JFrombaugh Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 "I REALLY hope no one from the GP realizes that I'm on a coaster trip...that would be interesting..." -Thinking to myself "Did you fly here all the way from Texas?!?" A girl in the TTD line who saw my shirt "*sigh* Yeah..." -Me Note to self: If you don't want to be recognized, don't wear a shirt from the Story of Texas museum in Austin. Well, it was fun. This was my first trip where I was able to rack up many credits quickly, several of which were Top Ten coasters. We took some cheap Southwest Airlines flights from Houston Hobby transferring in St. Louis, and then going to Columbus, and then using a rental car to get to KI and CP. It took forever to get there, and we had some bumps along the way, including having to snap up the last available seats on the Open Seating flights, and getting lost in this residential neighborhood after taking the wrong exit to get to our hotel near KI. Day 1 - Kings Island Misc Comments -We rode the Beast first, and it was fun in the morning, but at night it is bordering on the insane! I noticed the trim brakes on the drop into the helix, and there ain't much airtime, but still, I have never ridden a coaster that dives so furiously through a tunnel at 65 mph! -When I tried to ride Racer it was only running the red side, which broke down shortly after. When I came back and it was running again, it was still only one side, but the blue side opened up while I was in line. The result was everyone jumping the fence to get onto the first operational blue side of the first racing train. Sadly, I didn't get this moment on camera. -Firehawk had two breakdowns both of the times I rode it. The first time, the right side of the station went down and they moved us over to the left side. When I re rode it later, there was a delay and we were stuck in the lay-down position, waiting for the ops to get us out and send test runs. Finally they did. -Is the "Welcome back riders, how was the ride?" over the microphone some sort of Cedar Fair thing? It was done a lot at both KI and CP, and I had never seen it in any other park before. OMG! Track pieces have arrived! Oh yeah I almost forgot...I got some construction pics of Diamondback while I was there. We finished up the night with a WILD ride on the Beast. Yes it is a Vekoma, and yes it si really good! Firehawk was awesome! Well worth the long wait and delays. It's no Tatsu, but it's a lot of fun! Has anyone else noticed all the coins below the Vertical Loop on Invertigo? Next up was big bad Face-Off...oh wait, it's Invertigo now. The red side of the Racer running. They got both sides up later in the day. It's good to see the trains on Racer being raced like they should be! Adventure Express wasn't a bad ride, but the ending was a big letdown. Those that have ridden it will know what I mean $^#^&@! We didn't get to ride Flight Deck because it broke down and got stuck on the lift hill. They should call Son of Beast "Son of a B**h" because that's exactly what riders say while they're riding it! "Son of a b**h! That hurt!!" Backlot Stunt Coaster was fun, but it'd be better if the effects were working. You can see most of Backlot Stunt Coaster's layout! From the Eiffel Tower you can get good views of Son of Beast. The theming in the line and station is top notch. Flight of Fear was a lot of fun. but made my Dad kind of sick. Those loops actually delivered a LOT of Gs! My Dad, who doesn't do looping coasters very well, surprised me by riding Vortex with me. It was smooth for an Arrow, but the Batwing made me kinda dizzy. Here I am in front of the King's Island logo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraken613 Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Its always done at Dollywood! But thats Dollywood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFrombaugh Posted August 19, 2008 Author Share Posted August 19, 2008 Days 2 and 3 - Cedar Point Misc. Comments -If you stay at the Hotel Breakers, do NOT have breakfast in their coffee shop area! The staff there on my visit were ridiculously slow, it took about 15 minutes to get our food in the cafeteria style line, and the cashier didn't seem to have a clue how to operate the register. In fact, my Dad ended up ditching his biscuit sandwich thingy for a 2 egg breakfast without toast "because it's obviously too much trouble". -I was going to buy an on-ride video of me riding Raptor to post here, but the ride broke down right as we were on the brake run. We sat there for awhile, until they cycled the train in the station and unloaded us. By the time I got to the booth, my video had already passed. Why can't they pull it up from a few trains back like they can with the photos? -The ride ops usually do a 3-2-1 countdown before they launch Wicked Twister, but depending on what the ride op in control is like, he/she may launch you on "two" - that happened on my ride, be warned! -I asked this board what beyond-vertical drops were like, and to be honest, Maverick's 95-degree drop was pretty much what I expected it to be. It was a quick burst of airtime and stomach feelings, but IMO the first drops of Magnum and MF are more thrilling because they last longer. And I leave you with this photo of the lake at night. All those white spots are bugs. I can certainly see why riding MF in the front at night is not recommended! Thanks for reading. In contrast to MF, Mean Streak was everything it was made out to be. With no airtime, rough as hell, and a drop with trims at the top, its bark is worse than its bite. Of all the coasters on my trip, MF was the one I was most nervous about riding - in fact, I was tempted to skip it altogether. What a mistake that might've been. Millennium Force is now my new #1 steel coaster, TTD is a close second. If only I lived a little closer ot Sandusky Ohio... These are the airgates that are apparently notorious for closing on people's legs! Gemini was a really good racer - it actually has steel track with a wooden support, and several strong pops of airtime. Corkscrew...really short...really painful...and that's about it! Blue Streak was ok...had some decent air, nothing too special though. The helix is another intense part of the ride. I was almost overwhelmed by the sheer Gs on the Cobra Roll. You can get good views of Raptor from the Skyride. Raptor is a really forceful B&M invert!! It is a bit slow through the midcourse brakes but this provides a welcome respite from the assualt on the senses generated by the rest of the ride. Cedar Creek Mine Ride...yeah...it's a mine train...next! Mantis...in a word, ugh. With apologies to all you stand-up fans out there, it didn't do anything for me other than make me sick. The ride op also stapled me in pretty bad. I guess I just don't do stand-ups well... Myself in high spirits after getting off the Dragster. Too bad the speedometer thingy was out of commission... =( Top Thrill Dragster from the Breakers parking lot. This thing delivered one of the biggest adrenalin rushes I have ever experienced. I was hoping to see a rollback, but never did. The black train going up the LSM lift hill. I love how you get in the tunnel and it looks like the ride is over, but then the train accelerates rapidly to 70 mph into the second part of the ride. From the ground, the two inversions in the "Twisted Horseshoe Roll" look like Corkscrews, but on the ride they actually feel more like Zero-G-Rolls. I would think it's fairest to say that they're some kind of hybrid between the two. Maverick is a really good coaster. It's an intense ride, but it's not so intense that you can't ride it multiple times without getting a headache (*cough* Tatsu *cough* Boardwalk Bullet). If the lines weren't so long I definitely would've gone around for repeat circuits. Sunrise on the beach by the Breakers as we head for our hotel ERT! Disaster Transport was an average bobsled in the dark. And OMG, what was with the sqeaking??? It sounded like the thing was coming apart!!! Wicked Twister and Lake Erie from the observation tower. I had heard nothing but bad things about Iron Dragon, but I didn't think that it was as bad as people made it out to be! It's far from great, but I have ridden plenty more boring rides. We got to CP around 4pm or so and we started off with Magnum, a real airtime machine! I remember putting my pendant below my shirt, but it was outside of my shirt by the end of the ride, thrown out by the insane airtime! Our room at the Breakers was pretty nice. No Wireless in the room was a pretty big minus for my Dad though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFOGdude25 Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Great pics. Both parks are great (for different reasons of course). I'll agree with you on that last comment about MF. My dad had one word for his Millennium ride in the front, "buggy". However, my first ride in the front was worse. It started raining when I was close to the top. Let me put it this way. It's like having bebes shot at your face and arms at 93 mph. It HURT. I spent most of that ride with my hands on my face lol. The ride was still great nonetheless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterfanatic245 Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Great pics! CP and KI both rock! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skramp Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Man, you have to understand about Adventure Express. It's gotta be one of the best mine trains out there, and the ending is just hilarious. If you've been on it, you know what I mean. But it's a darn great ride!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reon Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I completely agree with you on Firehawk (except I haven't got the chance to ride Tatsu yet...) Something tells me you didn't get the full KI experience though. I didn't see anything on Drop Tower, Crypt, or the awesomeness of Vortex's first drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeelTheFORCE Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Awesome pictures! I really enjoyed reading this Photo TR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraken613 Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 O yeah guess I didnt say that its a great TR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankees15 Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 This perfect cause I am hoping to be visiting these two parks next summer and your pictures make me want to go even more! Both parks look very fun imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reon Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 ^Yeah. They are both really fun parks, especially Kings Island. Starting next year, we'll have a great hyper, and our current line up does have a few hidden jems. The only thing is, I have declared Son of Beast to be the S&M coaster. It can be good, but you have to be willing to take a beating to get airtime. Also, KI has a bunch of good flats like Drop Zone and Crypt. Cedar Point really only has a bunch of coasters, and only a couple of them are any good (Maverick, Raptor, Millenium...) They DO have a Chaos though, so thats always good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinciDAWGS12 Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Well Cedar Point is the better park but I love KI! Great trip report! I can't wait for Diamondback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Starr Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I've seen a lot of rides that have the line coming back into the station "Welcome Back, Did you enjoy you're ride?" And then people like scream and stuff. Also about the Wicked Twister launch, they do that on V2 at SFGAm and they usually say mena things to trick you before the launch. but its still fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Jizzman Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I've seen a lot of rides that have the line coming back into the station "Welcome Back, Did you enjoy you're ride?" And then people like scream and stuff. Also about the Wicked Twister launch, they do that on V2 at SFGAm and they usually say mena things to trick you before the launch. but its still fun. They have been incorperating that on many rides at KI. I know Racer, Beast, and Delirium now have headsets to encourage it. But I'm glad rides like....wait...it's pretty much almost EVERY ride that they to that at now! -JZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yankees15 Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 ^Yeah. They are both really fun parks, especially Kings Island. Starting next year, we'll have a great hyper, and our current line up does have a few hidden jems. The only thing is, I have declared Son of Beast to be the S&M coaster. It can be good, but you have to be willing to take a beating to get airtime. Also, KI has a bunch of good flats like Drop Zone and Crypt. Cedar Point really only has a bunch of coasters, and only a couple of them are any good (Maverick, Raptor, Millenium...) They DO have a Chaos though, so thats always good. At Kings Island I am looking forward to Diamondback, Beast, Flight of Fear, and Drop Zone the most. At Cedar Point its, Maverick, Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, Raptor, Wicked Twister, Power Tower, and Maxair. I really think it would be an awesome trip if everything works, unlike this year. On Voodoo at Dorney they sometimes launch you WAY late and it's so funny. It goes something like "Voodoo will possess you in 3...2...1", 5 second pause, launch. The people in line think it broke or something it's great to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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