Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[jedimaster1227]

Kings Island has sent us a press advisory regarding the near-completion of construction on the Soak City Water Park.

 

An army of construction crews, landscapers, painters and others are working feverishly to put the finishing touches on Kings Island’s all-new Soak City Waterpark. A VIP Preview Weekend for Gold and Platinum season passholders is set for May 19 and 20. The grand opening will be May 26, when the 33-acre waterpark begins its daily operation. Soak City is the place to go for aquatic thrill-seekers this summer and features more than 50 water activities, including thrill rides, family attractions, kids’ play areas and plenty of lounging room for grown ups. Guests will also enjoy the many new amenities like sand volleyball and five-star chair-side waiter service. Soak City is included free with park admission to Kings Island.

[Hilltopper39]

I've wondered if it would possible to turn SOB into some type of gigantic extreme ropes course zip line type attraction thingy. I'd pay $50 to climb up the lift hill and then zip line down towards the Rose Bowl or something, be better then letting the thin sit completely dormant till they figure out what to do with it.

[Geauga Dog]

...and a ride like TTD is pretty pointless for KI.

 

You have no idea how many times I heard the GP say that Kings Island needed a ride like Dragster while waiting for the metal detectors to open during the Paramount years. I can see something along the lines of a Storm Runner if they ever wanted to go that route but that's a pipe dream.

[accelerate]

SOB is beyond hope, even from the start. It had a bad layout and was always rough. As people before me have stated, it had many structural flaws. These flaws are not due to RCCA, but rather Paramount. RCCA's original model had sufficient supports and was fine, but it was expensive. Paramount cut some supports out from the Rose bowl, and RCCA complied. Later, the heavy trains caused the sub-standard supports to fail, which caused a small crack in the track in the Rose Bowl. When the train went over it, it jolted severely and injured all the passengers. That's why the ride was closed the first time.

 

The park, rather than changing the supports, opted for lighter trains. These trains, however, could not transverse the loop. The loop was removed then. The ride re-opened in 2006. Not much happenned between then and 2009. I had the chance (or misfortune) of riding it in early 2009. I was in a world of pain. I literally had the wind knocked out of me and could barely walk when I got off. Just weeks afterwards, a woman rode the ride and claims she had a hemmorage. What's weird is that she didn't mention this to the park for over a month. The ride was immediately closed and has been SBNO since.

 

Since the 2006 overhaul, the supporting has not been an issue (as far as I know). Standing SBNO for 3+ years can't be helping the structure, though. The possibility of it re-openning may have been shot by being SBNO. I have a feeling SOB is going to be removed in the near future, and there's not much we can do about it.

[KI Kidd]

Just got a notification that Diamondback will be down through next Friday for "routine maintenance". There had been some rumblings during its downtime a few days ago of some sort of structural issue near the mcbr. Hopefully whatever the issue is its fixed quickly and without farther problems.

[Intimidator305]

I'll be there on Sunday June 17 (Father's Day) and Monday June 18... I really hope the ride gets back up and running.

[Turtle Wax]

Just got a notification that Diamondback will be down through next Friday for "routine maintenance". There had been some rumblings during its downtime a few days ago of some sort of structural issue near the mcbr.

 

We stopped at the park to ride DB today and I noticed while riding that one of the footers is completely falling apart near the MCBR. You can see it as you're going down the drop right before you begin to curve up into the MCBR. I assume this is related to/the cause of the "routine maintenance" needed for this week!

[christianscoasters]

Hopefully they do something about the nasty rattle on DB. I went to KI last Wednesday, got Fast Lane, rode Diamondback 10 times. Red train had the least amount of rattle. The other trains, it nearly gave me a headache. Also, you can hear it at the bottom of the drop on the midway. Or has that sound always been there?

 

Fast Lane was great. Seriously. Lines were spilling out into the midway, so it was nice getting to skip that part. At some rides, however, they didn't have an employee separating the regular line and the Fast Lane line where they merge in the station, so we got a few dirty looks from people since it looked like we were "cutting" in line, even though we weren't. We got dirty looks at many rides though, especially Diamondback and Adventure Express. Oh well. They could have bought Fast Lane if they wanted to!

 

Kings Island is a really great park!

[coasterfreak101]

Nothing to be done about the rattle unless B&M redesigns something. The problem is with the new hyper trains, not just Diamondback itself.

[alilstronger]

OK, so I have FINALLY been to Kings Island...

 

Finally back from Kings Island! Oh wow this park is such a nice beautiful well taken care of park. The staff was very nice and actually acted like they cared. I know I am going to get crap for this but I was not that impressed with the Beast during the day. However, at night it was AWESOME! The stand out coasters for me were Vortex (again I will probably get crap for that) and Flight Deck. I LOVE Arrow coasters and most of them have awesome architecture. I did not go through dinosaurs alive however I did the 3D dinosaur show which was really well done. The fast lane option really helped - most of the coasters had at least an hour wait all day and we got the entire park (minus the water park) finished twice on a Saturday. So now I know I can go to a Cedar Fair park on a weekend and still have a blast. I wish you could use the Fast Lane on Flight Deck and the river rapids rides though - but them lines went kinda fast.

 

I know this is for crowd control but I hate how they do not fill the stations with people. Just something about that annoys me. To me it makes the line appear longer than it is. Also on some of the coasters you could not choose your seat - they told you where to go but at only certain times of the day. But as long as I ask I was able to sit where I wanted. Also I did not like that Firehawk was the ONLY coaster you HAVE to buy a locker for. I know most enthusiast do not carry a book bag but I always do when I go a park so it was nice not having to a buy a locker all day for the other coasters. They had a $5 special for the Sky Coaster which I was able to take advantage of as well as a $10 special on the Sling Shot. I LOVE the Sling Shot ride and always try to ride it wherever I go. For the amount of people that go to this park they could use a lot more water slides in the water park. It was very crowded and I did not get on any. I do like how they have the large grassy area where people lay out their beach towels and leave their things.

 

Wind Seeker is officially the scariest ride I have ever ridden. I think it is because they are so high and I feel like there is nothing holding you in. The walls of it are so low and your legs are dangling away. Once it got to the mid point I told my friend I really wanted to get off (and I have NEVER wanted to get off a ride because I was so scared) but of course I couldn't.

[IronWolfman]

^I <3 Arrow also

[BDD27]

Arrow coasters are my #1. GASM was my first arrow and my favorite coaster when I first started riding. It broke my heart to see my favorite coaster die. I didn't get to ride another till vortex last year. It is truly the perfect coaster. It has airtime, intensity, hang time, and it's honestly not bumpy, especially for an arrow. I worry about how long the coaster has left though. Last year somehow I got to go on a personal backstage tour with Mr. Jeff Gramke of the parks management. I asked him how long he thought the coaster had left. He said it has awhile as the steel is holding up wonderfully for its age. I just hope it lasts long enough for me to get back there. VORTEX #1

[Geauga Dog]

Glad you had a great time at Kings Island and count me in as a big fan of Vortex. Hate those seat belts you attach the harness with but still it's one of the best rides Arrow created.

 

I hate how they don't fill the station up as well and while it was always that way with Diamondback I noticed they were trying to control the amount of people in the Beast station on my visit a few weeks ago. I understand the reasons why as it can get bad (like SFGAm Viper station bad) but they genrally do a decent job in dispatching trains.

[WhichWayUp]

I'm glad there's still people that give vortex the love it deserves. It's not a head bang fest that often

[Brian6325]

The Vortex was the first big steel coaster I went on when I was a kid, and is still on of my favorite looping coasters. I really do want to get to Kings Island this year. It has been to long since I have been there. Kings Island it my favorite park, there is just something about the atmosphere that no other park has.

[coasterfreak101]

I actually started to grey out between the two vertical loops on Vortex when we were there last summer. Really forceful ride, I loved it!

[adamico2]

I actually like that KI started limiting the station to 2-3 trains worth of guests. It makes it a lot easier to spot the shortest line on rides where position doesn't really matter to me. Also, since people generally gravitate toward the shortest line, prime seats (usually in the back for me) tend to have the same number of people as any other seat, which didn't use to be the case, especially on the Beast. Like you said, on rides with seaters, you can always request a specific seat.

[corn4ahead]

Hey guys! I am new to the forums but a long time reader!

 

Anyway, KI is my home park and I gotta say, I am really glad to see that all you guys are enjoying it! I have had a season pass for the last 10 years and platinum for 4 of those. I have had my fair share of Kings Island. This year I have been once but I did notice that the park is a beautiful as ever.

 

As far as Vortex goes, great ride. It has a really nostalgic feel to it and it still has a lot of "umph". I just feel after all these years, that it needs some new trains. That thing is a headache machine for me. Carolina Cobra love? I think so.

[KDCOASTERFAN]

OK, so I have FINALLY been to Kings Island...

 

Finally back from Kings Island! Oh wow this park is such a nice beautiful well taken care of park. The staff was very nice and actually acted like they cared. I know I am going to get crap for this but I was not that impressed with the Beast during the day. However, at night it was AWESOME! The stand out coasters for me were Vortex (again I will probably get crap for that) and Flight Deck. I LOVE Arrow coasters and most of them have awesome architecture. I did not go through dinosaurs alive however I did the 3D dinosaur show which was really well done. The fast lane option really helped - most of the coasters had at least an hour wait all day and we got the entire park (minus the water park) finished twice on a Saturday. So now I know I can go to a Cedar Fair park on a weekend and still have a blast. I wish you could use the Fast Lane on Flight Deck and the river rapids rides though - but them lines went kinda fast.

 

I know this is for crowd control but I hate how they do not fill the stations with people. Just something about that annoys me. To me it makes the line appear longer than it is. Also on some of the coasters you could not choose your seat - they told you where to go but at only certain times of the day. But as long as I ask I was able to sit where I wanted. Also I did not like that Firehawk was the ONLY coaster you HAVE to buy a fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo for. I know most enthusiast do not carry a book bag but I always do when I go a park so it was nice not having to a buy a fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo all day for the other coasters. They had a $5 special for the Sky Coaster which I was able to take advantage of as well as a $10 special on the Sling Shot. I LOVE the Sling Shot ride and always try to ride it wherever I go. For the amount of people that go to this park they could use a lot more water slides in the water park. It was very crowded and I did not get on any. I do like how they have the large grassy area where people lay out their beach towels and leave their things.

 

Wind Seeker is officially the scariest ride I have ever ridden. I think it is because they are so high and I feel like there is nothing holding you in. The walls of it are so low and your legs are dangling away. Once it got to the mid point I told my friend I really wanted to get off (and I have NEVER wanted to get off a ride because I was so scared) but of course I couldn't.

 

I can't help but get that insecure feeling on windseeker near the end as it's coming down...for some reason I get that "I'm gonna fall out of my seat" feeling but I guess it's more to do with the fear of the ride getting stuck like 30/50 feet above the ground with no way out than anything else,especially after hearing of the 2 hour wait the poor folks at CP had to go throughthis past weekend when it went down.

[KI Kidd]

It would appear that Diamondback has re-opened, according to the park webcam.

[Real]

Ive felt completely secure in Windseeker. No issues. Fun ride, nothing special and certainly not the most nerve racking ride I can say Ive been on. I still think that goes to Intamin third gen towers. Great fun, but the wait...it kills me lol

[cfc]

^Same--if you want to try something really scary, ride a Star Flyer.

[alilstronger]

^Same--if you want to try something really scary, ride a Star Flyer.

 

The thought terrifies me lol

[adamico2]

It would appear that Diamondback has re-opened, according to the park webcam.

 

I can confirm. Also, the park was not too crowded today. I was able to ride all of the coasters and at least 5 flat rides before 5pm.

 

I'll be back at the park tomorrow for the Coasting for Kids event.

 

P.S. It's still not too late to donate.

[Intimidator305]

Well tomorrow is my "big theme park trip" of 2012 as I leave for Kings Island and will be there for 2 days (Sunday and Monday) and then will be at Cedar Point for 2 days (Tuesday and Wednesday). I haven't done an Ohio trip since 2007 so I have a few questions about Kings Island that I can't remember.

 

-Are there loose article bins or do you have to rent lockers?

-When entering the park for Platinum Pass ERT in the morning, what should the waits for Diamondback and Invertigo be like?

-We will be getting Fast Lane passes one day, but for the other day, what should wait times be for rides like Diamondback, Beast, and Firehawk?

-Any suggestions for "magic seats" on the rides? I'm assuming the back is the best on Diamondback.

 

Any answers would be greatly appreciated, thanks!