Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[jonskinny12]

Hey there! It's me. The guy who waited 6 hours for Safari Off Road Adventure.

 

What? Please explain. I can't imagine this ride having that long of a wait.

[coasterbill]

We rode it on it's opening day. Since it's kind of a unique ride, nobody (including the staff) knew how long the wait actually was. If you're familiar with the park, it filled the queue and extended out near the flume to about the Frontier Adventures sign. The staff was estimating the wait time at about 2 hours so we waited... it was 6. About 90 minutes in we realized it was a sh*t show but at that point we had already burned like 90 minutes so we decided to wait. The second half of the ride was in the dark, a pickup truck followed our vehicle and shined their headlights on the animals so we could see them.

 

If the queue was ever that long now it would only be about 2 or 3 hours but the security guards told us after we had been there for about 4 hours that they only had line 9 trucks since they were having trouble hiring drivers. The security staff did the best that they could, as did the ride crew / staff but whoever decided to wait that long to cut the line off for the day really dropped the ball but I'm sort of understanding since it's such a unique ride and it was it's first day of operation ever so they really had nothing to go on.

[defrocker]

When did all of this take place?

[KIJester]

"I was up at CP opening year of Millennium Force, I think end of May, and we waited about 3.5 hours for it, line went down past the tunnels"

 

Where are these tunnels of which you speak?

[coasterbill]

On the ride's opening weekend in May of 2013.

[defrocker]

I don't think I realized it was that new. It was a good addition for sure. Definitely not something that says "six flags" to me.

[coasterbill]

Where are these tunnels of which you speak?

 

Right here... the fake rocks on the left hide the two steel tunnels.

[KIJester]

OK, thanks. Now I recall...for some reason I was thinking the line on opening day was stretched out towards the front of the park near Raptor, but after seeing this pic, I now recall it was back towards Frontiertown. My memory getting worse as I age...boooo

[Password121]

I don't think I realized it was that new. It was a good addition for sure. Definitely not something that says "six flags" to me.

The safari was already there, it was just a drive through. They added a stop halfway through, trucks, and a station. Not hundreds of acres of land and animals.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

6 hours is a hell of a long time, which gives me more reason to want to go on that Friday if it takes away from the possibly worse lines over the weekend and following few weeks. I guess I'm just impatient and want to ride something for myself before I start reading all the posts about it (positive and negative) that could potentially plant bias.

 

I totally understand the people who want to wait to ride something to save themselves from waiting in long lines, I think that makes more sense than my preference. My friend waited months for Joker for that reason, despite having the opportunity to ride it earlier. I did not want to wait and was there opening weekend, and despite the long, hot waits I had for it during the summer, I regret nothing! I did get a tan

 

But man, I don't know if I could do the 6+ hours. I've only gone to coaster openings at CGA and SFDK, so the longest I waited was maybe 1.5 hours.

[prozach626]

That video of Diamond back is crazy! I am hoping to get to KI this summer around June 8th, hoping it will have died down at that point for mystic timbers!

When I visited on average days, it seems like Banshee always had what looked like between a 20-40 minute wait, consistently. But, keep in mind that Banshee is an absolute capacity monster. If I were to pull a guess out of my ass based on nothing but occasional park visits throughout the past fifteen years, I'd be willing to bet average wait time for the fist year will be a 30 minute wait on the low side, with more of a 45 minute to hour wait on the average day. Weekends? Over an hour.

 

Does anyone know if the Fast Lane Plus will go right up to the station, or will it merge further away from the station in the queue? I hope it goes right up to the station. A park like King Island is where you can really take advantage of Fast Lane Plus, unlike a park like Cedar Point which merges father from the station. Aside from the haunt, I've never had a fast lane plus pass day where I didn't have almost complete walk on rides on average days. It's really fun to walk around at your own leisure, decide you want to ride a certain ride, and you're pretty much pulling down your restraint within a minute or so of walking through the queue. I had the same types of experience at Carowinds and Kings Dominion, which is probably why I prefer a place like King's Islands and Cedar Fair's other large parks over Cedar Point.

 

Thank god that times have certainly changed from the days of "I got to ride all four of the parks roller coasters once in one day, and I only had to spend eight hours standing in line!!" If not for the pay more/wait less option, I would probably have another race car in the garage and travel much less...

[KICoasterkev]

Looks like they are putting the chain on the lift hill right now. Here's a pic!

[KIJester]

^ I thought the lift hill chain was added months ago?

[KICoasterkev]

I've never heard they installed it yet. I could be wrong.

[Ape]

To answer the question above. I know for a fact fast lane plus for Banshee and Diamondback goes straight to the station. I'm pretty sure just about all of the other rides are like that but can't say with certainty

[CP Maverick]

At Kings Island, the Fast Lane is a completely separate line that enters the station.

[prozach626]

Yeah, I know that. I was expressing that the FL queue's going straight into the stations on every FL attraction are one of the things that make a park like KI more appealing to me than CP. I just hope they keep with that formula for Mystic Timbers.

[bluestreak]

I'm sure they will. Even at CP, new rides the last couple years have had their FL go right to the station.

[tanthonyam]

I noticed that when i went to CP last year and I had Fast Plus. I was like,,, why am I not going straight to the station? I was spoiled from Kings Island.

[prozach626]

Carowinds and Kings Dominion are the same way. I'm sure the other parks are as well. No-wait on rides like Fury, Diamondback, and Banshee is incredible.

[KICoasterkev]

We have lights on the lift hill for Mystic Timbers!

Picture via Diamondback webcam.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/online-fun/webcams-7315_34349

[EccentricGamerCL]

Beautiful.

[Vonni]

I'm still surprised by the location they chose for Mystic Timbers. I always figured their major expansion plans would have been to go North of Racer and Adventure Express.

[drummermattk]

I'm still surprised by the location they chose for Mystic Timbers. I always figured their major expansion plans would have been to go North of Racer and Adventure Express.

I imagine that they have plans for that area. I've heard a couple ideas of a Giga tossed around and if one of the layout becomes true, that area right behind Express where SOB's rosebowl was would be occupied by a turn around.

[B&MBoy1982]

I remember waiting like 5 hours or something for Outer Limits on it's opening day back in 1996 , I guess crazy lines for new attractions is nothing new.

 

Nope...

 

 

I rode Diamondback 5 times that day. Longest we waited an an hour and a half.

 

We timed it several times. Back then, a full gueue was 45 from the entrance sign to the top of the stairs.

 

That was a great day.