Photo TR: Johnlloyd Goes to Kings Island Again

[Johnlloyd]

Well, it's better late than never, right? Here's my trip report to Kings Island which took place from June 15th to June 17th. My brother Scott and our friend Travis came along for the trip. This was Scott and myself's second visit to Kings Island as our first was during July 2014. During this trip I was able to conquer all the major coasters at Kings Island after coming over my fear of heights last year. The first time we had visited, I had only conquered Vortex, Invertigo, The Racer, The Bat (Top Gun/ Flight Deck), Adventure Express, and Woodstock Express. But, after our second visit back in June, I was able to realize that all of Kings Island's coasters are very fun and enjoyable! I rode all the coasters and many rides to the point where I had lost count during our two day visit at the park! I had another amazing time at Kings Island like I had before, two years ago. Now, enough of me talking and on with the photos and video!

 

On our way to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor!

 

Here we are along the I-75 heading through Michigan. The roads have definitely improved since we last came through here two years ago!

 

Here's Scott driving along a stretch of the I-75. Scott and I would take turns driving but, I did most of the driving.

 

Here's Travis tagging along in the back seat. It was his first time going to Kings Island so he was really excited to go!

 

Here's a photo of the construction that was taking place along the I-75 in Ohio.

 

Here you can see where new pavement is going to be laid. On our way back, the pavement was laid and the lines were set.

 

Here we are arriving at Kings Island after a long 8 hour drive!

 

Here's Travis, myself, and Scott in front of the Kings Island sign at the front of the park.

 

Just after Travis and I had gotten a ride on Banshee (Scott had gotten a ride on it later), it began to storm quite hard! All those tables you see in this photo were knocked over shortly after this photo was taken!

 

Here you can see the entrance to The Racer while the storm was passing through. We had taken shelter in the Coney Confections candy shop during the storm.

 

Here is a beautiful shot after the storm. Just as the rain was letting up, Scott and I had taken a ride on Shake, Rattle, and Roll. It was fun riding it in light drizzle. We then took a ride on our favourite ride, The Monster! We had an hour and a half left to ride rides before the park closed for the night at 10pm.

 

Here is a shaky view of the Eiffel Tower after we took our last ride of the night on Diamondback.

 

Here is a blurry view looking below while taking the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower just before closing.

 

Here is a slightly blurry view looking down onto International Street from atop the Eiffel Tower at Kings Island.

 

This is looking out to Action Zone at Kings Island. The tall tower is Drop Tower. We had just rode it not too long before we made our way up the Eiffel Tower. We were only able to make it up the Eiffel Tower and ride Drop Tower once during our visit due to the severe winds during our second day at the park. Also, off to the right behind the Slingshot is the World's longest inverted roller coaster, Banshee. It was great other than the restraints were tight!

 

Here is a shaky view of the Coney Mall section of the park. You can see the first drop of the Racer, and the lights on the lift hill of Firehawk off in the distance. Below is a video of the nice nightly fireworks display viewed from the Eiffel Tower.

 

 

Here's to a start of our second and final day at Kings Island. It sure was a very hot and sunny day!

 

Here you can see the 300 foot tall Eiffel Tower than can be seen from quite a distance! We were up there the night before. It was quite the view from up there the previous night, as well as two years ago!

 

Here you can see people lining up to get into the park for the day!

 

Here are the two drops on Invertigo, the park's inverted boomerang coaster. The coaster appears to hang outside the park near the front gate. It's a fun coaster as Scott and I had first rode it two years ago and have enjoyed it ever since!

 

Here's a photo of Scott taking a photo of myself, while I was taking a photo of him.

 

Here's the photo that Scott had captured!

 

Here is another shot of Invertigo testing just before the park was set to open for the day!

 

Here is a view of the Royal Fountains on International Street.

 

Here is a view of Drop Tower from the ground. Unfortunately it was closed most of the day as it had gotten extremely windy. Luckily we were able to had rode it the night before!

 

Here is another view of the iconic Eiffel Tower at Kings Island. It has been providing amazing views of the surrounding area since April of 1972, when the park opened.

 

Our first coaster of the day was Firehawk! It was a new one for Scott and I! It was a truly amazing flying coaster! Vekoma sure knew what they were doing when they designed this one! We rode it multiple times throughout the day! One thing I did notice is that the green paint on the track was wearing through from when it operated at Geauga Lake as X-Flight from 2001 to 2006. After riding Firehawk, my friend Travis and I took a ride on Flight Of Fear.

 

Here is Scott, Travis, and I after riding Vortex later that morning. It was great as usual!

 

Here is a view of a section of the Coney Mall section of the park. Unfortunately, the Coney Mall sign has since been removed since our last visit two years ago.

 

You can see the Eiffel Tower from mostly everywhere from the park!

 

In this photo you can see Slingshot, Drop Tower, and Banshee.

 

Here is a shot of Delirium. I was able to get a ride on it later that day. It's fun waving to the crowd below when riding it!

 

Here's Viking Fury operating over the Oktoberfest section's pond.

 

Here is another view of the Oktoberfest pond.

 

Here's the floral bell and the Grand Carousel in the background. The park definitely has some beautiful scenery!

 

Looking at the floral clock, you can see that it's almost 12 pm.

 

Diamondback has a splashdown section that doesn't get riders wet. It's a really neat illusion! We had captured a night ride on Diamondback the day before. It's a great coaster but, doesn't produce as much airtime as Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland.

 

Here we are on the KI and Miami Valley Railroad on our way over to Soak City water park.

 

Here is a view of Diamondback while passing through Rivertown on the train.

 

Here's the storage shed that the three locomotives are stored in at night and during the off season.

 

Here's a shot of the green train passing by on the other section of the track.

 

Here's a photo of one of the buildings that were once apart of the Western Village that was along KI and Miami Valley Railroad when the park first opened in 1972. The buildings were built for scenic purposes.

 

After riding slides in the Soak City water park for two hours, I decided to take a few photos of some of the slides I rode. Here's a photo of Rendezvous Run, the slide your ride laying down on a mat, head first. We all found it quite difficult to hold onto the mats while going around through the tunnels. Scott had fallen off his and had the ride of his life!

 

Here's the Tropical Twister water slides. I bet you can guess how they named this water slide! Travis and I almost drowned on these body slides!

 

Here's the Pineapple Pipeline. I decided to pass on this one. Scott had tried the yellow body slide, while Travis did the green one! Later on, Travis tried the new slide complex Tropical Plunge which features drop slides!

 

Here's a photo of the more basic body slides, known as Paradise Plunge. They're just like Body Blast at Canada's Wonderland. They were fun as the three of us had raced down them.

 

Here we are taking a ride back to the dry side of the park. Every time another train would pass, we would wave to the passengers.

 

Here's a close up shot of the Mary Bose Inn. It's not a real inn but it adds to the scenery.

 

Here is a close up of the general store as seen from the train ride.

 

Here's one of Vortex's trains exiting the bat-wing inversion. Vortex is highly photogenic as well as a great coaster!

 

Here is a view of Vortex from Shake, Rattle, & Roll's queue line.

 

Here is Shake, Rattle, & Roll in action! During our visit two years ago, it was down and being refurbished. So, Scott and I made sure we had gotten a few rides on it while we were there.

 

Here's another view of one of Vortex's trains going through the final helix before hitting the final brake run.

 

Here is Scott and Travis playing a crazy version of air hockey! Scott and I had played it the night before and I must say it's quite difficult as the table is shaped like a skateboard ramp!

 

Here's my official approval of The Beast! It was truly amazing and shouldn't be missed during a visit to Kings Island! A shout out goes to the ride maintenance team for keeping The Beast smooth and enjoyable since it's opening in 1979.

 

Here I am descending down the first drop of The Beast at Kings Island! I greatly enjoyed it and I was glad I rode it because I didn't ride it during my first visit two years ago. It was a great wooden coaster!

 

Here's the 1926 Grand Carousel in motion.

 

Here's another view of the Grand Carousel. It originally operated at Coney Island in Cincinnati from 1926 until 1971. It then opened with Kings Island in 1972.

 

I decided to hop on and take a ride. Just before the ride began, I captured a photo of the horse I was sitting on as there were reins attached to each horse. The children riding the carousel really used this feature as the carousel spun around.

 

Here is Scott and I sitting down for a while after he had fries and I had a legendary Cheese Coney. You can see me showing off the free cups of water all food booths were handing out as it was extremely hot during our visit! Maybe Canada's Wonderland could take note?

 

Here is Scott playing Galaga on a coin operated arcade machine in the "I Love the 80's" store.

 

Here's Scott, Travis, and I on Race For Your Life Charlie Brown, which is Kings Island's original log flume ride in Planet Snoopy. It was a fun small log flume which had a drop of 40 feet and a soaking finale.

 

Here is another brighter photo of Travis, myself, and Scott posing for another photo before we left to go eat at Perkins. We definitely had a great visit at Kings Island as all the rides, coasters, and staff members were amazing! I look forward to coming back to Kings Island possibly in another couple of years!

 

Here's one final photo of Kings Island taken from a distance while we were leaving Mason and headed home the next morning.

 

Here are a couple of photos of the retro video game-like t-shirt I had purchased from Kings Island which features all the major coasters in the park, which I have conquered!

 

If you're wondering, we had stayed at the Microtel Inn Mason both nights during our visit. It is a nice hotel that is decently priced that we had came across two years ago. Thanks for taking a look at my photos from our trip to Kings Island!

Edited January 3, 2017 by Johnlloyd

[Nrthwnd]

Great TR. I visited KI waaaay back in the mid-1980's, so it's always nice to get an update of what's there, etc.

 

[Johnlloyd]

Great TR. I visited KI waaaay back in the mid-1980's, so it's always nice to get an update of what's there, etc.

 

 

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Looking at photos of Kings Island back from the 1980's it looked like an amazing place like it is today! Kings Island is constantly changing as it had slightly changed nearly two years later since my first visit during July 2014. The most noticeable changes from my first visit were the removal of the Coney Mall sign, the new White Water Canyon path, two new additions to Planet Snoopy, and a new water slide complex in Soak City. But, I can't wait to get back in another two years to ride Mystic Timbers as I plan on going to another park on my extremely long list next year.

 

So far I've struck Kings Island off my list originally two years ago and Dorney Park last year. I look forward to venturing to more American amusement parks next summer!