Kings Island T.R. 7-29-06

This year, my brother and I decided to arrive a little later than usual. I am 35, he’s 38 and I just can’t do the 12 hour days any more. We got in about 12:15 and went straight for the Beast. It was about a twenty minute wait which I thought was pretty good for a Saturday in July. The Beast gave us a good ride as always. After that, we thought that we would see what the line for Tomb Raider was like. I think it is a decent ride, but nothing I’ll wait over 45 minutes for. Turns out, it had long lines all day, so we skipped it. We decided to head over to Coney Mall to catch the Vortex, Flight of Fear, and the Racers. First was the Vortex, which gave an excellent ride. I don’t know what it is about that first drop, but it has a gut wrenching drop. This is something that I think is lacking from some of the newer, taller coasters. I like Dragster and Millennium Force, but I just don’t get that feeling that I get from the Vortex.

Next, it was on to Flight of Fear. This ride delivered the ususal punch, but we were severely slowed down at the MCBR. I have never experienced this before. Still, it ended great and I just love that last corkscrew. Then, we went over to the Racer for a backwards ride. Not much of a wait and great air time followed. My brother and I got to discussing the fact that it had been years since we rode the Racers forward and we did so later. I had forgotten what it was like to ride the track that veered off to the left. Great air time. Onward to Delirium, which has become my favorite flat ride. Long line, but worth it to me. I think what makes it even more fun is the reaction from the kids riding. It’s usually terrified screaming or unbelievable joy. Sometimes, it’s hard to tell the difference. We decided to then run over to Adventure Express. We had great fun and I have now decided that I like it better than the Cedar Creek Mine Ride. Seems to me that CCMR has a lot more jerky transitions and I think that AE just has a better setting. Another good ride to listen to the kids and how they enjoyed it. We got to laughing because of two kids in front of us who were loving the ride and wanted to keep re-riding. Of course, dad says, but you’ve been on this a hundred times, let’s ride something else. Naturally, my brother and I said, ah well, what’s a hundred and one?

Getting to the late afternoon, the sun was really blazing and we headed to the car for some down time and air-conditioning. This really re-charged the old batteries and we were ready for one more run down. We went over to the Italian Job: Stunt Track and waited a good hour for it. One of my favorite parts is the launch up the spiraling garage. My absolute favorite part is the tunnel after the second launch. There are a couple of surprise dips and turns in there. We also ventured over to Nickelodeon Central to check out Avatar, the last air bender. This is a nice little ride and I was really surprised at how much turning the car does as it traverses the track. We then headed back over to Vortex as it was getting dark out. There was a father, grand-father, and two daughters ahead of us who were in line, but the smallest one was not too sure about riding. They finally tricked here into riding telling her, it’s not that tall or that fast. So, we decided to wait at the exit since we did not ride the same train and see what she thought of it. Well, she got off of the ride and kind of froze up. Turns out, Mom had to come get her.

Final ride of the night was the Beast. My brother talked me in to waiting for the front seat, which I like, but at that point, was not really looking forward to a longer wait. Well, it was well worth it. By the time that we boarded and got out there, it was pitch black. It always seems that it runs faster after dark. Good day and heavy crowds, which is what we were expecting.