Wooden Coaster Conquest - Photo TR

[Reality15]

After reading about all of the crazy wooden coasters opening in the midwest this year (alright, maybe just Kentucky Rumbler and Voyage), I decided it was finally time to take a trip down to the Indiana/Kentucky area and see what these coasters were all about.

 

===DAY ONE : PARAMOUNT'S KINGS ISLAND===

After a "quick" five-hour jaunt down to Kings Island, got right in the park and headed over to my favorite suspended coaster, Top Gun. I don't know why, but this ride just amazes me, and with a walk-on for the back seat I couldn't resist.

 

After that I decided I would give Son of Beast a courtesy credit. We all know, of course, that the ride had an accident that night, and I didn't get my ride on it (three trains from getting on). Went over and got a quick ride on Adventure Express too, where the entire time up the second lift I shouted and screamed, scaring the kid in front of me that we were "headed to our doom." He was still scared to walk down the exit.

 

I still needed my Racer : Backwards credit, so I headed over, got on quickly (walk-on) and realized "It sucks worse than forwards!" so I decided to go over to Flight of Fear and get on, propeller hat and all. Then I had dinner at Bubba Gumps, which still amazes me that their prices aren't completely unrealistic since they're in a theme park.

 

Took a back-seat ride on Vortex, which was the worst decision I could have made. I rode this thing in the front two years ago and had an enjoyable ride, but in the back I felt like I was in the Manhattan Express video here on TPR.

 

And finally, missing credit #2 of the day, Italian Job Stunt Track. Not only did the ride suck, but the effects made it worse. I can't say anything good about this ride because it wasn't good itself. So, to cure that pain, I went over to the Beast and got another over-rated ride on it. Once again, a walk-on.

 

It was getting late already, so I needed to be a credit whore and grab missing credit #3, Runaway Reptar. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed it, AND it's a Vekoma. Go figure.

 

On the way out I spotted Shamu and asked my grandma why she took me to Sea World. Not to mention I took pictures of everything I could see that said "Paramount's" because I feel my next trip it will all be gone.

 

Photos from DAY ONE: http://www.cheezonastick.net/midwest2006/pki1.htm

 

===DAY TWO : BEECH BEND===

The drive down to Beech Bend was more boring than my usual drive to Cedar Point. Even more cornfields and nothings alongside the road. Well, other than Dinosaur World which would have been the highlight of the trip had we gone.

 

If you've ever been to Beech Bend, you know the road to the park is a little.... rural. Having a grandma used to big roads and such with me, she was a little nervous about the park. I was getting ready for something like Knoebel's, which I really loved.

 

Overall, the park was good. Got a ride on the Crazy Mouse, my first spinning mouse, which was being heavily trimmed, then a ride on Looping Star which I, unlike others, enjoyed. It could have been the fact that I was in the front seat, but the entire ride was fun and enjoyable.

 

Finally, one of the coasters this trip was made for, the Kentucky Rumbler. Five rides on this coaster, two in the front, two in the back, and one in the middle. No matter where you sit, this ride is AMAZING! I don't like other GCI coasters, but this one was just "divine."

 

Photos from DAY TWO: http://www.cheezonastick.net/midwest2006/bb1.htm

 

===DAY THREE : SIX FLAGS KENTUCKY KINGDOM===

We had a horrible night at the Days Inn Airport in Louisville, so we were expecting the worst at Kentucky Kingdom. Headed right over the bridge (first ones over it for another ten minutes) and got a front-seat ride on Chang, to me a combination of Mantis and Dominator. Not bad, but not a great ride.

 

Then for another credit on T2, I don't need to say anything. It's a Vekoma hang 'n bang, and it fulfills that reputation quite well. Thunder Run was next, another front seat ride, which really surprised me. Thunder Run was a great ride, better than most wooden coasters I've ridden.

 

Lola and Stella, the Twisted Twins were next, both of which need PTC trains on them. If I didn't need the credits, I wouldn't have ridden both, but if I had to pick, my favorite was whichever the pink train is on, because it wasn't as rough.

 

Headed back across the bridge for my final two credits, Greezed Lightnin' and Road Runner Express. Road Runner Express wasn't as good as the other mouses like it (i.e. Hersheypark), but at least it wasn't trimmed like the Crazy Mouse was.

 

Surprise hit of the trip was Greezed Lightnin', however. I'd never ridden a Schwarzy shuttle loop before, so for my first ride on one I had to do a front-seat ride. It was really a fun ride, much better than most steel coasters I've been on. Rode it four times.

 

So after a quick trip on Hellavator and a trip through the gift shop, we left Kentucky Kingdom and headed for the luxuriousness of Caesar's Indiana. AWESOME hotel, but that's not part of the park trip report, so I'll stay away from talking about that place right now.

 

Photos from DAY THREE: http://www.cheezonastick.net/midwest2006/sfkk1.htm

 

===DAY FOUR : HOLIDAY WORLD ===

The most anticipated day and park of the trip was greeted by rain and storms, all the way to the park. I went right in, headed to the 4th of July to hit the two flats I wanted to, Liberty Launch and Revolution, before I headed down to the new Thanksgiving area to ride the Voyage.

 

Hopped right in the front seat of it, up the lift hill, and down the drop. Not only did I completely miss the airtime, but the entire ride just seemed boring and tame to me. So, hoping things would get better, I grabbed a soda and headed over to the Legend.

 

Back-seat ride on the Legend, a ride most enthusiasts rave about, yet, once again, a boring and tame ride. I didn't know what was going on, if it was just the rain or if the rides just weren't that great, but I was beginning to think I'd lost it.

 

Headed past Raven to go eat lunch, which was closed. Waited in the parking lot for it to open, then ran inside and got a front-seat ride. Unbelievable. Not as good as Rumbler, no, but still a great ride better than my Timbers. Even better in the back-seat, too.

 

Skipping Legend for a second ride, I headed right down to Voyage to give it a second chance in the back seat. FINALLY I found the airtime and wild ride Holiday World told me about, and it easily jumped to #1 in my book. Had to do it again just to make sure it wasn't a fluke, and after the second ride I headed out back to the hotel. Four hours at Holiday World wasn't enough, but I promised I'd be back soon.

 

Photos from DAY FOUR: http://www.cheezonastick.net/midwest2006/hw1.htm

 

===DAY FIVE : INDIANA BEACH===

The final day of the trip we headed up to Monticello, Indiana to ride the coasters on the boardwalk at Indiana Beach. Having never been there before, I didn't know what to expect, but coming in to the park across the suspension bridge, I was hoping that the rides were as good as enthusiasts talk about.

 

First coaster was LoCoSuMo, which ended up being pretty darn pathetic. I mean, I love most other CCI rides, so it wasn't that, I just think they should have kept the dark ride and built the coaster elsewhere. So, after one ride, I was not impressed.

 

Headed over to Tig'rr and went for a ride, once again, another masterpiece by Schwarzy. Ended up being my favorite ride at the park, but read-on for reviews of the other rides.

 

Cornball Express was the first real woodie of the day, which disappointed me at first with their "no waiting for special seats" policy. Not only was the ride boring, but the rude employees kinda ruined the first "good" woodie at the park for me.

 

Took a ride on Galaxi, which was just another compact coaster. Nothing amazing. Then headed over to Hoosier Hurricane and once again encountered rude and slow employees, worse than Kentucky Kingdom's were. The ride itself wasn't too bad, but it wasn't anything to write home about.

 

So after having an unenjoyable hour at Indiana Beach I just wanted to head home, so we left and headed for home. Overall, most of the trip was pretty good, the woodies were fun and some of the steelies were pretty good too. I'd easily do most of this trip again in a heartbeat.

 

Photos from DAY FIVE: http://www.cheezonastick.net/midwest2006/ib1.htm

 

Next trip is to Fun Spot in Angola, Indiana early next month. I'll post a PTR the night I get back of my first Arrow launch loop coaster.

[verticalzero]

Excellent report, you must be very glad not to of ridden SOB that day.

 

I went to Kings Island in 2000 when SOB was only a month old, it was a wild/shaky ride but worth the 9 hour plane flight and 5 hour drive from Chicago.

 

How many miles did you drive..?

 

I'm thinking of doing Cedar Point, SFGA and all the Dells parks in 2008, would you say 3 weeks is enough or shull I go for a month.

[Reality15]

Total driving mileage was somewhere around 1,500 miles, from Northern Michigan (Mackinaw City) all the way around and then back to Lansing, Michigan.

 

3 weeks would be PLENTY for a trip like that, even two weeks would be a lot.

[peteb]

Great trip report.... gotta agree with you on Top Gun. Somehow this ride tucked in the far corner of PKI has been overlooked for years. I've always been amazed how smooth this thing is and how much fun the swinging action of the cars is, really like nothing else ever made. The accelerations of the swinging motions and dampening of the shock system create forces that cannot be replicated with a fixed track/chassis arrangement.

[einsteinonthebeach]

(whoo hoo 1st post!)

 

Nice Trip Report

 

I totally agree with you on "The Legend". I really think it is quite overrated. The second half of the ride seems to slow down and lose the fast pacing.

 

Glad to see you gave "The Voyage" a second chance in the back seat. That really is the only place to ride it to truly appreciate how wild it is.

[ginzo]

Did you try Cornball in the back? Cornball really has to be ridden several times to be fully appreciated. The middle seats are kinda boring, but the front and back seats are very nice. The airtime is absurd, best ejector air I've experienced.

 

It's easy to beat IB's "no waiting for special seats" BS on Cornball. Just wait on that last landing one flight of steps below the loading station. The ride ops can't see you down there. As soon as they dispatch the train just walk up the steps and take your pick of seats. This, of course, assumes that IB isn't too crowded on that particular day.

[Reality15]

No, I didn't ride in the front or back, and I hadn't yet used my head to figure out how to avoid their little rule, so I just went with it and rode in the middle.

 

If Indiana Beach is on the midwest trip next year and I end up going on the trip, I'll give it a second chance, but otherwise I can't say I'm headed down there until they build something REALLY good.

[ginzo]

I feel the same way about IB. I doubt I'll make another special trip there, but I'll certainly stop by on the way to somewhere else. It's a wacky little park. The dark ride and Haunted House are pretty fun. The ride ops are definitely as grouchy as they come, but that doesn't bother me so much. Cornball and Tig'rr are the only coasters I like there.

 

I hear that IB really must be experienced at night to get the full effect, and I believe this. Next time I'll do that.