BeastBuzz 2013: The triumphant return!

Or do what I did on my last trip and buy Fastlane and walk on to all if the major coasters ;-).

Not this time, between the walk backs, meals and shows on the Beastbuzz schedule, and our night ERT on the best ride in the park, Fastlane will not be much of a deal this time around. I just need to do FoF and Firehawk once, and Im happy. Diamondback after the morning rush is never more then a 45 min wait, which I dont mind.

IMO, Kings Island is a two day park. Your first non-ERT morning ride is always FoF or Firehawk, and you do the other on the other day. If you make it a two day park, you can use the better weather day to experience the waterpark and water rides that they have. Their white water raft rider is phenomenal, and their splash boats are also good.

Obviously timing your Beast night rides is key, that is why I don't care if I go to KI on a Saturday. You can stay at the park until 12 then, and I can usually switch 4-6 night rides. Every one is special, and tears of joy stream down my face after that helix.

You're not much for spontaneity, are you?

Kings Island is a two-day park if all you're concerned about is power riding. I was happy with the 6 or so hours during my one visit, without even getting to all the coasters.

Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, Epcot, Cedar Point (only if you need to ride every roller coaster) and Universal Studios Orlando are the only parks I have been to where I feel you truely need two days to see everything (and the last example can be done on a day if you have Universal Express.) I can do every other park in one day, King's Island included.

Now if you are going to include parks where I could spend multiple days in a row at and not get bored reriding then, yes King's Island falls in that category (along with the rest of the Disney and Universal parks, both Busch Gardens, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City and Hersheypark.) This trip will be a mini Ohio trip for me with 1.5 days spent at CP and KI.

I plan to buy Fast Lane Plus just so that I can cut in front of fellow CoasterBuzzers during the Beast ERT. ;-)

I was wondering about the Beast ERT though... It says it begins at 10:15PM, which seems pretty optimistic for a Saturday. The one time I visited a Saturday night just to ride Beast (getting in line at 9:55PM), it had an hour+ wait, mostly because they closed the ride down 20-30 minutes for fireworks.

So, if the Beast ERT didn't actually start until 11:15PM, would it go until 1AM, or does it end at 12AM regardless?

Im more curious about our firework view spot (which is now TBD instead of the International Restaurant.) The only place I think has to have a better view then that restaurant would be the Eiffel Tower, is that the new location? Because that would be fantastic.

Anyone interested in planning a meet up after the park opens to the public to purchase Fast Lane passes in a four pack? KI's site is showing $70 per Plus pass for that day.

Of course, we can play it by ear if we actually need them, but I'd love to have a meet up planned as a fall back if the day looks busy. Maybe at 11am?

You guys are nuts.

I plan on barely making it in time to see the choo choo trains. Letting the kids gets some rides on morning ERT and doing my best to avoid what should be insane August Saturday crowds for the 90 minutes between ERT and lunch.

I will then waste 2 hours in the picnic grove away from the crowds.

From there it's an hour to find ways to avoid crowds until the Firehawk/Racer walk.

I figure I need to kill two hours hiding from the crowds after that until The Beast walkback.

From there I should be able to head right to the Kings Island Theatre for the Ed Alonzo show slipping amongst the crowd as one of their own.

At this point it'll be late in the day and the urge to kill will be strong and there'll be a couple hours until we get to slip off to the side and watch the fireworks and wait for the park to clear. This is the most difficult period for crowd avoidance.

After that, a lap or two on the Beast will end the day.

If I get four laps total on everything for the entire day, it will be more than anticipated.

One does not attempt to beat the August weekend crowds at Kings Island.

Sorry, etrainimac, I don't think I'll be springing for FastLane this time. As a frequent visitor to KI I'd just as soon follow a schedule like Gonch's rather than try to get past that crowd for a lot of rides. Plus I think I'll save my dough for my trip to CP next week.

I'm looking forward to meeting you, though. Maybe a meetup at the keg? :)

^^ Gonch, keep your eyes on your own paper. Thank you.

Yep, my plans are about like Gonch's, only I'll be partaking in the morning ERT @ Diamondback and hoping crowds stay manageable through 11AM or so for some quick laps on Flight Deck / Adventure Express / Racer. The other filler time in the day can be for shows and such.

This trip is purely for the Beast Buzz events (Fast Lane for Beast ERT was a joke if anyone missed it). I got the riding out of my system in May. I am looking forward to the Beast night ride time though, and I hope KI works like CP in starting event ride time after the regular line clears.

Here's what AccuWeather has to say for Saturday.

• Noticed the moon will be gone for Beast ERT.
• 83 with a RealFeel of 93?

I'm excited for the event! As I remember, the crowds at KI are not near as bad as they are at CP, so I don't even think a fast pass is necessary. Though I haven't been to KI in about two years. If it is going to be that hot though, I am sure that a lot of people will venture to the water park. However, I am not ruling out having a fast pass.

I haven't been on Beast at night and am most looking forward to it. I have always left the park around 7 because it is an awful drive back to Akron when you are tired. Thank goodness we are staying over :)

Electricfeel said:

As I remember, the crowds at KI are not near as bad as they are at CP...

Oooooh. I beg to differ.

I'm hoping for the best, but expecting the worst as far as the crowd goes.

The BeastBuzz itinerary says it is subject to change. Any chance of adding a behind-the-scenes (fence) tour of Banshee?

"And over here we have dirt...and if you look over there, there's some more dirt. And here we have some fascinating concrete footers..."

Remember though, we're talking about people that will not only watch hour upon hour of mostly static construction webcams, but who also capture the web stream for later viewing. I've learned to never underestimate what qualifies as too boring or pointless for some enthusiasts.

I'm just having a hard time determining the scale and size of Banshee. Perhaps a view from behind the fence would help. The site does not seem that large to me, but at over 4000ft this is a pretty good sized coaster. Perhaps there could be a tour next year at BansheeBuzz.