A Long Overdue Family Vacation

[blm2003 2]

How about an update this morning before the lawn gets mowed and the pool gets closed.

 

We left off walking through an almost empty park. We were heading back to check out the I Love the 80’s store while the in-laws grabbed a Starbucks.  Yes, even Kings Island has its own Starbucks restaurant right on the midway. They are everywhere now.

 

I mentioned that if any of the famous Wild Women from the Fort were reading along I was about to make them want to visit Kings Island and here is why:

 

 

 

I found the new home of the famous “Barrels of Fun” It seems they were being abused so much in Florida that they were relocated to the Midwest in hopes of making them last longer. I am willing to bet there is a significant uptick in usage now that I have let the cat out of the bag on their new location.

 

How about a POV photo walking behind the family to give you another idea of just how empty this place was at this point.

 

 

The skies still looked a little threatening but the lightning and thunder seemed to have passed us by and we didn’t mind the light mist, it was helping keep us cool.

 

 

DS2 with the spoils collected from the “Guess My Weight” game he and his brother played. 

 

 

As we walked around looking for an attraction that was open due to the lightening in the area we came upon the “Lazer Maze”. This is a game in which you go in a dark room, they turn on a bunch of lasers, and you have to navigate the lasers without breaking any of the beams, hit two targets on the walls with your hands, then navigate your way back to the beginning and hit the stop button.

 

DS1 and DS2 wanted to race. The goal was to beat 90 seconds and win a big prize. DS1 shocked the whole group and got in and out in 36.2 seconds! He ranked 63rd out of 16,000 contestants! I was pretty surprised. This is what he got for his trouble

 

 

A giant blue lizard. You will see more of the lizard as the day goes on. 

 

DS2 didn’t fare so well, he broke several lasers (30 second penalty for each laser broken) and ended up with 280 something seconds. He was sad and wanted to try again. I wasn’t confident he was going to be able to do it so it was hard prying the second payment out of me, but he was determined and he did It! 84.5 seconds with 1 laser broken. Very happy for him and proud of him for not giving up! Here he is with his prize

 

 

Our next ride was about the only thing open other than the carousel after the lightening storm, so it was also the only time of the day that there was any waiting in line, but it wasn’t much at all. Here is DW and DS1 waiting in line for the Scrambler! 

 

 

 

And now a few pictures that are probably going to get me punched in the arm when the DW see’s I shared them online. DS1 couldn’t stop laughing and giggling out loud on this ride, and from the looks of these photos, neither could my DW, it was priceless! Grampa actually got a video and each time the car came near where he was standing all you can hear is my son laughing. 

 

 

 

 

 

This was great fun! I rode with him as well, and here are some pictures of us together 

 

 

 

 

While standing waiting for the other riders I got a couple of shots of the area. This is “Windseeker” It takes you 310 feet in the air and rotates you around. Nothing crazy, just a gentle swing ride to give you a view of the area.

 

 

And this is “The Racer” coaster.  TCD mentioned he has ridden one like this in the past, a side by side wooden coaster. This is one of only 3 coasters in the park we didn’t make it on. 

 

 

I mentioned DS2 wasn’t big on the rides, he didn’t do anything fast, spinning, dark, wet, or that might have potentially made him scream. So while we were all riding the scrambler, he babysat for everyone, notice that the sun had made and appearance in this photo!

 

 

Next we headed under the Racer and into a secluded corner of the park called:

 

 

This is the first building you come up to as you enter the area

 

 

The first ride in this area is a coaster called “Firehawk”. I had never seen a coaster of this type before. You enter, get strapped in to your seat with a harness that comes down from overhead, then the entire row of chairs lays down so you are on your back. Here’s DW and the inlaws train, they are in the front car at the other end, we can’t see them from here

 

 

Here they go up the first hill, notice the riders are laying parallel to the track

 

 

This is the top of the first hill, as soon as you crest it you are flipped 180 degrees so you are now facing straight down. This is kind of a strange sensation because you actually feel you body weight shift laying on the seat to being supported by the harness in front of you. A quick prayer is said that the seat doesn’t break and then it’s down the first hill into an inversion!

 

 

Here they are after blasting down the first drop and coming back up and over the top

 

 

There are only two people that I can see when I zoomed in that have their hands up and out like superman if you will, and my DW is one of them! I was so proud of her, she doesn’t do roller coasters, that always been her speech at all the parks, well, she did them today and she did them right! I can’t tell you how proud she made me, she was letting go and having fun, not something she does a lot, and she deserved it! That’s her in the bottom of the picture!

 

 

Her mom looks like she is hiding her eyes with her hat, but in fact her hat started to fly off, so she had to grab it and hang on! 

 

Here they are pulling back into the station

 

 

That smile is worth every penny it took to get us out there to be with her parents! I Love This Picture!

 

My only complaint with this ride, at the end, before they bring you back into the station, they leave you parked where I took that last picture for upwards of a minute. No big deal, except that you are lying on an incline with your head below the rest of your body. This made my MIL and DW a bit lightheaded when they got off the ride.  Other than that, two thumbs up.

 

A last look at the Firehawk

 

 

Across from this was “Flight of Fear”. This coaster launches the same as Rock N Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios. Dead stop to full speed in a couple of seconds. The rest of the ride is very much Space Mountainish, in the dark. DW and DS1 were in line to ride this and were next to get on, DS1 saw the ride take off and heard the screams from around the corner and he said, No Way, not going to it. So fail on the Flight of Fear.

 

We walked back under the Racer and came upon a ride DS2 would finally go on. We got a bunch of pictures of that, and it’s going to have to wait to the next update, only 2 spots left here, and that’s not enough room. Here’s a hint, we spent a long time waiting at this ride as the boys and several quickly made friends ran around and around for ride after ride as there was no waiting today, they had an audience!

 

 

Unfortunately it is raining out right now, the weatherman made no mention of this on the news this morning, I guess the pool and the lawn are just going to have to wait. Back with more in a while!

 

Joe

 

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow, you found the missing barrels!  Good job.

 

I would not want to have to carry a giant lizard around all day.

 

I've never seen a coaster like the Firehawk either.  Sea World in Orlando has a coaster where you lay face down, but not on your back.  The more extreme they make these coasters, the more I worry about a failure of the equipment.  Your life is in the hands of someone getting paid minimum wage to inspect those things.  A missing bolt or two, and out you go. Not a real comforting thought.

 

TCD

[Judy in Texas 150]

Is Jabberjaw still walking around King's Island?  If not, there is a very good reason.  I was there with my daughter when she was about 4 years old (1979-ish).  Jabberjaw walked up behind her and when she saw him, she let out the loudest, most blood curdling scream that went on and on.  Sully and Mike Wasowski would have been so pleased.  It seemed like the entire park stopped in its tracks to find out what was going on with this poor child. 

 

I'm glad you had a good time.   Since you liked the Air Force Museum so much, check out the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit).  It's worth two days of your time. 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Wow.  That coaster made me nauseous just looking at the pics!

[blm2003 2]

Wow, you found the missing barrels!  Good job.

 

I would not want to have to carry a giant lizard around all day.

 

I've never seen a coaster like the Firehawk either.  Sea World in Orlando has a coaster where you lay face down, but not on your back.  The more extreme they make these coasters, the more I worry about a failure of the equipment.  Your life is in the hands of someone getting paid minimum wage to inspect those things.  A missing bolt or two, and out you go. Not a real comforting thought.

 

TCD

 

I did not want to carry a giant lizard either. The kids did ok, it wasn't till right at the end of the day that I was stuck carrying the lizzards

 

I too think often about the equipment, I'm not a little guy, I am depending a lot on that equipment to do it's job.

 

Is Jabberjaw still walking around King's Island?  If not, there is a very good reason.  I was there with my daughter when she was about 4 years old (1979-ish).  Jabberjaw walked up behind her and when she saw him, she let out the loudest, most blood curdling scream that went on and on.  Sully and Mike Wasowski would have been so pleased.  It seemed like the entire park stopped in its tracks to find out what was going on with this poor child. 

 

I'm glad you had a good time.   Since you liked the Air Force Museum so much, check out the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit).  It's worth two days of your time. 

 

I didn't see or hear anything about Jabberjaw, but it wasn't the nicest weather and it was very quite in the park, so maybe he was held back for those reasons.

 

I would love to visit the Henry Ford Museum. Someday....

 

Wow.  That coaster made me nauseous just looking at the pics!

 

It was a great ride, but only a once a day I think. That wait at the end really messes with your head. 

 

Off to write a new update, more pics up soon

[blm2003 2]

Here we go again. Remember I said we finally found a ride DS2 would go on. Well here he is getting ready for the ride.

 

 

They convinced me I needed to go on with them, so here I am

 

 

And Grampa

 

 

DS2 and Grampa on ride number 2

 

 

Doesn’t he look like he’s having fun?

 

 

I think this picture shows the aftermath of a horrific crash

 

 

DS2 even convinced Gramma to go for a ride with him, bad back and all

 

 

“What have I gotten myself into” is all I can think of looking at this picture

 

 

I think we spent close to an hour standing here as the boys ran round and round for ride after ride on the bumper cars. I was glad to see them both having fun together.

 

Two more empty park pictures

 

 

 

Gramma and Grampa decided to give Windseeker a try

 

 

Here they are on the way back down

 

 

DS 1 wanted to ride “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” so his mom went on with him, try as I might a good picture was hard to get on this ride

 

 

 

 

 

 

Success

 

 

While I was waiting for them to come off this ride, I saw a young man go buy with a delicious looking milk shake, I had to go find where he got this from, I did, and they had this neat display in the corner

 

 

Here’s a look at the menu

 

 

 

After milk shakes it was time for DW and step dad to ride the Vortex together.

 

 

DS2 keeping track of everything for us

 

 

The Vortex

 

 

 

When they got off my father in law looked at me and said, “I think that one was just a little past my limit”. I think I captured that in this photo

 

 

Some more of the Vortex

 

 

 

Next up was the Backlot Stunt Coaster

 

 

\

 

DW and DS1

 

 

They did 4 rides on this one if I remember correct. One right after another, and you know what, they didn’t have to wait in line at all. They walked up the ramp and climbed into the cars. It was great!

 

That’s it for another update, 30 more photos in the book. I think I have one more update from Kings Island and then it will be on to something different.

 

Joe

 

 

[blm2003 2]

A happy group of people right here!

 

 

You won’t believe where we headed after this…..Did you say back to the bumper cars?? If you did you are a winner!

 

 

I have lots more bumper car photos, but I think we’ve seen enough of those.

 

Remember I said my DW wasn’t a roller coaster person? Well, she came up to me and whispered in my ear, “I think I want to ride the Diamondback”!

 

What the Fort?? The girl who never rides roller coasters now wants to ride the biggest, baddest coaster in the park??

 

It was getting close to closing time, remember this is off season officially as the schools are back in session so the park was closing at 8pm tonight. We had to hustle as it was just after 7:30 at this point and the Diamondback was at the other end of the park.

 

We passed a couple of mascots on our way to the coaster.

 

 

 

A broken clock

 

 

And a world famous pumpkin patch

 

 

And finally we ended up here.

 

 

 

The Diamondback stands 230’ tall, features drops of 215’, 193’, 131’, 129’, 110’, and 106’, and oh yeah, it hits 80 MPH!

 

I couldn’t do this ride, and MIL and Step Dad had had enough for today. So that meant that if she was going DW was going alone. She did it! Twice!

 

Here she goes up the first hill

 

 

 

What might have been the worst wait of the day besides the scrambler line

 

 

Strapped in for take off

 

 

And returning to the station

 

 

I was so proud of her for doing this, she doesn’t do things like this, and she did it by herself. I was so happy for her!

 

Sadly though this was the end of our day. It was time to head back to the locker and grab our stuff and head for the parking lot.

 

Another view of the fountains

 

 

And now a flurry of photos at the entrance before leaving.

 

 

Sorry for the sideways photos, photobucket is doing something wierd to me right now and I can't seem to figure it out. 

 

 

 

 

The rubber ducks in the water in that last photo could be purchased for $5, you were given a number and if your duck is picked out of the fountain by Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis you will drive away with a brand new Toyota Yaris. There were a lot of ducks in the fountain.

 

 

The reason for this entire trip:

 

 

 

 

Mission Accomplished!

 

 

That’s it, the end of the Kings Island day. We were all exhausted, and we had an hour ride back to the campground. Kids were asleep in about 2 miles.

 

Thursday is going to be a quite day, not to much going on other than some laundry and hanging out.

 

Another update coming up soon.

 

Joe

[blm2003 2]

I think I can put together another quick update for you this morning. I was surprised when I just looked and found out there were only 15 pictures taken on Thursday. I warned you it was going to be a quite day.

 

We started out our last full day in Ohio with breakfast, if your mouth started watering and you said, “I bet they went back to Waffle House”, you are absolutely correct. No photos though, sorry

 

After breakfast we had some post cards we needed to mail so it was off to the Post Office.

 

Nothing else on the menu for today so how about a driving tour of the area, all 15 photos from today were taken while driving around the area, here we go

 

 

 

The corn fields were massive! Hard to comprehend for a city boy

 

Soy bean fields too

 

 

 

 

This barn has certainly seen better days

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful house in the middle of the corn fields

 

 

 

 

My favorite photo from the morning

 

 

Tractor crossing sign! You don’t see those in Boston.

 

Every time the kids saw a tractor or combine they would make a reference to “Frank” from Cars. You remember during the tractor tipping scene when Mater tells Lightning, “Don’t let Frank catch ya”

 

Last picture from Thursday, can you believe it? I can’t.

 

 

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the campground. Did all our laundry and the kids spent some time riding their bikes all over the place. We had some dinner and then headed over to the inlaws house for the evening. Spent some nice time talking and the kids played Wii. It was really really nice.  

 

But that is it. Tomorrow is a big day, we are hitting the road again for a side trip on the way home. Are you still with me? I am still having fun writing this up, and we still have a little ways to go.

 

Joe

 

 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Milkshake + Vortex = :barf:

 

 

Love the farm pics. 

[Judy in Texas 150]

Yep.  Still here... That's the Ohio where I was born and raised.  Glad you had a good time.  

[blm2003 2]

Milkshake + Vortex = :barf:

 

 

Love the farm pics. 

 

I agree, and so did my father in law, he was nauseous for quite a while after the ride.  Many more farm pics coming up in a minute! 

 

 

Yep.  Still here... That's the Ohio where I was born and raised.  Glad you had a good time.  

 

Glad your still here Judy! We had a great time! Can't wait to get back out there next year

[blm2003 2]

Looking at the picture I don’t have a lot left from our time in Ohio, so I thought I would just put together one more update and finish it up. Our TR isn’t over yet though, we still have a few more states to cover and a two night side trip to get through before we get back to Boston.

 

We got up a little early on Friday morning, it had been a long week and DS1 was pretty tired. So much so that he sat down in front of the drawers his clothes were in and promptly fell asleep.

 

 

We managed to get him dressed and into the truck and it wasn’t long before we were just about ready to go

 

 

 

 

Our neighbors for the week, the goats

 

 

We drove past The University of Dayton on our way to meet the inlaws for breakfast.

 

 

The dog made herself comfy for the ride. She was sitting on her seat with her head wedged between my shoulder and the seat. She rode this way for several miles before settling down.

 

 

We had a great breakfast with Gramma and Grampa at the local Bob Evans, then it was time for the inevitable, the goodbyes.

 

We took a bunch of pictures on a little island in the parking lot before leaving

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course no family photo shoot is complete without one photo of the DW choking the life out of me.

 

 

That was the last photo we took before heading out, and then something weird happened. My DS 1 was crying. This never happens. He said he was just going to miss gramma. This got DS 2 going, which got DW going……you know, it was a chain reaction thing here.

The boys had not met there grandparents since they were 1 and 2, so this was their first memories with them, and I’m so glad things went as well as they did. This trip was long and we did a lot in a little time, but it was all worth it. We made a lot of memories that will last forever, and my wife and her mother were able to connect in a way that they have never done. I was a happy man driving away from that restaurant.

 

Here’s some photos from the road heading out of Dayton back east.

 

A train, we don’t see long trains like this back home (already told you I’m a train nut).

 

 

 

 

 

I’m fairly certain this is the Columbus skyline, I may be mistaken, but I don’t think so

 

 

This is a great looking resort, the Fort Rapids Waterpark and Hotel. Looks like a lot of fun to be had here.

 

 

This is a nice looking house, but I bet they get a lot of noise from I-70. I don’t think I’d want to sit in my backyard with all that traffic racing by a couple hundred yards away

 

 

It wasn’t long before we noticed that this was the scene in the back seat.

 

 

 

I can get some money from those kids for these photos in a few years!

 

The country out here is beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

Another barn, this one was an advertisement for the painter

 

 

 

That’s it, 30 photos. And we aren’t even out of Ohio yet. Long way to go still. I think that’s going to do it for me today though, I’ll be back tomorrow with more

Joe

 

 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

The boys had not met there grandparents since they were 1 and 2, so this was their first memories with them, and I’m so glad things went as well as they did. This trip was long and we did a lot in a little time, but it was all worth it. We made a lot of memories that will last forever, and my wife and her mother were able to connect in a way that they have never done. I was a happy man driving away from that restaurant.

 

 

That.....is......AWESOME! 

[Judy in Texas 150]

 

 

 

 

 

Any idea what these train cars are for?  There's a major East-West train line near my house and I see these all the time.  No clue what's in them.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Looks like a great day at King's Island!  Was surprised that your wife rode all those coasters.

 

The Ohio countryside is beautiful.

[blm2003 2]

That.....is......AWESOME! 

 

Thanks Dave! This was what the whole trip was about!

 

Any idea what these train cars are for?  There's a major East-West train line near my house and I see these all the time.  No clue what's in them.

 

Hard to tell Judy, they are liquid tank cars for the most part, but are used for a huge variety of commodities, from Milk to Liquid Nitrogen.

 

Looks like a great day at King's Island!  Was surprised that your wife rode all those coasters.

 

The Ohio countryside is beautiful.

 

I loved the driving through the countryside. I too was shocked by her bravery, she doesn't do things like that! It was fun to watch

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Great trip report and even better photos, if your in laws knew how many times the Windseeker rides got stuck they might not have ridden it. Anyway looks like you had a great trip looking forward to more.

 Just a FYI if you still have the same 5th wheel next year you might want to check out the FROG rally in Goshen Indiana. FROG stands for Forrest River Owners Group and while at the rally they will repair things you have wrong with your unit, that was worth the cost to me.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Any idea what these train cars are for?  There's a major East-West train line near my house and I see these all the time.  No clue what's in them.

 

Any number of things.  Milk, pressurized gasses, liquid nitrogen or similar, corn syrup.....LOTS of corn syrup.  Pretty much anything that would make sense transporting in a giant tank. 

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

I've been following along, but have not gotten the chance to tell you how much I have been enjoying your report.

I love zoos. My kids are not huge fans so we don't go too often.

My dad was in the AirForce for 22 years. I'll have to ask him if he has ever been to the museum. If not he enjoys traveling and he just might enjoy going. I think we would even enjoy it.

When we go to Nebraska we usually stop in Kansas City and go to Worlds of Fun which is owned by the same company as Kings Island. Now you've got my mind thinking things like if we got one of those passes where you can go to all the parks owned by the company......

Somehow I do not think DH's wallet will be in agreement with my thoughts. :rofl2:

Excited to see where you are headed next.

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

Any idea what these train cars are for?  There's a major East-West train line near my house and I see these all the time.  No clue what's in them.

 

 

Those particular cars are covered coil gondolas which are used exclusively to handle coiled sheet steel.   Tank cars are completely rounded. The  cars in the photos are flat gondolas  with the half cover.      Full disclosure is that my uncle was an engineer for 35 years....  I also love trains.....

[Judy in Texas 150]

Those particular cars are covered coil gondolas which are used exclusively to handle coiled sheet steel.   Tank cars are completely rounded. The  cars in the photos are flat gondolas  with the half cover.      Full disclosure is that my uncle was an engineer for 35 years....  I also love trains.....

 

Thanks, John.  I thought they looked like they had hinged tops of some sort.  That makes sense. 

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

That park used to have a wooden coaster named "Son of Beast" that was insane.  Literally.  It broke the world record for speed for a wooden coaster and was the only wooden coaster to feature a full loop at that time.  Unfortunately, the technology wasn't quite there when built in 2000 and it suffered a couple of accidents which resulted in it closing permanently in 2009.  They just tore it down last fall.  The company that designed it went out of business.

Wait till you see the new one that will replace it. "THE BANSHEE" worlds longest inverted coaster. No Thanks :bugeyes:

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

Also a little "Trivia".

Kings Island, Disneyland and WDW have some very close connections. Kings Island was built to replace Cincinnati's Coney Island which is about 6 miles from my house and right along the Ohio River. Walt and Roy made several visits to Coney Island as they were planning Disneyland. Due to the flooding problems that were a reqular occurence the decision to move the park and rename it Kings Island was made. When all that was in the planning stages those involved made trips to WDW to talk to the Disney folk. Coney Island was kept open since it has the worlds largest recirculating swimming pool and it is still open today. The two parks were orginally owned by the Taft Family and they also started the "Yogi Bear Jellystone" campgrounds.

All 3 now have totally seperate ownership and some smaller rides have returned to Coney Island since flooding is now under better control with the new dams on the Ohio.

[devores 382]

I love the Air Force Museum. Ive been there several times. But Im an aviation buff. I always visit any air museum in the areas I go.

 

A little info on the museum:

 

Museum Operations
The U.S. Air Force operates the museum complex through government appropriated funds. The commander of the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base maintains operational oversight of the museum, with the History Office of the Secretary of the Air Force in Washington, D.C., providing policy guidance.

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. John L. Hudson serves as director, and Mr. Terry Aitken as senior curator. The museum's 96 federal civil service positions cover a variety of areas, including exhibits, collection, research, aircraft restoration, operations, education, special events, planning, public affairs and administration. More than 500 volunteers provide an important contribution in diverse areas from greeting and assisting visitors to leading tours and helping restore aircraft.
 

So it is government funded subsidized by donations and merchandise sales.

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Thank you for sharing this special trip with us! I love all the pictures. Just looking at the roller coasters makes my heart pitter-patter rapidly!