This past Saturday, October 6, 2001 I had the opportunity to attend Fear Fest @ Paramount’s Kings Island and this was quite possibly the best experience I had at Kings Island since remembering my first ride on The Beast ® back in the early 1980’s. I must commend Kings Island for extending the season with this new event/attraction. We arrived at the gates immediately after sunset and were amazed that the admission, which was originally advertised as $29.99, was only $19.99. Once through the gates our wrists were slapped with a bright yellow bracelet and we proceeded to the map to locate all the attractions… We immediately headed to the 3-D Circus of Horrors located in the Festhaus… The line was wrapped around the corner as we heard screams bellow out of the building… My friends and I were pumped… It wasn’t until an employee walked up and stated that the haunted attractions towards the back of the park had less of a wait. Now let me back up… When we first entered the park the fountain was covered in fog and the blue lights worked real well to the theme music of the exorcist playing over the load speakers. Now leaving the line for the Circus of Horrors we headed towards the Coney Maul and was confronted with all type of scary demons, psychopaths and menacing figures. Talk about theme concepts…Other than the occasional red light here and there… The entire Coney Maul area was literally pitch black and enshrouded with fog. Now being that I’m a big ride fanatic I’m going to cut to the main parts… The two haunted attractions that I experienced was the House of Darkness and The Trail of Terror… Both of which has us horrified… The Trail of Terror allowed me to realize the amount of property PKI has available for expansion. Trail of Terror seemed like being thrown right into a scene of four different movies including (Friday The 13th, Deliverance, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Blair Witch Project). It was extremely creepy being back in the woods and not realizing whether what’s in front of you is a tree or a human being. After being chased with a chainsaw and my friends running right into a tree trying to escape the scene was a Kodak moment. Even the guy with the chainsaw stopped and laughed. Telling the girls that it was a tree! We made it out a little mind boggled, shaken not stirred but all in one piece. The House of Darkness was real cool also… Each attraction took anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to get through the line… Now because I’m a ride fanatic… That’s all the haunted attractions I needed for one night… So it was all about the rides that were open.
The Beast ® (4X)
The first ride was a walk on to the front seat/car… The ride was awesome! No lights and other than the trim brakes through the shed it was awesome… I’ve always been a fan and the ride always seems to get better and better over time… No matter how old she is… The Beast is PKI’s signature, flagship and 5-star/diamond experience.
Second Ride was in the back seat/car… The only difference between not experiencing frostbite (so wear gloves and a hat) was the feeling as if the train was out of control… Something we can’t experience on a steel coaster.
Third Ride @ 12:53 AM was also in the back seat/car… This time it was only 3 of us on the train and the experience of riding The Beast with no weight holding it down was scary… As we came around the bend heading into the second chain lift sparks was flying and the wood was burning… Whew! The Beast Rules and I know I sound very impartial. But the truth hurts. We arrived back in the station screaming… The operating team sent the train right back through and we rode again for the 4th time that evening… Now spending $20.00 for four rides on The Beast was enough satisfaction in my day… But in a matter of 5 hours (8 PM till 1 AM) I experienced so much…
House of Darkness
Trail of Terror
The Beast ® 4X
Flight of Fear 2X (no OSTR’s makes this ride rock! Only if PKI would cut out all the lights and get rid of some of the trim brakes… Then it would truly be a FOF.)
The Vortex (The new paint job makes this baby look even more impressive under full moonlight)
The Racer-Backwards (Classic need I say more)
Drop Zone (great view of downtown Cincinnati on a clear cold night!)
Son of Beast (3 minute run from entrance to station and no wait! Other than the first drop and the loop! This is the only ride I don’t ever have to ride again… Rougher than FOF with the OSTR.)
All rides were pretty much walk-ons and the maximum wait time was about 10 minutes for the second ride on the Flight of Fear. I advise everyone to get to Fear Fest @ PKI if you are even remotely close to making it happen because the experience was truly worth it… Other comments: The Curse of the Crypt and 3-D Circus of Horrors (Haunted House with Killer Clowns all in 3-D) were excellent as well… The 3-D Circus of Horrors was scary with objects and monsters coming at you in 3D. From the screams and what my friends said it was off the hook!
