Kings Island

We are planning to go to Kings Island at the least before the 4th of July holiday. We are both in our mid 5o's and do not want to wait in line. What ideas do you have???

It is called Fast Lane. Sure it will cost you, but you will have very limited waits.

If money is tight, then go mid week and the earlier in the season the better.

Please do not turn this thread into another argument about fast lane.

He wasn't. He was just explaining that if it's a crowded day, Fast Lane is the way to beat the waits.

Add me to the go-on-a-weekday group, though. KI can get super-crowded.

I was there for three days in fourth of July weekend, and the waits weren't that bad. I went thursday, friday, saturday. It was also 95 degrees out. It was crowded, but the waits were manageable.

Earlier in the season and probably mid-week are definitely the way to go. As the summer rolls around, not only does it get very crowded at amusement parks, but the heat (like Tyler mentioned) can be just awful. I find that the older I get, the less tolerance I have to extremes on either side of the temperature scale.

What are you, some kind of crowd/line enthusiast? That sounds like hell. 95 degrees and packed at KI? No thanks, I'll go across the street and see a movie. (Yes, I realize I can't do that anymore, as I think that theater is gone, but I have done that when KI got too crowded for my liking)

There's always some rides at Kings Island that have short waits. Sometimes they open The Beast and sometimes even Diamondback until 12 pm. You can't miss The Beast night rides.

Remember folks, Tyler is our eternal optimist!

Raven-Phile said:

No thanks, I'll go across the street and see a movie. (Yes, I realize I can't do that anymore, as I think that theater is gone, but I have done that when KI got too crowded for my liking)

Or you could go to LeSourdsville for their stand-up coaster... ;~)

Tyler Boes said:

There's always some rides at Kings Island that have short waits. Sometimes they open The Beast and sometimes even Diamondback until 12 pm. You can't miss The Beast night rides.

But suppose I want to ride AFTER noon???

You can. I get about 6 or 7 rides in the first 2 hours (not including early entry) and then take it lightly until 5:00 pm. Then I go back at it until closing.

Kings Island handles crowds well most of the year. In the summer, thanks to their waterpark the coasters get very manageable waits mid afternoon. Diamondback is a people mover, the wait for that ride will be 30 min or less the last 2 hours the park is open. Firehawk and FOF are the two coasters that get way too long, you should do those rides first thing at opening.

The Beast night rides are absolutely a must, do not miss them, but also beware that the Beast will temporarily shut down for about 20-30 min for the firework show at closing (they have to walk the track and confirm no debris after the show.) You still get to ride so long as you stay in line.

touchdown just described my kings island experience. I did ironically did everything he said except that I got in line for the beast before the firework show so I could watch it from the line. After the firework show, the beast's line just gets rediculous. If you want to watch the fireworks, line up on the beast before they start.

rollergator said:

Or you could go to LeSourdsville for their stand-up coaster... ;~)

Ugh! Don't remind me. I miss that ride terribly. And I'm pretty sure Raven-Phile and myself did that on 4th of July that year it was open.

~Rob

Yes, that was incredibly awesome!

What ride is this?

The Cyclone/Space Rocket/Screechin Eagle was a wooden coaster that operated at LeSourdesville Lake/Americana amusement park. The park was on rt 4 between Hamilton and Middletown Ohio. The ride was moved from Moxahala Park in Zanesville Ohio. While only about, what, 70 feet tall maybe, the ride was kick ass with steep sudden drops that practically threw the riders out of the train, and was considered a holy grail of sorts amongst the coaster enthusiasts.
That ride was always special to me. It was my first full sized wooden roller coaster ever, my dad took me on it when I was about six years old. Many years later while going up the lift hill of that ride I tapped the shoulder of a fellow who was wearing an ACE jacket and asked if I could speak with him after the ride. That guy was Allen Ambrosini who invited me to join the American Coaster Enthusiasts at Kings Island for their 2nd convention ever. That's how it all got started for me.

I never should have ridden Screechin' Eagle. I'd read about it, probably here, and filed it away. Then, we ended up at the (P)KI parking lot when it was super stupid-busy. I mentioned to Jill that there was some other park nearby and she said "anything but this zoo." So we found Americana and got to ride the best wooden coaster in Ohio. Checking RCDB, I see that the date was June 7, 2002 - the day the ride reopened to the public after standing idle almost 3 years. We watched them testing and kept checking back, and kept checking back. And then it opened - back-seat blissfulness!

It's not a stand up coaster though. When they said stand up coaster I was confused because LeSourdesville didn't have a stand up coaster.