Kings Island and securing objects

With the recent changes in policy at Steel Vengeance at Cedar Point it got me wondering about the loose article situation at Kings Island. I've never been there before but may hopefully be making my first trip soon. Are there any rides there that a well secured cargo pocket won't be acceptable for? When I saw well secured I mean I have a pair of dedicated coaster riding shorts that have extra Velcro and such sewn into them specifically for the purpose of securing my loose articles. Will things work pretty much the same as at CP minus the situation with Steel Vengeance?

Yes.

I think the biggest difference is that Kings Island has Firehawk, which is a flying coaster. To start the ride, you are tilted onto your back, which is where a non-closed pocket can easily drop something.

Thanks

The biggest difference with Kings Island is that there are a couple of rides where belt bags are not permitted. I know Banshee is in that category, and Diamondstack might be "new for this season". Not sure about X-Firehawk as I generally avoid riding that thing.

Oh, the other difference is that if you put your lap bar down on the Racer or The Beast to the same position that is perfectly acceptable on the Blue Streak or any of the other similar trains at any other park in the world, Kings Island will demand that it go down another notch. This is why I do not ride the Racer or the Beast anymore.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

I almost got bit by the policy for Steel Vengeance with my fanny pack. Fortunately, the people in line behind me let me jump out and put it in a locker before the ride opened and the line started moving. Since it’s a matter of interfering with the restraint—which I sort of understand but also believe that it won’t be strictly enforced two or three years from now—they ought to let you wrap the bag around your chest so that it doesn’t interfere with restraint but is still secured to your body. I couldn’t imagine waiting three hours for that ride only to be told that the bag with zippers that is strapped to my waist can’t go on the ride.

If it is a rule at any park, it should be standard practice to offer free lockers for the time you are in line and riding. It should be complimentary. Customers should demand and expect it. There are some things that one can not leave in their car. If someone broke into my car or my locker while I was riding and stole my money and phone, I just might become a homeless Sanduskian vagrant for the rest of my life. My enjoyment of any park experience would be overshadowed by the worry and anxiety.

Just got back from the trip this evening. I rode everything just fine with my things secured in a cargo pocket that has Velcro sewn in along the entire opening in addition to buttons. I sometimes had to adjust how high or low I wore the shorts so the bulge in the pocket didn't hit in the wrong spot of the seat or restraint but I'm already used to doing that at Cedar Point. The only coaster I didn't ride was Invertigo so I can't vouch for how well it would work on that one.

We usually carry a small bag with my son’s inhaler in it. I found it interesting that the Diamondback crew was taking loose articles and placing them in the bins for the riders to help keep pace.

I noticed that. They took my husband's hat which usually rides with him but they did it in such a way that it seemed more like they were doing you a favor than telling you what to do. I thought it was interesting that on Banshee instead of shoes going in bins they were just letting people leave them on the platform under the train.

Rideman I noticed that with the lap bars. I saw a few ops walking by with a metal rod that they appeared to use to check the distance between the lap bar and the wall to the front of it. I have a habit of sitting slightly forward like I'm "fatter" than I am on these types of rides so when they ask for it to go down another notch I've still got some space. On the big stuff though I crank it down as far as it goes myself.

I just went to KI this past Saturday. I cannot comment on any coaster that is required to be 54" as my son is 53 3/4", so we did not ride any of those. Those coasters include Firehawk, Flight of Fear, Diamondback, and Invertigo. I saw no new policies for any of the other coasters that fall under the 52" category. Mystic Timbers is still the only ride I am aware of that you must get a locker for bags, purses or fanny packs, loose articles (at your expense).

That “metal rod” is a huge nail. Priced that on Racer. Oh and PTC trains still suck.

I think its only an issue on coasters that have fast and/or high parts that pass directly over an area where there are pedestrians walking underneath, or two trains might be passing by each other. Otherwise, from a physics standpoint, you might lose your item, but its not going to be a dangerous projectile. For example: the Beast goes fast and high, but I don't really think it crosses over any pedestrian areas... but maybe the train might come close if they're very fast at dispatching the trains.

The coasters that its an issue for tend to have fast and/or high parts that go over the queue line, like El Toro or Steel Vengeance. It would seem to me that another option would be to not design coasters that come so close to the queue or park paths, and/or securely put fences, netting, or roofs over those walkways.

People in front of us on Mystic Timbers almost lost their all season drink cup but somehow it flew right into our seat and fell to the floor. My son with the really long arms picked it up so we could return it. They guy was shocked that it wasn't just gone.

Paisley said:

People in front of us on Mystic Timbers almost lost their all season drink cup but somehow it flew right into our seat and fell to the floor. My son with the really long arms picked it up so we could return it. They guy was shocked that it wasn't just gone.

That's not really a huge risk though from a safety standpoint. If you initially occupy the same directional velocity as an object, it won't hurt if it hits you. You virtually have the same or very similar velocity, the only difference is the split second of friction for the train vs. the air friction of the object. The concern is an object with the velocity from the ride hitting a person at rest below. Or even worse, hitting a train with a completely different directional velocity.

I really don't think anyone is going to be seriously hurt by an empty cup anyway. I just thought it was kinda neat cup flies up, train flies up and catches cup...

This person may disagree with your won't hurt you if it hits you theory :-) ..

http://www.nbc12.com/story/38419337/woman-injured-by-flying-cell-ph...er-coaster

We're talking about an empty plastic cup, not a cell phone. A cell phone is like a small brick. Empty plastic cup not so much. The stars would have to align for it to hit you at the exact angle needed.

DBOU84 said:

This person may disagree with your won't hurt you if it hits you theory :-) ..

http://www.nbc12.com/story/38419337/woman-injured-by-flying-cell-ph...er-coaster

What a D-Bag. The perp even had zipper pockets but "forgot to zip them."

Unfortunately, this probably debunks my theory that you can only get hurt if the object comes from another train, it sounds like this was from the same train. I guess that parks just need to find ways to secure all phones before riding. Maybe this is a very phone driven problem, and this is why it wasn't an issue before.

I've noticed phones becoming larger and hanging halfway out of people's pockets as they walk around and it puzzles me how people can "secure" a $500 phone in that manner when I'm guarding my 5 year-old $50 tracfone bought at Family Dollar with my life. Maybe I just have OCD or something because I'm constantly checking my cargo pocket to make sure it's closed properly when I'm at the park.

Getting hurt by something that's lost farther ahead on the same train as you I think is just a matter of the movement of the train. Any up and down or side to side, item hangs there for a moment and as it falls you come whizzing by at 60mph and smack.