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Another MT pic on Twitter!

This isn't an outstanding example, but it IS an example of a wooden coaster with on-board lights: (Source: forums.planetcoaster.com) National Amusement Devices was a major player in the pre-KI amusement industry. Their Century Flyer trains (pictured above) were capable of having up to three lamps installed in the first car: the two shown in the picture, and a third in place of that red circle in the middle. Century Flyers used to be everywhere, but now (to my knowledge) only exist on three coasters today: Thunderbolt at Kennywood, Blue Streak at Conneaut Lake Park, and Big Dipper at Camden Park (which I believe is the ride pictured above.) Lil' Dipper at Camden is (again, to my knowledge) the only coaster out there with NAD's kid-sized version of Century Flyers. I've read before somewhere (I've forgotten the source--it's been years) that the jostles and jolts of wooden coasters would knock something out of place in the lamps and destroy them. I've gotten the impression that many parks would, over time, remove them and provide some kind of non-technical placeholder that was easier/cheaper to maintain. Until very recently, all three trains on Kennywood's Thunderbolt looked something like this: (Source: Negative-G) In 2014, Penn State's Theme Park Engineering group made a proposal to restore the headlamps on Thunderbolt using LEDs. (Here's a link with a short write-up.) When Thunderbolt opened for 2014, the two headlamps on the red train were updated, but the green and blue trains remained the same. Here's what the new headlamps looked like: (Source: Kennywood Connection) Unfortunately, I don't know that the restoration ever continued beyond that point--or even that the red train's lights ever were functional. I've never witnessed them working myself, and I've never read any reports that they were operational. I've also never heard whether or not the blue or green trains were completed--I don't think I've been to Kennywood in the summer since 2014. Whether this is due to the lamps not functioning or due to them not being a priority for Kennywood at the moment, I'm not sure. So yes... lights on a wooden coaster have been done before. Kinda. I just don't get the impression that it's ever worked particularly well.

From KI's Instagram page

Double-post (sorta...) While driving to work, I saw Drop Tower's lift has gone down (I believe it usually is up during the offseason)... this either means they are putting it back together and/or testing! 51 days ya'll!

Won't be long and there will be trains and testing. They've had a good winter for building.

This is the pic I was talking about I got this picture from @ki_entertainment on Instagram Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And it should be pointed out National Amusement Devices was based in Dayton, Ohio.

I'm also really appreciative of your FB page (as well as this one!). The fact that we have one of the best parks in the country, with such a rich local history and memories for anyone local, is a privilege. I'm surprised at just how much it continues to evolve and change over the years. Looking at pictures and reading about it's history is awesome. This site and contributors like you have really enhanced my knowledge and turned me into a KI junkie! It would be nice if the park embraced its history more and had a "museum" type of attraction some day. Like what the Paramount Theater tried to do with it's films back during the PKI days. A history / walk though of KI, enhanced with pictures, maybe pieces of older attractions, etc. History and local tradition can go a long way, and something like this would be cheap to do.

I think this is what you're talking about.

Maybe it will look like this inside the shed............ image found on Pintrest https://www.pinterest.com/pin/108086459783989953/

51 days and counting. I just purchased 5 Gold Passes for my gf's sis and her kids. Now I have excuses to get on the kiddie rides!

The only way i can think to speed up blsc is if the MCBLaunch had a shorter show.. MAYBE able to add one car, but the ride is pretty close to being the perfect speed at the top of the first helix. Firehawk? If we had a third train, and always had an operator per side instead of one operator for both sides, thatd speed it up. You wouldnt exit the same side you entered from that way though

Anything to shorten lines is a positive. I am all for it. Now, how can we add a couple cars to BLSC and make Firehawk loading quicker?

Ive yet to see on-train lights for a wooden coaster.. im not expecting it

Probably not the Ride op needs to be able to see where he is going. Just in case there are objects or people on the tracks. I know when I worked there in 03 we got to and from white water canyon by walking the train tracks Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Do you think there will be lights integrated into the train's headlights'? Highly unlikely if they were on the whole course of the ride with KI's awesome night ride track record. It would be cool if they were lit in the station and turned off right before the first drop and turned them back on again as the train approaches the shed.

We need a green coaster

I'm sure if there isn't a retrofit of the attraction happening it will be open. I wouldn't count on any seasonal theming inserted to any extent. It could complement the verse of the song 'Most Wonderful Time of the Year' that's says 'there'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago...' I never understood what that meant anyway.

Well well well... https://twitter.com/KingsIslandPR/status/834132541674242048?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

Indiana Beach ends the longest running Ski Show... Dear Indiana Beach Fans, It is true that you will no longer be able to watch the ski/dive show at Indiana Beach in 2017. The ski show is one of this park's longest standing traditions, so trust us when we say that this was not an easy decision. Fireworks are not going away. We are going back to the same schedule the Spackmans had when they owned the park – we will have three larger, more significant fireworks displays for Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day. Our hope is to make these shows more special and meaningful. The rumor regarding the Shafer Queen going away is completely false. We will continue to host cruises along Lake Shafer on our classic river boat for free or for a nominal fee depending on the length of the cruise. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10154515613512199&id=337613147198

Got it, thanks for clarifying. :-) I wish I had been more attentive to the park details in the 80's-very early 90's. If only I could rewind time and revisit those years and write down or photograph the subtle, and not so subtle changes at the park (which I started doing around 1996.) Little things like "When did they tear down queue building #3 on Beast" or "For how many seasons did KI have The Vortex "tracks" through Coney Mall" or "When did the German Toy Store close" etc continue to elude me. Back in the 1970's and 80s, there was interest in the park, but it cannot hold a candle to today's microscopic analysis of all things KI. Back then, you either read in the paper or park brochure (or saw a commercial) what was new at KI, then you begged your parents to take you to the park sometime during the season (if you were really lucky, you got to go MORE than once!) and you spent most of that visit running around trying to ride as much as possible - while shrugging off some of the changes. (I.E. "Hmmm... I think there was water running out of this chute last year when I was in line for Beast... Oh Well.") But with the advent of the web, KI-watching took on a life of it's own and the media blitz that followed forever changed how we keep up with those changes. To be honest, I have to give a shout out to people like Don... or my friend Roger who went to Coney Island as a kid - then Kings Island when it opened (and is still going today.) They were ahead of their time because they DID take note of those things - and saw the significance of the changes that occurred in those early years. Most of what I know about those early years is based off of their having witnessed them. I guess that's partly why I created my little page. I really want those that have a love of KI today to see how rich a past the park has had. With so many mega parks today, its really hard to recognize that KI was always a top tier park... and it's very existence is *essentially* a result of an act of Mother Nature.

I think the theming for Banshee is pretty well executed. It just doesn`t quite gel with the rest of the non-existant theme of the Action Zone. Like Shaggy said, I think the theme of Rivertown is being greatly enhanced by the addition of Mystic Timbers. Even the new funnel cake building that was built last year has emphasized the theme. Coney Mall could use some "new" classic flat rides to breath some life into that area. With the exception of Windseeker, the last new flat ride installed in Coney Mall was Zephyr and the current Dodgems (Flight Commander was installed in 1990, but only lasted about five years) and they were installed in 1986.

Hello... only been about four years since I last posted... I don't think I ever posted a thread here on AE's design, but I did contact R&R Design years ago and spoke with the company's president, Rick Bastrup. He was kind enough to send me some incredible concept-art of the ride... Here's an incredibly-small picture of the Monorail crossing Adventure Express' track, from R&R's website... And here's an overview, circa 1993, of that... (source unknown)

It does and it doesn't... I rode Adventure Express in it's first season and it was actually extremely well done. It was the 2nd half of a 2-part deal KI had made with R&R Creative (the folks that came up with Phantom Theater's theming.) They first designed Phantom Theater, and then moved on to the theming of Kings Islands new "Runaway mine train coaster" the park had in the works with Arrow Dynamics. Obviously the picture dramatizes some elements, but when it opened the theming was pretty over-the top. All the tunnels had fog, lighting effects, water splashes, animatronics etc. What exists now is, well, about 20% of it's original effects. *Side note* Did you know in Adventure Express' first couple of seasons of operation, the Wild Animal Safari Monorail actually passed through the ride area?

I was just thinking this the other day, It would be great if you could get an "all day drink band" where they scanned the band and gave you a throw away cup VS. the bulky plastic ones. We quite buy them. We hated toting them around and putting them in lockers, bins, etc. The season pass addition would also be a great idea too! If you could buy an all season drink plan by itself (not on the dining plan) I would purchase that!

Why hello... it's been a while since I've been on here. Almost four years. But I recently acquired something cool in terms of Kings Island history and have been wanting to share it. So, quick history lesson: In the early 1970s ABC aired The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie on Saturday mornings. The series consisted of hour-long specials produced by Hanna-Barbera, Warner Brothers, Paramount Television, and others. The twelfth episode aired on November 25, 1972 and was named The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park. It featured the stars of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (a variety program that aired from 1968-1970) and was partially filmed at Kings Island during the park's inaugural season. The episode mixed Hanna-Barbera's classic animation style with the live-action segments shot at the park. The story focused on the Banana Splits touring a young girl named Susie (played by 11-year-old Michele Tobin) around the park. Susie is tricked by an evil witch and lured into a cartoon billboard, leaving the Splits to follow her into the animated world. The majority of the story takes place in the animated world, but the beginning and end take place within Kings Island. Despite the episode's popularity, I do not believe that it has ever been released on DVD, streaming, etc. It's occasionally aired on Boomerang, albeit very infrequently. I had never seen it, but after some extensive online searching I was able to find a copy for sale from a random CD shop. The legitimacy of the DVD is questionable at best... it was clearly recorded off of Boomerang at some point. But without any other methods to obtain the film, I ended-up purchasing it. With DVD in hand, I watched the full 60 minutes. I honestly only cared for the six-and-a-half minutes shot at Kings Island though, which is what I figure a lot of KIC users are interested in tool, so after my initial viewing I edited the video down to feature only the material shot at the park. I also cut gifs out of scenes that depicted points of interest within the park, like defunct rides or unique views. So, without further ado, I wanted to share the video and gifs below. I've also included some commentary and fun facts for the gifs. And quick note - I wasn't alive yet during the 70's, so all information is from what I've read, watched, etc. If something seems wrong, please let me know. Enjoy. To start, Winsome Witch's Cauldron (also identified at different points on park maps as Winsome Witch's Caldron, Winnie Witch's Cauldron, Witches Caldrons, and Witch's Cauldrons). The tea-cup style flat ride opened with the park and was themed to Winsome Witch, a Hanna-Barbera cartoon that appeared in the 1960s. There were 18 cauldrons split between three small and one large turntable. Note the pastel colors - the ride opened with yellow, blue, and red cauldrons. This paint scheme only lasted two seasons before the ride vehicles were painted black with orange flames in 1974. Winsome Witch's Cauldron last operated in 1991. It was replaced by a small Zamperla-built swings ride, today known as Charlie Brown's Wind-Up, in 1992. Following the ride's removal from the park, several of the cauldrons found a new home elsewhere: one is now a photo spot at Jungle Jim's store in Eastgate, another is featured in the Dent Schoolhouse haunted house in Cincinnati. Here we have the Banana Splits trying to find park guests to tour around the park. Note the station for Enchanted Voyage in the background - the ride was manufactured by Arrow Development and loaded guests into small boats outside the building. Once on board, guests would then float into the show building and through several Hanna-Barbera worlds. When the ride was transformed into Smurf's Enchanted Voyage in 1984, the canvas tent structure over the station was replaced with a more permanent wooden one. That structure remains today and is now part of the station for Great Pumpkin Coaster. Bavarian Beetle was a compact steel roller coaster in Oktoberfest. It was manufactured by Italian company S.D.C. and had a previous life as Galaxi at Cincinnati's Coney Island. The coaster stood 45-feet tall, stretched 800-feet, and was adorned with lighted archways and spires. Bavarian Beetle's history is a little iffy... the ride is still depicted on the 1978 park map, but a photo from that August shows that the coaster had already been replaced by Ferris Wheel. The ride may have operated for part of the season, or it could have been like Cedar Point's Wildcat in 2012, where the coaster was expected to operated but was quietly removed just before opening instead. It's almost absurd how many different stages and entertainment venues Kings Island has had. This here is a short-lived one in Coney Island. It wasn't there opening day but was present by July and appeared to have some musical act. The stage's last year was 1974. It was replaced by the first incarnation of the park's Floral Thermometer in 1975 when Coney Island was expanded, and that space today is a grassy area next to Zephyr. Beautiful view of International Street from Sky Ride. Royal Fountain was advertised as the world's largest animated fountain at opening and was created by Fountain Specialist Co. of Milford, Ohio. Also note the park's entrance building does not yet have International Restaurant... that wasn't added until 1973. Susie should really stay on the pathways... But this shot really shows Coney Island and its neatly-pruned ginkgo trees. 35 of them were relocated from Cincinnati's Coney Island and they required pruning six times annually to maintain their distinct shape. It's a little hard to see, but on the left you can just make out the building for Dodgem and Cuddle Up. Both rides were also relocated from Cincinnati's Coney Island. The building remains today and is used for the Attitudes gift shop and Sorority House Haunt maze, but both attractions are long gone. Some claim that the current incarnation of Dodgem is the same as the original, but it features a different ride area, different cars, different shape... you could have a whole philosophical debate over what makes a ride "new", but I don't think it makes sense to say our current Dodgem is original to the park. I've been trying to figure out when this was all shot at the park. At some point, the archway in the back had The Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera added to it. But that wasn't until at least July. This, plus the stage from earlier, shows that the park was still adding all those finishing touches through-out its first season. You can't argue that International Street didn't look like a street... but look at that total lack of shade and all the asphalt. A lot of enthusiasts were amazed when Disney introduced its "talking" characters a few years back, with mouths that could move. But Kings Island was doing it long before then Also check-out Winsome Witch, flying around her tree in the background. The old plant tunnel. It had 100 London-plain trees bowed over its pipe framework. The structure remained in some form through the end of 2006 2005, then was removed for Nickelodeon Universe's addition in 2006. I like that the park is attempting to bring it back in White Water Canyon's queue line. Few things to comment on... First, those lights on the top of Monster. They were removed around 2005 I think, but I could be off. Second, Monster in general... I've heard before that our current Monster is not the original ride. The original version opened at Cincinnati's Coney Island in 1968 and was relocated at park opening for 1972. There's an interesting photo from 1981 that shows Monster's ride platform empty though. Rumor is that ours was replaced the following year and the original version was sent to Canada's Wonderland in time for its 1981 opening. If true, it's ironic that CW's version of the ride, named The Fury, was removed after 2003 and it was sent to our park to use as spare parts for Monster. It's worth noting that the park has claimed that the current ride is the original though. Edit: Here's a lengthy conversation on whether the Monster was sent to Canada's Wonderland or not. It seems that the verdict is the ride was not sent to the Canadian park. Third, check out Dodgem's sign in the background. It, and the out-of-frame sign for Cuddle Up, both came from Cincinnati's Coney Island. At the old park they were housed in the same building as the Whip, but that ride was unfortunately never relocated to Kings Island. Racer is one of my favorite rides at the park today, but man I would have loved to have ridden it in 1972. No head rests, no seat belts, no seat divides, just a buzz bar... plus the final airtime hill was still in place (interestingly that was removed a year apart for the North and South sides... North's during the 1995/96 off-season, South's the 1996/97 one. Two things in this shot. First, the trains only have four cars each. A fifth car wasn't added until 1973. Also, red train racing red train. From 1972 through 2007 both tracks had a red and a blue train. The rides were only assigned specific colors in 2008. I should've ended this gif a bit before the zoom... sorry for how obnoxious that is. Anyhow, Der Spinnen Keggers on the left. The ride was similar to Winsome Witch's Cauldron, only the platform tilted upwards during the ride. The vehicles were also initially covered, but at some point between 1981 and 1987 the tops were removed. Anyone know what year that happened? On the right, Kings Island Theatre (at times spelled Theater). It was built by Bird-Air Structures, Inc. from Buffalo, New York for $250,000 and could seat 1,100 guests. It played host to "Something New!!" its opening year. After the 1974 season the park experienced a heavy snow storm and the theater collapsed. It was replaced with a similar one in 1975, albeit with a blue covering instead of red. The floral clock has been a staple of Kings Island since 1972, but it has not always been behind Eiffel Tower. It was originally to the right of it, where International Showplace is today. It was relocated when that amphitheater was built in 1977. Flying Scooters, later renamed Flying Eagles, in its original spot. The ride was relocated to the back of the area in 1986, then again to Paramount's Carowinds in 2005. The ride originally opened at Cincinnati's Coney Island and was apparently relocated at least once while it was there too. In this shot, notice how the door is open on the side. The current Woodstock Gliders also has a door in its center console, but I would assume it's kept shut when the ride is operating. Scooby-Doo, later renamed The Beastie, later renamed Fairly Odd Coaster, and now Woodstock Express. It's probably been through just as many paint jobs as it has been through names. I love the oversized Scooby-Doo cut-out and didn't know it was ever a thing until I watched this. Also, you can just make out the coaster's last dip before the brake run. I don't know when it was removed, but I would guess sometime in the late 1990s. Anyone know? See that stroller at the bottom? The park still has some of these older ones, now re-purposed to help ride operators carry water coolers to their rides in the morning. At the end you can just make out the train blowing steam from its sides. The engines can still do this and indeed do for special events. I highly doubt you'd ever see costumed characters, like Snoopy or Charlie Brown, riding a coaster today. And that shot through the tracks? I also doubt that'd be permitted. The whole ride is encircled by a giant fence and anything within it is lock-out. Kings Island Theatre again. Some more facts: it was 137-feet long, 87-feet wide, and 40-feet high. It was avinyl structure and was supported entirely by air pressure. Last shot... Tumble Bug was a standard tumble bug attraction manufactured by Traver Engineering of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. It had a diameter of approximately 100 feet, featured five large tubs, and was the park's oldest ride at opening. It originally opened at Cincinnati's Coney Island in 1925. It last operated in 1985 and was replaced by Skylab the following year. I've heard that it was sent to Kennywood to use for parts on their similar attraction, but I don't know the validity of that statement. Today the space is occupied by Coca-Cola Marketplace. So that's that... some pretty cool shots of the park its opening year, and hopefully you learned a thing or two about its history. Again, please let me know if you think any of the facts are wrong or if you have extra info to add. Hope you enjoyed. Edit - Edited April 9, 2020 to correct a date and clarify one of the comments.

This probably my favorite part of the ride, It just looks too good. It looks like an Intense banked S-bend into the turnaround. Only 50 more days guys!

Giving Vortex another chance this year. I am bringing my Vortex riding kit with me. Yes, it is inflatable and fits in the pocket easily. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I figured it was wolfpack. I saw your congratulatory KI Instagram reply

You should be able to scan your card or season pass at the photo stations and get your photos. I was able to get my FunPix at Coastermania last year.

Wouldnt this put the first turnaround going over top of great wolf lodge? And I would hate to see The Bat get over shot like this. Its fine for compact parks where thats just the style.. but it looks weird to me when the park overall has its spaces for each ride.. then a giga or hyper just dwarfs a ride. Rougarou, shambala, leviathan (probably mt least favorite)

Hope Hollywood Nights does come back!

Hopefully Flight of Fear will be open too.

Give it a Krampus theme.

It would be cool if they could add a Christmas theme sort of like how Disney changes the Haunted Mansion over to a Nightmare Before Christmas attraction. I know we'd never get anything this elaborate, and I wouldn't expect an entire re-theme of Boo Blasters, but it would be cool if they hung some basic decorations around the manor/mansion and, like someone else mentioned, put Santa hats on the characters. Heck, it would even be cool if they could change up the music to some instrumental holiday music. I'm not really looking for any of this to happen, it's just fun to speculate. I just think Boo Blasters could be an interesting holiday attraction with very little effort or investment.

This was for the year Top Gun was opened..... I've been on the ride several times since....have never experienced a ride like what's portrayed here!

Being that it is a 5-minute ride, striking up a conversation is sometimes natural. Pretty sured I've never attempted to continue one in either tunnel, but my intuition says it would be harder in the helix tunnel. It seems louder, and it's also the most intense part of the ride. A Cash Coaster episode there could be funny.

Thanks Shaggy for sharing your wealth of knowledge about the park. I always look forward to your posts! I too grew up in the early years of KI and those photos and your insight bring back a lot of memories. I wish I would have been better at documenting all of it through the years. Showing my age a bit, but I can remember passing by Fields Ertel and only passing a White Castle and Shell station (and that was it!) on our way out to the park. I love the park with a passion, but back then it always felt like going another world. Something about being an excited kid and the aura of the park when it first opened and especially after The Beast was announced. There was kind of a supernatural feel once The Bat and Demon came along...It was awesome! I would hover around the TV, just waiting for that awesome Beast and Bat commercials to play...ahh the days before the internet...Ha!

Do you think if Diamondback goes from a no bin ride to lockers like Banshee it would become nearly as efficent or as efficent as Banshee? I don't think I've ever waited more than 20 minutes for Banshee and that was during Haunt. I love how quickly they push people thru on Banshee! A great crew indeed!

Hmmm, I know someone here will have a roll of quarters ready to ambush some WWC riders too occupied checking out MT. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There will not be a train tour this year at Coasterstock. There will be a behind the scenes photo opportunity of the train tied in with Diamondback. We've added lights on tours of Haunt mazes during the event.

New pic on twitter overlooking WWC. This view is going to be great!!

Dont forget about the Mid Course Tunnel!

New photo of Mystic Timbers which includes a new angle of the final turn (which I am low-key looking forward to).

Just know that Coaster Stock more than likely will make you exhausted! It's such a great/fun event. It's a struggle getting getting rested during that weekend!

With your idea, they'd be removing a bunch of maintenance shops....ones that work well. That's specific location isn't likely to happen. Also, the area to the north of Firehawk does become a bit steeper closer to the maintenance road.

I'd call that a coincidence not logic....

It hasn't been as extravagant after 2014. Lunch is more like burgers and chicken than prime rib and shrimp. It's still a great event, though, especially (since 2016) with limited attendance keeping ERT lines short.

Greetings fellow forum members, I took another fun trip to the Island and had alot of fun and made even more memories. I only took a few pictures but had lots of fun and stayed all day and all night at the park. I rode Banshee,Beast,Bat,Blue Racer,Flight of Fear,Diamondback, and Boo Blasters. I arrived at the park at 11:30 and stayed until 9:30. Flight of Fear was our first ride and then we wanted to ride Vortex but it was closed all day so we headed to The Beast which was also closed until about mid-afternoon. So when all else fails we headed to The Racer which had a short wait and was alot of fun but not as good as our ride on it later. We then headed for Banshee which had a short wait and actually had a pretty funny experence on it. Both of my friends waited for front seat, but not me! I rode back seat with 3 people I didnt know and while leaving the station I waved goodbye to my friends who were still in the back of the line for front seat. I had a great, fun ride on Banshee and after my friends finally arrived back at the station, it was off to The Bat! We had a short wait for The Bat and this time we all rode towards the front row as The Bat's wait for it is much shorter then its partner Banshee. We enjoyed a fast and thrilling ride on The Bat and even though it is short and not popular, I always make an attempt to ride it at least once when I visit, and it is actually even better at night! It holds alot of nostalgia for me as I always think of its early days as Top Gun when its line was much longer as it zipped past its huge wooden neighbor Son of Beast. We then headed back to ride Banshee together and sat towards the back this time. It was one of my most memorable rides on Banshee as it seemed to be as fast and smooth as ever! After getting some lunch at Larosa's in Festhaus and enjoying the live show we headed towards the spooky Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. I rode by myself a few times and then rode with my Grandmother with my friends in the car behind us. Me and my Grandmother have ridden the ride as Phantom Theater, Scooby Doo's Haunted Castle, and Boo Blasters on Boo Hill and she also rode Smurf's Enchanted Voyage with my Mom and Uncle, so it holds alot of nostalgia for me and her and we always ride it together every time we visit. She scored close to 1000 and I got 1299 earning me the rank of Master Blaster. I actually had working blasters all 3 times I rode it and most of the effects were working as well. I got Master Blaster 2 out of the 3 times and got very close another time so it probably was one of the better experences Ive had on Boo Blasters, as well as one of the better rides Ive taken in the building period. We were then informed that The Beast was opperating so we took a visit there! A great afternoon ride on The Beast and we set towards the middle. Then we split up to ride Diamondback with me and my friend riding and my grandmother going to the Effiel Tower and my brother just resting for a minute. Me and my friend had a fast,thrilling, and maxium G-forced and major air-timed ride on the tall, smooth Diamondback! It had a short wait as well! We then headed back to ride The Racer again and sat front row on the Blue Racer with our friend behind us. By far the smoothest and fastest ride Ive had on The Racer. Lots of airtime as well and it seemed to fly by so fast as we raced and beat the Red train. We all agreed that it was the best ride we have ever had on The Racer! We then headed to ride The Beast as day turned to night over the beautiful Ohio sky. It was a lenghty wait but well worth it and we rode front seat. Never in my life has it been so smooth and fast, with everyone screaming as we raced through the longest wooden coaster in the world! The final lift hill seemed to take a while but once we got up, the final tunnels were pitch-black and fast and roaring! They headed towards the exit but I headed for one final ride on the Banshee! I rode alone which helped make the first drop and going through the loops even faster and fun! After getting off Banshee I purchased a Banshee t-shirt to show my love and affection for the ride and then headed for the exit myself. It was a fun, memorable day at Kings Island, and I plan to make many more visits this year but the next two parks on my list are Kentucky Kingdom and Family Kingdom which is a small park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Now, Ill post the few pictures I took. The Bat Banshee Boo Blasters, which I took the most pictures of during the day And finally Vortex and The Beast A fun day at the Island with lots of laughs and thrills! Look forward to many more visits this year as well as a few other places along the way! Had a blast with friends and family and it was another great memory maker at the park! Thanks for reading. MaestroJr Total ride count: Blue Racer-2 Beast-2 Banshee-3 Bat-1 Flight of Fear-1 Diamondback-1 Boo Blasters on Boo Hill-3