TR: PKI and The Beach

[gburn07]

From June 14th to the 27th I was in Florida. From June 28th to the 30th I was in the Cincy area. Talk about no time for a break lol. Well anyways, right after coming hom from Fl with my fam I immediately get ready to head over to PKI and The Beach Waterpark with my friends. We leave early the 28th and spend a day relaxing at the pool and such. Stayed at a Livinn Suites in Sharonville. Great place and amazing price $54 a night. The next day we get up bright and early for the park. I planned to go to the park at this part of th emonth as last year we went for two days and didn't need it as noone was there at the time. The two biggest worries that I had about planning the trip three months ago were the weather and the crowds. It was such a goreous day. Best off, NO ONE was in the park! I know its a thurs and such but the longest we waited was 15 minutes. We did every rollercoaster in either the front or back and did some multiple times and sitll finished the park early. Heres the order and opinion of the rides that day.

We first head over to slingshot to pick up the tickets for the ride early as I remember them being so cheap in the morning. Got them all for $5 a piece. Its barely past ten so I tell them to head over to the ride which has the most untolerable wait (long and outdoors) in the park that I remembered, Face Off. When facing the trains loading section we sat tot he farthest right of the train that had the seats that face eachother. Wow it was even more intense then I remember last year. I still black out on it. Its very smooth and so much better than it looks. Next off we head over to IJ/ST. This was my surprise of the day. Last year I thought this ride was a joke in terms of the ride and effects. We got the white car last row. Compared to the front of the train, the back is far more intense and still smooth. They were even running three trains that day despite the crowds. Every effect ( minus the speakers and I dont think lights) were working. The helicopter scene seemed more dramatic for some reason with more going on. Could be my imagination. I absolutely loved flyin down the tunnel. Everything was great on this and I really enjoyed it. It had some thrills but was relaxing enough so you didn't get beat up on. Next comes Vortex. We sat in the second car front row. This was the absolute more horrible ride i've ever had. Everything and every part of the ride sucked on where we sat at. It shook everywhere, jackhammered it seemed, and every inversion beat the crap out of me. Not a good ride at all, until later in the day. FOF was next on the list and is still my fav ride in the park. We got the back row and its such an amazing ride. Def my fav behind Mill. Force. We then hit up Delirium for a awesome as usual ride. Drop Zone comes next. Same great ride as usual. Its fun facing the direction of the skyflyer and SOB as you see how high you really are. Top Gun was next. We sat in the back row as I recall it being more intense. I like this ride. Its smooth, thrilling, yet relaxing at the same time. We ride it in the front after for that awesome final swing you get in the break run. O yeah, pardon my forgetting of mentioning the expensive, yet excellent food we had throughout the day. The staff were very helpfun as well. Something my trip in Disney lacked. Next up is Adventure Express. Its a fun mine ride. I think its just too jerky though. Good theming like last year. I esp like the tunnels. Next up is Racer and recaR. We sat int he back of Racer (great airtime) for a fairly smooth ride and the back of recaR (technically the front) for the same, just backwards lol. Def one of my fav classic rides. Next up is Tomb Raider. The theming of this is def up to Disney standards. The ride cycle itself is such a disappointment. I dont complain, but the ride just hurt so bad with its constant jerking and slamming of the breaks when you were about to flip that it makes me not want to go on it again. Its a shame. Next up is the first out of two times we ride the slingshot. Still the greatest thing i've ever been on. Theres nothing that comes close to the launch upwards and the face first falling. The best part is the ride doesn't let up until much later unlike the skycoasters i've been on. We got another ticket for later on in the night to try it out. We then hit up some relaxing time at School of Rock. The only thing different I noticed were the people. I"m glad they didn't change anything as its still the best show that I've ever seen. Sure doesn't put ya to sleep lol. Def beats anything i've seen at Disney or BGW. Next comes SOB. Didnt notice anything different with the exception of a car missing. We sat in 1.2 for a rough, but painless ride as usual. Great ride. After some more food we head over to one of my fav flats, shake rattle and roll. Call me crazy for loving the ride, but a combination of the wind blowing in your face and the long ride cycle really makes it an enjoyable ride. We then ride Vortex in the absolute back car and row for a much, and I mean much smoother ride. The first drop is much better back there too. I have no clue why but oh well. Next up is the best woodie in the park in the dark. The Beast. I love the ride in the day but in the dark its ten times better. We hit it perfect timing with just enough light in the sky before it turned pitch black. This too is a rough ride but doesn't hurt imo. Its a nice kind of roughness and the finale is somehting that no other ride, wood or steel, can beat. Its so intense and unexpecting. I love flying down that shallow hill to the helix. One last time on the Slingshot at night and we call it a day. I'm sure I left out some things but overall, I was impresed with everything. The entrance is still the best i've seen, t he park was clean, staff were great, food was great. What else could you ask for. We head to bed and wake up for the Beach next.

I've heard mixed things about the Beach Waterpark and didn't anticipate much riding as we were going on Family Fridays for an incredible ten dollars for admission. I was comletely wrong. The park is so much nicer than any other waterparks that i've been too. its not big but has so many rides to do in an atmosphere that no other waterpark that i've been too has. I love walking through the woods to a slide. Its so different. Theres music playing everywhere. The food prices aren't bad at all. The park wasn't even that crowded. they have some great rides. Anyone thats been there knows about the Bonzai, Aztec adventure, and Cliff are very thrilling. Theres really something for everyone there and I was really impressed.

This was a great little trip with my friends and I certainly want to go back to both places as soon as possible.

[TOPGUN1993]

Bonzai and Aztec adventure are my favorite water slides there but the Aztec water coaster tops my list as #1 my favorite water slide.