Banshee Media Day + Scream For A Kid Again + Kings Island Opening Day 2014 Trip Report!

Show of hands, who here likes Kings Island?

…….

(you should be raising your hand right now)

Well hey! That's a lot of hands! Glad to see everyone loves Kings Island. :}

It's a good thing, too; I've got a THREE-PART KINGS ISLAND UPDATE for you!

(Yes, YOU. Just for you)

(AND, if you're reading this because we were in Storytelling class together and you're humoring me with your viewership, God bless you. :} And bear with me; there's some coaster geek speak that will probably make little or no sense to you whatsoever. If you have any questions, feel free to post them to the comments of the blog link you clicked to get here, or send me a FB message. :D )

Our adventure starts at 4:30AM as we eagerly await entry to Kings Island for Banshee Media Day!!!

Good morning, Kings Island!

OMG THERE IT IS HIDING BEHIND DELIRIUM.

*dies*

This was the most excited I'd been for a new ride since Stealth at Paramount's Great America in 2000. I was absolutely trembling with anticipation!

Banshee makes an overwhelming first impression!

Whoever's idea this was, you deserve a slow clap. 

It's 40º outside and Banshee is still breaking itself in. Despite this, the train barreled through its first half like a Taco Bell customer scrambling to the nearest bathroom.

A red dawn and Venus (?) welcomed us. 

AAAAHH IT'S ALMOST TIME TO RIDE!

So, how was the ride?

My expectations for Banshee were cautiously optimistic; the ride looked absolutely remarkable, but B&M has a reputation for building some deceptively gentle giants. 

I sat down in the leftmost seat of the train's last car. B&M has continued to perfect the vest restraint design for their coasters, and I think they've just about nailed it at this point. Sitting in the trains felt wonderful (and no more dropping floor)!

Climbing the hill was an experience in and of itself. It was fast. It was cold. I was shivering with excitement and possibly hypothermia! 

The first drop is the best on any invert I've ridden. It reminded me a lot of Expedition GeForce, actually. The first three inversions are solid (especially the extra fast-paced first vertical loop), but the ride REALLY kicks into high gear after the barrel roll. The drop-off in the topography creates the sensation of suddenly having a rocket strapped to your ass as you careen into the pretzel loop. The speed at the bottom of the aforementioned pretzel is so intense. Face-numbing, skin-pulling, blood-pooling intense. After the similarly-aggressive second vertical loop and the rising banked turn, the ride flows through the excellent wingrider-esque extended barrel roll and then careens into its helix of fury. 

Sitting in the brake run, I was like

"………………..…..damn."

*lights a cigarette*

I don't remember how I got here after my first ride. I probably floated out of the station and drifted with the crowds down back to the midway.

My first Banshee ride was so intense that I actually really needed to sit down for a minute.

So that means breakfast time! I used my two cups of hot chocolate to warm my blue hands. :}

I think Banshee is one of the most beautiful coasters I've ever seen.

Kings Island really ramped up the fog for Media Day!

*swoon*

Delirium started testing shortly after I finished breakfast. Perhaps we'll get to ride it today?? :}

Ok! I'm ready for more!

Once the sun began to creep over the horizon, it was time for some daylight rides on Banshee!

The extended roll is really cool. It certainly beats a corkscrew!

After my 3rd or 4th ride, I noticed people walking around by Son of Beast's station. Turns out the area was actually freely accessible!

Here's the view from Son of Beast's upper queue!

Soon we discovered that we could pass through the haunt that occupies Son of Beast's station...

…to find a beautiful view of Banshee's back half!

HELIX OF FURY!

Ooooh! Now Bat is testing! Just look at how lovely it is in its new colors! :}

All that's left of Son of Beast is this little piece of track in the station. 

Hey, we better get back to the midway! They're making some announcements!

At this point, Kings Island thanked us for participating in the event and announced that they were opening Bat, Delirium, and Xtreme Skyflyer (for free!) for us!!!

EVERYBODY RUN TO THE BAT NOW!

Looks like Cy's car is ready to ride!

And so is Lisa's!

I'm pleased to say that my favorite ride at Kings Island is looking and running better than ever!

As an Arrow Suspended Coaster fanboy, the announcement of the Flight Deck / Bat re-model was actually more exciting for me than the announcement of Banshee. Keeping a suspended coaster operating is very demanding, so I was thrilled to see that King Island is committed to keeping Bat in good working order.

After a great ride on the Bat, I returned to the Son of Beast station to take more pictures!

I don't even know what to say at this point. I was so happy. You could have knocked me over with a jellyfish.

The orange is rather dashing, don't you think?

These riders seem to think so. :}

Okay! Time for another ride!

The view from Bat's station is quite inticing indeed. The coasters make a lovely pair. :}

Hello, beautiful.

I just can't get enough of this ride.

<3 So happy together <3

Switching gears, now. Who wants some Banshee twist ice cream?!!? :D

Banshee, you lucky broad! You get your own ice cream flavor!

Kings Island even opened up one of the gift shops for us, in which I found possibly the greatest T-shirt ever!!!

This was not only a special day for me because of Banshee; this was my first park visit with my new camera! I'm quite pleased with its capabilities :}

Speaking of pictures, we were given vouchers for free on-ride Banshee photos. I didn't use mine, but my new friend Brenton used his!

Ta-da!

Here I am with former ACE President Bill Linkenheimer, along with Stephen Marzaile, and Brenton Asti!

Now here's something you don't see every day: Both sides of the Xtreme Skyflyer operating in unison!

3…2…1…Fly!

Twelve years ago, my father and I did this very sky coaster. We totally loved it and had every intention of doing another one in the future. That, however, never happened. So here I am, twelve years later, back at the very same sky coaster with Stephen and Brenton! It's actually more terrifying than I remember. In fact, the worst part is when you go from standing to flying position. The ride ops even warned us about that sharp dive into lying position, but that didn't stop me from shrieking like a little you-know-what.

You sure know how to throw a party, Kings Island! See you soon!

Very soon, in fact. I'll be back in just 4 hours for the Scream For A Kid Again event!

I'm not finished with you yet, Banshee!

I originally had these grandiose intentions of taking a nap when I went back to my hotel, but of course I was too excited to sleep and just ended up working on this trip report instead. lol.

Okay! Time for round 2!

After registration for the event was complete, we made our way back to the maid of honor!

A Kid Again, which is an Ohio-based non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for families with terminally ill children, hosted Scream For A Kid Again to help raise money. Everyone who raised $100 was treated to the event, which consisted of 2 hours of nighttime Banshee exclusive ride time! They even awarded the 32 top donation earners the first official night ride on Banshee! I was in the top 12 or so and got my favorite seat: leftmost seat of the last car!

A pitch-dark ride on Banshee is just tops. I can't get over what a great ride this is!

Banshee has the most epic marquee. 

WOOSH!

After 4 goes in a row, Banshee had me beat! What an incredible ride! 

Goodnight, Banshee! I hope you're ready for your big debut tomorrow!

Kings Island and A Kid Again surprised everyone at the event with free tickets to come back to the park any time through Memorial Day! I was originally going to get up the next morning and drive back home, but the thought of an bonus day at Kings Island was too much to resist.

So with that, my trip (and trip report) gained an extra day, featuring Kings Island's 2014 season opener. :}

Good afternoon, Kings Island! Guess who slept in 'til 11AM because he was losing his mind with exhaustion last night? Meeeeeee.

The park was an absolute zoo today (notice the dual lines to enter the park and the 3rd line on the right just to buy tickets). Since I'll be back here in a month for ACE Spring Con, the pressure was off to do a whole lot of riding. My first order of business was to take pictures from the Eiffel Tower (and yes, that's part of Banshee's line down there on the bottom right)!

Banshee's line was 5+ hours throughout the day. I later heard reports of 7 or 8 hours. The ride also suffered several spots of down-time (which is why I only have one picture of it from the Eiffel Tower). Good thing I got 10 rides on it yesterday! :}

The line for Banshee ends right there at the bottom of this picture. Diamondback's line was a much more modest 45 minutes.

Vortex! Can you believe how crowded it is today?! I bet your line is only 15 minutes.

Racer's left side was being rehabbed on my last visit, but both sides are ready for action today!

"I'm here too!" said the Viking ship.

Bat enjoyed some good crowds today! It actually had a line. lol

Hi, Windseeker.

Bye, Windseeker.

Several stores on International Street have received new signs. :}

Hello, Diamondback! You're much less rattle-y this season. 

While standing in line for Diamondback, I made some new friends! One of them works at Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom, and he has a very close tie to the park.

He's got a Hurricane Mountain tattoo!

Hooray for new friends! Johnny the tattoo-man (on the left) sat next to me.

After Diamondback, I gravitated towards the log flume.

Kings Island's log flume is just so cute. :}

Yes, you're cute too Diamondback.

You know who else is cute?

Vortex!

"I had a pretzel before Banshee did" said Vortex.

At this point, some friends from Coaster Crew ran into me and asked if I wanted to ride Beast with them. I'd originally skipped it because of the line, but having friends to visit with made it more appealing. :}

Hooray for Coaster Crew and Beast!

I can't seem to stop taking pictures of Vortex.

Vortex is just so sexy! How can I resist??

Unlike Vortex, I have no problem resisting Windseeker.

#nope

#beastselfie

Because of the time of year, additional Diamondback photo ops occurred. 

Also because of the time of year, Beast had some train-stacking issues. 

Beast is running phenomenally. It was the fastest, smoothest ride I've ever had on this legendary giant!

In fact, I would say that both Rivertown coasters are in tip-top shape.

How will Vortex compare??

Vortex is, of course, running great as well. :}

At this point in the day, I met up with my good friend John Anthony, and we goofed around together for a few hours. Who's up for Firehawk?

Firehawk is actually what we rode instead of Flight of Fear, which was, like several of the rides on opening day, experiencing some temporary down-time.

While Firehawk's loading process is slower and more inconvenient than dial-up internet, the ride packs a solid punch! Still can't believe how much better it is than Nighthawk…

Walking south on the Coney Mall now has a very interesting view indeed!

Speaking of views, we found some great views of Adventure Express after our fabulous ride on the freshly re-tracked Racer!

In addition to Flight of Fear and Backlot Stunt Coaster, I did not get a ride on Adventure Express. I'll be back for my rides on these three next month! :D

How's your first official day treating you, Banshee?

I see the crowds have been giving you quite the work-out!

Now, we can't forget about Kings Island's original inverted coaster!

I'm quite fond of Invertigo. It reminds me of my childhood summers at Paramount's Great America. :}

Bye-bye, Banshee! You've been a wonderful hostess!

We decided to finish up our day with some Diamondback time.

And a selfie with the Eiffel Tower!

Goodnight, International Street!

Time for me to start that 5 1/2 hour drive back to Murfreesboro!

Thank you, Kings Island, for putting on such an incredible event. Banshee is easily a Top 10 steel coaster, and I hope everyone gets out to Cincinnati soon to put their screams to the test!

We've now reached the end of 3 consecutive theme park weekends (Kentucky Kingdom, Dollywood, Kings Island), and now Thrillography takes a break until May.

ACE Spring Conference 2014 will be the CONFERENCE TO END ALL CONFERENCES! You can expect to see a MASSIVE trip report featuring Holiday World, Beech Bend, Kentucky Kingdom, Kings Island, and MORE! I'm so excited! :D