Wind and Rollercoasters

I just came back from Cedar Point's opening day weekend with my 4 kids, my aunt and 3 of my close friends. We stayed at Hotel Breakers on Saturday night.

Never again will we go to an opening day weekend. First, the crowds were extreme. Same thing at Kings Island. Carowinds was okay, though.

Then on Sunday thinking we will make up for the tiny number of coaster ride we had on Saturday: total 4, including Gatekeeper which was really, really, really sublime and just plain amazing.

Then on Sunday, all major rides were closed during Early Entry. Then MaxAir, Wicked Twister, Blue Streak and Corkscrew opened a bit after 10 am. The rest remained closed due to high winds.

We now know that Millennium Force and Maverick got valleyed -- I got to say I appreciate the park operators for even TRYING to run them and it bit them in the rear.

So, today's forecast for Kings Island: 13 -18 mph winds. I didn't plan to go today anyway due to their school event all this week - I suspect the crowds would be as bad.

With 13-18 mph winds at Kings Island, would Diamondback be down today? What should be a good rule of thumb in planning your trip factoring in forecasted wind speeds?

How do I find out if Diamondback is down today?

Any tips for this first time Platinum Pass for my family, a single dad with 4 kids?

Marvin

My one and glorious tip for a new platinum pass holders is to look on Cedar Point's website for the list of perks.

Tyler Boes said:

My one and glorious tip for a new platinum pass holders is to look on Cedar Point's website for the list of perks.

Ah, thanks. Saw that. Kings Island's web site doesn't have that. Anyone know why?

Also, I called and talked with KI rep about winds. They said they don't recall a day when winds shut down Diamondback. It's more of a problem for Cedar Point due to their location next to a great lake. Diamondback will get shut down due to heavy rains or lighting storms.

Crowds seem to be VERY light at KI today, despite the Education Days. Hm. Anyone know why?

The reason is that Cedar Point is the only park that has a lot of perks.

The reason for the light crowds is a mystery. I would like to here a trip report about your trip.

I'm not at Kings Island now -- toying with the idea of going there tomorrow. I initially planned not to go at all this week due to Education Days, but saw reports of riders getting on Firehawk without wait.

Firehawk without a wait?! That's a miracle.

I live in Fishers, IN so it's a good 2.5 hour drive, maybe 2.25 if I step on it.

Playing hooky feels mighty tempting. ;-)

Kings Island's pass perks suck in comparison.

Then there is this at the bottom:

*All prices and benefits subject to change

Marvin Miller said:

I'm not at Kings Island now -- toying with the idea of going there tomorrow. I initially planned not to go at all this week due to Education Days, but saw reports of riders getting on Firehawk without wait.

Firehawk without a wait?! That's a miracle.

I live in Fishers, IN so it's a good 2.5 hour drive, maybe 2.25 if I step on it.

Playing hooky feels mighty tempting. ;-)

You're from Fishers? Nice. I'm like 10 miles south of McCordsville. At least you're closer to Cedar Point than I am.

Marvin Miller said:

I'm not at Kings Island now -- toying with the idea of going there tomorrow. I initially planned not to go at all this week due to Education Days, but saw reports of riders getting on Firehawk without wait.

I was at the park yesterday. Diamondback had a 5-10 minute wait even with two trains running so it was a nice day to go. Today does look absolutely dead and may prompt a visit later this afternoon.

There are only a few days of the year when you can go to KI and be reasonably certain that crowds will be light, and they are:

• the first three weeks of daily operation (except Friday through Sunday of Memorial Day weekend)
• the last two weeks of daily operation in August
• Sundays in October

Most of that stems from the shorter operating hours. There are a lot of locals that like to go to the park after work, and the temptation for them to do that decreases substantially when the park closes at 8 instead of 10.

So Education Days isn't a big factor then? Seems to be different for Cedar Point's Math and Science week this week.

Appreciate the tips!

And, I've decided to take my oldest son there tomorrow -- winds 14-18 mph forecasted. KI staff says they have never shut down Diamondback due to winds, unlike Cedar Point. Let's hope they know what they are talking about.

:-)

Yes, Cedar Point is absolutely trash during it's Math & Science Week. There are far too many humans present. However, as other members have pointed out to me, after about 6 PM when all of the kids leave the park, the place is essentially dead, so if you do go there on a Math & Science day, you may as well stay the entire day until all the kids leave so you can take advantage of your trip to the park and not make it wasted.

I try to avoid school days at any park. I made the mistake of going to Cedar Point on a school day, and it was packed with busloads of rotten kids. They, tend to travel in large packs, and will fill up the lines pretty quick, as 60 or more kids hit a ride all at one time. So their group stays together.

Never forget my experience at the cafe by Iron Dragon. I was waiting to order my food, and these two little girls came up and asked me if they could go ahead of me, becasue they were school kids and din't have a lot of time to eat before meeting their group. So, I said sure.

The girl lets out this loud whistle, and starts waving over this large group of kids, maybe 30 or more, saying. Heys guys this man says we can go ahead of him. I said...Oh hell no! I said just you girls could go ahead of me, not your whole damn class! I'll take my spot back thank you very much. I have only so much time in my day too.

Next thing I know there is this huge line of school kids, behind me. Kids were also using that sob story to cut in line too. Sometimes 15 to 20 of them at a time. Makes for a really long tiring day. I also hate that they feel the need to bounce their damn basket balls, and play catch in line.

Never again.

Also, on the day that I as there, a majority of the school kids were still in the park up until around 8 p.m. Leaving only a couple hours to get in a few rides with less waiting. The park was supposed to close at 8 or 9, but stayed open until 10. Though I think they closed the entrance gates at 8.

Hahaha, that was really humorous reading that. They really are a bunch of disgusting little bastards, aren't they?

That's really unfortunate to hear that the bit about the park clearing out at 6 doesn't always work. It basically sounds like the park should be avoided at all costs the first 9 days that they are open because it's always opening weekend followed by 5 days of Math & Science bull followed by another weekend sure to be packed with scum. Then the following five weekdays are sure to be your best bet for having the lowest crowds of the entire year.

Yes. All people between age 9 and 18 are terrible. And good thing for me, I never was one.

I swear, the next person to reference math and science week, gets a swift kick in the teeth.

What's wrong with mentioning it?

I am not going to mention it by name but I was at Cedar Point yesterday and the crowd was very light despite the large amount of busses. The only rides with real lines were Millennium and Maverick. Gatekeeper started at an hour and half and dropped to 15 minutes towards the end of the day. Everything else was a walk-on. Dragster and Gemini were down all day.

An amusement park is no place for kids.

Or people.

Sure they are, but it's annoying to have to deal with them regardless, so it'd be great if they weren't there.