AndrewA86

Amateur... You'll have to be more specific, you just described half of the queue lines in the park. The one with the freaking batmobile in front of it...

Glad to hear it, even though your complaints far outweigh anything you enjoyed. Sorry if it sounded that way. Well, Lightning Rod lived up to the hype, and it's a wood coaster that is glossy smooth... Some people, credible people IMO, say El Toro was better, and I can see where they are coming from. Smoothness is just one of my preferences.... No I made sure not to sit on a wheel seat the second time. I don't know what the magic seat is... You didn't sit in the back, did you? Have you learned nothing from this board? The Mountain rejects you. I sat in the 3rd row. Batman is the one with the queue made of tin foil right? No, didn't expect it to be mid-season form, but expected it to be a lot better. Again, never expected full tilt. But I go to Cedar Point every opening weekend and Kings Island early on too, and they have never been THAT bad that consistently.

No, you can't have a wallet per the giant, giant sign at the queue entrance. The guy was doing you a favor. Generally they would send you out of the line to get a fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo and you'd have to return to the end of the line. I can't believe you snuck a phone into the line, lied to the ride op, he did you a favor and now you're complaining. Look... the policy is dumb as sh*t but it's not that dude's fault. Just suck it up and follow the rules, and if you don't and a guy gives you a break because he probably knew you were probably lying but also knew the rule was stupid then certainly don't complain about it. Personally we just get the fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo. It's annoying, but it is what it is. I know it's not the employee's fault, and I'm not complaining that he was doing his job. I was complaining about the policy which we agree is dumb...

I Visited this park yesterday for about 4 hours and I was pleasantly surprised. Originally I planned on only spending a couple hours in order to get down to Kings Dominion for the last 2 hours of their day, but I found myself having such a good time at SFA, I said Kings Dominion can wait. The first ride I hit was Roar and I thought it was just too rough. Only rode it the 1 time because I didn't feel like getting a headache. Below average coaster, not enjoyable at all. The second ride was Wild One, and I liked it. It looked really rough just watching it navigate the track, but not when riding it. It wasn't exactly smooth, but I wouldn't say it was rough either. That helix was awesome, especially in the front row. I rode this 6 or 7 times, I lost count. Next is Superman Ride of Steel, and I really liked this. I had never seen a POV for this so not knowing what to expect was really cool, and the fact that the layout is so unique just added to how cool this ride is. Those helices (yes I had to look up the plural form of helix) are very forceful and the airtime hills give really good airtime. Plus it felt like a really long ride. It's not the smoothest hyper I've been on, but it's not rough at all either, but that is why I would rank it below Nitro and Diamondback. It's still an above average coaster IMO. Rode this countless times. Then I headed over to Batwing, which I just rode in order to compare it to Firehawk at Kings Island. I'm not a huge fan of flying coasters and aside from being a little rougher in the back, it's exactly the same as Firehawk. 1 or 2 forceful moments but any enjoyment of the ride was drowned out by screaming teenage girls. Jokers Jinx was next and I liked it. Obviously I have to compare it to flight of fear, and I think it is a lot better. For one it's outdoors, and secondly but most important is that it doesn't stop the train on the mid course brake run. I was talked into riding Ragin Cajun and I'm glad I rode it. The second half of that coaster is somewhat intense with the spinning and turning. I also went on the Wonder Woman tall swing thing, and it was a nice enjoyable ride. I did not ride their stand up coaster because my nuts had already been squished that day, and I did not ride the SLC because I don't ride SLC's. I take everyone's word for it that they suck. I will also say that the employees were very friendly even if their operations were so slow. I didn't think it could get any worse than Great Adventure, but I was wrong. Some of the employees didn't even know each others names. Yes it's early in the season, but I would assume there's some kind of training period and it wasn't the first time they met each other. But overall it was fun, more fun than I was anticipating.

Of course that is to be expected. I just didn't think it would be THAT bad.

Ohhhhh that's not what I want to hear... I'm going today, TT better be freakin running!!!!!!

I just got to visit this park for the first time on Saturday (3-31), and Sunday (4-1) and I had an awesome time! I got there around 1 PM on Saturday and headed straight for El Toro and even though the park seemed to be really busy the El Toro line was just a station wait. So I rode El Toro 2 times. Then hit Bizarro, Kingda Ka, and Nitro. By then it was 5:30 and I wanted to watch the final 4. On Sunday the park was dead. Everything (that was open... I'll get to that later...) was a walk on. But because some major attractions were not open by 1:30 PM I decided to leave and head to Six Flags America because I hit everything I missed on Saturday and re-rode everything that I wanted a few times. So, my thought's on the rides and the park overall: El Toro is an excellent, fantastic, awesome ride but it didn't live up to the tremendous hype. The air time and intensity (which is what I like most about coasters) is there, no doubt about it. But I was also expecting a very smooth ride, and it wasn't. It wasn't rough either, I mean for a wooden coaster it was very smooth, but others have said it is as smooth as a B&M hyper, and that wasn't the case. So I was expecting it to challenge my top 3 (Lightning Rod, Millennium Force, Phantom's Revenge) and it fell well short of that. El Toro was one of the rides that was closed on Sunday. I'm not sure if and when it opened. Also, the operations was terrible. I timed several trains at over 4 minutes before leaving the station. On my 2 rides one was in the very back, and the other was in the middle. Maybe it's smoother in the front, but I don't know. But based on my experience, El Toro is definitely a ride that is well above average, but not elite. Bizarro was as I expected. It was a fun, smooth, intense ride with the elements all one after another. The operations on this coaster were fantastic. Most of the trains left the station in about a minute. Rode this 6 times between the 2 days and while I usually prefer the back row on most coasters, I thought this was best in the front. Definitely an above average coaster, and probably better than the only other floorless coaster I've ridden, Rougarou. I have a love/hate relationship with Kingda Ka. First, what I love is the launch, it's noticeably more intense than Top Thrill Dragsters. What I hate, the freaking restraints! They dug into my shoulders like Arrow loopers... So that makes TTD easily the better ride. Also what I hate is the policy about not letting people keep phones and/or keys in a zipped pocket and how they watch you like vultures. I put my phone, key, and wallet in my 3 zipped pockets on my jacket hoping they wouldn't notice it, and at the final check before the station the guy noticed I had something in a pocket and asked what it was, it was my phone but I told him it was my wallet and he said that was OK and let me go. So you can have a wallet in a zipped pocket but not a phone, or keys... yeah makes sense... The operations were also incredibly slow, but that was to be expected because they can't launch when the drop tower is working. I did a complete 180 on Nitro. It was the last thing I rode on Saturday and the back row ride was absolutely terrible. It was smooth, but there was no air time, and it was not intense. I wasn't stapled in or anything, so I have no idea why that ride was so bad. So Sunday I rode it in the front and it was great. Then rode in the back again and it was even better. The air time is plentiful, the helix is very forceful, and it was just a very fun ride. It was what I expected. Certainly an above average ride. Better than Diamondback, but not Phantom's Revenge. The operations were pretty slow both days. 3+ minutes to get the trains out on multiple occasions. This was my first time ever riding a Batman clone, and it was pretty underwhelming. I absolutely love the other 2 invert's I have ridden, Raptor, and Banshee, but Batman certainly is not as good as those. Based on the POVs I expected it to be a lot more intense, and it just wasn't. IMO it's an average coaster at best. Again, operations on this were very slow too. The Dark Knight was a fun ride. I'm usually not one who really cares for theming, but I love Batman and I enjoyed the story in the queue. As for the ride itself, it's just a wild mouse in the dark with some stuff popping out at you. Not too intense which is why I say it's a below average coaster and I wouldn't wait very long for it. Skull Mountain is another below average coaster IMO. It's a kiddie coaster in the dark. Didn't really do anything for me. I'm not really into flying coasters, but had to ride Superman Ultimate Flight as it was the first B&M flying coaster I've ever been on, and while it's better than the flying dutchman, it's not better by much. Operations are a lot quicker though. There was one intense moment, but other than that it's not an intense ride. Average at best. And finally, Green Lantern. Longest freaking line in the park for the worst ride in the park. It refreshed my memory as to why I hate stand up coasters. I mean, raise your hand if you like getting your nuts smashed against the seat... I did not get on Zumanjaro. It was closed on Sunday. I'm really pissed about that because I love drop towers, and this looked like it could be the best one out there. I also did not get on the Joker as it broke down right as I got in line. I think that's it for the rides, as for some other thoughts about the park as a whole: some parts are just plain ugly. Did Six Flags plunder Chernobyl for the materials to build the Batman and Nitro stations and queues? My gosh, waiting in that Nitro queue brought back memories of walking to school through the alleys of southwest Detroit. All that's missing is the graffiti and hookers... Then again, all the advertisements are basically graffiti, and some of the girls waiting in line were dressed in outfits that hookers in the 90's wore, so maybe it was deja vu... I already mentioned the very slow operations. Hopefully it's just because it's early in the season. Anyway, had a great time!

I will be there on Easter as well and I read on TripAdvisor that on someone's Easter trip the park was dead.

I've got some years under my belt too. I actually remember the swaying of the Demon steps as I climbed up and the entire Bat debacle. Do you remember the Top Gun crash? That was my first year working that ride and ended up working King Cobra until TG opened back up. I'm sure your plan works just fine but I was giving another point of view for him to consider. I'm sure either way it will be a great day because KI operations are overall good. I actually try not to remember all the incidents that have happened. You obviously have been going longer than I have as I was never on the Demon. My first visit was in 1990.

My opinion comes from experience. I've been going to KI for a very long time and tried different routes including yours (but I also hit the Racer), even before MT was built, and I was never able to get as many attractions done in 3 hours. If you hit Firehawk, Flight of Fear, and Backlot first, IMO from experience you're going to do more waiting than riding. Because the combined lines for Vortex, MT, Diamondback, and the Beast will be more of a wait than the combined lines for Firehawk, Flight of Fear, and Backlot. And if Backlot gets long at some point it won't stay that way. I've never waited more than 15-20 minutes for it. I usually ride it before getting in line to ride the Beast at night. Now of course every day is different, but that has been my experience. And there's very little chance (if any at all) that in the first 3 hours you will work your way around to Banshee, The Bat, Drop Tower, Delirium, and Invertigo doing it your way. If you do then I would argue it isn't a very busy day. With my route I've waited 20-25 minutes for Firehawk many times on weekends in June/July. Sometimes 30- 35 minutes which is fine if you've already been on MT, Diamondback, Beast, and Vortex. And yes to be fair to you, doing it my way I have seen the Firehawk line get ridiculous. But the original poster said he wouldn't mind getting FL+ if it's a busy day, and I would definitely recommend that.

If you're looking at the KI map, I have found that on a BUSY DAY starting in the back and working my way counterclockwise is best with some exceptions that I will talk about later. At opening the majority rush in the direction of Banshee. If you start in the back the lines for Mystic Timbers, Diamondback, and The Beast will be at their shortest. Up until last year I would hit Diamondback first but with Mystic Timbers being new I hit that first, then Diamondback. That's probably still the best way to go. Some may argue that it's best to hit Diamondback first because you're passing it to get to MT but they are just about right next to each other and MT will probably have a longer line if you're hitting that 2nd. Moving counterclockwise the Beast is next, and here is the first exception, Backlot Stunt Coaster would be next in line, but I would skip it here and hit Vortex, and then Windseeker is right next to Vortex. But I would skip Windseeker too for the same reason I would skip Backlot because next you are going to head down the Coney Mall to hit Firehawk, Flight of Fear, and the Racer. The reason I advise skipping those attractions for now is because you need to beat the people who started their day off on Banshee to Firehawk. Some will say why not skip Vortex too because it's a crappy Arrow, my response would be, first, I actually enjoy Vortex, and second, the line for that will be long later in the day on a busy day. So after Vortex get to Firehawk as fast as you can, then Flight of Fear is right there, and so is the Racer. Adventure Express is a fun mine train, that would be next. When you get off Adventure Express what order you hit the rest in really doesn't matter. You're going to head for the Banshee area for Banshee (obviously), Delirium, Drop Tower, The Bat, and Invertigo. Congo Falls is also right there if you're looking to cool off. The lines for all those attractions will most likely be shorter by then. On a busy day I have accomplished all that in under 3 hours. Then you have the rest of the day to hit the ones you skipped, re-ride's, and anything else.

Thanks for the info. That's really disappointing as those are the 2 that I am looking forward to riding the most. Hopefully the crowds won't be too bad when I visit in the early days (Tues or Wed) of the spring break week.

I just read someone's review of the park on yelp and they said that if you use quick queue you will not be able to choose your row on most of the coasters. Is that true? I'm visiting the park next week (April 2nd or 3rd) and I was going to get quick queue, but not being able to pick my own row is an absolute deal breaker...

LOL, guys, I know it's ridiculous. Again, I can't help myself. I know I shouldn't worry about it because I will be there no matter what, but I have to check and will do so everyday until the 31st...

Yeah I know it's early, but I can't help myself. I'll be visiting on March 31st if I get into town early enough, and April 1st the entire day. But it's good to know they care so much about my safety...

I'm visiting the park pretty soon and the weather report doesn't look too good, the high looks to be 50 with a 50% chance of rain. Do the coasters run in the rain? I've been to some parks like Dollywood where they run the coasters (including Lightning Rod) in the rain, and then others (cough) Cedar Point (cough) that completely close every coaster when it starts sprinkling.

I'm hoping this will change after the first week of April when I visit Great Adventure, SFA, Kings Dominion, Carowinds, and possibly Busch Gardens Williamsburg. But my top 5 as of right now... #5 #4 #3 #2 #1

Yep, Cedar Point is my favorite park!

I'm a hotel snob too. I've been a Hilton customer for a very long time but my favorite hotel right now is the Drury Inn, and there are 2 somewhat close to Kings Island right off 75 in Middletown, OH and Sharonville, OH. Free soda and free popcorn during your stay, as much as you want! Easily the best value for your money!

I'm 6'3 with knee problems and the RMC shin guards didn't bother me one bit on the 2 RMC's I have rode, Strom Chaser and Lightining Rod.

Thank you.

I just purchased a Six Flags membership for the first time. I'm reading the fine print and it says "Voucher will be scanned first at the toll plaza and then again at the turnstiles to add parking benefits. Voucher alone does not provide parking benefits." So does that mean the very first time I pull into SFGA they are going to charge me to park?

LOL if you say so... I didn't enjoy it because the restraints absolutely crushed me.

Mystery Mine at Dollywood... didn't like it too much

I just had a dream/ nightmare that Steel Vengence sucked. Not that it didn't live up to the hype, that it sucked. Worst dream of my life...