A great day at Paramount's Kings Island
Written: Dec 30 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The Beast, variety of rides for all ages
Cons: Son of Beast, long lines in peak times
The Bottom Line: Kings Island is a great park featuring outstanding thrills like the Beast and Drop Zone and many family attractions that suits all ages.
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| michael19887's Full Review: Paramount's Kings Island |
King's Island is a large theme park located about 20 miles north of Cincinatti in a town called Kings Island, Ohio. The park has a wide variety of rides and some well-known coasters like the infamous Beast, and its new, over rated "son". The Great thing about King's Island is that, unlike many theme parks, all ages will be amply entertained. Older visitors will enjoy the shows, as well as their smaller replica of the Eiffel Tower. Younger children have many rides to choose from in a Nickelodeon themed area. Older children have rides like the 7th Portal 3D adventure and the Zephyr swing ride among many others. Thrill seekers also have a good selection of coasters.
Parking and Prices
The parking fee is a steep $9.00 per vehicle. If you chose so, you can pay an extra $2.00 and park in the preferred parking lot. I skipped that option. The regular parking lot does offers a tram service. The cost of a single day admission is $42.99. There are also several season pass options available. An individual pass is $85.99, and families can purchase four passes for $295.99, dropping the cost to around $73.00 a person. Parking passes are $49.99 for families, and $29.99 individually. Parking passes are now printed on the ID, allowing you to take different cars to the park.
The Rides
Action Zone
Son of Beast - This highly anticipated wooden coaster opened in 2000 with many problems. This is a wooden coaster featuring a 200 foot drop and a complete vertical loop. Upon opening, the coaster had tracking problems which led to one train operation and very long lines. The last time I visited, only two trains were running. To avoid the line, head right to this coaster. The trains are odd and uncomfortable that caused lots of pain and abrupt motions throughout the ride. The drop and loop were fun, and the coaster was better when I re rode it at night than in the morning, but I still found this ride to be a disappointment.
Wait Time: 15 minutes (at park opening) and 35 minutes (at night)
Top Gun - This Arrow suspended coaster is slow, short, and somewhat boring. Worth riding only if the line is short. Wait time: 10 minutes
Drop Zone Stunt Tower - This is an intense, fast, and fun Intamin drop tower. Riders sit around the tower, which makes a complete rotation. After sitting at the top for a few seconds, you plummet over 200 feet in a matter of seconds. Very thrilling. Wait time: 1. 45 minutes 2. 35 minutes
Face/Off - This is a unique suspended Vekoma Boomerang. Riders sit facing each other and travel through 6 inversions, 3 forwards and 3 backwards. On par with other Vekoma coasters, the ride can be rough at times. The capacity is low, and a long line builds up quickly. Overall, a fun ride. Wait time: 45 minutes
King Cobra, a standing coaster that used to operate in Action Zone, was removed last year.
Coasters in other parts of the park
Outer Limits - A few years ago, thanks to over the shoulder restraints, this was a jarring and painful coaster indoor launched coaster. Recently, the OSTR were replaced with new lap bars, changing this from a run of the mill coaster to a thrilling, smooth, and fun one. There is elaborate theming in the queue and station. Riders are launched from 0-60 in under 4 seconds and continue through a series of inversions, drops, and turns. This is a fun coaster that should not be missed. Wait Time: 30 minutes
Racer - These classic, dueling wooden coasters rarely ever have a long line. If time permits ride this one twice, once forward and once backward. Wait Time: under 10 minutes on each side
Vortex - This Arrow multi lopping coaster has seen better days. Set over the water, it is visually pleasing to look at. However, in typical Arrow fashion, the ride's smoothness has deteriorated over time. The 6 inversions are still fun, but the ride leaves many with a headache. One positive side, three trains makes the line move quickly. Wait time: 15 minutes
The Beast - This outstanding wooden coaster should not be missed. This classic was built in the 1970's and is the longest wooden coaster on the planet. There are two lift hills, three tunnels, and an immense amount of turns and hills. The first half of this ride soars through the woods, and the second half is dedicated to an intense helix. Make sure and catch this one at night. Wait time: about 20 minutes for each of the three rides.
Adventure Express - This is a steel mine train coaster that is actually somewhat fun. There are lots of small drops and tunnels. Wait time: under 10 minutes
Other Rides
Water
There are three major water attractions here. A log flume is themed to the Nickelodeon show the Wild Thornberrys. There is also a large family raft ride called White Water Canyon. Congo Falls features large boats which drop down a massive plunge creating a huge splash.
Families
Eiffel Tower - This 1/3 replica of the Eiffel Tower is located in the front of the park and offers an amazing view of every corner of the park.
7th Portal - This 3D journey is indoor and contains great special effects.
Zephyr - this is a traditional and fun wave swinger
Scrambler - this ride rotates you in many directions
Viking Fury - this is a large swinging ship located near the front of the park
Families can also the train ride in the park and drive the Tin Lizzie's around the track.
Kids
Adventurous children can take on one of the park's three kiddie coasters. The first is Beastie, a small wooden coaster for kids that are not quite tall enough to ride the Beast or Son of Beast. Top Cat's Taxi Jam roller coaster takes kids on a wild taxi ride. Scooby Doo's Ghoster Coaster is a suspended coaster themed after the popular cartoon Scooby Doo. Hanna-Barbera Land and Nickeloden Central contains tons of rides and attractions for young ones.
Food
The food here at Paramount's Kings Island is on par with many other amusement parks. It is a little pricey but good at times. There are venues everywhere serving pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers, french fries, and ice cream.
Final Thoughts
Kings Island is a great park. It offers a lot of variety in their attractions and can be done in one or two days. For next year, the park is building Delerium, a Huss Giant Frisbee, and a Scooby Doo dark ride. Their newest attraction, a highly themed Huss Giant Top Spin called Tomb Raider, was not ready when I visited. One thing I felt the park was missing was a giant looping coaster. Whether inverted, floorless, or standing style, there was not a new looping coaster here. Even though they have the Vortex, it is old and rough. In addition to the theme park, Kings Island also includes a water park with admission. Although we did not visit the water park, it seemed to have a lot of slides and looked fun. Overall, I highly recommend Kings Island because it is a very fun way for people of all ages to spend a day.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
michael19887
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Location: TN, USA
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 0 members
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