Rides
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Kings Island has a great ride collection. Many are old favorites, classics which were either brought from the original Coney Island park or bought in the first decade of the current park's existence. And many are newer thrill rides, which get the adrenalin pumping even for spectators, let alone riders. The best of these rides push the limits, to the point where they require a certain degree of physical fitness plus a tolerance of heights and motion. In recent years Kings Island has removed some beloved rides, especially the Flying Scooters and Antique Cars. This has resulted in angry letters, emails and phone calls. Clearly, each ride develops its own cult of followers. High school Physics classes build working models, fans take photos from all angles, and riders try to total as many rides as possible. Each September, fans eagerly await the announcement about which hot new ride will be installed during the off season and be ready when the park opens the following Spring. |
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Thunder Alley (#1) is your classic Go Kart racetrack on steroids. These cars have added shells to look like NASCAR racers, eight hp engines and a banked track that opened in '96. The track is wider than the usual Go Kart track, so you can maneuver a bit better around congestion or spinouts. You get 4 minutes, so you can finish quite a few laps, which allows the better drivers to work their way to the front. You need a few rides to get used to the quick steering and cornering of your car, but by about your third time you should be ready to do some serious driving. They have Go Kart tracks at Kentucky Kingdom, Cedar Point, Carowinds and Dollywood, plus a dozen other locations not associated with amusement parks, but this is by far the best in the Midwest. |
| Slingshot (#1) is the best of these rides, which strap you into a capsule and launch you 275 feet into the air at 100 mph. There aren't too many of these out there, but this one edges the one at Kentucky Kingdom as the best in the region. Kennywood has one somewhat milder, which cranks you up to the same height, then releases you so you swing like a pendulum. Here, you feel like you'e being launched into space. We think this is the best adrenalin rush in the park, more intense than any of the coasters or the drop tower or Delirium. The excitement is packed into the launch and first ascent. Once you reach the outer limits of the cables, you drop back toward earth and bounce up and down several times until they reel you in. That part of the ride is sort of fun, but the launch will suck the breath out of the hardiest thrill rider. |
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Drop Tower (#1) is the finest of these rides in the nation. It takes you up 26 stories, then drops you 315 feet at 67 mph. This is a very high, very smooth version of this Intamin ride. It's been here since '99 but has been meticulously maintained. The ring of seats holds 40 riders and from startup to landing the ride lasts only a minute and a half. If you're not afraid of heights and can keep your eyes open, it will give you a spectacular view before the bottom falls out. |
Viking Fury is the classic Pirate Ship ride. It's one of Kings Island's classics, having been here since '88. It's been well maintained and has a beautiful location swinging over the water. This is a deceptive ride, graceful to watch but packing a powerful punch while riding. This one has a longer ride cycle than all but Kennywood's, which is the best in the region. This ride takes several swings to reach its full range and at the end slows down gradually, but during the middle of the ride, when the ship swings from one extreme to the other, it produces some surprising Gs. If you sit in the middle, within a row or two of the main mast, it is a little gentler, but sitting at the front or back of the ship guarantees you'll be scrambling to stay in your seat at each apex. The airtime at those apices is similar to a roller coaster. The finish is well maintained, the swings are smooth and the peaks are high. There's none of that grinding or rubbing that slow the ships at other parks and keep them lower at each end of the swings. (If you really like these rides, you should travel to Carowinds, where at the peak of the cycle theirs goes all the way around the circle and you find yourself completely upside down three times.) |
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Delirium (#1) is an incredible experience if you have a tolerance for both heights and circular motion. If you have problems with either of those, this could be the longest 2:30 if your life. This Huss classic has been here since 2003. You'll be one of 50 riders sitting around the ring, with your feet dangling while the pendulum sweeps you 137 feet (13 stories) into the air. The pendulum picks up a pretty good speed, too. Our radar gun times it at 40 mph as it moves through the frame each swing (obviously it begins slowing down as it approaches each apex). This is very smooth and very comfortable. You're held in by both a seatbelt and a shoulder harness. |
| The Scrambler is the classic geometry ride. High school Math and Physics students use this ride for all sorts of experiments and graphing exercises, tracing how cars cut precise patterns in their rotations. Basically, the center axle rotates clockwise and the three secondary axles rotate counterclockwise. To observors the ride appears to be moving in a circle, but actually each car moves only in long straight lines. The heaviest rider should always ride to the outside and the lightest rider to the inside; if you reverse that order then as the ride picks up speed the lighter rider will be very uncomfortable. This ride is the fastest version in the region but is not nearly as smooth as Holiday World's, which is the region's best. Of all the amusement park rides, this is the easiest to model, especially with an Erector Set. |  |
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The Grand Carousel is Kings Island's classic 1926 Philadelphia Toboggan Company Merry Go Round. This is one of the nation's great remaining Carousels and groups come here on bus tours to see it. It sat at Coney Island from 1926-1972, then was brought to its present location. It contains 20,000 sheets of 23 karat gold and a thousand sheets of sterling silver. It features 48 horses, 28 of them moving up and down. The roofing helps protect the beautiful paint job. Even if you don't ride it, you should stop by, have a seat, and watch it operate, perhaps taking a few photos. The racing carousel at Cedar Point is unique, but of the traditional carousels, this and the one at Kennywood are the best two out there. Our only problem is Kings Island no longer uses the band organ. The equipment is there. It should be repaired and used. The piped in music seems inappropriate. |
| With other parks removing their Polyps, Spiders, Octopi and Monsters, thie Monster (#1) is a real treasure. It was first installed in 1968 at Coney Island and moved here in 1972. Cedar Fair owns all the remaining Monsters, at Cedar Point and Great Adventure and one dismantled at Wonderland, but this one is in the best condition. The cars spin smoothly, the smaller arms rotate freely, and the larger arms glide up and down easily, details which cannot be taken for granted since all these rides are at least 40 years old. Another feature is the beautiful black epoxy finish, which maintenance personnel have somehow kept in show room condition despite four decades of harsh weather and bright sun. The cars are very comfortable. Many diehard KI patrons insist this is the best ride in the park even including the coasters. Our only complaint is the 60 second ride cycle. This magnificent ride deserves at least 90 seconds if not a full 2:00. This is the shortest ride cycle of any Monster, Spider or Octopus in operation. |  |
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Dodgem is a great version of the classic bumper cars. This circular floor with no center bar removes the corners, so removes the congestion which usually plagues such rides. These Barbezi cars are fast with quick steering and very comfortable. The double loop shoulder straps make getting in and out very efficient and the cars respond to the "gas" pedal very quickly. The ceiling is in excellent condition which eliminates dead spots and spotty performance. The 1:40 ride cycle is a bit short for such rides but adequate. Kennywood's wonderful Grand Prix met the competition from this ride by building a whole new much larger rectangular floor without the center bar, reducing the number of cars to eliminate the congestion, changing to a new fleet of cars to match these, and going to a 2:00 ride cycle. KW thus retains the number one ranking but no bumper car ride in the region comes even close to either of these. |
| Zephyr is a great 1986 Zierer interpretation of the classic swing ride. Its 1:40 cycle is a bit short but this is the smoothest swing ride in the region. It has another huge advantage. The traditional weakness of these rides is the flimsy, low back seats, which make it precarious for adults. KI has reinforced these seats and added chains to the sides so adults can ride it with confidence, comfort and safety. The big problem with Zephyr is its paint job. In 1986 this was a beautiful paint job, artistic with vibrant colors. At that time, this was the most beautiful swing ride in the region. Sadly, maintenance has not given this paint the attention it deserved, and it is now faded and tired looking. This does not detract from the mechanics of the ride, but dampens the aesthetic experience. Holiday World has the best swing ride in the region, but this is a strong second. |  |
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Shake Rattle & Roll (#1) is KI's version of the classic Huss Troika. This is another treasure, having been in place since 1975 and in show room condition. The dips, climbs and rolls are similar to the Monster, but the cars are fixed on the sweeps so you always face in the direction you're moving. For anyone who gets dizzy on spin rides, this is a huge advantage. This Troika is very smooth, and the cars are very comfortable. It might be considered a three dimensional version of the Scrambler, as the center axle rotates clockwise and the three sweeps rotate counterclockwise, but the Troika arms rise to 40 degree angles. Huss stopped making these in 1978. The only other Troika in the region is at Cedar Point, and there are six others still in operation across the country, but this is in the best condition. It looks a lot wilder than it really is. On board, it is exceptionally smooth and enjoyable. Its location in the trees, with Vortex arcing in the background, adds to its charm. |
| Surf Dog (#1) is in Kiddieland and is classified as a "Family Ride," but if you sit on the far ends it can get pretty hairy. It's KI's version of the Zamperla Skating Coaster, basically a double dip version of the classic Zamperla Disc-0. This is the only Skating Coaster in the region, but Kennywood and Waldameer have MegaDiscos and Dollywood has a Disco. On the Discos you sit on a spinning disc and face outward; here you sit on a gondola and face inward. But the skating coasters add the double dip, which raises the ride to a whole new level. This one has been at KI since 2006. It's very smooth. The 1:30 ride cycle is rather short. Tucked off in a distant corner of Planet Snoopy, Surf Dog is the most overlooked and under rated ride at the park, but many long time visitors think it is one of the very best. If you've been to Kennywood or Beech Bend, you might also consider this a Rockin Tug on steroids. |  |
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Windseeker is a nice, slow, smooth, comfortable ride that keeps your adrenalin pumping and scares many people too much to try it. It's basically a swing ride on steroids. The kick is it takes you up 30 stories in the air before rotating. With your feet dangling, you tilt outwards at a 45 degree angle and, assuming you can keep your eyes open, get a panoramic view of Kentucky and downtown Cincinnati. The photo at left was taken looking straight across from the Eiffel Tower. You rotate around the center eight times per minute (30 mph) and get a three minute ride cycle. For anyone with a tolerance for heights, this is an incredible ride. When the wind "up above" picks up they have to close it for safety reasons, so you may have to come back two or three times in a day to find it operating. Ironically, you can't really see Kings Island from the ride; you're so high your views are much further out. Only at the beginning and end of the ride, while you're going up and down, can you really look at the park. |
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