Blue Turbo Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 I don't find Windseekers that exciting but they do offer some good views of the park. However, they are enjoyable when you ride them with someone who doesn't like heights What kind of weirdo gets scared on Windseekers? Not me, that's for sure. I know, they are the worst. It would have been hilarious to seem them on Drop Tower thought, but they wouldn't go on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I want to go back to KI so bad! The last time I was there was Stunt Coasters first year! Missing some great credits. It's worth a trip this summer. I can't put my finger on why, but I think it's my favorite park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GwaziBSRider1 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Great, TR! Banshee Bash was an amazing event, and your TR definitely captures that. I don't find Windseekers that exciting but they do offer some good views of the park. However, they are enjoyable when you ride them with someone who doesn't like heights I have a GREAT story. My friend, her boyfriend, and myself all rode the one at Carowinds (said friend had to be drug on due to her fear of heights). When we were up in the air, a plane flew by at a similar height (presumably landing at Charlotte airport). My friend's boyfriend said to her "Look, Jackie, we're as high as the plane!" She then proceeded to bite him so hard that she drew blood! To further add insult to injury of her terror, I bought her a Windseeker shirt at the gift shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Banshee Bash was the best possible 16 hours you could spend at Kings Island. The park staff were great hosts, and Banshee was a very good ride (best new B&M coaster in years). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaellynn4 Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I want to go back to KI so bad! The last time I was there was Stunt Coasters first year! Missing some great credits. It's worth a trip this summer. I can't put my finger on why, but I think it's my favorite park. It's personally not my fav, but it's definitely one of the better parks I've been to. Any park that can offer an experience like a nighttime ride on the Beast in fog and light drizzle instantly ranks pretty high. This was in 2013, too, pre-Banshee, which helps round out the parks offerings even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Coleman Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I kind of really want that 8 bit shirt now. I love me some good pixel art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sspaz1000 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Thanks for the update! Banshee Bash was a great time! It was a great first visit to Kings Island for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattnz Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Ah, summer fun with TPR... Banshee looks like a solid addition to the Kings Island line-up. I love how Robb and Elissa made a donation to a church to get everyone to Stricker's Grove! And how I miss Carrabba's! Very nice update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoinItForTheFame Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Such beautiful Kings Island photos! Getting me excited for my first trip up there this summer!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillseeker4552 Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Great update! This makes me miss Kings Island. I had such a good time there last Summer. Can't wait to go back in the future! I believe it is just as good, if not better, than Cedar Point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Turbo Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 Thank you all for reading and commenting, now... Kentucky Kingdom and Beech Bend After the crazy Banshee Bash, it was an early morning to drive down to Kentucky and hit up all of the currently operating credits. The first stop of the day was the newly reopened Kentucky Kingdom. TPR was doing some filming for the park so we were there before the park opened to get some rides on Lightning Run and Thunder Run so Robb could get footage. But before that, Ed Hart met with the group and asked us for our opinions one how the park should move forward. It was really great to see him take interest in what enthusiasts had to day. From there we had some great rides on both Thunder Run and Lightning Run. After having some time to explore once the park opened we had a fantastic lunch of fried chicken (which became the theme of the day). As the day went on it started to get rather hot out and we sought out shelter. While hanging out in one of the restaurants, we had an interesting encounter with a local. He kept asking Caroline odd questions about England. She was very nice about it but the rest of us were just trying to hold in our laughter. For the rest of the day our response to anything strange was "because Kentucky", and it made perfect sense after that. We then got back onto the bus and headed out to the middle of nowhere to go to Beech Bend. The park feels more like a permanent fair, but they have one of the best GCI woodies I've been one. After getting a few of the smaller credits of the park we had dinner, which was more fried chicken. The park then gave out really random prizes to a few people and we all got small souvenirs. After that we explored more of what the park had to offer before our ERT session, and what an ERT session it was. We had Kentucky Rumbler for about an hour and a half and I don't even know how many rides I got on it. There was a couple "fat trains" which were very entertaining. At one point it was raining and you could see the lightning in the distance as you were flying along the track. Overall it was a really fun day. Kentucky Kingdom was definitely off to a great start, and with all the new additions coming it should grow rather nicely. Beech Bend was a very interesting way to spend a couple of hours and I will not forget that ERT session. Now, pictures: We were greeted by this fun ad, and spoilers, Lightning Run does have great airtime! The giant ferris wheel that offers great views of the park An overview of the waterpark with what is now T3 in the background. There were several people that tried to convince Ed to just remove it Some of the new slides that opened as part of the new expansion to the water park This is somehow the only picture of Thunder Run I have. The ride is a lot of fun with some suppressing moments of airtime Yes I am a credit whore and rode the roller skater I enjoyed both the fact that this carousel had a unicorn on it and the lion's facial expression I will never understand the Larson/ARM drop towers as they seem to defy physics. They are awesome though, and even better when you get someone that doesn't like drop towers to ride them Time for lunch! It's a shame we never found out what fourth company down was Now for a ton of pictures of Lightning Run because it is awesome! Look at all of those smiling faces Some overbanked goodness This picture came out really neat and nicely shows how twisty the ride is Lightning Run and flyers in the same picture, skill! This drop is incredible. It might not be very tall, but has a great feeling to it Hairtime. This ride has so much airtime at the beginning and end and the twisty section is really forceful The only problem I had were that the seats had an awkward bulge on the back that felt weird. Also, after riding it multiple times I had bruises on my shins from the restraints, but the ride is so great that it makes up for that Goodbye to Kentucky Kindgom. Man this ride is really photogenic Our first stop at Beech Bend was the kiddie credit. The ride op informed us of his many "Trust me I'm an engineer" shirts that he got from school I was reassured of that I was definitely in safe hands Who doesn't love a spinning wild mouse Some TPR members getting in the credit Two trains in one shot and both facing the camera, I am amazing A swinging ship, but this is not an ordinary swinging ship... It was once at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch! This ride a nice LED light package on it I just love how happy Laura looks in this picture This was a fun little log ride. I took this after the park closed, that is why the logs are all stacked up Now for Kentucky Rumbler, a fantastic GCI woodie! It was hard to take pictures as it was dark and this ride is FAST It has some great moments of GCI airtime and was a great end to the day I bought this obnoxious shirt "because Kentucky" and Beech Bend gave us all these neat little carabiners. Thanks for reading and next time, Holiday World Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Lightning Run + Thunder Run + Kentucky Rumbler = Great Day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrbuzz Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 It really is nice to see a park resurrected from the dead. So many parks have been lost over the years for whatever reasons. Hopefully this park will thrive for many more generations to enjoy. I really miss a few of the parks I used to attend, Boardwalk and Baseball being on the top of my miss list. Anyway great pictures there, looks like you had a blast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoasterCard Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 FWIW, Carrier Vibrating Equipment is a company in Louisville that makes engineered vibrating conveyance systems. I interviewed with them when in college. Very interesting product and watching something being vibrated up a ramp is really neat to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Zo Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Awesome update! Love the shots of Lightning Run. At one point it was raining and you could see the lightning in the distance as you were flying along the track. That was pretty epic. Add in the roar of the dragsters, too! Oh, and that poor mouse looks rather agitated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcdude Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Yet another great report. The Kentucky day was a nice slightly intense day following the (good) insanity of Banshee Bash. Lightning Run was one of the biggest surprises of the trip for me...I was expecting a good but not great ride, and it ended up being a top ten steel coaster. The ERT session on Kentucky Rumbler was one of the best I've experienced, and was my favorite of the Mini New Hotness tour (though the next day's came very, very close). I just wish we had more time at Beech Bend. Looking forward to the next update, as it's from one of my favorite parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 ^I thought we had just about enough time at both parks. The walk-through tour of Beech Bend's Haunted House ride was a great bonus, too (a nice extra before the Rumbler ERT). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Turbo Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 New update, Holiday World Our next stop on the trip was to Santa Claus, Indiana to check out Holiday World. We visited just days after the end of the 66 Days at Sea campaign for Thunderbird. The park even created a hashtag on Twitter for us, #66MinutesOfSleepTour! Arriving at the park we had no idea what to expect because our schedule for the day was kept a secret. We started the day with a walk back through Raven and Legend to reach the Thanksgiving section of the park where we were the first people in line for The Voyage. I spent some time exploring the park before it was time for lunch which included a Q&A session! We then went on a construction tour of Thunderbird, which at the time of our visit just some footers and the flywheel building. This tour also offered great views of The Voyage. My group spent the rest of the afternoon at the fantastic water park, Splashin Safari'. It was a great way to relax after the couple of long day we had been having. For dinner, we of course had the Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. After that was the highlight of the New Hotness Tour, water-coaster ERT! Holiday World was two ProSlide hydromagnetic coasters and they are nuts. Wildebeest seats four people in a line and focuses on crazy hills. When sitting in the front seat, the only reason I stayed inside of the raft was the fact that I was holding onto the handles with all of my strength. There is so much airtime that once you reach the top of the lift, you spend more time out of your seat than in it! Mammoth is much larger in scale and has 6-seater circular rafts. So now when you are flying over the hills you are also spinning. There is just something not right about feeling the entirety of those giant rafts lifting off of the slide. During the day the slides can get lines that are hours long, but during ERT I got 5 rides on Wildebeest and 3 on Mammoth, all withing an hour! After settling down from the craziness and changing, we headed to Holiday World for coaster ERT. They opened up the three woodies for us and we all had a great time. Overall, I had a fantastic time at Holiday World and am looking forward to heading back there in the future to check out Thunderbird. Most of the pictures I have from that day are from the walk backs as I spent a lot of time in the water park and had my back in the locker most the day, but here they are anyway: Cool lanyards with the day's schedule, complete with Holiday World humor The morning was very humid, but it makes for some menacing photos The group making our way through the trees Tunnel! You don't get this view very often I love how much of The Raven is hidden away in the woods. It makes the night rides more exciting The Raven was definitely my favorite of the park, and this turn over the water is beautiful Nice view of The Legend. A little heavy of the laterals for my taste, but still fun A nice sight to see this early in the morning Who doesn't love an elderly woman holding a gun? Poor Merlin, his castle got demoted to being bathrooms. Loved the details inside The Raven's station Lunch time! Time for the walk back, which leads to getting coaster nerds in your nerdy coaster shots. Airtime! Some of the footers for the overbanked turn A look at where the loop will be as it crosses over The Voyage I have mixed feelings about The Voyage. The outward airtime hills and the spaghetti bowl are great, but the twistiness after the triple-down just beat me up. I liked it, but it is not a ride that I could do more than a couple times a visit People waving at the nerds on a construction tour Prepare to take the tunnel! Where the inline roll will be There it is goes into the trees Some of the wacky banking during the spaghetti bowl Entering the tunnel for the trip back There is now a station in this area A look back at the inline roll Here are what make the "almonds" everyone was obsessed with before the reveal. The work that had been done on the station This building houses the flywheel The first Voyage corssover Some footers being made. There had been some bad rain the previous day, so the whole area was wet and muddy We were all amazed at how close these footers were to Hyena Falls The park gave us all these magnets, and Thunderbird sports cups (I don't have a picture of the cup) I bought this cool towel which was very useful at the water park. Thanks for reading and next time, Indiana Beach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 For my money, the best attractions at Holiday World are Wildebeest and Mammoth in Splashin' Safari. Those are the best water rides I've ever experienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastin Eric Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 For my money, the best attractions at Holiday World are Wildebeest and Mammoth in Splashin' Safari. Those are the best water rides I've ever experienced. I tend to agree, I absolutely LOVE Voyage, and usually DREAD water rides...but these were simply fantastic and a load of fun. They really...blew me out of the water...if you will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle Coleman Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 (edited) For my money, the best attractions at Holiday World are Wildebeest and Mammoth in Splashin' Safari. Those are the best water rides I've ever experienced. To me mammoth is holidayworlds second best coaster water or wood(the voyage being #1 to me) and I look forward to riding it almost as much as I look forward to riding the wood coaster trio. It just makes me smile and laugh the whole way through and isn't that why we all go to the parks in the first place. Edited April 4, 2015 by x2isawesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 For my money, the best attractions at Holiday World are Wildebeest and Mammoth in Splashin' Safari. Those are the best water rides I've ever experienced. I tend to agree, I absolutely LOVE Voyage, and usually DREAD water rides...but these were simply fantastic and a load of fun. They really...blew me out of the water...if you will. I remember a number of people thinking it odd that Holiday World added Mammoth when they already had Wildebeest. But I wouldn't mind them adding yet another water coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Turbo Posted April 4, 2015 Author Share Posted April 4, 2015 For my money, the best attractions at Holiday World are Wildebeest and Mammoth in Splashin' Safari. Those are the best water rides I've ever experienced. I tend to agree, I absolutely LOVE Voyage, and usually DREAD water rides...but these were simply fantastic and a load of fun. They really...blew me out of the water...if you will. I remember a number of people thinking it odd that Holiday World added Mammoth when they already had Wildebeest. But I wouldn't mind them adding yet another water coaster. The more the merrier! Seriously, the two offer different experiences and are awesome in their own way that they don't seem odd next to each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 FWIW, Carrier Vibrating Equipment is a company in Louisville that makes engineered vibrating conveyance systems. I interviewed with them when in college. Very interesting product and watching something being vibrated up a ramp is really neat to see. It would be interesting if they could somehow incorporate this conveyor system into a waterslide, coaster or ride. Great report so far! I really want to make it out to Kentucky Kingdom and Beech Bend one of these days...and if I go that far, I would be sure to make another stop at Holiday World to check out the new coaster and hit up their awesome water park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Zo Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 #66MinutesOfSleepTour When sitting in the front seat, the only reason I stayed inside of the raft was the fact that I was holding onto the handles with all of my strength. Glad that wasn't just me! I was almost a pop-fly several times on Wildebeest. Wonder how many times that actually happens? ...and now I want some almonds. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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