Adventure to Kings Island

Alright... I do believe it is now the time to vomit forth the adventure I had at Kings Island upon thee.

It's actually quite funny how I was just talking about visiting a new park a few entries back, then Nikko messaged me last week asking if I wanted to go for the weekend. Of course I was beyond thrilled. We left Thursday afternoon and it took us about a 3.5 hour drive to get there which went a lot smoother than I expected. It was probably the longest road trip I've ever taken so I was expecting it to be dreadful but it really wasn't that bad. We got to the hotel, inspected our living quarters then went out to the bar across the street. Our hotel was also right across from the park so we could see the Eiffel Tower which was neat. Had a few drinks then went back to the hotel and watched South Park till we fell asleep. Just my luck with drinking odd liquids... I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like shit which kept me awake longer than I wanted to. Morning came and I still felt like death which wasn't any fun because I knew I had a lot of walking and excitement later that day. Went to the bathroom, got sick then felt 100% better, passed out for like 2 more hours then woke up for the ultimate day of fun.

Kings Island was amazing and exactly how I expected it to be. For it being a Friday, the lines weren't really that bad and we got to ride every coaster except for Flight of Fear. It rained in the morning getting us pretty wet on the first few rides but once the rain went away it stayed muggy and gloomy and it kept most of the public away. I had new-ride anxiety a few times but that is a given. Diamondback scared the shit out of me because it was the first B&M Hyper I've been on but it was still better than Magnum. After a while of awesomeness we took a break at the brewery and met up with Jesse, a guy who works at Banshee. Then spent the rest of the day riding with him, getting our second ride on each coaster and stopping to watch the fireworks show before we left. Had pizza at the hotel then I passed the f out and slept like a baby.

Saturday we woke up to rain again but still went to the park anyway. The crowd was much larger this day and the lines were longer. We ended up getting 6 more rides in, some ground rides then just gave up and started the journey back home, stopping at the Columbus mall for pretzels on the way.

Overall, it was a pretty great weekend.

22 KINGS ISLAND PICS
UNDER THE CUT:


Alright so, the only disappointment of the trip was that I didn't get as many photos as I wanted because of the rain. My phone isn't waterproof so I didn't want to keep taking it out to play photographer at each ride but I have already planned to buy a waterproof case for my next trip. Kings Island is an absolutely beautiful park with most of the rides surrounded by trees and nature (unlike Cedar Point) so I definitely want to go back to capture more of the beauty. But anyways, let's begin.



Here I am at home, waiting for Nikko to pick me up. I decided to try something new with my facial hair and here's my "I'm happy to be going on an adventure" look.



2 hours into the drive. We're not thrilled.



Made it to the hotel! The lighting makes me look... purple?
This is where me and Nikko went out for drinks. I had 2 Summer Shandy beers (which are actually pretty good, I don't usually drink beer but these had a citrus-y taste to them) and a Fireball cocktail thing with cranberry juice. The Fireball drink is what upset my stomach and kept me awake all night leading me to Puke City in the morning. Never again.



Making a quick stop at the store for some items after drinking.
The next day we went to a restaurant for breakfast before heading to the park. I don't remember the name of the place.



So happay.
We arrived at the park and rode Banshee first. I was very excited because Raptor, my favorite coaster of all time, is an invert coaster and Banshee is the 2nd one I've ever ridden. Banshee was great and all, don't get me wrong... but Raptor still owns my heart as best invert. However, I fell in love with Banshee's theme & sound effect as you're going up the lift. Made my heart squeal with glee.



The mist effect + theming + sound effect = AWESOMENESS!
Plus the sexiness of that loop... yes please.

No on-ride photos from Banshee because I looked hideous and wet.



Next up: Vortex. It was probably my favorite ride from KI which is surprising cause it's a classic Arrow with no wait time. I wish we could trade it for Corkscrew at CP so I can ride it all the time. My face was being pelted by rain drops in this picture.



Diamondback. My first B&M Hyper. The seats are weird to me, but the ride was decent. I'm still holding on for dear life.



The Beast. My second fave from KI. This is an amazing long ride that is well worth any wait time. Just don't anger the Beast and you'll be fine.



We survived his wrath.









I really shouldn't tell you what was in the shed...





Waiting to meet up with Jesse.



Beast again with Jesse.



Mystic Timbers again.



Failed attempt to get the fireworks show. It was actually pretty cool though. They shot off the fireworks to the beat of "The Greatest Show" from the movie.





Lookin' purple again at the hotel. Check out the restraint mark on my shoulder. Probably from Invertigo lmao.
The next day we went out to Waffle House, had breakfast then headed back to the park. It was much more crowded and the rain wasn't letting up so we only rode a few ground rides and 6 coasters before giving up. Nikko also got me to go in the Eiffel tower but I had a major anxiety attack at the top so I didn't take any photos.



One more time on The Beast. We sat in the front row which explains the white space next to our photo.
And that's it! We hit up the Columbus mall on the way home to break up the 3.5 hour drive back. I had a great time and can't wait to visit KI again. Overall my favorite rides were Vortex & The Beast. Mystic Timbers was cool as well but kinda short. Diamondback is good. The Bat is much better than Iron Dragon and Adventure Express is better than the Mine Ride at CP. Backlot Stunt Coaster was eh... okay. Banshee was fun but Raptor's still better. My least favorite of the park was Invertigo. Never got to try Flight of Fear but maybe next time.

And if you checked this post out, comments are much appreciated!