Kings Island with Emma - 7/8/2024
Out of the blue, a couple weeks ago Emma asked me when I was going to take her to Kings Island. So we made arrangements
to go to the park this coming Wednesday. But with the approaching tropical storm from the Caribbean, we decided to move
the trip up to today.
Crissy dropped off Emma at my house this morning and Emma and I made our way to Kings Island where we arrived at about 11:00.
![Emma](pic/blog_118901.jpg)
Crissy told Emma that she should start with the largest coaster first, but I had other plans. It was part of my plan
to ride Kings Island's new for 2024 family coaster which would give me my 277th coaster credit. We started out small, with a
ride on Woodstock Express and after a ride on Surf Dog, I was able to get that new coaster credit on Snoopy's Soap Box Racers.
Next we rode Woodstock's Air Rail and Franklin's Flyers. Then it was time to go for the bigger rides. Up next was
Diamondback. There was a live show I wanted to take Emma to, so we changed direction to headed that way. On out way we
stopped by the Eiffel Tower to take in the views.
![Emma](pic/blog_118902.jpg)
After a wonderfully fun ride on Racer we took in the Trailblazers X-treme! show in the International Showplace Theatre at
2:00. And after the show, it felt like it was time to eat, so we headed to Coney BBQ where I had Rotisserie Chicken and
Emma had Chicken Tenders. Next, we watched the Gazillion Bubble Show in the Kings Island Theater at 3:00. This was
Emma's favorite show of the day.
Next was Backlot Stunt Coaster. And we continued our day with riding larger and larger coasters with a ride on The
Beast. I thought this would be a real test of just how big of a coaster Emma would be willing to ride. She wasn't
deterred by the dynamic experience at all. Even before our train stopped back at the station, she said "I wanna ride this
again". I knew at that point there wasn't anything that was going to stop her from riding any of the coasters in the
park.
After riding the wooden coaster, The Beast, it was only appropriate that Mystic Timbers was next. I told Emma, "Do not go
in the shed", but she didn't listen.
Emma took a solo ride on Zephyr.
![Emma](pic/blog_118903.jpg)
Orion, the largest coaster in the park, was next and Emma had absolutely no fear of riding it.
![Emma](pic/blog_118904.jpg)
I asked Emma if she would like to go inside a UFO. She agreed, so we had a ride on Flight of Fear next. I intentionally
failed to tell Emma that it was a roller coaster and that it had inversions. As we were boarding, she was able to see one
train launch before it was our turn to ride, but there was still no way for her to know what kind of ride it was. After we
got off the wild ride, I asked Emma how many inversions there were. She said 18. But in fact, there are just four.
![Emma](pic/blog_118905.jpg)
Throughout the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, we rode the coasters Banshee and The Bat, as well as the flat rides
Sol Spin and Cargo Loco. Emma also insisted we ride one of the tallest and scariest rides in the park, Drop Tower.
As closing time approached, I really wanted to take Emma for a night ride on The Beast, but there wasn't enough time. So
instead, we took our final ride of the day on Diamondback.
![Emma](pic/blog_118906.jpg)
As 10 o'clock approached we made our way to the front of the park near the Royal Fountains and the main gate. From there,
we watched the grand finale of the day, the park's nightly fireworks display, entitled Under the Stars.
![Emma](pic/blog_118907.jpg)
![Emma](pic/blog_118908.jpg)
Click here to see all my photos of Kings Island.
At the conclusion of the fireworks, we made our way to my car for the drive home. It was truly a great day at the park with Emma. My initial thought was that she would be worn out by late afternoon and I was willing to come home at any time she wanted. Instead she powered through the entire day with no complaints of being hot or tired. She was a joy to be with and full of energy throughout the entire day. I really think she had a great day. She even said it was the best day ever.
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