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From 2017 and 2018 I had the privilege of working as a Park Ambassador. It was a job that was a dream come true for me. I basically had the opportunity to do what was needed to make a guests day, get to explore the park and hope not just guests but associates were doing well and if they needed help with anything. In 2017, Our last day of the season, I was back by Dinosaurs Alive talking to some guests when a lady approached me asking if I was able to help her with something. I was delighted to help her and it was even more awesome was, her daughter just hit 48in height requirement. However, her mom was scared/not a fan of rollercoasters. She wanted someone to ride with her daughter, which at the time I was able to. I tried to help make it one of the best memories they ever had. I told the mom and the girl that they could choose up to 3 rides, and ill take her to the front of the line and she can choose any row to sit in (granted the park was dead to begin with so not much benefit in skipping lines) she decided on doing Adventure Express, Mystic Timbers and The Beast to ride. She really liked Adventure Express and at the time she did not like Mystic Timbers as unfortunately it was rather chilly and the cool air kinda took her breath away and it scared her a bit (although I her she loves riding it now) The Beast she really liked too. Well as we got off Mystic Timbers her mom was so ecstatic and happy, she wanted a picture of me and her daughter together (both with her phone and from the ride) well I went ahead and got the photo taken care for her and she was almost in tears with just joy and excitement. Actually as we went towards The Beast, she had to Facetime a family member and had to tell them how much of a great time she was having and told me to say hi. Everytime I worked and they saw me out in the park, the girl always had to run up and give me a hug. I loved getting the privilege of doing stuff like that. The excitment kids got from a gesture like that all way down to just a "I love Kings Island" sticker always helped me feel better knowing they are enjoying there visit. Granted not everyone did, but I would try as hard as possible to make sure they did.

Here's a funny... that wasnt funny at the time... When you work rides, one of the most frustrating things you deal with is guests that insist you look for their lost item. Whether its glasses, wallet, keys, phone etc - it seemed as though it was a never ending parade of people that were constantly holding up ride cycles due to negligence in securing items. As a member of The Beast crew, we were obligated to do a quick "sweep" of the seats & car on behalf of the guests. (Many times the lost item had simply fallen between padding or occasionally under the seat and we'd find it. - It was actually rare that an item in someone's pocket flew out of the train.) The problem was, with literally THOUSANDS of people riding in those seats - not only do they get greasy, grimy, sticky, wet, dirty, smelly and just generally gross - they also collect lots of trash (park maps, refill cups etc.) We had a "pattern" we'd follow where we'd run our hands in a certain direction around the seat edge, in between the pads then under the seats. If we felt any trash as a part of that check - we'd pull it out and toss it. If the item wasn't found, we'd ask the guest to check back later or with guest services. The ride ops HATED doing it, and we griped about it to each other all the time away from guests... but it was "part of the gig" so we had to literally grin and bear it. Well, one particular hot Sunday afternoon I was working unload on Beast. Now mind you, this was 1999 so smart phones - even just plain 'ol cell phones - were not a common thing. But pagers were. (For you youngins - pagers were a cellular device that would text you a simple message or a number to call.) Well if memory serves me, a train came in and of course some man got out and freaked because he was missing (I think) his pager. Soooooo... As the load-side gates were held, I did the quick sweep of the seats, then around the padding, then across the floor under the seat. Well, when I reached under the seat, I felt something damp and squishy and proceeded to pull it out thinking it was just like a wet park map or something to throw in the trash. I stood up, opened my hand, looked at it and realized... I was holding poop. Well, not really... but we'll get to that in a bit. Of course there was a station full of waiting guests that were all watching me intently during the checking routine... and ultimately saw me holding a "turd" in my hand. There was literally a collective "GASP" from the guests when they realized what I had found. I even saw one lady mouth to her husband "He's holding $^#@!" I was simultaneously: A: Shocked B: Grossed out C: Utterly embarrassed D: completely baffled at how _ _ _ _ got under a seat. So what did I do? Well, I threw it away of course! I then immediately freaked out to the crew lead about needing to go sterilize my hands. We were on minimal crew - so I couldn't go anywhere until a relief area manager could come to Beast to fill in. I actually used water from the water cooler to wash my hands as best I could (No hand sanitizer then) and I think we had some general ride cleaner on hand that I doused my hands with. When certain "ecological" issues arose - we'd sometimes call ecology to clean it up or we'd make an "incident report" or such. I cant exactly remember what we did in this particular situation. But I do know the end result was that after being closely analyzed, the determination was made that what I had picked up was indeed - NOT poop. You see, at that time in the park - several of the midway games had prizes that included "Bugs Bunny" stuffed animals. (Not Six Flags - go figure.?) And it turns out the "poop" was actually a very wet, very dirty stuffed "carrot" that had fallen off the hand of a Bugs Bunny stuffed animal. It had simply turned into a very wet, mis-shapen and dark brown blob. (Don't ask me how... it probably had been there for months....) So there you have it... the day I pulled poop out of The Beast, which wasn't poop after all, much to the horror of myself and everyone else in The Beast's station. P.S. - Yes - the guys pager was found... on the floor behind his row.

Have you guys ever thought that posters could just be theming elements and not a hint at a new attraction? And that Steel Vengeance reference on MT's poster was placed after SV was announced.

And the above post is why I love Kings Island. Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

When I worked in Ride Operations(2000-2005), I would stash all the left over plush animals at the end of the day in a trash bag in a closet and then distribute them to kids I had to turn away because they were too short to ride. Specifically, the kids who were too short to ride and they were left alone while everyone else in their party rode.

In 2014 we had to help in moving all the front gate "KI Kicks Cancer" mini soccer balls to Action Theater to dry once the event was over. Once they all dried out we put them on the bottom level of the theater and had a good time

I remember this like it was yesterday. I was sent to the Demon because they were short handed and needed the help. So, I volunteer because I’m stuck in Octoberfest and I will do anything to get out of wearing that dam lederhosen. I stroll over thinking this should be cool and low and behold they give me the lovely job of sitting muenchen, which is basically telling people your to dam small to ride. After 2 AWESOME Hrs of that I’m sent up top to the platform to make sure everyone is buckled and ready to go. We get everyone off and I turn around to let the next batch of riders on when I see this rather large chesty woman walk over and try to get into the car. I know instantly that this isn’t going to go well. She strolls over and tries to get into the car and miraculously she manages to squeeze herself in. Now you have to close the top bar for the train to depart, but we have a slight problem. Her rather large chest prevents the bar from closing. I get the great job of telling her that if the bar does not close she will not be able to go. Well, she starts *****ing up a storm telling me that she’s not leaving until she gets to ride the &@$#ride. I have no clue as to what to do and I notice that my great co- workers are looking at me basically saying let’s go. So, I tell her once again the top bar won’t close and there’s nothing I can do make it close. She the proceeds to grab her chest and lift them up and yells close the bar. I calmly pull the bar down and the dam thing still won’t close because she’s to big!!! So everyone is starting to yell get out or let’s go. I have no clue on how to handle this so I yell take a deep breath and suck in your stomach. She does and I push on the top bar locking it into place and give the thumbs up and away they go. I can still remember the shade of blue on her face as the train came back into the station!

I currently work in landscape at the park, been there a year now. My favorite weekly ritual with another good coworker is to mow the tower legs every Friday. It usually takes us around 1.5-2 hours to mow, weed eat and blow clippings. But the satisfaction I get from putting in the nice straight burnt in lines, making the tower legs look pretty is definitely something I am proud of. It’s something I enjoy while working and also as a guest in the park.

I worked in Guest Services from 2015-2018. I think my favorite memory was when a young woman and her mom came in to the office looking for some information on KI's accessibility policy for guests with disabilities. I was going through the process with them, and one of the questions we ask when doing our assessments is "is there anything else I need to know to keep you safe today". The teenage girl mumbled something, so I asked if she could say that again because I missed it. Her mom said "Oh nothing, she was at the campgrounds with her friends yesterday, and they were being mean to her and she is having a bad day today because of that." So I went and filled out the paperwork needed for her to safely ride, and when I came back, I also printed out 15 dollars worth of in park credit called "Beagle Bucks" to give to the girl to help make her day a little better. I handed the sheet to the mom and went over the information, and then handed them the beagle bucks and explained what they were and said "I hope this can help make your day here the best day ever". The mom welled up and could not get words out. She simply reached her arms out as an embrace, so we all had a mini "group hug" as she kept saying "thank you so much" over and over. It was such a small gesture. 15 dollars to buy a stuffed animal or a couple of blue ice cream cones, but it changed their whole attitude and day. I loved days like that in the office. There were so many times were you would get wore down by tough situations, but then you helped someone solve a problem, and you could feel their gratitude, and it you remember why you love the job and the park. (more stories to come!)

With The Beast celebrating its 40th anniversary in the 2019 season, why don't we celebrate by starting a thread to share your stories on the legendary ride! Please share your favorite Beast memories, Beast pictures, and tell us what The Beast means to you! IndyGuy4KI's Story: The Beast is one of the first coaster that made me realize that I could not get enough of them. It started my love of coasters, and my quest to find that next one that could come close to the day and night time experience you can only get on The Beast. Here are a few pictures I have taken of The Beast over the last few years.

Favorite story as an employee in rides at Adventure Express: a few years ago, on a very stormy day, the ride closed down for maybe 2-3 hours or so. One group of friends hung out in the queue, waiting out the storm. My entire crew ended up playing games with them, getting to know everything about them, and giving them tips and tricks on how to make their visit to Kings Island the best possible. They all took selfies with us and posted about us on all their social media. They came back a few times over the next 2 years, and every time they did, they remembered us - or, who was remaining. I have a lot of stories like that, ranging from kids marathoning the ride at 9:00pm to some guests asking me all about the ride and trivia. Then, I have stories about stupid guests, like the time I chased someone around the lockout fence as he attempted to retrieve his hat from the ride area... But I don't want to be negative.

I worked in the Rides department in 2017 and 2018. They're as strict now as ever. He's just scratching the surface, too. Off-hand, I don't know that I have any specific stories to share. I do have to just generally put it out there that working in the Rides department was one of the best jobs I've ever had. People aren't exaggerating when they say that you can become family with your crew. That might not be everyone at every ride's experience, but it definitely was mine. Even at the Ship Which Shall Not Be Named. It was definitely fun (and occasionally groan-worthy) to get to know your "regulars." Some of them were great. Some of them were very excited and talkative 12 year-olds whose energy you could appreciate but maybe not return after being at work all day, so you become maybe a little less excited to see them reach their twentieth lap in a row while continuing the story they've been telling you for the previous nineteen laps. But even then, that's a fun problem to have.

Not a specific memory but there's a group of 9 women who worked together in Games between 1987 and 1993 (ish) and we still get together every few months! We are all so thankful that we worked at Kings Island and met each other.

We jumped into them like any normal person would ha... (it was like 4 feet deep)

Alright, I'll chime in. As it says in my About Me section, I've worked at the park for 10 seasons, both in Food and in Park Services. While Food was a good start (as it was my first real job), I enjoyed Park Services much, much more. One story that comes to mind is this: I was cleaning up Coney Mall (specifically on the pathway near Shake, Rattle and Roll/Jukebox Diner) after it had recently rained and was having trouble trying to figure out where all the rainwater was supposed to go. So, the guy who was (at the time) over all of Park Services came and helped me correctly get the water into the nearest drain (IIRC). I thought this was a really cool example of servant leadership. Also, every once in a while, I was taken behind the scenes and got to see some really cool stuff, including some Wild Animal Safari remnants. EDIT: I also got to be in an employee training video, cleaning up ice cream in Action Zone.

I've attached some of the MT posters that I saw during Winterfest in 2017. @Hawaiian Coasters 325 4th picture down is the one you are referring to.

I worked Rivertown Potato Works in 2004. Sadly, I had to watch the original Tiques get removed for Backlot, and during that part, the demo crew hit a sewer line. The smell flooded the entire back end of the park, I-Street around the Eiffel Tower, and a good chunk of Coney Mall. We had a lot of trays from other nearby food outlets, like Rivertown LaRosa's, what was the WINGS, and even some Skyline (this was after they removed the Rivertown Skyline foot long location, the next nearest one is Coney Mall). We always got very busy after the water park closed, particularly after the train rolled in, plus Tomb Raider was still new and there was a lot of activity in RT due to that. I would love to catch up with some of my co-workers from back then. It was a pretty smooth work environment. We got along really well and it translated to how we worked.

I was reading the former employee Q&A topic posted recently, and thought about something. Former park employee stories are some of my favorite things to read about. This board has always been ripe for discussion about visiting the park, but something I've always thought was missing was a dedicated thread for former employees to post their best stories and memories from working at the park. No matter what department you were in or at what time, I'd love to hear some interesting, funny, heartwarming, or scary stories from those of us who spent our summers in the blistering heat to keep the park going.

The stories I'm thinking about have mostly to do with guests I've encountered. I remember a lot of fun moments with guests at Vortex, but some stick out to me more than others, such as this one from early 2017: We had just opened for the day, and we had a couple of families come to the exit to have their kids' heights checked to see if they had reached 48". Since we had no one else in line yet, we were able to give that matter our full attention for the time being. One of those kids in particular I still remember fondly. I and two of my crewmates were measuring her on the height scale (the metal platform with the triangle - the bottom of the triangle is at the required height and must move the rider's head) and she was just tall enough - the triangle on the height scale moved her head just barely, but enough for me to notice. "It hit her head! She's tall enough!" I exclaimed, and as soon as we gave her the purple 48" wristband, she ran to her family who were waiting at the exit and showed them her new wristband, all while jumping up and down with excitement. She was ecstatic that she was tall enough and it made for a most wonderful start to my day! She of course rode afterward and had fun. Thanks to Vortex's fairly low height requirement, I see a lot of kids who are riding for the first time. Some are in tears because they are so nervous, and usually we talk to them and ensure that they will be okay and that they may enjoy it. I often say, "I love this ride, and maybe you'll like it too!" Most of those nervous/scared kids end up enjoying the ride after seeing that going upside down isn't as bad as they feared. I make sure to ask them afterward if they enjoyed the ride. I remember one day last year when I met a little girl who was scared, but chose to ride. When her train came back and I asked how her ride was, she answered with an awed "That was amazing!" as I helped her lift her restraint so she could get out. A few other young riders on the same train ran up to me after they got off and told me how much they enjoyed their rides. I say that I'm not that great when it comes to interacting with kids, but moments like that are proof that I may have to reconsider that thought. It always makes my day seeing a kid get off the ride with a huge smile on their face and asking their parents if they can ride again! On Build-A-Bear's "Pay Your Age" fiasco day last year, I was working when during the last hour of the day I met a young boy who had gotten his own Toothless plush from Build-A-Bear, and now he and his parents were riding Vortex. Of course I had to point out that I too was a How to Train Your Dragon fan and that I also had my own Toothless plush (which, yes, was there with me, in my backpack nearby!) and I told him that if he wanted, his Toothless plush could ride with him if he held onto it tightly (which I do too, #shamelessplug!) and I even mentioned that we could even ride together with our Toothless plushies! He loved the idea, and so after his first ride, he came back around and we were able to ride together a few times, with both of us holding on tightly to our Toothless plushies for the whole ride. Vortex is his favorite ride too, so it is needless to say that both of us had a blast that night. What a memorable few rides for both of us, on our favorite ride! There was also one day last year when I was helping someone with their Ride Admission Policy sheet, and he told me that he was the first person in line to ride Vortex on its opening day in 1987. I replied with "Wow, it's so cool that you got to be one of its first public riders!" He kept insisting (politely) that he was THE first public rider, so I took his word for it. I felt a little star-struck, as I had just met and helped the same person who was reportedly Vortex's first EVER public rider in 1987, and he was still riding it 31 years later! That is so cool!

I've got some pretty great stories from Haunt that I can talk about. Would anyone be interested in that?

WCPO's John Matarese has a story on the 2019 season. https://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/kings-island-sneak-peek-we-get-inside-for-a-2019-preview

We use 48” walk behind mowers that get lifted into/out of each tower leg using a beefed up forklift, which we call the ‘moon buggy.’ The forks lift, then extend out and over the wall and railings. Not in the too distant past, it was push mowed, with a cut width of 24”.

I've seen a fight occur in the first switchback section which resulted in security running down one of the instigators. My 2 favorite night rides both involved a storm. One was when a storm was rolling in and you could see lightning in the distance (which adds that mysterious element to the ride's theming) and it poured rain as I was making my way back to the entrance. The 2nd was during a day when it was raining all evening, and there was just enough of a break in the rain during the ride where it stopped on the approach to the first lift and as soon as the train rolled into the final brakes, the skies opened up, and I got a rain soaked night ride to boot. The best night rides to me are either during a full moon where the tracks are soaked in white light, in the fall (I like it a little brisk), and right after it rains and the overcast is still looming. My first ride was right when I got passed the 48" mark, but I wasn't quite warmed up to coasters yet and I got scared pretty bad. My 2nd time, which was my first night ride, was the year after and just after I got my first Vortex ride (also at night, this was during a 11 pm close in the Paramount era). It felt so good to conquer that fear. As good as the helix is, my favorite section is after it blasts out of the 2nd tunnel and makes those series of drops before it pulls up to the 2nd lift. I like how it keeps accelerating while it feels like you're fighting from rolling down the valley and its a great, vicious turn with great lateral g's to line it up for the lift. I do miss the paw prints from the Eiffel Tower and the Cool Zone in the queue. Also, before they closed it for the fireworks, if you were lucky enough to get a fireworks ride, they would often stop the trains at the top of the lifts to let riders watch them.

At least they really take safety really seriously. I’d assume there as strict now a days?

If I remember correctly, Mystic Timbers has the word Steel Vengeance mentioned in one of it's posters and it has been there since MT opened which was before Steel Vengeance was even announced and no one knew that SV was the name of RMC Mean Streak.

First rule of working on Demon: We don’t talk about what happened on Demon.

I'll throw in an incredibly cringeworthy story that I think about often. It's funny now, but at the time it was brutal. I was working Zephyr in 2012. One day a kid told me hello after looking at my name tag. The name wasn't correct except for the first letter. I was having pretty rough day and I replied half-heartedly, without even really thinking, "Can ya read, man?". His mother, clearly angry, proceeded to tell me the kid was blind in one eye. I meant to apologize, but instead asked "Oh, he is?" It was a girl.

Preach on! Preach on! I tell everyone that was the hardest work, and most thankless job I have ever done. Its soooooo much more than operating the attraction. On Beast we worked our @$$ off all the time... and we did so in blazing hot temps. Its been 20 years since I was on crew... but I have the bad back to proove I did it. I'll give you an example of something I didnt expect when I signed on as a ride op at KI... there was a season pass holder with a severe mental and physical handicap restriction. However, his favorite ride was Beast... so he'd come often. Because of his affliction, crew members had to secure a special seat in a train, then hold trains while we lifted him from his wheelchair into the ride. We then had a special harness that strapped around his chest and belted into clasps on the back of the car. Once he was secure, we'd load the train, secure lap bars - do a final check of his restraint and send him (the train) on his way. We'd allow him 2, maybe 3 consecutive rides - all the time pacifying the folks waiting for that seat. When his "turns" were done, we'd unstrap him and lift him out and back into his wheelchair. The first time I came upon this experience I was completely taken aback. But we got it down to a science and after a while we got to know him. Frankly, I reached the point where I looked forward to him coming - because what I saw was pure joy. He LOVED riding The Beast... and seeing him get so excited and having fun is one of my best memories. Oh, and guess what... the guests actually often loved watching it and would compliment and thank us for helping him. It really restored my faith in humanity... a little bit ;-)

When the park closes, each segment of the park is closed as guests file out. Security does an initial sweep for guests, then closes off the area while ride ops finish their nightly tasks. There is also overnight security and the KI police which patrols basically 24/7 while the park is operational. I think the biggest asset though are the cameras around the park. The KI communications team is top notch, and often consist of former police dispatchers, security professionals, etc. They monitor the parks activities before the park opens, and until after the last associate leaves the park, which can be very late. Not to mention trespassing laws etc. If someone really wanted to hide out all night, it could probably done on occasion, but most people would get caught.

It's been about eight years since I last wrote a PTR, but I had the opportunity to visit Carowinds last weekend and had such a great time, and I used to love writing these trip reports, so I decided to relive the experience and share it with others. I'll break it into a few posts and share my thoughts and opinions on all the rides and the park itself - enjoy! Part 1 So a coworker and I made the impulse decision to join some other friends on a Carowinds trip for the opening weekend of Copperhead Strike, the park's new Mack Rides launched roller coaster. Whereas the others had planned this trip a month out, got their tickets and FastLane early, and booked an Airbnb near the park, the coworker and I decided to visit the park a day out. We quickly got FastLane, season passes, and a hotel, and prepared to drive out the next day. Day 1 - Friday, 4/22 We left Friday, March 22 at 12:30pm and arrived to Carowinds about seven-and-a-half hours later for season passholder preview night. I last visited the park in 2012, so Fury 325 was a new (and welcomed!) sight after the long drive. Sorry to start the PTR with a Snapchat screenshot... guess I didn't take a normal photo. But wow, this ride makes quite the statement. I quickly processed my pass (kudos to Carowinds for how efficient the process was) and headed in, straight to the new Copperhead Strike. As expected, the queue was long. Considering the typical Cedar Fair policy of not closing queue entrances until park closing (10pm tonight), we decided we should eat first and then we'd get in line. We did Blue Ridge Country Kitchen for dinner, which is new for 2019. It's across from Copperhead Strike and seems comparable to Coney Bar B Que at Kings Island. I ordered beef with a side of mac and cheese, and all entrees come with a biscuit. So some thoughts on the food and service... the beef was a little more rare than I'd expect, but it tasted really good. They weighed-out each serving, which I appreciate since it should help ensure consistency between customers. The mac and cheese was very cheesy, but just okay. And the roll was a bit on the burnt side, but not bad. The restaurant also has a new Copperhead Strike spicy sauce, which was really good but wasn't offered or suggested by the crew - I only knew about it because someone else asked. The whole meal was served on a piece of paper loosely placed into a wire frame basket, which looked nice but wasn't really efficient. It made cutting the meat a challenge and made things a little messy. With a season pass discount, the meal cost $14.70. There were some issues, but it was also the first day of operation - hiccups should be expected. Overall, I was pleased with the meal. Most of the theming in the restaurant consisted of tin signs, but there were a few custom posters that had some Cedar Fair Easter eggs. I especially like the one second-to-the-left, with everyone's favorite Miami River Lumber Co. After finishing dinner (around 8:45pm), we walked back to Copperhead Strike and prepared to queue... until we discovered they had closed the line early. I understand the reasoning (the line was allegedly 2+ hours at this time), but it was still disappointing to expect to ride and be turned away. Regardless, we'd be back the next day. Instead of the new Copperhead Strike, we took a ride on the old Carolina Goldrusher. I love Arrow mine rides (and worked at Kings Island's one for years), but didn't remember anything noteworthy about this one from my 2012 visit. My new thoughts: The seats were incredibly small, the restraint lock/unlock procedure somewhat inefficient, but the ride experience... wow. I love how wonky old Arrow mine rides are, meandering for long stretches of straight track. But the second-half of this one was much more intense than expected, with a thrilling helix (with some fun headchoppers) and an elongated underground drop. Definitely a hidden gem. The crew was also very enthusiastic, which I think only adds to the experience. We queued for the last ride of the night, the massive B&M giga coaster Fury 325, at 9:50pm. We only had to wait about 15 minutes before we were on. I've done a handful of B&M hyper roller coasters, but neither of the giga ones yet. I've heard a lot of praise for this ride, but was still blown away by how good it was. It had relentless speed, aggressive transitions, and an overall out-of-control feeling. The way it interacted with the park entrance was also great, especially the dive under the midway. After our ride on Fury, the park was closed for the night. We only got two rides and dinner in, but we'd be returning the next day and were satisfied with the couple hours in the park. We headed to the hotel, checked-in, and prepared for the next day. Day 2 - Saturday, 4/23 Check out the view from the hotel... what a skyline. The park was set to open at 10am, so we left the hotel at 9:30am to drive over and park. Almost immediately after leaving the hotel's parking lot though, we joined a dense line of cars with the same plan... and waited. It turns out we were lucky we left the hotel when we did, as we were just barely able to make it into the turning lane for the park. We sat at a standstill for 20 minutes on the road, discovering that the parking tolls hadn't been opened yet. Traffic was beginning to worsen, and a police officer had to start directing cars to keep moving instead of queuing for the park to prevent an eventual backup on the highway. The tolls didn't open until 10 minutes before park opening, which I assume was just a first weekend hiccup. Despite the parking challenges, we were out of the car and approaching the entrance shortly after 10am. It's impossible to miss the giant Fury 325 that completely dominates that area. I love the green and blue paint scheme, and this element itself was one of my favorites... the transition from a curve to the drop was super thrilling. I don't really rank the roller coasters I've ridden, but I suppose Fury 325 would be in the top ten or so if I did. This ride was easily one of the highlights of the trip. Once in the park (only a small wait through security and then turnstiles), we first needed to redeem our FastLane Plus. The kiosk immediately inside the gates had a massive wait for redeeming FastLanes, but we figured we'd be able to pick it up from any merchandise stand that sold FastLane. So we headed toward Copperhead Strike, planning to stop at a gift shop on the way. This proved to be a smart idea, as we avoided the long line and got to the new roller coaster before most park guests. And here we are, Copperhead Strike. We queued up in the FastLane and were on the train, second row, less than five minutes later. The restraints were incredibly comfortable and the ride operators were very efficient and courteous. It felt like we spent no time loading whatsoever before we were out of the station and into the ride. I'll spare a play-by-play of the full ride layout, but here's some thoughts on a few elements and the theming: The jojo roll out of the station was very delusional and a great start to the ride. The barn show scene was a fun touch, albeit I still don't know what the characters said or what the story is even after I a cumulative six or so rides The hangtime in the loops and the cutback was a lot of fun I absolutely love how this ride interacts with the queue under and around it. There are so many great perspectives of the track while waiting for the ride, which I think really adds to the full experience. The ride itself also looks fantastic. The color scheme is great, the track looks so perfect, and watching the trains navigate all the twists every minute or so is incredibly entertaining. The entrance marquee was very cool. I like how realistic it looked, whereas the ride's logo is on the cartoony side. I was surprised to see so many park guests climbing on the structure though and treating it as a playground. The entrance plaza was a little weird... it's a long meandering path into the heart of the ride before you get to the FastLane and stand-by split with the test seat and an associate. It seems like this should have gone at the front, immediately next to the entrance marquee. I never saw the stand-by queue's themeing, but the few details visible from the big entrance path and the FastLane were fun. Nothing was outstanding, but it all definitely added to the ride's overall feel. I've noticed that Kings Island has been slowly incorporating similar details into Mystic Timbers' station, which I think is great. And some pictures of the ride, station, and queue. So overall, Copperhead Strike is absolutely fantastic. I've heard it compared to Maverick a lot, so to join in that comparison... it's less intense than its Sandusky counterpart, but in my opinion a lot more fun. It's not as intense or aggressive, but it's just a back-to-back collection of incredibly fun and wonky elements. Definitely my new favorite ride at the park. After two morning rides on Copperhead Strike, we returned to the front of the park for some breakfast and coffee and to meet up with the other members of our group. Part 2 coming up. Feel free to share any thoughts or comments!

Banshee and Diamondback had obvious signs of work being done the year before they both opened and it was obvious what both were going to be on day 1. Mystic Timbers had some signs early, but it was more up in the air on what it was going to be due to it being smaller and they were slower in site prep.

The park is indeed closed on Easter Sunday. It's also closed the following Sunday (for a private event).

Ahh, The Beast. What a epic and legendary coaster- and yes, a very important one to me as well. I'll have to explain some backstory on that first though. In 1999, at the age of 9, I rode my first "big" coaster- Hoosier Hurricane at Indiana Beach, with my dad. I remember loving it. However, when we went to Paramount's Kings Island in 2000, I saw Son of Beast for the first time (which to me as a kid was immense- Hoosier Hurricane is only 77 feet tall, versus 218 for Son of Beast). I got scared just from seeing such a huge ride, and then when I got airtime for the first time on The Racer later that day (and didn't know what it was) I became even more scared. I didn't go on any other roller coasters or big rides for 9 years after that. Also I never really even saw much of The Beast on that trip, even though I did look for it- all I remember seeing was the 2nd lift, from Monster around sunset. However, there was still some interest- I recall reading magazine articles about roller coasters (I remember the 2003 Top Thrill Dragster magazine ad), and watching TV shows and documentaries about them. As I got older and bigger, I began to think "I'm older and bigger now- maybe soon I should give roller coasters a 2nd chance". Around 2007'ish, I began to wonder what Kings Island was up to- so I did some Google searching. Found out Cedar Fair bought the park, which made me think "oh cool now Kings Island is gonna get crazy good roller coasters" (I knew about Cedar Point at this point) and eventually found this site, where I became a lurker (I also found you could watch POVs of rides on Youtube at this point). My sister then went to Kings Island in 2008, and she returned having ridden most of the roller coasters. She also brought a 2008 park map (which I still have!) and spoke of the construction fence in Rivertown that would eventually lead to Diamondback. When Diamondback was announced (I learned of it via KIC) my sister decided to go back to Kings Island, and I decided it was time to return as well. I figured we could ride Beast first, because based on the POV's I had seen, I noticed it only had a few big drops and stuck low to the ground. About a week before going to KI, we went to a local carnival and rode a few rides there as warm-ups. On May 16th, 2009 we arrived at the park. We went up the Eiffel Tower first, as it was raining a bit and to get our bearings as to where everything was, as well as too see all the new stuff that had been added since 2000. Then we went on The Crypt, which I didn't know went upside down (my sister tricked me) but I ended up disappointed it was so short. Then, since we were in Rivertown anyway, we got in line for The Beast. I smacked my sister on accident with one of the que line bars, and then we waited about 15-20 minutes to get on. I remember the lap bar was tighter that I expected, and I forgot my seat belt (oops). Then we got the all clear, and I took my first ride on a large roller coaster in 10 years. The train left the station, and went around the turn. Bump, Bump, Thunk, Thunk. At this point I got a bit worried- was this gonna be painfully rough? Because those thunks at low speed seemed like they'd be much worse once the ride got to full speed. I looked over to my Mom as we climbed the lift (she was riding with me) and I joked "Look mah, we are higher than da treez" to relieve tension. Then we reached the top of the first lift, and I saw that legendary visual. "Oh THAT is where this picture came from...wait...uh-oh!" The train dropped into the tiny tunnel and roared through it, into the hard left turn. Up, over the hill and into the ravine (no airtime though). Right turn, into the brake shed. At this point I realized "I AM STILL ALIVE SOMEHOW!" and we turned into the right turn that leads into the LOOOOOOONG tunnel. A girl's scream echoed through the tunnel. I realized though, I wasn't afraid of this, I was enjoying it! A few turns later after exiting the tunnel, and we are on the 2nd lift. I looked at my mom and sister, and told them I loved the ride. My sister looked back at me and said something that briefly brought the fear back: worst part was yet to come! We reached the top of the 2nd lift, and I saw the 2nd epic view of the entire park, and I wondered why that view wasn't more famous like the one of the 1st drop. But then the train suddenly turned, and I was staring a tiny hole in the face. Faster, faster, faster, faster, faster...ROAR!!! We were into the helix. It was so loud and chaotic, I wasn't even able to think, much less be scared. Then it happened again! After that though, we left the helix, dropped one last time, and came back up into the brake run. I was a little shook up from the helix, but I thought "that was a bit scary, but very fun, would ride it again". As we exited the ride, I looked up at Vortex, and thought "OK- I can handle roller coasters, and going upside down (Thanks to Crypt)...I guess it is time to try combing them..." I rode Vortex, Diamondback, Flight Deck (now The Bat), The Racer (made up for the scary ride in 2000), and Flight of Fear the same day to truly conquer my fear of roller coasters. Since Son of Beast broke down (I tried to ride it) we decided to ride The Beast again after dark- my friend just assumed it was good at night because of the wooded setting, we didn't know anything about how legendary the night rides were. But we found out, as that night ride on The Beast was my favorite ride of the day. As good as the daytime rides is, the night rides are just something else. Another memorable ride came during Halloween Haunt 2010- it was running very good that night, and it was kinda cool outside, so my friends all lost their voices from screaming the next day. LOL. I have not gotten to too many parks since: in the "Beast Era (2009-Today)" I have only gone to Kings Island, Holiday World, and Cedar Point and have ridden 33 roller coasters at those parks. But I have made many memories at amusement parks, and made lots of friends and rode many other huge roller coasters, and have come to love most of them. I would say I truly got over my coaster fears once and for all in October 2017, when I finally rode Top Thrill Dragster. If I never rode The Beast on May 16th 2009, all of this may not have happened. Looking forward to The Beast's 40th Anniversary season, which will also be my 10th anniversary of said 1st ride ironically. I am excited to see the new retro paint scheme they have on the trains this year, and hopefully 2019 will have many epic day and night rides on this legendary coaster for me. We are planning on trying to come up for passholder preview, and I am aiming to ride The Beast as my first coaster of 2019 because of the anniversaries (40 years of Beast, and 10 years of coasting for me). And to end this post, here is the POV of Beast I saw in 2008'ish that made me wanna give it a shot in the first place. Video is by Discovery Channel, posted to Youtube by 2448Trolley:

- If you can, park by the water park (ask at the parking tolls). You'll likely be spending most of your time in the back of the park and its super convenient at the end of the day. Its also much less hectic getting out at the end of the day and you'll get a head start at opening in terms of getting to TTD, SV, Maverick, and Millennium Force early. - Dining suggestions- Any of the BBQ places in Frontiertown are great. Toft's has good ice cream. - If you do Thunder Canyon and/or Snake River Falls, you may want extra clothes. You will get extremely wet on them (Thunder Canyon only if the waterfalls are on). - Use the train and/or Sky Ride if you need to traverse the park a lot. Your legs will thank you. - Save GateKeeper, Raptor, and Valravn until mid-afternoon. The lines will be very short after the crowds from the front start their way back (another reason to park by Magnum). - If you want the most out of Wicked Twister, ride close to the front or close to the back. The rest of the coasters are good in any seat. - Watch the forecast for high winds, a good amount of the rides will go down for high winds - Be prepared for your face to make friends with mayflies throughout the day - Don't forget the flat rides - I find it better, as in, more with the flow of foot traffic to start at Iron Dragon and make your way clockwise around the back of the park. Also, CP's layout is not ideal for crisscrossing the park. If you're used to Kings Island's layout, CP is much more stretched out from back to front and there aren't ideal ways from getting around Millennium Island (unless I missed something).

Thanks! I may take you up on that when we start to get our ducks in a row. Watching all the POV's and mapping out a plan for the coasters is fun and somewhat overwhelming.

RPW was also 'fun' during rain. Due to the trees surrounding the stand, the drains often get clogged, and when it rained, there'd often be a bit of water in the store. It was similar at WINGS as well (back before all the trees around that building were removed), though, not as bad. I also recall the back/storage areas of WINGS and LaRosa's in RT to be pretty messy (we often got relocated to those 2 in the event that PW was overstaffed or to help close, on rare occasions, we even got sent to the restaurant across from Vortex, I forget what it was called before Happy Days [*calling KIC historians]). Also, closing WINGS was a chore, mostly with cleaning the floor. I shudder to think what closing Festhaus must be like. PW was easy to close. Barring rain, we usually left within an hour after the parked closed. One of the bad parts was the fact that the receipts wouldn't print unless a purchase was made with a credit card, so bigger orders were tough to manage (you'd be surprised how problematic that is despite how few menu items are at PW). I eventually just brought my own writing implements to work on weekends if I thought I'd be working register. It also surprised me that people under 19 (serving age) were allowed to work register if the stand (like PW) served alcohol.

Oh boy! Former employee stories! And you sure bet I got several! Before I begin, I want to make it clear that I don't work at the park (yet). My dad did in the late 70's and early to mid 80's. Here it is: 1. It was my dad's second season at the park (1979) and my dad was a I believe he was a food operations manager for a lot of the restaurants. But on a particular day he was working at Thrillburger (which was demolished to make way for Coney BBQ and was recently Coney Potato Works) and was directly across from Sweet Tooth (which was a candy and sweets shop and now houses a Subway). On that day he was working and suddenly about 4 or 5 security officers were rushing to Sweet Tooth. About a minute later they were dragging one of the employees away in cuffs. Curious, my dad asked what was going on and the security guard answered him. He said that this guy had tapped the hot water boiler to Sweet Tooth with a garden hose and was spraying the people on Red Racer as they went by and it was The Racer crew who had called security because the people who came back after the ride were drenched in scalding hot water. Imminently, my dad knew who it was and when my dad told me this story he said the guy who did it was a bit mentally unstable. 2. This next story takes place at Sweet Tooth. My dad was working with several people manning the stand. All of a sudden, he hears this girl screaming. He runs to the front and he sees this girl passed out on the floor and there's blood over part of her shirt. He calls the F.A.S. and they were on their way. Next my dad investigates why she was bleeding so bad. Apparently, this girl was pouring a guest some ice cream and the ice cream machine got froze up. She one of her fingers up the spout into the machine and tried to un-jam the stiring blades. Well, the good news is she got the machine fixed. The bad news is she had part of her finger cut off! So, when the Medicart (that's what they called it I was told) arrived, they put her on the stretcher and they said there was a chance they could reattach the part of the finger that was cut off. And to (I guess) keep it preserved, my dad fished around the ice cream machine for the girls finger and poured some ice cream to keep the finger cold! And my dad to this day still remembers sanitizing that ice cream machine! So yeah, these are a couple of stories of Kings Island that my dad told me. Enjoy!

This. (Semi-unpopular opinion alert) For example, the best coaster at CP is 325 feet shorter than the tallest. Because people.

That's the problem, there are so many, I don't know which ones are worth the time/money and which are a waste...

@Katie P @KI_Landscaper83 @Ted Christian @Alicia Welcome to KICentral!

I worked at one of the gift shops, the Nickelodeon shop, the year the Son of Beast came out. Every day I had to explain to some very annoyed guest why the Son of Beast was down. That ride never did work right.

I measured the kids yesterday to see where they are with the next milestone. One is so close to 54". I am not sure if they are going to get that wristband at the park or not.

That depends on the department really. The park opens at 10, and when I was in GS, we would show up at 8 to start our morning routines, but by that time security has already checked in to help scan in associates, and rides are already running their first tests of the morning. I would guess that rides/security generally are their 3 hours minimum before park open. and GS is their 2 hours prior. The cool part about getting there early is getting to walk around the park for certain tasks. Its empty, its quiet, and it was always a really cool way to center yourself for the day. You go out in to the park, look around, take a deep breath and take a minute to appreciate how cool your job is. In my memory, the fountains came on at 9, which is when the parking lot opens up. So really anytime a guest is allowed to be on park property the fountains were on, barring any sort of maintenance or anything like that.

Ok Just call the new coaster " Giga 2020" haha

Adventure Express is going to be rmc'd and have a 100ft lift hill and 95 foot drop xD

This is another example of why I love Kings Island so much, it is not just about the rides, it's also the atmosphere. Thanks to everyone that made this happen! (As for the inside, I am perfectly happy with the decor and the level of the lighting... I do wish they would turn down the volume on the shows to make it a little more tolerable...it's not the quality of the shows, it's the volume that drives us away sometimes.)

My Lord they are not only knocking the ball out of the park... they are hitting the moon. I cannot tell you how much the restorative effort they are putting into the park means to me, us, all. I am so glad to know KI is finally in the hands of those that cherish, respect and honor it's past as much as its future. APPLAUSE!!!

Here is another view of the clock. It is really exciting to see all the detail work this season! If you have not read the whole blog post, please do so and see the rest of the pics.

I find it really interesting that after Mike Koontz became GM/VP of KI we're getting all these awesome renovations. Truly feels as if we've got someone in leadership that really cares about the park, the history and the like.

Oh, I beg to differ. I'm 40, so probably too old to have an opinion on Boo Blasters (but I have one: I'm not a fan), but my 7-year-old son loves it. It's his favorite ride at the park. He rides it about five times each trip and talks about it all year (we live in Detroit, so Kings Island is a one year thing). He talks about it in the way I talked about Smurfs Enchanted Voyage when I was a kid or my brother talked about Phantom Theater. You eventually outgrow what's there and something else (sometimes inferior, in our eyes) takes its place, but those are the experiences that kids hold to and ultimately create lifelong fans. I'd say it's working pretty well.