Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[PKI Jizzman]

Orion front row vs back row is a different experience, highly recommend checking out both rows!

Banshee is running like it wants to be your favorite invert today, wow it's intense today! Saw spots multiple times and rode 3x in 30 minutes. 

[bert425]

14 minutes ago, PKI Jizzman said:

Orion front row vs back row is a different experience, highly recommend checking out both rows!

Banshee is running like it wants to be your favorite invert today, wow it's intense today! Saw spots multiple times and rode 3x in 30 minutes. 

so I know from your input, Diamondback row 2 is the magic row.

and I'm sure I'll check out Orion in multiple rows. . but since my 1st ever visit to KI is coming up in 3 weeks. . any other seat / placement recommendations for any other rides at KI?

I trust your judgement, so asking

[tndank]

Beast 17.

Front row on any giga is a ton of fun.  And most hypers, too.

 

[PKI Jizzman]

Racer: front or back car middle row

Banshee: front for the views, back right for the airtime on the first drop and intense gs

Flight of Fear: front car, I haven't done the back in a while since it can be rough 

Mystic Timbers: try the front! It's great anywhere, it's that fast

Orion: try front and back, but it's relentless speed in every row.

Diamondback: Row 2 to hang off the wing seats, very back row to reach back and touch the water spout. Row 10 is a favorite of mine too for a mix of floater + pull out of your seat since it's towards the back

Bat: front is cool and back is great as well, has a nice airtime pop!

Adventure Express: good anywhere 

Italian Stunt Copyright Coaster: back? It's been ages since I rode it

Invertigo I haven't been on in ages... I'll be there to help escort you around the park one of the days for sure! Probably Friday.

[bert425]

^ cool!

I'll be hanging with @teacherkimand her son Joel all day too. . .would love to meet up again.

Are you attending Coasterstock, or just gonna be there one of the days?   (it's 7/9-7/10)

[AmyUD06]

No offense, @tndank, but anyone not recommending the very front, let alone the back car, for Beast is just a glutton for punishment.  Not sure how old you are, but bodies with some years on them can't handle it.  Here's my overall recommendations for @bert425:

Adventure Express - Row 2 or 5.
Backlot - Back row.
Banshee - Back row.  Dem forces.
Bat - Back row.
Beast - Front row.  Nowhere else.  Especially at night.
Diamondback - Row 2.  Do not get stapled.
Flight of Fear - Back row.
Flying Ace Aerial Chase - Back row.
Invertigo - Don't.  If you must, somewhere in the middle.
Mystic Timbers - Do two rides, Front and Back rows.  They're both awesome but back holds a slight edge for me.
Orion - Back row.  Don't get stapled. Typically I'm a front row guy on coasters based on speed, and don't get me wrong, it's good here, but that first and second drops in the back....
Racer - Row 1 or 2.  It's a lot smoother now, but you still want that non-wheel seat if you're not in the front.
Woodstock Express - Back row or not at all.
 

[tndank]

45 and I still love row 17. Give or take a row and I agree it can be a tough ride.  Give it a try next time. It's not a wheel seat.  I hop on there several times each visit.

 

 

[Haymaker]

5 hours ago, tndank said:

Beast 17.

Front row on any giga is a ton of fun.  And most hypers, too.

 

My opinion is you lose some of the drop in the front row while you wait for the rest of the train to crest. Particularly on the Intamins ive been on. Although i found Apollo's Chariot to be better in the front. Could be because of the fake first drop.

[coasterbill]

I always thought that Banshee rode like absolute ass in the back of the train.

I don’t care about “B&M rattle”, this isn’t that, this is like riding on a jackhammer with square wheels and it’s been like that since opening year. I always ride it in the front. Those trains are terrible and that’s weird because old inverts trains were absolute perfection. Why would anyone change them?

Other than that I don’t really have strong preferences on anything in that park.

Diamondback is great in the back, but it’s fun up front too so try both. Same for Orion and Mystic. 

[teacherkim]

10 hours ago, PKI Jizzman said:

First time this year there I've visited and there's not a massive line of cars to get in. Will today finally be a normal weekday experience?!

 

Edit: they do still play the pledge of allegiance over the speakers before park opening haha does any other park do this?

But do they then still play the Phineas and Furb theme song after the National Anthem. It's hilarious to see a bunch of kids (and probably plenty of teachers in disguise) yelling out "it's 104 days of summer vacation......."

 

I can't remember if they did it last summer, everything being not quite right and all. Look forward to meeting you, we will be hanging with Bert all day. It's my fault he ended up signing up for Coasterstock, he he.

[dankeykang]

^^ I agree that Banshee can be a little shaky in the back.  Not unbearable, but I prefer towards the front.

It looks like the advice on row selections so far has been pretty thorough, but a couple of personal opinions I'll add:

• Orion is great anywhere, but I like riding on the far left side if possible, since it's fun to lean outward and face straight down during the wave turn.
• I prefer the front row of the cars on Bat since I'm a little taller, and the front provides extra space for my knees.

[prozach626]

 

9 hours ago, coasterbill said:

old inverts trains were absolute perfection. Why would anyone change them?

Obesity.

[robbalvey]

*NEW VIDEO!* Take a ride on Orion at Kings Island! VIDEO:

 

[AmyUD06]

On 6/18/2021 at 2:40 AM, prozach626 said:

 

Obesity.

Not obese by any stretch but I definitely prefer the vest restraints...no headbanging whatsoever.

[DBru]

21 hours ago, Mike240SX said:

Not obese by any stretch but I definitely prefer the vest restraints...no headbanging whatsoever.

Is headbanging a problem on any B&M invert?

(besides that one wicked slam on Alpengeist which kind of makes the ride)

[dankeykang]

^ For those who aren’t aware of how to ride properly (just lean forward!), maybe Raptor’s final turn into the brake run?

[AmyUD06]

26 minutes ago, DBru said:

Is headbanging a problem on any B&M invert?

(besides that one wicked slam on Alpengeist which kind of makes the ride)

I definitely get some on Raptor's cobra roll and the final turn, a little bit on Batman (at least the one at SFGAdv), even some on the immelmann on Great Bear.  For me, keeping my head forward just results in neck-banging instead of head-banging (I'm only 5'6"), so yeah I prefer the vests.

[bert425]

and Kings Island has released the Coasterstock itinerary.

SO much overlapping ERT, but I think it's possible to get it all in!

can't wait, can't wait. . two weeks

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/events/coasterstock

[KIEnthusiast]

wow

Amazing

sounds like

[boldikus]

10 hours ago, KIEnthusiast said:

wow

Amazing

sounds like

[PKI Jizzman]

Headbanging on OTSRs is a myth. Getting constricted by vests is not.

[JT325]

^Say it!  I try to avoid vest coasters, especially if they are of the "X-Flight tighten and crush" type.  Wretched things.  Unless they're nice n loose - Thunderbird perhaps.

[bert425]

Today's mail was pretty awesome.

Less than 10 days till my 1st visit to this Bucket List park for me (been wanting to ride the Beast for decades).

 

[prozach626]

Vests or no vests, Thunderbird is always worth it. Calling the B&M wing rider uncomfortable while in the company of Voyage, wouldn't be logical.

---------

Emily and I went to the park this weekend. I'm sorry for not inviting anyone to meet up. We don't get much alone time anymore, and this was our first normal park trip since 2019.

Orion is a fantastic coaster. WTF is wrong with people? It's a front row coaster for us, hands down. I felt like my eyelids were peeling back. Outside of 2 SFSTL rides on Screamin Eagle and one on American Thunder, front row on Orion was our first coaster since our one and only 2020 park, SDC (neutered operations). You can imagine how that felt. I liked the themeing. The Orion nightclub/party thing, after 9pm, is entertaining, if not hilarious. It made for a cool vibe, and a miraculous find of the last beer man open, after all hopes were lost. I was also really impressed with Orion's lighting package. Orion is a win, and it beat the pants off of Leviathan, as far as I'm concerned. It immediately dethroned Mystic Timbers as Emily's favorite ride.  

The park looked great. All of the paint seemed either fresh, or still in good shape. The beer man was prevalent everywhere. Shoutout to the one Blue Ice Cream beer on tap, which was delicious. One heavy beer is enough for me. The midway looks superb at night. Basically, the whole area glows with LED's.

The foliage around the Antique Cars is coming in and makes the ride feel more complete.

I almost didn't remember Vortex existed, until heading toward the lift on The Beast. No big loss for us. Emily didn't even remember what it looked like.

Drop Tower (name?), Windseeker, and the Eiffel Tower were closed.

Snoopy wasn't spitting water on the flume, which would have only made our ride more regretful. This flume already has an unacceptable amount of wetness along with it's WTF name.

The Beast is getting rough. That included our ride in the middle of the train on non-wheel seats. We wanted to ride it at night, but it closed at 10 for Fireworks. After waiting for it to start back up 10-15 minutes post-fireworks, we left. Why does it take so long?? I was disappointed, but Graeters by our hotel was more of a priority for Emily and the clock was ticking. I try to be a good husband.

My fear of a Giga making Diamondback less relevant came true, which is why I was almost wishing for something else when KI was breaking ground. 2nd row is great. Our second ride was in the second to last car. It rattles badly. I'm sorry. I'm waiting for the day Emily says she doesn't want to ride it anymore. She hated Behemoth for that reason. I don't blame her. It's still hard to find the kind of sustained floater air Diamondback delivers. I don't think it ever got the praise it deserved until the last couple years when Orion started pulling people to the park. I loved Diamondback before it was cool to love Diamondback...... Still #1 Hyper for me.

Mystic Timbers is still Mystic Timbers, which means it's great. The only thing I noticed is there's no Hall and Oates or other cheesy music that plays. Spooky music played for us until the train was ready to pull into the station for the final scene. It took away some character.

Banshee is still a front row ride for us. I wouldn't care for it any other way. Emily says it rattles. Whether tolerable for you or not, it does. Again, same with Diamondback.

Our big focus was relaxing and spending time together. We love KI and it's usually an annual park for us. That means no pressure to go crazy, so we didn't ride too much:

Orion x4

Diamondback x2

Mystic Timbers x2

Banshee x1

Beast x1

Antique Cars, Snoopy FML flume, Choo Choo, and Dodgems. 

Beer count: 2 Yuenglings, 1 Ice Cream Beer, and one Bud Light.

FL+ is still great. I'll never go without it. Our longest coaster wait was probably Banshee, at 15 minutes or less. Everything else was 5-10.

I still hold some of the best wings are 10-20 minutes away at BC Roosters. That, and the second best Yuengling we've had on tap. Pottsville, PA takes the cake.

Lastly, shout out to the employee standing in the middle of a grassy field when the train passed, holding a broom and just looking at us. I laughed all day about the kid who yelled, "Good job cleaning the grass!"

[coasterbill]

10 minutes ago, prozach626 said:

Beer count: 2 Yuenglings, 1 Ice Cream Beer, and one Bud Light.

So... one

Kidding, lol. Glad you had fun. I'm on a bit of a terrible piss beer kick right now myself, hot weather does that to me.