How to Go
What: Kings Island
When: Opens April 17. Open weekends through Memorial Day; then open seven days a week.
How to get there: Construction has closed Ohio 741 between Ohio 63 and U.S. 42, a main artery used by visitors coming from the north, until May.
Several detours around this road block exist:
- From Interstate 75, take the Ohio 63 Exit (exit 29) and make a left on Ohio 63. Take Ohio 63 through Lebanon and then make a right onto Ohio 48. Get on Interstate 71 and exit at Kings Island Drive (exit 25) and make a left.
- After getting on Ohio 63, drive to Lebanon, then make a left on Ohio 42 (Broadway). Follow U.S. 42 south to Ohio 741 and make a left. Follow Ohio 741 to Kings Island.
Ticket Prices: $48.99 for a one-day ticket; Discount tickets are available at several locations. The best deal is to buy tickets online at www.visitkingsisland.com and save $15.
MASON — Kings Island is going to the dogs this year. Or more precisely, a world famous dog is coming to it.
Snoopy, the much beloved beagle creation of Charles Schultz, along with Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy and the rest of the Peanuts gang, have recreated Kings Island’s children’s area just in time for the amusement park’s opening day, Saturday, April 17.
“Snoopy and the Peanuts gang are fun, approachable characters that everyone can relate to, adults as well as kids,” said Don Helbig, spokesman for Kings Island. “For the past nine years, our children’s area has been voted the best in the world (by Amusement Today, an industry magazine), and now we’ve made it better.”
The children’s world, which formerly had rides and themes based on cartoons from the Nickelodeon channel, has been renamed Planet Snoopy and redecorated to express the Peanuts theme. Several rides, like the Log Flumes and the often renamed Scooby Zoom/Beastie roller coaster have been given Peanuts themes and story lines, and the area has been repainted in bright primary colors.
Children will see Charlie Brown’s much dreaded Kite Eating Tree ( a mini-version of drop zone that rockets riders up and down), take a ride on the Red Baron express (a flying spinning ride that lets children control the movement of their cars), and thrill to Surf Dog (a spinning, dropping ride Helbig calls a mix of a Scrambler and a roller coaster).
“Even though Planet Snoopy is the children’s area, there’s a lot for adults to do here as well,” Helbig said. “Families can come here together and have a great time.
Helbig said children know Snoopy from cartoons, comics and commercials but bringing the beloved beagle to the park offered them a chance to meet him and the rest of the Peanuts gang up close and personal. Snoopy has been touring areas schools and libraries on the Read and Ride program.
Beyond the kids’ area, visitors to the park will find a variety of thrills equal to Snoopy’s glorious flying doghouse battles with the Red Baron.
New this year is the Boo Blasters interactive ride. On the six-minute ride, visitors will be able to shoot at ghosts as they travel through a haunted house. Helbig said the ride is family-themed but still intense in places and has the extra attraction of being viewed in 3-D.
The park’s twin towers of thrills are the Beast, the storied veteran of roller coasters, and the Diamondback, the feisty newbie of roller coaster fame, a twisting metal monstrosity that debuted in 2009. Helbig said Diamondback took more than 1.8 million riders of a thrilling three-minute race of stomach-churning drops and neck-snapping twists last year.
“It’s a phenomenal success,” Helbig said. “Diamondback was exactly what the park needed to compliment the Beast. Diamondback not only brought in people from coast to coast but found a lot of international fans as well.”
Timberwolf concerts at Kings Island
Timberwolf, Kings Island’s concert venue, has announced three concert festivals for this summer. Kings Island spokesman Don Helbig said more will be announced as the season progresses. Here’s what’s already on tap for the summer season:
Joyfest Concert, June 19: A celebration of gospel music featuring Fred Hammond, Donald Lawrence, Martha Munizzi, 21:03 and Bone Hampton.
Spirit Song 2010, July 8-10: A three-day festival of contemporary Christian music and teaching seminars includes music by Third Day, Toby Mac, David Crowder Band and others.
Sean Hannity Freedom Concert, Aug. 7-10: This charity event — presented by WHIO News Talk Radio 1290 AM, 95.7 FM and 55KRC — raises funds for the Freedom Alliance, which provides scholarships to the children of soldiers killed or injured in the line of duty. Performers include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels, Michael W. Smith and more.
Prices and ordering information can be found at www.visitkingsisland.com .
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