bpmitchell

I went out to the park yesterday as well and snapped a whole bunch of good photos. Here are my photos from the day: *Each photo is watermarked with the podcast that I do coverage for* More of a tressel piece bolted together flatbed at another angle more supports on a flatbed more of another piece with a connector closeup of the connector part of another tressel piece part of a support part of cable lift system track piece going from double to single spine support beams put together for tressel

Great TR & Photos, the captions are really funny, thank you for sharing

I planned a trip out to Ohio and threw in Kings Island, Cedar Point, and Waldameer. I gathered up my g/f & a good friend of mine from high school for the journey. Here's the TR, Enjoy! Day 1: Kings Island We arrived at Kings Island shortly after 9am. We waited about 15 mins until they opened the gates and immediately proceeded to Diamondback. Jason & I got in early before the general public because platinum pass holders get ert 1/2 early before the park opens to the gp.We rode Diamondback 4 times before we decided to purchase our t-shirts because it was just such a great ride. After Diamondback, we rode The Crypt. I wasn't impressed with KI's version because it doesn't spin as much as KD's but with it being inside it was a different experience.After we rode The Crypt, we went over to check out The Beast. It was temporarily down, so we went and rode Vortex. Vortex is similar to Anaconda but has more inversions. This was better than Anaconda and smoother. Jason liked it as well as me. We went back over to The Beast after Vortex and it was open. We rode it and it is a very long wooden coaster with some rough spots. I liked the sharp helix turns and the long tunnels. After riding The Beast, we went over to the Action Zone and checked out some of the things over there. We saw that the X-treme Skyflyer was only $5.00 per person. We decided to do it since it was a good bargain. It was my 1st ever Skyflyer experience and it was worth every penny. After riding the X-treme Skyflyer we went over to ride Flight Deck, a suspended coaster like Big Bad Wolf. This use to be Top Gun in the Paramount days. Flight Deck was a nice little coaster and very quick. Son Of Beast was right next to it sitting quiet as it was closed due to that incident that happened which most of you have probably read about now. We went over and checked out more stuff in the area before doing some more Diamondback. After another ride on Diamondback, we went and rode Runaway Reptar in Nick Universe. It was a fun ride with a quick lift hill. We went back and rode The Racer, KI's version of Rebel Yell. These 2 coaster are not identical as KI's version goes to the right and left and does not keep a straight path. We went over and checked out Flight of Fear and Firehawk to discover the lines were long. I like the X-Base theme at KI and hope that KD does this with their new coaster. After that, we rode Adventure Express which is a mine train ride. We went over and hit up Drop Tower which was pretty cool cause it rotates while going up a little bit. After Drop Tower, we did the backyard BBQ buffet for $10 cause we got a discount for being platinum pass holders. After lunch we did Diamondback again and went over to ride Invertigo & Delirium. This was my 1st suspended boomerang and it was intense. Delirium was great but not as good as CP's Maxair which I have been on before. After riding those rides, we made our way around a little bit, went back and rode Firehawk which was 1 hr wait at the most, and was probably the best of location flying coaster I have ever ridden. After riding Firehawk it was getting close to ITL time so we hit up the red side of The Racer for the credit before heading over to Diamondback. We setup with John Turner & Clint to do a live onride of Diamondback. We rode the 1st time and had a delay with the interview from Dani Swords at Carowinds. We jumped back in line after the interview was over and I was able to text John and we got connected to do the live onride with them. You can find it here:In The Loop live onride of Diamondback. After riding Diamondback we then jumped in line for a nightride on it. The really cool thing about the nightride on it is that as we were going off the lift hill the fireworks were going off in the distance. We were riding Diamondback during the fireworks. It was an awesome day at KI, the employees were fantastic, this park exceeded my expectations on both service, and ride operation. I give this park 5 stars in my books, I hope everyone can make it to KI and experience Diamondback, it is one of the greatest steel coasters I've ever been on. Photos: Eiffel Tower Diamondback in the distance Fountains on International Street at KI Brian & Jason at KI Brian Jason Jason sees Diamondback Diamondback going up the lift hill Diamondback's Splashdown Diamondback near the crest of the lift Diamondback going down the 1st drop If you eat White Castle the night before and go to Kings Island, they will warn you about this new rule Nickelodeon stuff is 50% off at KI too Day 2 (7/14/09) Cedar Point We started our day leaving the Comfort Inn at Kings Island at 5am. Our goal was to be at Cedar Point around 9am for the ERT for Platinum Pass holders but we did not arrive until around 9:30am due to a late start. We arrived at Cedar Point and immediately headed for Maverick. This was Jason's first time at Cedar Point in 6 years so he wanted to do Maverick straight away. I rode Maverick last year and it was incredible. We rode in the front row and the ride is pretty quick and I love the quick turns and launch the best. After Maverick, we were going to head for Millennium Force when I saw that the line for SkyHawk was a walk on, so I asked Jason if he wanted to ride that and he said "sure". We ended up riding SkyHawk 2 times since it was a walk on before heading over to Millennium Force. We got to Millennium Force to discover it was 1 1/2 hr wait at the most so we waited for it. The ride has gotten shaky though in some places but it is still a great ride. After riding Millennium Force I was getting hungry for some lunch, so Jason decided to stay in the park and I went out of the park and met up with Sara for lunch. We went to Chet & Matt's for some pizza and it was delicious. They have a buffet and they bring out different pizzas while you are there. I think my favorite was the taco salad pizza. I did go write on the chalkboard and I wrote some funny stuff on it such as: 434 Coaster Chronicles Brian was here, Reece is a little whimp for not riding Dominator (you would know the story by now if you were at the kdfansite event), Diamondback rocks without a ball, and some guy went in there and wrote SOB which many of you will probably be able to crack what it means. It was a lot of fun and the food was great. After lunch I called Jason and he said that Top Thrill Dragster was down, so I asked if he wanted to do some Raptor really quick since the hotel room was not ready. He said that Raptor sounds good. I went to Raptor immediately upon entering the park & I actually got there before Jason did so he was able to catch up with me in line later on, I know its line cutting but he was able to catch up and I am a bad guy for letting him cut in line. We rode Raptor and discovered that after riding our room was ready for us to check into. We checked into the hotel room, I fell asleep as well as Jason, and Sara woke us up to go back to the park. We got back to the park, rode Raptor again before heading over to the Wicked Twister. Wicked Twister was around 1/2 hr wait so we waited to ride it in the back. This ride is intense in the back, and its one of my favorite rides at the park. We went over to ride Maxair and it was a lot of fun. After Maxair we decided to check the line for Disaster Transport and it was long. We decided to go ride Power Tower space shoot before I saw that Dragster was testing, so we immediately proceeded to Dragster after riding the Power Tower. We waited roughly 25 mins or so and they opened it. We waited around 1 hr or so for the front row and this thing is the best in the front. I bought a ride photo after the ride and will post in this TR. We went to ride Mantis after Top Thrill Dragster and Mantis is a nice B&M standup. I got tired after Mantis and it was around 9pm or so and we headed out. On our way out of the park, Jason wanted to ride Demon Drop so we went and rode that. We arrived at the hotel a short time later and I passed out immediately. Jason & Sara went to Steak & Shake while I slept like an old man in the hotel room and they were kind enough to bring me home a pepperjack sandwich and some fries. Jason & Brian conquer Top Thrill Dragster in the front row That concludes Day 3 -Brian- Day 3 (7/14/09) Cedar Point & Waldameer Park Today is the final day of our trip, and we have a lot planned for all of our readers. We woke up early, packed our stuff, and left the hotel room around 8:45am. We arrived at Cedar Point a little after 9am & proceeded to the challenge park gate to get our early entrance with our Platinum Passes. I had trouble getting in though. This guy is my nomination for douche of the week on ITL next week, and I will break it down for you guys reading my TRs. I walk up and I hand him my pass, he looks at my picture and as I proceed to enter he tells me to hold on a second because he couldn't verify that I look like the guy in the picture. I said well what do you mean I was just here yesterday and I am returning for a few hrs this morning. He says that the guy in the picture has longer hair than I do, I said well this is ridicious, and I don't understand why I would be held up like this. He then gets his supervisor to verify me and they both look at me together and his supervisor gives him an ok to let me in. Ok, now to get down to all of this, what change would I make to myself in 24 hrs, I mean why is it so ignorant that I look the way I am, was this guy trying to protect his job? Was this guy trying to take out his fustration on me or something, I mean come on Cedar Fair, hire employees that can show dedication to their job and all. I was not happy about the whole situation and I am going to address my concerns to CP management staff about this issue as I have been a passholder for consecutive seasons now and have never had this problem until just now. We got into the park after that interruption and our ert was only 15 more mins before the GP arrived into the park. We got to Millennium Force and the wait was around 25 mins or so which wasn't bad. We rode it and afterwards went over to check out the line for Mantis. We discovered it was a walk on so we rode it. After Mantis, we went over to check out the lines for Magnum XL200 and found out its a walk on. We rode that and went over to Gemini, and found its a walk on so we rode that too. After that it was getting to be around 11am so we had to leave and get on the road for Waldameer. On our way out we did the skyscraper flip swing thing for $10.00 per person and we had the buy one get one free with our Platinum Pass discount. We rode it 2 times and it was a lot of fun. We left for Waldameer and arrived at the park around 2:45pm. Waldameer scores bonus points in my book. The park was nice, free parking, free admission, and the wristband for the rides was only $20.45 flat. We rode Ravine Flyer II 2 times upon getting to the park. After we rode that, we checked out the Whacky Shack dark ride and rode that. This ride is really crazy, you enter all these doors shrinking in boxes, and at the end this truck horn blasts a light in your face. I say if you want to experience it get up to Waldameer Park in Erie, PA. After we rode that we went and checked out the Steel Dragon, a spinning wild mouse coaster. This ride was a lot of fun, as it has a big drop and some twists and turns all while spinning. After we rode that, we went and rode X-Scream, their drop tower. This was very quick and fun. We went and checked out Pirates Cove, a walk through dark ride fun house. After that we rode The Comet coaster which is an ACE legend. We also rode their rainbow ride, their newest addition the Mega Vortex Disco ride, the log flume which is much better than any log flume I have been on, and we rode Ravine Flyer II a few more times before leaving a little after 5pm. We headed for home and we arrived at home around 2:45am the next morning. This concludes the trip & Day 3, thank you guys for reading -Brian- Cedar Point Photos Millennium Force line on our final morning at the park Jason is ready to ride Me Millennium Force Millennium Force riders Me in front of Mantis sign Jason in front of Mantis sign Mantis inclined loop Me & Jason in front of Millennium Force sign Back of Top Thrill Dragster Waldameer Park Photos: Ravine Flyer II time One of the shows featuring Wally & Wendy, the park's mascots So Wally, wanna know what I did last night? So, what did she tell you? Time to ride the Whacky Shack Wee Weirdest dark ride ever Thanks for reading! -Brian-

I am not all concerned about the new coaster at the moment, I'll just wait till August when they announce it.

I won't be at either park until August, dang missing out on a golden opportunity

That is awesome Big Mike, I am happy that you are enjoying yourself on these trips, thank you for the update!

Awesome TR, I hope to make it out to this park one day

Thank you for the updates Big Mike, I enjoy reading your Trip Reports! I was unable to join you while you visited VA I had other things to tend to during your visit. I hope to meet up with you in the near future. -Brian-

I will be at KI on Monday July 13th! Can't Wait!

I was at the park last night for the kdfansite big bang event and the park was packed. As I left the park I stopped at the track site for a bit and there is a lot of track on site right now. Didn't take any photos, I was exhausted as I had been working all night and did KD all day!

kidtums

I wonder if they sell those metal signs in the US. I need to get me one to put up in my yard to keep the wild animals away.

I was at the park earlier for Hurlfest and a lot of land clearing in the back portion was discovered. I looked at the track closeup and its hard to really tell which manufacturer it is but from the park PR Manager he said that they will announce future announcements at a later time. We will have to wait and see what happens.

I'm not that much hyped up about it at the moment, its great that we now have track and I got really hyped up when the supports first started arriving and I thought it was track but now I'm just playing a waiting game to see what really comes to KD. I have better things to do this summer ie: visit other parks rather than continue to follow KD's new coaster construction.

I would like to see them expand the tour into more ride areas. I would like a tour of darkcastle inside and a walkthrough like what Robb had on last yr's east coast trip. That would be awesome! Today's tour was great for it being the 1st time they put something together like this. More photos on the way and video of Griffon's control system and operation.

Today I went on the 1st Behind The Screams tour at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The tour exceeded my expectations for it being the 1st time the park has put on a tour like this. I joined 3 other enthusiasts and we toured the Loch Ness Monster, Griffon, Alpengeist, and Big Bad Wolf. We got some ERT rides on Loch Ness, Griffon, and Alpengeist and got to tour the maintenance bays of the rides minus the Big Bad Wolf which we received a limited tour of the control room. After the tour we received 2 quick queue passes good for the rest of the day on any ride which came in handy for Alpengeist and Apollo's Chariot when the lines got longer later in the day. This is the 1st portion of the TR, I have tons of video footage that will be up later tonight along with more photos. This 1st set of photos are courtesy of the Busch Gardens photographer, you receive a CD with photos of your tour which is included in your tour package. Package prices are as followed: 74.99 regular and this does not include park admission which is required, 67.46 for season pass holders which is 10 percent off the regular price. I prefer that if you are on a budget that you plan accordingly before you make plans to attend this event. It is worth the price that you pay, but plan accordingly if you are on a budget, that is what I am going to say. Photos: The top of Griffon Another photo from the top The group for the tour Hi from the top of Griffon Tour of The Loch Ness Monster Going up the elevator lift to the top of Griffon ERT time on Loch Ness Monster in the front seat Tour under the lift hill system for Loch Ness Monster On the way to Griffon to tour The group from 205 ft up in the sky on Griffon Going up on the elevator lift Tour inside the maintenance bay Group after the tour Time for some ERT on Griffon in the front row Going up the lift After the 1st drop Griffon ERT is awesome! More of us Alpengeist ERT was also on our tour schedule front row ERT Two thumbs up for ERT Bathroom break time Time to tour The Big Bad Wolf, sadly though no ERT rides We get to tour the control room Time for the Alpengeist maintenance bay tour For all the coaster nerds, this is a B&M wheel which will fit perfectly in a home gym near you The group finishing up the tour That's me next to one of the Alpengeist trains More photos to come & video, stay tuned! -Brian-

I wish I could be there, I have never been on a TPR trip, they look like so much fun! I am glad to see you guys are having a wonderful trip and I hope the rest of your trip is safe and fun!

Great TR Natalie! I am going to the park this coming Saturday, does anyone know if the crowds will be busy this weekend or will it be a light crowd?

Excellent video Clint! I'm so excited!!

I was at the park when the 1st trailers started to arrive. I have photos and I will post them in the morning when I get home from work. I also have photos of the Marco Andretti event at the park as well, which was pretty cool in my books. I also got the chance to race him in go cart racing and got a poster and schedule autographed by him. -Brian-

Great Photo TR of Iver's coasters Big Mike, you are a role model to me in the TR reports that you do. As for Manhattan Express, its a great ride if you want to take a break from gambling in which I did while in Vegas.

Congratulations! You guys rock!!

I am enjoying your TRs day by day Big Mike. I apologize I don't post much on here to your TRs I have been busy lately. When will you be on the east coast again?

Excellent Photo TR! I will be visiting the area the 1st weekend of August. I will be visiting Lake Compounce, Quassy Park, and SFNE.

I will be riding it on opening day May 25th. Anybody else going to the park that day? I will be up in NJ the 25th-27th to visit SFGadv and will be doing the 1st trip blog of 2009 for my upcoming trip reports site.