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Very interesting read up as always Whilst Kings Island to me is not a park to travel all the way to America for on its own, it is most certainly worth a visit when combined with days at Cedar Point. I actually enjoyed the atmosphere at the park when I visited but certainly not an atmosphere on the level of Cedar Point. Mystic Timbers to me was by far the star of the show at this park. Whilst front row on it isn’t really that great, the back row felt utterly frantic and the ride at night is sentastional and as such made it my number 1 wooden coaster (even ahead of Wodan and Balder) I do think Diamondback is probably one of my least favourite B&M Hypers but I was quite lucky to have had some solid rides on it airtime wise. I do agree that that trim is utterly stupid though. Banshee...where do I even start!!?? Can somebody please tell B&M that NOBODY LIKES THOSE DAMN VESTS!! Honestly was it not for those vests, it could have been up there with Raptor and Montu as one of my favourite inverts. Thanks to those vests it’s possibly my least favourite and that includes Nemesis Inferno!! I do think the park desperately needs a true WORLD CLASS/ELITE level stand out coaster to go with the current line up. Hopefully the 2020 Giga coaster will give them that.

I was on park yesterday. Stealth has been closed since last week and is not going to be back up any time soon due to new parts required. Apparently Thorpe have recently fired the AM engineer for Swarm, as such they can not operate it until the PM engineer is on site at 16:00 (whom lives far away). Make of it what you will, but sure enough Swarm opened bang on 16:00, with only one car and an immediate 2 hour queue line. Source: ride operators on park

Stealth down again then? I guess @MattyMoo broke it again recently after a fair share of beer/lager probably.

Hex is a great attraction, I love it. It's a brilliant exhibition of the ruins, it gets it just right and leaves a great impression. But it's really very basic, some props in the Towers ruins with a tried-and-tested ride type as a finale. I'm not wanting to downplay Hex, it's perfect, but I find it a bit overblown whenever fans say it's one of the best themed attractions in the continent. Definitely the best themed madhouse. I think its atmosphere is the best thing about it (because of the Towers). But there are way more detailed, creative, well crafted, entertaining (whichever way you want to cut it) dark rides out there on their own merits. Not necessarily bigger or more flash. I think enthusiasts put it on such a high pedestal because most great dark rides in Europe are for families. Hex has a more serious tone because of its incredible real life setting and enthusiasts like this. I first did Hex when I was young and I thought it was great, it was much better when it was newer too (some of the subtleties lost in recent years). But that's mostly owed to the incredible Towers I feel. It's a shame to overlook the incredible craft and creativity that's gone into better dark rides out there at parks like Efteling for example. By the way, dont let me rain on your parade @ChessingtonSam , since you've just done it first time. It really is great. I'm more talking about the pedestal it gets put on by many enthusiasts in the UK.

Just chucking in a few more pictures, form the Xtreme Coaster Network on FB...

So this was officially announced a little while back; slight differences to what was posted previously: https://buschgardens.com/williamsburg/roller-coasters/pantheon/ Key stats: 3 launches (including swing launch) Maximum speed of 72mph 95 degree drop Maximum height of 178ft 2 inversions True testament to how much roller coaster engineering has developed recently that rides like this are possible and becoming more of the norm.

Awesome Old Tv show Bodger and Badger Series 4 was filmed at the park. This rare clip shows some of the park including Dragon River from the 90s. It ironically shows issues from todays maintaining of effects at Merlin parks 😂

However, how do you enjoy a day out with friends if you have a disability? I think your maybe missing the point that not every disability is one visible etc, in the event of an evac the carers/friends are there to help with the evac etc. You simply cannot put a definition to what a carer should be or look like, as everyone is completely different in terms of needs and help needed and in most cases it will be friends and family that help out... be it in the case of panic attacks, mental health etc. Some users of wristbands may seem completely normal to the bare eye, that could be there calm at that point due to the aid the system can bring. Some people can flip very quickly from seeming completely normal to hell breaking loose for example the stress, anxiety etc some people have with confined spaces large numbers of people in a small area. These are only examples I'm sure there are so many triggers for people. If it means they get to enjoy a day out that they otherwise wouldn't be then I dont see an issue with the pass provided its used correctly

The other issue on top of that is some disabled people will require two people to transfer for whatever reason... 3 is an ok number of accompanying carers, but it needs to be flat out adhered too...

Yeah Europa (and Germany) have essentially removed such a system since 2014 unfortunately... I think now that Blue Badges are being issued to non-visual disabilities such as Autism it would make things much easier... With the right level of PR preparation it could be changed easily (but the base response to any complaints being, "we've changed this to ensure fair and equal treatment blah blah") and hopefully the mistreatment of the system can be removed... Of course they would need to consider temporary situations such as broken legs but they could do a DLP and have a tiered system for that... The parks just need to sort it out because it's an utter pain in the arse for those who need it...