Pt. 3 Paramount's Kings Island
He said what it's about is going out into the woods, at night,
really really fast.
I think that's a great description.
We held out for the front row. Surprisingly the wait was under
an hour and this was just enough time to take in the atmosphere
surrounding this notorious classic. The solid wood station and
queue fits right in with the wooded surroundings. It also feels
very isolated from the rest of the park. Sean pointed out the
new touches the park had added to celebrate The Beast's 20th
anniversary. A new sign was erected at the entrance to the ride.
Banners hung from inside the station with little known facts
about The Beast, and the bottoms of each banner were ripped by
the beast's claw. A huge display plaque hung from above listing
milestone dates in the Beast's first 20 years. One of them
included a reference to the "Amercan Coaster Enthusiasts."
Amercun? Is this a rival club? Anyway, of all the things Sean
pointed out, my favorite was the Beast's claw shredding the first
few and back row cars on each train.
By the time it was our turn to ride the sky was dark. We got in,
I took my hat off and prepared to ride one of the world's best
known roller-coasters. I had seen on ride footage of The Beast
but really only remembered the helix which ends the ride. As we
climbed the lift hill a train full of cheering riders passed us
in the brake run and we cheered back at them. As we approached
the top Sean yelled something about the tunnel at the bottom of
the first drop. "WHAT TUNNEL?!?"
I looked down and saw a Desperado like tunnel positioned at the
bottom of the long drop. I had no memory of this at all, and it
was just what I needed to start screaming. We plunged down the
first drop and into the darkness. The speed and power of the
ride was incredible! We flew over the second hill and then came
tearing into a long shed that didn't slow us down until we neared
the end. We banked to the right and entered an extremely long
and dark tunnel, and every single person in the train began
yelling. About 10 seconds later we exited the tunnel and made
our way down to and around a hill that felt extremely creepy.
By this time it felt really isolated out there and that part of
the ride drove home the point that yes, you're all alone out here
and you don't know *what's* around the corner!
We climbed the second lift hill and Sean strained to see the
shed. "YES!" he shouted when he saw that the lights were off.
"Now whatever you do, keep your hands up!" He made sure I sat on
the left side of the train for my first ride. I said okay and as
we rounded the hill and prepared to drop I saw what looked like
weird banking in the track near the entrance to the shed. Then
we TORE down that drop, and as we got closer and closer I could
see the shed getting nearer and nearer, and it was angled in such
a way that I could see I was about to have my arms ripped to
shreds!!! I started screaming "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! and as we got
closer to the shed my arms began lowering almost out of survival
instinct! They began the descent straight up, but by the time we
hit that shed they were lowered to the point where they were only
sticking *out* not up. Jeff Johnson later said it looked like I
was pulling a Superman.
When we flew into the shed I started screaming "OH MY GOD! OH MY
GOD!!" I had NO IDEA it would be that intense. The force with
which you are pulled around that helix is incredible! We were
tossed violently to our side and it was then that I felt the real
power of the Beast. We screamed through the entire helix and all
the way until we hit the long brake run which ends the ride.
The Beast is a *powerful* ride. It's not a product of great
engineering and it's not a successful design by today's
standards. But it does have great speed, sheer power and a
wonderful setting. And that helix is one of the all-time
greatest coaster moments I've ever experienced.
Thanks to the incredible way the ride ops were moving people
through the queue, Sean said we probably had enough time to hit
The Vortex and still get one last ride on The Beast. As we stood
in line to ride The Vortex I looked at my hat. OH NO!!! One of
my coaster pins was gone! The Beast ate my Ice Dragon! Tom
Kelley had warned me before I rode The Beast to "hang on to your
pins with your life." What was unusual was that the clip part of
the pin stayed glued to the underside of my hat, while the actual
pin itself was ripped from the hat. I think that shed in the
helix must have torn it off!
As we waited to board the Vortex I saw the grossest thing I have
ever seen anyone do at an amusement park. A teenage boy was
*working* on a big zit on his cheek, right there in the middle of
the queue. I mean, he was bent over with two fingers squeezing
into it as hard as he could. It was SICK! Sean and I both
noticed him at the same time and as I looked away in horror I saw
Sean's face, and he was as wide eyed as I must have been. He
looked at me and said "whoa, I didn't need to see that." Oh man,
it was just disgusting!
We went back for one last ride on The Beast to end the night.
This time it was pitch black outside, and everyone agreed it was
an even better and faster ride than before! But personally, I
will always remember that first ride with Sean.
We all met up the next morning for the ACE walkback. There were
over 25 of us, and this time we were joined by Aaron aka PKIGuy
aka Niceguy PKIGuy. I was also glad to see Kat join us for part
of the day! Kat is a *very* nice lady and so much fun to be
around! Angie, the PR lady for Kings Island, came out to greet
us and walk us back. Sean, being the regional rep for ACE,
introduced her to all of us, and she chatted with everyone very
easily. She didn't ride though!
Our morning ride on The Beast was not as intense as the night
before. However it was great seeing that shed we went through in
the helix. My God. No wonder I was so scared.
I don't know if I can adequately convey how I felt about the
events that occurred on this day. It turned out to be one of the
very best days I have ever had at a park. *Everything* was just
great. We just had one incredible string of good luck after
another. The crowds must have taken the exact opposite route we
took because nearly every ride was either a walk-on or one train
wait! We got two rides on The Beast without waiting at all (the
front seat even!). Then Sean suggested we hit Outer Limits next
since it always has a huge line.
We walked right on in.
Now I am a big Outer Limits:FOF fan, thanks to Jeff Tolotti and
his incredible ride instructions. However, it still scares the
daylights out of me. Shawn McLaughlin had never ridden it
before, so I gave him the Tolotti "seminar."
I rode with Chris
Hartman and got so nervous that as we boarded I forgot to take my
hat off. I was looking at Dave Althoff, who was next to board,
for reassurance, and as we launched my hat flew right off my
head! I screamed, not only out of fear, but because my hat - my
precious GhostRider hat, the hat that I had worked so diligently
on in the airport, was now gone. We tore through the coaster
structure and while I enjoyed the ride, I couldn't help thinking
about that stupid hat. Well, when the ride came to a halt and
the restraints were released, what do you know: I leaned forward
and that stupid hat fell right into my lap!!! It was pinned into
my shoulder blade the whole time! What luck!
Shawn McLaughlin got off *raving* about the ride, just as I did.
Congratulations, Jeffetta, your riding seminars have produced yet
another Outer Limits convert! Jeff Johnson, also an OL virgin,
produced an on ride photo that can only be described as "the eyes
of Satan."
Next we rode The Racer, backwards. Cindy and I chose a seat up
front. The airtime was spectacular!! In fact I liked the ride
so much I wanted to stay on it for awhile. But there were many
other coasters to cover so we moved on to Adventure Express.
Okay, Adventure Express is a great mine train. I'll grant you
that. And the chants of "ooooohmmm" were pretty funny. Everyone
was doing it except me (I had lost my voice the night before
while screaming on The Beast). And yes yes yes, the ride has
really great speed and turns and drops. And okay, that last lift
hill was cool, with all of us mimicking the tom tom drums, and
the voice that cried out "Now...... you..... will..... pay!"
But come on!!!!! Where's the beef?
'Nuff said.
We decided to head for Face/Off, and as we entered the Paramount
Action Zone, I immediately had a bad feeling. First of all, this
is the only area of the park I didn't like. Secondly, Drop Zone
was closed for the weekend and Face/Off was temporarily down.
Sean told me this area of the park didn't even exist before this
year, so perhaps I should withhold judgment, but I found it
very........... just yuck. I mean, the rides look great! Both
Drop Zone and Face/Off are very colorful (although Face/Off makes
me hungry for a Quarter Pounder with Cheese Extra Value Meal).
No, it was the area surrounding the rides that I didn't care for.
It was all concrete and no shade. A few tables. Some
non-descript buildings. Just kind of a big, open, concrete plaza
with nowhere to sit or do anything except stand in line for the
rides.
Since Face/Off was temporarily down, we chose to head back for
Top Gun. This had the longest wait of the day, no doubt thanks
to Face/Off being closed and so close by. Sean spent the time in
line being grossly immature, pointing at phantom objects in the
distance, hoping to lure more mature, unsuspecting folks to see
what he was looking at. Jeff and I only fell for it twice.
Top Gun is a *great* suspended coaster!!! Both Shawn M. and I
greyed out at one point. It's a very short ride, but what a
punch! It's a real shame this was Arrow's last suspended coaster
because they did a bang up job on it!
We also checked out construction on PKI's newest coaster project
for the year 2000, Son of Beast. The footers are everywhere, and
they even had structure erected. Nice, dark stained wood.
Personally, I don't like the name for the new coaster at all.
Son of Beast. Somehow I think it implies a lesser coaster.
King Cobra was next. As we entered the queue I saw the storm
clouds looming overhead and told Sean "I think we're gonna get
soaked." Five minutes later a driving rainstorm descended upon
us. The overhead rafters did little to shelter us from the
pounding rain, and after 5-10 minutes we gave up. It just got
heavier and heavier and heavier. Thank God we weren't among the
riders stranded out on the brake run! They didn't pull into the
station for 10 minutes!!! Most of our group tried to take cover
under one of the few patio umbrellas nearby, while I ran straight
for the shirt shop. Once there, I looked at my stranded friends
and saw Cindy and everyone else being absolutely POUNDED by the
heaviest rainfall I have ever seen! The drops of water were HUGE
and it came down with such force that at times it was nearly
blinding. The umbrella had ceased to provide any protection at
all and finally everyone made a mad dash for the shirt shop. We
stood there while a whirlpool formed outside in the Paramount
Action Zone. Sean said he wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't
seen it with his own eyes!
The storm soon lifted and I mean, we were soaked. To. The. Bone.
Poor Cindy. Not only did she look like a drowned cat, but
earlier she told me her feet had been reduced to bloody stumps.
Blisters were having their way with both of us, but they got the
best of Cindy on this day. I begged her not to pull a stunt like
the teenage boy on Vortex.
We got in back in line for King Cobra when eagle eyed Aaron spied
Face/Off testing its cars. I said "we *have* to leave this line
NOW!" and led the charge through the queue and out the entrance.
It was a smart move. Less than half an hour later we would get
to enjoy two rides on Face/Off!
This is an amazing experience. I faced off against Sean, while
Shawn M. sat next to me facing off against Power Tower Daryl.
The feeling of being lifted backwards on an inverted coaster is
freaky! Of course we screamed the whole way, and it was funny
watching Sean's face the entire ride. I'm not sure I'd want to
ride this with strangers looking at me! Chris Hartman and I
then chose to ride the front seat for our second ride. These are
the seats that pull the highest g's, reportedly 5.0 during the
return loop. I have to say, it definitely felt strong, but I
can't believe it was really 5 g's! That is just too freaky!
Later on that day Sam Ulrich farted on Face/Off when we scored a
bonus third ride.
I also enjoyed listening to Dave Bowers, Robert Ulrich and Jeff
Johnson talk about the game Roller Coaster Tycoon while waiting
in line for Face/Off. They were clearly enjoying the discussion
and I learned some funny things about the game. When Robert
walked up to Face/Off he said "Coaster #2 looks too intense for
me!"
Some of our group had to leave to catch planes, while the rest of
us went back to Face/Off. A short while later it became apparent
another storm was headed our way. We decided to head for The
Beast and wait it out there. We chose a gift shop for shelter.
This storm lasted a long time, an hour or more. Again, we took
advantage of the time to display our most immature qualities,
having pretend conversations with unsuspecting guests standing on
the other side of the glass outside the shop. We also watched
the park clear out, and once the storm finally passed all rides
were walk-ons for the next two hours.
We rode everything at least once. The Beast, walk-on. Racer,
walk-on. Adventure Express, walk-on. Shawn McLaughlin got his
Outer Limits reride. We did everything!
In spite of all the great coaster rides we had, it was the Flyers
that I chose to end our night on. These Flyers are AWESOME.
Supposedly Kings Island pairs everyone up, but I spoke to the
ride ops and they said they only enforce it when the park is
crowded. Since the park had nearly emptied, we all got
individual tubs, and we were snapping cables like crazy! Even
Chris Hartman, who had never experienced them before, was flying
like a pro! RRC had completely taken over the Flyers, and the
ride ops gave all of us a bonus re-ride to end the night!
Paramount's Kings Island is a magnificent park. It's huge, yet
it retains an air of intimacy, with beautiful, lush landscaping,
nice, narrow pathways, intimate seating areas, and isolated
sections that make the park seem not so big.
My favorite area of the park, I think, is the Coney Midway,
because it represents what is best about Kings Island. It is
clearly designed for fun, and I really like the layout. It's a
beautiful area with trees running down the middle of the avenue.
Several intimate seating areas have been incorporated into the
center of the midway as well. And all along both sides of the
midway is a marvelous mix of rides, shops, games and food.
Everything has been spaced out nicely, so you have a ride,
followed by a concession stand, then a games booth, followed by
another ride.
And the choice of rides for this area is brilliant
- classic flat rides like the Scrambler and Octopus, along with
Adventure Express and the classic and stunning Racer. It really
is a wonderful area, beautifully designed and decorated.
The crowd at Kings Island, while huge, was not unruly. People
were generally polite and well behaved, there was no evidence of
gang banging, no blatant instances of line jumping, and smoking
was not a big problem. People in line were eager to talk to us
about coasters.
There were only two things that bothered me on this day. One,
the wheelchairs at Kings Island. They are everywhere. Every
single ride had wheelchair users entering through the exit ramps
for no-wait rides. It was OUT OF CONTROL. There is no reason
why Kings Island should provide wheelchairs to its guests. If
someone is truly disabled they can bring their own wheelchair,
and anyone else can either wait it out along with the rest of us
or, if they're in that much discomfort, perhaps a ride on a
roller-coaster isn't the best remedy to heal their "injury." I
have never seen such a bad handicap policy, and I was very
offended by it.
The other thing that bothered me was an incident that occurred as
we were leaving. Angie, the wonderful PR lady, came out to talk
to us and wish us well. She had a cute little boy with her. He
looked to be about 8 years old, and he had been separated from
his Dad since 2:30 that afternoon. I wasn't quite sure if the
boy got lost or the Dad had simply abandoned him. The little boy
had been with Angie ever since. The father never bothered to
contact anyone associated with the park about his little boy's
whereabouts. WHY? By that time it was well after 10:30 p.m.
Angie, of course, chose her words carefully so as not to upset
the child, but she was clearly angry at the father and concerned
about the boy. The whole thing really bothered me a lot. I just
don't understand it.
Of course that is no reflection on the park. I had one of the
best days I've ever spent in a park on this day, and it's in no
small part thanks to Sean Flaharty. A few words about Sean: I
think Sean is one of the nicest people I have ever met. He's
truly liked by everyone. Not only that, but he's obviously
working hard to be a good regional rep for ACE. He's not doing
it for personal gain or status either. He's doing it because he
loves roller-coasters and parks and people, and because that's
just the kind of guy he is. He's a great guy and he's one of the
reasons why I love coastering.
Which brings me to this: why I love coastering. I love it
because it gives me thrills in a safe, fun environment, with
friends who share the same passion as I. And even though the
elements may be challenging at times - weather, blisters, broken
ribs, sunburn, whatever - coastering is an addiction that gives
us the choice to overlook the negatives we face and focus instead
on making the most out of each and every opportunity to ride.
We left Americana at 7:30 and arrived at Kings Island by 8:00. I
had only one goal on this night, and that was to ride The Beast.
This would be Shawn McLaughlin's 50th roller-coaster and my
175th! Sean Flaharty said he wanted my first ride to be with him
and added that he hoped my expectations weren't too high. He
then went on to give his take on The Beast. He said that it's
not about airtime. It's not about extreme positive, negative or
lateral forces (although The Beast has that in abundance at the
end). It's not about camelbacks or twists.
Anyway, as we boarded the Vortex, Sean told us to puff our chests
out and leave room in our shoulder restraints. Then he said
"keep your feet up the entire ride!" WOW!!!! I could not
believe the major hang time we got on this ride! The first drop
is one of the best I've experienced on any steel looper, and the
hang time we got through the inversions was amazing!
Back to The Trip Report
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