Cedar Point/PKI

[myfootitches]

Ok, a new post from the veteran lurker...

 

I'm planning on going to CP on May 23rd, followed by PKI on May 24th. I've been to CP many, many times. However, this will be my first trip to Kings Island. Considering the time when I'm going, I don't expect huge lines or hot weather.

 

The questions I have concern the lines/rides at PKI:

What rides have horrible "volume"? I'd like to know so I can hit them early before any line exsists.

 

What rides should I be wary of?(I hear about the SOB being horrid)

 

Any unknown gems that I should definetly hit when I'm there?

 

Any comments/advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

Jose

[SteveC]

Jose - I was there on Sunday the 7th May and even though the place was busy I think you won't have much problem with line time mid-week.

 

You won't have to worry about SOB as it is down until (I think) mid June - as it is having some re-tracking.

 

It's 'parent' The Beast has IMO gone to hell, if you have never ridden before then I guess you will need the credit, but if you have, then prepare to be underwhelmed. It is a 2 mile long trim brake these days. Whatever car you choose to ride take the middle seat (three rows per car) as you are not sat over an axle and this makes a surprising difference, for the better- although to confirm that you will have to try one of the axle seats!!

(same applies to the Racer and definately to SOB, not that it will matter this time round)

 

The only bad line on this day was for the Italian Job - perhaps it did not help that it went down at least once an hour. Lucky for me we were a group of three and the ops work hard on making every train a full load, so we were pulled from the line and 'V.I.P'd' to the front with another group of 3 and I reckon this saved us a good 30 mins.

 

Have a good trip!

 

SteveC

[myfootitches]

ah...that's a bummer on the SOB(aptly named).....

 

I don't mind my coasters rough(heck, I even ride the mean streak), but a minimum of jostling is always appreciated.

 

The Italian Job looks fun, but I have heard that it's not an "overwhelming" coaster by any means.

 

And I've got four people total, two of which are flying out here to the midwest from Cali. They're enamored with Magic Mountain, so I had to introduce them to Cedar Point. I'm hopeful that we may make a wander over to holiday world as well.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Jose

[JamesMC]

PKI Coasters: In my opinion

 

The Beast:- still a great ride, but it has lost something to trims over the years. Still love it though. Kind of mysterious because even if you know the layout, you cannot see the whole thing from anywhere in the park.

 

Son Of Beast: Unnecessarily rough, but still worth a couple rides just for the loop (if it's open).

 

Vortex: Beautiful to look at, a little rough, but not overly-headbanging. Wish they had padded seats to lessen some of the vibrations.

 

The Racer: Forwards is better than backwards- but still a cool ride.

 

Flight Of Fear: Better once they removed the OTS harnesses, but still a bit of a headbanger. Get on it this year, it looks to be down next year for a re-theming.

 

Top Gun: Decent suspended, not quite as good as Ninja though it has a longer drop.

 

Face/Off: Standard boomerang.

 

Italian Job: Can't say, was not built when I last visited, heard it's worth a 30 min wait, but no longer than that.

 

Adventure Express: The ride itself is pretty good, but the theming is kinda lame. Unnecessary in fact.

[Carnage]

I don't mind my coasters rough(heck, I even ride the mean streak), but a minimum of jostling is always appreciated.

 

Mean Streak isn't really all that rough since they slowed it down, it's just boring.

 

But I found Beast to be much worse then Mean Streak ever was. The jack hammering on Beast just seemed to slam me into the rock hard seat over and over again for the entire ride.

 

You'll have your own opinion of the ride of course, but I personally find it almost too rough to ride.

[myfootitches]

I figure I've got to ride them all at least once for the credit, so I'm going to get abused either way. I do hear that the Beast gives great night rides, but if the Beast is uber rough, then at night wouldn't it be even worse?

 

Looking at their website, it also looks like PKI has a good selection of flats, along with Drop Zone.

[307]

I've only been to PKI once [last May, late May near the time you're going].

 

And be warned, since you're going mid-week, the park may be in a limited operations day where not all rides are operating.

 

We got shanked by one of these unadvertised days last year and only about half the park was operating, if that. Near the end of the day more rides start to open up but for the time we were there it was basically one long frustrating "RIDE CLOSED" after another. Fortunately we had gone the previous day and everything was operational, so we just missed re-rides and some flats [most notably Tomb Raider and Delerium].

 

Anyways, Face-Off, as with any boomerang, will always have huge lines, especially since it's one of the first coasters you encounter when you enter the park. So hitting that one first thing in the morning might be a good idea. Italian Job is another one that will likely have a big line and has no capacity so it might be another one you want to hit early. Outer Limits is the other one, but if it's a hot day then waiting in the air conditioned queue might be a nice way to cool off.

 

Otherwise, most of the coasters are pretty good with capacity. Top Gun was really speedy when we were there, as was Vortex and Adventure Express. Rebel Yell's loading times were slow but the capacity is enough that it won't result in massive waits. Beast was pretty fast.

 

You're definately going to want to check out the Eiffel Tower for it's views, as well as Drop Zone and Delerium. I assume Tomb Raider is a must-ride as well but since I didn't go on it, I can't say for certain.

 

As for rides you should be wary of, outside of SOB there aren't really any standout terrible coasters. Beast is, as was pointed out, terribly rough but it can be somewhat avoided with the proper choice of seats. Vortex resulted in a swollen and bruised knee when I smacked it into the train going up the second hill, but that's probably an isolated incident. Otherwise, everything is relatively smooth that I can remember.

 

And I, as well as my girlfriend, found Adventure Express to be the most enjoyable ride there. It's not big or particularly "good" in the traditional sense, but we had so much damn fun riding it. I think the theming is really bad, but bad in a hilarious way, which added to our amusement. The ending is probably the most hilarious thing ever, as well.

 

Hope this helped a bit.

[myfootitches]

Thanks for the info everyone, I got the good news that the SOB opened up this weekend, so I'm not going to miss that credit.....

[307]

Thanks for the info everyone, I got the good news that the SOB opened up this weekend, so I'm not going to miss that credit.....

Before I went on SOB, I probably would've considered the news "good" as well.

 

But after having ridden it...