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Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

p. 832: Camp Snoopy announced for 2024!

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20 hours ago, Zand said:

I'm glad dealing with the mask BS is over in the parks (except in California maybe? lol) and was happy to have mine put away the whole trip to Ohio minus the airport/flight. . 

Still a thing indoors at WDW, which includes a lot of rides. But I think they ended to no mask, no picture policy as I got all my pics regardless of mask status of anyone on the vehicle.

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23 hours ago, Zand said:

I did get pissed off at one security guy at Hershey last year. Was sitting on a bench by myself with a drink next to me and he went out of his way to come yell at me because I wasn't putting it up between sips. Meanwhile hordes of people were walking by with theirs down. Definitely don't miss the 2020 hysteria. 

Yeah, those are the insecure authority types I'm referring to, when I used the mask example. Not the polite store employees, but the people who go out of their way to tell you what to do, even when it doesn't make sense. There's typically an easily identifiable right way and wrong way to go about asking/telling people to do something, and selecting the appropriate circumstances in which to do so.

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Not the Beast.  It's been down a decent amount of time this year and fireworks, etc.

I think it's typically Banshee.  So probably that or DB or Orion.

They don't always publish the numbers. Sometimes they make a blog post about it. 

 

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Photo TR: Friday, 10/15, and Saturday 10/16

This past weekend, as it was my only weekend off from work for the month of October, I decided to make a trek out to Kings Island to take in their Haunt festivities.  Typically, their Haunt is one of the best out of the CF chain, and in the past I could definitely see them winning the "Best Haunted Park Attraction" award that they had plastered all over the place this year.  But this year's Haunt?  Laughable.  Read on.

I got into town around 4:30 on Friday, got checked in my hotel (the Super 8 across I-71 from the park), and made my way over to the park around 5:15 for opening.  I found myself in a substantial line of cars, but it was already moving, and made my way to the main gate.  I gotta say, I do appreciate the facade they erect in front of the standard main gate building.

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At 5:45, they opened the main gates, and in I went.  Kinda standard Haunt entry decorations during the day (that turn into quite something else at night).

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The Squishmallows store is back open, albeit without any noticeable KI-specific ones.

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I made my way over to the Fast Lane redemption booth to claim my FL+ wirstband, and also buy a Fright Lane, where I was told that you cannot actually buy the Fright Lane in the park; you need to do it online.  So I hopped out of line, whipped out my phone, quickly purchased the Fright Lane pass, then was back in line to grab that.  As it turns out, I mostly wouldn't need it, but I did utilize it to grab two laps on most mazes (first just waiting in the standby queue and second using the Fright Lane), and as you'll see, I'm glad I did.

My goal for Friday was to check out all of the Haunt stuff and get in whatever rides I could.  My first stop was Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror, the wax museum maze.  My initial run had around 20 actors, with some well done artistry and some nice visual gags, but it was a little dark.  My later lap through this maze, I definitely noticed a lot more.  Tons of great actors, many of which were playing the "wax statue" role wonderfully.  They had a great "closing spiked wall" effect towards the end that was accentuated by a strobe light, so it was difficult to tell if the wall was actually moving (spoiler alert: it was!).  Very nicely done.

Next up was Slaugherhouse.

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As I've said in other reports, this is such a tired theme.  But, this was decently done enough I guess...15-20 actors, no complaints.  Round two later in the night was much of the same, nothing really worth noting.

I then made my way over to what is typically the best of the KI mazes, Killmart.

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The grouper sent through a group of 25 people, which is way too big.  That said, there were easily more actors inside the maze, and though nothing appeared to have changed from my 2019 experience, it was still solid.  Maybe having worked at a K-Mart for two winters back in my youth gives me a soft spot for this theme?  Round two later in the night was about the same, but I did notice a lot more nice animatronics this time through.  Unfortunately, another 30-person conga-line group sent through at once.  That said, this one was very well done.

Next up was Chaos, supposedly themed to a laboratory.  In actuality, it seemed like it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a science theme, a nightclub, or a mirror maze.  Only counted 5 or 6 actors.  Rather disappointing.  Round two later in the night though was a whole different thing.  Many more actors, and I got behind a good group of scaredy 14-15 years olds which were jumping at every little thing, which made the maze much more entertaining.

I then made my way up to the Festhaus for the Monster Rock show.

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Yawn.  Horrible acoustics, only decent enough vocalists, and a set list that included a lot more than just rock.  I think it was the same show was it was back in 2019, but it was disappointing then and disappointing now.

I then took in the You're Too Old to Trick or Treat Game Show at the Bier Garten.

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This was entertaining enough, I guess. The game I saw just involved dice rolling so not too many opportunities for jokes from the hosts.  Maybe the other games are better?

Add in the Drums of the Dead, a typical "dummers-playing-over-a-backing-track" show, which I skipped, and this was the entirety of KI's Haunt show offerings.  How does KD blow this place out of the water in this department?

Oh, remember how I mentioned the International Street area was better at night?  Yeah it was.

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Excuse my phone camera's horrible performance at night with multiple light sources, but yeah those are pyrotechnic towers lining the sides of the fountain.

My final new maze of the night was Cornered, a slightly different take on the tired corn-maze theme.

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This seemed kinda short, but it was long for the space they put it in.  Unlikely most corn-mazes at park Halloween events, this was not just a stroll through a narrow corridor of corn, instead featuring some wider open areas which plenty of things for actors to hide behind.  Better done than most corn-mazes I've been through this year, but still..,meh.  Only one lap through here, as by the time I got to it I needed to use my Fright Lane the first time.

And about wrapped up my experience with KI's Haunt attractions.  You'll notice I didn't mention anything about the scare zones - that's because there wasn't really very much to mention.  Decorations and artistry were meh, presence of actors was meh...that really about sums up the entire event:  Meh.  How do I rank the Cedar Fair Haunts I've been to this year?

1. Kings Dominion, by far.
...
2. Cedar Point
3. Kings Island, solely because of Killmart and Madame Fatale's.
4. Dorney Park

Anyway, now it was time for some rides.  I hopped on Bat for a two train wait for the front row.  I don't know that I've ever been on this a night, but it was quite dark and summarily impressive.

Next up was Banshee, a two train wait for the front row.  Definitely another good night ride, but a little too lit up.

Finally, it was time for Beast.  18 minutes for front row (the only place to ride this, day or night).  This would turn out to be my only night ride on this of the trip, and man was it worth it.  Classic.

After that, I did another lap of the park, getting in my second rounds at each of the mazes that I hadn't used my Fright Lane on yet, and then left the park around 10:00, since I was pretty tired after my nine-hour drive to get here.

On Saturday, with an 11:00 opening, I got to the park at a little after 9:30 and was greeted with this:

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Yay.

Anyway, there's not really much to talk about from my Saturday experience, so I guess I'll just do a bullet list for rides, in order that they occurred (times with FL+):

-Diamondback:  Walk-on early entry for row 2, left side.
-Woodstock Express: Two-train wait for back row.
-Mystic Timbers: Two-train wait for front row, Man Eater and snake ending.
-Backlot Stunt Coaster: One-train wait for back row.  Everything working except the helicopter did not move.
-Shake, Rattle, & Roll: One cycle wait
-Kings Mill Antique Autos: Two-car wait
-Zephyr: Half-cycle wait
-Flight of Fear: 15 minute wait for back row.
-Orion: 22 minute wait for back row.  Yeah, that was with FL, at 1:00 PM.
-Racer: One-train wait for row 2, red side.  Did not win.
-Beast: 15 minute wait for front row.
-Racer: Two-train wait for front row, blue side.  Did win!
-Adventure Express: Two-train wait for front row.  Everything working.
-Invertigo: 15 minute wait for the "back" row.  Honestly wasn't bad, I think that the extra non-seat-having trailing car when riding in the back row helps a lot.
-Banshee: One-train wait for back row, left side.
-KI & Miami Valley Railroad: Walk-on.
-Beast:  22 minutes for front row.  Noted that exit-pass use seemed quite excessive on that day.
-Mystic Timbers: 14 minutes for back row.  Same ending.

This was all accomplished by 6 PM, at which point the crowds were getting a bit insane.  A bit earlier in the day, I grabbed some garlic-bread grilled cheese from a food truck (one with bacon, one without), which was pretty good (especially for the price - $10 for both), but no Tom + Chee, which was closed all day both days I was there.

I took a stroll up to the designated smoking area (actually inside the park, gasp!) and laughed at the group of riders stuck on Invertigo....

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...while I decided what I wanted to do.  Really, I had accomplished everything I wanted from the trip, and the way the crowds were growing and reports from previous Saturdays, I decided I just wasn't going to have a good time if I had stayed, so I left.

On my way out, I saw hundreds if not thousands of people walking towards the main gate, and on the drive out I was greeted with this sight:

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Yeah, that's cars backed all the way out to Kings Mills Road.  So glad I left.

All in all, not a terrible trip.  If you're going to KI expecting an awesome Halloween time, prepare to be disappointed.  Good thing they've got a ton of awesome rides, haha. I highly recommend going on a Friday or Saturday daytime, when crowds are much more reasonable, but Saturday nights just seem like a fun time for no one.

Thanks for reading!  I've still got a few more trips planned for this Halloween season, so stay tuned.

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Agreed, Kill Mart and Madame are very solid and the rest are bleh. When they demo'd the building by Scrambler they got rid of their best indoor haunt which was usually just a classic haunted house. Trail of Terror would have been straight back beyond Orion and the classic haunted woods walk through was always great. They used to have the train + haunt using the old white water canyon trail but since MT was added I don't believe it can run anymore. No more Urgent Scare...maybe they will demo that old action theater? KI used to be a premier event that I thought could be elevated to Knott's level but it's gone backwards. 

It's a bummer that KI seems to read the local area before adding anything that's not a coaster. The haunted house scene is decimated in the area so they don't feel competition nowadays. 

They only added new slides when the competitor, the Beach, added a slide. 

This year we have no Beach, and like 4 haunts in the area so no surprise KI is just absolutely slammed. 

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I'm here at KI tonight with my two oldest kids, and 50 minutes in, we had already walked onto a front row ride on Orion, and ridden both Diamondback and Mystic Timbers with virtually no wait on DB, and maybe 10 minutes on MT. This is with no Fastlane, to be clear. We've also done Killmart with only about a 5 minute wait. Now we're in line for Banshee for what appears to be about a 15 minute line. 

It's a damp and foggy night, and crowds have started to pick up now, but still, it's been a great night at the park so far, and as always, KI Haunt is one of my highlights of the year!

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I've been to KI 7 times over the years and the longest line I've waited in is 30 mins for Diamondback. The 2nd longest has only been 15 mins. I think its a testament to their operations.

I had the platinum pass this year (my first time since 2015), went a few times this summer, and really wanted to go to haunt. Unfortunately I broke my scaphoid late August and have been in a forearm cast since. The only 6 rides at KI you can't ride with a forearm cast are Banshee, Delirium, Diamondback, Drop Tower, Mystic Timbers, and Orion. To me, not worth the weekend trip if I can't ride the top 5 rides... :( The pictures and videos I have seen look amazing though!

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1 hour ago, Dan the Coaster Man said:

I've been to KI 7 times over the years and the longest line I've waited in is 30 mins for Diamondback. The 2nd longest has only been 15 mins. I think its a testament to their operations.

I had the platinum pass this year (my first time since 2015), went a few times this summer, and really wanted to go to haunt. Unfortunately I broke my scaphoid late August and have been in a forearm cast since. The only 6 rides at KI you can't ride with a forearm cast are Banshee, Delirium, Diamondback, Drop Tower, Mystic Timbers, and Orion. To me, not worth the weekend trip if I can't ride the top 5 rides... :( The pictures and videos I have seen look amazing though!

That's a fun report but on the other hand, without fast lane, I've only been on Diamondback a handful of times because how long the lines were. When did you visit?

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22 minutes ago, PKI Jizzman said:

That's a fun report but on the other hand, without fast lane, I've only been on Diamondback a handful of times because how long the lines were. When did you visit?

All my visits have been on summer weekdays. The hottest day was the busiest, but all the others seemed about the same despite forecast. I've ran into the rain a few times and had other clear days. I've never had a fast lane at KI!

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58 minutes ago, Dan the Coaster Man said:

All my visits have been on summer weekdays. The hottest day was the busiest, but all the others seemed about the same despite forecast. I've ran into the rain a few times and had other clear days. I've never had a fast lane at KI!

This is a lucky guy is all I gotta say as far as this year goes visiting KI. I had 3/10 good experiences summer, spring fall visits w/o FL.

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I get Racer, since it just got all that new wood, but I always found the chipped paint and rust as part of the charm of Adventure Express.

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That's a bit strange for AE. This year is its 30th anniversary and it already looks better than ever with updated lighting and theming. 

I'm so torn on how to spend my last day at KI this season - Friday night looks to be rainy and cold, the same as last Friday's forecast and it was still packed. Saturday I'm not sure if it's even worth spending for FL to go, and Sunday, the last day before winterfest looks like the best day, but it's also Halloween and could be packed as well.

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On 10/27/2021 at 7:40 PM, PKI Jizzman said:

That's a bit strange for AE. This year is its 30th anniversary and it already looks better than ever with updated lighting and theming. 

I'm so torn on how to spend my last day at KI this season - Friday night looks to be rainy and cold, the same as last Friday's forecast and it was still packed. Saturday I'm not sure if it's even worth spending for FL to go, and Sunday, the last day before winterfest looks like the best day, but it's also Halloween and could be packed as well.

I know I'm a little late to respond to this, but last Friday really wasn't bad at all. We rode Orion, Diamondback, and Mystic Timbers twice, and Banshee and Beast once. The longest wait was 45 minutes for Beast, and that was waiting extra for the front. Our second ride on MT, at night was around 40 minutes, and the night's final ride, our second on Orion, was around 35. All the other waits were around 15 minutes, or less, and we rode front on Orion, Diamondback, and Banshee. We also basically walked into the Kill Mart Haunt Maze without a wait. Sure, it was busier than our previous Friday night Haunt experiences, but nothing like what I've been hearing about other nights, and it was certainly not bad to do without a Fast Lane. In fact, my kids said afterward it was their favorite night of going to Haunt yet! We also stopped in for an hour Saturday when the park opened, and got three more rides in, one each on Orion, Diamondback, and Mystic Timbers. So we really had a great visit of minimal waits, and maximum fun!

I was going to do a more fully fleshed out TR, but as usual, I never got around to it, so I guess this is kind of it! lol I will say, aside from the rides, just how much we love the Brewhouse to eat there at KI! The food was excellent that we ate, and I didn't even have any of their delicious looking drinks this time around! Love that place, and I'm pretty sure it'll be a stop every time we go at this point!

After our experience at KI last year was the worst Amusement Park experience of my life, this was a very refreshing, and welcome return to the excellence I'm used to, at what is fast threatening to become my favorite park! I can't wait to return in the Spring of next year, and bring my youngest child, who hasn't been yet, as he is already a little enthusiast at 7, and he will love it! Hopefully he has a growth spurt, and can get on all the B&M's!

Here are some pictures of our foggy, and fantastic trip!

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I visited the last day of the park's normal operating season for Halloween and had a pretty fantastic day. It wasn't too busy, coasters traded lines but I don't think anyone got above 30-45 minutes. 

I tried Coney Island BBQ for the first time since it didn't have a line and I believe BBQ is the biggest chance for quality food at a theme park. This is the best Cedar Fair meal I've had ( I know it's not a high bar) but it was way better than any food I've had from Harmony Hall, CGA, CP. 

I recently watched Canobie's review of Banshee and it's absolutely right that your experience will depend on the train; I really don't want to be in the details that much to get a good ride, but I experienced it myself. The Teal train was awful, and the other two were fine. Banshee has been running really well overall this year and even with cold temps, it delivered a good experience. 

As mentioned above, the Madame Fatale's Haunt is turned into a kids escape room type of mystery during the daytime. The Haunt stuff is barely covered up so it was pretty hilarious to see kids trying to match shapes while surrounded by gruesome heads, legs, body parts, decorations of the maze, haha.

The leaves are really falling down in Cincy now, so, I felt brave and tried Beast back car non wheel seat in order to not get blasted by falling leaves in the front row. I had a great ride! Day or night it's a fun, but aggressive ride. I had some really bad rides on wheel seats during 2020's row assigning days, but I'm not ready to try a wheel seat until I see serious track work or new trains. These older PTC trains aren't friendly to taller people, they really squeeze you in the seat, and that lap bar can dig into your middle. Curious to see how the Beast runs in 2022. 

Can we please stop the trend of painting rides while the season is still ongoing? Drop Tower closed early for painting, which is a bummer. I really seems that Drop Tower loses reliability every year - it is 23 years old now. Either wind or maintenance, I rarely get to ride when I visit and this time it was because they closed it a couple weeks before the off season. Lame. 

Delirium will turn 20 next season and this ride just doesn't have the allure it used to. It really feels like it struggles to make it up to the highest point, which you hit twice? It doesn't seem to have the airtime or power it used to have. MaxAir didn't operate at all this season, hmm. 

Orion front row night rides, wow. That was a ton of fun. 

It was great getting to re-ride Fury the other week - these two coasters are so much fun, and they are different. I've had rides on both where the trim hits hard and where the trim doesn't seem to make an impact at all. I still feel that Fury seems so much more massive, and I definitely prefer the low to the ground elements. I'm very glad that Orion is at Kings Island the the whole Area 72 looks awesome. 

Overall 2021 at KI was a lot of fun, but the crowds definitely showed up. But that was the case at seemingly every park in America this year. I've never purchased FL more than this season, but each day I bought FL I stayed almost all day, and had ERT on whatever I wanted. It was *so nice* being able to meet up with friends/new friends this year, part of the reason I was happy to buy FL and join in on the fun! 

The park's 50th Anniversary is next year and I anticipate they will be doing a lot of the same events/celebrations/games CP did for 150. I'm very curious to see what direction Action Zone will be heading in the few years - Drop Tower getting a repaint, Invertigo & Congo Falls may be coming to an end, SOB's old station still needs to be taken down, and are they going to keep the stadium they rarely use back there? 

Area 72 is featuring some new details - both pictures and videos. It's likely just theming, but KI is known to tease a bit and have fun with enthusiasts. I am hoping they continue to improve that area. 

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What is ATLAS up to? Interesting paranormal hot spots....

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Fast lift, fast drop, fast ops, fast everything. 

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My favorite moment on Orion. Yes please more sideways airtime, B&M

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Beast in the fall, ahhhh a sign of the seasons changing. 

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Another B&M hyper that has a great zero gravity first half, and then the MCBR ruins it. 

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Adventure Express and I turned 30 this year! It looks better than ever!

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The lighting package is simple, but effective! Night time rides on Orion are insane! 

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Banshee was running so well and without anyone in line, so I ended the year with 3 laps on Banshee. And of course I had a shitty bumpy ride in the front row to end the season, haha. Could it be specific trains that are bad or does it run poorly when half empty/empty? You decide!

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/3/2021 at 8:08 PM, PKI Jizzman said:

Banshee was running so well and without anyone in line, so I ended the year with 3 laps on Banshee. And of course I had a shitty bumpy ride in the front row to end the season, haha. Could it be specific trains that are bad or does it run poorly when half empty/empty? You decide!

I have the very same feeling for every B&M invert I've ever ridden. Empty trains plus front row is a no-no.

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