Tribune Tries It: Kings Island
Kings Island is known by many as a fun amusement park full of thrill-seeking roller coasters and exciting water rides. It is said that the fun never stops when you visit Kings Island. In many ways, this is true. However, in many ways it is not true.
I made the huge mistake of going to Kings island on a Saturday. Not only was it a Saturday, but it was Music in the Parks: A day where kids from all over will come to Ohio, sing a few songs in front of judges, then hang out at Kings Island until around 5 o’ clock when their awards ceremony takes place.
As soon as I walked in to the park, people were everywhere. Workers would run around forcing groups to take pictures, which you would then have to pay twenty dollars to own. I declined multiple times for a picture to be taken. I had a camera. I don’t need some worker to take a picture.
The first ride my friends and I got in line for was Invertigo. We waited in line for a good hour. Once we finally got on the ride and buckled in, the ride began. The ride contained loops and corkscrews, however the scariest part was going backwards. Once Invertigo stopped, I shakily found my way out and went to sit down.
After sitting around for a while, we made our way to Diamondback. The line stretched out from the enterance a few hundred feet, so we knew it would be an extremely long wait. However we toughed it out and stood in line for about an hour and a half. The fans were on, which felt wonderful under the hot sun. We finally got on the ride and made our way up 230 feet in the air and dropped at over a 70 degree angle. The ride made speed up to 80 miles per hour. The experience was great, other than the fact that I had my eyes closed and my hair was in my face in my “on-ride” picture.
After diamondback, I ate lunch at LaRosa’s. I ordered a piece of pizza and two breadsticks, which cost nine dollars. The prices were extreme.
Then my friends and I met up with a few more people and walked over to ride my favorite roller coaster, the Vortex. Everyone complained how the line was extremely long, however, it went faster than expected and we made it on the ride in about thirty minutes. Through the entire ride, I was laughing my head off.
Finally, we went on the Beast. Now, I realize the ride is extremely popular and whatnot. However, getting in line at 8 o’ clock and leaving the ride at 10:15 is insane. The line was unbelievably long, and it seemed everyone in line got very annoyed. Not only that, but they had to stop the ride at 9:45 for fireworks that didn’t start until ten. However, it was worth it, because riding the Beast in complete darkness was the scariest and most fun experience I have ever had at Kings Island.
By the time I got home, I was worn out and fell right asleep. Though I was disappointed that I only rode four rides in a total of nine hours, it was a lot of fun and I plan on going back many times over the summer.
