Kings Island

This summer has pretty much been the summer of Kings Island!  This is the fourth year we've had season tickets but the first year we bought a season long dining plan.  The dining plan (offered this year for the first time that we're aware of) consisted of purchasing (for $72.00 per person) the plan and then getting to eat a variety of meals from many restaurants throughout the park.  The plan allowed for meals to be eaten every two hours but a maximum of two meals per person per day.  The maximum was not a problem for us since we rarely stay more than a few hours anyway.  Because we wanted to get our money's worth out of the meal plan, we made sure we went to KI a lot :).  Going to KI a lot was not a problem since Alyssa had soccer sessions Wednesday evenings all of July and soccer games on Saturdays.  The soccer sessions and games were all in Mason and were close to Kings Island. 

Here are some highlights of our Kings Island summer memories:

• Riding the Banshee, KI's newest roller coaster which was new this year.  This was the season's "must ride" coaster so we only rode it if we arrived at the park during the 1/2 hr early admission that season pass holders enjoy.  At 10:00, when non season pass holders can access the park, people literally run from the front of the park to get to Banshee.  We all loved riding it- Abby with the least amount of enthusiasm for it.  Is Alyssa really 52 inches (the height required to ride Banshee)?  Well, no. See below...

• "Making" Alyssa 52 inches tall; thereby allowing her to ride Banshee, Delirium and Windseeker. Alyssa is really 51 inches tall but all 51 inches of a very determined girl wanted to ride Banshee badly.  Donnie went to a Payless Shoe store and bought sneakers that had the highest "normal" heal to them (he avoided platform shoes as obvious height enhancers).  Then he went to a drug store and bought multiple gel inserts that he cut to fit into the shoes.  Did this create the inch that Alyssa needed?  Yes and No.  The height measuring tools are not all consistent at the park; with her enhanced shoes, she was measured at 52 inches one time to ride Banshee but later in the day was denied riding it when a different measuring tool was used and she literally came up short.  She was ecstatic to get to ride Banshee and Delirium (when she measured correctly, or incorrectly, as it were, to be 52 inches). 

• Trying different food to eat at KI since we had the dining plan- and finding favorites!  The food at King Island is not for foodies; since we are not foodies, it worked out fine for us :-).  The food is also extremely expensive so prior to having the dining plan, we would normally stay at KI for a few hours and then get something to eat at a restaurant outside the park on our way home.  With the dining plan, our plans changed and we began dining inside the park.  Alyssa's and my favorite quickly became the Burrito Shack.  The Burrito Shack is designed like Hot Head or Chipotle (alas not quite as good as either...but still good) and I favored the unhealthiest of options- a taco salad where the salad pieces are in a fried tortilla (YUM!) while Alyssa favored a burrito bowl consisting of one item- rice.  Yes, she would eat a bowl full of rice as a meal.  Tortilla chips came as a side so Alyssa would dip her rice with tortilla chips.  Abby liked the LaRosa's pizza quite a bit (but complained, as all the kids do, that the pizza had too much sauce).

• Malcolm had a KI pass for the first time this year.  He and Jacob went several times together and with friends.  Jr. High and high school students do not hang around the park with their parents as a general rule.  I think Jacob went once with us without a friend.  All of the other times he went, we brought a friend with us or he went with a friend. 

• This summer was unusally cool so we didn't spend much time at the water park.  We did spend one afternoon at Soak City with Becky and her daughters. Abby went once to Soak City with Giovanna on a not super warm day and said it was fun except her skin was so cold it was purple!  Ah, global warming- it's killing Soak City! 

LaRosa's pizza!  The girls ate about 1/4 of what was in front of them.  That was one downfall of the meal plan: wasted food.  

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Abby won this little doggie on one of the games at KI on our last visit during summer break.  I also let the girls get their pictures taken in the photo booth.  They love photo booth pictures.

It's Banshee baby!

Of course I have no pictures of Jacob at KI.  He's always with a friend when we go to KI.  And he and his friends do not hang out with mom and sisters!