gigacoaster2k

I think I saw you! I was the girl with the crazy black/white/gray hat with pom poms, and the Holiday World hoodie.

I took my dad with me to KI because I'd gotten him a two-day ticket for Fathers Day. We got to the park around 4:15 pm, as I had to work from 6 am to 2 pm. We headed straight for Diamondback! We saw Jared (rotag1299) in the SRL, who was wearing his spikey green wig from glam rock day. Then we met back up with Jared, and the three of us went to Racer (which was only running the red side so the line was long), but the wait was too long for Jared, he had to go get ready for Haunt. We met up with Tom (Tom76257), and the three of us rode DB. Then we headed to Flight of Fear, where it was posted at a 45 minute wait, but none of the inside queues were full, so we waited about 20 minutes. Tom declined to ride and went out the exit because he wasn't feeling well, and after my dad and I rode, Tom was feeling worse, so he went home. Dad and I then headed to Urgent Scare, and I saw Alyssa (TrainedBeast). I pointed out that the kids in front of us looked scared, and she was totally terrorizing them. I almost died laughing, it was so funny. Dad really liked Urgent Scare and said it was gross (that's a compliment). We met up with Ryan (BoddaH1994) and went over to Beast, but the line was HUGE so we went for DB instead. Met up with Gabriel (Captain Nemo), and then headed to Backlot Stunt Coaster. We were dying from the cold, and getting tired, so we headed to Starbucks. The line was out onto the midway. I went with the advice everyone has been giving me, and asked for a peppermint mocha. It was delicious and tasted like a liquid York peppermint pattie, but I honestly like the pumpkin pie spice latte more. The four of us went back to Beast because my dad really wanted to ride, and then rode that. I keep forgetting what a great night ride this thing is.. I love wooden coasters. Then we decided it was time for some haunts. Ryan and Gabe were raving about Massacre Manor, so we went there. Gabe grabbed my arms and was dancing me throughout half of the maze. I'd never been through that one before, it was really good. Then we started the long walk back to Trail of Terror. I thought for a few seconds that we were in an unauthorized area, until I saw other people back there. Ryan grabbed my left arm and Gabe grabbed my right, and we walked through the entire maze that way. The guys kept yelling out that Angie was coming and that she was really scared. My dad found it hilarious, and so did I! This blond chick kept sniffing me, and Ryan's comment was "She's hot in a shoot up your school kind of way." I got some good scares out of that maze, Trail of Terror is REALLY good! Then we hit Club Blood, which had NO wait, we went right to the door! Went through the maze the same way we went through Trail of Terror. CB was better earlier in the season. Hardly anything jumped out and scared me. Dad wanted last ride on DB, so we headed that way. It hit me while we were almost to the station that this was my last DB ride until next season, and my eyes got misty. Ryan saw and started telling me a funny story, it cheered me up. I lost Ryan and Gabe at the exit, and Dad and I headed home. He said he had a great time, and was happy to be around people who knew their way around the park. We got home around 3 am. Ride count: Diamondback - 4 Racer - 1 Beast - 1 Backlot Stunt Coaster - 1 Flight of Fear - 1 Haunts: Trail of Terror - 1 Massacre Manor - 1 Urgent Scare - 1 Club Blood - 1

Kings Island: Even with SOB being down and the Crypt changing its program, I still enjoyed the park very much this year. I have to say that the line jumping this year is the worst it has ever been at KI, and I am still annoyed that people make excuses for them and give them permission to line jump instead of enforcing the rules. Otherwise, I think DB is a great addition to the park, and it has brought friends of mine to KI from hundreds of miles away. I've noticed better guest service than in past years, and noticing employees are working harder to keep the park clean. Made so many new friends this year too. Cedar Point: Terrific coaster lineup. Terrific flat ride lineup. Even has spinning rides I can ride without feeling ill. Employees were friendly and funny, and saw strict enforcement of park rules by employees, management, and security. Made several new friends this year. LOVE the random song and dance routines outside of Johnny Rockets, and watching the All Wheels Extreme shows from Wicked Twister's queue. Seeing all rides running with music bumping, high school bands marching down the midway, and employees thoroughly enjoying their jobs all at once just gives me chills walking through the park. The view all around of seagulls flying over a sailboat-dotted lake is just breathtaking. CP has a magic, an energy I cannot describe, that I have not felt at any other park. Holiday World: Cleanest park I have ever seen. Friendliest employees I have met anywhere. Violently amazing coasters that seem to have risen from hell and dropped from heaven at the same time. Terrific, well done theming and delicious food. The way the park makes you feel like a friend, or family, rather than just another customer. Walking and talking with Pat Koch like we've known each other for years. Low prices you wouldn't dream of seeing at an amusement park. Best fudge I've ever had. Not having to pay for parking, and having sunscreen at your disposal. Very much worth the 4 hour drive, and I would recommend this park to any self respecting coaster enthusiast. Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom: Very strange advertisements, and scattered theming that just doesn't seem like it fits.. Bugs Bunny in one spot and Skittles ads in the other? That and their rain policy.. one drop and they shut the gates with pretty much no warning. Food and drink prices make you almost have a coronary. Otherwise a very clean park with very friendly and funny employees. Greezed Lightnin, Thunder Run, and Roadrunner Express make it worth the trip. Still mad about Chang. Stricker's Grove: Nostalgic little park, but a few too many spinning rides for my liking. Teddy Bear and Tornado are pretty awesome, especially the "cliff" element on Tornado, but I couldn't spend a whole day at the park. Coney Island: Beautiful landscaping. Quite a few spinning rides, but several of which I can ride. Really enjoyed the nostalgia of the park, the kettle corn, learning how to spin the Rock-O-Planes, and the quirky doors that go to nowhere. Park layout was a bit confusing, but otherwise somewhere definitely worth visiting. Amused by ride ops moving from ride to ride (I'm easily entertained). Jungle Jack's Landing: Snapped the Mission Macaw (flying eagles ride) without even trying, and was ecstatic to see manual brakes (?) on Sea Dragon. Liked the jungle theming and music throughout the park that seemed to match the theme of the zoo next to it. Small park, but fun, although I couldn't spend a whole day here either.

That looks delicious.

Oh I'll be riding it, but I will be closing out November 1st with last rides on my beloved Magnum, and my friends on the Magnum crew that I'm going to miss, a lot.

GOD, I hate to see rides go, whether relocated or scrapped. I rode Chang on it's last operating day at SFKK.. got the second to last train. Walking away from that ride made me very sad. I will be riding Demon Drop on closing day as a farewell too.. I have to pay my respects on its last operating day at CP.

Yay Danielle! I'm glad you had such a great time! Your photos are awesome too. I want a VIP tour of Sea World I'm jealous! Not just because of the coasters, but because I love animals and marine life so much. Anyone who's been to a zoo or an aquarium with me will tell you that I'm in heaven when I'm there. Especially if I walk into an aviary.. I absolutely love birds.. you have to DRAG me out of there!

Tell Bre, James, or Megan you're friends with me. Also, if you jump on as soon as it opens, it's highly likely the ride will be trimless.. Maggie's trims are rarely on first thing in the morning.

If you saw a girl with a grey/black/white hat with pom poms, a teal sweater and green cargo pants, that was me! Sorry I didn't tell you I was going.. I kind of like surprising people sometimes, but didn't see you. My friends that work on Magnum were totally surprised to see me!

You're going to CP on a Saturday during Halloweekends? The first time I went to CP on a Halloweekends Saturday, was the last day I will EVER do that unless I'm going for 2 or 3 days. Millie's queue was COMPLETELY full to the switchbacks, with the line pouring out to the lockers. TTD's queue was full, with the line backed up to the grandstand. Maverick's queue was full, and wrapped around the queue with the line all the way back to Chick Fil A. Magnum had close to a 2 hour wait, and Raptor had a full queue all day. Even Wicked Twister, Power Tower, maXair, Blue Streak, Corkscrew, and Iron Dragon (which are usually walk ons) had an hour wait or close to it. There were long lines for food, restrooms, and even ATM machines. It was downright ridiculous how busy it was. I have the PTR to prove it. To answer your question, I haven't had a TTD rollback yet. I want one though.

Yesterday, I was standing watching Dragster, when a train launched and a girl's plastic headband flew off and into the wheels holding the cable. The headband started melting, and next time a train came by, it looked like a Twizzler when it fell out.

I forgot to mention that while in one of my (many) rides for Magnum, I heard this guy tell his son, "This is the mini Millennium." I was like, "um, no, it's not.."

Wow. I've been on Pilgrims Plunge when I barely got misted with water (when they had the water on the drop). The next time I went, they turned the water off on the drop, and we got blasted with a giant wave that left us damp for hours. Either way, it's a water ride, and the world's tallest one. I rode it, so I expected to get wet. Oh.. the seats were wet too. Did I complain about that? No. What do you want the ride ops to do, hand towel off every single boat after every single ride and drain them out? Can we say capacity nightmare, not to mention COMPLETELY pointless? Every boat is going to be wet. Deal with it, or don't ride. You cannot predict how wet you will get, and you certainly can not complain about getting wet on a water ride, you are the one that chose to go on the water ride.

It was freezing in the morning, in the evening, and on every single ride. Those trimless night rides on Maggie were absolutely frigid.. so was riding MF in 47 degrees with a breeze off the lake. But it was all totally worth it. I also forgot to mention that while I was on Maggie's lift hill at night, I looked off to the right and I could see a city lit up in the distance.. I believe it was Cleveland.

I decided I was going to take a mini vacation to CP Sunday, because I missed the place so much. I pretty much made this decision at the last minute. My friends that work up there told me it was COLD.. so I put on: 2 layers of socks, leggings under my cargo pants, a knit hat and gloves, a long sleeve thermal shirt, 2 long sleeve ribbed shirts, and a knit hooded sweater. I left my house around 6 am, and made it to CP around 9:10 am, and parked on the far left edge of the GP lot so I could walk around and sprint for Millie first. I made it to the parking lot even before Single Rider Bob did! He started walking to the marina entrance before I did. I stepped out of my car and felt an icy breeze off the lake that made me very glad I wore so many layers. Temperature was reading 38 degrees in Sandusky. I walked around to the marina entrance to see Bob and several of his friends. We joked around quite a bit, and with the others that had arrived. Many people had dressed the same way I had.. even with leg warmers, Carhartts, boots, coats, etc. That's the great thing about going to CP when it's freezing cold.. 9 out of 10 people you meet are going to be enthusiasts who don't give a crap how cold it is! We all also noticed that Millie hadn't sent any trains out yet. They started scanning passes at 9:45 (passholder entry was at 10 am). At 10, the entire crowd at the marina gate bolted for Millie! We got to Millie's entrance to see it was closed. We heard a train go up, but it was making a metallic rattle noise and getting stuck on the lift. The ride op then announced to us after getting off the phone that it was down due to mechanical reasons. So I bolted for Maverick instead. The regular wait was barely 10 minutes. The SRL was open, but when I and several other single riders got to the top, they told us it was closed. I told her to chain it off if it was closed, and went back down the stairs.. ALL THE WAY through the queue and re-entered from the start. I chose my seat in seat 6! Decided I wanted another ride, so I ran back. I was assigned to row 3, but I saw an open seat in row 6, so I jumped in! I LOVE MAVERICK w00t! I decided I was going to hit Magnum, since it was 11 am. My jaw dropped when I saw a completely empty queue and station. My friend Bre was working, and yelling at Single Rider 2 not to run LOL. She was totally surprised to see me. I rode twice (both times were trimless!), and then decided to head for Dragster. TTD barely had a 15 minute wait. I rode in second to last row since the wait for the back was just way too long. I keep forgetting how amazing that launch is.. WOW! Dragster never fails to give me a rush every time! I decided to walk toward the front of the park, and hit Power Tower Space Shot on the way.. total walk on. I hit Blue Streak, and saw my friend Scott in the control booth. I love old Blue.. has some nice air, and has just enough of that wooden coaster roughness to make it a great ride. I acted like I was terrified on the lift hill and made him laugh so hard. I went over to Raptor to see it had a half hour wait.. longest wait I'd seen so far. I waited, and noticed at this point that the sun was starting to warm things up a little. I checked the temperature on my BlackBerry to see the temperature had jumped to 50 degrees. The girl in front of me said to her boyfriend, "OH MY GOD! WE'RE GOING TO GO UPSIDE DOWN AND STUFF??!!!" I got goosebumps listening to the loud rattle-hum of the chain lift, and the signature B&M roar while in line.. I LOVE B&M COASTERS Didn't see my friend Schuyler working, but I did see Raptor Jo. I headed over to maXair to see them hosing the ride down and spraying it with disinfectant because someone got sick. I ducked out of line and hit Wicked Twister instead.. it was posted at 3/4 hour wait but it was a station wait LOL. I went back over to maXair because I saw it running, it was a walk on too. By this point, I was getting hungry. I went over to Burger Patio for a hot dog basket (they give you a regular size hot dog and a 99 cent bag of chips) and a 22 ounce Mountain Dew. I thought $9.68 for all that was a little steep, but I was starving. I got to a table to see that my bag of chips had expired 2 weeks ago (yuck with a capital Y, I DO NOT eat expired food). I took it back and showed the girl, and she spoke to her manager. They gave me a bag of nacho cheese Doritos that were only supposed to be used for the walking tacos. I realized with a start that I hadn't ridden Millie yet, so I went over there. It was about a half hour wait, but I was craving a ride, so I waited. While I was in line, I heard a teenage guy say to his friend: "I hope this is better than that stupid Maverick ride." I debated riding Mantis, but I'm still upset over the Chang situation, so I passed on Mantis. I headed over to Skyhawk, walk on. At the end of the ride, the little girl said to her mom on the right of me, "I think I have a code brown." Then the guy next to me on the left said to his friend, "I hate you! I'm going to castrate you!" I was laughing so hard. I told each one what the other one said, which caused the four of us to all start laughing hysterically. It was a great moment. After that, there was only one ride I hadn't ridden yet that I wanted to ride: Witches Wheel. I rode that, and went back over to Magnum, where it was still a station wait. I rode 3 times, and this time I saw Bre, Megan, James, and Kyle all working. More trimless rides. I decided I wanted a ride on Dragster, but it broke down due to mechanical reasons when I was 3 trains away from riding in the very back seat. Not wanting to guess how long it would take for an Intamin launch stratacoaster to be back up and running, I ducked out and went back for another ride on Magnum. I headed back toward the front of the park for another visit to Scott, Jo, and maybe Schuyler. I hit Space Shot on the way, walk on again. I hit old Blue, and chatted with Scott for a bit as he was on platform. He only gave me 2 clicks but on the lift hill, it lowered itself down 1 more. I yelled "NOOOOOOO!!" and the two little girls in front of me looked at me like I was completely insane, and giggled to each other. LOL I went over to Raptor to see it was down to about a 5 minute wait!! I didn't see Schuyler, but I saw and chatted with Raptor Jo for a bit. I rode again, and had some really weird guy staring at me ask what my first, middle, and last name was. I bolted out of there, and decided it was time to end my night with Magnum and the Magnum crew. All four of my friends were still working, so I rode 3 times. On my third ride, James announced that the crew had a surprise for me as the train left the station.. I was like "huh?" LOL. When I got back to the station, he told me to wait on the platform while Kyle chained off all but the first and last cars. He then motioned to one of the chained-off parts of the train, and told me to pick a seat, and that I could stay on until closing. Two guys also got on in front of me. The one turned around and asked me how I knew the Magnum crew, and then I realized with a start that I was looking at my friend Cameron that I'd never met! Turns out we have a lot of the same friends too.. yay for friend recognition on Magnum's lift hill! I got 4 rides in a row without getting up, the whole time laughing and joking with all four ride ops every time we came back to the station. James hugged me as I left, and Megan made faces at me from the control booth LOL. I walked out the exit with a smile on my face from an amazing, yet somewhat crazy and cold day. Ride count: Magnum - 13 (11 were trimless!) Raptor - 3 Maverick - 2 Millennium Force - 2 Blue Streak - 2 Power Tower Space Shot - 2 Dragster - 1 Skyhawk - 1 Wicked Twister - 1 maXair - 1 Witches Wheel - 1

At Cedar Point today, I heard: In line for Millennium Force: Teenage guy to his friend: "I hope this is better than that stupid Maverick ride." On maXair, in full swing: Guy: "GET ME THE F*** OFF THIS RIDE!!!!" On Skyhawk: Little girl to her mom: "I think I have a code brown." Scared dude to his friend: "I hate you! I'm going to castrate you!" On Raptor: Weird guy looking at me: "What's your first, middle, and last name?" (Of course I didn't tell him) Girl to her boyfriend: "OH MY GOD! WE'RE GOING TO GO UPSIDE DOWN AND STUFF??!!!"

Although I do not quite understand why the 200 foot mark has been declared a stopping point for a wooden coaster's height, I have to say without hypocrisy to my previous post that if GG or CCI built a woodie of extreme height, it could be amazing. SOB was built by RCCoA, none of whose 7 coasters I have ever heard of. Never had the glory of being on a GCI yet.. (one day, I hope..) so I can't make a comparison there. Just my 2 cents.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Raven at Holiday World and Blue Streak at Cedar Point are perfect examples of why wooden coasters don't need to be at staggering heights to be a great ride. Maverick at CP is also a great example of why the same can go for steel coasters. On another note: Voyage does give me a bit of a headache, but holy God, it's worth it.

Props go out to ALL of you that work at KI. I know how hard it is to work in an environment where customers can be extremely difficult. I can't even begin to start naming everyone that I know deserves recognition. THANK YOU ALL, from the bottom of my heart.. your efforts are NOT going unnoticed!!

Whatever you do, don't stay in the Econo Lodge right by the causeway. Trains woke me up every half hour on my visit there last year.. I got about 5 hours of sleep in 3 days. That and I found a crusty can of Pepsi by the TV, and there were spiders and webs in my bathtub. Then I went to buy a bottle of Vault from the vending machine.. I took one drink and spat it out. It was 5 months beyond its expiration date. Travelodge is a nice place to stay, and it's fairly inexpensive and just around the bend from CP.. I stayed there, and I found it to be as comfortable as Breakers Express.

That was too funny! - Rolling up to DB with 22 people in tow during RWW. - Driving the hour down to KI after working all day on 2 hours of sleep, because my friends from Cleveland were texting me from KI and telling me to come down, and realizing no one in the group had any sleep, and feasting on candy the whole night.. we were SO hyper and took so many stupid pics. - Tom76257, violakat03, and I driving back up to KI after Six Flags and Holiday World, and lapping Diamondback in a torrential downpour.. and the weird ride on Drop Tower in rain mode. - Going with my dad and seeing the look on his face after he rode DB for the first time. - Meeting all the other KICers.. so many of you have become a part of my life, at KI, other parks, and outside amusement parks. So many of you have become friends that I will defend until my dying breath, and I wouldn't trade you for the world. - Having my flip flop take a road trip around Ashers' and kjkjkj's seats on DB. - Not being able to hear an air horn now without thinking, "Diamondback??!!!" - Borrowing kittenpooh's kiddos at RWW so we could all get our Little Bill's credits. - When I was sunburnt, tired, felt nauseous, and hadn't had a shower.. yet violakat03 convinced me to drive to her house so we could go to KI for a few hours. There are probably so many more.

Oh trust me, I can and will find something to do a PTR about during the dreaded off season that is worth reading, and may emit several LOLs from the members of this site. XD

I saw carousels and spookies, and I thought, z0mg Kat. Must snap photo. I'm glad he got it too! I got him a discount with my season pass too. w00t

Yeah, they already started. There was some kind of tarp wrapping around the fence so I wasn't able to get very good photos.

Back across the time zone we drove.. to Kings Island! We got caught in a nasty traffic jam about 75 miles south of Cincy, and encountered a few more slow clogs. We finally made it to KI around 10:45-11 pm. No one was at the parking tolls. We met up with Ryan (BoddaH1994), Robbie (CoastersRZ), Aaron (pkiVortex), Adam (pkiboy), and Dave (DaveStroem) and his kiddos, and got 4 rides on DB! Tom sat out and I rode DB a 5th time, then the group split off and some of us headed to Beast. Nick (dare to fly) was working so we waved at him and made faces at him LOL. Then we all ran back to DB and got last train of the night. Ride counts: HOLIDAY WORLD: Voyage - 8 Legend - 8 Raven - 5 Liberty Launch - 2 Eagles Flight - 1 Turkey Whirl - 1 Kings Island: Diamondback - 6 Beast - 1 ** DAY THREE: MONDAY, OCTOBER 12: JUNGLE JIM'S AND PETLAND ** I had never been to Jungle Jim's before, so we went even though we were almost flat broke from the roller coaster weekend LOL.. hey, why not? Coney Island bumper cars now double as candy aisles! And it was off to the famous bathrooms! Using the hand soap in the glorified bathrooms hahaha The big cheese. I wouldn't have noticed these signs at the exit if Tom hadn't pointed them out. Monorail photos. Then we stopped in at Petland to say hello to the animals that we love so much. The budgies I was playing with.. I love birds. Tom was playing with a cat. And finally, the coaster shirt photo. If you made it this far, guess what.. you've reached the end! Thanks for reading.. I hope you enjoyed it! <3 Giga