Hang on, you're going for a ride!
Down the first Hill on the Racer. This is a wooden coaster built in the style of coasters from the 40's and before.
The Beast is the first really exciting coaster built at Kings Island, and still one of the best traditional coasters ever. It's still the longest and one of the fastest wooden roller coasters in the world. Taking advantage of the natural wooded terrain, the ride plunges into a tunnel and runs through the woods at wild speeds. It has a second powered hill that leads to a wicked double helix inside a tunnel shown on the right of the picture. That is where the ride achieves its rated 70 mph speed (it hits about 65 mph at the bottom of the first hill. One night riding in spitting rain, the ride was one of the most incredible I've ever encountered.
The King Cobra is Kings Island's first metal coaster. It is also a "Stand Up" coaster in which you stand up and are supported underneath by an adjustable bicycle seat and above by a shoulder harness. It is the first coaster I ever rode that had a loop in it. There is also a 540 degree helix at the end that puts riders in a horizontal position, which looks scary to a spectator but not a rider. Starting up the first hill this summer I was asking myself, "why am I doing this?" but the ride was really smooth and lots of fun!
The Vortex is, in many ways, the best coaster I've ever been on. It has two vertical loops, a multi-loop corkscrew and a helix at the end. The rated speed is 55 mph, but actually there is a point where it is slowed down just before the corkscrew so that going through it, you really "feel" upside down. This is a magnificent ride--A couple of years ago, Beth and I rode it 3 times! By the way, that is the second hill on the Beast in the background (but the picture on the postcard is reversed).
New this summer, The Outer Limits roller coaster is an innovative ride, different from normal coasters which crank you up a hill and then uses gravity to get the speed for the rest of the ride. This is an acceleration coaster that sends you down a tunnel from 0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds. You go UP instead of down and from there through a series of steep drops and wild turns. There is no good view of this coaster as it is all contained within a building. The ride is dark except for a low level of light that lets you see bits and pieces as you are looped, twisted, tumbled, and zapped. A great ride, almost worth the really long wait for this one.
Cedar Point, in Sandusky, OH, is the other big amusement park I've been to. It boasts more roller coasters than anywhere else in the world and has added more since I last visited. This overview (from a Cedar Point calendar) shows the largest three a couple of years ago. The left foreground is the Mean Streak, which is a fabulous wooden roller coaster built a few years ago. It is very fast, curvy, and exciting as it cuts through its own superstructure. The middle right is the Gemini, a double coaster with metal tubing rails build on a wooden framework. This is an ok ride, not nearly as exciting as the other "good" coasters here or at Kings Island, but an acceptable ride to "warm up" for the others. The coaster at the top is the largest, the Magnum XL which has a 201 ft drop from the top of the first hill to the ground. It hits 70 miles an hour at the bottom of the hill and is still rocketing along at 40 mph going over the second hill. On a clear day you can see Canada across Lake Erie from the top. This is a spectacular, fast all metal coaster. But now, Cedar Point has added a 300 ft drop coaster! I just have to go back to Ohio in the summer sometime!
The Corkscrew, another Cedar Point all metal coaster is a short but exciting ride with a vertical loop and double corkscrew over the mall. This view from the cars gives you the impression you get on the ride.
The Raptor, the last Cedar Point coaster here is a hanging all-metal coaster. Instead of loops, the track twists and flings the riders around. The ride is good, but the trouble is with not being in the first row. You don't see anything but the backs of the row in front of you. I like to see the track and what is happening.
From Cedar Point to Edmonton. One winter in Edmonton with over two feet of snow on the ground and temperatures considerably below zero, I went to the West Edmonton Mall where they have an indoor roller coaster: the Mindbender as part of an indoor amusement park. This metal coaster is only about 70 feet tall, but it hits speeds of 60 mph and has three vertical loops as well as some great turns and a nearly vertical drop from the ceiling to the floor. It's amazing how much track they have packed into a tiny space. This is by far the best small coaster I've been on.
Last, Here are Beth and I riding the Beast. We just had to have photos to carry around all day!
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