Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

Just went to KI Friday night, and took my kids for their first Haunt! They were a little... Let's just say nervous, regarding the whole Scare Actor part of it, especially at first, but they warmed up to the park's ambiance, and were loving the experience by the end of the night! It's a yearly tradition for me to head down there for Haunt, so I'm glad they felt similarly as I do about it! They were blown away by the night rides on all the coasters, particularly Mystic Timbers, Banshee, and The Beast! I'd taken them last year for their first time at the park, but we only rode MT in the dark, as the Beast line closed for fireworks right after we got in it, and had to catch a shuttle, so we couldn't wait. So they got their first Beast ride in - at night, of course - as our last ride of the trip, and were amazed by it! Not their favorite coaster in the park, or even favorite night ride, but it definitely left a lasting impression.

Weighing in on the Firehawk commentary, my kids got their first ride on that as well, and all three of them really enjoyed it, and wish it weren't leaving. I also enjoyed my final ride on it, and continue to assert that this is an unnecessary removal, unless they are planning to move it to another CF park or sell it. The coaster isn't as bad as everybody likes to act like it is (Vortex is EASILY the worst coaster in the park, other than maybe Invertigo, and The Beast is rougher than Firehawk, so...), and other than its terrible capacity, and tendency to break down, it's a solid coaster in the park, and would be a solid to very good coaster at another, lesser park! So I hope this "Hawk" lands elsewhere, and doesn't go the way of the dinosaur (and Dino's Alive, for that matter! )

Bottom line though, regardless of that unfortunate (in my opinion) situation, KI remains firmly among my most beloved parks, and they continue to deliver the best night rides, and one of the best Haunt experiences around! I miss having the Scare Actors all over the park, and milling around the front when you enter, but I get the impression they caught some flak about that from people, because Scare Actors were basically limited to the Scare Zones this year. I only saw a handful the entire night (having not gone through any Scare Zones due to the kids' concerns.) The No-Boo necklace was a nice touch to have available as well, as it really provided some peace of mind to my kids, as I got one for my daughter to wear, but with everybody sticking close, the few Scare Actors who did wander near us did not bother the kids at all. I look forward to coming again next year, and I may even be able to sneak another trip out there this month, with my girlfriend, if the finances allow it. Such a great park, especially at this time of year!

The wife and I also hit Kings Island on Friday. Date night for us with no kids and we had free Fast Lane Plus. I go to Kings Island so much I would never buy Fast Lane Plus but it was fantastic on a very crowded night. We were able to walk on everything and rode everything multiple times. Did a few of the haunts with shorter lines as well. I was going to ride Firehawk while the wife sat it out because she hates it but to no ones surprise it was down at the times we went by. I really don't care if I ride the thing again. Anyway excellent night.

^Strange to me that you feel like it was very crowded. I thought the rides at least all had very minimal waits, and we got in 12 total rides, on every major coaster except for Vortex and Racer. Some of the Haunts had longer lines, but we never waited very long on anything... Maybe we just hit everything at the right time!

Beast was down into the switchbacks

Banshee used several switchbacks

Flight of Fear was out of the building and through most of the switchbacks outside

Diamondback had a half full queue both times

Mystic Timbers the first time had a half full queue and the second time was a little less than that.

Most of the haunts we passed we didn't wait for as the lines looked over 20 minutes especially field of screams and killmart.

I was just very glad to have Fast Lane Plus as we did no waiting for anything with it otherwise we would have rode a lot less.

So, here is a fun "what if" scenario. WHAT IF, KI did an RMC conversion on half of The Racer. One side "mild" the other "wild." Think Classic and New in one iconic ride. It would still race and have dueling elements, just one side a classic out and back, and the other a more intense, twisting, weaving. outer-banked airtime machine! To my knowledge it would be a first of that type of conversion/racing coaster.

Do you think something like that "could" ever happen? Pros/Cons?

So, here is a fun "what if" scenario. WHAT IF, KI did an RMC conversion on half of The Racer. One side "mild" the other "wild." Think Classic and New in one iconic ride. It would still race and have dueling elements, just one side a classic out and back, and the other a more intense, twisting, weaving. outer-banked airtime machine! To my knowledge it would be a first of that type of conversion/racing coaster.

 

Do you think something like that "could" ever happen? Pros/Cons?

That seems cool in theory, but I also think it would be incredibly ugly.

With that being said, I can totally see a GhostRider-esque GCI makeover for the Racer and/or the Beast, way down the line when the time comes, but I think if we ever see an RMC come to Kings Island, it will be in the form of a ground-up coaster.

I would actually LOVE to see an RMC IBox makeover of the Beast or Racer (I’ve always been in favor of building kicka$$ coasters over “keeping it classic” for the sake of its reputation), but given how iconic both the Beast and Racer are for Kings Island, there is about a 0% chance of that happening, ever. It would be fun to see all the enthusiasts lose their minds though!

So, here is a fun "what if" scenario. WHAT IF, KI did an RMC conversion on half of The Racer. One side "mild" the other "wild." Think Classic and New in one iconic ride. It would still race and have dueling elements, just one side a classic out and back, and the other a more intense, twisting, weaving. outer-banked airtime machine! To my knowledge it would be a first of that type of conversion/racing coaster.

 

Do you think something like that "could" ever happen? Pros/Cons?

Jesus FFFking Christ.

via Imgflip Meme Generator

Ridership on all three of the wooden roller coasters is good. The Beast is popular. Mystic Timbers is Popular. Racer is fairly popular. There's no need to change them, as there has been with less popular roller coasters in the past. Mean Streak was rough and no longer popular among guests. Hurler was rough and no longer popular among guests. Cyclone was rough and no longer popular among guests.

Add rough and unpopular to the equation and you might have a chance, but that's not the case. There's no sense in taking a ride that still contributes in bringing people into your gates and changing it. RMC typically deals in making bad rides good, not good rides better, because there are better investments to be made. Whether you agree that the Beast could be made better, or on the flip side, that a conversion would destroy and iconic ride, is completely irrelevant. The general public votes with the queue and the polls are in strong favor of keeping the Beast how it is.

Your best chance would be Racer, but that's not going to happen. Your other best chance was Son of Beast and that didn't happen. CF/KI has immediately shot down any RMC suggestions. It's not going to happen anytime soon. With all three wooden roller coasters redeable and well received, you're much better off hoping for a RMC original. Otherwise, give it ten years and see what happens.

#RMCWoodstockExpress

So, here is a fun "what if" scenario. WHAT IF, KI did an RMC conversion on half of The Racer. One side "mild" the other "wild." Think Classic and New in one iconic ride. It would still race and have dueling elements, just one side a classic out and back, and the other a more intense, twisting, weaving. outer-banked airtime machine! To my knowledge it would be a first of that type of conversion/racing coaster.

 

Do you think something like that "could" ever happen? Pros/Cons?

 

Jesus FFFking Christ.

 

via Imgflip Meme Generator

 

Ridership on all three of the wooden roller coasters is good. The Beast is popular. Mystic Timbers is Popular. Racer is fairly popular. There's no need to change them, as there has been with less popular roller coasters in the past. Mean Streak was rough and no longer popular among guests. Hurler was rough and no longer popular among guests. Cyclone was rough and no longer popular among guests.

 

Add rough and unpopular to the equation and you might have a chance, but that's not the case. There's no sense in taking a ride that still contributes in bringing people into your gates and changing it. RMC typically deals in making bad rides good, not good rides better, because there are better investments to be made. Whether you agree that the Beast could be made better, or on the flip side, that a conversion would destroy and iconic ride, is completely irrelevant. The general public votes with the queue and the polls are in strong favor of keeping the Beast how it is.

 

Your best chance would be Racer, but that's not going to happen. Your other best chance was Son of Beast and that didn't happen. CF/KI has immediately shot down any RMC suggestions. It's not going to happen anytime soon. With all three wooden roller coasters redeable and well received, you're much better off hoping for a RMC original. Otherwise, give it ten years and see what happens.

Agreed, except that Racer is rough and uncomfortable and I'm not sure it's all that popular. I never see a wait for it, but could also be because of the increased capacity.

I'm a huge RMC fan and I would still rather see a B&M replace Firehawk than see an RMC Racer conversion any time soon. I'm pretty sure the park agrees.

Interestingly I didn't find any bit of Racer rough on either side when I rode in June. I had already ridden the rest of the wooden coasters earlier in the day. I'm generally very sensitive to any sort of roughness...and nothing from it. Only thing uncomfortable to me at the park was Vortex.

I enjoy good wood coasters on average more than any other type of coaster and I love The Beast and The Boss. I found Racer to be uncomfortable and not particularly exciting at all when I went last year for Haunt. It was probably my least favorite coaster on that visit...or maybe invertigo. It has that "vertical" roughness, jackhammer kinda feeling, that older wooden coasters tend to get. I don't mind lateral roughness at all, but I hate when a ride punches me in the back like Racer did. I didn't pay much attention to what seat we rode in, so maybe I dropped the ball and rode in a wheel seat.

And for the record, I think RMC redoing one track of Racer is a cool, if blasphemous, idea. When the RMC Racer stuff came up earlier in the year I definitely thought that at the time. Keep(hopefully retrack) the original experience and offer a new one on the other track, especially if the timing could still allow them to race.

I'm really going to try to make it to Haunt this weekend, so if anyone who frequents or has KI as their home park has any recommendations for specific seats on Racer or anything else, I'd love to hear them. Front seat for Beast obviously, and I generally prefer back seat on things like MT and Diamondback, but let me know your favorites!

Beast was down into the switchbacks

Banshee used several switchbacks

Flight of Fear was out of the building and through most of the switchbacks outside

Diamondback had a half full queue both times

Mystic Timbers the first time had a half full queue and the second time was a little less than that.

 

Most of the haunts we passed we didn't wait for as the lines looked over 20 minutes especially field of screams and killmart.

 

I was just very glad to have Fast Lane Plus as we did no waiting for anything with it otherwise we would have rode a lot less.

Strange... I witnessed none of that! lol The Beast at the end of the night, when it's usually the most crowded, was almost a walk on. Banshee had a couple of switchbacks, but was less than a 15 minute wait. Not bad at all. FoF was the worst (next to Firehawk), but only 1 and a half switchbacks outside of the building, and all of the interior switchbacks closed. Diamondback wasn't past the vending machines all three times we rode, so only about 15 minutes. Mystic Timbers had the shortest wait I've ever had for it, nearly to the bottom of the stairs the first time! Second time wasn't very long either. Maybe 20 minutes.

I guess I just had absolutely amazing timing ALL night long! Yay me! (You DID go Friday, right? Not Saturday?)

Regarding The Racer, I think the idea of a traditional woodie, and an RMC woodie racing (or dueling) is great, and would love to see it someday! Not sure if a conversion would work, but as a ground-up concept it's pretty cool! As for The Racer itself, I rarely ride it personally, not so much because it's rough (though it IS a bit rough, at least in certain places), but rather it's just uninspiring, at least compared to all the other great options at KI. I think only one of the four Haunts I've gone to in recent years did I ride it, the first time back in 2015. I rode it again with my kids when I took them for the first time last year. But it's not something I'd typically ride when going there, and if it was gone, it would be less missed by me at least, than Firehawk will be. But I do appreciate the fact it's a classic racing wooden coaster, so I'm glad it's still around!

yeah we were there Friday. You got lucky. When we left the park at midnight the Parking lot had cars out past the south exit which usually means it is crowded even in summer when Soak City is open.

*Shrugs* Don't know what to say. The park didn't seem crowded in the least, the entire night to me. Even walking the pathways, there didn't seem to be that many people. I've never had really bad crowds at Haunt, and this was my least crowded time there. Strange...

Hello, I will be at the park on Sunday from open to close. Will the holiday weekend impact crowds to the point that fastlane will be needed? Thanks in advance!

Hello, I will be at the park on Sunday from open to close. Will the holiday weekend impact crowds to the point that fastlane will be needed? Thanks in advance!

Columbus Day weekend tends to be one of the busiest of the Fall, so yes, you will need it...

Kings Island, Carowinds, and Kings Dominion offer the best skip the line offerings I've ever experienced. You'll get your money's worth. Buy it immediately when you get into the park. It may not pull its weight as much during the first couple hours, but by the end of the night you'll know that you made a fantastic decision. We buy it on every visit.

Noted. Thanks guys!

Let us know how your trip goes. Have a good time.

Let us know how your trip goes. Have a good time.

Will do! I'm quite behind in my trip reports from the summer but I will be sure to post a quick summary here tomorrow night!

Visited the park yesterday. Firehawk was open most of the day, with some occasional problems here and there. I only saw backlot running test runs once or twice, but I wasn't in that area for long. Banshee went down about 4 times, however it was only about 20 minutes each time. I had a free Fastlane Plus, so I went ahead and used it, figuring that I wouldn't go back to the park until at least Winterfest. The fastlane wasn't needed though, the park wasn't really busy at all. Overall, it was a great day!

Glad you had a good time. Nice picture.

Visited the park yesterday. Firehawk was open most of the day, with some occasional problems here and there. I only saw backlot running test runs once or twice, but I wasn't in that area for long. Banshee went down about 4 times, however it was only about 20 minutes each time. I had a free Fastlane Plus, so I went ahead and used it, figuring that I wouldn't go back to the park until at least Winterfest. The fastlane wasn't needed though, the park wasn't really busy at all. Overall, it was a great day!

Wait you didn't mention how many times KI fanboys asked if you're with RMC, are RMCing the Racer, RMCing Beast, or know anything about a Giga. Tell us more!

Wait you didn't mention how many times KI fanboys asked if you're with RMC, are RMCing the Racer, RMCing Beast, or know anything about a Giga. Tell us more!

Surprisingly, none! However, on the back of the shirt it lists all of the RMC coasters and the parks that each coaster is at and some man asked why Kings Island wasn't on the list...

Glad you had a good time. Nice picture.

Thank you! I figured I needed one last picture with the entry sign before the demise.

Ok here's a small TR (sorry no photos, I may post some in my trip report thread from coasterstock but that thread is very behind ) from my visit to the park on Sunday October 7th. The main purpose of this trip was to get our last rides on Firehawk. We both live in a suburb of Cleveland so we had both been to Geagua Lake before it closed. We were still too little to ride Firehawk, err X-flight when it was still at GL but it was still a piece of Cleveland amusement park history that will soon be no longer. So all that being said, Firehawk holds a special place in my heart even if it really isn't that great of a ride in my opinion. So the plan was made and off we were on a quick day trip to Kings Island to say goodbye.

I had asked in this thread if crowds would be an issue since it was a holiday weekend. Prozach626 highly recommended FL+ but I still wanted to talk it over with my friend who I was making the trip with before making the purchase. Since it was only $70 for FL+ and the park was only open till 7, we decided that unless upon arrival the park was magically dead we would probably buy it as soon as we got there. As I said, we are Cleveland natives so Kings Island is a very easy trip that we make a couple times a year so that also made us a little hesitant to buy the FL+ passes since we ride all these rides a lot.

When we got to the park at about 10:30 there weren't many cars in the lot yet even though passholder early entry was under way. The line at the fastlane booth was long so we just went to Mystic Timbers and Diamondback to get a quick ride on each. We could see from the DB lift hill that the lot was already starting to fill in a bit more but we still weren't totally sold on the fastlane passes yet. This changed when we went over to Beast not five minutes after opening and the line was already down the ramp. That signaled to us that while it may not be packed, there would be some lines and on a short day for two people who do nothing but hop from ride to ride while we're at park, fastlane would be a good idea.

Lines didn't get too long but we did see lines over a half hour for Flight of Fear and Diamondback, and 20-30 lines for many of the other major coasters. That all being said, we got our money's worth on the fastlane passes by a long shot. We rode Mystic Timbers 8 times, Diamondback 6 times, Beast 3 times, Firehawk, Racer, Drop Tower, and Banshee twice each, and Adventure Express, Boo Blasters, Back Lot Stunt Coaster, Flight of Fear, and The Bat once each. We also ate twice using our meal plans all in eight hours. Again, the crowds weren't off the charts by any means and we would have had a great day without Fastlane, we were still very happy with our investment. So thank you again to Prozach626 for the suggestion.

We waited until just before closing time to get our last ride ever on Firehawk and we ended up on the final train of the day in the last row which is where we had ridden earlier in the day too. We both thought the ride was actually running really well and that loop in the backrow is one of my favorite parts of any coaster at Kings Island. After that though it was time to say goodbye forever and to head out of Kings Island after an amazing day at a great park. I can't wait to get back for Winterfest and some more rides on Mystic Timbers which is still as great as ever.

Ok time for a plug that I have no shame for. Here's a link to my trip report thread if you'd like to read: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=75821 Maybe some love will give me the motivation to catch up