Bonus Weekend Photos
November spells the end of the Ohio coaster season, with Cedar Point and Kings Island usually wrapping up normal operations on the same weekend. For 2025, Kings Island decided to take a new approach, by extending one additional weekend for 11/8 and 11/9 of 2025. I would wind up going with my mom, and my 3 cousins Charlie, Evie, and Wes.
The morning of Saturday, 11/8, I would leave Cleveland for Mason, leaving with my Mom, and my 3 cousins. The drive would take 4.5 hours, and we would pass through Columbus on our way. We wouldn’t have any major stops, only stopping for lunch at Sheetz about 3 hours in. My cousins had never been to Sheetz, and they were thrilled with the Made To Order system they had. We would get to Kings Island by 1pm, and it was a beautiful sunny day.
With it being my cousin’s first trip where they could ride everything at Kings Island, they were thrilled to go ride Orion first. We waited about 40 minutes. We got near the back, and they all loved Orion. Following that we would go to ride Snoopy’s Soapbox Racers, but it was down for maintenance, so we went to ride Diamondback. This was my first lap on Diamondback for the 2025 season, which surprised me. Charlie, Evie, and Wes all agreed that Diamondback was better than Orion, and they wanted to ride it again before we left for the day. By the time we got off, Soapbox Racers had finally reopened and we went to take a ride on it. They all liked Soapbox, and we considered a second ride if we had time.
We went and rode Windseeker next, and Charlie and I saw the trackwork being done on Beast, which was closed for the season. Sol Spin and Cargo Loco would follow, and we saw Luke cameoing at Cargo Loco, which was nice. We got dinner at Feasthaus, and after dinner we would go ride Banshee, and reride Diamondback, just before the park's 7pm closing time. Our first day at Kings Island’s Bonus weekend was a success, with 9 total rides for the day. We would go back to the hotel, and go to bed for the night.
Sunday was cold and rainy. I doubted the kiddos wanted to go back, but they were adamant about riding Flight of Fear. We went for Early Entry, and since Flight of Fear didn’t open until 11, we rode Great Pumpkin and Mystic Timbers. After the park opened, we rode Flight of Fear, and Orion, and we ran into Taylor, Gavin, Shilo, and Kurt, and we happened to get on the same Flight of Fear train as them. I would take the kiddos on a second lap of Flight of Fear, before heading over to the bumper cars.
After bumper cars, we went for one last lap on Diamondback, and it was the worst ride I have ever had on it. We all agreed, even Taylor, that the cold and rain made riding not enjoyable. After Diamondback, Taylor, Shilo, Gavin, Kurt, and I took a lap on Great Pumpkin, as a joke, before I would leave with the kiddos back to Cleveland. That ride was really fun, but it was time for me to head home. I got Charlie, Evie, and Wes a souvenir, because it was a fun trip.
The bonus weekend at Kings Island was largely a success, because we all got to ride what we wanted, minus the Beast, but we went in knowing that. Seeing everyone, and spending time with people I enjoy being around was enjoyable and I would love to do it again. I've attached some photos below, so feel free to take a look.