Kings Island
Kings Island is a picturesque park located near the outskirts of Cincinnati. It is owned by the Cedar Fair company who also own Knott’s Berry Farm and Cedar Point, along with several others in the USA and Canada. There is also an attached water park, and a large area dedicated to children’s rides. We have not been on any of these so cannot comment on them, but this area has won a lot of awards.
There are also a good range of coasters which makes Kings Island well worth a visit.
Last visited June 2017
INVESTMENT
7
THRILL FACTOR
6
FUN &
LAUGHTER
6
STAFF &
FACILITIES
8
UNIQUNESS
4
VALUE
6
THEMEING &
IMMERSION
4
THOMPSONS'
RATING
6
Kings Island entrance
BEST BITS
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Diamondback and Banshee are excellent examples of modern rollercoasters.
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Some of the rides are built out into the surrounding countryside, giving very attractive views. The park itself is well maintained, with neatly manicured lawns and pretty water features.
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The park has interactive maps and queue time boards to help you plan your day (although there are not many of them).
DOWN-SIDES
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There is a rather unfortunate focus on wooden coasters (three in total).
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Coming from the UK (or anywhere else in Europe) this park is really difficult to get to. Without wishing to sound disrespectful, we did not find much else to do in the local area, and the park is difficult to reach by public transport. Expect connecting flights from another USA airport and to hire a car.
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The organisation of the queues was not as good as other USA parks. Trains with empty seats were common, even when there were queues.
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Lockers are more expensive than other parks and it is not always made clear if you need a locker or if you can leave your bag at the ride station (see our tips for individual rides).
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Some of the water rides do not open until later in the day. This is also true of some of the food and drink stalls (particularly during off peak season).
TOP TIPS
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You can refill water bottles at various places around the park, usually adjacent to restrooms.
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We suggest getting to the park early and going straight to Diamondback (through the kid’s area). Most people seem to arrive later and go to the left of the park first.
Diamondback
Thompsons' overall rating 9
Thrill
Fun
Themeing
Immersion
Smoothness
9
9
4
7
9
Banshee
Thompsons' overall rating 8
Thrill
Fun
Themeing
Immersion
Smoothness
8
9
4
8
8
Invertigo
Thompsons' overall rating 6
Thrill
Fun
Themeing
Immersion
Smoothness
7
6
2
5
6
Firehawk
Thompsons' overall rating 6
Thrill
Fun
Themeing
Immersion
Smoothness
8
7
2
5
5
Flight of Fear
Thompsons' overall rating 4
Thrill
Fun
Themeing
Immersion
Smoothness
6
4
7
4
4
The Beast
Thompsons' overall rating 4
Thrill
Fun
Themeing
Immersion
Smoothness
6
4
3
4
3
Adventure Express
Thompsons' overall rating 2
Thrill
Fun
Themeing
Immersion
Smoothness
2
2
4
2
3
The Racer
Thompsons' overall rating 4
Thrill
Fun
Themeing
Immersion
Smoothness
6
5
5
4
3
Backlot Stunt Coaster
Thompsons' overall rating 6
Thrill
Fun
Themeing
Immersion
Smoothness
5
8
8
6
7
Delirium
Thompsons' overall rating 5
Thrill
Fun
Themeing
Immersion
Smoothness
6
6
1
6
N/A
Banshee
Firehawk
A flying coaster, unlike most others (because it was built by Vekoma rather than B&M). The ride features multiple inversions, drops and banked turns whilst riding in a prone position. One of the most unusual aspects of this coaster is that the ride begins with seats that tilt backwards rather than forwards, meaning that you go up the lift hill on your back rather than hanging on your front.
Our view: We both really enjoyed this ride. Although not as smooth as some others, we liked that you spend more time on your back than hanging, as this delivers more airtime. Joe also found it a lot more comfortable. However, Hayley found that each inversion led to an uncomfortable jolt. The ride is exciting and has a lot of fun elements.
Tips:
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You have to leave bags in a locker.
Adventure Express
A mine train with drops and banked turns, and ends with a lift hill in the dark.
Our view: We went onto this ride with very low expectations and it failed to even meet these.
Tips:
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Don’t bother.
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This ride is rated as a 5 out of 5 for thrills on the map. It lies.
The Beast
The longest wooden coaster in the world, the Beast is a four minute, sometimes fast journey through the woodlands which surround the park. There are two lift hills and several fast drops, along with extended banked turns. The Beast has been in situ since the 1970s and has a plaque of special recognition from the American Coaster Appreciation Society.
Our view: As we have said elsewhere, we are not fans of wooden coasters but this was one of the better examples. Once it got going, the ride was quite exciting. That said, although the track of this ride is long, it does seem like a lot of the four minutes is taken up by unutterably slow lift hills. The first half was a lot more smooth and enjoyable than the second. As with all wooden coasters, the ride is rough.
Tips:
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You can leave your bag in the ride station; no need for a locker.
Delirium - yes, those are Joe's legs sticking out.
Delirium
A flat ride in which riders sit on the outside of a disc which swings in a pendulum-style motion. Riders go significantly beyond 90 degrees at the top of the swing. This ride has about 4 full swings, with several others on the build-up and build-down.
Our view: Joe really loves this type of ride because it provides a few seconds of pure weightlessness at the top of each swing. This is a good example of this type of ride, let down only by the fact that there only about 4 swings at full height.
Tips:
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There is a place to leave bags on this ride – no need to use a locker.
Diamondback
A hyper-coaster with the same style of v-shaped seating and harnesses as in Shambala (Portaventura). Like all rides of this kind, there is a high, steep drop initially followed by lots of hills and turns that provide airtime. There is also a brief splashdown into water at the end, although riders do not get wet
Our view: Hayley enjoyed this ride more than Joe as she found that it gave a lot of airtime, whereas Joe found it gave less airtime than other rides of this style (although still a lot overall). Joe found that the airtime came to a slightly abrupt halt at the bottom of each hill. But either way you look at it, this is an excellent ride and hyper-coasters remain our favourite style of coaster.
Tips:
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As with most rides of this style, it is smoother at the back but a bit more thrilling towards the front.
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You can take your bag and leave it in the ride station; there’s no need to pay for a locker.
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On the day we were there it seemed to be smoother to sit on the right side than the left, which may be due to the wind direction, but worth trying.
The bottom of the first drop on Diamondback
Banshee
A very long, hanging coaster with many different types of inversions and drops. The ride has B&M’s modern harnesses, which are designed with shoulder straps that fit each individual rider plus a secure lap bar, rather than having a fixed, over-the-head style frame.
Our view: This is an excellent and enjoyable ride; probably the best hanging coaster we have experienced. This is largely because it is very smooth, has many interesting features and the harnesses are secure and fit against you, without the fixed frame that you otherwise might bang your head into.
Tips:
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There is nowhere to store bags on this ride so you have to hire a locker for your bags. There are a few other rides nearby though, so you can keep the locker whilst you use these too.
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This ride feels a lot faster/more thrilling at the front and smoother towards the back.
Invertigo
A ‘boomerang-coaster’ with a car that travels through the same track both forwards and backwards. The ride begins with the car being lifted backwards up a lift hill before running back through the station and onto a track with two inversions. At the end, there is an identical hill which lifts the car up and then releases it backwards through the same track. What makes this ride unusual is that half the seats face forwards and half backwards, meaning all riders experience both directions at different times.
Our view: We were pleasantly surprised by this ride. In particular, we found going backwards to be very enjoyable. Joe thinks it is better to start the ride facing backwards, but Hayley prefers to start facing forwards. Each to their own!
Tips:
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We found the that the ride was a lot smoother sitting towards the middle of the car. Sitting at the front or back gives a fairly rough ride when facing forwards.
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You have to really trust the harness when facing forwards first as the car is pulled up the first lift hill quite slowly. If you are apprehensive about this, try to face backwards first.
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There is space to leave your bag in the ride station.
Flight of Fear
A launch coaster in the dark, this ride is themed around a secret UFO base where you journey into space. It has a number of inversions. It gets slower towards the middle of the ride then speeds up again towards the end.
Our view: The best themed ride in this park, this launch is very good and comes unexpectedly, but the rest of the ride is disappointing. It is jerky and the theming does not continue onto the rest of the ride. We preferred the middle of the ride where it slowed down as it was smoother (and a welcome relief). Hayley is slightly biased because she loves a launch, but Joe really did not like this ride.
Tips:
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You have to put your bag into a locker for this ride.
Invertigo
Backlot Stunt Coaster
A launch coaster that is suitable for less thrill-seeking riders, this ride accelerates quickly but only reaches 40 mph. It is themed around a stunt car performance with effects such as fire, near-misses and loud music during the ride.
Our view: This is a fun ride with good theming. It is smooth and enjoyable without being thrilling.
Tips:
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You have to take your bag on with you in this ride, unless you can find a locker nearby.
The Racer
The red car and the blue car had a race… Two wooden rollercoasters race next to each other along tracks with drops and turns.
Our view: We are not a big fan of wooden rollercoasters but this was better than most as it stuck to ‘big dipper’ style hills rather than lots of jerky, banked turns. We found it fun to race against the other car, but ultimately it was an uncomfortable ride.
Tips:
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You can leave your bag at the ride station, no need for a locker.
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The map rates this ride as a 4 out of 5 for thrill, but we felt that the drops made this scarier than other rides they rated as 5.
Firehawk