Kings Island??

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Any Michigan/Ohio families out there ever been? We went a lot when I was a kid and I have great memories (not as good as Disney of course ), but after being to Disney it really doesn't get me excited . My parents said they would take us next summer, but I'm afraid I'll be dissapointed. Anyone been and what are your reviews? My boys will be 5 next summer...is there much to do for them?

Also looking online..there doesn't seem to be any great hotels to stay in..especially after coming back from a Disney hotel! Hmmmm

 

[TiffanyK]

We went last year. It was ok. I tried to tell myself that it isn't Disney and don't compare, but it was hard. There weren't very many rides that my little one could ride with us. There was a nice kiddie area, but she had to ride those alone because my other kids were too big. Yours could ride together, so that will help. The website does have height listings for each ride so you can check that out. It was more of a big coaster place that my teen dd loved.

What about Great Wolf Lodge? I haven't been there but it's in the same area and might be more fun for everyone.

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

bummer ..what I was afraid of hearing. We've been to Great Wolf Lodge before..it was fun for a weekend getaway....at least it seemed more fun before we went to Disney!..we're officially ruined!

 

[Michigan]

We stayed at a Residence Inn that was about 15 minutes away. They have a lot of kiddy rides that your boys will probably like. It's not like it was years ago. Now it's Nick characters and the Sponge Bob 3D movie is pretty good.

 

[Sunbeamblue2002]

Kings Island was bought out the summer of 06 at the end and they were bought out by the Ceader Point people. It was in our Cleveland Plain Dealer that they want to make Kings Island a premire resort for the area. CP is a very family friendly park. They are still adding things to Kings Island and weren't able to do much last summer as it was newly aquired. Keep looking at the web site and see if the changes come thue. Also we were there several yrs ago and they do have a waterpark thats included with tkts and was fairly nice.

Also we stayed at a homewood suites in the area and it was nice. Its like two exits from KI. Good luck and I hope that you have fun.

 

[wdwcp93tlt]

I live about 30 minutes from Kings Island and grew up in the area. Kings Island is your typical amusment park. It does have the Nick area for kids but other than that there is not a lot for young children. Coasters are the big draw for the park. The Nick area was rated as one of the best in the country. Other than Great Wolf Lodge all the hotels in the area are your typical chain brands. At least the water park is included in the price of admission so that is another area to visit with children. My DH and I are talking and we think Kings Island is great for kids about 8 or older. We are wondering if it is worth the price of admission just to visit the Nick area. We feel that they have taken out all the family friend rides for thrill rides. Living in the area it is worth visiting the park with little ones if you have a season pass. I don't know how far you would have to travel but it might be worth doing in a few years. There is a lot to do in the area besides Kings Island because it is about 30 min from Cincinnati which has a nice zoo and other attractions. I hope this helps. I will try to answer any questions you might have about the area.

 

[dijid]

We live in Cincinnati. Kings Island is a decent amusement park. It does have a good kids area, but unless your 5yos are really tall, they won't be doing much outside of that area. Still, they have rides like Plankton's Plunge which my kids refer to as a mini Tower of Terror. If you are there when it is hot, their water park is actually really good for young kids. My kids really like it.

I've also BTDT on Great Wolf Lodge. There is a new indoor water park, Coco Key, that will be opening next month. It's about 25 minutes from Kings Island. The zoo is nice, there's a children's museum which is OK, and other things to do around the area if you're interested.

 

[Hoosier Mom]

I agree, it's not the same as it was in the 1970's. I miss Hanna Barbara land. But they do still have that delicious Kings Island pizza. Yum. The fountains are still there and music plays while the fountains change. International Street is still the same. I wasn't aware that Cedar Point bought it. They had a Paramount theme going for awhile. Movie themes were piped in. There was the occasional star wars characters walking around.

We are going to Cincinnati this week. Wanted to stay at the Great Wolf, but the budget won't allow this time. We snagged a room at the Hyatt Place at the airport for 54$ (Normally 149) - that was on Priceline. The rooms look really nice. 42" flat screen high def tv's, signature Hyatt bedding, an indoor pool. We'll see how it turns out.

Another cool thing to check out would be the new Creation Museum nearby. Also checkout Newport Levee. There's a nice aquarium there.

If you cancel Kings Island, you might consider Holiday World in southern Indiana. It has an excellent water park, and several rides in the park suitable for little ones. The soft drinks are free. Also the sunblock is free. The only thing is there isn't a resort nearby. I think there's a Fairfield Inn at Jasper.

Hope that helps.

 

[IluvXU]

Since I live .5 miles away and have a season pass and 4 year old, might as well chime in. Kings Island is fun for my 4 year old. Yes it is not Disney, but she can ride a lot of fun rides, especially at 40 inches. The theming in Nick land is pretty good, and it a pretty clean park, especially in kiddie land. DD loves to go, even after a great week at WDW. We go all the time, and have fun. The Great Wolf lodge is new, and there is a lot of fun things to do in Cincinnati, great parks, the aquarium, zoo, etc.

Have fun !

 

[kelscross]

I live close to Kings Island. It is okay for my kids. They are 6 and 7 and about 44 inches tall so they pretty much stay in kiddie land. The water park is nice. There is also another water park across the way from KI, The Beach, never been there...I've heard mixed reviews.

DO NOT stay at the King's Island Inn (if it's still open). We stayed there two years ago because we were doing one day in the park and the next in the water park and didn't want to drive back and forth. It was a very run down hotel with an old crappy bus taking you back and forth to the hotel. I was disappointed, because the KI Inn used to be the premier resort over by the park years ago.

We're going to check out Great Wolf Lodge this winter.

 

[powellrj]

Its all in what you make it. My parents have been taking my kids to Indiana Beach since my oldest was 2 (22 years). When we first started going to Disney my parents were upset because they knew the kids wouldn't want to go on the Indiana Beach trip anymore because its really a small old type park.

They were so wrong. The kids look forward to the trip every year. Its not Disney, but is a totally different type of park. This year they took my DD who was 10, my DS who was 16 and my oldest DS and his girlfriend. They had a blast and are already talking about next years trip.

My kids usually go to Kings Island every other year or so (DD will be going 3 times next year with school) and even when they were younger they still had a good time because it was different the Disney.

Talk it up, go to the water park and they will have a good time if you have a good time. If you spend the whole trip comparing it to Disney, they will look for ways it disappoints too, but if you take it as a new adventure and something new to see, they will have a good time too.

We like to stay in the Blue Ash area and you can usually get some good rates on Priceline if you are looking for a budget trip.

I agree about the Kings Island Inn, it was in bad shape when we stayed there a couple of years ago. The only good thing was the free bus.

 

[SUZI]

Hi! We live in Indianapolis and we were just at King's Island at the end of May. My children had not started school yet, so we went during the week while school was still in session and there were no lines for the children's section.

DS5 and DD2 loved it. Keep in mind that my children have never been to Disney so they don't have that comparision. Also keep in mind that there were no lines, which meant they could ride each ride over and over and over.

They have a section all about Nickelodeon. Unfortunately, the adults can't go on most of those rides, so you basically have to watch them.

We didn't stay overnight so I don't have suggestions about hotels, but you can get discounted tickets to the park on ebay (I got $20 off each adult ticket, but that was for during the off-peak time)

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

My daughter LOVES Kings Island. She was 4 the last time we went. She went with her cousin so she was able to ride many things with him. She was also able to ride all the kiddy roller coasters with Dad. She enjoyed the parade as well, even though I think she only knew one of the characters. We spent almost the entire day in just the kiddy section.

No, it doesn't compare to Disney but you can't really compare them. They are totally different styles of parks. I think of Kings Island as a thrill seeker park. Dh would pick Kings Island over Disney in a heart beat because he loves the roller coasters. I HATE thrill rides so Disney is much more my speed.

 

[Whosemom]

Your kids will have fun. The kiddie land is really quite extensive. I do know people who have spent the day just there. Five year olds like whatever their grownups are excited about, don't they?

And the plus-plus-plus part is, the grandparents could maybe let you and Dad off the hook to go ride some thrill rides. I love disney, but I wouldn't miss our yearly treks to Kings Island and Cedar Point to ride the coasters for anything!

Actually, I don't know where you and your parents are, but we really prefer the Cedar Point area. If you have a few days, there's just SO much to do up there.

 

[ndgqccmiller]

Grew up in Toledo. We use to do Kings Island and Ceder Point. I have not been to Kings Island since I was about 9, but this last summer my family and my sisters family wentto Ceder Point. Good area for kids We had a blast. They have a lot to do there. The beach, water park and the amusement park itself, lots of hotels and resturants. I'm not sure when you plan on going but another friend who grew up in the are told me about a big water area in Cincinnati. Not sure what it is called, but there family goes every year. Good luck

 

[ICF]

There was the occasional star wars characters walking around.....

If you cancel Kings Island, you might consider Holiday World in southern Indiana. It has an excellent water park, and several rides in the park suitable for little ones. The soft drinks are free. Also the sunblock is free. The only thing is there isn't a resort nearby. I think there's a Fairfield Inn at Jasper.

On the 1st point, I would say that I am 99.999999% sure that there were NEVER Star Wars characters at KI. SW is distributed by 20th Century Fox and doubt they would license characters to Paramount.

Kings Island isn't bad if you can get cheap tickets, but my daughter (a tall 4 1/2 year old) could do very little outside of the Nick part. There were very few rides in the "adult" section or even in the waterpark that she could do. My 7 1/2 year old wasn't crazy about all the rides in the Nick area so we either had to listen to one whine or split up during the day.

We much prefer Holiday World. As mentioned, there is free soft drinks and parking as well as suntan lotion. The food is also very well priced so you're not spending $8-10 / pp on a meal. My daughter could go on everything except for the "big" roller-coasters (of which there are a few) that are very good. It is very clean and family friendly too.

There are hotels near by, at least one that is only a few miles from the park, right off the interstate, but I can't remember the name. If you want a "resort" you're not going to find many in Southern Indiana. If you want a clean, chain hotel you'll be ok. Jasper is about 15-20 miles away and has a few of the "chain hotels" and we stayed @ at Courtyard (or Hampton Inn) there last summer and were happy.

 

[TDS373X]

We live in Cincinnati and go to Kings Island every other year because it's just too expensive(I'd rather spend my $$ on Disney!). I get discounted tickets or we don't go. That being said my dd who just turned 8 LOVES it...but she has always been on the tall side for her age and is a thrill seeker. We have not been to the water park portion but we have been to The Beach waterpark which is very close by it was fine but a Disney water park it wasn't. As several of my fellow buckeyes have stated the Cincinnati area does have lots to see and do and if you want to sample the "Kings Island pizza" a previous poster mentioned just go to LaRosa's there are tons in there area.