Kings Island & Holiday World 6/3 & 6/4

So i went to Kings Island for the first time in two years. A new roller coaster awaited when i got there. Funny how fast time flies really. Anyhow, i tried to find my way to the coaster, figuring it was in rivertown, I took the way towards the Beast. However, after seeing where the station was situated i found myself taking the opposite path through the Nickelodeon section. Diamondback was ready to be rode.

Diamondback itself has a nice layout, but the layout drastically changed my thoughts on it after riding it. I rode in the back the first time i rode it. It has much more floater airtime than i expected it to have, i thought i would pop up from my seat on the tops of the hills, not going down them, needless to say it confused me a bit. However, the ride is just ok in my book, its not the non-stop beast it looks like in videos. However, it really does add alot to the park, as far as a roller coaster goes. The trains are a bit bumpy for a B&M i noticed. Although it didn't take away much from the ride.

After that the Beast was close so ok, let's do a signature ride. It was a 20 minute wait in the station, they were running one train since it was raining. This however, would be the case for many other rides as well in the day. Beast still runs a bit rough around its edges. They were evening trimming the ride, why? The operations of this park were a nightmare and it started on the beast.

Then after that took a ride on the racer and flight of fear, flight of fear was actually running two trains, then the rest all one. Flight of Fear was actually running pretty good, considering its only got that long respite in the middle on the breakrun.

Racer was alright, probably still the best woodie there in my opinion.

The front of the park I hit up SOB, which actually ran pretty well, considering the last few times on it were horrible. This was just bad. Flight Deck did its thing, which i still dont like, Drop Tower was good for a nice scare, and Delirium for just fun. I also rode the train for the first time, its ok, but the scenery kinda sucks for the most part, other than rolling by Diamonback. I also rode the adventure express and Scooby Doo, which most of the targets were working on.

My major gripe for the day came with one train operation on all coasters besides flight of fear and diamondback. The waits were something i didn't want to deal with since i had been on most of the coasters. My major gripes came with Firehawk and Vortex only having one train even visible on the track, not even parked on the transfer.

Other than that it was ok, not a great day at Kings Island. With it being a bit cold and rainy too most of the day the weather never helped. However, operations still bother me, because i understand it is raining, but you run blocks on the roller coasters, aren't they used for keeping trains spaced out to avoid stacking. Therefore could they not at least try to run more than one train.

Anyhow griping over. Holiday World was next, and i was greeted at the main gate by Mrs. Koch and got a few Holibucks to spend in the park with the cans of food i donated. Stepping into the park, just reminded me of why i love it so much to begin with. It really brings you a sense of what makes people so happy. Holidays equate to something with someone, whether it is a good memory or the fact that they bring families together. So when the park opened officially Raven was first. Raven has not lost a step since visiting 3 years ago. The airtime on the hill near the lake is amazing. Pacing also amazing.

The Legend, might have been the biggest surprise of the whole day. Last time i visited i thought wow, this was a bit rough in alot of places. Not anymore, and stole the show for me.

Voyage was down a good part of the day, mechanical problems with the lift, what did all of you do to that thing over last weekend that went. Anyhow i got to experience the flat rides there and it made for a good experience as far as hitting up Frightful Falls, Flying Eagles, Liberty Launch, Gobbler Getaway, the Carousel they put in since i had last been there, and the Turkey Twirl.

I ate lunch at the Plymouth Rock Cafe, and was actually pretty satisfied with the food quality. I got the $7.99 Chicken and Dumplings, complemented by stuffing, mashed potatoes, and Mac n Cheese.

They had gotten the Pilgrim's Plunge to operated during my lunch so i hastily made my way over to ride. Its a very unsettling experience going up the elevator, as it actually twists its way up there in different ways. The splash wasn't as big as expected, but i don't think that was the idea to be honest. It was a pretty neat right to say the least, one that uses technology to really make the ride something different.

So lastly, the Voyage did open up, and it did not dissapoint. It seems more agressive than it used to be to me, but man does it take the wooden coaster up a notch or two, it does have a few spots that need to be ironed out especially on the bottoms of the first few hills and the top of the third hill where the train jumps a bit. All in all still maybe the best hands down best park out, they make sure the little things are important instead of missing the average customer. That speaks volumns for this park in general and notes still need to be taken by other places. Bravo Holiday World.

Its funny what a difference a day makes. We were at KI on the 4th and everything we rode had multiple trains going (plus it was a bright, sunny day). I was a little disappointed with Diamondback, it just didn’t have that Wow! moment. It’s a solid ride and rounds-out their coaster collection, but the Beast is still #1 in my book. But on the flip-side, Diamondback was my wife’s favorite ride. She liked it so much we even rode it twice, which she hardly ever does. We had a lot of fun at KI.

As a side question, does any know if KI has Cheese on a Stick? We looked for a stand but couldn’t find one.

Too bad about your rainy day at KI. Cedar Fair still tends to freak out about rain in general. I'm not sure if 'nightmare' is the correct way to describe operations. It sounds like everything was running consistently, albeit under rainy single-train conditions.

Beast has had trims for a long time. They are magnetic and cannot be turned on or off. They are there so that the ride doesn't destroy itself too fast.

I have not seen any Cheese on a Stick at KI this year or in recent years. It's possible that they might have it in July/August, but KI doesn't tend to have tons of portable vendors. The ones they do have tend to sell just drinks/slushies or ice cream.

Ok so maybe with that clarification of how operations are being taken care of, that does not describe nightmare. I know trims are used on the Beast most of the time, it just seems like it took forever for lines to do anything. The only line that did move was Son of Beast.

RPM i have to agree Diamondback was not a wow coaster to me either, it seemed very tame even compared to Apollo's Chariot, which seemed much more agressive. It just seems that it deals more floater air, than sustained speed or anything of that sort. It doesn't have the pacing of the older arrow or morgan model hypers, with successions of smaller hills that keep the action and the bruises coming. I kinda like that no kidding aside. Even the intamin Hypers/Megas do this. B&M's i feel have layouts that are spread apart, that do not allow this, unlike their other coasters.

Cheese on a stick i did not see as well.

^^Granted I'm no real expert per se and don't regularly get food there, but I do go to KI at least once a week, and I've never seen cheese on a stick there...which I finally got for the first time at CM! It was ok...sort of like a grilled cheese sandwich, and an ok snack option as well since I usually just get snacks and eat actual meals outside CP.