Roller Coaster Road Trip 2017: King's Island's Great Coasters

It's no coincidence that King's Island has been a destination point on our road trips in 2012, 2014 and again this year.  It's sister park, King's Dominion in Virginia, has long been a favorite of me and my buddies, but this Midwest sister is that much more.  The cleanliness and beauty of the park, the friendliness of its staff, and of course the roller coasters make it my second favorite amusement park in the world (for my first, stay tuned! Wink wink.).  Rich, Gary and I headed out bright and early our first full day and more than got our fill of these great rides.  Check it out what we enjoyed of what King's Island has to offer:

Mystic Timbers

Mystic Timbers is King's Island's newest coaster, debuting on April 15th of this year.  What's in the shed? is some sort of mysterious advertising gimmick that I guess was supposed to get people getting even more excited about the park's new coaster.  After one ride on it, we were all questioning what the big deal was.  We were maybe expecting some sort of elevated drop like on Verbolten in Busch Gardens, Virginia, or something.  Without spoiling it for anyone, I'll just say it wasn't all that.

The ride, however, was great!  It's got a nice, left sweeping first drop of about 54 degrees and the coaster hits about 53 mph as it careens through a series of nice twists and turns before coming to a halt right before entering...you guessed it...the shed!  You can see in the video below what does or does not happen in the shed, but really the ride would be just great without it.  A nice addition to the park!  Check it out...

Banshee

Banshee was the new coaster at the park the last time Rich and I visited and back then we liked it, but we only rode it once because the lines were too long, and because even though we liked it, we didn't love it.  That changed a bit this time around.  You see, Banshee is an inverted coaster, and Rich is not a big fan of those because you really can't see where you're going while you're riding it.  But for our second turn at the coaster this time around, Gary had an idea to ride it from the front car.  Big difference!  

Banshee was built on the former site of the notorious Son of Beast, towards the front of the park and is an imposing structure all on its own.  The lift hill travels straight through the second, vertical loop on the ride, as you can see in the photo, and the rest of it is well, wild!  Banshee is the longest inverted coaster in the world, with a length of 4,124 feet of track and it moves through seven inversions at speeds of almost 70 mph.  I can tell you that it's much more terrifying  from the front seat, and oh, that Banshee screech when you reach the top of the lift hill.  Hella scary!  Take a virtual ride...

Diamondback

Hyper coasters, those whose lift hill is more than 200 feet, are my favorite.  Aside from the thrill of that first, death-defying drop, they offer lots and lots of airtime.  King's Island's Diamondback is their version of the hyper coaster, and it is a doozy!  Reaching a height of 230 feet, this monster flies through the hill after hill, with lots of nice negative G's to give you that tickle in your stomach.  It even finishes with a nice splashdown over a small lake and is always fun to ride!  Oh, and the way the seats are arranged, each rider gets his own unique perspective on the ride...cool!  Check it out...

Firehawk

When we first visited King's Island back in 2012, I had never heard of this one, but till the day I die I will never forget it.  This ride is pretty unbelieveable, a flying coaster where you start out on your back facing the sky, all the way up to the top of the lift hill where it turns your body 180 degrees so you are facing the ground...flying...and then all hell breaks loose.  Rich and I have a history with this thing ever since that first terrifying ride back in 2012.  The thing was so scary we only rode it once, and when we returned in 2014, we gave it one more ride for old times sake.  It was early in the morning and poor Rich lost his wallet somewhere along that 3,000 feet of track.  Poor guy, it killed the day for him, but luckily he was willing to give it another go this time.  Well, what are roller coasters for?  Yes, scaring the bejeezus out of you.  Take a ride...(psst, fast forward to about the 1:30 mark!)

Flight of Fear

inside the cue

waiting our turn

I wrote about this one back in 2013, well the one located in King's Dominion in Virginia, which is the same.  Here's what I wrote back then...

Flight of Fear is an indoor coaster, many of which I do not like.  All the ones I've ridden before, except Space Mountain in Disney, were disappointing at best, but this one is freaking awesome!  
You would never know from entering the building what's inside, but soon after the darkness of the place and the sound of screams up ahead are excitingly intimidating.  Throw in a fun ride operator, who took pleasure in enhancing the experience for the most scared of riders by teasing them before releasing the linear induction coaster into the darkness, and a whole new element of fun is added to the experience.

Yeah, this one's still a great ride, and though it doesn't get much fanfare, it is popular with park goers as there is almost always a bit of a wait with this one!  I just had to take a quick video of the launch.  Check it out...3-2-1...blast off!

The Beast

Finally, we come to my favorite roller coaster in the world!  To me, The Beast is the ultimate roller coaster.  Long before I'd ever ridden it for the first time in 2012, I dreamed of riding it...literally.  The ride first opened in 1979 and has been giving roller coaster enthusiasts thrills ever since.  It's not the newest or tallest or even fastest, but this wooden coaster gives riders more than four minutes of death defyingly awesome twists, turns, hills and tunnels, (ooh the tunnels!), traversing 7,359 feet of track through heavily wooded terrain, making it the longest roller coaster in the world.  

The Beast was what made me excited about returning to King's Island and it was awesome to see my friend Gary, who'd never had the pleasure, enjoy this one.  By far this was the coaster we rode the most times that day and each time was as thrilling as the last, and oh boy, it's a killer at night!  I wrote about this one on the last trip, and you can check that out here.  In the meantime, take a virtual ride on this monster...

So yeah, that was our day at King's Island...a great start to a great trip.  I hope this whet your whistles if you are into coasters because if you ever have the chance, you must get there.  They have even more coasters than the ones I've talked about, like Vortex, Backlot Stunt Coaster, Invertigo, The Racer and The Bat.  Yeah, King's Island is a world-class coaster destination.

Stay tuned for more of this years Roller Coaster Road Trip 2017, with even more thrill rides and a World Wonder, coming soon!  Here are some more pics from our day...

Me n Gary

Vortex

Banshee

Entrance to The Beast

Be sure to check out the first entry:

An Unplanned Stop in Pittsburgh and Kennywood

Roller Coaster Road Trip 2014: Kings Island and The Beast

So far this Roller Coaster Road Trip 2014 has been awesome, and even though there's lots to tell, including zip-lining in a cave, great Louisville neighborhoods, Brazilian food, Kentucky Kingdom and the like, there was one event yesterday that epitomized this trip, and my love for roller coasters.  You see, four years ago, Rich, Eddie and I visited King's Park in Mason, Ohio for the first time.  This amusement park was one that I'd always wanted to visit, mainly because it is home to The Beast, the world's longest wooden roller coaster and one which I salivated over the first time I ever saw it on a video.

Well in 2010, my dream to ride The Beast finally came true and from what I remembered, it was all the great fun I had expected it to be.  We rode the monster several times that day, including the last ride of the night (an entirely radical experience!).  After that trip, I'd never envisioned myself returning to King's Island, but when this trip came up and I saw that Kings Island, is not too far from Louisville, and so I included it in our itinerary, much to the agreement of Rich and Eddie.

So yesterday was our return to Kings Island and once again The Beast (celebrating 35 years in 2014) reminded exactly why I love roller coasters. It's not the newest or the baddest roller coaster in town (see the new Banshee or Diamondback), nor is it the tallest (110 feet) or the fastest (65 mph), but it certainly packs a punch.  This ride is the ultimate replica of a real runaway mine train, taking off at breakneck speeds through thick, wooded terrain and navigating sharp twists and turns (and tunnels!) as it flies through its circuit.

The coaster has not one, but two lift hills, each with a different feel.  The train begins its ascent up the first hill slowly, giving riders a sense of relaxation that the impending drop is still some time away, but somewhere towards the middle of that lift hill, the train picks up speed, ultimately hurtling riders down a 140 foot drop and on into the first part of its wicked wicked ride. Only a few minutes (a precious eternity for any roller coaster!) into the train's wild ride through the forest comes the second lift hill, and my favorite moment on any coaster anywhere.

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As the train crests the top of this second lift hill, riders are greeted not by a steep drop, but by a leftward arcing hill that sweeps slowly downward, causing the train to accelerate to its highest speeds as it dives furiously towards a makeshift mine shaft.  Disorientation runs rampant here, especially during a night ride, and a double-helix, complete with two turns in complete darkness, give this ride a wild finish that leaves riders enthusiastically wanting more.  What a rush!

Take a virtual ride on The Beast below to see what I'm talking about, and if you ever find yourself in the Greater Cincinnati Area, be sure to head on over to Kings Island and ride my favorite coaster in the world...

The Beast Celebrates 35 Years of Thrills

The first time I ever saw The Beast, it was on an old roller coaster video I had bought years ago, and I remember wanting to ride that thing so bad.  It looked so cool, especially when it reached the second lift hill and then dove down with ever-increasing speed, spiraling downward in a helix, and heading towards a tunnel at the bottom.  Woof! What a ride!  I finally got my chance to ride The Beast almost four years ago in the summer of 2010 and it was all I expected and more.

It was 35 years ago this April 14th that The Beast, located at King's Island near Cincinnati, Ohio, first opened to the public.  At the time it broke records as the tallest, fastest and longest wooden roller coaster in the world, the latter record which it still holds.  The ride is still one of the main attractions at the park, and has given over 45 million riders the best of thrills since 1979.

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To ride The Beast is both thrilling and breathtaking, as it glides along more than 7,000 feet of track through wooded splendor, with great hills, nice speeds, twists and turns, tunnels, and my favorite part, that second lift hill.  It's like two rides in one!  In celebration of the 35th Anniversary of The Beast, I invite you to take a ride, a virtual one, at least, and enjoy!