First Trip to PKI - 10/1/05

I would like to apologize for the delay in getting my trip report up.

I made the 250 mile trek from metro Detroit to Kings Island on 09/30/05. I enjoyed my drive to Mason, OH. I had the greatest pizza ever on Friday night. LaRosa's Pizza, the best pizza I've ever had, plus my wife is from Centerville, OH so she made sure we stopped at LaRosa's. I know, there were a million LaRosa's stands in the park.

I stayed at the Best Western about a mile away from the park. The price was fair ($115 for two nights) and the hotel was decent.

I arrived at the park at about 9:30am. I was very excited about my trip to PKI. I took advantage of purchasing tickets online the week before, I scored two tickets for about $58. What a great deal. I was somewhat bummed that ACE had an event at PKI that day. I had no knowledge of the event and was not able to participate.

One theme stuck out in my mind the entire day. What a beautiful park and what a nice staff. The park looked nice all dressed up for the Halloween events.

I enjoyed my multiple trips on all of the coasters. IJ:ST, Vortex, and FoF were suprisingly fun rides. My main goal was to ride The Beast. I managed many rides during the day and in the evening. I found the evening rides on The Beast to be the best. I was not dissapointed that Son of Beast was unavailable. After all many people on this web site say that the initials are SOB for a reason.

The most amazing thing about this park to me were the quality and collection of the rides. I was very impressed that this park, which appears to be more family friendly, had a nice collection of family coasters that were rather aggresive. In my opinion only The Beast, SoB, FoF, and Face Off may go beyond the category of "family" type coasters. I also enjoyed Tomb Raider a bit more than I thought I would. Its amazing how much a little theming can spruce up a very dull flat ride. I also found the children's area in the park very impressive. PKI does a nice job catering to the smaller thrill seekers.

The only comparisions that I have in terms of other parks are a handful of Cedar Fair parks and the defunct Boblo Island. While I am a fan of CP because of the extreme thrills it strives for. I found myself walking away as a huge fan of PKI because the park truly has something for everyone and a good/friendly staff.

The only negative feedback I had on my visit was the lack of cleanliness in the restrooms. This was a bigger issue for my wife than myself.

I cannot comment on the haunted attractions. I did not particpate in those attractions. While all the people lined up for the haunted attractions I just kept riding The Beast.

My wife and I enjoyed my first visit to PKI. I look forward to returning next year.

You pretty much summed up what my feelings were about the park when I first visited 3 years ago. The park has something for everyone.

Nice trip report. You are right, it's pretty safe to say that you didn't miss out much by not getting to ride Son of Beast.

Did you get to ride Delirium or Drop Zone?

Top Gun - Delirium was down all day. I passed on Drop Zone. I did not have an issue with the queue line being full all day. I had an issue with the painfully slow loading and unloading times. My wife sat out in the area by DZ while I rode Top Gun. In the 15 or 20 minutes I was gone making the trek to and from Top Gun she said they only loaded DZ 5 times. I understand that DZ seats about 50 people and that makes 250 customers...but it still seemed like a very long time to move people.

SOB is down for the season for extensive track work, apparently the whole thing is going to be retracked and a lot of structure rebuilt.

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pkidelirium said:
SOB is down for the season for extensive track work, apparently the whole thing is going to be retracked and a lot of structure rebuilt.

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It needs it. I visited at the beginning of June and did not enjoy my ride on SOB. I don't think I'll ride it again (which, after waiting 45 minutes to ride, made me wonder if I'm in the minority). Someone threw up on the ride when I was in the section of the line underneath the boarding station - I wondered what this shower of water was from and then realized what happened. Nice. To me, nausea isn't as much an issue as a sore neck is - most people I know who ride it feel the need for an osteopath to put them back together again after it's all over.

I think PKI looked a bit aged on my last visit.

Great Trip Report! PKI is a magical place! I make several treks a year from Southeast VA (Newport News) to visit my most favorite park out of the 70 parks I have visited. Everyone is right, PKI has something for everyone. I especially love the large collection of roller coasters and flat rides. Most of them can be enjoyed by the whole family. When I'm in the mood for hairraising cut throat thrills I head up to Cedar Point! PKI is more of mix thrill theme park, and that more than anything else is their claim to fame. The Son Of Beast is a true bone jerker, but it's not that bad. The speed is unreal, the loop is mind blowing, and the rose bowls are amazing, but the actual experience is a little hard on the joints (LOL). It's still a favorite of mine though. I have a feeling that SOB is going to win back alot of fans next season, regarding the extensive track, and structure rework. Im glad you had a wonderful time, and I'm sure you will be visiting again in the near future. It's pleasing to see enthusiast ACTUALLY have fun doing what they love to do. THANKS for such a POSITIVE trip report. They are a rarity on this site! :-) All For Air - Airromeo 8205!