Kings Island: Waste of Time/Money?

It's worth the trip just for Racer backwards alone! :) :)

There is always the IX Indoor Amusement Park that is open right now up in Cleveland, Ohio. That is worth a stop of you like rides that are run at Mach 5 instead of baby speed like at some other parks. The selection of carnival rides can't be beat! They also have two coasters (8 if you count all the kiddie coasters.)

^That would be the better choice! :)

I agree, I was disapointed in the quality of PKI. To me, it was like visiting a six flags park. Numerous rides were down, the admissions staff was very rude, and ticket prices are getting rediculous, and the park looked like it hadn't been cleaned at all prior to opening in some parts. If you read this PKI Ecology / Grounds, get a pressure washer out to action zone. There is no reason why you shouldn't pressure wash your ride pads before you open. Drop Zone was a mess, so was the Vortex queue. As for Nick Universe, I was unimpressed. I think HB lost a lot of its old charm and the new Nick-o-round looks like something from a carnival. The whole area looks like a big concrete slab now... just like action zone. And I think avatar has some serious safety issues. The one size fits all t-bar restraint is not sufficent to keep small riders in if they share the row with a larger guest. Also, the need doors on the gondola, someone is going to get thier foot pinched when the floor comes up and they are sticking thier leg out.

I have to agree with Chuck on the mentality of I'm going to have a bad day at such and such, then you are. I remember a Cedar point trip I took three years ago, the first day was awful, fighting within the group, the second day we all went our own ways, i rode 8 coasters in under 3 hours, and had a blast.

It is how you make it, and I have never gone to a park with a negative attitude.

Tim.

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Xparkguy said:
I agree, I was disapointed in the quality of PKI. To me, it was like visiting a six flags park. Numerous rides were down, the admissions staff was very rude, and ticket prices are getting rediculous, and the park looked like it hadn't been cleaned at all prior to opening in some parts. If you read this PKI Ecology / Grounds, get a pressure washer out to action zone. There is no reason why you shouldn't pressure wash your ride pads before you open. Drop Zone was a mess, so was the Vortex queue. As for Nick Universe, I was unimpressed. I think HB lost a lot of its old charm and the new Nick-o-round looks like something from a carnival. The whole area looks like a big concrete slab now... just like action zone. And I think avatar has some serious safety issues. The one size fits all t-bar restraint is not sufficent to keep small riders in if they share the row with a larger guest. Also, the need doors on the gondola, someone is going to get thier foot pinched when the floor comes up and they are sticking thier leg out.

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It was opening weekend, and they hadn't had a dry-run day this season. Cut them some slack.

That's the first negative comment I've heard about Nick Universe. Everyone else I've talked to has been stunned by the improvements. You can't please everyone I guess.

About Face/Off, it had some major issues this weekend including with the first lift catching the train and I know they had to sever a belt this weekend as well because it wouldn't open. Son of Beast is supposed to be down for now.. Maybe forever eventually.. Delirium still has problems centering I guess, but I know they tried to fix that this summer, so they were hard at work trying to get that to finally work properly and regularly. Italian Job was up all day Friday and Sunday from the reports I read and friends I heard from. The rides weren't down just to spite you and I'm not entirely sure why most people don't understand that prototype rides tend to have a lot of downtime. It's something I hope the next owner works on and just starts putting in things that have great capacity and work. It's not the park's fault that they break, but it is their fault for investing in such risky rides all the time.

That said, I don't like how the opening in the morning works at the park now at all.

+Danny

I just returned from PKI, all rides but SOB were operational. I saw Delirium run from a distance. I can't state for sure that it had passengers.

Staff was effective and efficicent. The only stacking was at the Beast with a troubled rider trying to get off. Vortex stacked a little with 3 trains.

The park was clean, well staffed and I could find no reason to complain. But I went expecting to have a good time.

Its a matter of taste. Americana was an okay small traditional park. However, if you prefer it to PKI (and by all means, feel free), then PKI is truly not for you. Try Holiday World, its a cross of best of both worlds.

Delirium being operational is a VERY good thing. I was told that the reason it had been down was lack of staffing for it. I caught a ride Opening Day, and it was running great on its original program.

Ok i went finished my deliberating. It was a three hour drive from cleveland, which was a major reason to not go. But it went as planned. I dont want to miss much but if this thread has taught me anything it taught me, to have some faith and let it ride. Most rides were operational, minus hiccups with Delirium and a seriously long pause with riders on top for Drop Zone, poor people. Face/Off went back to operational status, after numerous test and a check of the lift hill, the reverse side as a maintenence man was there for a while.

Not really that bad, prolly better than i had anticipated.

Bad: I got a seriously cold burger to eat and paid like 10 bucks for the whole meal, not cool. Not much else to be said there.

Also i believe that Delirium was having centering problems again because it was down for a few moments here and there. That ride takes alot longer than i have seen Maxair do it. Son of Beast is down until Late spring as a sign now confirms, i kinda like it that way. The beast itself i think has its moments as confirmed by the drop into the turns that lead to the second lift, major jackhammer action in there. Spring is definately here with all the bees flying around the rides, not cool especially since my friend was swatting at them and my mom is allergic, but all in all it looks like last weeks mistakes or problems were fixed, and assuaged my fears of having a bad time with all the major economic factors played into the decision as well. Sorry for being so worried, but thanks.

Ok... I gotta chip in. My first trip to PKI then KI was in 1987, the year Vortex opened. Everything was really good, the Beast was my #1 coaster. I went alot around 88-89, then a couple more times in 91-93. Then I went last summer.

The Beast was slower and slower every time I rode it in the 80's and 90's. Then they painted it brown. It was a beautiful stained red... Then those rediculous lap bars. Now all the woodies have rediculous seatbelts - and they go through the side of the coaster trains where the seat belt roll up thing is. Just looks ugly. The Racer's last dip is gone. The former red track was painted black (I thought that was a six flags move? see ninja in st. louis and t2 at kk).

The Vortex after the first year was always one of those ride it once a year deals. After the first drop (which is incredible!) the rest is head bang city.

Flight of Fear is pretty good - the mid course break was on so hard, I thought the ride was having a set-up (emergency stop).

The Screamin' demon is long gone, that was a great ride. I always liked the King Kobra, what was wrong with that? Adventure Express is great ride, but very brutal. Top gun is fast and furious and very very short (if it's open).

Now the crowning jewel: Son of Beast (we called it WOW - waste of wood). My lord! There is some major problems with the ride. I rode it 3 times. The third time was just to verify what I already went through 2 times. You can clearly see the track's kinks - I remember one bad one coming out of the 2nd helix. The loop was great. As was the lift hill - really steep, fast and tall. Other than that, I've never been so hurt on a ride.

It's a beechy review, I know, but it's what I feel about the place. It will be many many years until I go back.

Some good things: face off was great, never rode one of those. Delerium was the best ride we had all day, alot of fun! And whappen to the blue smurf soft serve ice cream?

I myself have been to PKI three times (Once in 2004, twice last season). I remember not caring much for vortex the one time I rode it in 2004, but the two times I rode it in 05 were better (maybe cause I knew what to expect). I love the Beast! great wooden coaster, It was awesome going so fast so close to the ground. It was my number one from 2004 until this past year when I rode Shivering Timbers. Face/off was really cool, but the line was a bit long the two times I have ridden it. Only got to ride delirium once on 04 since the two times I went last year it was closed, but still a fun ride. Drop Zone is always a good ride, but I prefer the PKD version a bit more. Racer is a good old classic woodie. Adventure Express can be a bit jarring, but it has the best ending of any themed coaster I have ever been on (most of you know what I am talking about. Top Gun is a great suspended coaster, I love how it goes along with the terrain. Flight of fear is cool, I just hope that the PKD one does not suffer a dreadful fate. I have mixed feelings about SOB. I know most people cannot stand it, and feel that it is the worst pain ever. I have to agree it is not always a pleasant after ride feeling, but I still love the speed it has, and the loop is awesome. I hate that they changed the Beastie to Fairly Odd Coaster, but it is still a good ride for a junior woodie. Tomb Raider is well themed and the ride itself is pretty darn cool. Better than the PKD Tomb Raider. Overall, I really have enjoyed my visits to PKI, and if I could I would go back this year.

I agree with what others say about the perception you take with you to the park effects your enjoyment. When I went to Carowinds last spring, I was truly looking forward to it, but my friend started to get ugly when BORG went down and we waited for about 40 minutes before we left the line. That was a downer and made the next hour or so a bit less enjoyable.

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Xparkguy said:
I agree, I was disapointed in the quality of PKI. To me, it was like visiting a six flags park. Numerous rides were down, the admissions staff was very rude, and ticket prices are getting rediculous, and the park looked like it hadn't been cleaned at all prior to opening in some parts. If you read this PKI Ecology / Grounds, get a pressure washer out to action zone. There is no reason why you shouldn't pressure wash your ride pads before you open. Drop Zone was a mess, so was the Vortex queue. As for Nick Universe, I was unimpressed. I think HB lost a lot of its old charm and the new Nick-o-round looks like something from a carnival. The whole area looks like a big concrete slab now... just like action zone. And I think avatar has some serious safety issues. The one size fits all t-bar restraint is not sufficent to keep small riders in if they share the row with a larger guest. Also, the need doors on the gondola, someone is going to get thier foot pinched when the floor comes up and they are sticking thier leg out.

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Doesn't seem like you went to PKI so much to have fun, as to rake them over the coals, and find everything wrong with their operations you could. You're supposed to go to parks to have fun...how could you have any fun when you spent so much time being critical of everything.

#1 It's opening day! Though that's the case, they are still in pre-season. That was the first day the rides has run since the beginning of November. As for the new rides, after talking to one of the shift managers @ NU, he said 4/14 was the first time any of the new rides had carried people. You're gonna experience problems on that sort of thing.

#2 Yes, numerous rides were down! (See above) But also keep in mind, they were understaffed. A bulk of their workforce is high school/college students. Many schools in my area did NOT let kids out for Good Friday. I've heard Saturday and on were much better staffwise. Goes to figure, staff was available for those days. They had the attractions open that they needed to have open, (namely the newest that most people came to see anyway...NU & IJ:ST).

#3 IMO the park looked just fine on cleanliness, when we got there at opening the bathrooms were still wet from where they'd been washed out. I'm not saying there were no dirty areas...there probably were, but I'm assuming you were there to ride rides, not do a white glove test.

#4 I'll give you this one...Nick-Go-Round did look cheesy.

#5 What safety issues Avatar? They way ride spins kids/people aren't likely going to fly up and out of it anyway. The may move side to side, but that's it. When I rode it with my five year old daughter they wouldn't allow her to sit of the open end anyway. All people have to know as far as the open end of the gondola are this, "Don't stick your foot out of the gondola until they tell you to exit the ride." And as long as people follow the rules, and use some common sense nobody will lose an appendage.

#6 As far as Hanna-Barbera Land losing it's charm...I think that was the idea. It was supposed to lose everything involved with HB, (except Scooby). Do I like that? No, but I'm also 35 years old, not 10. The areas not about me, it about this generation of 12 & unders.

I was very impressed with PKI for this opening day weekend. They handled some of the largest numbers I'd seen for an opening day weekend ever. And as I mentioned in my TR last week, the friendliness and care we were shown was fabulous. To me, they are listening to the people more, and what they have to say. Great job PKI!

I guess you're right. As former park ops manager at another park I guess I am a little hard on parks. I stand behind my pressure washing claim. They really should get out the hot water power washer and clean up some of those queues. And the avatar thing, I'm speaking from experiance. That t-bar situation is bad news.

I should comend them on...

The friendliness of the Trams and Tolls attendants and Ticket Takers.

I'm consitentatly impressed by the level of units operating. Vortex with three trains, racer 2 trains both sides.

The midways are always very clean. Good job Pan & Broom staff.

Overall its a good experiance, but in line with this thread.. the sticker price is getting a little steep... but then again so are costs so I guess I'll just shut up and enjoy the rides :)

I was at the park today and everything that should have been operating was operating. Face/Off had some blips, but everything else seemed constant. A fairly long Italian Job line was no more than a 30 minute wait, the Avatar line went by really quickly, is insanely fun, and totally blows away any need Ghoster Coaster had there, and the area looks extremely bright and colorful- I'm personally beyond impressed. After last weekend's reports, I was pleasantly surprised at everything operating and I'm not entirely sure anyone who walked by a ride with downtime even checked back later. If I had some of those curmudgeon additudes, I would have avoided them just so I'd have something to run home and make my fingers dance and complain about. Fair enough. I went to have fun and did just that.

+Danny

Kings Island a waste of time? (Does not compute) I wish Great America was 1/5th as good. Anyhow, I hope they can fix the problems with Son..of..Beast! I'd hate for them to have to tear it down.

pki is defenetely not a waste. Second best park only behind cedar point to me. Son of beast can be rough but if you sit towards the front it is not as bad. Still a great ride though. Face off, delirium, drop zone are pretty great rides. I think you should still defentely go.

PKI i have been there before as mentioned somewhere within this thread, but i was throughly much more impressed actually this time than the last few times. The Ticket taker lady was awesomely nice, the ride attendants werent bad, but they stack alot while dispatching, but its still new to them im sure and will speed it up, but commendable on many platforms.

Avatar great addition especially for the parents to ride with kids, Ghoster Coaster was not roomy enough for parents with children.

Food still could have been better, as i mentioned with my burger incident.

Did anyone notice how fast and actually well Italian Job seemed to run this weekend.

And i wonder if this son of beast thing doesnt work out if they would consider just working the whole area over with that and top gun, because old top gun really is short, and not all that thrilling. But i dont make decisions, but i was really thrilled with the park and the handling of things over a weeks time. Might actually go to beastbuzz that is if my card comes in the mail, but i reopped before my other coasterbuzz card expired, so i hope i get one.

I'm surprised their food is bad and so much more expensive this year considering all the food questions they've been asking in different survey's in the recent past.

BTW, when DZ gets stuck at the top, do they give riders any warning before they finally drop it?

*** Edited 4/24/2006 7:34:50 PM UTC by Raptor Pilot***

They didnt at all. They lowered its slowly with the riders on it. I have to say the staff overwhelmingly could have been the best part of the day. Most were nice during breakdowns, they were just slow hitting the mark on dispatch but they were still getting into the season.

They might be getting it to the everyday operation status and should be running very well by summer.