McSalsa's Coaster Adventures: Haunted Yet Again (KI Haunt October 5th, 2024)

[McSalsa]

Hello again guys! Welcome to my 3rd 2024 Kings Island trip report. This time, for Halloween Haunt on October 5th, 2024 (I am sorry for this taking a whole week to make, I have been busy!). This time, I am gonna break the trip report into 2 sections: what I did during the daytime (Tricks and Treats, or basically normal Kings Island) and what I did at night. Let us begin.

DAYTIME STOOF
*****

Ride #1: The Beast
We arrived early enough for ERT, but due to some delays with height checks and me thinking the early entry lines would be long because it was Haunt, and random urges, I decided to go and wait for The Beast to open instead. I pre-purchased a Fast Lane using money I had saved up (another reason I decided to skip ERT, I didn't think I would need it as bad) and got in the Fast Lane line for Beast...by waiting near the photo booth because I didn't realize they did have a Fast Lane barrier set up further ahead. Oof. Once the park and Beast opened, I entered the que, and had to wait for a ride op to open the Fast Lane entrance because the chain was still up. Afterwards, however, I got in Row 17, my favorite on the coaster. I wasn't expecting too much because this was the 2nd train of the day (just missed first of the day) but Beast was running very good already, not sluggish at all like it can sometimes be first thing in the morning. A pleasant surprise...and a sign of what was to come later.

Ride #2: Mystic Timbers
Turns out, ERT wasn't as slammed as I thought, because Mystic Timbers had no wait even though it was on ERT. I was hoping my Fast Lane wasn't gonna be useless all day- spoiler, it was very useful in the end. Just like Beast right before, Mystic Timbers was running way better than usual in the morning. I have had airtimeless rides on this before in the AM hours, but here there was a good amount of air- another prologue to what was coming later, too. I got Bats/Cars combo in the shed BTW.

Ride #3: Diamondback
Up next was Diamondback, to complete the "Rivertown Trio of Terror". It also had a very short wait, given this was still before noon. Diamondback felt a bit broken in too, but not as much as the woodies, for a early morning ride. Still had some good floater. The 3rd fun ride in a row, but I was hungry after this.

Food #1: Brewhouse
I decided to go ahead and eat early- eating at weird times can be a huge time saver at amusement parks, after all. Brewhouse has always been a solid choice for me, and it was right there, so I activated my all day dining here. I was initially leaning Burger, but I saw the dip list and wanted to try the Siracha Ranch, so I audibled to Chicken Strips. My food basically arrived as soon as I sat down. My tater tots were fine, a bit cold but good tasting, and while the chicken strips tasted great they were a bit small. But the meal had a savior- the Siracha Ranch dip was AWESOME. A 6/10 meal became a 8/10 thanks to it. I did see someone else nearby get burgers and they looked great, so the dip also saved me from buyers remorse.

Food #2: Snoopy Ice Cream
I was still a tiny bit hungry (thanks to Tiny chicken strips) but now I had a bit of a Sweet Tooth, so I went for some Blue Ice Cream when I saw it had a very short wait. But then, I saw an ad for the "Bride of Frankenstein" flavor they were running during Haunt. I decided to try that, since I had blue earlier this year. As much as I liked Blue, BOF was an even better Ice Cream flavor (I also prefer chocolate to blueberry though)! Only downside was, it was a bit hotter out than I expected so it was melting as I ate it and quite messy. And the cone was absolutely huge. I had to pay out of pocket because it wasn't on the meal plan, but it was still worth it. I highly recomend this Ice Cream!

After I had my Ice Cream, I met with my group and chatted/relaxed for a bit before breaking off again towards Action Zone, curious about Banshee mainly. It was running 1 train and had a huge line because of it, plus crowds were finally picking up. So I focused on the other rides in Action Zone.

Ride #4: Drop Tower
This ride still makes me nervous, but I also love it- an odd mix. This was also the first time my Fast Lane began to pay off- the main line was about a half hour or so, and Fast Lane was...2 people including me. I boarded Drop Tower, and even answered some questions the riders next to me had about the park, including that Invertigo was currently down (I had walked over to it first to check it out). We began the climb to the top...I dunno why it is, but I am perfectly fine going 300 or even 400+ feet on a roller coaster yet on a Drop Tower I get nervous above 50, much less 265. The drop itself felt awesome- I don't fear the drop here, just going up. And as the final brakes lowered us I saw...

Ride #5: Invertigo
Invertigo opened up! I walked over and snagged a ride, it would have had zero wait with or without Fast Lane due to it just re-opening. I sat in a empty row all to myself- the guy I would have watched ended up bailing and leaving for some reason. I don't always ride Invertigo, as it isn't my favorite coaster in the park, and this ride was a bit middle of the road: it had the great forces and inversions I like about Invertigo, but also a bit of head banging but I leaned forward to avoid most of it. Not a fan of the restraint system used here. A decent ride, worth the wait because walk-on.

Ride #6: The Bat
Next up, I headed way back to The Bat. Fast Lane is not used on this ride, so it was about a 15 minute wait in the regular and only line. Bat was its usual swoopy fun self, swinging through the woods. On the way back to Action Zone, I watched a guy try to activate the Son of Beast lantern spot but it wasn't doing anything. D'oh!

Ride #7: Delirium
Delirium had broken down before I rode Bat, but it was back up by the time I returned. This is probably my favorite flat ride at Kings Island, though I find it more relaxing than Intense. Swinging back and forth at 76mph with the wind feels good.

After Delirium, I grew hungry again. I have been listening to the Tower Topics podcast recently- it is good stuff btw- and took one of Don Helbig's suggestions in a semi recent video...

Food #2: French Corner
Like Don Helbig, I too am a chicken lubber who can highly recommend the Shrimp Po Boy! It might actually be my favorite food item I have ever had at Kings Island! It also has the option of a cold pasta salad, something else I love that I had no idea Kings Island even had until now. The entire meal was delicious, 10/10, this place is gonna be one of my Go-Tos now. Thanks Don!

After I had eaten, I met back up with my group to watch a show in Festhaus...

Show #1: Ghouls Gone Wild
...or try to. About halfway through, my 2 year old baby Nephew began crying because he hated how loud and noisy it was, so we had to dip out. What I saw was okay- the costumes were great but the music was just covers of popular songs, I prefer original stuff. Won't judge much though because we left early due to nephew.

Once my nephew had calmed down (which was pretty quick after we left the Show), I eventually went off and hit up rides in Coney Mall and Adventure Port, the 2 big sections I had yet to do.

Ride #8: Orion
Flight of Fear's line was crazy long even with Fast Lane, so I skipped that and went straight to Orion. Orion was running pretty good, very smooth and with nice forces- the speed hill was pretty darn strong today and the Orion's Belt helix had good positives. Another great ride on the Giga.

Ride #9: Blue Racer
I was originally going to ride Red Racer, but when I went to the back car (I love 5-2 on this ride) they closed it off for some reason I found out later, so I switched sides since that seat was still open on Blue. The train right before us ended up being stopped due to a phone idiot, which I think cursed us as well because we lost. The ride had really good airtime and was fun though. Oh, and the reason the back car on Red Racer got closed? Someone ended up getting married on Racer! Knowing that, I was fine with swapping sides.

Ride #10: Adventure Express
I then headed over to Adventure Port, and...Adventure Express was running 1 train? I knew why Banshee was, but this was odd. It might have been a brake issue or something here too because Adventure Express has a spare 3rd train if I recall, or they might just not have been able to get the spare running for the day. The line wasn't crazy long for Fast Lane though, so I rode. I ended up being seated in the back of a car, and it was a bit jerky but nothing crazy, and all the effects were working: the lights in the final tunnel even activated when they were supposed to, revealing the evil drum statues.

Ride #11: Eiffel Tower
After AE, I went and hit up a ride I have been wanting to ride ALL YEAR, but it's randomly been having issues and wasn't open either of my previous two visits- the good ol' Eiffel Tower! I actually stayed up here for a little while and took some pictures, enjoying the view, and being terrified to see a nearly full parking lot (that did completley fill up later)! It was around 6pm when I went up, so I caught the opening ceremony for Haunt, and then went to grab a quick ride on...

Ride #12: Diamondback (2)
Diamondback had broken in a bit more since the morning, thus it had better airtime here on the 2nd ride. I had good fun once again.

I was hungry again, and did some searching for food, but many places were SLAMMED due to the high crowds. I eventually settled on...

Food #3: French Corner (2)
...another Shrimp Po Boy + Pasta combo because French Quarter had no wait, and it was so good before. And the 2nd one might have been even tastier! Yep, this place I had overlooked before is now a Go-To. Thanks again Don!

It was now starting to get dark, so the daytime portion of this trip report ends...

NIGHT STOOF
*****

Ride #13: Banshee
My belly full of Shrimp Sammich, I decided to wait it out for Banshee, especially since it has good night rides. This one was no different- great speed, great forcefulness, and smooth. The one train that was working apparently had good wheels on it. It was also nice and dark out when I finally rode, and it was very chilly in the area at the bottom of the pretzel loop. Another awesome Banshee night ride.
 
Rides #14+15: Red Racer (x2)
On my way down Coney Mall, I remembered another Tower Topics Podcast where Don said The Racer is a shockingly good night ride during Haunt, and since I had a Fast Lane (which had no wait for Racer- main line was about 45 minutes) I took a ride. Don Helbig was 100% correct, Racer is a great night ride at Haunt! Travelling past the fog and eerie lights of the Coney Maul scare zone, getting great airtime, and going fast and smooth (the retracking is holding up). This may have been my best ride ever on The Racer! I reunited with my group, and ended up going on a 2nd ride in a row with one of our friends because it had no wait and she had gotten herself a Fast Lane. The second ride had even more fog on the tracks! Racer is probably the biggest sleeper hit ride at Kings Island right now.

After we rode Racer, me and our friend went to ride Orion. She was afraid of it because it had a 300 foot drop, but I told her it would be okay. Sadly, we never got to face this fear, and 10 minutes into our wait (both Fast Lane and regular line were FULL QUES), Orion broke down. D'oh! We went ahead and headed into Rivertown.

Ride #16: Mystic Timbers (2)
Mystic Timbers wait wasn't as bad as Orion's, but it was still a 20 minute Fast Lane wait! Kings Island was truly SLAMMED. Alas, the wait was worth it- this was probably my best ever ride on Mystic Timbers. The ride felt faster and more aggressive than ever, and the airtime was stronger than I have ever felt on Mystic Timbers. And for some reason, it was stupid dark in the forest on this evening. I could not make out what way we were going. This was basically Mystic Timbers showing me why so many consider it the best in the park. I understand now where those people are coming from. Also, we got the "Turn Around" and Snakes combo in the shed.

Ride #17: The Beast (2)
We attempted to ride Diamondback next, but it broke down...the big B&Ms were apparently suddenly having issues. So we just went on to Beast...which had an HOUR Fast Lane wait, and 3 HOUR main line! Holy 1980s Batman! We sucked it up, waited, and made some friends in line...that is a thing I have noticed tends to happen with long Beast waits. An hour later, we boarded and got row 16- front seat of last car. I wondered, after that INSANE Mystic Timbers night ride, could Beast hold up?

Yes. Beast somehow defended its title as Kings Island's #1 woodie, even after such a crazy ride on Mystic Timbers. This was easily my best ride on The Beast since 2010, maybe ever! Beast was even darker than Mystic Timbers- it was so dark, it would have been hard to tell where the tunnels were if not for the echoes. And Beast was HAULING on top of this. Those kinda fast morning rides earlier? Yeah, they were hinting at this. And the helix felt like pure chaos- I also could barely see it from atop the 2nd lift hill. Beast night rides are almost always great, but this...this was one of the best rides I have ever had on ANY coaster. Whatever happened to the woodies on this night, I hope it becomes the new normal for Kings Island's wooden coasters.

Ride #18: Diamondback (3)
My final ride ended up being Diamondback- it reopened as we left Beast, and had no wait for Fast Lane (and the main wait was pretty short too) so me and my friend snagged one quick final ride. We even got back row- best seats for Diamondback IMO. The airtime was awesome and strong, and it was cool to fly up and down into the fog, but The Beast ride prior was so insane, Diamondback sadly just couldn't top it. However, Diamondback was still an amazing final ride of the day and I was laughing and giggling as I made my exit. This was also my 40th ride on Diamondback...earlier this year, I hit 50 on Beast. Diamondback will be the next for that milestone, and considering I rode 10 times in 2024 alone (a lot for me), Diamondback should be getting to 50 sooner rather than later.

We left the park after, missing the park closing show because we had 2 sleeping kids and wanted to beat traffic. What an amazing day at Kings Island. Sorry again this trip report took so long to get out- it's been a fairly busy week for me afterwards. I hope you still enjoyed it- I will add the pictures in a bit, I have to get on my phone for those. Anyways, see ya for now!