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Kings Island is located just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. It has had a variety of owners over the years and is currently owned by Cedar Fair - the same company that owns Cedar Point. This change is recent and the remnants of former owner, Paramount, are still very obvious with ride names like Face/Off, Days of Thunder, Tomb Raider, and Italian Job

For thrill seekers, Kings Island doesn’t compete with Cedar Point or Universal Studio’s Islands of Adventure but it does offer a few gems of excitement. The biggest attraction in the park is The Beast which still holds the record as the longest wooden roller coaster in the world. This ride regularly tops any list of wooden roller coasters and it is a treat for coaster fans. KI tried to build on this draw by building Son of Beast which allowed the rider to go upside down on a wooden coaster but numerous technical challenges have put this ride at risk and it may eventually get shut down.

The new owner of the park appears to understand that thrill rides drive attendance and they have introduced new attractions to pull thrill seekers into the park. The Firehawk that was introduced in the summer of 2007 is a testimony to this.

Kings Island has one of the best kids parks and water parks attached to the thrill park. These additional venues are included with the main ticket admission and make the park almost impossible to enjoy in only one day. You would be wise to spend 2-3 days in Cincinnati and make it a mini-vacation (perhaps time it with a Reds game).

Unlike Cedar Point, Kings Island has many great choices for hotels in a variety of price ranges and features. This is the benefit of being close to Cincinnati where hotels can attract business travelers as well Kings Island vacationers. The main Kings Island website has links to local offerings and you can find many more by just searching for northern Cincinnati hotels.

While you are in Kings Island or staying in the surrounding Cincinnati area, make sure that you partake of some of the local eateries. The two most famous are Montgomery Inn ribs (arguably the best ribs in the country) and the very unique Cincinnati chili which is featured at Skyline and Gold Star Chili.  Both Montgomery Inn and Skyline have stores within Kings Island as does local pizza chain, La Rosas.

Here is some related reading for you to enjoy:
Beast @ Kings Island | Roller Coaster Reviews

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