Erik Johnson Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 (edited) Hello there! It has been a while! I recently returned from a multiple day trip that covered a total of eight parks. Parks that include: Indiana Beach, Kings Island, Coney Island, Kentucky Kingdom, Beech Bend, Holiday World, Goliath Media Day at Six Flags Great America, and Michigan's Adventure. It was a great trip as I have not been to most of these parks since the very first TPR U.S. trip in 2007. If you happen to be doing the New Hotness tour in a few weeks, most of these parks are on that same trip. Park #1. Indiana Beach: I was happy to be able to return to this park as it was my favorite park on the TPR trip in 2007. I am also happy to report than the coasters were running just as good, if not better, than my last visit. Though I should say that I think that Lost Coaster may be near the end of it's run unless they put in some more money to fix it up. It is true that the park is not as good as it used to be when it was under the old ownership. It was especially evident on how much slower they run the flat rides. With that said, we still had a good time at the park. Steel Hawg was added since my last visit, so it was a new coaster credit for me. I found it to be quite fun. Very smooth and I surprisingly found the restraints to be quite comfortable. Ok let us head on to the photos. Enjoy! Where should we go first? Good morning Chicago. There is no way that we are going to stop here. There is a whole lot of nothing out here. Looks like we made it! Maybe this explains why we heard several Madonna songs during the day. Steel Hawg. First new coaster credit for me in 2014. Name of the coaster. Rules of the ride. I thought the ride was really fun. Also it is very smooth. Even for a tall person, I found the restraints to be comfortable. This was the scary part. One last photo. New credit alert!! New credit alert!! Looks like a dragon wagon is being built. Maybe it will be ready in time for the upcoming TPR trip. Flyers are my favorite flat ride. Though they no longer run as well as they used too. A Canadian Flyer. This is a sign of greatness. The back row is still really great. Cornball! Still in my top 15 wooden coaster list. I found The Hoosier Hurricane to be running better than my last rides in 2007. Station photo. But I bet you knew that already. It is easily the most photogenic coaster in the park. Pretty much the classic coaster photo of the park. I was happy that our ride was pretty good. No, we did not forget you. Wheeeeee! I was kind of sad to see the Paratrooper running quite a bit slower than it did in 2007. Whoa! Something is totally missing! I had no idea they removed a coaster. Last coaster of the day. I am happy to see them get it going later in the day. The coaster is unfortunately a shell of it's former self. It was down to only one train and it kept getting stuck inside the mountain. The swing ride is still good. I guess this ropes attraction had been added since last visit. You can get nice photos of the park from the big wheel. Flats of the park. Den of Lost Thieves! Arrrgh! See if you can beat my score if 1740! I guess there is! Yay Pinball! The Double Shot is good! Here is a map of the park. The upcharge walkthrough is worth your time and money. Ok, two more Steel Hawg photos. Good ride! Thanks for reading. Part 2 (Kings Island) coming soon. Edited July 9, 2014 by Erik Johnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrillerman1 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Yay pinball indeed! That's a great line-up of classic pins. It's been too long since I was last at IB..need to get back there. Thanks for this update! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Looks like a fun little park sporting a great location. Just love osceanside/lakeside parks far more than most modern parks which are just in the middle of nowhere. With their collection of classic pinball machines I guess I will have restrain myself to not miss any of the credits next year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Great pictures. It's a shame they slowed the flats down though... it's becoming harder and harder to find properly run flat rides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 ^any German carnival Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbill Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Haha well I should have rephrased that to say "In America". Take the Paratrooper for example, the only parks I can think of that run a good program on a Paratrooper are Knoebels and Fun Spot. The one at Fun Spot in Orlando is better than the one in Kissimmee but the rim driven models (that stay up and load 2 at a time) are always the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon8899 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 We have some older of these around doing the smaller carnivals here. But sadly as far as I know the best ones from Schwarzkopf I remember as a kid are sadly no longer around. They really swung you up - like shown in the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 That Galaxi was pretty good, as I recall. Nice to hear that Cornball and Hoosier are running well (I like Cornball quite a bit). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper39 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Great report, looking forward to the rest of your trip. Glad to hear that Cornball is still running well, I did really like that ride during my only visit to the park. I know this is a park a lot of people really like but for some reason I wasn't as fond of it. It was okay, had a pretty solid collection of rides but it almost felt like there was too much going on in the space they had, I can't really explain it but I just didn't care for it as much as some people do. A lot of people had compared it to Knoebles but to me comparing IB to Knoebles is like comparing Six Flags America to Six Flags over Georgia, they're similar but there's really not much comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jynx242 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Thanks for the pictures! I always really enjoy Indiana Beach. Sad to hear that the "insane" cycle isn't being run on the flats like it used to though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koasterking48 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 There is a whole lot of nothing out here. Probably the best way to describe Indiana in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beatle11 Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Great pics! Looking forward to more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted July 4, 2014 Author Share Posted July 4, 2014 (edited) Kings Island Part 1. This was my third visit to Kings Island. The last time was in 2009 when Diamondback first opened. Banshee proved to be really good. It really surprised me. It is easily the best new B&M coaster in quite a while. I ended up riding it twice. Once in the front and once in the back. The first drop did take me by surprise. Quick and intense. The back row certainly had more forces. Diamondback was still pretty much running the same as it did opening year. Overall the park seemed to be a bit nicer than my last visit. Everything looked clean and fresh. The rides ops were friendly and fast. Easily a great visit to the park. I will do this as two updates. Good morning Kings Island! The real reason why digital cameras were invented. They are used to help you remember where your car is located. I guess there is something new this year. We decided to hit Diamondback first. We rode in the back row. It seemed to be running as well as it did the week after opening in 2009. Sploosh Part 1 Sploosh Part 2. Call me strange, but I always liked The Beast. Well Happy Birthday! Another train of happy riders. Random Rubik's Cube. Hooray Banshee! The station looks like a church. Ooooooo....pretty. Yeah there is a full queue of people. It took about 90 minutes. Rules of the ride. Would it be wrong if I snuffed out the flame? Through the loop! The new trains are pretty comfortable. Our first ride was on the front row. Yes, it is really tall. Let us go check out Flight Deck! Ooops, I mean The Bat. This is definitely a much better use of this old Son Of Beast station. Everything is orange. Bat, Bat, Bat, Bat. They could have called it the Bacardi ride. The trains looks good. Flight Of Fire!!!! For some reason it was closed. Windseeker Credit! Don't break down..don't break down. Oops, I forgot to ride this today. I always like going to the top. Diamondback! Sploosh! Edited July 5, 2014 by Erik Johnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share Posted July 5, 2014 Coney Island and Kings Island Part 2 We decided to drive on down to Coney Island for a couple of hours. It is about a 35 minute drive. This was my first time to visit the park. While it is nice, it is quite small. They do have one coaster and an assortment of flat rides. It really was a good way to escape the crowds of KI (We were too cheap to buy a express pass band this visit). We did return to KI to get another ride on Banshee as well as a night ride on a The Beast. For me it is tradition to always finish off my day at KI with a night ride on The Beast. Coney Island, my first visit. The main gate. Maybe this is considered the main gate. Yes, they do have a roller coaster here. The current name is simply Python. It used to be called The Pepsi Python. Rules of the ride. Station photo. I found the ride to be on the scary side. Once you have ridden it, you will know. Let us check out the rest of the park. The main reason the original park moved (which became Kings Island) was due to flooding. The park was pretty nice. Here is a map. I think this is new for this year. I am always thinking about your project Larry. I am not much for crazy flat rides. My brain is scrambled enough. This was running at a really fast speed. They have one of these now rare Roll-O-Plane. You get into one of these cages of death. Then by using your weight, and the handle, you can spin yourself silly. Here is another look at Python's train. While nice, the park is really small. I do not think we were there for much more than 90 minutes. We are greeted by a rather large dinosaur on our return to KI. I love air conditioning. Hello Mr. Diamondback. It is starting to get dark. That means it is time for a night Beast ride. Getting darker now. My final night ride on The Beast is probably my favorite thing to do in the park. Unchained....at night. Good Night Beast. Good Night Kings Island. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeydad Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Sad to here about LoCoSuMo...hopefully they get to making the necessary repairs in the off-season. That ride still ranks with me as probably the "Most I've Ever Laughed On A Coaster" Such a fun, goofy ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 The "Pepsi" Python? A poisonous serpent, indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share Posted July 5, 2014 Kentucky Kingdom. Our next park was Kentucky Kingdom. As many of you already know is that the park just reopened a few weeks ago after being closed for almost 5 years. I am happy to say that it is back, and there was very little evidence that the park just reopened after being closed for so long. Everything looked either new, cleaned up, and repainted. The staff seemed to already be well trained and friendly. The new coaster is a lot of fun. The water park continues to be fantastic. It really has a great selection of attractions. Even if you do not like water parks, you should at least give Deluge a ride. Thunder Run, which was closed during my last visit, was running great as well. If you are in the area, you should spend some time in the park. Just remember to bring your swimsuit as well. Certainly a good crowd waiting for Kentucky Kingdom to open up. Behind us as well. We see you new drop tower. I have not been here since 2007. Yes you are! The current map. Lightning Run currently opens an hour later after the park. The waterpark here is really good. Be sure to spend some time in it. We see you future T3. It took us a few extra minutes to find it. Here is Thunder Run. Ride entrance. Rules of the ride. Up the lift it goes. Rocky Mountain Coaters re tracked the entire ride. It is running really well. I imagine it is running the best it ever has. Through the trees. After multiple rides, we decided row two was the best. Didn't Six Flags say that this was not salvageable. Here it comes! It does create a huge splash. Can't see anything. Soaked! Once Twisted Twins is back open (and fixed up), this is scheduled to reopen in 2016. The shoes are back! Everything looks really cleaned up or new. Theming. It is noon, time to go check this out. Test seat. If you happen to be a larger person, make sure you test this out first. The restraints are a bit unforgiving. Rules of the ride! The line took about 60 minutes from this point due to using only one train, slow dispatching, and mechanical issues. First train of the day. There is a ton of great air time on this crazy machine. Station photo. Up they go! It really is a great ride. The restraints were very RMC. I wonder if they had something to do with it. While comfortable, they are pretty unforgiving for larger riders. Off they go! Wheeeee! Great first drop! Lots of airtime. I mean a ton of airtime. The bunny hops in particular are crazy. They did have a few issues with the final break run. There are always bugs to work out on a brand new ride. My chariot awaits. We see you second train. I love these drinking fountains. You can fill up your water bottle easily with these. New ride for the park. Yes, I am a flyers fanboy. Rules of the ride. They were pretty good, though they needed a little more speed. Another new ride. These drop towers are so scary. Rules of the ride. These rides are fun. You never know when you reach the top. The drop is also immediate when you get to the drop. Is the Breakdance new too? Wheeee.... Good to see some of the original trash cans are still around. This is where Chang used to be. You really can get a good view of the park from up here. Downtown Louisville. Lightning Run. The two trains of Lightning Run. The waterpark received a huge expansion as well. This is where Chang used to be. More new attractions. The SLC will reopen next year and be renamed T3. I hope it will run better than it did as T2. I think it is the very first SLC in The United States. Very Elissa friendly. I am glad to see Deluge is still here, and operational. Sorry for my lack of good photos, but it is a fantastic water coaster. Again, the waterpark is awesome. We did do the 5D attraction. I can't say it was fantastic, but it is a great way to cool off. I had to laugh pretty hard at the sign. I guess the theming was a bit too realistic. What a deal! It really is a big wheel. The Big Wheel and Lightning Run. Had a great visit, happy to see it back open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLex Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Great trip report! I was able to ride the Coney Island Python earlier this summer, and it definitely has its moments of "WHY AM I ON THIS??" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share Posted July 5, 2014 ^ It was probably the scariest ride on the trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaykethekid Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Did they allow the single tubes on the proslide topsy turvy/ tornado12. All of the ones I have been on required you to sit in the front of a double tube to ride alone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koasterking48 Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 ^ Yes. I don't know why, but it is always awesome to see someone from outside this area go to all of the parks I hit annually. It's just interesting to me to see my regular trips through someone else's eyes... I've enjoy reading this TR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great Zo Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Nice report so far. Great to see some updated stuff from the parks I'll be visiting in a few weeks! Do you remember where the 1997 flood sign at Coney Island is located? Would love to get a picture of that myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiMiT Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 I don't know if you needed an answer to this question or not, but Breakdance existed in the park before it closed. It looks a lot better with the new paint though, because it used to be a boring beige color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy T. Koepp Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Great TR Erik. Sorry I missed you on this one. I am hoping to get up to Kentucky Kingdom soon and Ride Lightning Run. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rollertoaster Posted July 7, 2014 Share Posted July 7, 2014 For me it is tradition to always finish off my day at KI with a night ride on The Beast. I agree, The Beast at night= awesomeness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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