probably also a mechanism where every car has to be set to the same rotation limit. People keep saying some spin easily but others barely spin even with a lot of power, so they're probably just not all matched yet.

2 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Not sure where this idea that Zamperla is a discount manufacturer comes from. They are the premier flat ride manufacturer by a mile. 

It seems a certain person thinks that these rides are supposed to be direct replacements for Keggers and Skylab.