Doppel Looping

Mini trip report. I visited wonderland today for the first time this year. Behemoth ERT day, with few people in the park meant it was a walk on and i got a few rides in various seats. I like the 4th train second row as you get a nice floater air over all of the hills. I also like the back, getting pulled over the peaks and around the turnaround. It was running great, and i had some nice rides. Sledge Hammer was being worked on with workers on scissor lifts and ladders working on the motors that turn the carriages on each arm. I can’t remember now if they were originally hydraulic motors but they were installing/ working on electric motors. There was lots of work being done on the new coaster, with some storm drains and footers recently worked on. Looks like the workers got sunday off. Splash works opens end of may, and i don’t see a path to get there yet. The tunnel goes through the middle of vortex’s lower helix and comes out between skyhawk and windseeker on the shore by the lake. Judging by the width i think it is safe to say it is not meant for 12 abreast trains. it looks to be 10 or 12 feet wide. Need to check with dippin dots guy for more clues… Vortex got repainted trains with new interiors and faux finish paint on outside. Not sure if anything else is changed. The lumberjack ride is to the left of shivering timbers. It was operating but not drawing much of a crowd. They seem to be creating a ‘Hoserville’ themed area, and have added the canoe ride to the north at the entrance to the kiddie area and Whitewater canyon. It is basically the dumbo type ride where you push a button to make it go up. ⅔ of the riders did not seem to understand the button part, but at least got to ride a canoe in circles. We rode both minebuster and wildebeast and they both seemed better than i remember. The rebuilt final helix on minebuster makes it possible to ride now. Having been to Dollywood, kings island and kentucky kingdom the weekend before, where they were stacking them like only six flags can, i was impressed with coaster operations. Even though the park was not busy with next to no lines, the crews got the trains out quickly. Hats off to the efficient, friendly ride ops. The park is clean and well kept. Visiting other parks reminds me how lucky we are to have Wonderland close by. We left at 11:30 as it was getting busier in time to be home for lunch. i prefer these mini trips where we leave when it gets busier knowing we will be back in a few weeks. seeya in a few weeks

It's not about the size of the park, it's how you use it.

Vortex at kings island is the so bad it's good coaster. It is the ultimate in go for it make something huge, but don't plan very well. It is the un terrain coaster. Where the terrain is low, the track is up high on supports and where it is low the ground is raised. Standard off the shelf arrow loops placed on 50 foot stilts. It is all about being huge and making grand gestures without the self awareness that the gestures are making you look like a dork. 1970s Prog rock! The robot hand looks like it could be from an Emerson Lake and Palmer or Styx album cover. And it is a damning indictment of the design a rollercoaster with coathangers, engineer elements separately and don't worry too much about transitions. It is fun to sit in the back row and watch all the heads in front of you snap back and forth as you go through one of the signature transitions. you can watch the wave of head snaps progress down the train, and then hopefully brace yourself as it reaches you. At least before they tear it down, someone get a back row pov of the headsnaps, it is hillarious. Maybe they could redo the robot hand to be trying to pull someones neck off! Vortex at CW on the other hand is in my opinion one of the best arrow suspended coasters. It uses terrain of the mountain and lake well, and has great sweeping curves and helixes. Coming into the final brake run sideways and swinging back and forth as you try to figure out what just happened is an awesome finish to a family friendly but really fun coaster.

I am going to be in the area sunday may 6. this is the sunday after kentucky derby. Can i expect it to be crowded because of all of the people in town for the derby, or do they all head home sunday? also will traffic be crazy?

These "Canadian themes" are so cheesy and are more of a comic book Canadian identity as seen by people who have never been here themselves. Mounties and lumberjacks: when was the last time anyone from Toronto saw either one?. Kinda borderline insulting (literally). Actual Canadian identity might not translate well though. - Universal health care might be an unsettling theme for a ride. - Justin's Weed superstore. - Anything Tragically Hip maybe tragic in a coaster name bad idea. - Can't explain who we are, but we are NOT Americans! - i'm sorry: the ride - Leafs suck. we know but ya gotta believe? Though this in itself is classic Canadian identity: complain they don't pay any attention to us/ complain when they do. This is making a terrible name like Ziz look good though!

nope

Anybody know how long it takes to drive from dollywood to kings island? I am doing a mini roadtrip may 4-6 after a beer conference in nashville. i plan to go to dollywood the friday morning and then head to kings island. I figure pigeon forge is a nice little town to get behind you before settling down for the night. I may try to stay in cincinatti and visit some breweries friday night and head to kings island for ert in the morning. Would it be reasonable to think heading out of town during morning rush would be ok? Sunday i will try to get to kentucky kingdom or holiday world before returning via nashville.

What wows me as a driver is when i can see the lift hills of Behemoth and Leviathan from 2-3 interchanges down Hwy 400! It will be interesting to see how the lift hill of the new coaster fits in with the rest of the skyline.

at risk of sounding crazy. I like staying on the property. the little trailers are nice enough for a weekend and with a properly loaded fridge with lots of beer and snacks it is quite comfortable. You can take little breaks, have a nap, some beer, cheeze doodles &c, and come back to the park refreshed. more civilized than drinking beer out of your trunk. Plus, money you spend there goes into a fund to buy new rollercoasters, and maybe a new garbage can for MIA.

The happy gnome is st paul has really nice food and a great beer selection and the Walker Art Center is really good. they had an artist designed mini golf in the sculpture park nearby, don't know if they do it every year but it was fun.

and by heavy snow they mean 10 cm/ 4" wow get your snow shoes out of the shed and run for your lives!

Do you think they only have the track for the part that goes through/ under the water? Maybe they are going to install just the part that comes close to vortex now so as not to disturb it for the 2018 operating season? During the summer they can complete work on the rest of the layout at their own pace. If so, then maybe they don't have the rest of the track made yet.