Kings Island contacted my dad's work and told them that they wanted them to book a company picnic there, so they gave us four VIP passes with free admission that included Diamondback and Beast ERT in the morning, a chance to meet the cast of two shows after they were over, and free admission to Dinosaurs Alive. Since my sister is in band and they had a competition today, I got to bring a friend, so I picked the infamous Andrew aka Ralph, who is known for getting motion sickness and puking everywhere, hence the dreadful nickname.
I knew the day would be crazy when we picked up Andrew and he gave me one of these "cheese-flavored" peanuts that he had been talking about. I popped it into my mouth expecting a cheese-flavored peanut...WRONG!!! I popped it into my mouth as it felt like flames engulfed my tongue. It wasn't making my nose run and I wasn't crying or anything, it was just pure pain in my mouth. He said it was revenge for tricking him into looking up Lemon Party a few months ago, and I wanted to get back at him, but I thought we should just enjoy the day at Kings Island.
We got there just in time for the gates to open and be let in. My dad told me to get a picture of our car being the only one in the parking lot, since this was even before the other VIPs arrived.
First thing I noticed was Invertigo's awesome new paint job. I really like it, it looks incredible now. Much better than the red and yellow it used to have. Though the sign is still the old colors so I don't like that, and the wheel covers, while the lime green looked awesome with the red and yellow, is hideous with the new blue colors. Hopefully they paint the trains too at some point.
Andrew and I flashing our tickets and VIP passes at the gate! (me on the left, Andrew on the right)
Our first ride was Diamondback. We were there so early that we walked on in the very front row and got two rides in. Andrew was fine the first time around but puked the second time. We then hit The Beast which Andrew sat out, but I rode with my dad and had an awesome time. I have been waffling between Thunderhead and The Beast for my favorite wooden coaster, and having ridden both in the same season, The Beast gobbles Thunderhead up and craps it all over the smokies, as Rob Alvey would say. After that we rode Adventure Express with Andrew, and he was fine on it. Loved the theming (as decaying as it is, I found it depressing after seeing it with all the effects turned on when I was little) but the magic was ruined on the last lift because a wall panel had fallen out and light was pouring in, and the lava from the statue didn't light up.
While in that area we headed over to Flight Deck to find it shut down (it didn't reopen but I saw them testing it.) However, we didn't want a trip to the corner of the park to go to waste so we asked the ride attendant guarding Flight Deck's queue if we could do a bit of snooping in the old Son of Beast queue and she was cool with it, so we went in (it's easy to get in, there's just a bench in front of it but the cattlepen had a gate on it) and took it in. I didn't take any pictures since there wasn't any evidence of deconstruction but I did get one of the last ones that will ever be taken of the world's most epic engineering fail.
We then hit Dinosaurs Alive! I know, it seems like a stupid waste of precious park time, but it was an upcharge that was free with our VIP passes, so we thought, "what the heck?" and went with my parents because they thought it would be cool, although I thought they were nuts. What a stupid thing to think! As much of a gaudy waste of time, space, and money this attraction seems like it would be to both the park and guests, it's actually really cool. The animatronics are a bit weird, but the dinosaurs are REALLY lifelike, and it's in the woods. They had stacked bales of hay around it for Halloween and the leaves are changing here in the midwest, so that made it nice. Some of the displays are really neat (they had some in a natural creek, some dinosaurs stuck in quicksand) and the bigger ones are insane!
The problem with this, though, is that it won't attract people. It was a ghost town while we were walking through, I don't think I saw more than two families on the whole thing. We did it because it's free, but with the five dollar upcharge I don't think I'd do it if I had to pay. That, and there's really no reason to go back. Plunging down that huge drop on Diamondback is something I'd do multiple times, but this is one of those, "once you've seen it, you've seen it," type things, something parks should avoid at all costs. I honestly don't see this attraction living to see 2015. It's cool though, if you can afford it and it sounds cool to you I'd do it while it's around.
I couldn't help but notice the indigenous Australian drawings on the fence despite the Boomerang Bay/Soak City transition. I think it would look better if they whitewashed it to at least look nice with the new (lack of) theme.
Flying Ace and Diamondback with a bit of Windseeker.
Artsy shot of Flying Ace.
Nice picture I got of Diamondback in action.
Possibly the best shot I've gotten of Kings Island.
Vortex looming over The Beast's station. I rode The Beast with Andrew again and made another decision. I've started on my Halloween coasters and my RCT3 one was going to be my first custom supported woodie that was going to have a werewolf theme and be inspired by The Beast. I didn't get through the layout, but having ridden The Beast, I'm giving it another go in NoLimits.
SPLASH!!!!!
Le me being artsy...again. On a side note, those Charlie Brown stripes around the tower are grotesque. They need to rip those right off of there, they look horrible.
We then went to go meet my parents in the Festhaus (we had left them to go ride Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown, the park's log flume) to go catch British Invasion. The show was awesome, and since both of us do musical theatre and Andrew does show choir, talking to these actors was like talking to most of the people we work with; it's like a huge theatre family. We swapped stories from backstage with these people, and Andrew and I got a picture with this guy dressed like Elton John.
My parents went to go catch ANOTHER show after this, but seeing as the show was 70's music which is mostly torture you can hear, Andrew and I left for Vortex, but found that they had filled up all of the cattlepens, so we left for Backlot Stunt Coaster. Andrew's only launched coasters before were Maverick and Wicked Twister (and he blew CHUNKS on Wicked Twister and made a bunch of girls run away screaming, it was funny) so hadn't had much experience with them. And he loved it. We rode in the very front and despite the helix and dark portion, he was okay with it. Our MINI was showcased in the park on opening day and it was the first ride we got ERT on, so that one holds a special place in my heart as the first ride I've had special privileges on. Really glad I got Andrew on it.
After that, we hit The Racer. I knew Andrew would have no problem on it, so it seemed like an appropriate choice since it was close by. I gave him a bit of a history lesson on why it's historic and told him that my mom remembered seeing it from the highway as a kid, so he was well aware of how old it was. So I'm once again unable to get the restraint down that last click so I know I'll be thrown around a lot, but his goes all the way down with room to spare. Spends the entire ride whining about how rough it is and when we pull into the brakes, he complains that it was beating his head against the headrest. I noticed that he was sliding down in his seat, so I told him, "that's why you sit up when you ride." Then I noticed that I was slouching a bit myself, so I sat up and created more space between my lap and my restraint. Words cannot DESCRIBE how irritated I was when I got my restraint down that last click in the brake run.
Wonder what they're doing with The Crypt's old building...
After that, we hit The Beast, and Andrew and I did the Hunger Games salute to the camera (we're in the back.) Also, this reminded me of how funny riding with a group of mostly or all girls can be. It sounded like a One Direction concert full of squealing 14-year old girls every time we hit a drop or intense turn. Not trying to be mean or anything, though. We talked coasters with them in the queue and they were actually very nice.
Nice shot of Diamondback.
Another Diamondback shot taken from The Beast's queue.
Goodbye, Kings Island! We left early to avoid Hurricane Isaac which was barreling towards us and now it's pouring down rain as I type this.
