Kings Island trip report

This is basically a trip report and review atthe same time. This was my first time at Kings Island also which I decided on Friday afternoon that I was going to take the 6 hour drive front St. Louis and stay with a friend in Columbus to go.

So here is a pretty decent trip report/review of the park and rides. I'll do the park first.
I got off the interstate and followed the signs to the park. It was average to find. The signs were all pretty small and sort of hidden by trees. So it was a little challenging to find the parking lot. But once I found it there was no problem. The parking lot was laid out very well and very easy to understand where to go. The price of Parking was actually reasonable compared to what I'm used to at Six Flags but it was still higher than it should it be. But at this point that doesn't surprise me. When I walk in the front gate everything looks beautiful. Everything looked super clean and well maintained which I was happy about. So I grab a map and try to figure out where I want to start. This is where my main complaint of the park lies. Compared to other parks this was challenging to navigate. Most parks I can figure my way around before I leave but I still had to use the map to even get to the exit when leaving. But that is a minor complaint. My usual complaint with parks is that they have the designated smoking area too close to where the paths are and you have to go out of your way to avoid them but here I only managed to walk by one the entire day which made me happy. And that was when trying to find the exit. Obviously food prices are over priced like normal. The big thing that struck a chord with me about here though is good the employees were. First every time someone had a flash pass the ride operators would ask if it was okay to them give them your seat before doing it. I really appreciate this instead of just letting them go without even telling you. It's more respectful. Then Diamondback broke down in the afternoon and instead of the workers just sitting there twiddling their thumbs they were asking trivia questions and just enjoying themselves. And a little later all the coasters shut down due to weather while I was in line for Mystic Timbers. Most of the line is outside and it was a downpour. The workers brought everyone in line up to the station, which was covered, to get them out of the rain. Then he was doing animal trivia with everyone. It just showed that the employees actually and try to have fun with everyone.

Now onto the rides. I didn't ride any of the flat rides mainly because I just wanted to do all the coasters and a couple more than once so that was my main priority. All the coasters were really good. And here are reviews of each as I rode them.
Flight of Fear: This coaster was the first to have an LIM launch on it. It basically launches you into a dark room and goes through twists, turns and loops all in the dark. It's fun and you get some quality Gs on it. And it was the first I've been on so there wasn't much to compare it to. So I give it a 7/10.
The Firehawk: This is a flying coaster. But it's different from normal flyers. You start above the tracks instead of below. But it still doesn't even compare to the likes of Tatsu and Manta. It's fun and worth having at the park since there is only one other flyer in the Midwest. I give it a 6/10.
From here I went to the new coaster Mystic Timbers. It's amazing. The way the lines were great. The look of the trains were beautiful. I loved how they made everything look all rusty for being a new coaster. The trains feel very comfortable, it was a smooth ride, the 16 airtime hills are unreal. The only negative I have to say is the "what's in the shed"gimmick was overhyped. It really was nothing special. I rode this twice today. Once in the front and once in the back. When I rode in the front was I hesitant on what was the best coaster in the park but after riding in the back I call this the best of the park. I give it a 9.5/10
Diamondback: This was only my second B&M Hyper I've ridden. It was a phenomenal ride with crazy airtime. The way the trains were set up made it even better. But the sad reality is it still wasn't a good as Nitro. I feel that this is the only problem with B&M hypers is that they're all so good but there has to to be a top and I feel that nothing they can do will ever compete with Nitro. I still give it a 9/10
Vortex: Now I've honestly never been a huge fan of these corkscrew coasters because everyone I've ever been on has always just hurt so bad. I still always ride them though. While this was far from a perfect experience, I will still say it's the best of the bunch. It's more smooth that any other I've ridden before. And the two corkscrews are better than any other I've went on. I give it a solid 6.5/10.
The Beast: This coaster was one that ever since I was in high school I had dreamed of going on. It had the reputation for being one of the best woodens for awhile until El Toro and Voyage opened. The first drop is wicked but from here until the second lift Hill, everything was pretty boring and uninteresting. I just thought to myself how this could be a top coaster. Then the second drop happened and it was easily the best part of the whole ride. From the 18 degree drop into the backwards helix was so good. The forces were unbelievable right there. But sadly it wasn't enough to make up for the first part. So I can only give it a 7.5/10.
The Racer: it was fun. It was your typical out and back Racer. Nothing too special about it but it's enjoyable. A little rough and every Hill was just a boing instead of airtime so that was disappointing. I give it a 5.5/10
Adventure Express: this was probably the best mine train I've been on. Even though it's a pretty run of the mill mine train, something about it made it great. But I have to give this a 7/10
Banshee: this is a hard one to write. I've never been huge fan of B&M inverts just because I'm used to Batman at Six Flags parks and they always hurt so bad. Now I had heard this was great but never really believed it because of this. But I was completely wrong. This was one of my favorites in the park and even makes it in my top 5 ever for sure. The first drop is wild, the entire ride is as smooth as their hypers, the forces are unreal, I was so surprised and this would have been my favorite were it not be for the back of Mystic Timbers. Easily a perfect ride that I can't think of any negatives on. The restraints are great, the queue is great. The only reason Mystic Timbers beat this out is because wooden coaster are one of my favorites. So a 9.5 is based on the disappointing shed hype and if that wasn't a thing then it would have been 10/10 also. Because this is an Easy 10/10.
The Bat: I've never been on many of these style of Inverted. But this one was actually pretty thrilling and fast. I was pretty cool and actually quite enjoyable. I give it a 7/10.
Invertigo: I don't really like Boomerang style and this didn't really change my mind at all. Pretty rough and kinda boring. Can't go better than 5/10.
Woodstock Express: I only rode this for the count and this was a pretty boring coaster. But I'm not the target demographic though so I'm not going to give it a score.
But yeah overall this is a great park and I'm very happy I was finally able to make it here. More reason that Cedar Fair is the dominant company outside of Six Flags. Easy 9/10 park.

Brandon