Glorious Day at Kings Island 5/31/2009

We just got back from one of the best days I have ever had at KI. My DD12 & I rode every coaster but LBGC. We would have gotten this one in but we didn't have anyone small enough to go with us.

We left the house at 7:30 and jumped on I-71 heading south. We made pretty good time with lighter then normal traffic. We entered the parking lot at 9:10. By the time we got sunscreen on everyone and entered the park it was 9:20 and they were already letting people in for the ERT. Had to make a potty break first or else the splash down would not have been the only thing wet on Diamondback.

This was going to be the DB ride for DD10 so we headed to the queue. The wait was only 5 minutes and we were at the seat assigner. I guess he must have still been asleep as he assigned DD12 with a SRL to an odd numbered row and DD10 & I to an even number row. We would have switched but the train was there and the gates were open before we could think about switching. Not a big deal but I would rather not have my DD12 sitting right next to a stranger. I would have let DD10 & DD12 ride together but DD10 needed me to hold her hand.

She tends to get freaked out, and almost in tears of fear till about 1/2 way down the first hill. Then up goes the hands and out comes the smiles.

After our DB ride DD10 sat with mom and DD12 and I did another lap on DB. This time we sat in the front. What a feeling going over the first hill and doing a face plant. We got off of DB and headed to the Beast. This is my favorite coaster and now is DD10s. I am such a proud father. We had a great but over trimmed ride on the Beast.

Next on the list was FireHawk. I have never ridden FH as the last 2 times we were at KI it was down. We got in line and made it up to near the station assigner when we heard that dreaded announcement that the ride was down for a mechanical issue. We waited for 5 minutes and decided to bail and hit Flight of Fear. I am now wondering if I am ever going to get this coaster credit for my track record.

We exited the FH area and grabbed DD10 for her first FoF ride. She would not ride Rock'n Roller Coaster with us when we were at Disney World earlier this year. Again DD10 was getting worked up and nearly went in full panic mode when she saw the launches in the station. For some reason, she does not like inversions. I think she fears that she is going to fall out. We got her all strapped in next to me with DD12 sitting in front of us. I held her hand the entire trip and reassured her that it was a short ride and most of the inversions you don't even know your upside down. After we got off and asked her what she thought, she said that she liked everything but the corkscrew at the end. This was her last new coaster of the day.

When we got off we noticed that they had moved the trash cans away that were blocking the entrance to FH so DD12 & I headed that way. The ride associate at the front told us that it was running but only one station. Since I desperately wanted to add FH to my track record, we decided to give it another try. Of course this time the Queue was 4 rows instead of the 2 rows that we waited on earlier and since they were only loading 1 station it was moving slow to boot. As we were in the last row of the queue a RA came down the ramp and grabbed the phone there. After he hung up the phone he opened up the line and sent us down the ramp to the previously closed side of the station. This was great because the other side had 2-3 trains of people waiting and we got to walk on to the train.

While I enjoyed the ride, I did not like it when they lowered you on your back. I could feel the blood rushing to my brain and I started to get a mild headache. Luckily this went away once we got to the lift hill. This ride is unlike anything I have ever ridden. It is cross of a feeling of freedom and a fear of to much freedom from an equipment malfunction.

After we got off my wife called and said that she was getting hungry and that DD10 & her were heading to the car for our packed lunch. Since we were at the back of the park, DD12 & I decided to get a quick ride on Vortex. We took Angie's suggestion and lined up in row 5:1. Sure enough this was a much smoother ride that we were used to experiencing.

After lunch we headed over to the Action Zone. I wanted to ride SOB since the park seemed pretty lite, I figured it would be a good day to ride'em all. DD12 was still a bit full so she sat this one out. The line for SOB started inside the station with only a 2-3 train wait. I prefer to ride SOB in the front seat, but since I was going solo, I opted for the 2nd row. When we got back to the station I noticed that the line was now half way down the ramp leading to the station. This ride seems to ebb & flow quite a bit. After I got off, DD12 told me she did Flight Deck while I was on SOB.

Next on the list was Invertigo as we had not ridden it either. The line seemed pretty short for it but again like FireHawk when we got to the station they made that same dreaded announcement. This time we decided to wait it out. After just a few minutes Ron the maintenance guy showed up and got the ride going in about 15 minutes. Since most people bailed we were in line for the back seat. While this ride is pretty short, I packs a lot bigger punch then I expected. I figured this would be just like a short version of Raptor but going backwards adds a whole new level to it.

After Invertigo I only needed 2 more coasters to hit all of ones that I am small enough to do. So we headed to Nickelodeon Universe to pick up Fairly Odd Coaster & Runaway Reptar. Once we finished with these we hooked back up with the wife and DD10. A quick trip on Avatar and a stop for an ice cream cone, DD10 announced that she wanted to ride the Beast again. So off we go to the back of the park again. DD10 & I have another great ride on the Beast while DD12 sits this one out to finish her ICEE.

The rest of the trip consisted of front seat on Racer Blue and 2nd row on Racer Red (since we were trying to ride'em all I felt that we had to do both sides), Adventure Express and then back over to the Action Zone for a quick ride on Drop Tower and for me to get a Flight Deck ride in while DD12 got her SOB ride in.

I was ready to leave at this point after such a great day but DD12 said she wanted one more ride on Diamondback. What's a dad to do. Of course I gave in and took Justin's advice and tried row 16 for out last ride of the day. All I have to say is WOW!!! what a different ride it is back there. The amount of air felt 2-3 times longer then the middle or front of the train. At the top of every hill you got a great pop as the bulk of the train pulled you over the peak. What a great way to end a perfect day at Kings Island.

^^So who's Justin??

Sorry, Justin is a friend from a KI forum.

^^Ohhh...I see...the guy from Trenton, OH. Yeah, I know who you're talking about now!

Sounds like a great KI day! I wanted to go, but couldn't get out of other plans. I went Saturday instead, which ended with the sucky storms and KI closing at 8:30 pm (thankfully I was on one of the last Diamondback rides of the day!).

So based on your TR it didn't sound like KI was very busy?? I was surprised at how busy BB was on Sat leaving the park not terrible during the day, which I can't say I remember BB affecting the dry side as much in recent seasons!? But it did just open too...

KI wasn't too bad yesterday, in fact nothing was much more than a 430-40 minute wait - even Diamondback! I liked it a lot, but I would still put SFOG's Goliath as my #1 B&M Hyper.

^^Diamondback's line isn't affected by crowds, though.

IMO, KI is busy if BLSC's average wait is more than 30 mins. That'll tell the story for everything else.