Holiday World or Kings Island (help OH and IN!)

N

noname70

Member
Original Poster
Hi, my family will be driving through Ohio and Indiana this June. I've decided to spend one day a theme park where we've never been. Anyway, I've narrowed it to Holiday World and Kings Island but can't decide. I've checked the websites but if anyone has been there, advice would be greatly appreciated.:)

PS (I've been to Cedar Point-thanks)
 
wdwfan100

wdwfan100

Active Member
I have been to Kings Island many times. It has a good selection of roller coasters as well as plenty of less thrilling rides. They are not Disney but it is a nice park.
 
Lee

Lee

Adventurer
Kings Island.
Bigger than Holiday World, and (more importantly) better coasters.:D
Ooohhh...Diamondback will be open! Nice!
 
wdwCC

wdwCC

New Member
Went to Kings Island as a kid. If you love rollercoasters (which I don't), Kings Island is the place to go. It's a nice park, just don't do expecting Disney standards.
 
dandaman

dandaman

Well-Known Member
Contrary to what seems like... all of the above, I've heard nothing but good things about Holiday World, whereas KI... well, not so much. Never a bad review, and this is coming from a Theme Park Review member!

(Granted, I've never been to either one, so you should chuck the entire salt shaker behind. :lol: )
 
JimboJones123

JimboJones123

Well-Known Member
We live in Columbus and LOVE Kings Island. Hate Cedar Point. It is a VERY nice park. Clean. Well designed. Good mix of kids and adult rides. Most importantly --

BLUEBERRY SOFT SERVE ICE CREAM. I make sure to get 2-3 cones every trip. Can't get enough of the stuff. If you go in the evening, they do a huge light water to music presentation in the entry. It is really relaxing before the 2 hr. drive home.
 
hcswingfield

hcswingfield

Active Member
I was in live shows at King's Island in the summer of 76. What a great time that was! On my day off each week, I could go to the park for free, too.
 
PotteryGal

PotteryGal

Active Member
If you have little ones, they have Nickelodeon Universe...it's a fairly nice area.....meet 'n greets w/ Spongebob and Fairly Oddparents characters....we were there back in '05 and met Rugrats characters too. It was kind of our trial run before we went to WDW for the first time.

I'll repeat what others have said, if you love coasters, Kings Island is a good choice. We don't, so I can't see us ever going back. :shrug:
 
A

alecshawn

New Member
Kings Island is one of the best/ if not thee best NON-Disney park there is.
It is actually designed after D.L. It has "international st. instead of Main st.
And then branches out. It really does kinda remind you of Disney when you first walk in.
It is clean and nice.
We love it.
Kings Island by a mile.
 
A

alecshawn

New Member
Hrudey3032 said:
Just curious have you been to Holiday World Alec?
Click to expand...
Yep, 2 years ago.,
No comparison.
K.I. beat it hands down. They are in a different league.
If you goto theme park insider....K.I constantly ranks as one of the best "seasonal" theme parks in the US
Actually, Kennywood park in Pittsburgh, PA is even better than holiday world.
Holiday world is nice and its smaller than alot of parks. No issues with it, but it cant compare to K.I.
 
dandaman

dandaman

Well-Known Member
It really is odd to see all these great reviews for KI on a Disney site considering all of the flack it seems to get with other general theme park enthusiasts. :lol:

(What I find with Cedar Fair parks is that they seem to tread a fine line between "clean" and "sterile concrete with 3 trash bins per square inch". :eek:)
 
N

noname70

Member
Original Poster
UPDATE: So we chose Holiday World. Stayed at the Santa's Lodge Hotel. It was less than a minute's drive to the park. The hotel is overpriced and on the old side; not as much Christmas theming as I expected. It was OK but it was the only hotel so close. I'd recommend one of the chain hotel 15 minutes or so away. HW opened at 9:30 so there is time to get there (FYI -they were letting guests in 1/2 hr early to the "Main St" area for locker/stroller shops etc).

Santa was there greeting which was a nice touch. Santa was what my kids called a "real" Santa. A nice old heavy set gent with a real white beard. He does a great job with the storytime show too.

I'm a coaster fan (Cedar Point buff) and I must say the three wooden coaters are the most intense woodies you will ever ride. The drop on the Voyage seemmed vertical. I ride coasters hands-up BUT towards the end of each of them I was holding on...not for fear's sake but they are more jarring than any I've experienced. Voyage maybe a bit too jarring but intense none the less.

The free soda (Pepsi products) was everywhere and always clean. Awesome touch.

The waterpark was impressive. It is inside the park and massive.

The only true downside was that their premier ride, "Pilgram's Plunge", was down the entire day. No notice about this upon entry. No explanation near the ride. When you asked someone you got a generic company line type answer. Another guest told me it had been down the previous day as well.

Overall, the park had a great old school feel. There were a lot of typical small amusement park rides you've seen everywhere (scrambler,tilt a whirl, swings etc) mixed in with major million dollor rides. It was very clean and nicely themed. The Raven coater was built through a forest of trees-well done.

I'd say don't cross the country to go there but if your relatively close and love theme parks like I do, definitely check it out.
 

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