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Quick trip report from yesterday, 5/31/21, Memorial Day. Took a chance on the crowds since they are still doing reservations and it was great. Crowds were moderate at most and we got plenty of rides on the big 4 except Intimidator as it was down in the middle part of the day. For the most part the crews were moving the lines along pretty well. We got back to back rides on Copperhead around 3:00 and only waited 5 minutes each time. The one exception to this was the crew on Intimidator as they were really slow and couldn't have cared less. Part of the problem was the crew and part was they would have to check and recheck seats on every single train multiple times. I started timing dispatch times at one point and they were averaging between 4 and 5 minutes between trains. Other than that it was a great day and felt so good to finally get back to the park and ride some coasters. Fury was great as always and by the afternoon it was hauling as the temps warmed up. Copperhead continues to grow on me and that's saying something because I've loved it from the beginning. Got 2 back row rides yesterday and the airtime back there is just fantastic! Such a fun coaster! Headed to BGW this coming weekend and I guess we will miss Pantheon. Major bummer. I actually dreamed last night they were doing a soft opening and we got to get on ha! Maybe that will come true but I'm not holding my breath.

Zach, you think handing her off for a night makes for a mixed bag of feelings, wait until you take a vacation without her or she goes off to camp for a week or the track you will make in the floor pacing when she takes the car for the first time, lol. Glad you had a nice visit! Shout out to the park. Yesterday not only did they treat the employees to free (and I am told fresh and "better than normal") burgers, dogs and other traditional Memorial Day food in the catering grove BUT they also gave them an employee ride night on Thunder and Freeze for about an hour and a half after close.

Emily and I stopped by the park Friday for a couple beers and rides, after we were in the area for dinner. Here are some proofread highlights: It was cold and raining, but the park seemed pretty steady. The parking entrance was 5-10 cars deep in all rows. We were kind of expecting walk-on rides, because of the drizzle and cold, but that wasn't the case. Batman's queue was past the tunnel on the first drop, so we passed on that. The new queue entrance is nice. I was really hoping to see the station lighting. The lights on American Thunder were a nice touch, but on the Ninja they looked phenomenal against the white supports. Shall I say Cedar Fair'ish? I'd love to see this continued. We didn't get to see the lights on Freeze, due to wait times. We didn't check, but we saw a steady line of people entering the queue. Screaming Eagle was running great in the safe seats, as per usual. Middle cars, first row, as we ride most wooden coasters that are not GCI's. Eagle is still a shining star. I'm glad our coaster tastes have matured into really appreciating it. The jog through the woods is great. American Thunder actually had a little rattle to it, not to be confused with roughness. Hopefully it stops there. I'm wondering if it was a maintenance budget thing in the off season, or if it will just be due for some tracking, sometime soon. Speaking of tracking, it would make my year to have RMC use their brand new track replacement instead of giving it the I-box treatment. I understand that would be a lot of money for little marketing return. I'd gladly take it over a new coaster. Crazy, right? It was nice to see Xcaliber running, and Boomerang. We seem to almost always catch Boomerang when it's closed closed. We didn't ride either, but they're fun to watch cycle. JB's was really looking cleaned up. There's a DJ booth in the DC plaza, so we drank our beer and laughed watching kids get down to the music. They have no shame. Log Flume and Thunder River were closed. Cold weather. Superman was... closed... I'm not going to beat a dead horse with how the area looks. The crowd was way more tame than I thought it would be for a late night closing. I saw a lot of families... and an idiot family pushing around an infant in a stroller during cold drizzle at 11pm. It makes me feel like a good parent. (our toddler was in good with my In-laws for the night. #datenight) Bring back Budweiser products on tap, please. We'll make the 50 minute drive for a return visit this year... sometime. Nights alone are a rarity, anymore. I never realized handing off Eve for a night would come with such a mixed bag of feelings like guilt, joy, regret, and freedom. wtf Cheers.

@DoinItForTheFame, to be honest, most of the water (slides, wave pool) was of adequate temperature...the lazy river was just extra cold. Anyway, this about brings my CP trip to a close. Despite loosing both Friday and Saturday at the park, between Sunday and Monday I was able to get: three rides on Dragster, two each on Millie, Raptor, and Maverick, and one ride each on Magnum, CCMR, Iron Dragon, Rougarou, Gatekeeper, Valravn, Blue Streak, Gemini, Wicked Twister, and SV (skipped Corkscrew voluntarily because it's Corkscrew and can go die in a fire). Plus, got about 3 hours at the water park. A full report is coming, including a detailed report on Snake River Expeditions (I am fully in favor of just calling this "boat" moving forward) with a ton of pictures, and the new SV locker procedure, but maybe not until this coming weekend or Monday or Tuesday. Tomorrow, it's off to Kings Island for some rides on Mystic, the Beast, Banshee, and some time in their water park, before it's time for the long drive back home on Wednesday.

isn't FL online only? so yeah. . dont' wait until even day before. . buy it now if you know you're going to be at the park at some point. better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it.

Sounds like an awesome trip, and great that the FL+ is still awesome this year. Looking forward to my visit this weekend. I'm so hyped for Holiwood Nights I had to just reminded myself I booked a hotel outside Kings Island to visit all day on Sunday with FL+. So stoked! Thanks for sharing your report.

Visited yesterday and despite some worries about getting in the parking lot (traffic on Kings Island Dr was backed up past the Great Wolf Lodge, and this was at 10:15), I had a fantastic 4 hours there. I so wish Cedar Point’s FastLane was set up like Kings Island’s. The longest wait I had during my visit was 10 minutes to actually get my FastLane wristband. I’m sure if I would have eaten at the park that would have been a much higher number though as the food lines were insane. - Banshee (walk-on FL+): rode during the tail end of early entry. Someone here mentioned that Banshee is really rattling and I have to agree. The first drop and Immelmann were pretty janky. I do love the batwing element and the final inline twist is my favorite part of the ride as it is just taken so slowly. It’s a decent ride, but I honestly think Raptor is the better B&M invert in Ohio. Rating 7/10 - Flight of Fear (5 minute wait FL+): speaking of running a bit rattly, FoF was a bit bumpier than I remember. I was on the first train of the day as they let the FL+ line in first before the regular line entered. The launch is still intense and twisting through near total darkness is always a blast. But the stop on the mid course and the bumpy ride keeps it from being a repeat ride for me. Rating 7/10 - Orion (walk-on FL+): wow. Full trains REALLY made a difference here. Orion was really flying compared to my rides last season and I absolutely loved it. So smooth, so fast, and a killer first drop make this a really solid addition to KI. Rating 9.5/10 - Mystic Timbers (walk-on FL+): My #1 wood and #1 overall coaster was still running unbelievably well this year. Mystic Timbers is a completely chaotic, out of control ride that never slows down and launches you off your seat more times than I can count. In the shed (which we are repeatedly warned not to go in, but we do anyways), the tree monster attacked on my first ride and the bats swarmed on my 2nd and 3rd rides. Absolutely love this coaster. Rating 10/10 - Diamondback (walk-on FL+): I was assigned to row 16 (they were assigning seats on all coasters, I didn’t ask for any special requests so I’m not sure if they were allowing it), and the airtime on this ride in the back is unreal. Sustained floater airtime on almost every hill, it was spectacular. I made the mistake of putting my arms out on the splashdown finale, resulting in my back getting a bit damp. I didn’t care though as Diamondback may have even been better than Orion. Rating 10/10 - BooBlasters on Boo Hill (3 minutes FL+): I miss Phantom Theater and the Enchanted Voyage. BooBlasters is alright. Nothing really stands out as being memorable, but I did end up with 1260 pets. Which I guess is good? Rating 5/10 - Racer (walk-on FL+): If KI can retrack the return leg of this ride like they did the outbound run, they will have something special here. This is the best Racer ride I have had in years. Massive props to the park for taking care of this historic gem. Rating 7/10 - Adventure Express (5 minutes FL+): The regular line was out to the midway so thank goodness for FL! I’ve always enjoyed this ride even though the finale after the final lift is such a letdown. The drummer guys on the final lift all seemed to be working AND had colorful new lighting installed. Even the “you will pay” guy looks like he got some colored contact lenses. Nice! Rating 7/10 - Kings Mills Antique Autos (walk on FL+): I am so glad KI added antique cars back to its lineup a few years back. The course isn’t anything spectacular, but it is a pleasant diversion and since it’s on FL+, how can you not stop for a quick ride? Rating: 6.5/10 - Windseeker (one cycle wait FL+, would have been the same without it!): not sure why I like these rides. There isn’t much to it, but the views are stunning. Rating: 7/10 - Shake Rattle and Roll (one cycle wait FL+): a KI classic since 1975, this Huss Troika has always been one of my faves at the park. It is weird not having Vortex in the background though. Rating: 6.5/10 - Backlot Stunt Coaster (walk-on FL+): when this ride first opened in 2005, I hated it. I thought it was a complete waste of space and a disgrace to Paramount’s Kings Island to visually destroy such a pretty area of the park. Now, it’s a can’t miss attraction each time I’m at the park. Guess I just needed to “get” the ride! The helix beginning is way more intense than it has a right to be, the flame effects work still (as do the “bullets”!), and the final tunnel seemed much darker than usual. Fun, smooth, and re-rideable, especially when there is no wait! Rating: 8/10 - Woodstock Gliders (one cycle wait FL+): while not the park originals, it’s still nice that Kings Island re-introduced a set of Flyers. They are your typical Larson model and move at a pretty good clip. The only complaint I have here is that they are located in Planet Snoopy. Rating: 7/10 overall a tremendous day at one of my favorite parks. The Beast was closed during my 4 hours there, so I didn’t get to ride, but Mystic Timbers more than makes up for that. I also think White Water Canyon and Congo Falls were closed. The temps never got past 60 while I was there, so that might explain it! Can’t wait to go back, even with the 8 hour round trip drive!

Just about 5 weeks until my 1st ever visit, and get to knock this bucket list park/coaster (the Beast) off my ever shorter list. it's gonna be interesting that my 1st time is for Coasterstock, so there will be a lot of ERT, and I'll have to make decisions on what activities during the event to "miss" so I can experience more of the park. but I *did* just go ahead and purchase FL+ for the Saturday ($116 online). . . for Friday? will just stick to CoasterStock schedule (once released). . but I have a feeling that Sat will be PACKED, and I'm gonna wanna have that FL+ to ride a few things during the day, that are outside of the ERT sessions. (or, hell, just be able to focus on Non-FL+ rides during ERT, since I'll have the wristband for the day). can't wait! added bonus is get to hang out with TeacherKim and her son,Joel. . both very cool people.

You can buy fast lane online the day of, IF it's not already sold out. Passholder weekend I bought it online when I pulled up a mile back in the car line. You can only buy FL online/on app. You pick it up once you enter the park on the left. I think today was more so people getting an extended holiday weekend, but who knows. To be fair FL+ was only $75 and FL was $60. Pretty cheap, I think it's usually around $90. Fast lane waits are 10 min or less, Mike can detail that. FoF is just the longest due to capacity and the merge line is at the space ship.

^ Yep, FastLane is online only. I am SO glad I learned of the season long option from members here. It’s so nice to already have that already paid for on any visit to the park. And to Zand, sorry if I made Diamondback sound like it’s an airtime machine. I thought it was a way better ride in the back though and it does feel like you are out of your seat more often than not. Just my observation though! hope everyone enjoys their visits, even if it is busy...

It's Tuesday haha. And yeah the FL booth had the sold out signs as soon as I walked in, and I was the second redemption of the day. I've got it and I'm chilling in the water park, probably going back to the dry park between 5 and 6. If you're here and wanna meet up and grab a drink, shoot me a PM. I can up my "TPR members met" count to 3 LOL. That goes for you too, @Zand.

75 minutes at Diamondback turned into 35 minutes for a back seat ride. Pretty good ride, a little rattly and not quite as much airtime as I've heard but still a pretty solid ride. Hit Mystic Timbers next, again being told 75 mins but ended up being 45. Rode in front, freaking awesome coaster! Tons of airtime and fun forceful turns. Inside of the shed was super hot. Just hopped on the train as it was loading when I got off Mystic Timbers. After the train I'll probably hit Orion and Banshee just to get through the rest of the new to me stuff. It's crowded for sure but a lot of it is school groups who seem to be slowly heading out. Luckily the crews have been great so far. Food lines do look extremely ugly though.

Orion had been down but is now testing. Short wait for it once it is re-opened!

If you’re nervous about some rides, are G Force loads really the reason why? Lot’s of people mention Sheikra, and sure... it probably pulls less Gs than the other coasters at Busch Gardens but it also dangles you over a vertical drop 200 feet in the air and holds you there. Is that okay with you? For many, it’s probably the scariest coaster in Florida. It just depends what you’re worried about. Honestly I feel like you can just ride every B&M in Florida if you’ve been on Wild Eagle. Montu is probably the most intense, but Montu is also glass smooth. Mostly everyone seems to love it. Just rip the band-aid off and ride Montu. I think you’ll find that you can easily handle it and then you don’t have to worry.

I realize there are bigger problems in the world, but as a Fast Lane Plus user, I also have to voice my annoyance with SV’s new queue setup! My opening day FL experience was decent: I merged into the pre-locker tunnel, which wasn’t very full. After putting my phone in a locker, I was sent to the left FL staircase, which was mostly empty. I didn’t time it, but I felt like I got on the ride pretty quickly. Today, however, the merged tunnel was much more full, and I was sent to a jam packed right standby staircase, which I realized is significantly longer (in distance) than the left one! I waited a full 45 minutes to ride, 30 after the merge point. That’s without using the lockers, since I stored my phone prior to riding, and on a day when the park was not overly crowded. The party in front of me in the pre-locker tunnel was sent to the left staircase, and they got on the ride almost 10 minutes before me. (They even took time to use the lockers.) I thought maybe I was being too sensitive, but I overheard a non-FL party behind me in the right staircase complaining about the same thing. There also seemed to be more guest confusion today leading up to the lockers. Some guests thought they needed to “cut” the merged line to get to the lockers and then double back. Some large parties didn’t understand why employees were forcing the entire party to go to the lockers, rather than just one person. Finally, and I’m not sure what caused this, but the FL line today was barely shorter than the standby line for my first ride, and exactly equal with the standby line for my second ride. The end result is a quick FL ride on SV seems to be a thing of the past. The merge point is now so far back from the station, it’s hard to see how the FL line will ever be less than ~30 minutes. That’s not too impactful on very crowded days, but on uncrowded days, or at times with few FL users, the FL value for this ride has diminished significantly. TL;DR: My main suggestion at this point is to fill less of the merged tunnel before the lockers and/or use one staircase only (for everyone). I realize the park wants to ensure a constant flow of guests to the station, but I think the park can accomplish that by frequently sending small groups of riders to the lockers from the merge point, thereby still providing a meaningful FL experience. I’m sorry for my rant! I really do appreciate the park finding a way to allow guests to keep their phones in line without compromising safety or the ride’s capacity. I just wish it didn’t come so much at the expense of FL users. Lol

Wow, they actually pulled off making the situation WORSE than opening day/weekend. So they were separating the lines after the lockers and the FL line was typically shorter opening weekend. Still highly inefficient, but not as bad as what you described. I saw many many people screaming at the ops when we were there. I just truly don't understand why CP is putting their employees in this situation. Employees lie and say the lines are "2 hours standby" when they're actually 20 to 30 minutes and it just creates this distrust. I hope they go back to just closing the lines with the park. I do get why so many are upset, people wait an hour for a corn dog so they don't pass out then get turned down 2 hours early for two of the most popular attractions next door on already reduced days and hours. If the park closes at 6 or 7, just close the park then. My favorite quote I heard from a SV employee was "don't put your bags behind the railings, this isn't six flags". Well SFGAdv and SFSTL both had awesome operations, staff, cleanliness and so on. We put off using our season long fast pass at any Cedar Fair park because it's still miserable compared to Universal, Herschend, Six Flags and every other park we've gone too this year and last year.

Few more points from the rest of today, where I got to experience the best and worst of the CP 2021 experience. After lunch I hit Raptor while I was there, grabbed front row after a quick FP line (regular line looked pretty short anyway). Skyride was closed today so walked up and randomly walked into Matterhorn as it was loading while I walked by. Definitely not a ride I expected to hit today, but what the hell! Waited about 15 minutes to do some Iron Draggin'. Always gotta hit it once even if it's kind of a lousy ride. Followed that up with another MF front row ride as there were only 2 groups lined up for it. Headed back to Frontier Town for a walk on ride on the excellent Skyhawk followed by a not so excellent walk on of the Mine Train. Those restraints are brutal and the ride isn't anything to write home about. Might add it to the list with Rougarou and Corkscrew of coasters that I wouldn't be sad if I missed each trip. Here comes the "worst of CP" I mentioned at the beginning of the post. Got to Steel Vengeance at around 6:45. Wife didn't want to ride so she sat outside and waited. I went into the FP line to find that the standby line was also empty. Put my stuff in the lockers, then was directed to the line on the right. They were doing such an awful job at pulsing the line that two guys that were in front of me in the tunnel got sent to the left side and got on the ride FIVE trains before I did. I had to bite my tongue to not ask the girl working the top of the stairs if she knows how to count. But, I did ask her if I could get in line for the back (since, you know, that and the front have dedicated lines built for that reason) and she coldly said "actually, you can go to row 3". While I was waiting for row 3, she let the people behind me line up for the front. I kept my mouth shut and enjoyed the ride, but good god lady. Finally got off at 7:40 (yes, it took 45 f*cking minutes to get on the ride from the lockers because someone can't count) and saw the line was already closed and some guy with a pony tail and tye dye Kings Island shirt was SCREAMING at the guy working the entrance. My wife said they closed the line at 7:20 and had turned away a few hundred people. She also noted people who got in the regular line 20 minutes after I got in the FP line got off before me, and I was like yup. While most of the rest of the park seems to be back in typical CP shape (which is generally good), Steel Vengeance is still a clusterf*ck of epic proportions. Got on the train to head through Boneville to the front of the park (unfortunately with the tye dye douchebag right behind us) and saw the MF line was still open as we pulled up. I made it in at 7:57 and they kept it open till 8:05. Against all odds, the grouper let me get in line for the back, and then upon return they popped open the magic gate and told everyone to go ride again so they could let the front row line finish up without moving them to other parts of the train. I can't believe I was still in the same park as I was at Steel Vengeance. Total ineptitude at one end, and thankfully ending on a great note at the other. Simply put, that left side line at Steel Vengeance after the lockers needs to be FP only. And if you're going to use both sides as the regular line, for the love of god put someone up there that can count to f*cking twelve. And let people line up for the front and back like every other coaster in the park. Maybe just move Millennium's crew over there for a day and show them how it's done. Other than Steel Vengeance it was a great day. Rode everything I wanted to, multiple times for most. Still a bit of stacking going on but things seem to be smoothing out. Hell, I think TTD ran nonstop in the combined 14 hours I spent in the park. After a rocky start, I'd say CP is finally getting it together. Now just need to get those old hours back. Heading down to KI tomorrow and Wednesday. Wed looks like a washout, but maybe it'll stay light and I can have the place to myself. Will take what comes with the weather, but will be sure to ride what I can tomorrow in case I'm shut out Wednesday.

Bert, reading your TR's throughout the years, I think you will really like the combination of subtle charm and kick ass rides. I hope the carrousel lives up to your standards!

Crowds were pretty steady Friday night. They were running 2 trains on most of the popular coasters. I rode Titan, Shockwave, Mr Freeze, Batman, and Judge Roy Scream. Tried to ride NTAG but got denied. Got green on the test seat but the ride ops couldn't get the restraint down. Bummer. It was raining today but that didn't stop the crowds. As far as NTAG, I had changed my wardrobe to something less constraining-- gym shorts and flip flops and still got denied on NTAG. I'm going to have to a skinny revenge tour of SFOT, SDC (Outlaw Run), and SFSTL (Batman) next year! That said... This afternoon I went to a great brisket place in downtown Dallas-- Terry Black's BBQ. Highly recommended. Magic Springs did kind of suck, btw. I went there on Saturday and they weren't running Arkansas Twister and X-Coaster. Gauntlet may have shot to the top for my least favorite SLC. Have a nice bruise. Ops kind of sucked as well. Only one train and they weren't trying very hard to send full trains out. Frontier City was better. Nice little park with some fun rides. Really enjoyed Wildcat, Diamondback, and Silver Bullet. Despite some setbacks and disappointments, overall, I had a fun trip. Edit to add: Also rode Joker Friday night. Only 9 new credits on this trip but my goal of hitting 400 this year is within reach. Currently at 372. I'm going to try to hit a few more of these less popular parks this summer but also return to a couple I haven't been to since the late 2000s like Carowinds and Six Flags Over Georgia.

Kumba. Just start with Kumba.

That reminds of the time a woman complained to our little local water park in Cape Girardeau about getting wet on the lazy river.

We were there in Sept,1975. Just when The Revolution's land was being cleared. Was a fun time there, we remember. Congrats on MM`s 50th Anniversary! The photos of our 1975 visit to MM. In the bottom left photo, You can see the land being cleared for Revolution.

They will be open through New Year's Day. Just are holding off a bit to see what the hours/events will be based on Pandemic conditions. Although at this point I will say I think it is looking good to return to normal operations. If at all possible they want that for FF, it's their biggest money maker of the year. They will go to weekends only after August 22. Pretty much every school district in the county starts the next day. On another note apparently it was super packed today. I'm guessing partly due to the colder than normal weather forcing the opening of HH to be delayed. Some stupid woman was complaining on FB that her poor son would be disappointed and why o why didn't Six Flags have heated pools like Volcano Bay, and I only got on there in the first place to see if they delayed the opening

Rebuilt Pirate definitely getting more height

from what i've seen on social media, there was a banner under neath the sign by the ticket booths, and another over the main gate with some decorations. not sure if there's anything else. also they gave out buttons. not sure anything else happened yesterday.

Happy Birthday to the park! 50 years is a big milestone. I know they're really just trying to reopen, but anyone know if they've put up any signage celebrating the anniversary? Speaking of birthdays, I was originally going to postpone longer, but flights and other pricing worked out that I just set in stone my first trip to the park on my birthday. It's only a couple days after the currently-scheduled date that CA lifts all their restrictions (June 15th), so I went ahead and made my reservation & got a Platinum flash pass since I'm sure it'll be pretty busy. I know the park hasn't officially lifted their in-state only restriction, but with Disney doing so recently and the (hopeful) lifting of all restrictions coming up, I'm a bit doubtful this park will hold out much longer.

Happy 50th anniversary to Magic Mountain! Hard to believe it's "only" been 50 years. Seems like this park has been around forever...

That's not quite a haiku but keep trying.

SeaWorld updated the note to remove the option for out-of-state residents to provide a covid test. The only way for out-of-state residents to visit now is being fully vaccinated. In the reopen California documents, there's a statement "fully vaccinated persons from out of state may visit or attend activities or events that are restricted to in-state visitors."