TR: 1st trip to Cedar Point & Paramount's King Island - Final Segment
Associated parks:
None
On to Paramount's King Island...
Friday August 13, 2004
After getting in bed at 12:00am, we got up at 4:00am and left Cedar Point 1 hour later. Stopped by a Cracker Barrel on I-75 for breakfast, and got into the Paramount’s King Island Parking lot around 9:30am. My hopes of it being warmer in southern Ohio were quickly dashed as we walked to the ticket counter. I would be buying a sweatshirt very quickly. The main reasons we decided to make PKI part of this trip were Drop Zone, Son of Beast, and Beast. With this in mind, we headed straight for Drop Zone.
Drop Zone
Amy strongly dislikes drop rides like this, but reluctantly agreed to get on. I must admit that I was nervous also, since Acrophobia at SFoG makes me anxious every time I ride it. With Drop Zone being over 100ft taller, the stress was building up as we waited 30 minutes for the ride. As we got strapped in and begin our accent, we all quickly noticed how much slower it was than Acrophobia on the way up. As the ride dropped us, we all had a screaming great time and universally agreed that Acrophobia is a much scarier ride.
Rating: It’s not a coaster, but I guess 6/10
Racer
My second PTC racer (Thunder Road at Carowinds was 1st) but my first where both sides were running. We rode on the right side and were able to do the slapping of hands going up the lift hill with the left train. On another note, I think this may be the first coaster I can remember with retractable lap belts. Overall the ride was great and the fact that it was a working racer made it all the better.
Rating 7/10
Flight of Fear
Had it not been for Amy pointing this coaster out to me on the map, I would have missed it completely. I had no idea what to expect, but figured it was an enclosed Schwarzkopf Shuttle Loop. Boy was I wrong. I have three comments for this ride…1) After riding Dragster, a 54mph launch is pretty tame 2) I still have no idea what the track configuration of Flight of Fear was, but it was great 3) The theaming is WAY better than Disaster Transport at CP.
Rating 7/10
Beast
I had heard SO MUCH about this coaster before we ever left Georgia, and anticipated riding it only third; behind Dragster & Millennium Force at CP. I was surprised at how little of the coaster I could see from the station, and really didn’t know what exactly to expect. We waited around 20 minutes, and boarded the second car of the train. Leaving the station, my excitement was building and it seemed that the forest began to surround us the further we moved up the first lift hill. The first drop was great and as we turned and shot through the forest over the smaller hills I immediently realized that this was unlike any coaster I had ever been on. The lateral G’s you experience as you go through the curves and sheds are astounding and the second lift hill came as a huge surprise to me. This ride just kept going and going, and I loved every minute of it. This has become my number 1 wooden coaster.
Rating 10/10
Vortex
I have ridden my share of Arrow loopers, but this one stands out as being the largest. Rode in the second car of the train, and it still beat my head pretty bad. To me, its better to look at than to ride…but that’s my opinion of most Arrow loopers.
Rating 5/10
Son of Beast
I had high hopes for the coaster, and boarded the train with an excitement level that almost matched the first time I rode Millennium Force. For the love of god, this is the tallest, fastest, and only looping wood coaster in the world.
We rode five rows from the front. The drop out of the station was great, and the quickly following lift hill was huge. Just looking at the drop off the lift hill scared the crap out of me, it was without question the largest I had ever seen on a wooden coaster. The drop didn’t disappoint, but once the train came to full speed it started vibrating and throwing me around like no coaster I had ever been on. I changed my foot positing somewhat, I threw my butt against the seat, I tried everything but this coaster beat the crap out of me like no other in my life. Today, four days after I rode it, I still have bruises on my legs from slamming against the lap bar. I understand that this coaster represents a major technical achievement in wooden coasters, but I simply hate it. While arrow loopers beat me around, they are still enjoyable. Son of Beast was not enjoyable to me and I prayed for it to be over halfway through the ride. I’m curious if I am the only person who had this negative experience on the ride.
Rating 1/10
Top Gun
Yeah, two arrow suspended coasters in a single trip, and my only two so far. Looked, and was, much bigger and faster than Iron Dragon at CP. We rode in the second car, front seat. The speed was amazing and the ride was as smooth as glass. My only complaints would be the crappy landscaping around the coaster and how quickly it was over. Overall a very enjoyable coaster.
Rating 7/10
Face Off
I have rode DejaVu at SFoG and Boomerang at Wild Adventures, but this coaster really intrigued me since it seems to bridge the gap between the two designs. The wait was horrible, at just over 1.5 hours and we were facing two empty seats which took away from the experience somewhat (one was broken and the other was just empty). The ride wasn’t quite as violent as DejuVu, and was a pretty good time.
Rating 7/10
Adventure Express
The theming on this mine ride was great! I have never been on a mine ride which wasn’t themed in the old west, so the jungle scenery was very refreshing. Anyway, I thought this was a great ride, with an odd ending which seemed to build up only to enter the station.
Rating 7/10
Scooby’s Ghoster Coaster
Only my second single-rail coaster (Super Soaker at Carowinds was 1st). This is also the only coaster I have ever ridden which uses an elevator for a lift, that I can think of. We waited a ridiculously long time for this coaster (1.5 hrs) and were the only people in line without children. Nevertheless, it was a fun short ride which was very unique.
Rating 6/10
Final Thoughts:
I wish we would have had more than one day at Paramount’s Kings Island, but I don’t regret the amount of time we spent at Cedar Point. Our entire group was so tired by Friday evening that all we wanted to do was sleep, which slightly skewed my impression of PKI. The park has my number 1 wood coaster with the Beast, and the worst coaster I have ever ridden with Son of Beast. Mixed in among these two extremes are a lot of really great and unique rides. I hope to go back next year for Italian Job Stunt Track.
Hi.....whats your name again?
StephenG said:
2) I still have no idea what the track configuration of Flight of Fear was, but it was great
If you want to see pictures of the layout, all you need to do is look at pictures of Joker's Jinx at SFA or Poltergeist at SFFT. They're the same exact rides, except not enclosed.
Son of Beast was not enjoyable to me and I prayed for it to be over halfway through the ride. I’m curious if I am the only person who had this negative experience on the ride.
Rating 1/10
Have you been living under a rock?:) I have just a little criticism for you. You should have combined the two days at CP, and not labeled them as including PKI, as I kept thinking I was going to read about PKI. For example, you could've said "Ohio trip Part one CP", Ohio trip Part two PKI".
At least PKI's Racer actually does what it's name implies,for some reason PKD just doesn't seem interested in racing the two sides on Rebel yell anymore & when I asked if they could they said no.
How hard is it for them to simply wait for the other side to load & then dispatch the trains simultaniously? it would only take just a few seconds or at the most a few minutes more.
StephenG said:Son of Beast
...Son of Beast was not enjoyable to me and I prayed for it to be over halfway through the ride. I’m curious if I am the only person who had this negative experience on the ride.
Rating 1/10
No, your not missing anything. This ride is awful. There is no 'good' seat to ride in, just seats that put you through less torture. I rode this thing 4 times, all in different seats, all terrible. The least painful was first car, row 2. But that's like saying getting kicked in the nuts is better than getting kicked in the nuts twice. This is the first coaster I've been on that was too rough for me. Even Mean Streak at CP I can handle. Arrow Loopers? Nope, no problem, I just brace for the head banging and everything is fine.
There's only one good part of the ride, which is the loop. The rest has poor pacing, and no airtime until the very last hill, where you think, 'wait a minute, was that floater air?'
Agreed. 1/10
I'm suprised at your score of Vortex. But you did ride in the front. The back seat gives a better ride (but still bumpy), and the most intense ejector air on a first hill I've ever felt. Anyway, good to see you had a good time.
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