Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[Philrad71]

Is the rust on the trains intentional?

 

Haven't seen too many trains up close for MT, so was just curious because they kind of look like crap like that. I thought that I was looking at some Chinese knock-off train.

[PKI Jizzman]

Yeah man, this ride has a STORY. It's *highly* themed.

 

Seriously, the night rides were really good.

Ayy new credit in the books!

[coasterbill]

Hey Bill, how's Nitro?

 

Nitro is doing great! Hopefully next year they come to their senses and open another coaster or two. The park is open to Zephyr, Flight of Fear should really run. Yes, it's a scary theme but if a possessed demonic tree that eats people is fine then that should be too.

 

Adventure Express, Diamondback, Racer and Banshee are all great options too, especially if they extend hours and open earlier in the day when it's warmer. They've already extended their hours mid-season and open an hour earlier than originally scheduled most days so that doesn't seem like a crazy scenario.

[prozach626]

Even just opening Diamondback would be great, since it's right there where the event is. I can understand the park's apprehension to open anything further away from the current event path, as that would add cost or they would have to spread out what they have.

[bluestreak]

Just wanted to quickly say how much I enjoyed Winterfest. The lights were great and it was amazing riding a roller coaster like mystic timbers in December in Ohio.

 

I'll post the few pictures I took but they didn't turn out that well because my phone didn't like the cold and honestly I didn't like having my hand outside of my glove long enough to take a decent picture.

 

Enjoy:

I LOVE this picture

[Midgetman82]

I made a surprise swing by the park on Friday the 15th, partly to process my season pass, but doing so allowed me entry to Winterfest so I took advantage of it.

Attacked by a hidden snowmaker sprinkling some magic down near the ice skating rink. Oh and yes, it was very cold, but I was layered aplenty and felt fine in the 30 degree weather.

I quite enjoyed the event. Even though I had 3 hours to kill, I thought it was plenty with the amount of people that were there. I got to do plenty of walking around the park to take in the lights, snap some photos, watch some entertainers here and there, and finish off with 5 rides on Mystic Timbers.

 

One thing I thought was interesting was how Mystic Timber's fast lane line was converted to a single-rider's line, and it sounded like a lot of people were unaware of it. Choosing it gave me a few 5 minute or less waits, compared to the 25 minute stand-by line (learned of the single rider line after waiting once in the regular line).

 

The family-friendly/romantic/chill evening atmosphere the park had was quite nice. Though it would've been nice to get a much larger ride running like Diamondback, I could still tell the prime target audience this year was families with kids. Mystic Timbers being the thrilling "big kids" ride with a 48" height requirement. I do think opening something Delirium would go well with the thrill demographic, plus get some more people out at the area near Banshee.

A long exposure of Scrambler.

Long exposure of Zephyr

A lot of pretty colors were all over the park. Honestly, the selective lighting made me forget about Diamondback even being there.

I didn't mind that the much larger coasters weren't running since the focus of the event was centered on the activities and lights and such, though seeing it standing there unused was quite the tease.

The lights up the Eiffel Tower changed colors and danced in patterns that almost looked like projections. Occasionally you'd see a vague figure of Santa's sleigh flying by via the lights.

[Vonni]

The park is very pretty!

[prozach626]

Damn, the park looks great.

[coasterbill]

Hey Bill, how's Nitro?

 

Update: They cold started it at 19 degrees last night.

[Philrad71]

Some great photos, Marcus - thanks for sharing!

 

We drove by the park on our way back from Florida last week, but unfortunately it wasn't on a day that they were open.

[prozach626]

Hey Bill, how's Nitro?

 

Update: They cold started it at 19 degrees last night.

Hopefully they're using Mystic Timbers as their training wheels for next year's winter Diamondback opening.

 

I'm only halfway serious. I actually think the park should keep the rides very similar in future Winterfest events. Keep most of the thrill aspect out of it to change the vibe of the park, which it has seemed to do. Although I think you could maintain that feeling while opening up the side of the wooden classic, Racer, closest to the games Midway.

[Jason Maier]

How is The Beast in quite cold weather

[AmyUD06]

Not open.

[SLCHeadache]

To all those wanting to see Diamondback open in Winterfest: How would it even run? Doesn't it rely on splash brakes, unlike any other US B&M hyper?

[El Toro_Ryan]

To all those wanting to see Diamondback open in Winterfest: How would it even run? Doesn't it rely on splash brakes, unlike any other US B&M hyper?

 

Well if Great Adventure can get Nitro to run when it's 20 degrees out, I think Kings Island could manage Diamondback in the cold. Simply swap all the running wheels with the harder nylon set and pray like crazy that the first few test runs of the day make it around the track... Great Adventure style.

 

Regarding the splashdown, that's the tricky part because the pool most likely would freeze during Winterfest. Maybe a trim could be added in place of the splashdown? And then the trim could be removed during the regular operating season when the splashdown is utilized.

[prozach626]

I'm pretty sure it can run without the splash down brakes.

[boldikus]

Re: the splashdown - Maybe they could swap out the "scoops" for some sort of icepicks. Then simply fill the pool, let it freeze and fire that b*tch up. Add some spotlights and you got yourself a really neat looking ice spray that would work splendidly for a holiday visual element.

[coasterbill]

 

As you can see, the ride did not explode. I'm sure Diamondback would be the same way.

 

*Also, it's "brakes", dumbass.

[CaptainUnknown]

^Exactly. The water feature is more aesthetic than function, so just drain the pond/remove the scoops and let the snake slither.

[Rhyano]

Diamondback's water feature is used as breaking, though it ran without before, it also makes the breaks work harder, at least that's my interpretation.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Diamondback's water feature is used as breaking, though it ran without before, it also makes the breaks work harder, at least that's my interpretation.

I am completely certain that the water does not break the ride. Not once have I ever seen the train shatter into pieces after hitting the water.

[Rhyano]

https://web.archive.org/web/20090303112003/http://www.kidiamondback.com:80/public/ride/statistics.cfm

[coasterbill]

I am completely certain that the water does not break the ride. Not once have I ever seen the train shatter into pieces after hitting the water.

 

[prozach626]

Diamondback's water feature is used as breaking, though it ran without before, it also makes the breaks work harder, at least that's my interpretation.

I believe the initial brakes on the brake run are magnetic, so I don't see how that would cause any additional wear or make the brakes work harder. I would be willing to bet the splash down only shaves a couple miles per hour off of the train, anyway.

 

The fins cause a break in the water to brake the train very little and the train won't break from additional brake speed. I hope I didn't break your concentration, but I wanted to take a breakin the conversation to explain that the lack of water brakes won't break the brakes.

 

Either way, I'm with Boldikus. Ice pick that shit!

[ALT2870]

I am completely certain that the water does not break the ride. Not once have I ever seen the train shatter into pieces after hitting the water.

 

 

The sad part is I don't think he got it.