Trip Report: Paramount's Kings Island

Mason, Ohio - 05/02/1999

"Paramount's Kings Lineland?"

On Sunday morning, I headed out, collected unaffiliated coaster nut John Peck, and made for Paramount's Kings Island. I'm still not quite into the rhythm of the season, and so once again I was late. We arrived at Kings Island a few minutes after 10:00am. Of course we missed the The Beast daily walkback, but we headed back to The Beast anyway, figuring that if there was a contingent of coaster nuts in the park, that would be the place to find them. In fact, as we were waiting for our front-seat ride, we did encounter a coaster nut or two, but unfortunately the names escape me. I'm terrible that way. My apologies, my fellow coaster nuts! The weather was perfect, and as it turned out, the crowd was huge.

The Beast:
Trains: 3
Load: 36
Ride time: ?:??
Interval: 2:08
Capacity: 1,012 pph

The train pulled into the station. On the front of the train, the sculpted The Beast logo has been supplemented by a couple of vinyl stickers...the logo is surrounded with graphics to turn it into the special 20th Anniversary logo, and as has been noted previously, the front, sides of the lead car, and the back corners of the last car now sport claw marks. Hmmm...had the train been going a little faster, perhaps it could have escaped.........!

I took my seat in the first row, right-hand side. If they wanted to do something really special for the anniversary, why didn't they fix up the train, perhaps even install a new wide-body version....

Well, by the time we got off of the first lift hill, I could tell that things were different. Perhaps Kings Island got scared when that train was attacked, because while the brakes were still set on the first and second drops, they were set significantly lighter than two weeks ago. Light enough, in fact, that I could feel the wheels occasionally grazing the track as the train slid over the brakes. During my last The Beast ride, the train was doing a slow railroad-like "chugga-chugga" number all the way from the bottom of the second hill to the bottom of the second lift. This time, it did that through the last half of the block-brake, but for the rest of the trip it actually rode like a roller coaster. No, they still don't let it live up to its full potential, and it still has one of the worst wood coaster trains in the region. Why is it that Kings Island has the crummiest PTC trains in the whole Paramount chain?

Anyway, the main thing is that The Beast was running a lot better than it was opening weekend. By the time we got off, the coaster was building up a significant wait, so we wandered around the corner, on our way to Vortex. On the way, we stopped at "Shake, Rattle and Roll" (their Huss Troika) and at the Flying Scooters. Both rides are personal favorites, and both ran nicely. The Flying Scooters gave me a better ride this time, as I was permitted to ride alone. A gentle Northward breeze combined with a classic ride and a little skill for a cable-snapping good time. John rode in the tub behind mine, and exclaimed afterward that it was the best ride he had ever taken on the Scooters. Of course, he hasn't ridden the Knoebel's Flyer. 8-)

Vortex:
Trains: 3
Load: 28
Ride time: 2:37 to brakes/3:40 to unload*
Interval: 1:21
Capacity: 1,244 pph
*Includes a station delay

I've concluded that Vortex does not like cold weather. The wheels were not squeaking nearly as much as they were a couple of weeks ago, and the train is not ping-ponging sideways nearly as much. The coaster is producing noticeable airtime on the first drop, and pulls nicely through the two vertical loops. It hits the block brake like a brick wall, but at least it isn't a full stop now. By not stopping on the mid-course, Vortex now goes fast enough through the full Corkscrew to not completely dump riders into the shoulder bars. So it still isn't quite right, but it is an improvement which makes Vortex a much more enjoyable ride.

At this point we decided to continue the circuit around the park, stopping at the "Zephyr" (Zierer Wave Swinger/36) on our way to the next coaster. Between the Zierer and Zamperla swing rides, I prefer the Zamperla ride, but Zierer has the more comfortable seat. I only mention this because Kings Island has covered the seats with a vinyl upholstery, and attached a pad to the back surface of each seat...a knee-saver at certain points in the ride. After a fun ride, we headed for the Outer LIMits.

Outer LIMits: Flight of Fear:
Trains: 3
Load: 20
Ride time: 1:35
Interval: 1:26
Capacity: 836 pph

Well, first the good news. It's running, and it's running three trains. I know about some structural work that they did on the ride in the off-season. But they are still stopping it completely on the mid-course brake. Now, I don't know how this is possible, but it feels like the last half of the ride...AFTER the mid-course full-stop...is faster this year than last year. Or at least I didn't get hung from the !@$* shoulder bar in the fourth inversion. It is possible that the real reason is because John was sitting next to me. I still say that what they really need to do with that ride is.....well, you know; by now I shouldn't have to say it anymore...!

[Update: You know that in 2001, they finally did!]

We took a ride on the Monster, another ride I particularly enjoy. Here we got another reminder that in spite of the huge crowd and the warm, beautiful weather, it is still very early in the season. The operator was just learning how to control the ride, and she had to keep jogging the center left and right to get it to park right for loading and unloading. But she was catching on; from the time we got into line until we got off of the ride...about seven load/unload cycles (remember there are three load/unload cycles for every ride cycle, as the Monster can only load eight of its 24 tubs at a time) she was starting to get the feel for it. On that particular ride, the exact precision she was working on is really unnecessary, as the concrete apron goes all the way around the ride. But it makes sense for her to learn how to do it right.

After our ride we headed on down to the Racer before it got crowded...

Racer:
Trains: 2
Load: 30
Ride time: 2:10 to brakes, 3:50
Interval: 1:58
Capacity: 915

Well, there is good news, there is bad news, and there is news. The good news is that the coaster is running great from the lift to the turnaround. Last season it was doing some violent jackhammer thing in the valleys, but not this time around. I don't get any air on this coaster because the lap bars are so badly adjusted that the highest notch pins me entirely too firmly to the seat. And the platform attendants don't want to let me use that notch. Ulp! The bad news on this ride is that the brake on the turnaround is on hard this week (two weeks ago it wasn't on at all). And the news is that the chain on the second lift (the 'booster' lift at the top of the...ummm...third hill) is gone. That lift was operating two weeks ago. It is normal for that lift to go away at some point during the season, but I thought it usually ran until at least June! It's just interesting. Perhaps Racer is actually running faster than usual for the early season?

recaR:
Trains: 2
Load: 30
Ride time: 2:10 to brakes, 3:12
Interval: 1:55
Capacity: 939 pph

Now here's where my investigation falls apart, really, because there is a major change to the Racer this season. I have been visiting Kings Island irregularly since 1991, and this year is the first season I can remember where the Racer ACTUALLY RACES!! Because I used different timing samples for the forward and backward sides, the interval and capacity numbers don't match up...but with very few exceptions, those trains went out in pairs. Time and again. Because the two sides of Racer are mirror images of each other, the ride lacks the home-stretch race of, say, Gemini or the Kennywood Racer. But going up the lift, having one train forward and one train backward means you can face your 'opponents' head-on. It's so strange on the Racer to see another train heading up the other lift!

The queue for Adventure Express was spilling out onto the midway, so we bypassed it; besides, John and I both wanted to ride King Cobra. I don't know exactly why, since I always get beaten up by that coaster, but that was our general plan. We rounded the bend and attempted to enter the Paramount Action Zone. Trouble is, a couple of guys had gotten up on the water tower and were fighting with each other, which attracted quite a crowd. Funny that all these people would be crowded in so close, and I thought it seemed like a bad idea when the guys started shooting at each other. Unfortunately someone in the crowd pulled a rifle and shot a hole in the water tower, which did nothing to the guys up there but make them mad and get them to fire into the crowd. Now that was really smart. Meanwhile John and I are walking out from the King Cobra entrance trying to figure out who is waiting in line and who is just watching the fight. Our confusion was short-lived, however, as one of the combatants fell from the tower, landing on a strategically placed cushion. The show ended, and the crowd scattered. It then beame obvious that the show area surrounding the water tower was ringed with two ride queues: One extended from the King Cobra entrance, around the right-hand side of the show area. The other began at the Face/Off queue house and ran alongside Amaz...er...Congo Falls and around the left side of the show area. The two queues met in the middle in front of the merchandise joint behind the stage. Yikes! Knowing that both of those rides have queue houses that can handle an hour-long wait, we bypassed them both and headed back to Top Gun.

Top Gun:
Trains: 2
Load: 28
Ride time: 2:10 to brakes/2:46 to unload
Interval: 1:42
Capacity: 988 pph

PKI GUY said in his report from Saturday that he thought Top Gun was running unusually well. I must disagree; the only time I have ever experienced less-than-spectacular rides on Top Gun was late last season when it was running rough...and my guess is that it has something to do with running the coaster before the paint on the rails was completely dry. On this visit, Top Gun was, as usual, running great. I did notice, as I approached the station that at the height-checker station "below deck" there is a brief script attached to the inside of the telephone box cover which gives a themed way to identify someone starting up the stairs (the script includes blanks for gender and shirt color). I asked whether it was for identifying troublemakers or "hotties" but I didn't get a reply. Maybe they haven't gotten to that part of the crew training yet. 8-)

Signalling systems aside, there are two problems with Top Gun: First, it is too short; second the walk from the queue entrance to the station is too long and looks like something Dave Bowers might design in Roller Coaster Tycoon...Down the stairs, under the bridge, up the hill, down more stairs, up other stairs, way down again, across the bridge, down another flight, through the platform underdeck, up the stairs, then down the ramp. Whew! But once on board, while Top Gun was running no better than usual. But it wasn't any worse either...and apart from Face/Off, Top Gun is, in my opinion, the best-running coaster in the park.

Face/off
Trains: 1
Load: 28
Ride time: 1:30
Interval: 3:42
Capacity: 454 pph

As I noted, the entire queue house was full, and people were spilling out onto the midway, all the way around Amaz...er...Congo Falls, past the board fence obscuring the bottom of Drop Zone, and all the way to the new shop. I figured that the queue house holds about an hour's worth of people, then just for grins counted back from the queue house. No, I didn't do a literal head count, but I stepped off the distance and came up with a distance equal to about 460 people. So I figured a total wait of about two hours, which was actually less than I had expected. As I had already ridden Face/Off (refer to my 04/18 trip report), I skipped it this time around, though I did clock a couple of cycles to see if they were moving people any faster than last time I visited. Unfortunately, they weren't. 8-(

It was more or less here that we met up with Roz, who had already met up with a Coaster Creep. We hiked over to the First Aid building where John pointed out the ca. 1975 park map hanging on the wall. In a sudden fit of brilliance, the three of us dashed out towards Beastie in hopes of 'losing' our Special Friend, but moments later he was standing behind us in line...

Beastie
Trains: 2
Load: 20
Ride time: ???
Interval: 1:23
Capacity: 867

Waaaaah! The gate closed, and the lap bar solenoids clicked. I was ready for a back-seat ride on this classic coaster when the young lady three seats up from me decided she really didn't want to ride. Always willing to help, one of the attendants removed her from the train (she couldn't have been older than about three or four) before sending us on our way. The Beastie still has that little kick as it comes out of the station, and unfortunately the mid-course trim on the turnaround over the station...which was not operating on my last visit...was hitting hard. I like the way Beastie runs with two trains, and I love the tunnel on the first drop, but I'm afraid I like the trim-brake-less Sea Dragon at Wyandot Lake better.

Our party of four got split up into two trains, so when we got off, I gave John a one-word instruction: "RUN." By now he was more irritated by Coaster Creep than I was, and thus he complied swiftly. "He's one of those people who fits the 'bad coaster enthusiast' stereotype, isn't he," John observed. I opted not to comment. Instead we walked through the The Beast queue, which wound past the Hydro Flume, around a sign indicating a 90-minute wait, across the midway, and back past the still-empty World's Largest Hanging Basket of Flowers. Continuing around the park the long way, we arrived at Adventure Express.

Adventure Express
Trains:
Load: 30
Ride time: ???
Interval: 1:39
Capacity: 1,091 pph

We piled into the train as I noticed that the undershoot problem they had two weeks ago has been fixed, and they were running all three trains. They were only having moderate success with the three-train operation, though, as they were routinely stacking the trains...one in the station, one on the wait brake, and one on the second lift. I did notice that they have made a minor change to the ride programming, though...when our train stopped on the second lift, the music continued. You may recall from one of my reports last year that when the ride set up, the audio effects stopped abruptly so that we could listen to the squeaking of the arms on the figures lining the lift until the ride restarted. This year, the music keeps going. It's an improvement, but not as much of an improvement as running the ride on interval would be. As we were sitting on the ready brake waiting for the station to clear, I could hear the train behind us start up the second lift and I was counting off, "Three.....two.....one.....SETUP!!!!" just as I heard the lift stop. Once I can understand...but on every dispatch?!

The massive land-clearing project is going on in the space between Top Gun and Adventure Express, behind King Cobra, so you can get a decent view of the destruction from Adventure Express. Allow me to suggest that while Adventure Express is a pretty wild ride to begin with, it is even wilder when you are paying more attention to the land-clearing than to the ride! Speaking of land-clearing, it isn't just land-clearing anymore. Concrete footers have appeared near Top Gun's turnaround. The interesting thing is that they appear to be right below Top Gun's kill zone, so whatever attaches to those footers is going to have to be either very short, or significantly angled. Hmmmmm...

By this time, the crowd was beginning to thin out, though there was still a significant wait for Vortex. Here, one of the unique features of that ride became evident. There is a low wall along the midway leading to the Vortex entrance, which is just exactly the right height to serve as a place to sit. Vortex is the only coaster I know of where you can sit down while waiting in line. As slowly as the line moves, the seat is most welcome; pity it only lasts for the outermost part of the queue.

We returned to King Cobra, where the queue barely extended beyond the entrance.

King Cobra
Trains: 2
Load: 24
Ride time: 1:25 to brakes/2:56 to unload
Interval: 2:47
Capacity: 517 pph

King Cobra looks absolutely spectacular this season. The track rails are painted in alternating regions of light green and yellow, with a thin line of dark red between each color band. The structure is now dark green, and the effect is, if I dare say it, striking. After an interminable wait, I squeezed into the front of the last car. With the seat firmly planted against my body, the top of the shoulder loop failed to clear my shoulder, but that didn't keep the attendant from trying. Those bruises are gonna hurt for a couple of days. Tell me again, why am I riding this? Why did I wait a full hour to ride this? Yeah, it's an interesting ride, but what a body banger. Is TOGO a Japanese word meaning "Ouch"? It's not because it's a particularly violent ride; it's because the train completely ignores the dimensions of the human body. One ride was enough! In fairness to Togo, I've also ridden two state-of-the-art B&M stand-ups...Mantis: The Coaster Formerly Known as Banshee, and Chang...and quite honestly, their trains are not much better, though for different reasons.

Hmmm...Our exact pattern from there is a bit murky, but I know we went back to Scooby's Ghoster Coaster. We didn't ride it, but I did take down some statistics...

Scooby's Ghoster Coaster
Cars: 4
Load: 2
Ride time: 1:01 to brakes/1:17 to unload
Interval: 0:53
Capacity: 136 pph

I still think Ghoster Coaster is the cutest coaster in the state. Caripro needs to figure out a way to boost capacity if they want to sell any more of them, though.

Speaking of capacity, we took a ride on Kings Island's swinging ship ride, an Intamin Flying Bounty. It's a big ride, it runs well, but Kings Island really should add some clips on the maintenance ladder to secure the safety wire. There is a tight wire running alongside the ladder to which a worker can attach an ascender device for his fall protection. The only trouble with that is that the wire flaps about during operation and bangs against the ladder, producing a very loud, somewhat unsettling banging noise. Anyway, this is a high-capacity ride, which seems to be unusual for Kings Island; I clocked it at 790 PPH, which is better than four of the park's coasters. Still, we waited a half-hour for it. I know that we waited a half-hour because just before we entered the queue, I saw something hat has probably been at Kings Island since the park opened, but that I had never seen before: the Glockenspiel show above the front door of the Festhaus. The audio is pretty awful, and it's a very simple bit of mechanical animation involving twirling people that kind of resemble the figures from Fisher-Price toy sets, but it's so incredibly cute anyway. Just a little touch that I didn't realize existed.

We finished the day by hitting various coasters...Racer, Top Gun, and The Beast...and we ended with the second-to-last ride of the night on The Beast, nearly an hour after the park closed. I noticed while we were waiting that PKI's director of wood coaster maintenance was standing by as usual as The Beast ended its day. I wanted to ask him one critical question as I exited the coaster ("Will you be responsible for maintaining the next new ride?") but he vanished while I was riding.

In all, it was a good day at Kings Island, a far cry from the cold, wet, miserable experience of two weeks ago. But because of the beautiful weather (see, it doesn't ALWAYS rain when I go to a park...only when I go to Busch Gardens!), Kings Island's single biggest and most insoluable problem became obvious: CAPACITY, or rather, the park's lack thereof.

(It was a good day at Kings Island. If you're just reading a basic trip report, you can stop here, since the rest is a bit technical, and unfortunately, it's a bit of a downer.)

If you look at the Amusement Business charts of amusement park attendance, you can see that Kings Island typically has the highest total attendance of any seasonal park (except occasionally Cedar Point). We're talking about a total approaching four million visitors each season. The season is only 118 days (Cedar Point's season is 133 days this season) which means an average daily attendance of almost 32,000 people every day, with the park open almost 12 hours a day. If you add up the capacities of all the coasters in the park, you get...

What this means is that if everyone in the park is evenly spread around the park, riding nothing but coasters, and spending the entire day, everyone can be expected to get perhaps three coaster rides. In a twelve-hour day. That would be an average four-hour wait for any coaster, and no coaster...not even the combined Racer...is capable of handling every park customer. While things were not quite that bad this time around, consider that while there are a few non-coaster rides in the park, and some people do not ride coasters, the annual population isn't evenly spread between seasonal operating days, either. So on a Saturday in July, for example, the 3-ride-per-day estimate might actually apply. This is no way to insure customer satisfaction, particularly when the customers are paying $33 each to stand in long lines that aren't moving. It seems to me an example of bad planning that none of the last five coasters at Kings Island is capable of handling as many as 1,000 pph, when they should have about a 1,400 PPH minimum performance requirement on ANY new ride. Now some of this can be helped. For instance, on Racer, when all of the attendants are indicating "go for dispatch", two of the trains are sitting on the ready brakes, and both trains in the station fail to move, that indicates a problem that can...and probably will...be worked out as the season progresses and the crews become more experienced. But in most cases, ride capacities are limited by factors the operators cannot control, such as the two-minute delay on The Beast as the train approaches the station. Or the obvious problem of a new coaster with a shuttle-track which is therefore limited to a 3-minute interval at minimum, anyway. While there are things the park can do to improve efficiency (getting platform gates open earlier and faster would be a good start) the real problem is that Kings Island is lacking in any real "people-munchers." More than anything else, what Kings Island needs to do is instead of building gee-whiz low-capacity almost-prototype coasters like King Cobra, Outer LIMits, and Face/Off, they need to build good, high-capacity rides. Rides more like Vortex that can deliver a good ride, offer proven performance, and move a couple thousand people per hour. I know I am hoping that whatever the project for 2000 is, I hope it can move lots of people, because Kings Island is simply too popular and too crowded for the low-throughput rides they keep installing. They've promoted the heck out of Face/Off, which means lots of people coming to the park to ride it...and yet the ride can only give one ride to each of 23% of the people who visit the park. It just doesn't seem right. And for an operation that otherwise seems to have its act together, it just seems strange that they can't seem to get this one issue worked out.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

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