Well, I finally made my first trip ever to Kings Island. And I can't wait to get back. I wasn't able to ride everything that I wanted to, but what I did ride was a blast.
We were in Cincinatti (or more accurately, Fort Mitchell, KY) for my father-in-law's Vietnam War reunion. He was in the 196th Light Infantry brigade, and they have a re-union every two years. Rebecca, her sister (Heather), her brother (David) and Jack (Heather's son) went with us for the trip. We got to Cinci on Wednesday, and decided that Thursday was as good a day as any for Kings Island.
We got a bit of a late start for the park, so we didn't arrive until about noon. It was pretty overcast and threatening to rain almost all day. While walking from our car to the gate, Face-Off was just starting to run. It took Rebecca and myself 15-20 minutes to get through the Season Pass process, and it's still weird having a pass with no picture on it.
We took our time wandering back to beast, ducking through Nick Universe. I'd wanted to ride the Scooby Doo Haunted Mansion, but wanted to get to the coasters first. After a short stop at Chik-Fil-A (we didn't eat before getting there) we found our way back to the Beast. Now is when I should mention something. Jack is 11 months old. And since the [url="http://www.pki.com"]Kings Island[/url] website is fairly weak on Parent Swap details, we were all the way back to The Beast before finding out that we needed to go to guest services to get the Parent Swap stuff. So, we did the old-fashioned parent swap. David and I rode first and then the girls rode second. We switched up partners all day, so it worked ok, but definitely slowed us down.
The wait for The Beast was only about 10-15 minutes, and David and I rode towards the front of the train. I can only say one thing, what the hell was this like when it was new. Because if it was this awesome at almost 30, then it must have kicked serious ASS when it was new. This was the best ride of the day.
The second ride of the day was Italian Job: Stunt Track was our next endeavor. Rebecca and I rode first after about a 15-20 minute wait (this seemed to be the theme of the day). Another GREAT ride. The first launch is great and it just keeps doing. We also both loved the working doors on the trains, and the fire from the front seat is great.
While waiting for Heather and David, I determined we would do Vortex next. Just looking at an arrow looper that size was giving me shivers. I have always been a fan of Arrows, and until Cedar Point decided that improperly thought out seat-belts were a good idea on CorkScrew, it was one of my favorite rides in the park. So, needless to say, I was a bit disappointed to see buckles on the horse-collars of Vortex. I shouldn't have been worried. The belts were made more than long enough for even a larger rider such as myself to make it connect. I really hope Cedar Point makes the switch. Vortex provided a somewhat rough, but still fun ride.
Our next stop was back to Flight of Fear and SuperFireMan:Ultimate X Hawk Flight. Heather and I rode FoF first, and it was good. I must say though, that I enjoyed Rockin Rollercoaster better. FoF would have been much better if it was pitch black inside. Even Space Mountain was darker.
While Rebecca and David went to ride FoF, I went to ride FireHawk on my own. After waiting through a 15 minute break-down that hit at about the 30 minute mark, I managed to cut way ahead in the line but answering the call for a single rider. Running to the station to make it before they locked it down, I was going to be in the back row. Now that I have ridden it, I will never get on another Vekoma flyer. It really wasn't that good, and the harness left me with an uneasy feeling throughout the ride. Combine that with the fact that I couldn't look forward to see where we were going (although from watching it, I knew the whole ride) made it rather un-enjoyable.
Since this took me longer than expected, we were after 6 at this point, and since Dad was back at the hotel, and getting hungry (as were the others) I was only able to hit one more ride, but I still had Son of Beast, Top Gun, Face-off and the Racer. Well, I chose Top Gun, (did I mention I love arrows) and it was ok. It was fun, but it wasn't great, pretty much an Iron Dragon on steroids. I kept waiting for that second lift hill, but the whipping through the trees is what Dragon should be like.
Overall, I enjoyed the park, and I think next year, we are going to make plans to go again at least once, if not twice. And that will be without kids, so we should be able to hit much more multiple times.
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