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Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

p. 832: Camp Snoopy announced for 2024!

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^Actually, I was at the park yesterday, and while the operations were slow, they weren't atrociously slow to me. I only saw double stacking a couple of times, and it wasn't for very long. The line for the ride was never longer than 30 minutes.

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^

I can only imagine how nice that must've been. The double stacking on my last visit a month ago was consistent all day, so we only rode Diamondback twice the whole day since all of the other coasters were walkons and Banshee had a 30-45 minute wait... I'm not sure how Banshee can have such quick dispatches and Diamondback is so sluggish. It's only been since last year when the seatbelts were added that they slowed down immensely.

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Just in case anyone wants to watch Diamondback's atrociously slow operations, there's a live cam on the website now:

http://pixelcaster.com/live/kingsisland/diamondback.html

 

Nice to see upgraded webcams, but damn, what is up with diamondback? I watched for 5 minutes and that's how long it's taking to dispatch one train. On my last visit, they were cranking them out, even with the seat-belts.

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I just watched about ten minutes on the webcam. I think you guys might be exaggerating a bit. Out of five dispatches, there was one instance of double stacking. Most dispatches were in the 100-120 second range. Certainly not very good, but reasonable.

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Does anyone from the Columbus Area want to meet up and go to Kings Island on Friday, the 10th of July ? I am arriving at the Cincinnati Airport at 8:50am that day and I was planning to spend the day downtown and then take a mega-bus to Columbus that night, but just throwing this option out there (I'm asking because public transportation and even Uber aren't feasible for getting from the airport to KI and then Columbus, and renting a car is like 80+ dollars split between...nobody else) if anyone wants to meet up and hang out that day at the park. I haven't been there in 12 years, I could help out with gas and parking!

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I was at the park on 7/3 and DB was dispatching fairly quickly. Although one time I was on a train waiting to enter the station as the train in the station was delayed from dispatching an extra 15-20 seconds while the happy ride op did some goofy non ride related spiel.

A lot of delays are causing by first the riders having to put their bags and junk in the storage bins, then the ride ops having to carry more bags, phones, drinks and junk from the seated riders and put in bins. I saw one ride op carrying 5-6 of those plastic refill cups full of soda.

 

Banshee was dispatching super fast. I've gotten to where I don't care much for inverts anymore, but I do like Banshee a lot.

 

Had to wait at least 30 minutes after the fireworks ended before Beast could restart.

 

The vibration in the back row of DB was terrible. Headache inducing. And the front row is pretty forceless and not very exciting. Maybe 2nd or 3rd from the back is the way to go, but I didn't get a chance to try them.

 

FoF comes to a complete stop mid-course. Maybe it always did but it's been several years since I've gone.

 

Beast at night is still fun, though there are way too many brakes.

 

Backlot Stunt Coaster is still fun. The tunnel after the scene stop is completely dark (even during the day). Was it always? I seem to remember it being lit.

 

Adventure Express is now the roughest coaster in the park (even more than Vortex).

 

I'd forgotten how bad the transitions on Vortex are. Worse than Anaconda. Yet it'd still rather ride Vortex than Firehawk.

 

Making the overnight hike to The Bat, it was strange seeing SoB's queue still there and remembering waiting 2.5 hours in it a month after it opened.

 

I also got a reminder that unlike Six Flags, Cedar Fair won't let an asking single rider near the loading gates take an empty seat (tried on more than one coaster, even getting a rude "no" on DB).

 

There was a wallet under the brake run of Firehawk. And a set of keys sitting on the metal safety grid under Banshee's lift.

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Has anyone stopped in at the store next to the girls/80s store on international street!? They have vintage kings island shirts (bat king cobra beast). Also at the coaster connection by banshee they have limited edition collectors pins for king cobra and flying Eagles. If anyone would like k can upload the pics of all of them.

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When I visited in 2013, ride ops on Diamondback were really pumping people through. I only saw double stacking twice during a full queue line, and both times were for walks of shame.

 

However, I've also seen Nitro @ SFGAdv go from being a capacity leader to being an operational joke in the span of a couple years, so it's totally believable that DB has suffered a similar fate. It's a shame.

Edited by michaellynn4
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I couldn't believe the difference in how fast the crew at carowinds was dispatching the intimidator trains compared to diamondback. They both have the same trains and restraints/ seat belts.

 

I wonder why the difference in dispatch?

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^I'm sure it depends on the crew working a particular shift/time of day. When I was at Carowinds last month they were dispatching very slow and stacked all trains pretty much all 3 days I was went to the park that week. It was a 20 minute wait at the bottom of the stairs on one of my rides. That's ridiculous. With Carowinds they have the newness with Fury 325 so likely their top people are over there. Also those bins in the station really slow everything down, especially when they work with a skeleton crew (as it was when I was there since schools were still in session). Perhaps as the season progresses they will get these newer folks together at all their parks.

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^I'm sure it depends on the crew working a particular shift/time of day. When I was at Carowinds last month they were dispatching very slow and stacked all trains pretty much all 3 days I was went to the park that week. It was a 20 minute wait at the bottom of the stairs on one of my rides. That's ridiculous. With Carowinds they have the newness with Fury 325 so likely their top people are over there. Also those bins in the station really slow everything down, especially when they work with a skeleton crew (as it was when I was there since schools were still in session). Perhaps as the season progresses they will get these newer folks together at all their parks.

 

 

As a guy that works at KI, i can agree with you. I may work at the log ride (not so special sometimes) depending on the people that are in, and we are two sided, we can take a 35 minute wait and trim it down to 10. Just depends on who's in honestly.

 

 

Also i know its not happening next year, but maybe a new flat or maybe Slingshot moved to use the old Flight commander location?

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So we have a trip coming up to Kings Island in a few weeks. We will be at the park on a Friday.

 

Neither of us have ever been to Kings Island, and we really don't "know where to start" with the park. We will be getting to the park at open, and staying till 10pm. We have already bought our Fast Lane Plus so hopefully this will help with wait times a little? Is there any specific order we should hit the attractions? Are there any attractions that are not on Fast Lane Plus that we might want to do first before they get busy??

 

Also, any places to eat in the park that you all highly recommend?

 

Thanks in advance!

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I couldn't believe the difference in how fast the crew at carowinds was dispatching the intimidator trains compared to diamondback.

 

This is quite surprising as from my experiences Carowinds has some of the slowest crews I've ever witnessed at a Cedar Fair park.

 

It really seems like the Diamondback crew has been awfully slow ever since Banshee opened up last season.

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So we have a trip coming up to Kings Island in a few weeks. We will be at the park on a Friday.

 

Neither of us have ever been to Kings Island, and we really don't "know where to start" with the park. We will be getting to the park at open, and staying till 10pm. We have already bought our Fast Lane Plus so hopefully this will help with wait times a little? Is there any specific order we should hit the attractions? Are there any attractions that are not on Fast Lane Plus that we might want to do first before they get busy??

 

Also, any places to eat in the park that you all highly recommend?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

Honestly IMO if you really want to ride everything, head to FOF and Firehawk first, but since you guys will have Fastlane plus I couldnt tell you. Id wait for Banshee until about mid day, but start by FOF and Firehawk and ride rides back there. Seat suggestion for Banshee: Back row on the sides. I would eat at Skyline in the front, or The taco shack. All always have warm food. Reds Hall of Fame is cool, but ive heard from multiple guests while ive been working that the food was cold and service was sloppy. All in all Depending on weather, the park could be packed, or dead. Enjoy your trip and there are discounts on tshirts/shot glasses/ drinkware around the park to! Enjoy your day though.

 

 

 

IMO: RIde Banshee and Beast one time during the day and try to ride them both at Night. Banshee gives great night rides, better than beast IMO. but they do shut the line down at 9:45 for fireworks, so if your looking for a night ride, get in line before that time .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also just rad that Vekoma are making new Flying Dutchman trains. (Firehawk). Maybe a possibility that kings island could buy two of them for Firehawk? r maybe im just an idiot.

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Honestly IMO if you really want to ride everything, head to FOF and Firehawk first, but since you guys will have Fastlane plus I couldnt tell you. Id wait for Banshee until about mid day, but start by FOF and Firehawk and ride rides back there. Seat suggestion for Banshee: Back row on the sides. I would eat at Skyline in the front, or The taco shack. All always have warm food. Reds Hall of Fame is cool, but ive heard from multiple guests while ive been working that the food was cold and service was sloppy. All in all Depending on weather, the park could be packed, or dead. Enjoy your trip and there are discounts on tshirts/shot glasses/ drinkware around the park to! Enjoy your day though.

 

 

 

IMO: RIde Banshee and Beast one time during the day and try to ride them both at Night. Banshee gives great night rides, better than beast IMO. but they do shut the line down at 9:45 for fireworks, so if your looking for a night ride, get in line before that time .

 

Thanks!

Glad to know about FOF and Firehawk. They will for sure be the first two things we hit up! We are going to do night rides on Banshee and Beast since we have heard amazing things about them! Do you have an preference on "the best" or a good seat on Beast? Also, on a scale of 1-10 (one being awful, and 10 being not bad at all) how rough would you rate Beast??

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Middle row of the last car is my favorite row on The Beast. Keep in mind Kings Island will keep the line open until closing time, so I usually hop in line a few minutes before closing so I can ride other rides at night too. The will suspend operation at 10pm for the nightly firework show but reopen for those remaining in the line as soon as they receive the all clear.

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Personally I think you have to ride the Beast in the front at night... it's beyond amazing.

 

My wife and I did this two times in a row without getting off (after Midnight) at an enthusiast event back in 2002, and I have to agree with your assessment! It truly was an almost ethereal experience! Fog and mist coming off of the ground everywhere, and a complete sense of wild abandon. Definitely a great way to close out the night!

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Just in case anyone wants to watch Diamondback's atrociously slow operations, there's a live cam on the website now:

http://pixelcaster.com/live/kingsisland/diamondback.html

 

The park seems pretty crowded today and this Diamondback crew is really a sight to behold. It's even more fun if you switch to this cam...

 

http://pixelcaster.com/live/kingsisland/banshee.html

 

And then back to the Diamondback cam to compare. Enjoy everyone.

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Personally I think you have to ride the Beast in the front at night... it's beyond amazing.

 

I could not agree more. Ride it in the middle row of the last car during the day and wait for the front row at night. The front is rough in spots, my feet were actually bouncing a few inches off the floor of the car at one point, but it's absolutely worth it.

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