Amusement park guide

Kings Island

Located 30 minutes north of Cincinnati, the 364-acre Kings Island amusement and water park (Boomerang Bay) features more than 80 world-class rides, shows and attractions. General admission is $32.99 adult (ages 3-61; over 48”) and $24.99 starlight (after 5 p.m.). Kings Island is now open weekends with summer hours beginning May 22.

“We think Kings Island is the best value around,” said Kings Island Public Relations Area Manager Don Helbig. “You get 12 hours of entertainment. We have 80 rides, shows and attractions, and we really have something for everyone. We have a 15-acre water park that’s free with your park admission. We have an eight-time-award-winning kids area so the families of young children can spend a full day just in that area alone.”

What’s new?
“New for us is the $22 million Diamondback (pictured),” Helbig said. “It’s our tallest, fastest, most aggressive roller coaster in the park. It stands 230 feet and has a first drop of 215 feet at a 74-degree angle. It reaches speeds up to 80 miles per hour and has all of the elements you look for in a great roller coaster. It has the height, speed and incredible air time throughout the ride with the twists and turns and ends with a spectacular splashdown ending. The trains have cups right before the backseat. and that sprays water up in the air close to 50 feet. It’s a great visual. You don’t get wet if you’re riding, but it’s more of a visual.”

What’s old?
“The Beast turns 30 this year, and it’s still arguably the top wooden coaster in the world right now and still the longest wooden roller coaster at 7,400 feet,” Helbig said. “Prior to Diamondback, it was the most popular ride in the park for the last 30 years. So that ride is back, and we also have Firehawk in its third season. It’s Ohio’s only flying coaster, so that’s another popular attraction for us.”

What’s thrilling?
“Other than Diamondback and The Beast, if you’re looking for other scare elements we’ve got the Vortex,” Helbig said. “It’s been around for 22 seasons, but it’s still a ride where you go through six inversions and a drop tower that’s 315 feet tall. That’s a ride that would fall into that scare category. And we also have a ride called Delirium, that’s like a swinging ship and it goes back and forth with a lot of intensity and speed.”

What’s fun?
“A ride since 1972 that’s been a family tradition is The Racer,” Helbig said. “It was the park’s first roller coaster and it was returned last year back to its original form as a racing coaster (with two tracks racing each other). One side had gone backwards for 26 years, but it was flipped back around so it’s running the way it was supposed to and intended to back in 1972 when it was built. You see fathers taking their kids on that as their first kind of big roller coaster ride.”

What’s tasty?
“It’s the taste of Cincinnati, basically, when you come to Kings Island,” Helbig said. “We have Skyline Chili, where you can get the three or four ways or a cheese Coney. That’s really popular. We also have LaRosa’s Pizza and Graeter’s Ice Cream—both are Cincinnati traditions.”