Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[coasterbill]

I want to point out that when I said it was shaky I went out of my way to say that it wasn't rough. I think Diamondback is an awesome ride and probably my second favorite B&M hyper but when compared to a ride like Apollo's Chariot it's really bumpy... it's not painful or anything... just bumpy. It really doesn't take away from the ride very much.

[thrillseeker4552]

Diamondback is by far the most interesting ride that I havent ridden (at least to me). Half of the reviews I see for it say its smooth and has good airtime, then the other half say rattly and boring. Also, every other page on this thread seems to have a differing report on its efficiency (it seems like the ops are either flying or letting all trains stack). I wonder why the ride seems so indecisive lol, Ive never seen such consistently differing views on one roller coaster.

 

This, this, and more this.

 

I'm going to be at Kings Island in a little over two weeks, and I have no idea what to expect from Diamondback because of the differing reviews and opinions. I'll just have to wait and see.

[Koasterking48]

In line for Diamondback now. Trains are churning out much quicker than earlier today. Invertigo was "parked" on the lift for about a half hour with riders. Been closed all day and running empty trains.

[Geauga Dog]

Diamondback is quite smooth but I think the roughness that those have posted about is being confused with "rattly" as these staggered seat trains have more rattle than the original four across trains on rides like Apollo's Chariot, SFOG Goliath, and Raging Bull. I don't remember Intimidator's trains having the rattle but it's very noticeable on D-back (though let's be honest, this is a snake themed ride so consider the rattle in the trains as theming)

 

I prefer sitting towards the back for the airtime plus being pulled over the first two hills is awesome.

[PrismTx]

I love Diamondback, always a good ride for me, usually ride it no less than 2 times during my weekly visit. Only ride in the park where I like to put my hands up from start to finish. I always prefer the outside seats, feels so free with just the right amount of airtime. I definitely think they do need to be more consistent with ride operations though, seems like sometimes the operators are doing really good at dispatching trains with minimal delays and sometimes it seems like they are slacking off a lot lol.

[prozach626]

I will say that Diamondback is by far the least smooth B&M I've ridden. Because of that I prefer the four across seats.

 

Flight of Fear closed all day so far. More to come...

 

Interesting. It was closed last Thursday, too.

[EricGarbo]

I will say that Diamondback is by far the least smooth B&M I've ridden. Because of that I prefer the four across seats.

 

Flight of Fear closed all day so far. More to come...

 

Interesting. It was closed last Thursday, too.

 

Having just ridden Behemoth the first time this weekend I was extremely surprised at how rough (Much smoother than most others still) it rode for a B&M because of that train style when it picked up speed. Leviathan's traditional 4x8 was a dream compared to it.

[Woodie Warrior]

Diamondback was perfectly smooth when I rode it a few weeks ago. I rode 2x in the front, 2x in the back, and 2x in the middle and there was no difference between the seats. They were all fine.

[coasterbill]

Forgive me for the stupid question but who said Diamondback was rough? I searched the last 3 pages and can't find a post where anyone called the ride rough.

[GigaG]

Has FoF been closed continuously since the fire and smoke incident?

[coasterbill]

Has FoF been closed continuously since the fire and smoke incident?

 

Yes. It hasn't been open since the second incident.

[Koasterking48]

Forgive me for the stupid question but who said Diamondback was rough? I searched the last 3 pages and can't find a post where anyone called the ride rough.

I said it sucked compared to previous years, but never called it rough. It definitely isn't in its prime this season.

[haydn12]

We rode Diamondback a few weeks ago and I didn't notice anything different from 2 years ago. It was just as smooth with just a little rattle no matter where we sat on the train. I love the floating air time on Diamondback. Much more enjoyable with multiple rides that the coasters with ejector air.

 

Jim

[Superbatboy]

One of Diamondbacks's trains is definitely more rattly than the other two, also the first car on any of the trains is the smoothest IMO.

[Koasterking48]

Got back from Kings Island which I visited yesterday. Had a great time and can say that Banshee is the best ride at Kings Island by far! Loved every second of it! The Beast was also really running well and had some great night rides. Flight Of Fear, as I said earlier, is closed indefinitely and may not be open for Banshee Bash. Everyone that is going to Banshee Bash is in for a real treat as many of the coasters are running well. My opinion changed about Diamondback and it was more enjoyable the second and third time around. The only ride I didn't enjoy was Vortex. It just plain sucked and needs to be dismantled soon. Overall, I consider this visit a complete success!

 

By the way, night rides on Banshee and Beast are mandatory for a great visit.

[UrbanLegend]

Has FoF been closed continuously since the fire and smoke incident?

 

Yes. It hasn't been open since the second incident.

 

What's the likelihood that it'll be open by the end of the month?

[Koasterking48]

^

Flight Of Fear, as I said earlier, is closed indefinitely and may not be open for Banshee Bash.

No known time of when it will reopen.

[GigaG]

Cross post from CP thread, I meant to post that here-

 

Has anybody noticed Banshee's super-fast dispatches? They literally use twice the amount of ride ops than what seemed to be needed (8 as opposed to 4, if I saw things correctly), each assigned to one row. Here's the sequence-

 

-Ride stops

-Restraints unlock, riders exit

-Ride ops go through rows unbuckling vacant seats from previous ride

-As this occurs, gates open

-Riders sit down and pull down their restraints

-Ride ops quickly check seats

-Ride ops will take flip-flops and throw them onto the ground to the right of the train on the exit side (not kidding)

--Side note - As all of this is happening, the station's speakers will occasionally count down the time until next dispatch should happen (or maybe can happen assuming that the ride should dispatch when it can, I don't know)

-Restraints check, CLEAR times 8 or so, visual scan (KI does those... looks like SF spread it... or maybe they've always done it) DISPATCH

 

This system is amazingly efficient. It may seem dangerous for the ride ops due to the fact that you only have 4 op "stations" and 8 ops, but keep in mind every op has to push a button for dispatch (I think, not totally sure), and no responsible ride op would press that button when their partner was not ready.) If this system works, maybe they could employ a few more workers to staff Diamondback in the same way.

[TheDarkMaxim]

Yeah their dispatches really were incredible, I noticed also that there was usually at least 1 or 2 supervisors operating/attending. I wouldn't expect this to last forever though, likely just to make a good first impression and keep the long ass line moving (which it does).

[EricGarbo]

It was the same way on Leviathan last weekend. They had four people on restraints, one in the dispatch booth, and two floaters grabbing bags form riders and putting them in bins. It was the best ops I have ever seen. They were sending B&M 4x8 trains full with slow people who all had backpacks with consistent 45 second dispatches. They also had two people at the entrance filling up rows, down to the single rider. They left as few seats empty as possible. It was 10 minute waits in the queue and I don't think I stopped walking once. It was just a steady stream through the station.

 

Cedar Fair done got their stuff together on their star attractions.

[El Toro_Ryan]

Now if only Six Flags would staff their rides this well. haha I know El Toro could definitely use this many people working. Having only 2 people check the long train and then having to go back and jam people in who don't fit takes a toll on interval times.

[Koasterking48]

An idea just hit me... When I was in line for Beast, I definitely got a good look at the construction. It looks like it will certainly be a haunted house, but I think it might be the new home for Wolf Pack. That way, demolition for as SoB's old station can happen and there is plenty of room there for future expansion!

[UrbanLegend]

Bit of an odd question, but I assume people would be in the know around here. I'll be visiting Kings Island with three friends in a week and a half, and it likely won't be a while before I'm back in Cincinnati. As for Cincinnati chili, should we go with Skyline Chili or Blue Ash Chili? I feel like the former is more iconic while the latter might be objectively better, but for the overall experience I was leaning toward Skyline. How far off am I?

[PKI Jizzman]

I guess if you want to be more of a foodie, go to Blue Ash. But honestly. ..I live in Blue Ash and have never been. Never had the desire or drive to. Skyline is awesome and there's one right by ki. Go to skyline. If you love it, try Blue Ash.

[Brent York]

I'm trying to decide whether to go to KI on the 4th or the 5th. Hard decision considering the 5th, normally not too crowded from what I hear, is a Saturday. What do you think? Both equally slammed?