Paramount's Kings Island
Kings Mills, Ohio
By Nate Kohlrusch
August 11, 2000
Note: I use the Griswold rating scale of �3 to +5, with 0 being slightly favorable
THE PARK: General Impressions +4
Paramount�s Kings Island is a really nice park. The entrance plaza is absolutely beautiful,
especially at night with all the fountains lit up. They have a pretty
good selection of coasters, though I'd like to see them get a really
solid steel coaster.
This is another "theme" park that doesn't take its theming too seriously,
but I didn't really mind. The only area I really didn't like was the
"Paramount's Action Zone,� which was just unpleasant. There weren't any
trees, and there were too many big rides all thrown together, causing all
the crowds to gather in one corner of the park. And I've heard other
parks criticized for having all their kiddie rides in one location, but
it seems like PKI was the worst at that. One side of the park contains
the "adult" rides, the other side has all the "kiddie" rides. Still, I
liked this park a lot.
I did the entire park in one day (and a Friday at that) and could have
used another hour or so. I didn't get to ride the Beastie, but I did get
rides on everything else. If you arrive at the park right as they open
the gates, head to SOB. You can get one ride in before the crowds become
too massive, then work your way to the back of the park. By doing this,
I didn't wait in line for more than five minutes until 1pm. As for the park
food, it's good but there really isn't that much variety from what I
could see (burgers, pizza, chili...and that's about it). Anyway, on to
the coasters (in the order I rode them).
SON OF BEAST-2000 RCCA/Werner Stengel-designed hyper woodie (twister)
with one vertical loop. Trains by Premier Rides. +1
Ick. I don't know how they made such a large coaster so unexciting, but
they did. The first drop is the biggest ramp this side of Magnum and Goliath. Following
that there is a large double helix that, if not for the violent shaking,
would have put me to sleep. You then enter a large brake run and drop
down to the loop. The loop is fantastic, and the only thing that saves
the ride. Following the loop are a few more helices, and another drop
and hill that should produce airtime � but doesn�t. I rode near the
back both times, and sat above the wheels once and in the middle of the
car the other time. The shaking/bumping is significantly worse in the
seats above the wheels, but the ride is nowhere smooth anywhere. I
don't understand why they went to Premier rides for the trains, as they
track horrible and they're totally ugly. I had low expectations for this
ride, and they weren't even met. At least the ride itself (minus the
trains) is nice to look at...
ADVENTURE EXPRESS-1991 Arrow Dynamics-designed mine train. Theming by
R&R Creative Amusement Design. +1
Another pretty boring ride. At times it seems like it wants to get
going, but then the ride dies. As usual with Arrow, there are some
really crappy transitions, which means a few spots of jerkiness. Though
I didn't really follow the theme (does anyone?) I thought the tunnels
were pretty cool, giving the ride the +1 rating.
THE RACER-1972 John Allen/PTC dual out & back woodie. PTC trains.
Forward: +2.5. Backwards: +3.5.
I really enjoyed this ride, especially going backwards, where some of the
drops take you by surprise. There's a nice amount of airtime throughout
the entire time. This is one of two rides (other is Kennywood's
Exterminator) that almost brought me to giggles. Lots of fun.
OUTER LIMITS: FLIGHT OF FEAR-1996 Premier Rides indoor launched looping
coaster. +3.5.
There's some nice theming to this ride, especially in the queue before
boarding where you enter an enormous spacecraft. Overall, it's a good
ride. There is a lot of headbanging, but the OTSRs have so much padding that it
never bothered me. The dead stop on the brake run really ruined the
ride, and I wish they would turn more of the lights off. I liked it,
though (enough to make me ride twice!).
VORTEX-1987 Arrow megalooper (6 inversions). +3
This is a good ride for an Arrow. There's actually very little
headbanging, and the first drop is nice. As others have said, I wish
Arrow would have made more of their coasters go through some hills/turns
before reaching the first drop (like the Vortex). It decreases the
headbanging a lot, and actually adds to the intensity once you do start
looping. Good ride (but ugly colors).
THE BEAST-1979 Charlie Dinn-designed terrain woodie (built inhouse). PTC
trains. +4
Great! The first half is overbraked and it seems to drag, especially
over some hills I know should produce some great air. As is, there are
a few spots of airtime, and the tunnels are great. The second half
always looked quite boring and not too unique to me, but I have totally
changed my mind. The double helix is absolutely fantastic and a great
end to the ride. I got in one night ride (actually, I was in the 2nd to
last train of the night) and was blown away by how much the ride
improves. Great ride, I just wish they'd turn more of the brakes off on
the first half.
KING COBRA: 1984 TOGO standup coaster. +0
The horrible restraints bring this rating waaaay down. They not only
cause extremely slow boarding, but made me really want the ride to be
over quickly. No other restraints have made me feel so claustrophobic! The airtime is great, however, and the trick track is a lot of fun.
Without TOGO's restraint system, I might have actually liked this ride
more than slightly.
FACE/OFF-1999 Vekoma SLC (Invertigo model). +4
Nice! If Vekoma could make their SLCs smooth like this, we'd have some
really great rides out there. Going backwards on an inverted coaster is
great. Slow boarding, but lots of fun anyway. And score for Vekoma for
the seating arrangements. A good ride overall.
TOP GUN-1993 Arrow suspended coaster. +3
For a suspended coaster, it's great - short and sweet. It's amazingly
fast and smooth, and there are some nice swooping curves into the valley
(great location!). And the near misses with the SOB structure really
adds to the ride. It�s just a bit too short for me. My only other real gripe is the horribly
slow lift - what's up with that?
-Nate
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