For the last six years the girls and I have spent three weeks of the summer visiting my parents in Kentucky. This year we spent a few days in Cincinnati with my best friend and her kids. We visited two great places while we were there, Kings Island and The Creation Museum, which are great vacation options if you are still looking for somewhere to go this summer or to consider in the future as you are planning your family vacations. I am going to do separate blog posts about each destination.
Our first stop was Kings Island.
This amusement park is near and dear to my heart as I worked there in the guest services department for two summers during college. It was a fun place to work and an even better place to visit—and it still is! It was so fun to get to go back to the park and enjoy it with my kids. I never would have dreamed all those years ago that I would be back someday riding the rides with my three little girls!!
Here is a recap of our visit and some of the park features:
My friend and I went on a Thursday with our crew of six kids ranging in ages from 3 to 8. It was a fun day with something to do for all ages. The kids had a blast and wanted to stay until the park closed with very few meltdowns along the way. We were fortunate to have great weather and short wait times for the rides. I definitely recommend going Monday-Thursday for smaller crowds.
We spent about half of our time in the kids’ area, Planet Snoopy, which has many fun rides for the little ones: mini-roller coasters and bumper cars, swings and a carousel just to name a few. (Parents can ride along with kids as needed.) New this year there is also a petting farm with over 60 animals! The petting farm is open daily from noon to 6:00. There are also Peanuts® characters walking around for meet-and-greet opportunities.
The other half of our time was spent on a mixture of family rides (carousel, bumper cars, the monster, etc.), roller coasters, shows and eating.
For the thrill-seekers you will find some of the best roller coasters in the country. There are over 15 thrill rides at the park including the classic, The Beast—the world’s longest wooden roller coaster—and Banshee, the longest inverted roller coaster in the world. For several of them the height requirement is only 48”. I couldn’t believe that I was able to ride The Beast with my 6-year old daughter who “loved it”! (I never would’ve ridden The Beast when I was six!) Other rides have 52” & 54” height requirements.
There is always great live entertainment when you are ready for a break and/or to cool off and keep the whole family satisfied. We planned to see more shows but were able to see two during our visit: Peanuts Party in the Park with Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Sally & Snoopy and Cirque Imagine. The kids were on the edge of their seats for the latter. Other shows at Kings Island for 2015 are Off the Charts, Let it Rock and Down Home Country. Let it Rock is performed in the Festhaus where you can enjoy a meal while you watch and kill two birds with one stone.
I can’t forget to mention Kings Islands’ iconic ride and centerpiece of the park, The Eiffel Tower. It is an observation tower that is a 1/3 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France and is a must-do if you aren’t afraid of heights. This was the first ride we did and were able to do it as a group. Another nice perk is a fantastic fireworks display on nights when the park closes at 10PM or later.
Believe it or not, there is also a full-size water park, Soak City, included with your admission to Kings Island! Needless to say, we did not make it to the water park during our visit, but it is definitely worth planning around, if possible. There are more than 50 water activities including 30 water slides, tropical lagoons, rushing rivers, surfable waves and a 650,000-gallon wave pool.
To find out more about admission prices, parking, dining, souvenir drink bottles with free refills, Fast Lane passes and more, visit the Kings Island website at visitkingsisland.com
As I’m sure you can tell by now, I recommend putting Kings Island on your “Amusement Park Bucket List”. It is a fairly easy day trip, being about an 8-hour drive from Green Bay. There are also many other great attractions to enjoy in the area when you visit including a Cincinnati Reds game, The Serpentine Wall along the Ohio Riverfront, The Cincinnati Zoo, quaint parks/neighborhoods to explore in the city (Eden Park, Mount Adams), Newport on the Levee (across the river in Newport, KY), Newport Aquarium and The Creation Museum. If you decide to make the trip with your family I would love to hear about it and hope you have a great time!
Watch for the next blog post coming soon about The Creation Museum.
