CedarFlags

I made my first trip to CP a couple years ago... 1. Fastlane is great, but you can also get a lot of mileage out of the early entry from staying at the Express. One day of FL+ should be okay (unless you want to spend lots of time of Dragster or Steel Veng). 2. Can't speak much about food. 3. The vibe of the park is big time coasters, but with more of a clean and friendly atmosphere. I remember feeling like it was a hybrid of the good parts of both Magic Mountain and Knott's. 4. The live entertainment at the park has decreased in recent years (Valravn repleaced their big indoor theater, and the big outdoor theater was demolished last year), but the lineup on the website still seems promising. This thread was super helpful when I was planning my trip... http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=69766 From my experieince.... Use the Marina gate (explained in the above thread) it will save you so much time. Millenium Force is best from the front, but it needs a few hours to really warm up. A late afternoon ride will be drastically different than the morning. Iron Dragon was a snooze, skip it unless you want the credits, Ninja is way better. Dragster from the front is amazing, you can cut down your wait by using the early entry time to get to the queue right at 10am when Dragster opens. Lastly... the park is MASSIVE. I was a crazy person and did it all in a day and I was worn out. 3 days is plenty of time to enjoy the park at a comfortable pace without walking in circles like I did.

What are the odds I might be able to sneak a peak at any of the remnants of Tomb Raider? Is there still a pathway leading to it? I remember reading something about it years ago, but I finally got on the Defunctland train and now my interest is piqued again.

I mean... they're essentially the same construction, it just depends which direction you travel through them.

Transferable storage units is something I REALLY wish parks like Cedar Point could figure out. I would gladly pay an upcharge for the convenience of having my stuff with me during the day and not having to constantly hike so far to retrieve things. $20 would be worth it for me, so $10 sounds like a dream.

Can I just say something....? I cannot stand when people use the phrase "gravity defying" to describe coasters. Gravity is literally the reason roller coasters work. They don't defy gravity, they are powered by it. Okay, nerding complete.

How do I get a 300 ft tall Bugs Bunny coaster in my life? I need it.

Former Scary Farm monster here... If you want to see a crumbling parking lot, check out the employee lot at Knott's Berry Farm. It's sad that they make people park there.

Thanks for all the coaster advice you guys!

Opening an attraction that isn't done yet seems like kind of bad PR. Do you think the park really wants their facebook/instagram presence to be exposed/unfinished construction work?

Berry Fest pulls pretty big crowds already, so it's not going to be a huge boost to attendance. If they open it during the typically dead weeks following the festival, then there could be a noticeable difference in those numbers. They went through all of Haunt and all of Christmas with only 2 big coasters running, so now that Xcel is back and they are up to 3, the capacity pressure has already been relieved. I'm sure Marketing would like to have some time to actually market the opening day, instead of just posting on Facebook "hey it's open now". And, my original point... any new attraction is bound to have a learning curve. Figuring out that learning curve on a 20,000 attendance weekend is a recipe for chaos and guest complaints. Since it's been slated as a Summer opening since its original announcement, there's no time crunch. They could prove me wrong though, who knows.

Oh no! June 1st was the day I planned on being there on my trip! I was planning on a chill weekday before school gets out, not an influx of enthusiast-specific guests who are going to be interested in all the same things as me. I love the 9am early entry ride time, but now the lines for MF, Maverick, and SV would already be filled with the coaster mania folks by 9:00.

During February, I was thinking we'd see an end of March opening to Hangtime, but it seems the progress has plateaued a bit. The entrance and gift shop are still unfinished, they haven't tested the lighting package at all, the mural doesn't seem to be finished yet, and the queue and station are also unfinished. I think if the weather stays dry and testing all goes smoothly from here on out, opening by the end of April is ambitious, but realistic. They have been advertising a Summer opening all along, so it seems they are not in a rush. If I were them, I would give the employees some time to get the operations fine tuned with the smaller April/May weekday crowds, rather than open during the super busy Spring Break / Boysenberry Festival weeks.

Great advice you guys, thank you! It's my first visit to KI, so any other tips would be appreciated. I keep thinking of random questions at random times... FYI, My current plan is to spend a Wednesday evening at the park, then most of Thursday (until about 7 or 8), then drive up to Cedar Point for Friday there. PARK QUESTIONS: 1. Is there a certain order that seems to work best for hitting the attractions? I'm not opposed to FL+ since I'm getting in for free, but am hesitant to pre-purchase if I don't end up needing it. 2. Are there any non-coaster things that you think capture the spirit of the park that I should be sure not to miss? 3. Live shows that tend to be really good? 4. Unique traditions to either observe or partake in? 5. Unique food? I do know about the blueberry ice cream. COASTER QUESTIONS: 1. Overall, I dislike jerky/rough coasters. I know Beast is obviously not going to be a picnic, but it's essential so I will deal with it. Any tips for minimizing discomfort on Beast and overall? 2. Diamondback's trains are so long, I'm guessing the ride is extremely different front vs. back. What's that comparison like? So stoked for my trip!

Someone mentioned night rides on The Beast... Are there any other rides that I should make sure to include a night ride on?

Marketing was too busy coming up with the worst flat ride name possible.

I'm super stoked for them to start testing the lighting on Hangtime, hopefully soon. That's gonna be really neat to see when its operating.

Hey friends... planning an Ohio trip for the week after Memorial Day and would like some advice. 1. Is this a smart week to be at King's Island, or will it be crazy? I have no problem paying for Fast Lane, but would just like to know. 2. Is it better to fly into Cincinnati or Columbus? One is closer, but are traffic patterns better one way vs the other? I would be arriving in the late afternoon.

It's honestly fascinating to me that people can so vividly remember their restraints coming completely unlatched. Like... that just doesn't happen, but people swear up and down that it has. I wonder if being in an adrenaline rush state makes people's brain exaggerate the memory of something small (like popping up a click) into something huge.

Boysenberry Festival tips... The Macaroons are only $1.50, so don't use one of your tasting card punches for them... you can get a second helping of something more expensive and then just buy a macaroon for super cheap. The Boysenberry Meatballs ARE still being offered, but they are only served inside Ghost Town Grill. So, you have to make it a sit down meal for those. The Boba Milk Tea was originally only being offered at the coffee hut by the Boardwalk fountain, but now they are also selling it inside the GT Bakery (next to Ghostrider).

640 is not amazing, but it's better than Boomerang used to be and it's better than both Xcel and Ghostrider. Hangtime's maximum capacity will still be significantly less than Silver Bullet's average capacity though. Bullet can send 30 trains per hour if the crew is being super efficient and there are no problem guests, but 25 is more standard. 25 trains x 32 riders = 800 per hour. 30 trains x 32 riders = 960 per hour. Capacity is one of my personal things... I'm always hyper aware of it.

Xcel vs Hangtime.... what's the over/under on which coaster will open first?

I'm DYING to see some testing footage of SV. The track work has been finished for months... is it still too cold in Sandusky for it to start running?

I'm 6'6 and when I went to the park a couple years ago, I did got asked how tall I was multiple times throughout the day. No one gave me too much hassle about it, and I think I only got measured on Wicked Twister. The team lead on that ride was a little hesitant to let me ride because of the leg clearance, but it ended up being fine.

I would hope it's to replace the supports that have been rusting like crazy for the last year or so.

I love the named trains on Maverick, so I'm glad they are giving the same touch to Steel Veng.