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Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

p. 832: Camp Snoopy announced for 2024!

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Looks like another winner. I really don't know what else I would want from this park. I don't even care if the park gets a Giga. It would be a plus, but it will also take away my appreciation for Diamondback.

 

 

I have not been on Diamondback, but I have been on Intimidator (CW) and Fury 325 and I felt that they were both unique from one another that Fury didn't really overshadow Intimidator.

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I'm heading to the park tomorrow (Saturday). I hooked Emily and I up by purchasing Platinum Passes, FL+ Passes, and Fright Lane Passes. ($700 lmao oops) I couldn't mess with uploading a picture when I purchased the passes at work, so it says I have to go to the season pass processing center. Where is that? We're in no hurry to get to the park and we'll probably be there around 1. Will there be a long wait to get our passes processed?

 

Also, I was told on the Facebook group that a funpix season pass will work at all parks, but the website doesn't specify that. Is this true?

 

Lastly, it's supposed to be mid to low 30's late at night. Does KI shut down coasters when it gets this cold?

 

Looks like another winner. I really don't know what else I would want from this park. I don't even care if the park gets a Giga. It would be a plus, but it will also take away my appreciation for Diamondback.

 

 

I have not been on Diamondback, but I have been on Intimidator (CW) and Fury 325 and I felt that they were both unique from one another that Fury didn't really overshadow Intimidator.

 

I visited Carowinds before Fury. During that visit, I bounced back and forth between Afterburn and Intimidator. After my last three visits to Carowinds with Fury, Afterburn, and Intimidator, although I enjoyed Intimidator it definitely got moved to the back burner. I did, however, find it dumb how everyone was constantly trashing Intimidator after Fury was built.

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Looks like another winner. I really don't know what else I would want from this park. I don't even care if the park gets a Giga. It would be a plus, but it will also take away my appreciation for Diamondback.

 

I'm with you about the Giga. Honestly, I'm hoping it's a different B&M model, like tallest and fastest Wing coaster, with a layout that takes it out through the trees for near-misses, similarly to how Thunderbird is. Heck, maybe instead of tallest, they'd become the second park with a launched wing - fastest, naturally! But yes, KI has a little bit of everything already, and has firmly established itself as a yearly place to visit for me and my kids, in spite of the lengthy distance to get there!

 

Looks like another winner. I really don't know what else I would want from this park. I don't even care if the park gets a Giga. It would be a plus, but it will also take away my appreciation for Diamondback.

 

 

I have not been on Diamondback, but I have been on Intimidator (CW) and Fury 325 and I felt that they were both unique from one another that Fury didn't really overshadow Intimidator.

 

I've gotta disagree on this. Maybe it's because I've only been to Carowinds since Fury was there, and perhaps it's because I rode Fury first, but I've never had a ride on Intimidator that I thought was particularly special, or noteworthy. I consider it my least favorite B&M Hyper. Not saying it's a bad ride, as I like every B&M Hyper. Heck, it's currently my third favorite coaster at the park (though that's not saying a lot, given the competition.) But I would definitely say that it's overshadowed by Fury, and it's hard not to feel like it's a waste of my time waiting in a long-ish line for that, when I can wait in a faster moving line for Fury (true experiences from both of my visits.) When I went there with my kids this year, we took to calling Intimidator - Marginalized: The Ride. Again, it's not a bad coaster, but I do think Fury being there affects it.

 

Now, I haven't been to CW since Leviathan, so I can't comment on that park's experience (though I hope to change that the upcoming year.) But Behemoth is an amazing coaster, and arguably my second favorite B&M Hyper behind Mako, and just above Diamondback. I can't imagine not still enjoying a ton even after I ride Leviathan. I know people tend to regard Leviathan as the "worst" of the B&M Gigas, so that might be a difference as well, since Fury is such a strong coaster. But it could also end up showing that people who rode Fury before Intimidator, have a harder time appreciating the smaller coaster, while those who rode the Hyper first, still enjoy it plenty, and don't feel the experience has been overshadowed.

 

I'm heading to the park tomorrow (Saturday). I hooked Emily and I up by purchasing Platinum Passes, FL+ Passes, and Fright Lane Passes. ($700 lmao oops) I couldn't mess with uploading a picture when I purchased the passes at work, so it says I have to go to the season pass processing center. Where is that? We're in no hurry to get to the park and we'll probably be there around 1. Will there be a long wait to get our passes processed?

 

Also, I was told on the Facebook group that a funpix season pass will work at all parks, but the website doesn't specify that. Is this true?

 

The Season Pass Processing Center is in the building to your left, as you approach the entry gates, in the front building. I think you have to go through the metal detectors first, though I can't swear to that. I purchased and activated my SP prior to Haunt last year, and didn't wait long at all. However, it is later in the Haunt season now, so it's possible the line will be longer now, since the park's lines are usually longer.

 

Yes, I got my Funpix SP at KD before going anywhere else this year, and used it tons all year at both CP and then KI. So you should be good!

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So.. I don't personally see a problem having a giga and a hyper in one park - as long as both are unique experiences, like Magnum and Millennium Force in Cedar Point. Although I know that these are different manufacturers (and none of them being B&M), both are so different in style and layout that I don't feel redundancy. As Diamondback is one of the best B&M hypers (IMHO) I could well imagine a giga popping up there.

 

That being said, I of course hope to see something truly unique and new at KI in 2020. Launched flyer, launched giga, whatever. But with everything like Diamondback and better, I'll be satisfied and crazy for our return to the States.

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So.. I don't personally see a problem having a giga and a hyper in one park - as long as both are unique experiences, like Magnum and Millennium Force in Cedar Point. Although I know that these are different manufacturers (and none of them being B&M), both are so different in style and layout that I don't feel redundancy. As Diamondback is one of the best B&M hypers (IMHO) I could well imagine a giga popping up there.

 

That being said, I of course hope to see something truly unique and new at KI in 2020. Launched flyer, launched giga, whatever. But with everything like Diamondback and better, I'll be satisfied and crazy for our return to the States.

 

Canada's Wonderland has Behemoth which is a Hyper and Leviathan which is a giga coaster. Both do provide different experiences as Behemoth is about the airtime and Leviathan is about the speed. As I have visited Kings Island a couple of times during the past four years, I feel a giga would be a perfect fit for the park and compliment their already awesome roller coaster collection. I really need to get back sometime soon to ride Mystic Timbers as it was under construction the last time I was there!

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So.. I don't personally see a problem having a giga and a hyper in one park - as long as both are unique experiences, like Magnum and Millennium Force in Cedar Point. Although I know that these are different manufacturers (and none of them being B&M), both are so different in style and layout that I don't feel redundancy. As Diamondback is one of the best B&M hypers (IMHO) I could well imagine a giga popping up there.

 

That being said, I of course hope to see something truly unique and new at KI in 2020. Launched flyer, launched giga, whatever. But with everything like Diamondback and better, I'll be satisfied and crazy for our return to the States.

 

Canada's Wonderland has Behemoth which is a Hyper and Leviathan which is a giga coaster. Both do provide different experiences as Behemoth is about the airtime and Leviathan is about the speed. As I have visited Kings Island a couple of times during the past four years, I feel a giga would be a perfect fit for the park and compliment their already awesome roller coaster collection. I really need to get back sometime soon to ride Mystic Timbers as it was under construction the last time I was there!

 

I definitely agree that having a hyper and giga in the same is perfectly fine as long as they focus on different things as you mentioned. Also... you definitely need to come down to ride MT! It's a spiffy little ride!

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Also, I was told on the Facebook group that a funpix season pass will work at all parks, but the website doesn't specify that. Is this true?

 

All Season FunPix is valid at all participating CF Parks. Michigan's Adventure, Dorney & Valleyfair are the only 3 that currently don't have it.

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I’ll be going to the park tomorrow as well. It will be my first ever visit to KI after going to CP so many times. I already bought Fastlane Plus so lines aren’t going to be an issue. I’m really looking forward for my visit. This comes after having to cancel two trips to KI over the summer. Third times the charm I guess.

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Also, I was told on the Facebook group that a funpix season pass will work at all parks, but the website doesn't specify that. Is this true?

 

All Season FunPix is valid at all participating CF Parks. Michigan's Adventure, Dorney & Valleyfair are the only 3 that currently don't have it.

That makes sense. You really don't want photo evidence that you were there.

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I'd try to get your rides in during the day, (presuming you're going all day). If it's like all the other Saturdays so far, it'll be crazy once the Haunt starts. We've found it somewhat easy to get in the haunts on Saturdays, the rides, not so much.

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Also, I was told on the Facebook group that a funpix season pass will work at all parks, but the website doesn't specify that. Is this true?

 

All Season FunPix is valid at all participating CF Parks. Michigan's Adventure, Dorney & Valleyfair are the only 3 that currently don't have it.

That makes sense. You really don't want photo evidence that you were there.

 

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Kings Island trip report

Alright I just finished my first ever visit to Kings Island and it was absolutely amazing. Thanks to Fastlane Plus lines weren’t an issue so we were able to ride everything we wanted to multiple times including night rides. The only rides we didn’t get to ride though were Drop Tower, WindSeeker, Invertigo and Eiffel Tower. A lot of the coasters shut down though around the time the haunt started because of the wind (although the employees that were at the entrances of the closed coasters were telling the guests it was the wind chill) but most of the coasters reopened accept for Banshee and Vortex. As for what my favorite coaster that was easily The Beast at night in the front/back row. I was really surprised by how much that thing was hauling. Same with Mystic Timbers. Both coaster just tore through the track. Got plenty of rides on Firehawk as well. I loved the ending to the Adventure Express a lot. It really was as amazing as everyone said on here. We only did one maze and that was the Wolf Pack maze that was in the former SOB station. We’re going back to the park today to try to get on what we didn’t get on yesterday. All in all I would say this was one of my best visits to any park. Looking forward to coming back in 2020 when they open their next coaster that I hope is a B&M Giga. Thankfully on Sunday Invertigo, Drop Tower and WindSeeker were all open so we were able to get a few rides on them along with re-riding several other coasters before heading back home. So again this was very successful trip and we got plenty of night rides on most of the coasters.

Edited by 9Armgeddon4
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Also, I was told on the Facebook group that a funpix season pass will work at all parks, but the website doesn't specify that. Is this true?

 

All Season FunPix is valid at all participating CF Parks. Michigan's Adventure, Dorney & Valleyfair are the only 3 that currently don't have it.

That makes sense. You really don't want photo evidence that you were there.

 

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Also, I was told on the Facebook group that a funpix season pass will work at all parks, but the website doesn't specify that. Is this true?

 

All Season FunPix is valid at all participating CF Parks. Michigan's Adventure, Dorney & Valleyfair are the only 3 that currently don't have it.

Also worth mentioning that if you have a Platinum you can purchase it at any participating CF park online and it still works. I purchased FunPix on CGA website (cheaper than Ohio parks) and visited Ohio parks before CGA this year and it worked fine as long as I scanned with the employees before I tried the self-serve kiosk.

 

Also, Fury definitely overshadows Intimidator but Diamondback is way better than Intimidator and I feel like Diamondback would still be a great coaster worth your time even if there is a taller and faster coaster at the park. Plus, enthusiasts tend to forget there are always the "h*ll to the f&%k no" people whose bravery might get them on Diamondback but probably not a giga. I have a few friends like that.

 

So I'm still in the "please please please yes" category for a giga. And "calling it now" to my friends so that I can blow their minds if/when it happens. (Anyone else get off on doing this to people?)

 

Speaking of, there was girl about 9-years-old wearing a "Farewell Firehawk" shirt on Friday who rode Firehawk with us. I asked her if it was her favorite ride and she said, "Yes, at least until they get the giga." Someone is raising this girl well.

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Speaking of, there was girl about 9-years-old wearing a "Farewell Firehawk" shirt on Friday who rode Firehawk with us. I asked her if it was her favorite ride and she said, "Yes, at least until they get the giga." Someone is raising this girl well.

That is awesome.

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They were likely closed for high winds, not wind chill. The park clearly doesn't care about wind chill since they tried to run Mystic Timbers in the snow.

 

I don't have any insider information about their policies for individual rides but a quick search shows that wind speeds were absolutely insane. My guess is that the reason those rides were the only ones open is that every other coaster in the park is either tall and valley prone OR surrounded by trees that could fall or lose limbs in those conditions (see: what happened that day at Cedar Point) and fall on the tracks.

 

Racer is tall-ish, but it looks like winds were from the North / Northwest which would just give it a strong tailwind and there aren't any trees near the track that would pose any danger to the ride so whatever. That seems to be Cedar Fair's philosophy with Magnum at Cedar Point too which they'll seemingly run in any wind speed as long as it's off of the bay.

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That makes sense I guess. The park employees were the ones that kept telling everyone the rides were down because of the wind chill. We were even told Firehawk couldn’t run until the end chill was below 31. Oh yeah it was windy on the 20th. I got to experience several trimless rides on Diamondback. I think we’re right in the edge of whatever storm hit Cedar Point and Northern Ohio.

Edited by 9Armgeddon4
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Well holy crap I must have been lucky as hell because I went to Kings Island on Sunday 10/21/2018 with my my Dad and Uncle last minute never thought it would happen travel trip and I got to ride pretty much everything worth riding before 4PM.

 

We left Detroit, MI at 6:45 AM EST and got to the park at 10:45 EST in time to park, walk up to the entrance, and arrive at the fountains before they opened the park. I liked how they let us into the park, but waited until 11AM to let us go past the dropped ropes to get where we wanted to. These are my ride experiences, in order starting at 11:10am.

 

Diamondback: Back Outer Seat: Temps at 50 degrees: Some good good airtime, a ton of fun before the brake run...after it...nah. They classically B&M trimmed the one before the left handed turnaround, even as cold as it was. I'd later learn that KI loves the helixes before the end of the ride kinda thing which I really appreciate as it adds to the duration of the coaster but really does nothing in terms of ride experience.

 

Mystic Timbers: Back seat: Pretty sweet woodie. Super smooth. Love the duration and maneuvering through the woods. Dug the direction changes, but after the first couple of drops very minimal airtime. The shed was a disappointment and weird for my Uncle and Dad. I'm the kinda coaster nerd that gives no heads up to anyone just to see how they feel, and I will say, the end just sitting there was really just...confusing to them both. Same for me.

 

The Beast: Back seat: Beat the crap out of us. Really hauling ass and really amazing how it spans through the woods, but a 1 time ride was enough. I was impressed by the tunnels through the terrain, but this was pretty much a fast traveling coaster with flat sections, trims, and unexpected turns. Highlight was absolutely not knowing where it was taking you, and the crooked track before the helix after the 2nd Chain lift as it was so fast and terrifying even if it wasn't a record breaker man that thing felt like it was hauling faster than any woodie I've ever been on.

 

After that since we were in the corner and Windseeker was open, me and my Uncle went for it. So silly, I lived 5 minutes from Knotts when they opened up Windseeker and had a pass and only rode it once because it was always closed. Since then I've ridden the Mondial at Cedar Point and now Kings Island. I don't get scared easily but for some reason I force myself to ride these cause they freak me out and I like doing that to myself. Not to mention 300 or so feet up in the air when the ground temp is 52 degrees is shiveringly cold!

 

Vortex was closed at the time, and I so so so hoped it would open. An old classic Arrow, I'll talk about later.

 

Backlot Stunt Coaster: Really fun, too short. Weird considering how Kings Island seems to try and extend some of their coasters even at the benefit of the ride. We like the launches, the fire and helicopter elements were working (big thumbs up!) and I think the saving grace was the dark portion that really could have used a helix to throw you through a what the heck is happening element. Still, good fun!

 

The main reason I came to visit because of its upcoming removal:

Firehawk: 5th Row: Wow! This was a GREAT ride. So SO smooth. Very amazing technology going on despite its lengthy history. We were all blown away with how smooth it rode. No headbanging. Visuals were amazing. This was probably the surprise of the trip for all of us. You're not going to beat Tatsu as far as I'm concerned but both my Uncle and Dad and I were very impressed with this ride. Wish the loop would have been better but that might have been where we were sitting.

 

Flight of Fear: It was cool watching the launches going but the ride lagged a bit. Basically stopped us ala Goliath @ MM style at the MCBR. Really hauled towards the end. Hey, at least the tried with this one. Another nice surprise, although not much in the thrill department.

 

-----Uncle and Dad Break back to the front of the park for Starbucks Coffee and Auntie Anne's Cinnamon Pretzel Break, damn, that was a good pretzel!-----

 

The Racer: Red Side: The one that turns left out of the station: Back Seat: This beat the crap out of us. Damn. I love woodies, but the pounding, oh the pounding. After the first drop we couldn't wait for this to end. I'm glad my dad passed on riding this one.

 

Drop Tower: Best part was the ride up. The drop was lame. Dunno why. Would rather take Supreme Scream for the thrill factor.

 

Banshee: Front Seat: Amazing B&M powerful invert. Loved the elevation changes. That front drop that felt like it was vertical was awesome. Hauled until that final in-line inversion: something unexpected from B&M. A great ride. This thing HAULED. Loved the top of the lift audio with the screaming banshee. RIP Son of Beast.

 

Invertigo: Holy crap how was this the smoothest boomerang I've ever been on? Love the strange seating. No headbanging. If they replaced every regular seated Vekoma Boomerang with this I'd say they'd be a lot more popular. Phenomenal forces. This ride was GREAT.

 

The Bat: Back seat: Rode Twice without getting off: Well this was a must. Considering Arrow Suspendeds are so unique and going away, I'd have to say this one was a real winner. That first drop and the speed was remarkable. What can you say? These things lose a lot of momentum due to the swinging but man, this was a great ride. I loved the out of the park feel, this ride was all on its own out there. A trek to the station to say the least. Arrow really had something going with these suspendeds that I wish were around much more. Not to mention I'm now really really interested in the original bat and where it was located. I haven't been able to find much about it.

 

Adventure Express: I really liked how this ride just took off out of the station and rode the terrain before the first lift. A great mine train. The ending lift hill with the theming struck me as a Mystic Timbers kind of end where you were expecting more.

 

Vortex: Back seat: They opened this ride after it warmed up a bit and I got on it at about 3:30PM, and I have to say this was a fantastic unorthodox Arrow that I had not had quite an experience with before. That first drop gave a pop of air, the maneuvering through the awkward elements was much smoother than I expected, but all and all I was very happy with the ride. The non-close-to-the-ground-double corkscrew being much higher in the air before the batwing element was...unexpected after riding Viper @ Magic Mountain for at least 50 times but I'm sure 30 years ago was phenomenal and unheard of. This ride had that slow helix to end the ride I found to be a signature move for Kings Island, and hell, why not!

 

 

I will say this, Kings Island is a world renowned park with coasters that travel through unknown terrain. You get on the coasters inside the park then they take you through parts of the woods you don't expect, then at the taller portions of the rides see other peeking all around. Really, surreal. All of the crews at the rides were not lazy at all. Pretty much everything was walk on except for Firehawk and Flight of Fear. All the employees were friendly, and all the ride ops knew how to get the operations going. Seeing 3 trains on almost everything even with the park being substantially empty was a breath of fresh air.

 

I would recommend anyone planning to visit this park to go on a late October Sunday, get there early, and you will have the time of your life.

 

THANK YOU Kings Island for making this a coaster trip that was WELL worth spending a day on! I got to add 12 coasters to my roster in the course of 6 hours, and they were amazing. Even if it exhausted me and my Dad and Uncle!

Edited by SteVeUrkle
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Glad you enjoyed the park!

 

Firehawk isn't a world beater, but it's definitely not a coaster deserving of hate. It's easily the smoothest of the three Flying Dutchmen if you ask me. Really the only thing wrong with it is the putrid capacity.

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I think the helix on Diamondback is more a visual element for the crowd and the riders. It also capitalizes on the freedom of the clam shell restraints for riders who just want to relax and put their arms up at that point.

 

The shed on Mystic Timbers wasn't supposed to be the grand finale, like enthusiasts hyped it up to be. It just gives you something to look at instead of sitting on the brake run. Your time in the shed will depend on how quickly the train in the station is dispatched.

 

I've heard complaints about Racer being rough, but I haven't experienced that. This is probably largely because we never sit on wheel seats and we always sit in the middle of the train. It's the safest place to have a good time. The difference between a wheel seat and a non wheel seat on rides like Racer and Screaming Eagle are almost night and day.

 

Glad you had a fun trip. It sounds like you enjoyed the park.

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