Belated birthday images

For my birthday this past year (September 3^rd for those prone to forgetting), I decided I wanted to go on a Roller Coastering roadtrip with my dad like we used to do when I was younger. I wanted to revisit some of the great coaster parks while we both still could – and we brought along Jason, my roommate, friend, and fellow coaster buff to boot.

I don’t have any pictures of our second stop, Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, because I didn’t want to take my camera inside while riding the rides, but these are from our first stop King’s Island near Cincinnati, Ohio.

Here’s Jay tooling around in the Mystery Machine.

One of the less desirable aspects of King’s Dominion is their ties to Paramount Pictures films and other licensed product placement. I didn’t mind the Scooby-Doo ride in the Hanna Barbara-themed kiddie park, but major rides based upon long-forgotten actioners like Face Off and Gone in 60 Seconds got to be a bit much. We ate lunch at a Bubba Gump shrimp place.

Far more desirable are the coasters. And here’s the main attraction – Son of Beast, the world’s only looping wooden roller coaster. It truly is a monster and an amazing ride.

The sharp circular banks are a coaster feature unique to Son of Beast and its still-active predecessor The Beast, which is the world’s longest wooden coaster

Looking at it you wouldn’t think you’d pick up much speed on one of these banks, but you really move through that curve something fierce.

Here’s the big hill of the Racer. Again, you wouldn’t think a wooden racing coaster with a mid-size hill would be that much of a thrill, but if you look carefully you’ll notice the Blue Train is running backwards. All of the g-forces and ups and down you’d normally expect to experience on a wooden coaster are thrown all out of whack. It’s truly disorienting and makes for a fantastic ride.

King’s Island is extremely well-maintained – just a nice park to visit. Here’s the centerpiece of the place, a faux Eiffel Tower with an observation deck.

The day we were at King’s Island, there was a cheerleading competition going on. Throughout the day Jay and I kept being outmanned by these 12-year-old girls who were completely unfazed by the most terrifying of rides – the Drop Zone in particular. I thought this shot of one of the cheerleader girls was too funny to pass up.