I went to Kings Island for a quick trip before we had to go to Kings Ford. There was signs on the parking entrance saying Diamondback would be closed, for people who didn't know. I got there around 8:55, but I was a few minutes late to enter right when they open. I took a long walk to The Beast. I walked onto row 5-2. A fun ride, pretty smooth in the middle of the car. I then walked back into the entrance And walked onto row 5-3. Much shakier, so that was a nice test. There was nobody in the row so I stayed on. It was a little after 9:30 and I walked onto row 6-2 on The Beast. Pretty smooth in the middle of the car. I then walked onto row 6-2 again. It was almost 10 now, so I decided to get 1 more ride at opening before I had to go. I met at rope drop and heard God Bless America. Then the lucky randomly picked kid counted down from 10 for the Park to open, and then the rope dropped. I was heading to Flight of Fear with the crowd. I walked through the quiet queue. I walked onto row 1-2 for the first train of the day. The lights were on in the tunnel and I liked peeking through. We launched, and the lights were in in the building! An incredible view of the track. But it only lasted a couple seconds, because then the lights went off. It was a great ride. I then headed out the front gate, and lots of people were heading in.

A couple notes:

*Beast did nice at ERT today. I liked marathoning it for an hour.

*Invertigo is still closed, so I had no ERT on that.

*Beast crew did nice filling up the trains quickly for ERT. Most of the times I was on a train heading into the station, the train in front of my train was already on the lift hill.

Thanks for reading!

Why is Beast open for ERT? Has it been like that all year?

^Because Diamondback is down for maintenance.

Thanks!

At the risk of sounding like a complete noob, can someone please explain to me what ERT stands for? Early Ride Time?

"Exclusive Ride Time (ERT) - The term used by coaster clubs to describe the exclusive period of time where only members may ride the thrill ride or roller coaster. ERT usually occurs before the park opens or after the park closes."

http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/glossary/#e

KI calls it Early Ride Time for the pass holders. http://www.visitkingsisland.com/season-passes/gold-and-platinum-pass-benefits

Different parks and coaster clubs use "ERT" differently. It can be meant as "Early Ride Time", "Exclusive Ride Time", or "Extra Ride Time". All three essentially have the same meaning.

ERT-

Estrogen Replacement Therapy