Theme-Park-Urge Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 For those who don't like reading, music video and pics are below the text. I haven't been to Kings Island since 2001 so I wasn't quite sure how it would hold up to the memories I had, especially since a bit has changed with the park since: Cedar Fair owns it now, two coasters have since been built (Italian Job & Firehawk), and Son Of Beast no longer has its loop. Being that the main objective of this visit was to get three credits I didn't have (Rugrats Runaway Reptar included with the two new builds), I wasn't in too much of a hurry. First things first: I wandering around for a half-hour trying to locate the bathroom in B.F.E. that employees gave me directions to. Since that business was done, I headed straight to Firehawk. I had heard of not-so-reliable loading and operations with this coaster so, even with two-trains running, I prepared myself for a long wait. Thankfully though, after baking in the sun for only a half-hour, an employee came up to the long queue and plucked single riders (two of us, in all) out for early boarding. Sweet! I thanked him dearly and suggested single-rider lanes. I'm pretty sure the subject has been discussed at KI in the past, but he said that it was a good idea. This Vekoma flying coaster was quite different than the B&M flyers that I was used to; i.e. Superman: Ultimate Flight. With totally different layouts, transitions and inversions, the two styles are very hard to compare to each other. I didn't not like Firehawk, but then again, I don't not like Supermans - I think that I'm just not a flyer fan. Aside from each of the styles's loop, flyers are just boring to me. But I am glad I got to ride it and in under an hour, so I wasn't complaining. And, actually, with the way the rest of the day transpired, I was thankful to have ridden it at all. After Firehawk, I headed to another new credit - Italian Job: Stunt Track. It was a short-but-sweet ride with the (second) launch into darkness being my favorite part. It was probably the smoothest coaster I've been on in my entire life but it was lacking a little in thrills. The initial launch into an upward helix was different, but I didn't find it all that intense. Overall though, it was a cute, family friendly, quick ride. Once was enough though. After that, I had to witness the debauchery that is Son Of Beast. Keep in mind that, although it was a bit rough, it was in my Number 1 Woodie after I rode it in 2001. Now, without the loop and "new" cars from the demolished Hurricane (which was brutal itself), it was fixin' to be a totally different ride and, oh boy, was it ever... Never again! I would not step foot on that coaster if my life depended on it! Can you say "rough beyond belief"? My brain hurt more during SOB than during final college exams. It is, seriously, the roughest coaster I've ever been on - slamming, bouncing, jerking, tossing - and that's just after the first hill. Then you have to endure the double helix of certain death. What makes SOB so appalling is that the one element that made it unique (the loop) is gone, and now there is nothing to look forward to; the excitement of the loop made you forget how you were being treated by the rest of the ride. This time around, though, I really just wanted it to end. I really do hope that they tear it down. After a couple other coasters and flats, the sky looked pretty ominous, so I headed over to Scooby Doo & The Haunted Castle. I figured that I'd get in line before the sky opened up and everyone took refuge at restaurants and indoor rides. Turned out I was a genius. No sooner than I got in line, a torrential downpour began, shutting down the entire park (including Scooby). No worries though. At least I'm well enough inside to avoid the rain that is blowing into the queue and flooding the floor. Ooops. After they resumed operations and I got my Scooby ride in (btw: I played right hand vs. left hand and left hand won, even though I'm right-handed), the rains had stopped so I headed straight to the Beast for a fresh-after-rain ride. After quite a long while testing (it was the first to begin testing and the last to open) I got on the second train. Unfortunately, though, my not-so-fond memories of the Beast were evident this time around too. While the first half is fun and the helixes at the end are intense, I HATE the second lift. It interrupts the ride so much that I always finish the ride thinking, "What was the point of that?". As soon as I got a Flight of Fear (still one of my all-time favorites!!) ride in, the rains came back stronger than before; this time shutting the park down for hours. During this time, I was able to shoot the $hit with some ride ops and take refuge under their queue canopy as the park was flooded. Needless to say, after the rain finally let up, I was able to get that one last credit I needed: Rugrats Runaway Reptar. I can't believe that my life has come to this: camping out for an inverted kiddie Vekoma... After that, the park was desolate and every single ride was a walk on, so I was able to get a couple rides in that I figured would pass me by due to the weather. Nite rides included Face/Off, Top Gun (still my favorite suspended coaster so far), Adventure Express (surprisingly better than I remember, even with the WTF ending), and the Racer (brutal!). I did notice, however, that Firehawk stayed down for the remainder of the day/nite after the first rains hit. So, yeah, I was more than thankful that they plucked me (a single rider) out of line for early boarding! Overall, Kings Island was pleasant - as pleasant as I remember it being. The new additions to the park are not anything special for me so I probably will not have to return for another couple years. I just hope that Cedar Fair can keep pumping new rides in there as opposed to relocating Geauga Lake's old coasters. I think the hyper they're supposed to get next will be a welcome addition. Thanks for reading! Here's the music video I put together with the limited footage I was able to shoot due to the bad weather: BTW: This'll have to be posted in a couple parts coz of the amount of pictures. And a one... Loop numero uno. Double loop goodness & blackout-inducing corkscrew badness. It must be the Chicago Bears-like paint job. Vortex. My second favorite coaster at KI. That's not saying much though... "Sunday. Monday. Happy Days. Tuesday. Wednesday. Happy Days." Third stop: Bust through a giant billboard for an old movie. Second stop: Beverly Hills. Italian Job's probably the smoothest coaster I've EVER ridden! First stop: Hollywood. Italian Job's parking garage/helix launch. Firehawk was fun enough. Nothing special. Once was enough. I was a little nervous going up the lift on my back... Oh wait! There's all the people in line. Hey! There's no one in line! ...Firehawk. My first Vekoma flyer. ...the newest addition to Kings Island (but NOT to Ohio)... The new hot-spot of the park. Home of... They should rename this Rough Racer. Ouch! Symmetrical Eiffel Tower shot in the middle of Ohio. Cedar Fair probably can't wait to ditch all the Paramount crap here! ...and the fountains. I don't know why... I'll always love KI's entrance... Signature Kings Island shot. I have an eye for these things... Face/Off from the parking lot. I must be at the right place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theme-Park-Urge Posted February 9, 2008 Author Share Posted February 9, 2008 Part two: This dad/dude seems to approve of the purple paint though... Why destroy a classic by painting it purple? People would've still rode it! (Yeah, I know: Nick) I'm still SO NOT digging the "new" paint scheme! What's up Avatar? Why do you have to be broken down?!? Not me. I was camping out here for the only credit I still needed. Yep. I'm pathetic. Some jumped on Phantom Flyers as soon as the rain let up. At least SOMEONE's excited about the rain... Some thought it'd be fun to ride Scrambler in the rain. Not me. The launch tunnel into oblivion aka one of my favorite coasters EVER! More not-so-lucky riders?!? I still think this dude should wear an alien costume! Some riders that didn't survive Flight Of Fear?!? Flight Of Fear's you'd-think-it's-cheesy-by-now-but-it-isn't queue?!? I still LOVE the 1st lift but HATE the 2nd!! Hi guys! Get ready to be disappointed. I've never noticed this "mine" under Beast until today. Finally, Beast is ready to resume operations. Thankfully, I got to break up the monotony by watching these kids push water into a sewer... I stared at the Beast's queue building for quite a while as they tested it. BORING... I was actually kind of disappointed that TR:TR was closed. No. I DIDN'T know. (Sponsored by Marathon Gas. Huh?!?) For the life of me, I thought these were funky looking speakers that weren't working. (Yeah, I'm a dumba$$) Ha ha. While I was shooting Scooby targets everyone else was getting soaked! Time to beat the soon-to-be-rain-drenched crowd to Scooby Doo's Haunted Castle. Uh oh. Looks like rain's on the way... Hopefully when these 2 stones are removed, SOB will crumble to dust! But without the loop (that used to be here), it is completely useless! Unfortunately, SOB's just an amazing structure of wood these days. I DID dare ride this abomination. Oh lord. Do I dare try to ride this abomination?!? Really, it just went up the 300 ft tower WAY too slow! ...it was too long of a wait. OK. That's a lie. I was almost in the line but walked away coz... Too bad I couldn't bring myself to ride. Drop Zone. Back in business after the drop tower madness this past summer. The corkscrews are real headbangers though! Ouch! And a two... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeke11793 Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Awesome TR! Can't wait to see more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theme-Park-Urge Posted February 9, 2008 Author Share Posted February 9, 2008 Part three: It's over. Thanks for reading this King's Island TR! Pretty. Majestic. Awe-inspiring. Overdone? Warning 2: more artsy Eiffel Tower pics but this time with fountains! The moon was full & perfectly positioned for this pic. There. That's a little better. Viking Fury. Nope. Just me trying to figure out how to take pics at nite. Looks like an earthquake. Warning: artsy Eiffel Tower pics ahead!! I think this looks like a postcard. I love parks at nitetime! I still want to ride Drop Zone but I'm a chicken! For some reason, I love the way this shot turned out. My favorite suspended coaster! (Even with the very dated name). Although Flight Deck'll look even more dated although it's new... My first Jumbo Frisbee: Delirium. Too much fun!! Symmetrical this-is-all-of Face/Off shot. Symmetical dual Face/Off lift shot. I still enjoy this ride a ton! No peeps means I can grab some extra rides. First off: Face/Off. Wait! Where'd everyone go?!? I am so clueless in Nick Universe. WTF is Blues Skidoo? Cool-looking drive-yourself kiddie-cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Ever since I first saw the infamous Brady Bunch Kings Island episode, I've always wanted to visit this park. Maybe one day. Thanks for a great report. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Good TR! It's fun to see what other people think of KI. OMG, Having the FOF ride op dressed up as an alien would be awesome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolhandluke Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Excellent TR. KI is my home park, so it's always neat to see what others think (as stated above). Well done, very thorough. I hope to start doing TRs that in-depth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Menefee Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 I took my first trip to Kings Island this summer, and actually wished I had a bit more time to check the place out now. The mid-afternoon rain/wait for Beast looks mighty familiar as well. Back in June, Tomb Raider was still open so we took refuge inside till the pouring rain stopped. Then waited outside Beast's queue until squeegee dudes pushed all of the water out of our way. The park was pretty much rain and humidity soaked our entire visit, but we would still like to go back after they add their hyper coaster in 2009. Also a side note about our Midwest trips the last few years.... I had my first encounter with a Skyline Chili Cheese Dog at Kings Island last summer, and have come to the conclusion that no one should ever put that much cheese on a hot dog ever. I gotta dig the photos up for people who haven't seen them before, but it's seriously a heart attack on a bun. Great trip report, thanks for the photos. -Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groteslurf Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Good TR and nice pics. I'm really looking forward to my first visit to KI in May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffy Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Why destroy a classic by painting it purple? People would've still rode it! (Yeah, I know: Nick) A the Beastie used to be purple for awhile also. It went from yellow, to brown, and now purple. The Beastie is the second name used on the coaster when I first went to the park it was called the Scooby Doo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercrazed49 Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Great Pictures! I do think the colors on the Fairly Odd Coaster are a bit bright, but its better then some coaster that have chipping paint all over it. Also great video, but the music was kind of annoying, but it might just be me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 About the mine beneath the beast: The beast station and the first turn used to be above a lake. It connected with the old log flume next to it. The "mine" you saw actually housed a pump which cascaded water down those rocks and into the lake. There are also pipes to the left of the ramp as you go up towards the station. Water used to cascade down the wooden structure in this part, too. I wish I could find some old pictures, but I can't locate any. Take my word, though, it used to be a lot cooler looking than it is now. -James Dillaman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theme-Park-Urge Posted February 10, 2008 Author Share Posted February 10, 2008 ^ I think I remember hearing that at some point but thanks for clearing that up! When did they remove/drain the lake? I'm trying to remember if I ever saw it with the lake. I think the first time I was there was 1983 or 84 but really don't remember much of my visit except (vaguely/possibly) the Bat when it was SBNO & getting a kick-a$$ Beast t-shirt that I wore to school the next day! I found an old map I have from 1989 but, although the water ride is on it (unlabelled), there's no lake visable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKIDelirium Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I had my first encounter with a Skyline Chili Cheese Dog at Kings Island last summer, and have come to the conclusion that no one should ever put that much cheese on a hot dog ever. I gotta dig the photos up for people who haven't seen them before, but it's seriously a heart attack on a bun. Ugh, that cheese... I always scoop handfuls of it off into a trash can before I eat the coney... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeelTheFORCE Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Great pics! I really can't wait to return to KI in June! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 I had my first encounter with a Skyline Chili Cheese Dog at Kings Island last summer, and have come to the conclusion that no one should ever put that much cheese on a hot dog ever. I gotta dig the photos up for people who haven't seen them before, but it's seriously a heart attack on a bun. Ugh, that cheese... I always scoop handfuls of it off into a trash can before I eat the coney... Duuuude! The cheese is one of the best parts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doublex98 Posted February 10, 2008 Share Posted February 10, 2008 Nice Pics loved the TR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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