Kings Island/ Kentucky Kingdom TR
Well as planned we headed out for Kings Island at 5:00am Thursday morning. My youngest son didn't want to go, and my daughter's social life prevented her from joining us. My oldest Zak, who just recently turned 24 and my 17 year old son Hayden, joined me. It was nice that Zak was able to go. He hasn't joined us in an amusement park trips for a couple of years, and this would be his first ever visit to Kings Island.
We arrived at the park at 9:30. I let Hayden use my Goal Pass to get early entry, so he could ride Mystic Timbers. At 10:00 Zak and I headed for Mystic Timbers as well. Now come to find out, they let Hayden get in line, but didn't open Mystic Timbers until 10:00. I think in the morning we grabbed 4 rides on Mystic Timbers. I added another 10 rides throughout the day for a total of 14 laps. Hayden and Zak logged 11 and 10 laps themselves on Mystic Timbers. Being Zak had never been to Kings Island we wanted to ride every coaster. When he wanted to ride Firehawk, Flight Of Fear, and Vortex, I went to Mystic Timbers. Zak and Hayden really liked Mystic Timbers, and Hayden said its a top 10 wooden coaster for him also. It was Hayden's 354th different coaster.
Next up I think was Diamondback. We got 6 rides on it throughout the day, and I have say I enjoyed the front row this year more than the back seat. The back seat has developed a shake. Zak couldn't decide if his favorite coaster at Kings Island was Diamondback or Banshee. We rode Banshee 7 times throughout the day also. Front seat is my favorite on Banshee, but Zak liked it in any seat. Zak agreed that Banshee is his favorite B&M invert. With Zak visiting Kings Island his coaster count is now up to 138. Like I said, he doesn't get a chance to go with us too often.
The Beast was down early in the morning, but opened up later in the day. We did grab 2 front seat rides that were just trimmed all to heck. The Beast is good ride, but I'm not a huge fan like most people. We did ride all the other coaster once like Red Racer, Blue Racer, The Bat, Invertigo, Adventure Express, Woodstock Express, Flying Ace, and Back Lot Stunt Coaster. Like I said earlier, I decided to skip Vortex, Firehawk, and Flight Of Fear. We also took a spin on Delirium, rode the Flying Scooters and Boo Blasters.
All in all we never waited more than 10 minutes for anything and some coasters were walk ons. The weather was nice and cool. We got a rain shower, but that's when we ate and by the time we were done eating, everything was running again. Once again we never missed any riding time. We stayed to 8:00pm close and drove half way to Louisville to Carrollton KY and got a room.
The next day we woke up and headed to Kentucky Kingdom. I was 10 miles from Kentucky Kingdom and the check engine light came on in the car. We had plans for a park on Saturday, either Indiana Beach or Holiday World. Well, I decided to go to Kentucky Kingdom for the day, the drive home right after. My 17 year old son, Hayden was given his grandmother's old car on his 17th birthday. We took his car and come to find out it was the thermostat. Its a good thing we did head home after Kentucky Kingdom.
Anyway we arrived at Kentucky Kingdom before opening. I met one of friends that lives in Louisville. We had trouble with the Ace tickets I purchased online for $20 a piece that included unlimited drinks. We had to go to Guest Services. They took care of the problem in a timely fashion and we ran back to Storm Chaser. I've been to Kentucky Kingdom 3 years in a row now and it was more crowded than I ever saw it. Even with a decent crowd in the park we grabbed 10 rides on Storm Chaser in the first hour and a half. It was Hayden's #355 different coaster. Hayden was there in 2015, but wasn't there last year. Zak was actually at Kentucky Kingdom last year, due to his work. All of us have Storm Chaser in our top 5 favorite steel coasters. Throughout the day we added 13 more rides for 23 rides total. Last year I got 25 rides in one day, and liked the back seat better. This year I liked the front seat better. Its absolute heaven for me to ride a top 5 steel coaster 23 times in one day. One of the reasons I will visit Kentucky Kingdom every year now.
Kentucky Kingdom other great steel coaster is Lightning Run, and it's my #10 favorite steel coaster. They were running 2 trains and we rode it 4 times throughout the day. It's a coaster that I did marathon back in 2015. With Storm Chaser, I now end up marathoning Storm Chaser instead.
We rode Lightning Run once in the front seat. There is a ton of new wood on it and it is running smooth, fast, and full of air time. I would even go to say that I enjoyed my ride of Thunder Run more than The Beast the day before. They also put a new train on Thunder Run. Kentucky Kingdom now has a trio of coasters that is probably as good as any park in North America. We did grab a back seat ride on the painful T3.
We rode some flats, including their new The Eye Of The Storm. It's a Larson Loop, but ran very fast like the one at Six Flags America. Very fun ride, but I consider it a flat ride and not a credit. We also rode their Huss Breakdance, their drop tower, and their swinging pirate ship. The kids rode their Frisbee that completely inverts. I rode it 2015 and passed on it this time.
All in all another incredible day of riding some fantastic coasters and spending time with the kids and my friend. We left the park at 7:30 and arrived home at 2:00am. Even though our trip was cut short we had an incredible time. With Gale Force opening this weekend, I'm planning a trip to The Jersey Shore next weekend for Gale Force and Hydrus at Casino Pier, as long as Hayden's car doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
Thanks for reading,
Ken
at 5/28/17 9:42:30 PM
You are 100% correct about DB, the rattling in the back is horrible this year. I've always favored the front over the back even before this season.
I also think the Beast is extremely overrated. Sure it's a great night ride and I had my most epic coaster ride all time on it (dark + fog = awesome). But, the ground and pound, with no air time and the trim brakes give me little reason to ride it very often.
Sorry to hear about the car issue, but glad you had fun and made it home safely.
at 5/29/17 8:41:38 AM
at 5/31/17 5:30:24 PM
Can't put a price on spending time with the older children since said time becomes (is) hard to come by.
So this was Thursday & Friday, May 25 -26?
I'd like to make a note for future reference.
at 6/1/17 6:11:54 PM
at 6/1/17 10:28:35 PM
at 6/2/17 11:18:34 PM
Thanks for the tip about the back row of Diamondback being somewhat unpleasant; I loved that ride on my last trip, but hopefully we can avoid the back so my husband doesn't get a headache & decide to stop riding! I forget, do they assign riders to rows on that one, or do you get to choose a row?
I have a bad feeling that the lines will be a lot longer when I go in mid-June than when you were there! We might even splurge for Fast Lane passes one of our days, if the lines are bad. We have Platinum Passes, so at least we can get in a little early for some early ride time on Mystic Timbers I think.
at 6/5/17 1:32:30 PM
at 6/5/17 2:45:41 PM
frontrow said:
Thanks. The usually don't assign seats on Diamondback, and even if they do, you can request to wait for the front seat. As far as early entry, Kings Island starts theirs at 9:30. On our visit, they let my son in, but Mystic Timbers didn't open until 10:00. It was raining right before we got there, so that was probably the reason for the delay. I'm probably going to stop at Kings Island on Wednesday, being I have to go past it, in order to get to my home port, where I get on the boat. Expect crowds to be moderate on weekdays in June, and very crowded on weekends. With your early entry, you should be able to grab 3-4 rides on Mystic Timbers, before the crowd shows up. Hope you guys have a fun and safe trip.
Thanks for the tips and info. We're staying near Kings Island next Wednesday night through Sunday, then fly home Sunday afternoon. We'll spend some time doing other things around Cincy, hopefully including a Reds game, but we'll somewhat play it by ear based on the weather in terms of deciding which days we spend at Kings Island. If the weather is ok, then we'll aim for Thursday-Friday at the park, possibly with short visits Saturday and/or Sunday.
at 6/5/17 3:17:23 PM
frontrow said:
When he wanted to ride Firehawk, Flight Of Fear, and Vortex, I went to Mystic Timbers.
I'm curious Ken, were you specifically AVOIDING those 3 rides, or was it just that you like Mystic Timbers so much more?
I definitely liked Flight of Fear when I visited about 5 years ago, so if you're avoiding that, I'm wondering if it has deteriorated to become painful or something. I did NOT like Firehawk, because there was a period I think at the very end before they brought the train back to the station when they have you on your back with your feet higher than your head that made me dizzy. I don't recall my opinion of Vortex, but I suspect that was one that I could take or leave.
at 6/5/17 3:55:29 PM
at 6/7/17 6:35:12 PM
at 6/7/17 7:09:14 PM
at 6/19/17 11:38:50 PM
Brandon
