THRILL COASTER TOURS TRIP REPORT:
AUGUST 9th-16th
TTD03 and Blase Rhine*The entire first day was a meetup and a very long drive from Princeton, New Jersey to Mason, Ohio.
Kings IslandDay 2: 10am-10pm (open-close)We started our tour at Kings Island! We arrived for opening and headed to Banshee first! The line was about 10 minutes and we waited for the front row! For TTD's and my first ride, we thought it was amazing and definitely worth the hype. Intensity isn't quite there like Batman, but it went through the elements gracefully!
Next, we headed to The Bat! It is a very good suspended coaster, much better than Iron Dragon!
Next we headed to Invertigo and had a typical inverted boomerang ride.
After, we headed into the small log flume/boat ride to cool down, and then we headed to the Racer! This ride is a classic and was much smoother than we expected! We raced our friends and beat them with ease on the blue side!
Once we finished with Racer we headed to go Firehawk. It was the longest wait in the park with a wait time around 45 minutes. It was a typical Vekoma lie down but was a ton of fun.
We then went to FestHaus to eat lunch. While eating, a live show named 'Let It Rock' started! This show was awesome! Really shows Six Flags that they need to step up their game.
Next, we headed to Flight of Fear, but the line was too long, so we then headed to Backlot Stunt Coaster, but that was also too long. So then we headed for Diamondback and actually waited that one out. It was about a 30-45 minute line but it seemed to be moving faster than that. The ride was running really good this year!
We then headed to TTD's favorite next, The BEAST! I had no idea what to expect, but TTD was hyping it like crazy! We decided the wait for the front row was worth it. As we pulled out of the station a bee was flying around the car. TTD started freaking out and swatting at it. Of course, the bee got mad and landed on my arm. As the Beast started going up the lift I let out a very girly scream as the bee stuck his stinger deep into my arm. Frantically trying to get the stinger out the coaster went down the first drop which was quite unexpected. I looked at TTD who was laughing his head off and said several choice words to him. Eventually I got the stinger out after half a ride of picking at the sting. We made it to the second lift and the girl behind us started screaming. We came to find out that she got stung as well. As the ride finished we all clapped. The Beast was definitely a favorite among us and was a very memorable experience for me. From now on I will call The Beast, The Bee.
We then headed to Drop Tower, but then, while in line, noticed Banshee was down, but testing, so we bailed out of the Drop Tower line, and headed to Banshee. Lucky for us, it just reopened then, so we only had a 5-10 min wait. This time, we rode in the back and Wow, it was way more intense. Almost Batman clone intense, but not quite. But definitely my #1 invert!
Right after Banshee, we noticed Delirium was down as well, but testing, so we did the same thing that we did with Banshee, and we got on Delirium on the first ride when it reopened!
Once we finished Delirium, we headed to Flight of Fear and waited on line, it was about a 30 minute wait. It was a fun ride. Nothing too crazy about it and the mid course nearly killed the ride.
Next, it was time to head out to dinner outside the park... But not without a Starbucks stop first!
Once back in the park, we headed to Drop Tower, which had a 1 cycle wait. It's a very awesome drop tower! The largest one I've ever been on! It provided stunning view before dropping us, which felt vey controlled, 65 mph.
Once we finished with the Drop Tower we went to the backlot stunt coaster and waited 15 minutes. I must say it was quite the coaster, The theming was pretty unique, the launch was pretty powerful for that size of a coaster, and overall we enjoyed the ride.
After Backlot we went to go ride Diamondback however it had a 45 minute wait. We decided to ride Flying Ace Aerial chase. It was a pretty fun kiddie coaster.
Once we rode Flying Ace we headed back over to The Beast, aka the Bee, and we're able to get the very last train to close the ride. We decided to ride in the back this time and I must say it was 100% better at night than during the day. The Beast is something special and was an amazing coaster to close the park with.
Overall we had a fantastic day at Kings Island and I can't wait to go back sometime! It really is an awesome Cedar Fair park!
Rate: 8/10Holiday World
Day 3: 10am-6pm (open-close)We arrived at the park a half an hour before opening and we were greeted with a warm welcome to Holiday World. We soon found our way to the Fourth of July section that was roped off and waited for the park security to open the park.
After about a 10 minute wait the security officer opened the park. TTD and I ran straight for Thunderbird. We ran through the queue and found ourselves soon at the station. We were lucky to get on the first ride of the day on Thunderbird in the back seat. TTD and I agreed that it is the best wing coaster to date. The pacing of the ride was exhilarating and the elements flowed together beautifully.
We next headed to The Voyage. TTD and I had very high expectations for this ride. We were both disappointed. How this coaster is rated the #1 wooden coaster, we have no idea.
We then headed to the Water park. We were not expecting much from Mammoth and Wildebeast, but we were dead wrong. These 2 water coasters are clearly the very best in the industry.
Next, we headed to the Gobbler Getaway. It was terrible. The ride was very much like Boo Blasters except worse. The "guns" didn't have lasers so we had no idea what or where we were shooting.
Next, we headed to The Voyage again and rode in the back row. The 2nd ride wasn't so bad, but the opinion of the ride still didn't change for both of us.
After Gobbler Getaway we headed for The Legend. We walked up to it and noticed it was running a 1 train operation however since the park was almost empty and there was no line we rode it anyway. I can not describe how rough this ride is. It was so painful and started giving TTD and I headaches. I said that this ride should be re tracked as soon as possible, but TTD said it should be burned, and that Mean Streak was smoother than that.
Once The Legend was over we headed straight for The Raven. We decided to head for the back row for more airtime during the ride. The Raven was definitely the smoothest of the 3 woodies but it was still pretty rough at some points. After riding, we still don't understand how it was voted the number 1 coaster from 2000-2003.
After that, we went to eat at Kringle's Kafe, and nothing exciting happened except that we got food.
We then decided to ride some flats. We went to Liberty Launch first, very fun and small S&S tower. And then we rode Revolution, a rotor ride, twice.
Next, we headed back to Thunderbird and TTD commented, the walk is brutal from the front of the park to there. But anyways, while we were there, the line was nonexistent, so we rode it 4 times for a grand total of 5 times today. 2 of which were in the front row each on different sides!
After, we headed back to The Voyage and rode it 2 more times. The first time we were in the front ish rows and the ride improved a bit, but it was still extremely rough. And when we rode it again, in the back this time we received advice to not put our hands up and to hold into the black bar to stabilize us. This is what did it for us and changed our minds completely about the ride. Yes, it still was quite rough, but the ride was full of airtime and the layout was amazing. A Number 1 for me and number 2 or 3 behind El Toro for TTD.
We then headed to The Legend for another ride to try and revive itself. We used the hold on to the bar in front of you approach and it helped a little, but not enough. The coaster should still be burned down in TTD's opinion.
We then headed to the log flume, which was very wet! And then headed back to The Raven.
On the way to The Raven, we stopped and watched a part of a Dive show, which was very cool. The show featured many divers diving off of 70+ foot platforms into he pool below. We rode The Raven again, more towards the front, and it actually made the ride a bit rougher. We had someone we were with unbuckle his seatbelt as we were pulling into the station and the ride attendant (who was already pretty unhappy for some reason) threatened to ban us from the park. After some discussion she told us not to come back on The Raven. Moral of the story is to not un buckle your seatbelt until the ride attendant tells you when you come to a stop in the station.
After that mess, we started to wind down, purchased some fudge, and then headed out of the park.
Overall Holiday World failed to impress us. It was a decent park. Operations were terrible, the staff was mostly rude, and almost all of the rides were all talk. Thunderbird and The Voyage were both the main hits in the park. TTD and I agreed that we would only go back for the free soda, free sunscreen, The Voyage, and Thunderbird.
#sorrytyler
Rate: 5/10Drive to Pigeon Forge
Day 4 (all day trip)Our morning began in Lousiville, Kentucky as we boarded the bus for a 5 hour drive to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We put our bags under the bus and took our seats. After a long day of driving we finally made it to Pigeon Forge at right around 3 p.m. EST.
As we got off the bus we grabbed our bags and headed to the hotel, The Springhill Suites and checked into our room. After much discussion we decided to head to a well known dinner theatre type restaurant called Lumberjack Feud.
The show was actually quite good and exceeded our high expectations. It was a show about two families, the McGraw's and the Dawson's, who were fighting for the rights to lumberjack over the last mountain before it got turned into a national park.
As the Pre show began TTD and I got called up on the main arena and we had to dance in front of the entire crowd. Needless to say I got real into while Kyle, not so much. We sat in the McGraw family side and cheered loudly for the, the entire show. Of course the show goes on and a lumber jacking competition begins. Each family had to complete several tasks in order to gain an axe. The family with the most axes won the rights to the mountain.
The competition was near completion and sadly our family lost only by 1 axe. The show ended and as said exceeded our expectations. The food was delicious, they served an entire chicken, potato soup, bread, potatoes, and peach cobbler, the show was entertaining from beginning to end, and overall we both had a great time.
After the dinner theatre we decided to walk the strip. We decided to stop at Mad Dogs Creamery and get some delicious ice cream.
After we got finished with the creamery we headed to go race on the go karts which quickly, changed to going to a Escape Room type game called The Tomb. It was about a hour experience and was amazing. Each room you had to solve puzzles in a certain amount of time or you fail that room. As you go through the rooms you start uncovering the truth and lies about the ancient tomb.
Overall we had a great relaxing day at Pigeon Forge before starting our Coaster Tour back up at Dollywood.
Rate: 7/10
Dollywood
Day 5: open-close (10am-6pm)
We arrived at the park around 9:30 and entered into one of the side gates. Our group headed to Mystery Mine first. That was down, so we headed to Firechaser Express.
Firechaser Express exceeded TTD's and my expectations by a long shot. The theming was great, and the reverse launch was very powerful. Overall it was a very solid ride that we both enjoyed very much!
Next, we headed to Wild Eagle. TTD and I were both expecting nothing from this ride, but boy were we corrected. The ride was crazy for a Wingrider, crazy to the point where we both blacked out after the loop. This was the most compact Wingrider we had both ever seen! It was definitely up there with Thunderbird!
After, we headed to Mystery Mine to see if it had reopened and it did! The line was about 20 minutes, so we waited for it! I had no expectations for it, but TTD did, because it was his 150th coaster! While we both agreed the ride has not aged well for the first half of the ride, the 2nd half is insane! The theming for the ride was amazing and had some very nice drops and some surprises that neither of us knew of.
Next, we went to Thunderhead. Again, I wasn't expecting anything from this ride, but TTD was. He said it was like Apocalypse at SFMM and afterwards, he wasn't disappointed. The ride is rough, but not painful rough, so it was great, and we rode it again in the back seat!
Next, we headed to lunch, and got a slice of pizza 2X the size of our faces! It was delicious!
After lunch, we headed to a small flat ride near the eatery. It's kind of hard to explain this ride, but basically, you pull yourself up a 25-30 foot tower, and then you let go and you gently float down. Then you do it again and again for a few minutes. It's a very physically demanding ride, but it was fun!
After, we went to Wild Eagle again and rode it 2 times because it was still line less. In fact it didn't have a line all day!
Next, we went to Tennessee Tornado. For an arrow, we weren't expecting much, but oh boy, were we wrong. This ride had an insane drop and weirdly shaped inversions for an arrow, and the amazing part, it was completely smooth. I don't know what Dollywood did to these trains, but whatever they did, other parks need to do, NOW!
Next, we walked and rode a few flat rides, one of which was an S&S Swing. It was very good, but a lot shorter than the cycle at Cedar Point. We also rode a log flume, which was very good. We then headed over to the kiddie section of the park and rode the Discus ride that was actually pretty forceful and very disorienting.
Next, we went to get some Dollywood famous Cinnamon Bread. I always questioned everyone that advertised it, asking is it really that good, and I wasn't disappointed! It was AMAZING! So good that I took a loaf with me!
After, we headed back to Wild Eagle for some more rides and got 2 more. This brought the Grand Total number of rides for the day to 6 for Wild Eagle. It is my #2 Wingrider behind Thunderbird but it is going back and forth with Thunderbird for TTD's #1 Wingrider.
We went to Mystery Mine for one final ride of the day, the line was still 20 mins, so we waited for it. And the same experience as the first ride occurred. Have to say though, the fire effect on top of the 2nd lift hill is insane!
After Mystery Mine, we headed for the bus and began the 4 hour drive to Carowinds!
Overall the park was beautiful, had great staff and operations for all the rides, and had amazing food. We both very much enjoyed Dollywood and would love to go again when Lightning Rod opens!
Rate: 8.5/10Carowinds
Day 6: open-3 hours before closing (10am-7pm)TTD and I arrived at Carowinds around 9:30am and entered through the new grand main entrance. I was super excited to come back to my old home park and ride Fury 325!
The main entrance looked amazing and was very well planned. I do still miss the old entrance but the new one definitely had that Cedar Fair flare to it.
After making it through the gates we ran directly to Fury 325 and waited only 5 minutes, if that. Because you can't pick where you sit We both got the back car. As the ride began we slowly started the climb of the 325 foot lift hill. Our hearts started pounding as the coaster climbed high and higher. Finally reaching the top it provided a wonderful view of the entire Charlotte skyline before plunging down at 95 mph!
As the ride finished and pulled back into the station everyone clapped and TTD and I got directly back in line and again waited only 5 minutes. This time we got the front row! The view was much better and the ride felt a lot faster on the front due to the wind speed and the open train feeling as it flowed through each element. On the turnaround you get sideways airtime before diving into a tunnel which was pretty unique and tons of fun! TTD and I both agreed that this ride was definitely a top contender, but is it the best? TTD and I both weighed out the options and Millennium Force and Fury 325 actually tied. However based on overall ride experience. TTD enjoys Millennium slightly better while I enjoyed this better.
After riding Fury twice we decided to go to Hurler since it was right next to Fury. Having been on it before I prepared myself for a very rough ride. However we did not get that at all. It was actually very smooth! They re tracked the second half of the coaster! They also had the trims on and the whole coaster felt very controlled which made it not fun at all and quite boring.
After being disappointed with Hurler we decided to go Carolina Cyclone. We waited less that 10 minutes and chose to ride in the back. It was a just like any other arrow. Fun, forceful, and very rough.
Once we rode Carolina Cyclone we went over to the drop tower.
We then headed back towards the entrance and looped around the other side of the park. Stopping along the way to ride The Intimidator. Having been on this many times before, I was not disappointed this time around. TTD and I agreed that this is much better than Diamondback and had many airtime moments. Overall it was a fun ride and a great coaster.
After riding Intimidator we decided to stop for lunch and grab some good Carolina BBQ. As we were eating we got to see a Snoopy show and listen to some fantastic rock music.
Once we finished lunch we headed over to Afterburn. Now this is on hell of an invert. TTD said that this was one of the most intense inverts around and that this thing never lets up. Overall it was an amazing coaster and we both enjoyed it.
At this point the park began getting a little more crowded so we ran over to where Thunder Road used to be and they had already began tearing he entire coaster down. All that remains is the lift hill and station.
We then decided to go and ride the Windseeker. This provided even better views of the construction and was also a fun ride.
After Windseeker we went to go check Nighthawks line but it was almost a hour and a half wait! We decided to skip it since we did Firehawk at Kings Island.
Once we checked Nighthawks line we agreed to go back on Intimidator and again were very impressed.
After riding Intimidator we headed back over to but stopped at Vortex. After Vortex we went over to Fury and rode it again 2 more times. Each time getting better and better.
Once we rode fury it was now time to leave the park and start our 5 hour drive up to Virginia for Busch Gardens.
Overall we had a fantastic day at Carowinds. We both agreed that the operations were of that at a six flags park except on Fury and Intimidator as those were the longest lines but we waited less that 30 minutes each time we rode. Carowinds provided us with a wonderful day of fun and thrills and we both enjoyed it very much.
Rate: 8.25/10Busch Gardens
Day 6: open-close (10am-10pm) Our day started at Busch Gardens bright and early. We entered the park and were immediately flawed by the parks beauty.
We decided to go to Griffon first. We waited for the front row which was only around 5 minutes. We both were not expecting much but were very much pleased with the overall ride. It packed a huge punch and we were left wanting more so we decide to jump back in line 2 more times and again only waited 5 minutes!
After Griffon we headed over to Alpengeist. TTD and I had huge expectations for this invert due to everyone telling us how amazing it was. We chose the back seat and were actually quite disappointed with the ride. We were left expecting more from the ride.
We left Alpengeist and decided to go to Curse of Darkastle. This was an amazing dark ride!
After riding Curse of Darkastle we went over to Verbolten. We waited around 15 minutes and decided to ride the back row. Verbolten was an amazing coaster and the theming added to the overall experience. We got the storm scene the first time we rode. We both enjoyed the coaster very much!
After Verbolten we headed over to Mach Tower. As we got seated on the ride, it broke down and we had to evac.
After this we went to the Italian themed area of the park and eat lunch. The food was actually quite delicious.
After lunch we decided it was time to ride Tempesto. The line was at an hour wait but luckily TTD new the ride op and he let us on the next train. We were both not disappointed with Tempesto and agreed that we would like to see more Premier clones at some smaller parks (with duel load stations).
After Tempesto it was time to ride Apollos Chariot. This was your standard B&M coaster that had many airtime moments. TTD said that Nitro was better and I said Intimidator at Carowinds was way better. Overall it was still a fun ride!
Once we got off Apollos Chariot we headed to Escape from Pompeii. TTD decided to sit this one out because he didn't want to get wet. I enjoyed this ride and the theming was very cool. It felt like you were about to die inside the ride. The splashdown was amazing and I got SOAKED!
After drying off in a family dryer with a very nice Asian family it was time to ride Loch Ness Monster. We both loved this coaster very much and the interlocking loops added a very nice touch to the coaster.
Once we rode Loch Ness Monster we headed back to Griffon. Again we enjoyed this coaster very much.
After we rode Griffon the day became a bit repetitive as we rode every ride several more times.
As dusk approached we decided to go see the show
London Rocks . This was a very nice show that had a very Broadway Style theme to it.
After the show ended we ate at a English Pub and both got fish and chips.
After dinner we headed back over to Apollos Chariot for a night ride and enjoyed it more at night.
On the way back to Verbolten to end the night, we stopped at Alpengeist and decide to ride it in the front. This made the coaster a hundred times better and redeemed itself for the both of us.
We then headed to Verbolten and got the last train for the night. It was a great coaster to end a wonderful day at Busch Gardens.
Overall we both loved Busch Gardens and can't wait to go back!
Rate: 9.5/10Kings Dominion
Day 7: open-close (10:30am-10pm)Our day began by heading to Volcano. This ride is a must do for the start of the day, as the line gets very long for the rest of the day. Our first ride was in the 3rd row And our second ride was in the front row. Both rides were very good! I loved this coaster!
Next, we headed to Flight of Fear, to avoid a line. It was a fun and typical ride like the one we rode earlier at Kings Island but had a few different effects that made it a slightly better ride.
Next, we went to Intimidator 305! TTD was hyping this ride a lot, so I expected it to be good. And so he was right! The ride was amazing! It absolutely murdered Fury and became my #1 coaster immediately! After, we re-rode 3 times due to no waits for the ride.
Next, we went to lunch, and ate at the Fish Shack near The Crypt.
Next, we went to Backlot Stunt Coaster, and had a fun little ride. Same as Kings Island, with just a shorter wait.
Next, we went to Hurler and Ricochet. Hurler was quite rough and definitely was a one ride only type of coaste. While the Ricochet model here is the one Carowinds needed. Both solid rides.
Next, we headed to Windseeker and enjoyed our tour of the park from 301 feet in the air!
Next, we did the Skycoaster, and boy was it fun!
We then went to Dinner at Denny's, where the food was ok but not great.
Once back in the park, we went to Dominator and had a blast! The ride is fast, fun, and unique! Great ride!
We then headed over to Intimidator 305 again and waited in the 45 minute line. This ride is amazing during the day and even better at night!
We then purchased some Intimidator 305 merchandise since it is supposed to be dropped at the end of this year. And then we got back in line again for one final ride of the night
TTD and I rode at night in the back row and the ride was so fast! It felt even faster than Fury!
Afterwards, we started heading out of the park and heading to our hotel.
Overall we both enjoyed this park very much and can't wait to go back!
Rate: 9.25/10Finally, the last photo, which is of TTD and I in the back row of Intimidator 305, the last coaster of the tour!
Overall, I loved ThrilCoaster Tours and I can't wait to go back next year with TTD03!
Some pictures I took on my Iphone6:
August 5th, 2015, 6:09 pm
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