Canada's Wonderland- June 22nd, 2016

Today marked my fifth visit to Canada's Wonderland this season and what an amazing day it was! Even though I had a great time a Kings Island last week, nothing can beat spending a day at Canada's Wonderland! Scott and my college friend Phil came along for some thrills! Be sure to check out the photos below of our fun day!

We arrived at the park around 9:25am on this sunny but windy day.

A few weeks later after our previous visit, the patio nearby Backlot Cafe is finally completed! It looks quite nice compared to the eventual rotting patio that was there since opening day of 1981.

During my tenth ride on Skyhawk, I managed to do... not 8 but, 28 flips! That was extremely disorientating but, extremely fun! The only concerning part was the "ker-chunk" sound the seat started to make after the 15th flip. But, I kept on flipping anyways! :-)

Here's a photo of The Bat. It's looking a little faded since it's repaint in 2008. Hopefully the park decides to make The Bat stand out again! It's a fun coaster that still continues to be very popular. Unfortunately we didn't ride it today but, I'll catch it next time! :-)

Here's one of Leviathan's trains going down the first drop! We managed to get a ride on Leviathan today. It was Phil's first ride on it. I believe he found it to be a great coaster!

Here's another photo of The Bat after the train was released from the catch car just before entering its three (six once you do it all gain backwards) inversions! :-)

Here are some riders descending to the ground from a 227 foot drop on Drop Tower. Scott and I managed to get a couple rides on Drop Tower in. Despite how windy it was, it continued to operate strong all day long!

Here is a blurry photo of Leviathan with a train descending from the first drop of 306 feet. This photo was taken from Dragon Fire's exit.

Here is a photo of the classic Dragon Fire from its exit path. Even though Dragon Fire isn't the park's most intense coaster at the park, it's still a very fun looping coaster that all thrill seekers should ride! Also, it seems to be quite smooth this year! :-)

Here's a shot of Dragon Fire's green train rounding through the last two inversions, which happen to be rare counter-clockwise corkscrews.

Here is a shot of Windseeker captured by Scott. This was taken while Phil and I were waiting in line to ride.

Here's Phil and I taking our seats before the 301 foot climb up Windseeker's tower!

Here we are just after our restraints closed. This was my third time riding Windseeker ever since it opened in 2011.

Here's another shot of us just before we were about to take flight. I will have to admit that I'm becoming less fearful of Windseeker compared to the first time I rode it back in 2012 with Scott. I guess this is because I've rode Drop Towers and roller coasters that stand over 230 feet! As long as I'm restrained, I'm good with heights! :-)

Here is a blurry shot of me just after I got on Swing of the Century. It sure was a nice and sunny today! :-)

Here's a clearer photo of myself on Swing of the Century still waiting to ride. :-)

Our final ride of the day was the head banging Flight Deck! I had rode it since last year so, Phil and I decided to take a ride on it shortly after this photo was taken.

Here is Scott and Phil just before our agonizing ride on Flight Deck! 

Here is a “selfie” of the three of us enjoying our day at Canada's Wonderland!

Phil and I survived our ride on Flight Deck! Okay, I will admit that Flight Deck wasn't too much of a head banger today! It was more of a lower-body torturer today! Luckily I've been on smoother and better inverted coasters such as Banshee and Invertigo at Kings Island and Talon, Possessed, and Stinger at Dorney Park! :-)

Here is one final photo of the photogenic and not so rideable Flight Deck. We had an amazing day as we were able to ride and re-ride many rides throughout the park! I hope you enjoyed reading my trip report and looking at the photos! :-)

Kings Island- June 15th-17th, 2016

We made another trip down to Kings Island recently. My brother Scott and I hadn't been there since our first visit with our Dad in July 2014, so we thought it was time to head back. Last year we had gone to Dorney Park. We had brought along our good friend Travis as he hadn't been to Kings Island before. So, let's begin with the photos!

On our way to the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor! 

Here we are along the I-75 heading through Michigan. The roads have definitely improved since we last came through here two years ago!

Here's Scott driving along a stretch of the I-75. Scott and I would take turns driving but, I did most of the driving.

Here's Travis tagging along in the back seat. It was his first time going to Kings Island so he was really excited to go!

Here's Travis and I fooling around on the way down. You can tell I'm trying to be serious but, it didn't work out due to Travis' appearance! ;-)

Here's a photo of myself on our way to Kings Island just after we crossed the Michigan/Ohio State border!

Here's a photo of the construction that was taking place along the I-75 in Ohio.

Here you can see where new pavement is going to be laid. On our way back, the pavement was laid and the lines were set.

Here we are arriving at Kings Island after a long 8 hour drive! Here's Travis, myself, and Scott in front of the Kings Island sign at the front of the park.

Here's a close up shot of ourselves at the front of the Royal Fountains on International Street with the Eiffel Tower looming behind. :-)

Just after Travis and I had gotten a ride on Banshee (Scott had gotten a ride on it later), it began to storm quite hard! All those tables you see in this photo were knocked over shortly after this photo was taken!

Here you can see the entrance to The Racer while the storm was passing through. We had taken shelter in the Coney Confections candy shop during the storm.

Here is a beautiful shot after the storm. Just as the rain was letting up, Scott and I had taken a ride on Shake, Rattle, and Roll. It was fun riding it in light drizzle. We had an hour and a half left to ride rides before the park closed for the night at 10pm.

Here is a shaky view of the Eiffel Tower after we took a ride on Diamondback.

Here is a blurry view looking below while taking the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower just before closing.

Here is a slightly blurry view looking down onto International Street from atop the Eiffel Tower at Kings Island.

This is looking out to Action Zone at Kings Island. The tall tower is Drop Tower. We had just rode it not too long before we made our way up the Eiffel Tower. We were only able to make it up the Eiffel Tower and ride Drop Tower once during our visit due to the severe winds during our second day at the park. Also, off to the right behind the Slingshot is the World's longest inverted roller coaster, Banshee. It was great other than the restraints were tight! 

Here is a shaky view of the Coney Mall section of the park. You can see the first drop of the Racer, and the lights on the lift hill of Firehawk off in the distance. Below is a video of the nice nightly fireworks display viewed from the Eiffel Tower.

Here's to a start of our second and final day at Kings Island. It sure was a very hot and sunny day!

Here you can see the 300 foot tall Eiffel Tower than can be seen from quite a distance! We were up there the night before. It was quite the view from up there the previous night, as well as two years ago!

Here you can see people lining up to get into the park for the day!

Here are the two drops on Invertigo, the park's inverted boomerang coaster. The coaster appears to hang outside the park near the front gate. It's a fun coaster as Scott and I had first rode it two years ago and have enjoyed it ever since!

Here's a photo of Scott taking a photo of myself, while I was taking a photo of him. :-)

Here's Travis while we were waiting for the front gates to open.

Here is another shot of Invertigo testing just before the park was set to open for the day! :-)

Here is a view of the Royal Fountains on International Street.

Here is a view of Drop Tower from the ground. Unfortunately it was closed most of the day as it had gotten extremely windy. Luckily we were able to have rode it the night before! :-)

Here is another view of the iconic Eiffel Tower at Kings Island. It has been providing amazing views of the surrounding area since April of 1972, when the park opened. Just after this, we had made our way over to Firehawk, the park's Vekoma Flying Dutchman coaster! It was an amazing experience and is a must-ride when visiting Kings Island! I had rode it about five times that day!

Here is Scott and I after riding Vortex. It's a great Arrow Dynamics looping coaster. It was great to ride it again two years later!

Here is a view of a section of the Coney Mall section of the park. Unfortunately, the Coney Mall sign has since been removed since our last visit two years ago.

You can see the Eiffel Tower from mostly everywhere from the park!

In this photo you can see Slingshot, Drop Tower, and Banshee. :-)

Here is a shot of Delirium. I was able to get a ride on it later that day. It's fun waving to the crowd below when riding it! :-)

Here's Viking Fury operating over the Oktoberfest section's pond.

You may think it was the exact same photo as the last one but, it isn't! :-)

Here is another view of the Oktoberfest pond. :-)

Here's the floral bell and the Grand Carousel in the background. The park definitely has some beautiful scenery!

Looking at the floral clock, you can see that it's almost 12 pm. :-)

Diamondback has a splashdown section that doesn't get riders wet. It's a really neat illusion! We had captured a night ride on Diamondback the day before. It's a great coaster but, doesn't produce as much airtime as Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland.

Here we are on the KI and Miami Valley Railroad on our way over to Soak City water park.

Here is a view of Diamondback while passing through Rivertown on the train.

Here's the storage shed that the three locomotives are stored in at night and during the off season.

Here's a shot of the green train passing by on the other section of the track.

Here's a photo of one of the buildings that were once a part of the Western Village when the park first opened in 1972. The buildings were built for scenic purposes. :-)

After riding slides in the Soak City water park for two hours, I decided to take a few photos of some of the slides I rode. Here's a photo of Rendezvous Run, the slide your ride laying down on a mat, head first. We all found it quite difficult to hold onto the mats while going around through the tunnels. Scott had fallen off his and had the ride of his life! ;-)

Here's the Tropical Twister water slides. I bet you can guess how they named this water slide! Travis and I almost drowned on these body slides! ;-)

Here's the Pineapple Pipeline. I decided to pass on this one. Scott had tried the yellow body slide, while Travis did the green one! Later on, Travis tried the new slide complex Tropical Plunge which features drop slides! :-)

Here's a photo of the more basic body slides, known as Paradise Plunge. They're just like Body Blast at Canada's Wonderland. They were fun as the three of us had raced down them. :-)

Here we are taking a ride back to the dry side of the park. Every time another train would pass, we would wave to the passengers. :-)

Here's a close up shot of the Mary Bose Inn. It's not a real inn but it adds to the scenery. :-)

Here is a close up of the general store as seen from the train ride. :-)

Here's one of Vortex's trains exiting the bat-wing inversion. Vortex is highly photogenic as well as a great coaster!

Here is a view of Vortex from Shake, Rattle, & Roll's queue line.

Here is Shake, Rattle, & Roll in action! During our first visit two years ago, it was down and being refurbished. So, Scott and I made sure we had gotten a few rides on it while we were there. :-)

Here's another view of one of Vortex's trains going through the final helix before hitting the final brake run. 

Here is Scott and Travis playing a crazy version of air hockey! Scott and I had played it the night before and I must say it's quite difficult as the table is shaped like a skateboard ramp!

Here's my official approval of The Beast! It was truly amazing and shouldn't be missed during a visit to Kings Island! A shout out goes to the ride maintenance team for keeping The Beast smooth and enjoyable since it's opening in 1979.

Here I am descending down the first drop of The Beast at Kings Island! I greatly enjoyed it and I was glad I rode it because I didn't ride it during my first visit two years ago.

Here's the 1926 Grand Carousel in motion.

Here's another view of the Grand Carousel. It originally operated at Coney Island in Cincinnati from 1926 until 1971. It then opened with Kings Island in 1972.

I decided to hop on and take a ride. Just before the ride began, I captured a photo of the horse I was sitting on as there were reins attached to each horse. The children riding the carousel really used this feature as the carousel spun around.

Here is Scott and I sitting down for a while. You can see me showing off the free cups of water all food booths were handing out as it was extremely hot during our visit!

Here is Scott playing Galaga on a coin operated arcade machine in the "I Love the 80's" store. :-)

Here's Scott, Travis, and I on Race For Your Life Charlie Brown, which is Kings Island's original log flume ride in Planet Snoopy. It was a fun small log flume which had a drop of 40 feet and a soaking finale.

Here is another brighter photo of Travis, myself, and Scott posing for another photo before we left to go eat at Perkins. We definitely had a great visit at Kings Island as all the rides, coasters, and staff members were amazing! I look forward to coming back to Kings Island in another couple of years! :-)

Here's one final photo of Kings Island taken from a distance while we were leaving Mason and headed home the morning after our visit at Kings Island.

Here are a couple of photos of the retro video game-like t-shirt I had purchased from Kings Island which features all the major coasters in the park, which of all I have conquered! Thanks for taking a look at my photos from our trip to Kings Island! :-)