gerstlaueringvar Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 (edited) Short trip report of our visit yesterday: First of all Kings Island was amazing! Great job Cedar Fair! It was cold and raining yesterday so the crowd was very low. FoF 3 trains wait on front row with 2 trains, FireHawk 4 trains wait with both stations, Banshee 2 trains wait for front row with 3-train-operation, Diamondback 2 trains wait for second row with 3-train-operation, Backlot Stunt 8-10 trains wait with 2-train-operation. Beast night ride front row 45 minutes with 3-train-operation. Thank you KI for opening up everything in the rain possible. I hit my #250 on Banshee, oh what a great ride! I know I've been bashing B&M for the past few years but this one is extraordinary. Sorry Batman clones but Banshee is better than you. (Slightly better but till better) Banshee is currently in my top 10, kicked Superman Krypton Coaster out of my top 10 and stands as my favorite B&M. But I might have to rethink that after a few months when the excited phase has passed. Beast night ride was just insane! It was rainy the whole day so the train was going very fast, much faster than on any video I've watched. It lived up to the hype IMO and sits as my 2nd favorite woodie between Outlaw Run and Goliath. Operation wise, Banshee crew was doing magic and around 2/5 of the trains had to slow down on the lift. The other rides are going pretty slow but still better than SFGAm. As for the haunts, we did the Board game one and Delta Delta Die. Both have quite high quality but the scariest thing were actually the scare actors everywhere around the park, especially Planet Snoopy. Here are some of the photos: Gummy bear on Racer's track... Banshee doing her thing. The shape of the first loop looks so weird! You can literally tell they used coat hangers! What a waste of money! Group photo! Chris, Zach, Matt, me had the Lift motor! Oh Vekoma! This thing stucked like this for a few minutes. FireHawk is very good, I prefer it to Superman clones. They light up the Eiffle Tower like this at night. Thank you Kings Island for a wonderful day! Vortex! Edited October 4, 2015 by gerstlaueringvar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koasterking48 Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Great report Brent! It was really a great day crowds wise especially for a Saturday. We all had a blast at KI together and I'm glad I could spend the day with you Zach and Chris! The tower looked incredible at night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcjp Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Nice that you enjoyed banshee. I haven't been on it but I assume part of what makes it good is how the ride is "always" reaching full speed at the bottom of each element without there really being a "second part". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 FireHawk is very good, I prefer it to Superman clones. I agree 100%. I think Firehawk is a very underrated coaster. We really enjoyed it more than we thought we would, and we can't wait to go back and ride it again!! Awesome photos! Glad you enjoyed your trip. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummermattk Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 The photos below where takin today. For those of you who like shows at amusement parks and are musicians blood drums is a really good show and I believe it is the fourth year for it to return to kings island. It's been at many cedar fair parks. Blood drums cast! Great haunt show! House from the scaffolding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCI Wooden Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Great report, Yin! I never realized how weird this transition between the double corkscrew and the downward curve (Where the train is in the picture). It looks really painful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koasterking48 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I would also like to compliment (and curse to some extent) the "skaters/sliders" for scaring the hell out of us multiple times in Freak Street. The actors in the scare zones were all great last night! We only did two houses, which were Delta Delta Die and Board to Death, and while they weren't anything to write to home about, they were above average. I really wanted to try Blackout but the group decided that simply did not want to wait long for it. Overall, this haunt was much better than it was a few years ago the last time I was here. It was pretty impressive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImNotOneOfYou Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Great report, Yin! I never realized how weird this transition between the double corkscrew and the downward curve (Where the train is in the picture). It looks really painful. The transition in the turns before the loops are worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DILinator Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 ^Bleh! I'm going in a week, and I was really hoping for subdued crowds - at least for the coasters. Were most of the people doing the haunts? Or were there pretty long lines for the coasters as well? You'll find the same advice year after year. Fridays are better. People are there for both rides and haunts. Most haunts are 15 minutes wait. Beast and low capacity rides have longest lines. If you get there at opening and stay till close you'll find short waits in the first and last couple hours. Yes, I wasn't clear, but we are going on the 9th, a Friday. It'll be fine, I'm sure. Not a mob scene like Opening Night or a Saturday. There are thunderstorms in the forecast for the day, but it looks like the night will clear up. I hope that holds true. I am very excited about getting some good night rides in on Banshee and Diamondback, because I have not had the privilege yet. I have been on The Beast at night, for two back to back rides in the front row after Midnight with the mist rising up from the ground in fact! I'm definitely still looking forward to a few more night rides on that as well. My wife and I don't do haunts, so night rides on coasters are the primary reason for going - besides just getting away for an overnight and riding coasters together for the first time in many, many years! Such is life when you have four kids! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UTAKER Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Im AN ACTOR SO USUALLY IN SHOWS OR LOOKING to get into stuff like that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainUnknown Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Looking at applying to KI's rides department next year. Do they have any on-site housing for employees? I worked at Valleyfair this year and lived in theirs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I never realized how weird this transition between the double corkscrew and the downward curve (Where the train is in the picture). It looks really painful. The entire ride is really painful. Looking at applying to KI's rides department next year. Do they have any on-site housing for employees? I worked at Valleyfair this year and lived in theirs. I am not 100% positive on this. But I don't think they offer employee housing. Why not do Cedar Point??? It's close(ish) and a great park to work for, and they have employee housing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainUnknown Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I'm more interested in the Cincinnati area than Sandusky. CP is definitely on my radar, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbatboy Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I dunno, I'd ride Vortex 100 times in a row before I'd step foot on Anaconda or Demon (CGA) again, absolute death traps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drummermattk Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Looking at applying to KI's rides department next year. Do they have any on-site housing for employees? I worked at Valleyfair this year and lived in theirs. as an employee there they do not have housing for employees. They're supposed to be building apartments where the Kings Island Inn was but who knows when that will begin. In other words the construction for Kings Island drive has begun as they have culverts dug and cement poured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakelemay23 Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Had the pleasure of watching a mechanic put new wheels on Banshee today, really cool! Rode it for my first time yesterday, what a kickass ride! Its action packed the whole time, its my favorite of the new B&M's. I hope GCI retracks The Beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G Force Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Had the pleasure of watching a mechanic put new wheels on Banshee today, really cool! Rode it for my first time yesterday, what a kickass ride! Its action packed the whole time, its my favorite of the new B&M's. I hope GCI retracks The Beast. I believe they re-tracked a significant portion of the Beast's second half a few years ago. Probably modified the banking in some areas as well, especially in the helix. However, any decent sized woodie seems to need a re-tracking every 4-5 years now, which is interesting as the quality of the construction has definitely gotten better, probably just peoples standards keep getting better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakelemay23 Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Time to RMC it! Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KBrylczyk Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 ^ You shut your dirty mouth. The Beast should never be anything other than The Beast. Retracking is cool for maintenance but a complete remodel would be a huge disservice to the industry. The ride is too iconic to get thrown away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodie Warrior Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Time to RMC it! Lol I have to actually agree... I know I'm in the minority, but I found The Beast kind of boring except for the ending. Topper track and maybe an additional airtime hill added somewhere would make the ride better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakelemay23 Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Not really, it would suck history wise but a disfavor for the industry? Nah, RMC is the opposite. Retracking and trim breaks obviously isnt cutting it anymore. (For me atleast) I would love a new wooden RMC through the woods. But, serious question. Every Cedar Fair and Six Flags park i have been to this is usually what happens: The minute the park closes, an employee puts a trash bin in front of the entrance to the line, and everyone that made it in line prior gets to ride and whenever the line empties is when the ride is done for the night. Well, tonight was different. 7:00 hit and a trash bin was placed in front of Banshee, i got in line for the front row, and there were still people in line awaiting to enter the station. One of the operators decides they were going to stop early, they announce that the next train will be the last ride and they made everyone that wasnt in the station walk back through the line so the employee in the front had to move the trash can so they could exit ( these people waited 45 minutes to an hour). Everyone that was behind another load full of people had to scramble for other seats instead of their seat of choice (including me). I asked the guy why this was happening, i was being perfectly nice. He decided to be very rude about it and said "This is the last train of the night, get on the train please". I felt this was very unfair to other park guests, and i want to know why this decision was made, has there been a policy change? Or is this just unproffesional laziness? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfelice Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 (edited) ^Very peculiar. Not uncommon for the last ride of the night to involve filling all seats in which preferred seating is not granted, but in this case people were still outside the station. Outside of an employee blatantly violating policy, my only guess is that a guest re-opened the queue and they along with others went in. I only guess this because I have had this issue happen to me, and it's not fair to let people ride who cheated after others were already turned away. It could very well be a power trip on behalf of the operator, but I feel like there is more context to the situation. Most of the time, Cedar Fair employees wouldn't dare to ever consider something like you described. Edit: My other wild speculation is if the line was long, they were approaching an issue with child labor laws. I know KI hires under 18 to operate rides, and with staffing usually dire this time of year, several could have been working. If too many were approaching the hour restriction or break restrictions, they might have not been able to legally continue operating. Again, only a speculation, and the bottom line is that better communication would have helped the situation. Edited October 12, 2015 by ajfelice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakelemay23 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 There was an employee at the front of the line that let those people out, so i dont think they snuck in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 ^ You shut your dirty mouth. The Beast should never be anything other than The Beast This. I love RMC, they're amazing. That being said the Beast is iconic and the fact that it's old school and a little rough is what makes it so great. The ride is a lot of fun during the day for sure but I agree that's it's not amazing. At night though it becomes the best coaster (wood or steel) I've ever ridden. I305, Millennium Force, Maverick, Skyrush, Fury, Boulder Dash and even El Toro can't touch the Beast at night. It's old school, it has imperfections but that's what makes it so great. The Beast feels like it's alive and there's nothing else like it anywhere. The Beast is in a league of its own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImNotOneOfYou Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 ^ You shut your dirty mouth. The Beast should never be anything other than The Beast This. I love RMC, they're amazing. That being said the Beast is iconic and the fact that it's old school and a little rough is what makes it so great. The ride is a lot of fun during the day for sure but I agree that's it's not amazing. At night though it becomes the best coaster (wood or steel) I've ever ridden. I305, Millennium Force, Maverick, Skyrush, Fury, Boulder Dash and even El Toro can't touch the Beast at night. It's old school, it has imperfections but that's what makes it so great. The Beast feels like it's alive and there's nothing else like it anywhere. The Beast is in a league of its own. I've spotted a wild Serious Coasterbill-post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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