Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[thrillseeker4552]

Nice report! I share just about all of your opinions on the rides. Kings Island is one of the most well-rounded, solid parks out there IMO. They don't have that huge, single, amazing stand-out coaster like some Cedar Fair parks, but I think that's what makes them so great.

 

I also enjoy Firehawk quite a bit too. I find it the smoothest and most enjoyable of the three Vekoma flyers. I'm also not really shedding any tears that it's leaving since it has a terrible capacity and is likely a maintenance nightmare for the park. Plus, knowing Kings Island, it will be replaced with something much better.

[joelwee]

^^^^ Great report. I visited KI for the first time this summer and had a lot of the same experiences as you. This park has a really solid coaster collection, excellent operations, and an overall enjoyable atmosphere.

 

I believe the original Bat was where Vortex now sits. I actually prefer where the new Bat sits; I like how it's way out in the middle of the woods, by itself.

[haydn12]

We were at the park at the very end of May and I thought the Racer was rough compared to prior years. I've been riding it since the 2nd year Kings Island opened. We used to marathon it back back when it just had the buzz bars. We also found Blue Streak rough this year at Cedar Point compared to how it was a couple years ago. Both parks need to give these woodies some extra attention as they are both great rides when smooth.

 

We hit Kings Island and Cedar Point every other year as we live in Phoenix so we can really feel the ride differences from each visit.

 

Jim

[mikeykaise]

A few years ago my ex-wife and I were participated in Coasting For Kids it seemed like the side closest to Dinosaurs Alive seemed to hit the bottom pretty hard at the bottom of the drop or the first bunny hill before the climb into the turn around. We were pretty sore after riding Racer all day.

[bgtlover]

Key to riding Racer & Beast: Don't sit in a wheel seat.

I rode in the last car, middle row on both and they were perfectly fine.

[xVicesAndVirtues]

Key to riding any woodie with 3-bench PTC trains: ride in the middle row

[SFOG1991]

^first row of any car is acceptable too. The back row of a 3 bench is always a disaster though. I wouldn’t blame a park for warning guests that those rows run rough. It’s really a make or break experience.

[coasterbill]

Key to riding any woodie with 3-bench PTC trains: ride in the middle row

 

Exactly. This really applies to almost every wood coaster with 3 bench trains. I can really only think of one or two of them where we don’t seek out those non-wheel seats (one being Phoenix but the amount of track work they do on that thing is insane). In most cases the rides are significantly better there.

[Canobie Coaster]

I honestly don't find much of a difference between the front and middle rows on 3 bench PTCs. Both are equally as smooth. The third row is a different story.

[9Armgeddon4]

I for one enjoyed my night back row on The Beast as painful as it was. Alright the first half wasn’t bad but the second half was the almost killed me.

[xVicesAndVirtues]

I know at one point last year we rode Beast in the front row of the back car and it was pretty brutal there, too, but not nearly as bad as when my friend talked me into "trying" the very last row with him.

 

GASM at over Georgia was great when it had 3-bench and you could sit in the middle to avoid the violent beating. But they had to ruin it, because, you know, f*cking Six Flags man.

[prozach626]

Non wheel seat in the middle of the train. This formula has never given us a rough ride on Racer and it works for most traditional (non GCI) wooden coasters. Bouncy? Yes. Rough? No.

 

We love Screaming Eagle at SFSTL. It's probably our favorite at the park. We always sit in the middle of the train on a non wheel seat and every ride is great. The last time we rode we went with two other people and to time being on the right train we had to sit on a wheel. Night and day experience and it totally sucked. Our formula of non wheel-middle row has even worked on brutal rides like Boss. Lean forward and it makes wooden roller coasters even more tolerable.

[RollingCoasting]

 

 

Sounds like Firehawk will not be opening today. According to someone on Reddit, the ride broke down last night and had to be evacuated. Guess that was the final straw

 

 

EDIT: Apparently it opened back up around 2:00

[southpuddle]

Love the juxtaposition of “It’s Amazing Here” and “Firehawk is Closed”

[bluestreak]

Wonder what it was like trying to get on last train of firehawk

[prozach626]

^ A bunch of dudes smelling like ketchup and onions arguing over who's going to go in front of who on a two train wait.

 

Love the juxtaposition of “It’s Amazing Here” and “Firehawk is Closed”

lol

[Canobie Coaster]

Wonder what it was like trying to get on last train of firehawk

 

Considering how crazy I've seen some enthusiasts get with the last ride of the season (or even night) on some rides, I assume it was wild. Or maybe everyone realized they should just be riding Mystic Timbers instead.

[bluestreak]

There's a good reason I didn't go to Steel Vengeance for last train of the year lol.

[prozach626]

I would imagine some people get pretty anxious about it. Being on the last train of the season has probably started quite a few arguments, which would be funny to laugh at.

[bluestreak]

I would imagine some people get pretty anxious about it. Being on the last train of the season has probably started quite a few arguments, which would be funny to laugh at.

 

Oh it's always hilarious. Especially at CP considering all the crazy fanboys we have up here. I could tell so many stories but I don't want to derail the Kings Island thread lol

[Diamondbacker27]

Being an operator on Lightning Run at KK, I can only imagine that it must've been bad. Every single night when the last train would come in, riders would always without a doubt chant "one more time, one more time!" While it's kind of funny, some people actually get rude about us not sending one more train out. Being Firehawk's last train, ever, it might've been bad.

[prozach626]

^I haven't been to a park in a long time that sends the last train for another lap. SFSTL used to do it all the time.

[Canobie Coaster]

Lake Compounce did it once. I can't think of any other park I've had that Hail Mary of a request granted.

 

I think the most baffling part about people trying to get on the last train of the night/season is when they park themselves in the queue and sacrifice laps in the same seat just so they can say they were on the last train. Wouldn't you rather get on immediately and get bonus rides as well in other rows? I passed the same couple at Cedar Point's Millennium Force passholder ERT. They waited for a good 15-20 minutes in the front row so they could get the last ride of the night. Meanwhile, I passed them at least 2-3 times for extra front row rides.

[joelwee]

The only time I've been sent for an extra lap was on Twisted Colossus, but the riders weren't cheering for a second ride; the ride op actually offered it: "You guys wanna go around one for time for last ride of the night??"

Just one reason why I maintain that TC has the best crew at SFMM.

[PKI Jizzman]

Firehawk gave its final rides last night and will now be laid to rest. The steel roller coaster gave 6,761,893 rides during its 12 seasons of operation at Kings Island, an average of 563,491 rides per season. Its record year was 2014 when 624,016 rides were given.

 

The ridership says it all.