JRice92

In this past off season I've really embraced my coaster enthusiasm and have planned to go to seven parks I've never been to before this summer in addition to regular my regular Cedar Point & Kings Island trips. Kennywood was my first new park experience in 10 years. Arriving at the park my friends & I were very surprised they had metal detectors at the front gate, do a lot of parks have this? Or is it just a Kennywood thing? Anyways, only one of the 4 of us had been to Kennywood before so it was a new experience for almost all of us. The landscaping was great and it was really awesome seeing multiple coasters utilize the terrain around the park. We got all of the coasters and big flats we wanted to to by 5. Then just took another trip around the park to do second trips on the most fun rides. Kennywood is a cool little park, now onto the coasters. Lil' Phantom: rode it for the credit, both the ride ops couldn't stop chuckling, they both gave me a high five on my way out. Exterminator: I had never ridden a wild mouse before, and I had a blast! The little small drops and the car spinning was just new exciting experience for me. Thunderbolt: The lateral forces on the big turns were awesome, the rest of the ride didn't do that much for me. Jack Rabbit: This coaster was all about the double dip, that was a lot of fun. But like Thunderbolt the rest of the coaster wasn't to memorable. Sky Rocket: For my first ride I sat in the middle of the train, the forces going into and over the top hat are very strong there. It was a fun little coaster with a nice layout for the size Racer: Now this coaster I had an absolute blast on! The layout was great, I actually love the color scheme, and giving high fives to riders in the train next to you is always fun. I think this coaster is really a hidden gem, I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed it! Phantom's Revenge: We held off on riding this early in the day to make this my 50th credit. I went in with high expectations and it didn't disappoint! This coaster has some EXTREME ejector air time, the layout was really awesome with the second drop being the big one, and man that double dip towards the end was something else. Best coaster at Kennywood for sure and It just may have cracked my top 10 steel coasters! Now for pictures. Just arriving to the park, looking at my soon to be 50th credit I was also really excited for Sky Rocket. First thing we went to was Exterminator I actually like the theme in here. After Exterminator we took a spin on Wave Swinger And since we were right there we did Swing Shot next, I still haven't rode Skyhawk at my home park yet because I'm too focused on getting coasters in, but after this I'll definitely have to try the bigger one. We swung by kiddie land for me to get the Lil' Phantom credit I had a blast! Next it was onto Racer! My friends had the hardest time figuring out that the reverse curve is how the trains switch sides each cycle. I think I'm in the minority when I say I LOVE Racer's color scheme! The double dip, best part of the ride. These were some of the most comfortable trains I've ever sat in. I loved how the queue for Sky Rocket went underneath the ride. Now it was time for business, Into the Phantom's Revenge queue. Credit #50! We also did Black Widow, somehow this ended up being the longest wait of the day over 1 hour! We then got to Thunderbolt! The crew members of this ride my be a little too laid relaxed for being at work. Got a picture with the Kennywood arrow! Later in the day we realized we'd yet to take a group photo! My crew for the day! It's great that even when you go up Phantom's lift hill, you can't see the bottom of the second drop. Took this on our way out the park, we had a great day!

Great TR! I agree with you 100% on your Mean Streak opinion, it LOOKS great. But the ride is unbearably rough, and the layout is boring. CP is lacking a good wooden coaster and Mean Streak should just be demolished for something better.

Yup. Never had a problem (in 2011 and 2013), even when there was a bit of a wait. Have fun! Awesome! Thanks! Gonna make this weekend that much better!

Hey guys, I'll be taking a trip to Kennywood for my first time on Saturday, from reading this thread my friends & I are going to get Exterminator out of the way first. I'll also be getting my 50th credit so I believe I'm going to make that Phantom's Revenge. My big questions is are we able to get the Lil' Phantom credit without a child with us? And any other tips you all can give would be appreciated! Thanks!

This coaster is going to be so awesome, I can't wait for my visit to Great America in August!

Hey Everybody, After realizing how few pictures I took on opening day I'm just gonna do a mini TR in the Cedar Point Thread. Opening day this year was a blast! First I want to thank anyone who's posted in the Cedar Point thread in the past few months suggesting to start in the back of the park and work your way up. That REALLY helped out getting in all the rides without Fast Lane. The weather was excellent, way better than last year's opening day. And this trip was my very first time experiencing the joys of being a single rider! I was nervous heading to the park in fear that I would get bored without someone going with me but it turned out to be the exact opposite, I met and talked to a lot of people and there was nobody to slow me down from riding coasters all day. Operations were really good for opening day, the Maverick crew especially. They were running the ride at full capacity first thing in the morning, and the Gatekeeper crew was really solid too. And for Gatekeeper, I don't know what happened over the off season but somehow the ride went from just "ok" to pretty awesome I easily had my best ever ride on Gatekeeper on opening day, bumped it up to my #5 coaster at the park! I think this is pretty impressive ride count for a day without Fast Lane and two hours wasted in the dragster line due to multiple roll backs and a breakdown. SCORECARD: Maverick Millennium Force Mantis Magnum XL-200 Iron Dragon -Lunch- Magnum XL-200 Top Thrill Dragster (Finally working again) Millennium Force Raptor Gatekeeper Blue Streak Raptor Corkscrew Gemini Mean Streak (And it's still horrible) Maverick Maverick Maverick Up bright and early at the front gates by 8:30 to get early entry at 9! *I may not have looked happy in this picture but I was actually really pumped. First ride of the day! My all time #1 steel coaster! 2nd up of the day was good ol' Millennium Force! I was lucky to snap this, maintenance was on this when the ride was actually moving down the tower when I took this, not in a free fall of course but I wouldn't be able to do that not strapped into the seats. After blowing two hours in the Dragster line between 6 roll backs and a minor break down, I get this close to the front seat then Dragster broke down for an extended period of time, I decided to ride it later in the day. I'm sending this off with a picture of Millennium at night, some of the best lighting on a coaster!

This! I totaled 11 rides on Banshee at media day, and in row 8 there was the SLIGHTEST bit of rattling, but in no way shape or form did it make the ride uncomfortable. It was more of "hmmmm I feel a tiny rattle, oh well I'm going to keep enjoying this ride now!"

Everybody's saying how much better it's gotten since media day. This is getting me so pumped to go back to Kings Island in a month. On media day I thought it was amazing!

WOW these photos are great, that first one made Magnum look so beautiful!

Just got back from Opening Day! I was there from 8:30AM till closing and it was a very successful opening day! Hats off to the Maverick crew running the coaster at full capacity on opening day, no stacking at all! I'll have a full trip report up in the next few days!

I'm happy I get to post in this list now, Banshee, and that's it! But I'll be hitting Goliath at SFGAm this summer too.

This is such a great TR! I especially love all the pictures taken during sunrise, genius!

Thanks guys! Front row at 6AM had me rolling back in the station frozen, but with the adrenaline going that morning I had a blast!

So here it is my first trip report! I had an excellent time at Banshee's Media day! This coaster has really improved my opinion of B&M and I hope there future coasters turn out great like this. Over the course of the day I got 11 rides on Banshee. My favorite places to ride were rows 3, 4, 7, and 8, with row 8 giving a VERY intense ride and great air time on the first drop. My biggest surprise of the coaster was the inline twist, hard to describe but something about going through the element slowly made me love it! Now onto pictures! After arriving at the park at 3AM my friend Garett & I were 5th & 6th in line to check in. My shiny Media Day pass! While waiting at the front gate Kings Island was welcoming all the clubs invited to the event. After beginning check in at 4:30 we waited patiently in the 9th & 10th spots in line until they let us enter at 5:45 Anticipation building, as the first people in park staff escorted us over to Action Zone Getting closer! They stopped us here while news media was broadcasting in front of the entrance, the night lighting for Banshee looks amazing. They ran 2 empty trains while we were standing out in front of the coaster. This coaster has a beautiful color scheme. Snapped this really quick just before we were some of the first people to enter the station! We could have been on the first train with riders, but we decided for our first ride we're going front row! 4th train of the day with riders and well worth it even with the wind chill! Zero-G roll shot. It wasn't the best coaster. I got the roughest coaster ride of my life on SOB in 2004, but I'm still happy they have the eternal flame for SOB First drop shot. Station shot. This coaster is so photogenic! Two ride shot! Got a photo with the man himself! Obligatory sign shot. I think the station looks pretty good. Changed things up for a little bit and rode The Bat twice in a row. The new colors look really good, way better than the flight deck colors. A little bit of The Bat and the back half of Banshee, I LOVE the inline twist! Some people have said that they feel B&M Inverts "Get down to business after the MCBR" I feel that Banshee gets down to business going down the hill after the zero g roll. The dive loop is huge! What a great coaster! Overall I had a amazing day! I'm thankful we get opportunities like this. I hope you all enjoyed my first TR! I'll be returning to Kings Island sometime in June!

Well let's see, these ones will be taken care of by the end of the year. Skyrush I-305 Goliath @Great America Shivering Timbers Hopefully In the next few years. EL TORO! Outlaw Run The Voyage Kumba Tatsu Bizzaro (SFNE) X2 <- I don't care how rough it can be.

Great TR, BEAUTIFUL photos. I hope I can get down to Florida in the next few years.

Unfortunately, Maverick no longer has that single rider line, that side is used for Fast Lane now.

Agreed! Last time I rode a coaster was in September I'm so excited to get back into the swing of park season!

^ The only line I feel is slowed down by FLP is Maverick, and that's probably because of the lower capacity. But for all the other rides in the park I didn't feel like FLP slowed them down at all, they just keep moving like they always do.

Looking at all of this is getting me really pumped for Kings Dominion this year. At the time last fall when I planned our trip my sister & I had no clue about all the improvements that were going to get made, plus we've never been to the KD before so it's shaping up to be a blast when we go in June!

Steel: Top Thrill Dragster Wood: Son of Beast

Cedar Point, like other people said you can start to see TTD sticking out when your still 15 minutes away, then Millennium, then more as you drive on the bridge to the peninsula. Other parks just can't beat that.

Oh how I love to hear the B&M roar. Media day is just one month away, I can't wait to ride this!

I really like the new map design, I'll be taking my first ever trip to Kings Dominion this year so seeing the walkways clearly will be a big help.

Intamin, for me they make some of the most exciting coasters out there. At Cedar Point my friends & I are always re-riding dragster, maverick, & millennium force. Also my most anticipated coasters for this year are almost all Intamin like i305 & Skyrush.