On Saturday, June 30th, my fiance Joey and I drove from Michigan to Cincinnati. Spent the night at Comfort Suites close to PKI so we could get there bright and early on Sunday :)
Got to the park at 9:00am on Sunday, July 1st. I couldn' wait to get there! I had never been to PKI. I had went to PKD end of April of this year and it was too hot and crowded. Well, today was going to be a hot one as well! Ugh.
We went to Keyhole Pics and waited for other ACE members for the ACE walkback. Waited about 1/2 hour and got to meet almost a dozen ACE members. Walkback was to SOB since the coaster camp was occupying Beast. Walkback was neat as we got to go under Face Off. When we got to SOB, the Coaster Camp people were already there! Apparently Beast was down. Still got on the first train out! Poor Joey is a big guy and couldn't fit on SOB, although the crew sure tried to make him fit. I felt guilty riding alone but still enjoyed SOB ;) When I got back to the station, Joey was nowhere to be found! They HAD fit him on the next train! woo-hoo! Thanks to Jason of SOB crew! I was glad Joey got to ride but I think he wishes he hadn't as his knees are black and blue today!
Next we went over to Top Gun as Joey and I are both partial to suspended coasters. Waited two trains for the front and we were off! Short but sweet ride!! Decided to try to hit Face Off since we knew this would get busy. Waited about 15 minutes. I wasn't sure if Joey would fit since he couldn't ride Serial Thriller at SFO last year but he did fit :) I think he was hoping he wouldn't though! hahahahaha I had been on Two face at SFA so I knew what to expect but this was a new experience for Joey! He liked it, even though he though it was a little scary :) Bought our on-ride pic.
Went back to Racer and decided to try it going forward. Both sides were a walk on! It must have been the intense heat because 1/2 way through the ride I started to feel REALLY nauseated :( I sat out while Joey did Racer backwards (I did Rebel Yell backwards so it was no biggie that I missed this one). Joey said that Racer backwards hurt his neck and advised me to skip it later since I have a bad neck.
Hit FOF next to escape the heat. Was surprised at the short 10 minutes wait! I was actually looking forward to waiting in the AC! heheheheh Unfortunately, Joey couldn't fit on this one :( So I went alone. I was hoping Joey could experience this one since I fell in love with it at PKD earlier this year. Oh well. For some reason, it seemed rougher than the FOF at PKD. I sat in the exact same seat (2nd to last) that I had sat in on FOF @ PKD too.
Proceeded to walk around PKI and check out the other rides and the kiddie areas. Went on the Haunted Dark ride (forgot the name of it) and enjoyed a break from the heat. Ate at Festhaus and had some not-too-bad chicken fingers and watermelon. After this we went back to the car and got our swimsuits out and hit the wave pool for some much needed relief from the heat. Hit the train on the way to the waterpark and hit Yogi's Skytours ride on the way back. Thought this was a cute but goofy ride :)
Decided to go back to our room to rest for an hour. On the way back through the park we got alot of good pics taken with Cap't Caveman, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Hong Kong Phooey, and Dino :) Hit the Eiffel tower too for some pics of the park.
After an hour nap and some Taco Bell, we were back to the park at 5pm. It had POURED while we napped but rain just ending when we got back to the park. Alot of people were leaving so this was a good sign. Rain had cooled things down quite a bit too.
Went back on Top Gun, which was a walk on. Got in line for King Kobra. Was surprised when Joey fit into the harness. Just as our train was getting ready to leave the station, a loud crack of thunder and it was POURING again! So we had to get off the coaster :( Luckily, I had brought an Anorak but Joey wasn't so lucky and got completely soaked. It rained so hard that were was standing water everywhere, some of it quite deep! We ran over to Beast and waited about 15 minutes. When it still hadn't opened, we ran over to Vortex as it had started running. The rain was stopping and Joey and I both enjoyed Vortex alot. If it wasn't for that neck-jerking part before the second hill (I think!) I would LOVE this coaster! Bought our on ride pic.
Went over to 7th Portal and enjoyed it. Went over to the Beast as we saw it was now running. After hearing about this coaster since I was a little kid, I finally was getting to ride it and boy, it didnt disappoint!! Rode in 3-1 and that thing was FLYING! Unfortunately, the helix hurt my neck :( Decided to ride it again anyways (on ride pic didn't come out). Next ride was in 1-3 and seemed rougher (?) On ride pic STILL didn't come out! My neck couldn't take another ride so we gave up on a Beast on ride pic :(
Went back to Vortex, which was STILL a walk on :) Grabbed the front seat this time. Went over to Adventure Express next. We both enjoyed this ride but the ending was a bit anticlimatic! Stopped and got a craptacular pretzel on our way back to Nickelodeon area.
We rode Beastie and enjoyed it :) I had wanted to ride Runaway Reptar but it was now down (earlier the line looked too long). Oh well, Joey was too tall for it anyways. I hit King Kobra while Joey sat it out. Wow! I liked this coaster! I didn't like Shockwave at PKD one bit but liked King Kobra! Maybe because it was a walk on and we waited 35 minutes to ride Shockwave at PKD ;)
Talked Joey into trying the Drop Zone. Waited about 15 minutes. He had never been on a drop ride and has only been on one Space Shot (Dr Doom @ IOA) so he was kinda scared (hell, i was too!). At first he said his belt wouldn't buckle and was about to get off but then the ride op. got it buckled after all :) Poor Joey--I think he wanted off! hahahaha But he enjoyed it and I was glad we tried it.
Went on Top Gun one more time before calling it a day at 9:30pm. We both really enjoyed PKI. I would love to bring a kid here! I liked the fact that they had a diverse selection of coasters and I liked the different offerings such as the haunted dark ride and 7th Portal. I love the fact that PKI treats ACE members so well too! Will definately be making the 5 hour drive next year too!
Glad you had a blast at "one of" my home parks! Yes, Cobra IS better than Shockwave at KD.
-------------
Scale model coasters and rides.....
www.angelfire.com/oh4/tk173
Wow! It seems like you had a great time. It makes me want to visit PKI! Thank you for a great trip report.
