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Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

p. 832: Camp Snoopy announced for 2024!

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No Diamondback? No Bat? Man, you're missing out.

 

Not that I want to ride the flume in 50 degree weather

 

... amateur. Also yes, the Log Flume will be open for the fun people in your group.

 

Oh if the flume is open I will be on it. Whitewater Canyon not so much......

 

Correction, I want to ride everything I possible can but the little ones are taking priority in my old age thus the appraoch to the park must be selective and strategic. I should have said Banshee, Beast, and Flight of Fear are my priories because they are the best things there. Diamondback was pretty meh for me back in 09 and 10, like a bigger faster worse version of Goliath. I kind of forgot about Top Gun (it'll always be Top Gun to me!), but I'll defiantly have to check that one out again, rides in the back car used to be a blast.

 

Also, side note but this is more or less my first trip to a non-Disney/Seaworld park with the little ones and I was kind of surprised at the height restrictions for some of the rides there. I get that they have an awesome kids section in Planet Snoopy with all kinds of rides for really little kids but for intermediate age/height kids the selection is pretty thin. Adventure Express and Italian Job (#NeverForget) are both 48" height requirement which kind of seems absurd but oh well.

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White Water Canyon is closed for construction regardless,even if they wanted to open it, the reservoir is drained to build the bridge structure and part of the trough is filled in elsewhere to make a "bridge" for equipment.

 

Congo Falls should be open though, too.

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Congo Falls should be open though, too.

 

That P.O.S. needs to stop existing. It's ugly and it sucks.

 

But. . . We actually enjoyed Congo Falls during our visits to the park. . . The airtime on the first drop in the back row is crazy awesome. . . However, it only gets you slightly moist which is disappointing for a splash down ride like that.

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Also, side note but this is more or less my first trip to a non-Disney/Seaworld park with the little ones and I was kind of surprised at the height restrictions for some of the rides there. I get that they have an awesome kids section in Planet Snoopy with all kinds of rides for really little kids but for intermediate age/height kids the selection is pretty thin. Adventure Express and Italian Job (#NeverForget) are both 48" height requirement which kind of seems absurd but oh well.

Honestly this is a problem with Cedar Fair parks in general. Anything that looks like a "big" coaster gets slapped with a 48" requirement. Never mind the fact that tons of other places you can go on an Arrow mine train or wooden coaster running PTC trains at 44" or even 42". Height requirement inconsistency is just one of those things that you have to get used to when you have little ones in tow.

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However, it only gets you slightly moist which is disappointing for a splash down ride like that.

 

My thoughts on splash mountain is like this.

 

 

The water rides aren't open during the fall right, not even the Log Flume? Not that I want to ride the flume in 50 degree weather but I'm sure the kids will.

 

We stay open unless: a) to cold (which hasn't happened this season ) or b)not enough riders. Grant it we close down for the night around 8-9-10 somewhere around there but be sure to say hi if you see matt anywhere in the evening! he could be at flume, linus launcher, diamondback, beast, banshee or vortex also take my advice, if you plan on riding alot of the big rides (yes i know youll have the little ones), buy fastlane, HAUNT SATURDAYS ARE THE WORST TO GO TRUST ME.

Edited by drummermattk
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Remember the good old days when Adventure Express and Racer were 44" height requirements. I talked to a lady who worked in GR the year it went from 44" to 48" and she said there was lots of madness since their 44" child didn't grow 4" in a year. They could no longer ride a coaster they were tall enough the previous year.

 

I have 5 kids and height requirements are so inconsistent. Camden Park's Big Dipper launched my kid on that first drop and there really wasn't an enforced height limit. It was awesome. Some Wild Mouse coasters are 42" some 44" some 46" and a very few 48". Same thing with White Water Canyon rides. KI is actually one of the more strict heights at 46". Many are 42" or 44". I could go on all day about height issues. Another item that is upsetting is the two height stations at KI are not the same. The one in the front with the swinging arm is the best. I found that most of the measuring station at the rides are taller than the station in the front. White Water is almost an inch difference and that is a bummer when you don't get the 46" bracelet from the front. It is a long round trip walk back to get the bracelet.

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Height limits are not always the park's fault. Sometimes it's manufacturer policy, and sometimes it's due to someone falling off/getting injured on a ride in throwadartatamapistan that changes the safety rules and guidelines everywhere. While on occasion it is the park's decision to have a shorter height limit, most of the time it's based on ride type & manufacturer. Like how most B&M coasters have a 54" requirement but Intamins only a 48". Now it doesn't seem fair if a kid could ride the uber intense speed demon that is TTD at CP but not the I can take a nap on this ride that is Gatekeeper?

 

And as a ride op that worked a 52" requirement ride, I'm looking at these kids everyday that can ride everything else in the park but my ride. I don't know what's worse in those cases: the sad look on the child's face, or the anger in the parent's voice.

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I have 5 kids and height requirements are so inconsistent. Camden Park's Big Dipper launched my kid on that first drop and there really wasn't an enforced height limit. It was awesome. Some Wild Mouse coasters are 42" some 44" some 46" and a very few 48". Same thing with White Water Canyon rides. KI is actually one of the more strict heights at 46". Many are 42" or 44". I could go on all day about height issues. Another item that is upsetting is the two height stations at KI are not the same. The one in the front with the swinging arm is the best. I found that most of the measuring station at the rides are taller than the station in the front. White Water is almost an inch difference and that is a bummer when you don't get the 46" bracelet from the front. It is a long round trip walk back to get the bracelet.

 

Coming from someone who has evolved their rides department from the old head against the height board, to L-shaped height sticks, and now converting to "slide gauge" measuring devices, I understand your longing for consistency. The best height stations either have the mounted swiveling bar, or slide gauge (I got the idea from Busch Gardens Tampa). For the swivel bars, it is either contact or no contact to determine if someone can ride; simple. For a slide gauge the gauge needs to be in the green or whatever appropriate color to be able to ride. I am converting to slide gauges because they always make contact and the gauge will show exactly where they stand. There is no agrument how well a bar hit the head, or lack thereof.

 

I personally do not like Kings Island's white height sticks with a colored ring around them. Not having something that is precise like a bar or a gauge that will make contact with a rider's head will open the door for how well a ride operator compares head height to line. Measuring humans is far from easy in some cases, but there are tools out there to make the judgment more accurate.

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Walibi Holland had a measurement device, that was built into a thing that looked a lot

like those "body dryers" they have near the exits of some water rides.

IMG_8505.JPG.b64e7550fc3a6bed83f9c662d3e8cd6d.JPG

Seemed to work fast enough to "measure" the kids. Sept.12, 2015.

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I agree!

 

During a recent coaster road trip with our kids, we found that the height requirements differ from park to park. The weird thing was that our daughter was just over the 48 inch mark at six flags and busch gardens parks,but was below the mark at cedar fair parks.

 

I am running into the same issue with our other kids now that they are getting taller.

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Totally off topic, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

 

After my first time at Cedar PointI truly believe Kings Island is better than Cedar Point. Let me explain.

 

First off, the employees. For example, the Gatekeeper line was taking a very long time, even with Fast Lane Plus. I got up to the station and saw the trains were stacking and the ops didn't seem to really care how quickly the trains were being dispatched. At Kings Island, I don't remember the last time I didn't see ride ops walking quickly or even running. This was also a problem on Dragster, Maverick, Raptor, and, well, basically half the roller coasters.

 

Another thing that really bothered me was how many people walk around the park smoking outside of the designated smoking areas. I have asthma & even secondhand smoke can send me into an asthma attack.

 

Lastly, the atmosphere. When I walk into KI, I lovd looking straight ahead and seeing all kinds of shops, the fountains and the eiffel tower surrounded by rides and plenty of wooded area. It's kind of welcoming. At CP, however, since it's all mostly coasters, rides, and buildings, which to me made it feel a little less, welcoming I guess. I felt more out of place at CP. KI, to me, feels a bit more homey

 

I believe the park was great but has so much more potential. The park has a fantastic lineup, but the operations and atmosphere honestly led me to believe that KI is actually the better park. I'm sorry if I sounded like a whiny little b***h, I just really wanted to throw that out there.

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I agree with you about Kings Island being better than Cedar Point. I did both parks in the same trip back in May, hitting Cedar Point first and then Kings Island a few days later. I liked the atmosphere at KI better than CP. I also enjoyed being able to ride every coaster I got in line for at KI. At CP I wasn't able to ride Millennium Force because the seat belt was about an inch shy of buckling.

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Woo what a great picture!

Nobody's brought this up yet, so here we go:

How the donkey are we going to see what's going on past the big lift-crossing left turn with this camera angle? Doesn't seem like there's much else to mount it on to get a good angle, especially with this being more of a terrain coaster in it's back half.

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Woo what a great picture!

Nobody's brought this up yet, so here we go:

How the donkey are we going to see what's going on past the big lift-crossing left turn with this camera angle? Doesn't seem like there's much else to mount it on to get a good angle, especially with this being more of a terrain coaster in it's back half.

 

 

 

They will probably turn the camera

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After my first time at Cedar PointI truly believe Kings Island is better than Cedar Point. Let me explain.

 

First off, the employees. For example, the Gatekeeper line was taking a very long time, even with Fast Lane Plus. I got up to the station and saw the trains were stacking and the ops didn't seem to really care how quickly the trains were being dispatched. At Kings Island, I don't remember the last time I didn't see ride ops walking quickly or even running. This was also a problem on Dragster, Maverick, Raptor, and, well, basically half the roller coasters.

 

This wasn't my experience at all both times I visited Cedar Point this year. The Gatekeeper crew was always hustling like nuts to get trains dispatched and prevent stacking as much as possible. Did you just visit recently? It's possible operations may have dropped in quality due to it being the end of the season, but in both May and September, this simply wasn't an issue, and especially not with FLP.

 

That being said, the one time I visited KI this year, I didn't need any sort of Fast Lane whatsoever, so that was a definite pleasant surprise. Ultimately I like both parks a lot, but for different reasons, and so I wouldn't rank one higher than the other as they both seem to serve different purposes.

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Totally off topic, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

 

After my first time at Cedar PointI truly believe Kings Island is better than Cedar Point. Let me explain.

 

First off, the employees. For example, the Gatekeeper line was taking a very long time, even with Fast Lane Plus. I got up to the station and saw the trains were stacking and the ops didn't seem to really care how quickly the trains were being dispatched. At Kings Island, I don't remember the last time I didn't see ride ops walking quickly or even running. This was also a problem on Dragster, Maverick, Raptor, and, well, basically half the roller coasters.

 

Another thing that really bothered me was how many people walk around the park smoking outside of the designated smoking areas. I have asthma & even secondhand smoke can send me into an asthma attack.

 

Lastly, the atmosphere. When I walk into KI, I lovd looking straight ahead and seeing all kinds of shops, the fountains and the eiffel tower surrounded by rides and plenty of wooded area. It's kind of welcoming. At CP, however, since it's all mostly coasters, rides, and buildings, which to me made it feel a little less, welcoming I guess. I felt more out of place at CP. KI, to me, feels a bit more homey

 

I believe the park was great but has so much more potential. The park has a fantastic lineup, but the operations and atmosphere honestly led me to believe that KI is actually the better park. I'm sorry if I sounded like a whiny little b***h, I just really wanted to throw that out there.

 

I hope you visit KI when/if they have the Christmas in July event next year. They played Christmas and instrumental music on International Street during it this year, and it felt like it did years ago when they played it, instead of this pop music they blast nowadays at the park. It made it feel like you was getting away from your troubles and the rest of the world and entering a magical place.

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