Holiday World/Kentucky Kingdom/Kings Island PTR

[therick311]

Playlists

First things first, here are the playlists the wife and I made for our trip.

1. Panic! at the Disco - This is Gospel
2. Five Finger Death Punch - Coming Down
3. C2C - Down the Road
4. Richy Nix - In My Head
5. Young the Giant - Crystallized
6. Korn - Never Never
7. Bleachers - I Wanna Get Better
8. X Ambassadors - Unconsolable
9. Coldplay - Magic
10. Frank Turner - The Road
11. Morning Parade - Alienation
12. Sia - Elastic Heart
13. Kings Of Leon - Wait for Me

We also purchased The Urge's new album, Galvanized. So glad these guys are back together!

 

[therick311]

Holiday World

I was excited to get this trip started and seeing Raven right next the parking lot and front gate got me even more excited!



It's too bad I didn't really care for the ride itself. Oh, well. The Voyage was the real reason we were here anyway.



I really think the layout for this coaster is perfect. The first few airtime hills are great, then you hit the spaghetti bowl and it just pounces on you! You do get a slight rest at the mid-course brakes, but then it starts all over again with the triple down! It's fast, long, twisty, and has airtime galore!



The downside is that it just got rougher and rougher the more the day went on. I don't mind a little roughness on a wood coaster. That adds to the out of control feeling, but this thing was tweaking my back by the early afternoon. It did give us one perfect ride though. It was right before lunch in the 2nd row, and it just had the perfect balance speed and out of control feeling, without trying to kill you. Defiantly one of the most memorable individual laps on any coaster!



I hope they get RMC to put topper track on this thing someday. Just don't change the layout Holiday World!







Spite!



So creepy!

Overall, this wasn't a bad park. I was surprised at how affordable everything was, and the food was actually decent. I now understand why so many families make the trip here.



Wait...What!?

 

[therick311]

Kentucky Kingdom





I wasn't too sure what to expect out of Thunder Run. It wasn't too bad. There's some good airtime to be had here.



This thing must have been designed by a NASCAR fan though, so many left turns!



Lightning Run on the other hand is wonderful! I loved this thing! It's so twisty and has airtime all over the place! The trains are not very comfortable though, and the lift is as loud as it sounds in the videos. But still, such a fun little ride!



I also found it very photogenic. The landscaping needs some work, but I love the mess of twisted steel.











It also helps that you can get so close to it.







Single train ops, boo!

I did enjoy Kentucky Kingdom, but there is still work to be done here. As others have said, you can tell they are trying, and they have a good start. I hope this place continues to get better.



We finished the day by driving to Cincinnati. When we got into town we went to dinner at a great place called Flipdaddy's. Good burgers and beer selection. I highly recommend it!

 

[therick311]

Kings Island





We started off with Diamondback. I liked Diamondback, but I was surprised at how rattly it was. It wasn't really bad, and it didn't ruin the ride, I just didn't expect a relatively new B&M to rattle that much.





Splashy!







This thing delivers great floaty air over every hill, and the clam shells don't staple at all.






More splashy!



Next up was The Beast. I wasn't expecting a lot out of this going in. I knew there were going to be trims all over the place, but what I didn't realize is how necessary they are. This thing really picks up a lot of speed between the trims. I think I was most impressed with the drop into the Rose Bowl. Once the train clears the last trim, it's off the races! And the covered portions of the Rose Bowl have such a great out of control feeling! Color me pleasantly surprised, what ever color that is.



The Bat was my second Arrow suspended coaster. But my first was Iron Dragon, so was looking forward to riding my first good Arrow suspended coaster.



This was fun. Lots of swinging about!









We stopped to get some Banshee ice cream. It was quite good!



I was able to get some photos just after a storm had passed over. The sun was at my back and Banshee was lit up beautifully. It looked like they had managed to theme the weather!





The ride itself was also great! That first drop is really good, and it's just so fast through the whole layout. I'm not really a fan of the inline twist though, but I prefer snappy rolling inversions. Other than that, it's a screaming good time!





I also love the Banshee scream they play over the loud speakers. It's so loud, yet so awesome!



Some photos of the fireworks from the Eiffel Tower.









One more night shot of the Eiffel Tower.



The end, thanks for reading!

 

[PeskyTrimBrake]

Great Report! I love it how every time I see a Banshee pic, it HAS to be cloudy (no joke). What does the Banshee ice cream taste like?

 

[Jarrett]

Holiday World looks great! The Voyage looks beautiful and so does the general ambiance. You've got me gooning out to hit it up next season.

Glad to see you like Kings Island, too! Banshee is amazing in the overcast (try it in the rain!) and I'm glad to see someone else that actually really likes The Beast. If you ever go again, I'd love to join you.

^Glennderp, Banshee Twist ice cream is just Kings Island's signature blue ice cream (tastes like normal ice cream with a hint of blueberry) swirled with vanilla dyed magenta. It's good, I have to admit.

 

[therick311]

Thanks guys!

As Jarrett said, the Banshee ice cream is blueberry/vanilla. It's good, but it's also big, and melts quickly. I recommend sharing.

I really was surprised that I liked The Beast. I went in expecting it to be crap, but it's so different from any other wood coaster, and it really nails that runaway, out of control feeling.