Associated parks:
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The park was basically empty on Wednesday night. I went straight to Flight of Fear since I knew it could get some long lines. I loved it just like i loved PKD's, but PKI's had no mid-course brakes on, and I believe PKD had theirs trimmed a bit.
(#59) Flight of Fear - 9/10
After Flight of Fear I noticed that Vortex was near so I took a walk-on lap in the back seat. There was a hint of roughness, but it was still a nice ride.
(#60) Vortex - 7/10
Since the park was empty, I decided it would be the best time to see what all the fuss is surrounding Tomb Raider. The only 'line' was in the individual lines to enter the attraction. The theming was done very well, and I was impressed with how the attraction was put together. The ride itself was just as I expected it to be, and a lot of fun. I think Kings Island got just what they wanted out of this attraction, and some of the grief that many enthusiasts are giving it is unjustified. On another note, right before the car lined up with the loading platform, the ride e-stopped. We sat on the ride for about 15 minutes while maintanence tried to figure out how to fix things. Due to the delay, I only had time for one more ride before closing.
I hopped into the Beasts's queue before it was closed and grabbed a walk-on in the back seat. The Beast is a very interesting ride and I love how it picks up speed near the end of the first half. My only beaf with this ride are the magnetic brakes at the top of the second hill and in the shed. The Beast was a great ride nonetheless, and a good way to conclude my first day.
(#61) The Beast - 9/10
On Thursday I hit a bit of bad luck. Okay, so it was a VERY bad stroke of luck. Appearantly, the park had a deal where on that day season pass holders could come to the park and pick up a free bring-a-friend ticket. The park was absolutely mobbed. Despite this, I held onto my goal of getting all of the coaster credits, and in the end it was actually a great day. I won a cool special edition poster with the park's "Unlock the Tomb" giveaway thing, and at 10 AM I was in a mob of people rushing into the Action Zone. The first ride was Son of Beast. I was prepared for Sonny to be painful and a really bad ride. However, let me put on my flame-proof suit and say, I really loved Son of Beast. While I can see where some people would have problems with the ride, I thought it was great.
(#62) Son of Beast - 9.5/10
As I had just had quite a surprise with Son of Beast, I would get another with Face/Off. This was my first Vekoma Invertigo, and once again I expected a bad experience. What I received was a very fun ride that wasn't painful for me at all.
(#63) Face/Off - 8/10
Adventure Express was next, and this was one fun mine train. It was faster with more speedy turns than I expected, and the tunnel at the end was quite interesting.
(#64) Adventure Express - 6.5/10
After Adventure Express I took a front seat ride on Beast (pretty long wait), and this was where it earned the 9 rating that I gave it. It feels even faster in the front and really gives a great ride. Following that it was on to Hanna Barbera Land where Reptar awaited me. The wait for this was about 30-40 minutes, but heck, I wasn't giving up on my goal yet. This was a great addition for PKI, and a great family coaster.
(#65) Runaway Reptar - 6/10
Scooby Doo was closed and I was hoping the kids would leave early, so next came Racer Backwards. Unfortunately, Fowards was closed. As the line moved and I moved closer to the station house, I heard thunder in the distance and noticed the sky getting black. I had a bad feeling that I wasn't going to make it on the ride before things started to close. However, the ride stayed open and I got into the last car for another surprising ride. I had read somewhere that Racer was quite painful, but where I was sitting it was very smooth and had some nice airtime on the hills. I liked it more than Thunder Road at Carowinds.
(#66) Racer Backwards - 7.5/10
It started to pour rain almost the instant I went into the Festhaus eating hall. By the time I waited in the long line and ate, the rain had stopped. After lunch I saw Scooby Doo was open, so I waited an hour for it. Yes, an hour. Oh well, it was still an interesting ride. This was my second Caripro suspended.
(#67) Scooby Doo's Ghoster Coaster - N/A (kiddie)
At this point my younger sister was with me, and I noticed Taxi Jam was almost a walk-on (surprising with the other kiddie coasters being packed). I couldn't resist an easy credit so we took a ride.
(#68) Taxi Jam - N/A (kiddie)
Top Gun had been closed the entire day, but as I headed toward Action Zone again, I saw a train go flying through the ravine. I was lucky again, and I waited for a back seat ride on Top Gun. This was a fun suspended, but I still think I prefer Big Bad Wolf.
(#69) Top Gun - 7/10
I had to get another ride on SoB since I had loved it so much. I rode in the second seat, and once again it did not dissapoint. Racer Fowards remained closed, but my biggest dissapointment, and possibly biggest of the entire trip, was the Flying Eagles. I was really looking foward to them, but they were closed the entire day. I don't know if this was due to 'limited operation' or technical problems, but I had wanted to give them a spin. With Racer Fowards closed, there was only one coaster left that I had not ridden. I waited in line for 40 minutes and took a back seat ride on Beastie. Like Scooby at Carowinds and PKD, it is a great family coaster.
(#70) Beastie - 7/10
Despite massive crowds, I rode every coaster once except Racer Fowards and I got two rides on SoB and Beast. Before leaving I bought a red SoB shirt, some lapel pins, and some postcards. PKI has some great coasters and I had a great time.
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|| Jonathan Hawkins ||
http://www.starcoasters.com
Top Gun: TJC flights - Approx. 262 (76 in 2002)
Im not telling anyone what to think but as long as you don't sit in the front axle seat of a car, Your fine!
My brother rode sonny last weds night and the lapbar would not release. The made a announcement that SOB was closing do to problems and my brother said run the thing till maint gets there! He got 17 rides and the maintence tried a few things before finally stopping it and going under the station to release him and fix it right.
Chuck, who got 25 rides at the SOB shoot a couple weeks ago and was very bruised as about 15 of those rides were in a front seat.
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Charles Nungester
Lesourdsville Lake, The great American amusement park opens the season June 6th Thurs-Sun every week. Park phone is (513)539-2193
Jonathan,
I also was at PKI on Thursday and was amazed at how crowded the park was. During the first couple of hours, it wasn't all that bad but once I got a ride in on Flight of Fear, it was PACKED!
Son of Beast was running good that day. I sat over the front axel and had no problems at all. I enjoy the ride also.
Our biggest disspointment was also that the Flyers were closed. I am almost certain that was due to the limited operation day. It was so hard just looking at them while walking by.
Oh well, I will be back on Sunday. =:^)
-Sean
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The Beast and Night, They go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly
*** This post was edited by MagnumForce on 6/4/2002. ***
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