Kings Island + Coasting For Kids Sat July 23 - Mon July 25, 2011
Associated parks:
Kings Island, Mason, Ohio, USA
Myself and Beth (Fan of the Whizzer on here) got to KI around 6pm Saturday night. 2005 was the last time I was at the park, this was Beth's first visit.
After pretty much not being into KI for many years, I was kinda expecting to not be too impressed.
The park was open until midnight, I was pretty impressed by that! We had to be up around 630am the next day, but we seemed to be having a good time - so we stayed until close. Beth had her first night ride on the Beast, which she really liked.
Suprisingly, I found that Cedar Fair has breathed some fresh new life into the park. Great lighting, better operations, etc.
Sunday morning came quick and we were barely awake getting our shirts for Coasting for Kids. It was pretty much our idea to ride a few times, then head back to the hotel. 3 rides, and we were back in our beds. Back to the park for the noon Coasting for Kids luncheon/awards. Beth won an original Bat promo folder, which she gave to me, and I gave her the Diamondback cup I won.
Back to the Racer and into the front seat. I was pretty much fluctuating between super exited (more to come) to horribly grumpy (no sleep and hot sun). The 'party' train we called it; singing all kinds of songs and cheering. Addam's family, Brady Bunch, YMCA (I didn't request it), One way or another, We will rock you, etc etc etc. One guy behind us nailed it - we had major chemistry as crazy marathoners. The yelling, chanting and cheering went on until sometime around 4pm when we got off to get some pop and use the bathroom.
The storm came, and came bad. About an hour after all rain cleared - and an hour or so of full-on sun, some of the rides started to re-open. The marathon had been extended for an hour or so, as we could see (and waved to!) our cohorts from the midway. Some did over 100 rides, I think we were somewhere between 30 and 40.
That was plenty for me, being wedged sideways with a PTC ratchet bar. Even though I complain about the obnoxious lap bar design, retracting seat belts and shoulder height seat dividers (when did all this happen!!?), I still managed to enjoy many rides on the Racer. All that extra train weight and track wear has taken a once smooth gliding coaster and turned it into a bumpy, clunky glimpse of it's former self. Until some new style trains come along...
We rode everything else that night. Beth had never been on a Vekoma flyer and I never have seen anyone so terrified on a ride. She claims it hurt her when all the blood ran to her head. I don't think she was ready for the change from lie to fly - after being used to Superman here at Great America.
We went back to the park Monday afternoon and ended up staying until close. Diamondback is a great addition to the park. People sure love them B&Ms! I found it more enjoyable than most simply because of it's path of travel, down in some trees (I think there were trees, it was dark).
Back around 1993, I didn't think Beast would ever be slowed down anymore than it already had several times. Boy was I wrong! Still a nice scenic long ride - albeit squished by those lap bars ... blah blah blah. Main thing is, people still love it.
Overall, I was happy with the changes at the park. The crews were not Cedar Point quality, but light years better than most Six Flags parks. I really enjoyed the lights, including those on the Eiffel Tower. And we rode Windseeker which was great. Didn't scare me as much as the one at CP did (probably b/c this was my 2nd time) and gave great views of the Racer and the rest of the park.
Where did the tunnel on the Beastie/Woodstock go? And where did that brake come from? That ride used to give great air time. It does look great...
Coasting for Kids was a GREAT blast. I'm really happy we didn't have to be there for the whole thing. I would have been happy to do it, but not at that time in the morning. I'll definitely be signing up to do it next year, not sure where.
Thanks Billy for your awesome trip report. I really did have a great time at the park & enjoyed K.I. more than the Point.
The more I rode the Racer the more I liked it. The other participants & the singing antics made the day fly by. The Beast was a great woody & I'm so glad I have the credit for the longest woody. I'm not a big B&M fan. I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the Diamondback.
K.I. was still had some of its original charm & had not been completely "cedar ized". It was interesting that they had photos of Geauga Lake on the awnings of the stands not pictures of rides that they had on the property. They had pictures of a park they robbed and shut down.
You must be logged in to post
