Chris Coasters
Strata Poster
After first talking to Jarrett on skype I knew I would be heading to Kings Island this year. The first time talking to the CF goon of the year he issued a open invitation to crash at his place and do Kings Island and maybe a couple other places. After a couple months of talking and getting to know Jarrett I was ready to go. With a car full of crap my friend Jake and I hit the road to Ohio. The first day with drove from Fall River, MA to Bedford, PA. The following morning we would drive the rest of the distance and around 3ish we arrived at the home of the one and only Jarrett. He came out and greeted us with a warm welcome. We walked inside and met his mom, dog pepper, and mini horse Zoe. We went to a burger place we don't have in New England called smashburger. It was brilliant and I am sad we don't have them around here. We waited impatiently but eventually we were on the road to Kings Island. I didn't take any pictures on the first day because it was at night and we were there from 6 to midnight so my phone died. We went back the following morning so I am just going to highlight all of the coasters and give my thoughts on them since I didn't take any pictures the first day.
Invertigo - Crap
Adventure Express is probably the best mine train I have been on I really enjoyed the ride. It has a great ball busting end to the ride because you think after this cool lifthill it will have a great drop but no. I overall liked the ride and we rode it twice, once at night.
Being a massive fan of the Brady Bunch of course I have seen the episode where they go to Kings Island. The park only had two coasters when they visited and one of them was Racer <3
I rode on both sides and in Ann B. Davis' seat <3 RIP.
One of my favorite racers for its age it was very smooth and compared to its racing brother in Virginia it is pretty much flawless. After Rebel Yell torture in August and with poor expectations for Racer I was very surprised very smooth coaster. We rode each side once.
Firehawk and Flight of Fear are next but I don't have any pictures of them since we only rode them once each at night the day before. Flight of Fear was god awful and it was worse then the one and KD i didn't think it could possibly be worse but it was. KD's was 10 times better. This FoF at KI was absolute trash and incredibly rough.
Firehawk I actually liked. Guilty. You hear it first here Chris Coasters said he likes a vekoma. The restrain system is seriously screwed up but nevertheless the ride wasn't that rough. I liked the inversions and found it fairly smooth. We had a night/rain ride and I loved it. Jake was legitimately scared.
Vortex time. First ride at night was miserable. Next day second ride was great. I could actually see what was coming so I knew how to brace myself but the day before was awful. That night ride made me cringe it was so painful not being able to see where I was going. I really liked it though the next day. I liked all of the inversions but the batwing was the worst of them.
Next up was Backlot Stunt Coaster. Compared to its brother in Virginia it was the same if not a little better. I love these they are good fun. We rode twice once at night and once during the day.
Next on the list is Diamondback.
First ride on Diamondback was at night in the rain. Oh my god was it painful. I literally couldn't open my eyes. I knew it wasn't the coaster but Mother Nature ruined it for me. After a non rainy night ride and a day ride the next day I loved it. I didn't judge the coaster to much after the rain ride but after the other two I can properly critque it. I liked it better than Nitro but not better then Apollo's Chariot IMO. It is closer to Nitro because of the speed and aggressive ride it gives. I still like Apollo better because of the more relaxed speed and airtime. Diamondback brings some great airtime and the drop is brilliant. Loved this ride.
Next up was a Ohio legend and a coaster I was looking forward to because of my new love of wooden coasters. I use to adore steel and hate wood and now I am the opposite. I love wooden coasters much better then steel now but all I needed was a Beast night ride.
Every enthusiast must experience a night ride on Beast. I don't care who or where you are you just have to. There is sign that says best known for its night rides. I had asked Jarrett what was so special about it and he almost smacked me through skype. My first ride on Beast was a night ride so I didn't know what to expect and what to see. I was somewhat familiar with the layout but not too familiar with it. I have only had this feeling twice. As I am riding a ride I think this is why I ride/ love coasters. Those two rides were solo night rides on El Toro and a night ride on Beast. A lot of coasters make me say wow how could you not love coasters after that, what I should say is that those two rides were two of my happiest coaster moments and showed me how much I love coasters. Beast reminded me of Boulder Dash in the speeding through the woods aspect but thats about it. I still like Boulder Dash better than Beast because of Boulder Dash being great all the time. Beast was amazing at night and okay during the day. I think I should of rode it during the day first because after that I can only say how the night rides were much better. But overall beast is great. One of the best wooden coasters and one of the best coasters overall. Love this ride. What a feeling screaming through the woods at 60 plus mph feeling like some wild animal is going to jump out and attack you such a great ride. A MUST RIDE AT NIGHT.
Flying Ace was a crappy plus 1.
Woodstock - Wooden plus 1
We got spited on Great Pumpkin Coaster but we made ourselves known by getting upper park management envolved which I am sure Jarrett will touch upon in his trip report.
The last ride to touch upon which was one of our first rides was BAT. We rode at night and it sucked. Then we rode during the day and it sucked. Awful ride. Iron Dragon for days.
Am I missing something?
I don't think so.
Whats that?
It isn't Son of Beast?
Oh! Banshee! How could I forget Banshee!
Okay so If you noticed the top 10. Banshee is officially the second best steel coaster and the best B&M I have been on. This coaster has zero flaws IMO. For years Talon has been the best invert to me but no more. Banshee is absolutely brilliant. Amazing speed and forces. Every inversion is great. My favorites were the in line and the zero g roll. I loved all of them though. We didn't ride it enough. We had I think 4 rides but I really wanted more. Such a spectacular ride and like I said the best B&M I have been on.
Overall Kings Island is the best Cedar Fair park I have been to. I liked it much better than Cedar Point, KD, and Dorney. I had a great time at the park and the food at the Reds Grill is a must. I was surprised how much I loved the park and really hope to go back sooner rather than later.
I will leave you with Eiffel Tower pictures which are a must.
Stay tuned for the Amazing Holiday World and the not so amazing Coney Island I am sure Jarrett will add any details I missed since I was writing this in a hurry. Thanks for reading!
Invertigo - Crap
Adventure Express is probably the best mine train I have been on I really enjoyed the ride. It has a great ball busting end to the ride because you think after this cool lifthill it will have a great drop but no. I overall liked the ride and we rode it twice, once at night.
Being a massive fan of the Brady Bunch of course I have seen the episode where they go to Kings Island. The park only had two coasters when they visited and one of them was Racer <3
I rode on both sides and in Ann B. Davis' seat <3 RIP.
One of my favorite racers for its age it was very smooth and compared to its racing brother in Virginia it is pretty much flawless. After Rebel Yell torture in August and with poor expectations for Racer I was very surprised very smooth coaster. We rode each side once.
Firehawk and Flight of Fear are next but I don't have any pictures of them since we only rode them once each at night the day before. Flight of Fear was god awful and it was worse then the one and KD i didn't think it could possibly be worse but it was. KD's was 10 times better. This FoF at KI was absolute trash and incredibly rough.
Firehawk I actually liked. Guilty. You hear it first here Chris Coasters said he likes a vekoma. The restrain system is seriously screwed up but nevertheless the ride wasn't that rough. I liked the inversions and found it fairly smooth. We had a night/rain ride and I loved it. Jake was legitimately scared.
Vortex time. First ride at night was miserable. Next day second ride was great. I could actually see what was coming so I knew how to brace myself but the day before was awful. That night ride made me cringe it was so painful not being able to see where I was going. I really liked it though the next day. I liked all of the inversions but the batwing was the worst of them.
Next up was Backlot Stunt Coaster. Compared to its brother in Virginia it was the same if not a little better. I love these they are good fun. We rode twice once at night and once during the day.
Next on the list is Diamondback.
First ride on Diamondback was at night in the rain. Oh my god was it painful. I literally couldn't open my eyes. I knew it wasn't the coaster but Mother Nature ruined it for me. After a non rainy night ride and a day ride the next day I loved it. I didn't judge the coaster to much after the rain ride but after the other two I can properly critque it. I liked it better than Nitro but not better then Apollo's Chariot IMO. It is closer to Nitro because of the speed and aggressive ride it gives. I still like Apollo better because of the more relaxed speed and airtime. Diamondback brings some great airtime and the drop is brilliant. Loved this ride.
Next up was a Ohio legend and a coaster I was looking forward to because of my new love of wooden coasters. I use to adore steel and hate wood and now I am the opposite. I love wooden coasters much better then steel now but all I needed was a Beast night ride.
Every enthusiast must experience a night ride on Beast. I don't care who or where you are you just have to. There is sign that says best known for its night rides. I had asked Jarrett what was so special about it and he almost smacked me through skype. My first ride on Beast was a night ride so I didn't know what to expect and what to see. I was somewhat familiar with the layout but not too familiar with it. I have only had this feeling twice. As I am riding a ride I think this is why I ride/ love coasters. Those two rides were solo night rides on El Toro and a night ride on Beast. A lot of coasters make me say wow how could you not love coasters after that, what I should say is that those two rides were two of my happiest coaster moments and showed me how much I love coasters. Beast reminded me of Boulder Dash in the speeding through the woods aspect but thats about it. I still like Boulder Dash better than Beast because of Boulder Dash being great all the time. Beast was amazing at night and okay during the day. I think I should of rode it during the day first because after that I can only say how the night rides were much better. But overall beast is great. One of the best wooden coasters and one of the best coasters overall. Love this ride. What a feeling screaming through the woods at 60 plus mph feeling like some wild animal is going to jump out and attack you such a great ride. A MUST RIDE AT NIGHT.
Flying Ace was a crappy plus 1.
Woodstock - Wooden plus 1
We got spited on Great Pumpkin Coaster but we made ourselves known by getting upper park management envolved which I am sure Jarrett will touch upon in his trip report.
The last ride to touch upon which was one of our first rides was BAT. We rode at night and it sucked. Then we rode during the day and it sucked. Awful ride. Iron Dragon for days.
Am I missing something?
I don't think so.
Whats that?
It isn't Son of Beast?
Oh! Banshee! How could I forget Banshee!
Okay so If you noticed the top 10. Banshee is officially the second best steel coaster and the best B&M I have been on. This coaster has zero flaws IMO. For years Talon has been the best invert to me but no more. Banshee is absolutely brilliant. Amazing speed and forces. Every inversion is great. My favorites were the in line and the zero g roll. I loved all of them though. We didn't ride it enough. We had I think 4 rides but I really wanted more. Such a spectacular ride and like I said the best B&M I have been on.
Overall Kings Island is the best Cedar Fair park I have been to. I liked it much better than Cedar Point, KD, and Dorney. I had a great time at the park and the food at the Reds Grill is a must. I was surprised how much I loved the park and really hope to go back sooner rather than later.
I will leave you with Eiffel Tower pictures which are a must.
Stay tuned for the Amazing Holiday World and the not so amazing Coney Island I am sure Jarrett will add any details I missed since I was writing this in a hurry. Thanks for reading!
