KI/GL/CP PTR's

[Guest]

First park we went to was KI. Overall I thought it was a really classy park (except for their "Action Zone" area) and even though it was boiling hot (95 degrees) I really enjoyed it.

 

Firehawk - 1 ride

We got on it right at park opening. I was REALLY impressed to see how it was operating. 2 stations and 14 positions! Entrance greeter, crowd control at split, 2 groupers, 4 on the train each side, and 2 operators! Now thats committed to capacity. Of course since its a flying dutchman the capacity still sucked but at least they were trying .

The actual ride wasnt anything special, honestly id take SUF over it anyday. The only part I really liked was going from lye-to-fly the first time. The technology on the trains is a joke compared to B&M flyers. Plus SUF gets better capacity with 11 less people running it...

 

Flight of Fear - 2 rides

First ride didnt really do much for me, though Scott was crushing me the whole time so that might have something to do with that . Second ride was funny, we had a block setup and completely stopped in the brake run which kinda ruined the second half , but overall I thought it was a good ride especially since its enclosed (I love enclosed coasters). The station is really cool IMO.

 

Adventure Express - 2 rides

Running 3 trains and having amazing load times, with no one in line! Pretty awesome. This is by far the best Arrow mine train i've been on (excluding Gemeni), and the ride has an amazing ending! (Going up the lift with random aztech guys pounding their fists at you).

 

The Beast - 1 ride front row / 2 rides back row / 4 total rides

OMG this thing is insane! Front row at night is coaster bliss, I thought we were lost in the woods. You really have to experience it to believe it. Both front and back row had some wicked forces, even with trims. Its a bit on the rough side but that contributes to the rides out of control feeling. Theres also speakers playing creepy music as you go up the lifts. Definitley the best coaster in the park, and one of my favorites i've been on.

 

Face/Off - 1 ride

It's a pretty cool ride, but like all other boomerang type rides its no DejaVu. Nothing really special here.

 

Fairly Odd Coaster - 1 ride

I was amazed that this thing runs 2 trains. We were on the "Cosmo Train." Cool little woodie and a much better ride than Runaway Reptar the parks other kiddie coaster.

 

Italian Job Stunt Track - 1 ride back row / 2 total rides

Wasnt expecting much out of this but its a sick little coaster! The forces coming into the helix from the launch were pretty good and while the theming is certainly not extravagent, the disaster scene had all the effects working and it was a nice touch. We all really liked this coaster.

The soundtrack waiting in line....wow...we were listening to it in the car the whole trip "Oh ah just a little bit!" .

 

Vortex - 2 rides

I LOVE old Arrow megaloopers, and this didnt dissapoint. Pretty good drop, intense inversions, and a nice helix at the end. Running 3 trains also with decent load times. GREAT ride!

 

Son of Beast - 1 ride

1 ride on this completely ruined Scotts day, IMO it wasnt that bad but certainly not any good . I can see the Gerstlauer trains being smoother than the Premier trains, but it still jackhammerred like crazy at the bottom of the hills. Capacity isnt that great either considering its 2 trains and pretty short trains.

 

Racer - 1 ride forwards / 1 ride backwards

Good coaster, not anything that special. Not the smoothest but certainly wasnt rough like everyone likes to say it is (or maybe caught it on a good day). It confused us at first how each track runs 1 blue train and 1 red train .

It was running 2 trains each side but not racing, and Kyle asked one of the ops to race it for us and she said "It aint my problem go ask the driver." He then said "Controls is on the other side of the platform I cant really go over there" and she procceded to get very upset with him and say "Dont give me that attitude!" He really didnt along with that crew very much .

 

Top Gun - 1 ride

Kind of a letdown, way shorter than I thought it would be and not very intense. Plus since the ride is so short and it runs 2 trains, the train does not clear the brakes by the time the other train clears the lift so it slow lifts every train , some "interesting" design there. Decent ride, but certainly no BBW.

 

Runaway Reptar - 1 ride

Bah, hang & bang in training. Although you dont hit your head, the train does vibrate quite a bit and the ride didnt have anything special about it, granted it is a kiddie coaster, but IMO roller skaters are more intense.

 

Drop Zone - 1 ride

It was funny we were talking about how the ride is themed after the movie, and there is absolutely no theming for it whatsoever (just a queue house). Anyway its a good drop tower, but the braking zone is half of the tower so unlike a 2nd gen tower where it stops right away at the bottom it takes its time. It also had the WORST CREW EVER. We even timed them, it took over 10 minutes to load the ride! We couldnt even figure out what they were doing, just wandering and standing aimlessly...

 

Spongebob 3D - 1 ride

Very fun simulator ride, I liked the non-traditional seats and effects. It was extremely hot out so this was a nice break from the heat and a good ride.

 

Scooby Doo Shooting Dark Ride - 1 ride

Not much to say, another Scooby shooting dark. I really like these, a nice break from coasters. Scott won, I came in second, Kyle in third, and Kevin in last.

 

Eifel Tower - 1 ride

REALLY nice looking centerpiece! I love this entrance plaza, very classy with the fountains etc. Not much to say about the actual ride, good view. The old guy running the elevator was great, he looked really sad while giving his spiel that you could tell he said the same thing every time he brought the elevator up and after we got off a lot of people were commenting about how his wife probably just left him .

 

Avatar - 1 ride

Massive Rockin' Tug, and since a Rockin' Tug is one of my rides we had to ride it. IMO its not as good as a disko but still a very intense ride for being in their kids area of the park .

 

Delerium - 1 ride

Not a huge fan of the giant frisbee's, IMO they're pretty boring and not intense. It was nice getting the wind rush on such a hot day though.

 

 

Overall I thought KI was a really classy park. Very nice looking entrance plaza, good operations, mostly friendly employees (except for the assholes at Racer), good selection of attractions, and well landscaped. The Beast, Vortex, and IJST are good coasters that make the park well worth visiting again. Pics coming soon.

[Guest]

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We really liked IJST!

The mini coopers come out of the sign and under the queue......yeah....

IJST queue, no chickens

Parking garage

IJST queue house

One last shot of Firehawk

"Fort Kinzel" AKA Flight of Fears entrance

Kevin ready to fly

Loading platform

This is what I think of Firehawk

Cool looking date shrubbery

Really nice looking entrance plaza. So many people were lined up to take pics with the "Kings Island" sign that I didnt bother with it.

The Paramount logo's are on all the vending machines and the employees shirts. All the Paramount merch is 60% off though, and theres a A LOT of it!

Driving into KI

DIE BIYATCH!

Had to take a picture of this. "Rough Rider"? LOL

Extreme closeup

[Guest]

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Nice looking area

Lunch at Panda Express, I was a bit hungry

Huge Rockin Tug

Cool looking frog hopper

SLC in training

Oh no TRTR was closed! (Didnt really bother me)....

The Beast is a damn good ride!

THE BEAST queue line

Kyle & THE BEAST sign

Vortex platform

Troika troika troika!

Vortex - AWESOME Arrow looper

[Guest]

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Mandatory CF garbo can shot

It was hot out (around 95 most of the day). There was a line at first aid....

"Hey im a complete dumbass and missed the elevator we came down on!"

ACEr crossing credits off the park map as we do them

Missed credit =(

Avatar loading platform

Fairly Odd Coaster platform & "cosmo train"

Tried taking a pic of Scooby's loading platform, didnt turn out so well

Weird looking invertigo seats

Miserably failed attempt at artsy shot

We rode the Skycoaster cause it was $5. I have NEVER seen a crew pumping out flights as fast as this. Very efficiant!

Random shot of Adventure Express queue line?

[Guest]

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FOF queue, the station is inside that spaceship thing

"My names Kyle and I like touch....taking pictures of myself"

About to ride Spongebob

Spongebob queue

This queue is meant for 2 shows I would assume....

Random half removed Turbo Bungy...

Double op Gig

Okay it wasnt any good, but it wasnt THAT bad...

Red train coming into the station

SOB loading platform

SOB queue path

Judging from this line, people must really like Son of Beast!

Cool looking sign

[Guest]

Went to Geauga Lake the next day, hoping to get to CP that night. We did get to CP that night. While leaving GL we noticed Boomerang was running (it was down earlier in the day) and went back to get the credit, then left. We get to CP that night, waited for Dragster, then when we're in the station it starts pouring. They have problems getting the ride re-started after that and it didnt re-open . It was hilarious, Scott hadnt been to CP yet so he didnt have any credits and was REALLY pissed at the Boomerang at GL for opening. They did walk us to MF though and we got a night rain ride on it.

 

Anyway, GL Trip Report:

 

We walk in and theres a few people screaming at a supervisor that they want a refund because X-Flight and Steel Venom were removed . Just like im sure GL always is, there was nobody there, all the coasters were running 1 train and walk ons.

 

I thought GL was actually a pretty nice park for what it is. The new waterpark is very nice, good scenery, the coaster selection isnt that great but they do have 2 awesome coasters (Dominator, Big Dipper). We walked all the way around the lake just to ride Dino Island, then walked back on the bridge. Though the ride was a walk on, it took well over an hour to walk there and back just to ride it .

 

Dominator - 1 ride front row / 2 total rides

Awesome coaster, liked it almost as much as Kumba. The cobra roll, helix, then double corkscrew was bam bam and kicked our ass. The theming was very "Batmanesque" which is expected, Power City? . The seats were hilarious, the Batman logo was scratched out.

 

Big Dipper - 1 ride front row / 1 total ride

Man this thing in the front row = AIRTIME MACHINE. I loved it! Kyle rode it in the back and said it beat the hell out of him but the front was smooth as butter and every hill had air. Good coaster.

 

Double Loop - 1 ride

I agree with what Kevin said at the end of the ride: "They should do what this what they did with XFlight and Steel Venom, take it out and not replace it with anything." Really not anything worth riding again.

 

Boomerang - 1 ride front row / 1 total ride

We all hated this coaster for reasons stated above. Yeah, not only that, its a POS boomerang. Whatev....

 

Thunderhawk - 1 ride

We got to the park at like 1pm and this was our first coaster, we were the only people on the train. Shows 1: How dead this park is and 2: How much this ride sucks . Hang & bang, Scott & Kyle said it wasnt bad but Kevin and I in the middle of the train got beat up pretty bad.

 

Villain - 1 ride

Certainly not as bad as SOB (which we rode the day before) or Mean Streak (which we rode the day after) but it was still rough and not really great. The layout is awesome but the roughness combined with old Gerstlauer trains pretty much ruined it. I was expecting it to be better cause I really liked the Boss, but it didnt deliver.

 

Dino Island - 1 ride

The simulator was way cooler than it was back when it was at SFGAm. We all really liked the ride but it doesnt have 3d glasses! That wouldve made it awesome. Anyway, it was worth the hour walk to get there .

 

Beaverland Mine Ride - 1 ride back row / 1 total ride

The train is so massive that when you sit in the back, your still on the lift when the front of the train is at the bottom of the drop. I love rides like this, they're just so awkward. Worth riding once or twice.

 

We rode each coaster once, hopped on Dominator again, and got the hell out of there and went to CP...

[Groteslurf]

Very nice TR and great pics.

[PKI Jizzman]

Awesome TR! You covered pretty much all of KI! I think I saw you walk by when I was at 3 Point Challenge. Did you ask where The Beast was?

[Guest]

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Thunderhawk and BKF

We took the bridge back to the rides side

Looking at the other side of the park

Heading into the new waterpark

This is Scotts "Happy face"

Thought this looked cool

Rides that were moved from the rides side to the wild side

The really long creepy empty path around the lake

Missed credit =(

LOL! Thats quality...

Dominator station

Thunderhawk station

I couldnt tell if this water was flowing or solid, or if it was even water??

PTR - Pain the ride

Nice looking entrance building

Had to

Weather looks good for Geauga Lake

Kyle drooling over his bag...

[Guest]

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Oh the irony!

Kevin and Kyle go for a ride on the topspin

GL's main stage

Double Loops rusted out track

Boomerang was down for awhile

Superman light poles!

The observation tower was broked

Two thumbs up for Big Dipper, one of the surprises of the trip

Haha all the fish fight over the food

All the fish come to the brige when someone drops food in

[Guest]

So we get to CP sometime at night, drive around and park near Gemeni. We decide to ride Dragster, when we get to the station it starts raining and obviousley it doesnt run in rain. We decide to wait it out, what the hell most of us already have the credits (except Scott ). When it stopped raining, Dragster didnt reopen due to a mechanical issue. They did walk us to MF and let us on, and that was our only ride of the night.

 

The next morning was just as interesting. We use the early hotel entry and go to Maverick, it was still doing AM inspections and opened at around 9:20. We get on Maverick and go to MF, which was still doing AM inspections, this time around 9:45. It opens, we sit on the train, and it breaks down. We wait it out and end up riding. A few rides later we go in line for Wicked Twister, and it breaks down . We were having great luck with Intamins at this park! When we went to Maverick for our last ride, it was down. It went up, then broke down at least 3 or 4 times while we were in line.

 

Even with all the breakdowns we did get on every coaster in the park except Jr. Gemeni, and CP has very good operations so that definitley helped. Overall I think the park may have been having a rough day, the coasters kept breaking down and it was 90 degrees but we still had a great time.

 

I went to CP last year so I didnt take that many pics, and not re-posting my ride reviews except for Maverick.....Kyle was in charge of the "artsy" pics on the trip cause he has the best camera and is the best photographer so those will be posted at some point.

 

Maverick - 1 ride front row / 2 total rides

Well, what can I say about CPs new coaster? Other than it KICKS ASS! It is pretty much amazing. Its dwarfed by most of the other coasters in the park but it is still the best coaster in the park (along with Dragster)...The turns, inversions, and hills are all very quick and intense, the airtime on the first drop and the camelback has major ejector air. The launch halfway through the ride is also much more intense than any of us expected. Yeah theres some roughness with the shoulder restraints, but quite honestly who cares, the layout and speed is so amazing I didnt even pay attention to the crappy restraints.

CP definitley has not only an outstanding coaster, an outstanding attraction on their hands. The theming in the queue line and station is very well done and has one of the best themed music loops in the queue line ever. The view from the station is breathtaking also, with the lake and track in clear view. I really am considering making the trek back to CP on one of my days off just to ride Maverick again.

This would be a lot more useful at the front of the line

Being walked up the line, this was all full a few mintues later

Almost ready to open

Well at least Mavericks not popular or anything

The next morning we get to Maverick

Hello old friend

"Sister Park" log

Driving past the park to the back entrance allowed for some good pics

[Guest]

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This might be the longest wait time in a queue house ever, considering how much it was breaking down

Why does Mantis have a line this late at night?

 

(It is a darn good ride though!)

 

Bad idea to ride at dusk in front row, bugs galore

Mean Streak broke my glasses!

Right after I took this pic, the operator said over the mic "Is that a good picture of the bins?" Why yes, it is a good picture of the bins IMO

Mean Streak queue line

If the ride already hasnt killed you, you will want to kill yourself by this point of the ride

Its Mean Streak time!

Didnt ride this last year...cha-ching

Notice the back car has lapbars but no car....

Scott do you really need the credit this bad? (Keep in mind its 90 degrees out) And I ended up sitting next to some really creepy emo chick...

Textbook example of why people checking the train should not have headset microphones. We got to hear "Pull your seatbelt, wiggle your seatbelt, shake your seatbelt" 1000000x while waiting in line

The sign out front said 1 hour, the guy sitting at the entrance said 1 hour. I timed the wait time, it was......8 minutes

Disaster Transport queue

Demon Drop is still my favorite drop ride (other than TZTOT)

Skyride station

Iron Dragon's cool storage track

Kyle is strangely obsessed with this ride

The DJ booth in MF's line

MF was running a bit late also

Thumbs up for Maverick!

The awesome view from the station

[Guest]

When I got back, picked the Dueling Dragons layout plans that I got from Steve here on TPR (there was a topic about it awhile ago) from the framing place, thus ends my TR.

[Philrad71]

I was glad to see that someone else thought that the Big Dipper was insane in the front seat! It definitely packs a punch for being a smaller coaster!

I couldn't agree more on your assessments of the other coasters in the park. I wonder what they could do to the Villain to make it ride as good as it looks?? As the Big Dipper was the biggest surprise of the day, I would say that the Villian was definitely the biggest disappointment. I already figured that Thunderhawk would suck and Dominator would be good!

Good CP report...I hope to get there soon. My plans for going last week failed! Still looking forward to Hershey on Labor Day too!!!

[John Peck]

Okay...

 

Top Gun's new computer system was installed after Arrow built it. It's not even done by Arrow. The same slow-lift safety system is used on the Beast.

 

Double Loop does not have a rusted out lift, that is grease.

And Six Flags put those rides on the waterpark side of Geauga Lake in 2001. The Sea Dragon belonged to SFNE before it was moved here.

[Director_Guy]

Great trip report, That Guy. I now want to go to King's Island even more.

[CoasterGoblin]

Great trip report, That Guy. I now want to go to King's Island even more.

 

Me too! I'm staying at CP for 4 nights (my first visit there) this Friday and already planned to go to GL since it's pretty close.. but is KI too far to drive there and back from CP for a day trip? Google maps says it's almost a 4 hour drive. Hmm oh well hopefully CP will keep me busy!

 

Great trip report!

[MidtownCoaster]

Thanks for the report. I miss living up there and going to those parks. I'll have to make a trek sometime soon. Who's coming with me!