silver2005 TR @ KI 10/4- Returning after another hiatus

[silver2005]

So the last year for me has been rough.  I got diagnosed with a major digestive condition which required a lot of various treatments and patience to get better, and I had to leave my job thinking I may not be able to do Skyline again, but then got better and returned to another one after much struggle (finding a job was SUPER stressful), but I got through it and finally found grounds for some stability again.   Got a gold pass that'll eventually have all the odds and ends (still waiting to get dining and a big maybe is all season FL as I plan to do CP next season but KI and CP are looking to be my only 'normal' CF parks next year).  

Anyways, I knew I was doing at least 1 trip to KI this October and I already had it in mind to do Fast Lane regardless of crowds.   I have a really fun October lined up this year on top of that with a few band/concert gigs, probably doing Blink in a few weeks, and possibly other shenanigans.  Last night was kind of the way to get the ball rolling.  

So I got there at about 6:05 as traffic on I-71 was sus, and I came straight from work at the Skyline in Ft Wright (just south of Covington).   Got my pass processed, got the FL bracelet, and made a bee-line for Banshee as I wanted to knock it out given the 1 train situation.  Well, I lucked out there as at the time, the FL line was absent and I got up the stairs right as they were about to load the next station full and nabbed a front seat ride.  

Made my way to Racer and Orion, meeting up with @pianoman for a few hours and eventually got to the Rivertown trio.   It was quite crowded as well, very packed midways and fairly long lines.  The one I knew of for sure was a fellow rider at Beast clocked it at 90 minutes for the main line with the 3 switchback sections opened.  Some rides felt they were taking a bit long to load and unload as I did pick up on a lot of trainees through the visit.   The FL lines weren't bad except for the fact all those users gravitated towards Beast.  The FL line fluctuated to being as short as just down the station stairs, to as long as the curve the exit takes around the first set of switchbacks.   The next longest FL line I saw was MT, DB and Orion being just down their respective stairs.  Even FOF's FL line was really short.  Drop Tower was the only non-coaster I did.   

I felt the coasters were running rather interestingly.  This could be the fact that it can take me a few rides to get used to the forces again combined with me taking my first rides while the rides are a few months warmed up, but a lot of coasters felt they were running pretty hard and fast last night (in a good way).  I got some good ejector air on Diamondback near the front and even a little bit further back.  I also felt the trims were taken down a notch as the section after the 2 trims was really forceful as well that night.  I'm bummed Banshee was in its state as it was running really good for the 1 ride I got, and MT was really wild.  I got my usual Beast 1-1 ride out of the 3 rides I got on it and it was pure nostalgic bliss for me.   I also felt the fog machines affected the weather a bit as the air felt more humid at the tops of the coaster lifts and felt cooler closer to the ground, especially for Drop Tower, Orion and Diamondback.   Mystic Timbers felt more wild given, again, this was my first time riding it in nearly a year, it was running fairly fast, and the fog machines + night made it near impossible for me to anticipate things, in a good way though.  
 

Didn't do any mazes as it's not my thing, but the fog machines were set to 11, pretty thick in places.  The scare-actors were fairly nice for what they are and I kinda liked the more chaotic choice in music, especially in Coney Mall.  It also warms this amusement park history buff's heart to see people genuinely enjoying Racer again.  I know we harp on the park for various things, especially this year, but I have to give kudos to the maintenance department for always doing stellar work making the woodies run so well year after year.   I know its particularly hard with wooden coasters, but the re-track on Racer and Beast are holding up great and even though MT is entering its aging phase for GCI's, its one of the better GCI's I've ridden given its additional age factor from a ride quality standpoint.  Also nice the shed stuff still works.  

Overall great night, something I needed given what I've been through lately, and hopefully a sign for a great October for me.