Kings Island Opening Day

Seems like Im one of the only ones who had fun on opening day but here are my late thoughts as I am finally home...

Got there at 10:30, went to the right, and was pretty close to the entrance (I dont know why people piled up on the sidewalk leading to the entrance, but hey it happens everywhere) and got in fairly quickly. The gates opened at 11:15 (which by the way they almost never do, standard park opening procedure is to open the gates at 11:30) and was in line for banshee by 11:20. Due to the hour break down I ended up waiting 3 hours but I got my t shirt and then ventured out to explore the park. Adventure Express was down but a line for it snaked back past the Coney Mall sign, and the Racer had a nearly full queue.

Seeing how packed today was going to be, I turned immediately around and went back to International Street to puchase my fast lane (regular) wrist band. Thanks to buying that I spent the day not only riding my favorites a few times, but also doing things I would never do on a normal day because the lines were too long (Invertigo, Scrambler.)

I dont know why some people complain about how "crowded" and "inefficient" opening day is, they clearly have not been to many opening days at any park (including yes, Cedar Point, where I recall a OD where MF, TTD, and Maverick were down for more time then they were up.) Most of the employees are new to the park or have been promoted in the off season and new at their roles, of course they will not be at the peak of their summer efficiency. You should never expect that on opening day, granted this day was much more crowded then my last OD at KI (Diamondback's grand opening) but it goes to show you how excited the area is for Banshee.

Why I continue to enjoy going on opening day is the people who are there those days, 95% of guests who show up for OD are either enthusiasts or locals who love the park, and it makes for a great mix. Also, even though things tend to go wrong on opening day, for the most part everyone is really happy just to be back in the park that you hardly ever see anyone get angry. It also makes for some great conversations in lines.

As for the whole CP vs KI thing, you Ohioans have it so lucky to have two amazing parks in your backyard. While CP is my favorite amusement park (as opposed to theme parks which I prefer) with Banshee KI is now solidly my #2 (finally breaking a tie with Hersheypark.) Cant we all just agree that they are both great?

Finally, I dont know if they post here (or if they even remember this) but to the three "slightly" inebriated enthusiasts that turned Viking Fury into a screaming match of right vs left sides of the boat, thank you for giving me my best ride ever on a pirate ship.

Oh, you mean Johnny Knoxville and his friends?

Oops.. Lol

^Correct, figured you guys had to be cbuzz material. I also loved the ride op in the booth asking her colleagues over the loud speaker: "wait why are we clapping?" as we slowed down to a stop after the ride.

I could see the people in line were quite entertained, but I was hoping it wasn't over the top. :)

Just keep in kind if you go to the backyard bar, behind the burrito shop, that one of their Long Islands is more than enough. You definitely get your $9 worth.

Touchdown said:

Finally, I dont know if they post here (or if they even remember this) but to the three "slightly" inebriated enthusiasts that turned Viking Fury into a screaming match of right vs left sides of the boat, thank you for giving me my best ride ever on a pirate ship.

To this day, I cannot ride a pirate ship without thinking of a group of guys on the pirate ship at Busch Gardens arguing "TASTES GREAT" on one side and "LESS FILLING" on the other side. My 15-year-old sense of humor thought it was the funniest thing ever, and I still think it was one of the most loud, enthusiastic amusement ride jokes I've ever witnessed.

Knoxville here. Yikes. Those drinks were... a little crazy. :)

I'm guessing they won't be pouring quite that heavy once they realize how fast they're going through bottles, but what do I know?

Well,... There had to be SOMEthing for fellas to do on that busy, busy day...

Screaming match on Viking Fury? I wish I was there!

Did anyone else think Beast was running exceptionally well on opening day? I've ridden it once a year since 2009, and always found it to be "tolerable" so long as I was in the middle seat of a car (preferably toward the front). But this time it was surprisingly smooth and speedy, trims notwithstanding. So much so that we rode again in the middle of the last car and enjoyed it rather than merely surviving it. I know it's early in the season, but I hope that condition lasts a while.

At BeastBuzz last year we found that middle seat in the last car was the place to be.

Touchdown said:

Seems like Im one of the only ones who had fun on opening day but here are my late thoughts as I am finally home...

Dude. I recall only one person who posted here that they didn't have a great time. I posted my complaints, but made sure that it was clear that I had a great time. I noticed that most everyone in the park was having a ball, except for the irritated lady behind me in the hour-long pizza line. lol

High fives in the Diamondback queue, laughing at how mad the pizza lady was, kids goofing off for my camera when they noticed that I was filming in the Banshee queue, the very good attitudes of the people working at the Eiffel Tower, hanging out with good friends, the new TVs in the queues playing music and trivia, waving at and recognizing enthusiasts that I only previously spoke to online, eating he new awesomely colored soft serve, joking around with total strangers all day, and more made this such a fun day.

And the park didn't do a terrible job, but they could have done better with opening. Maybe they will learn from their mistakes this year and do better next time. I am not holding a grudge or anything.

Finally, I dont know if they post here (or if they even remember this) but to the three "slightly" inebriated enthusiasts that turned Viking Fury into a screaming match of right vs left sides of the boat, thank you for giving me my best ride ever on a pirate ship.

As soon as I read this, I thought you could have been talking about Raven-Phile and his gang of thugs. I almost became a part of that group that day, but I already planned to spend it with some buddies from my hometown. Sounds like they had a lot of fun.

Words would not justify the craziness that ensued after the drinking. Of course, I have full memory of it as I did not drink (DD and all).

I don't drink, so I would have probably been the secondary DD. I would just get a kick out of acting like I was lit. Maybe next time.

Oh, and it was really great to meet you, btw.

It's always great to meet someone who appreciates good music. :)

Yeah, we were definitely playing it up a bit. By "Holiday World" standards, we'd have been thrown out, but we kept to ourselves, except for the clapping and fun on the pirate ship. I mean, we laughed and made a lot of friends at the backyard bar, but that's what it's all about.

I can't wait to get back down there. Hopefully we can spend another day an a half just having a blast again.

I was not sure what to expect crowd wise for a Friday opening day. I'm sure KI was pleased with the turn out. I would have loved to have been there, but work got in the way. It sounds like most had a good time and some had a REALLY good time.

I noticed for media day/opening weekend that "The Bat" trains did not appear to have the new logo on them. Anyone know if they simply ran out of time and will work on this during closed weekdays or did they abandon the logo project on the trains for this year?

I wondered that too. I was a little surprised they painted the supports grey instead of black. Kinda funny to have a coaster called The Bat, but no black anywhere. The grey is definitely darker than the previous shade used for Flight Deck.

LostKause said:

There was a kid of about 11 years old getting the people in line to shout at the people walking up the "fast pass" line at the end of the night on Diamondback. He started it and kept it going. "NO MORE FAST PASS! (CLAP CLAP CLAP-CLAP-CLAP)"

Please tell me he was a fat kid. rofl.