PKI 08/28/04...Worst Trip Ever

First off, before anyone gets the wrong idea, this worst trip was the fault of my family and not PKI. The people that I went with were my sister, dad, niece and one of her friends. So, here goes. Got to the park at about 11:00 am. We had a reservation at the King's Island Resort and my sister didn't want to pay for parking so she said let's see if we can park at the hotel and catch the shuttle bus over to the park. I mentioned that we should take our ponchos with us and just rent out a locker or something. Oh no, my sister said, let's just leave them at the hotel. Brilliant...not!

Anyway, we pre-registered and then caught the bus over to the gate. Last time I went with my sis and niece, my niece was too small to ride the bigger coasters. They went to Cedar Point last year and now my niece is hooked on coasters. I quickly suggested that we go anywhere but Action Zone right off. It's always real busy early on. So, my niece wanted to ride Flight of Fear. Got in line and waited maybe 15 minutes at the most. Strange thing, the video in the queue was not working, but they had sound. Anyway, once we got close to the station, I convinced my niece that you never come back from this coaster. And, when the empty train came through, she kinda was surprised. Of course, I had to tell her that I just made it up, but it was pretty comical. Turns out, she loved it...of course, why wouldn't she? So, after that, we were heading towards TR and the Beast.

We started to line up for TR:TR, but it was a really long wait. So, I told my sister that TR was not all that and not worth waiting an hour for. We jumped out of line and headed for the Beast. Not much of a wait and we were on our way. I rode with my dad, who is 63 years old. He loved the ride, but it was apparent that he can not really handle anything like that any more. So, then we started heading for the AZ to ride Delirium, SOB, and Face/Off. That's when we discovered that my niece's little friend had lied to us and did not want to go on any coasters or Delirium for fear of getting sick. My sister was fuming because she had told my niece to invite someone whom likes coasters, 'cause that's what we were there for. So, we got in line for Delirium anyway and I told her she could wait with us and then exit as we were boarding. This was my second time on Delirium and I must say that I am just as impressed with it as the first time.

Next, my niece and her friend wanted to go on White Water Canyon. I don't ride this any more because I can't stand to have my shoes full of water all day long. So, my dad waited at the exit and my sis and I went to where you can observe. I'll admit, I had a better time plunking down quarters and soaking the riders than actually riding it. So, one raft was coming by and there was this girl that didn't look very wet and was wearing a funky hat that she had won there. As they approached, I hit that button and a column of water landed directly on her head...I laughed my butt off. Met some cool people there too. Finally, my niece came by and I completely soaked her as well. We all exit onlly to find my dad was gone. I was getting hungry and I said to my sister, we should just stay here, he'll probably be back shortly....he probably went to the bathroom or to get something to eat. We waited in one spot for an hour and a half. Still no sign of him and we were getting frustrated.

Finally, we decided we couldn't wait any longer to eat and had pizza at LaRosa's by the Beast. I still say that PKI has the best pizza of any park. After that, we headed toward the Eiffel Tower to see if we could find my dad. I saw a couple of employees walking and asked if there was any way to page him. They were very kind and helpful and directed us to the info booth by the ET so we could do something. So, if either of them are reading this, thanks a lot. I gave a description to the lady in the booth and names and she said all she could do would be to send out an electronic page.

Apparently, the speaker system was out of service. But, before she sent the page out, who should come walking our way? Dad. I told the nice lady to cancel the page and she did and was very nice and helpful. Turns out, he got bored and went to eat lunch and take in a couple of rides. I was furious that we had waited on him, starving and worried that he might have had a heart attack somewhere and we didn't know about it. After that, we went over to check the line for Face/Off. That's when the sky darkened and I just knew it was going to rain. No big deal, but I was wishing we had taken the ponchos. Face/Off was just a half our wait. We got up to the station and the lightning began. That's when they closed it down. Many people in line moaned with dissatisfaction. Not me. I started talking to this couple next to us and found out that it was there first trip to PKI. I asked them how they were enjoying the day and they were loving it. They were from Indiana. I said to the guy, "I'm not disappointed that they were closing Face/Off due to the weather. I would rather wait it out than to risk getting struck by lightning." He agreed. I looked at my sister and very sarcastically said yeah, we really didn't need those pocnhos. About only 15 minutes later they allowed people to start riding again. My niece loved this one too...who wouldn't?

We went back to the hotel to check in and the lady driving the bus was extremely nice and we chatted with her for a while before we took off. She informed us that we would sit for a minute and wait for people so they wouldn't get wet. Makes sense to me. Got back to the hotel, rested a litle, changed clothes, went to the car, grabbed the ponchos and headed back.

When we got there, there was virtually no one there. We ate at the potato works. I had popcorn chicken which was good. Next, we headed for the Beast because I wanted a night ride. Note: If any of the Beast crew is reading this that was there Saturday night, I want to extend a big thank you to them. They were very speedy checking the restraints and the guy in the booth was absolutely hilarious. This saved my evening. Short line. Man, is there anything that beats a night ride on the Beast? I have to say no.

Finally, my niece and her friend wanted to go to the Spongebob 3D show. I parted with them and went to the Vortex. Met some cool people in line and wound up riding with this lady who was by herself. I must say, the Vortex was as smooth as the first day. Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was new wheels. Whatever it was, it was smooth. I always ride the back seat because I like getting whipped around the loops.

Well, I won't bore you with the rest because shopping was the only thing after that. So, all in all, I only managed seven rides in one day. Truly pathetic and disappointing. Don't think I'll ever go again without my coaster riding buddy. *** Edited 8/30/2004 5:08:19 PM UTC by Dragster Freak*** *** Edited 8/30/2004 5:09:22 PM UTC by Dragster Freak*** *** Edited 8/31/2004 3:39:02 PM UTC by Dragster Freak***

AIGH! MY EYES!

Paragraphs, please.

Sorry, I was in a hurry.

Ok, I give up. I went back, added some spacing and separated the paragraphs only to have it appear that I did nothing. *** Edited 8/30/2004 5:10:13 PM UTC by Dragster Freak***

It's not baiting. If you assume something, well you know how that ends. And, I edited several times attempting to indent and when the post came up, my indentions were gone.

And, once again, I edit. Still no indentions. *** Edited 8/31/2004 3:40:16 PM UTC by Dragster Freak***

i thought it was a GREAT trip report....dont let people harrass you....some will never be pleased in life, that is, sadly, just how it goes sometimes....

It was a great report, but I don't see how it was a bad trip in any sense.

My only advice is to NEVER listen to a sister. ;-)

I thought it was a bad trip because I knew I could have done so much more than what I had done. I kept thinking that all day long. That probably attributed to my bad day. The one great thing was I spent the day with family.

Hey its your trip report, if someone else does not like it, well thats there problem not yours. Like you said though, it wasn't the park that made it bad. I would rather go with my coaster buddies as well.

That's something you have to expect with *non coaster-enthusiast* family members and friends.

It did sound like a nice trip though. Just don't take them next time. :-)

-Tina

LOL I wish my bad days at parks were as good as that one! ;)

Enjoyed the TR. I had an absolute blast last Tuesday thanks to the great PR staff at PKI! They truly are world class people.

Joe "yay Delirium!!!!!111!11" C.