Kings Island is a very nice and well run amusement park. Now when I first visited the park, I didn't exactly know what to expect aside from a bunch of roller coasters, concrete, and trash cans. And yes, there is indeed a lot of roller coasters, trash cans, and concrete. But I actually found Kings Island to be a very nice park. Ok, there is nothing insanely fantastic about this place, it is just a big amusement park. But it is still a really fun place to go to. And yes, the park actually has a some good coasters coasters. Their recent additions have been very good, with the newest one being a B&M Giga Coaster. So yeah. Kings Island is actually a nice park with some good coasters, a semi nice atmosphere (The farther back in the park you go, the nicer it gets.), and their kids area is actually pretty awesome. I know some enthusiasts compare the park to Cedar Point since they're both major Cedar Fair parks in the state of Ohio. But that's not fair. Cedar Point is definetly better, and has some of the best coasters ever. But to be fair, most parks aren't like Cedar Point, and Kings Island is still pretty good. I would definetly recommend this park to anyone taking a roller coaster trip in the Midwest. It's a nice fun park with a lot of roller coasters.
Here are the reviews of all the Flat Rides at Kings Island. The Flat Ride Collection is pretty good at Kings Island. However, I certainly wouldn't call it amazing or anything like that. From what I can gather, the park only has 2 good flat rides. Anyways, let's go through with reviewing them. First off, let's get the star flat ride out of the way. And in my opinion, one of the star attractions within all of Kings Island. I'm of course talking about Drop Zone. Now at Kings Island, Drop Zone isn't just a typical old 2nd Generation Intamin Freefall. This is a huge monstrous Roto Drop. It's huge and it is going to be fast. And not to mention the capacity on this Drop Zone is pretty damn big. Anyways, after rotating up to the top, getting a fantastic view of Kings Island and rest of the nothingness known as the boring state of Ohio. Then right as you're sitting at the top, you drop. And on Drop Zone, the drop is actually different from the other drops. You just sort of going into falling mode, a mode where all thoughts are on halt and all you can think to yourself is "I'm falling". without any sort of emotion at all. Once life comes back to you, a big burst of adreneline bursts to you at the bottom as you eagerly want to just go again. It is without a doubt one of my favorite drop rides and rides at Kings Island. The next flat ride on the list is Delarium. This is the park's Giant Frisbee. And like all giant frisbees, these little suckers are FAST!!! They're so fast that you don't even care about the lack of spinning that these rides have. It is just that awesome. I'm a big giant frisbee fan and I am very glad that these rides are becoming more and more common. The next flat ride I have to review would be the Crypt. Now I'm sure many of you guys know that Cedar Fair tore this ride down, but I still have to review it due to simply how BAD it was!!! All the people you heard people saying "This top spin was so great!" "It was so well themed!!" "This was more than just a top spin!!! It's like Indiana Jones with an orgasm of flat ride awesomeness!!" That may have been true back when it was owned by Paramount, but when I rode it, That was all 100% bullsh*t. First off, there was NO THEMING ON THIS RIDE WHATSOEVER!! There were a couple things inside the line, but inside the actual top spin, it was just a giant Top Spin in a box. Ok, so the theming totally blew and is imaginary. But surely it was still a good Top Spin in itself? Nope. This had to have been the worst Top Spin Program I have ever experienced on any Top Spin in my life. This Top Spin just likes to randomly stop and do many things that Top Spins are not supposed to do. And yes, it hurt like hell. This was not fun. It was just pure pain! Even if it was this amazingly themed top spin back when Paramount owned it, how could it have been fun if it ran such a horrible and painful program? So glad this ride is gone. The final flat ride I rode at Kings Island is Snoopy Surf Dog. This is a Hump in the Middle Disko. However, this one features Rockin Tug like cars instead of the traditional DiskO seating. This does make a difference because even though it's just a car difference, it just doesn't seem as much fun. It definetly feels more like a Rocking Tug than a Disko. But with that said, I'm actually suprised at how much Cedar Fair notices this. Here at Kings Island, Snoopy Surf Dog is considered a childrens ride and is located in the park's kiddy area (which is very good.) Wheras at California's Great America, they market Survivor as one of their thrill rides. And the only difference between the two is the seat. And I know the seat makes a difference, but it's not that big of a difference that it upgrades it to a thrill ride. But oh well. For being considered a Kiddy Flat, Snoopy Surf Dog is a fantastic one. Those are all the flat rides at Kings Island that I rode. The park is also home to a Windseeker, some bumper cars, a train, an octopus, a scrambler, a pirate ship, and some chairswings. I'm assuming those are all average and nothing special. So yeah, Kings Island's flat ride collection is pretty good.
Make sure you do this!! It is f*cking amazing!!! One of Kings Island's best rides.
Dark Rides
Kings Island does indeed have a dark ride. But it's nothing special. It's just the standard Boo Blasters ride. They have this same ride at Carowinds and Kings Dominion. You ride it, shoot all the ghosts, get a score, have some fun. Far from the best dark ride ever. But hey. It's still a fun ride. I mean, this is Boo Blasters at Kings Island. Are you really expecting something world class here?
People have always said that there was a haunted house here. But I never believed them!
Water Rides
Kings Island has....an intersting log flume. Now this thing isn't Top 10 Water Ride worthy by any means, but it is also better than average. "Race For Your Life Charlie Brown" is an intersting log ride. I know I was mocking the bump it had when I first visited. Well, when I finally rode it, the bump was smoothed out. But it was still a lot of fun. It surprisingly got you pretty wet. And I have to say, the Snoopy theming is pretty unique. Can't think of many log flumes themed to Peanuts. I know its in the kids area, but its still worth checking out (You're gonna go there to credit whore anyways, might as well provided the line isn't long). They also have a shoot the chutes ride and a rapids ride. But both look standard and I don't regret missing either of them.
"Bleah. Get off my log flume."
Water Park
And then there's their water park. I never went to it, but from photos I've seen, it doesn't look like anything special. Maybe I'm wrong, I'll just have to visit it and see.
Dining
From my experience, Kings Island had absolutely nothing special in the food department. I ate lunch at some burger place. It really reminded me of Coasters in the other Cedar Fair Parks. In fact, I wouldn't be suprised if they converted that place into a Coasters. Just to keep the theme going. It was just typical amusement park crap. Though I will admit that their blueberry ice cream is really freaking good. Oh, and there is something unique you can get at the park. Skyline Chilli. Skyline Chilli is a small chain primarily in Ohio, and a few scattered in nearby midwest states, like Indiana and Kentucky. They're from Cincinatti, so they're huge here, and they're mostly famous for chilli on spaghetti. Which sounds weird, but if you try it, it's actually really good. I tried it outside the park, but they have it inside the park as well if you don't want to leave (It's honestly better outside the park. But I understand not wanting to leave the park).
Chilli on Spaghetti may sound like a bad combination, but it's not. Esepcially not Cincinatti Chilli. =)
Theming and Other Attractions
Here are the reviews of all the other stuff at Kings Island. For theming, well...there is none. Ok, I guess there's a little bit of theming in the kids area. I mean, Planet Snoopy does look pretty cool. Definetly the best out of all the Cedar Fair Planet Snoopys. But other than that, nothing. I will say though that the Beast has a good atmosphere set in the woods. I'd probably call it one of the best settings on any coaster. As for other attractions, I'm not sure what else they have at Kings Island. I'm sure they have other cool stuff, but I was too occupied with their coasters. Plus, Kings Island just seems like the type of place that doesn't really focus on much other than rides.
In Conclusion
Kings Island is a very fun place to go. It's not an amazing place that will knock your socks off like a Disney or Universal Park, nor is it a place with an outstanding coaster collection (Ohio Fanboys are full of sh*t). But it is still a very fun park to go to with some very fun rides such as Banshee, Diamondback, Orion, Mystic Timbers, etc. And if you are with small children, they will really like the kids area that they have here. It's a really well put together area. I'd definetly recommend coming here if you are in the Cincinatti Area. It's a good park.
Enthusiast FAQs.
*Are there kiddy coaster restrictions? - No, No, and Yes. There are no restrictions for Flying ACE Ariel Chase or Woodstock Express. But you do need a child to ride the Great Pumpkin Coaster.
