I am going to make my trip into a blog series, with three entries, one for each park we went to.

About a month ago, I made a small "coaster road trip" from Ohio to Canada and through New York (no parks in NY though). I went with my family, and we had one of the best trips we could ever have.

The first park we visited was King's Island. I loved The Beast and Diamondback from last year, and I just needed to do them again. Our first stop in the park was Flight Deck, just to the left of the entrance. We only rode it once, but it looks soooooooooo much better now that it has been repainted.

We continued to ride most of the minor coasters, with the next one being Adventure Express. I think this is my all-time favorite mine train over four other mine trains (Trailblazer at Hersheypark, Runaway Mine Train at Six Flags Great Adventure, Thunderation at Silver Dollar City, and Cedar Creek Mine Ride at Cedar Point). I just love everything about Adventure Express: the prelift, the theming, and the tunnels (especially the last one).

Next was the Blue Racer, which I had missed out on last year. I know the two sides are mirror images of each other, but the surroundings for each side make a difference for me. I personally like Red Racer better because it gives a perfect view of the rest of the park, while Blue Racer just gives the view of a big white box and the Vekoma Flying Dutchman. One thing about Racer though, is that I think both sides could put in at least two more bunny hills before the brakes, because I just think the brake run is just too long.

So next we made our way over to Diamondback, passing Backlot, and went on, in my opinion, the best B&M Hyper ever. I took everyone's advice in the B&M Hyper thread and let the restraint up a couple clicks, and I experienced AMAZING floater airtime. It was almost heaven, until the trims, which ruined the airtime on the hills after it.

So next was my number one woodie, The Beast. It was just how I remembered it. Fast paced in the dark, with an amazing layout and epic finale. Two of us went on it twice and sat out the fireworks, and the other two went to the Eiffel Tower to get some pictures of the park and fireworks. After the fireworks though, Beast just blew my mind. It was pitch dark, and I had little idea of where I was going.

My thoughts on Beast, though, are that I would include a cave after the first couple of hills and turns. The train would launch out of the cave as you hear the grunts from the Beast waking up. Then, the train would go through the woods, dodging trees as if the Beast is chasing you. After the Beast is stuck between two trees, you go up the second lift into the double helix.

The next morning we started off with Diamondback, which turned into a little problem because my mom lost her phone. We mini-marathoned, while my dad filed the paper at lost & found. Next was Beast, which we went on in the back. During the daytime, I usually ride near the back because up front, it just isn't that fast or intense as compared to nighttime.

Next we went over to Vortex, which I mistakenly went in the last car. I remembered too late the legend of the Ron Toomer 6th car, which is rumored to be designed in a way so that the 6th car is the smoothest. I remember riding in the 6th car last year, with a very smooth ride as compared to Anaconda, which I had ridden earlier that year. I still like Vortex because of the amazing airtime in the back car coming off the first drop.

Then we headed over to X-Base, to find Flight of Fear with almost a 2 Hour wait. We went over to Firehawk instead, which had a shorter wait time. However there was a delay due to our side of the station breaking down, along with someone fainting on the staircase. I still love Firehawk because of the transitions between lying and flying. I will have a chance to experience Nighthawk when I'm down at Carowinds this summer.

After a quick bite to eat, my dad and I went back in, and my mom and brother went to the water park. After another ride on Diamondback, we got a call from Mike Strobel (BeastFan) saying that he was at the fountain at the front of the park. So we met up with him and went to Diamondback. Unexpected about this ride was that we saw Dick Kinzel, the CEO of Cedar Fair, exiting Diamondback. Mike even snapped a picture for proof. He said he was on the verge of liking Diamondback better that Millennium Force, but it had been many years since he had ridden it.

Next we headed back to the Beast, and accidentally got a wheel seat (a seat that is on the end of the car) and got jackhammered on that turn after the drop into the ravine. I didn't notice it much, but Mike didn't really enjoy it as much as I did.

After that, we went over to Flight of Fear, which had a shorter wait than earlier. I didn't notice the wait that much because the ride was running both trains, and Mike and I were busy talking coasters. Flight of Fear is one of my all-time favorite indoor rides because of the theming, and the spaghetti bowl just keeps the storyline going.

Next we headed down the park toward Invertigo which was a lot worse than last year. The head banging seemed a lot more severe, as my glasses bashed against the restraints the entire ride. My ears hurt a lot after that.

Then we did Delirium. I have always loved flat rides, but Giant Discoes and Drop Towers take the cake for me. Delirium had a very short wait time and an equally awesome ride. I just love it when the ride spins around, and you're pointing toward the ground.

Next we sat down at the Eiffel Tower to wait for my brother and mom. Once they came back, we did Adventure Express, Racer, and Diamondback, where Mike left us, and we went up to Backlot, Beast, and I think Diamondback again.

The next day our parents went to check on the lost & found, while my brother and I did multiple re-rides on Diamondback. Once our parents got back, we headed over to Beast and did Diamondback once more before packing up everything and headed north to Cedar Point.

Part 2, Cedar Point, coming soon!!!