Kings Island (original) (raw)

Family came to visit from out of state for a few days. They stayed at the lodge, next door to the park. They arrived Tues. afternoon and after getting settled in the room and a little food in ourselves, my sister, her 14 y/o son and I headed off to KI while my dad took the two little ones into the hotels water park.

Ya gotta love the rain! We walked on about every coaster we had the time to ride. The Beast was first and I put my sister and nephew in the front seat. I rode right behind them. After that, we headed off to The Racer, but only the forward train was running. Then we headed to Firehawk and were rained out. Too bad 'cause the line was pretty short. We ducked into Outer Limits and finished off the night with that. I told them the ride had been tamed down a bit since it's premiere.

Weds., everyone went into the park after a few hours in the hotel water park. We got out pic taken by the Keyhole Photo people at the entrance and had the girl taking the shot turn around so that International Street was the background for the photo rather than the entrance through which we just walked. (Who wants that entrance in the backgrund of their photo?) We took the little ones (5 and 6) to the Nick Universe and rode there. First time I'd ever rode anything in that section of the park! I was surprised with Reptar, it's a pretty decent coaster! After Nick, a train ride to Boomerang Bay. Too bad we got to the park almost mid-afternoon, by the time we arrived at Boomerang, there was only 1 1/2 hours left until closing.

After Boomerang Bay, it was back to the hard park and the juggling act of satisfying the small ones while the rest of us rode coasters. We began juggling the kids a bit, trading off coaster rides while going to rides the younger ones could ride. And then there were some things the 6 y/o could ride that his sister couldn't. I didn't know that the Paramount F/X Theater had a non-motion section. So my youngest niece and I rode Shake, Rattle and Roll about 4 times waiting for them to return from the Vortex and F/X Theater.

The critical balancing act while at KI, at least for me, is the proper amount of food to have in your body. Too much and we know what happens! But not enough food leaves me feeling queasy after riding coasters. The ironic thing is that many of the flat rides do me in the most! We went to the carousel and I had to stand next to my niece while she rode. I had a hard time finding a point to look at that kept me from feeling dizzy! Then it was onto the Scrambler and then the Monster.

My sister and nephew returned from Firehawk and we headed for Action Zone. I was in no mood to be turned upside down, so I passed on Face Off while they rode. I did join them for Top Gun and SoB, which was the first time I'd ridden it since it reopened. They were very impressed with SoB, and they're veteran coaster riders! (They haven't made it to Cedar Point yet, tho.) After SoB, the fireworks were going off and we headed toward the exit. The youngsters bought some souvenirs and my sister bought the photo taken when we entered. The photo quality wasn't that great, dark shadows in our faces even though the light was partially in our faces.

I was surprised that we walked onto virtually every coaster. There were no lines. We waited at most for two or three trains before our turn came up. It was very odd since it was a beautiful day to be in the park.