Mini Midwest Trip 2018 - Kings Island

Mini Midwest Trip 2018 Cedar Point Kentucky Kingdom Holiday World Kings Island

All right. We're finally at that point. The last part of the trip. Yep, we're back at Kings Island for a full day. Excluding our bonus night a couple days ago, my last visit to the park was 10 years ago. So there was a lot of new stuff to check out. But luckily, we did almost everything, including everything added since 2008 during the bonus night. So we were able to take this day nice and slow.

Let's get started on last years new coaster. Mystic Timbers.

This was one of the newest GCIs, and it's been getting a lot of hype. So I was curious to see if all the high reviews were warrented.

Oops. My bad. It turns out that this is an Arrow. Wait. I thought they were dead?

Mystic Timbers is good. Really good. Not the best GCI, but I'd say it's about on par with Prowler, one of the better GCIs. In fact, this ride REALLY reminds me of Prowler. A LOT. So I really like that. However, there is ONE major complaint I have with the ride.

The shed. The f*cking shed. You see, when Mystic Timbers was first announced, they released a standard POV, but they left the ride going into a shed, and "What's in the Shed?" became a huge thing for Mystic Timbers when it was under construction. And considering that I'm someone that takes coaster spoilers as seriously as movie spoilers, I made sure to not watch any POVs or find out what's in the shed. I knew from other people complaining about how dissapointed they were in it. So I knew it must've been something really lame and weak. But I didn't know what specificly until I rode it. I go specificly into what's in the shed in my Mystic Timbers Review, but I'm just gonna come out and say it (Semi-Coaster Spoilers). IT'S A F*CKING COCKTEASE!!! F*CKING LAME!!! Seriously, Kings Island now has TWO rides with total cocktease endings! I mean, the coaster itself is really good. But I HATE cocktease endings. I hate it on California Mummy. I hate it on Adventure Express. And I hate it here. Well....not quite hate, but endlessly mock it to no end. Somehow, my really low bar on what was in the shed couldn't even be met.

We got the new 2017 ride done, better go do the low capacity rides that we didn't do Tuesday night. So yeah. We're here at Firehawk.

I know I really liked this ride 10 years ago, and yeah. I still really like it.

I'm not sure why people are sh*tting on these rides. The Vekoma Flyers are a lot of fun. Particuarly Firehawk. It's not even that rough, and it's easily better than the Superman: Ultimate Flights.

Yeah. The inline twists here are much better than Nighthawk's corkscrews. Smart move on Vekoma to switching the corkscrews for inline twists on the newer models.

I see you original X-Flight paint job. =P

Also in low capacity corner is Flight of Fear. So yeah. Better knock that out as well.

We know the secret as to what makes Flight of Fear fun. Aliens.

It's basically Poltergeist in a box. Except with harsh midcourse brakes, which really slows it down in the 2nd half, making it not nearly as intense. Aww. Now I miss Poltergeist. =(

LAUNCH!!!

Hey. We're here. Why not?

"Whatever you do. Don't go in the shed. Don't go in the...*static* Go in the shed. Go in the shed." Oops. Sorry. Wrong Cocktease. ;)

You know, I love these things. But we just rode MaxAir a couple days ago, and my home park just got a giant frisbee this year. I think we're good.

Time to talk about another new ride since my last visit. Banshee.

Ooh. I really like the Son of Beast tombstone. Hey, what happened to the Eternal Flame?

OK. Banshee has the same vest restraints as Valravn. Eh, it's not as annoying as the ones on Valravn, but I still do wish that they just used normal B&M restraints.

All right. Banshee is...a very interesting ride. It's one of the newer B&Ms that has gotten A LOT of attention over the past few years. People have claimed that this is B&M returning to their glory days, and being really forceful for a new B&M. So this spiked me curiosity as for if this is all true.

Banshee, or as I like to call it. Microwave Burrito: The Ride. Because much like a microwave burrito, it's hot, but with cold spots. And...Banshee is also sort of like that.

The first drop, immelmann, and vertical loop are all pretty good. Those are pretty forceful. But the Heartline Spin, it's about on par with Silver Bullet, which makes that a real bummer. I really miss those forceful Heartline Spins.

The Pretzal Knot is fun and all, but don't expect it to be like a Batwing. It's fun. It's good. But it's not insanely forceful like I was hoping.

Hey. Nice new look you've got Bat. I like it. =)

Cody, does this bring back any memories of working at Fright Fest? >=)

Not only is this now a dying breed, but it's one of the best ones.

This really craps on Ninja back home, and completely made me forgot that we just rode Iron Dragon a couple days ago.

If anyone was wondering if any part of Son of Beast was still standing, here you go. You're welcome. ;)

OK. Can't forget about Drop Zone. Still one of the best drop towers in the country.

I know it's easy to be spoiled by some of the newer ones, but this still is one of the bigger drop towers and still does pack a punch.

Hmm. I didn't think the 101 went through Cincinatti. Good to know for future road trips. =P

His son may be dead (and he sucked), but Papa Beast is still here to thrill you.

Hey! Do you like the setting of the Beast!? If so, then I got good news for you. 90% of Ohio looks like that!

"No! Please don't take us out there! There might be a shed over there!" ='(

We left the park to go try Skyline Chilli, a Cincinatti favorite (They do sell it in the park as well). Which is basically Chilli on Spaghetti, feel free to add beans or onions. Plus, the staff was super friendly and intrigued that we were visiting from California (well, most of us) and that we're coaster enthusiasts visiting Kings Island. It's sh*t like that that really makes me enjoy travel. Who knew we'd get that at a local chilli place on this trip.

That was good. Back to our lazy relaxed day at Kings Island.

Don't f*ck around at Kings Island. We tend to turn those who do into statues. You have been warned.

We may say we want to blast away ghosts, but really, it's all for the air conditioning. ;)

I'm happy to see that Kings Island has realized that (most) adult ≠ responsible person.

♫Scooby Dooby Doo. Where are you? This used to be your ride now.♫

OK. There's only one coaster left that was new for me on this trip. Diamondback.

Aww. I remember looking at your track peices and seeing your "Coming Soon for 2009" posters. You're all grown up and built now. =')

But seriously, Diamondback is very good. Definetly one of the better B&M Hypers.

OK. Who said that only Dive Coasters could have a splash effect? F*ck that! I'll have a splash element if I want to, even if it doesn't make sense on this ride. ;)

OK, it's not as cool as the creepy Dr. Demento theming on the Holiday World log flume, but a random Peanuts film that I have yet to see is a fun theme too.

I remember laughing at how awkward this log flume looked back in 2008. So it's good to be riding it this time.

SPLOOSH!!!

"SH*T!!! I actually got wet on this ride. Damn it!" >=(

Oh come on now! That's a total dick move Snoopy!

These rides are also a lot of fun, and sadly, also in a trend of dying out.

I know I'm spoiled by Viper, and that's obviously better. But this is still pretty good too.

Is the train going to make it through those corkscrews!? I genuinely don't know (OK, Fine. It's gonna make it. But damn, it is going SLOW through those)!

Oh yeah. There's one last ride (excluding kiddy coasters. I have those credits) for us to ride.

The ride itself is nothing special. Generic wooden coaster. But coaster racing always leads to a fun time.

"GRR!!! I'M TOO BUSY BEING AN OVERCOMPETITIVE JACKASS TO ENJOY THIS RIDE!!! GIMME A TROPHY!!!"

Hey! Do you want to spend money to throw a basketball in a hoop, something you can do for free at your local park, fail, be told that you suck and are ineligable to win a giant stuffed animal that'll just gather dust in your closet!? ;)

I've constantly heard from people that Kings Island has really good ice cream. So here we are.

The famous Blueberry Ice Cream is pretty good. And there's also Red Cream soda to with it.

Ice Cream, Red Cream Soda, and Banshee. That's what makes this even better.

I know a lot of people have made this comparison, and I might as well have my say. Banshee is fun, but Raptor without a doubt > Banshee.

After getting way wetter than expected on the Snoopy Log Flume, I'm gonna pass on a standard shoot the chutes ride.

EVERYBODY SOAK AJ!!!

Hmm. They have an Eiffel Tower knockoff here. I think I know what we can do up there. ;)

Yeah. We had to get some ariel shots while up here. Ooh. They have a Great Wolf Lodge here.

Hello Banshee. =)

I'll put $100 on the red train please.

In the backseat, that first drop actually has a lot of airtime.

You know, Diamondback doesn't look so big from up here. ;)

It may look nice as shrubbery, but man does that make for a sh*tty bell.

Excuse me, but where am I? I don't know. Do you know what time it is?

More Mystic Timbers sounds good to me.

The ride itself is good and all, but now it's time for what I really came on this ride for. Gary Numan. ;)

OK. There may be better B&M Hypers (Goliath @ SFOG, Behemoth, & Nitro), but there's some REALLY good floater air here. It's a really good ride.

Aww. I'm sad that this is the last coaster of the trip. Oh well, it's a good one to end it on.

I want to say thank you to Kings Island for a really fun day. I really like everything you've added since my last visit a decade ago.

OK. New resteraunt credit. Raising Canes. I had never heard of this place until this trip. So I just assumed it was a Midwestern Chain. Nope! They have some resteraunts in SoCal. Just none in the Ventura area. It's constantly been called "the In'N'Out of Fast Food Chicken". And yeah. This place is really good. New favorite fast food chicken. And considering my former (now 2nd) favorite has a homophobia problem, that's really good news. Hope to stop by one of their SoCal shops sometime.

And sadly, the trip is now over. Yeah, I know there's more trip, but I have to miss that due to a wedding. But hey, this still was an awesome trip. I got to go back to some parks I hadn't visited in a LONG time, I got to check out one of the few parks in the U.S I still had yet to visit, and most importantly, I got to go back to Cedar Point and make it on Steel Vengeance this year. That is amazing, and there were other really good coasters on this trip. This trip was a blast, and I have two more trips this year. So that's more stuff to look foreward to.

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