First time at PKI

[Firefall Pkd]

Sunday Aug. 13th 2006

Well after a couple of years of hanging around this site always having an interest to visit PKI I finally got that wish to come true. My cousins moved to Columbus so the park is only 90 miles away and I decided to grab that opportunity to experience it. This is going to be long, and I hope any die-hard PKI fans don’t hate me after this haha.

And since I’ve been going to Kings Dominion for the past 12 years there will be plenty of comparison of these two parks.

Started the day out with a long drive down I-71. Certainly not as fun of a road as I-95 down to KD. Many random changes between two and three lanes, doesn’t help when you want to be the one passing everyone in the Fast Lane. So more than an hour later I spot the Eiffel on the horizon and head off the exit.

So first impressions come at the parking lot gate, a very interesting parking lot… wide and rectangular… Premium Parking, Regular Parking, Gold Parking. Paying extra to park close is ridiculous unless it’s like at Busch Gardens where there are two entirely separate lots and one requires a tram ride. And Gold Pass was in the back-middle of the lot, why? Kings Dominion Gold Pass Parking is much closer to the park entrance so I found it odd PKI’s was so much further away.

So after flashing my pass at the Guest Services window we head down International Street, feels so familiar yet so oddly different. I wanted to check out the new Nick Universe, well really just Avatar. This was an awesome ride I was really surprised how forceful it was for a ride in a kid’s area. I was kind of wishing KD had gotten one. So after that fantastic ride we decided to head toward Tomb Raider and was shocked about the no bags policy since of course at KD ours is floorless and the platform drops away and you can put your bags there, not here. So we skipped it for the time being and moved on to Beast.

After hearing so much about The Beast from tv shows and other websites I had high hopes for this ride. They were kinda smashed to the ground and beaten with a rubber mallet… We sat in the front seat of the second car, I thought many parts of the ride were just too random. It’s pretty much built on a hillside and it didn’t seem to take full advantage of that as much as it could have. The long straight parts reminded me of Superman at SFA. So the second lift hill comes and dives into the helix and right into the brakes. I will say the helix was one of the most insane things I have ever experienced, but an entire lift hill just for a helix? I got off the ride rather confused and felt like I was missing something. Should not have hyped it up so much in my mind.

Next up was Vortex; we sat in the back seat. I was hoping this was a good seat since it is the best while riding Anaconda. It’s an Arrow steel, so rough of course. This was another ride that really confused me not taking advantage of any of the terrain 80 feet below most of the ride. It was just too weird for me to be going through corkscrews so high off the ground, just another disappointment.

So we wondered down Coney Mall and came to Flight of Fear. This was a Godsend since not having the one at home open for almost the entire summer for absolutely no good reason. It was an hour line but it was very worth it. It was very interesting to notice all the small differences between the two FoFs such as lighting (PKI’s is better) and sound effects. I really liked how “All Clear†is not blared over the station speakers just making the initial launch all the more exciting.

By now it was lunch time, and Bubba Gump’s was close by. This is where I normally eat at KD so I was expecting something similar. It wasn’t… I prefer that you can go in, order, and sit at a booth and eat at KD, all the seating at PKI was outdoor what’s up with that? Haha.

After lunch Adventure Express was right there, a very interesting ride kind of fun too but a little on the rough side. Not to mention the strange second lift right into the brake run, I was expecting something more but oh well not too shabby. It was getting hot out and we didn’t want to bother with Boomerang Bay so Congo Falls was a nice substitute to getting soaked. After that was Face Off, I don’t care for these rides but it was something to add to the coaster count. Got off with a headache, no surprise there.

Drop Zone. Let me just start off with I still like KD’s better. Loading was very slow making the line seem to go on forever. The rotating bit was cool but nearly pointless since it only rotated once and stopped half way up the tower. It sat at the top for what seemed like an eternity and some announcement came on at the top talking about how it’s the tallest and fastest Drop Tower in the world…. Right… Don’t mention the one at Heidi Park in Germany. Fun ride, but I’ll stick with the KD one.

We went on to find the slightly hidden entrance of Top Gun. This was one of the biggest surprises of the day. One of the best Arrow suspended coasters I have been on (all of 3 of them) though it was just too short. Rode that twice since it was so much fun. Oh, and SoB was a nice lawn ornament. Off to Delirium, long wait, MaXair was better. Nuff said.

Next up was Italian Job, oh joy. This has to be one of the ugliest coasters on earth no matter what park it is in. I did like that PKI saved more trees in the area than KD even tired to. The launch from the station was a very weak start to begin things, but it eventually did get up to the 40ish mph range. No music was playing during the ride (boring). Then the helicopter scene was meh with barely working effects, our helicopter is cooler with the lights in the gun holes. The launch there was extremely weak, nowhere nearly as forceful as ours. And of course the final boost out of the billboard, can you say "nonexistent"? I wasn't expecting better than ours since theirs is a year old, but that was simply disappointing. So overall it made me greatly appreciate ours, but it's still the ugliest coaster on earth

After that disappointment we were going to try our luck again with Tomb Raider. I don’t know if it was a really slow line or they were just having so many problems keeping the ride running. We got to the inside of the cave and nearly about to get on the ride when the thing breaks down. We’re going to wait it out, about 45 min later some lady announcement comes on “Tomb Raiders we regret to inform you that your expedition has been canceled this ride is now closed please exit the building.†Devastated I was. Not every day you get to ride a Top Spin in a Box…. After that we tried to find something we wanted to do but at this point Racer was closed, Tomb Raider was closed, Drop Zone was closed, Eiffel Tower was closed due to an elevator jam. So it seemed like there wasn’t anything else we could really do and decided to just call it a day and return home.

Overall Kings Island is a very nice park; I don’t think I had as much fun as I should have because I’ve been raised with Kings Dominion. It was just too much like a strange parallel universe gone horribly wrong distorting my views of everything. The day was just a compare-fest and I couldn’t just relax. I will say the park is beautiful, and that is one thing I look for; lots of trees, flowers, and bodies of water with fountains. Of course it’s not up with the Busch Gardens standards, but nicely done nonetheless. As for the rides selection I think I’m going to stay with the Kings Dominion variety, I’m a launch coaster lover and when you have 4 of them in one place it’s awesome (getting repetitive, but still awesome). Sorry this was long, I hate to write long reviews (or any in general) and it took a week and a half to finally get this report online. I’m going to try and get back again next year and get a better feel for the park. Thanks.

[touchdown62]

Don't be so discouraged with The Beast. There are some brakes that have been installed recently that do scrub some speed and airtime, but it still has the ability to tame its riders. I personally love the ride. Next time you go, try riding it at night. The Beast seems to crank it up another notch at night.

[The Interpreter]

<slightly changed, and with additions>

Overall Kings Dominion is a very nice park; I don’t think I used to have as much fun at KD as I should have because I’d been to Kings Island every season since it opened, but didn't get to Kings Dominion until the mid-1980's. KD was just too much like a strange parallel universe--a smaller KI lacking just a bit, always just a bit smaller--distorting my views of everything. That, and most days at Kings Dominion, I have the odd feeling I am lost, but am not.  And the fountain...I just keep expecting the doodads in the middle of the fountain to raise up and do something!  

My days at KD USED to be just a compare-fest and I couldn’t just relax.  But then, but then they installed Volcano: The Blast Coaster.  And from then on, nothing at KD could make me unhappy, as long as that wonderfulness is running!  Then they got a Drop Zone better than KI's, an ISJ better than KI's, and definitely a Scooby dark ride better than KI's.  And there's Avalanche Run, too!  Well, so long as I don't actually have to find something to actually eat in that park.  No Skyline, the pizza is horrid, and don't even get me started about Bubba Gumps.  Fortunately, there is the Smokey Pig over in Ashland!

Read up and note how the quote has been SLIGHTLY changed and added to.

Your trip report was great. Excellent observations.

[Avatar]

Thanks for taking the time to do your trip report. I enjoyed reading about the similarities and differences of the two parks and the similar rides that we share. I think I would have a hard time trying not to compare the two parks too. Lots of times we read about guests going from Kings Island to kings Dominion and comparing the two parks. So its nice to turn the tables and hear it from the other side and hear another perspective.

[Firefall Pkd]

I'll deffinately be trying the park again as soon as I can and hopefully not on a weekend. I think going on a Sunday didn't help with crowds and lines which probably helped toward a skewed view of the park

[Delirium_Guy]

Definitely a refreshing change seeing someone else compare PKD and PKI....and once again giving the nod to PKD. I'm telling you guys, PKD is a nice place. I'm a little confused about your take on Italian Job? I agree 100% that your version at PKD owns the one at PKI. The launches ARE more intense.....with the one out of your billboard providing a nice pop of ejector air! I guess I'm confused about the trees, LOL. Outside of the ones near the IJ plaza.......PKI pretty much rippped out every tree too. Definitely the ugliest ride ever, but it DOES fit nicer into PKD than where PKI placed their version. Drop Zone at PKD is BY FAR the SUPERIOR ride. PKI's is a nightmare for me. Slow, pointless spin, low capacity and a drop that is killed by an exceptionally long brake zone (shocking, brakes at PKI?). I'm sure your visit will make you go back and appreciate PKD a whole lot more :-)

- Todd

[CrazyKay07]

When we to PKD last year, I found myself comparing everything to PKI too. Like you said, I think it's because you were raised on PKD and I on PKI.

I did notice that our FOF is much more exciting. Something was missing from PKD's. I think the best ride at PKD is Volcano. I loved it. I also liked Hypersonic, and wish PKI would get something it.

Great TR!

[PhantomTheater]

PKD is a nice park, but dont watch Rollercoaster right before you go, its nothing like the park is now. Also KD has an awsome coaster called, Hypersonic XLC the only S&S air launched coaster in north america.

[The Interpreter]

I would say Hypersonic XLC is aw-something, but awesome is probably not it...

[KIBeast]

I don't see any more parks investing in another S&S launched coaster. Dodonpa was the last one built in Japan and that was years ago. I have heard that the launch is the only thing good about it. Too short (length), the drop too small, and the hill painful. Doesn't sound like a good coaster to me. And, it seems that Hypersonic has been down more than Top Thrill Dragster.

[The Interpreter]

When Hypersonic opened, it had wonderful airtime. Now, painful is an appropriate word for it most of the time.

Note that Paramount Parks, which normally repeated MOST successful installations, didn't repeat Hypersonic elsewhere (nor Volcano: The Blast Coaster, for that matter...)

I can see Hypersonic as one ride that Cedar Fair quietly removes in the future. . .