I grew up near Cedar Point and used to go dozens of times a year. I was an avid coaster rider and fanatic. I turned 16, got a job, and life just got busy. In that timeframe, I ballooned to over 400 pounds. In Oct 24, we visited Kings Island (for the 1st time) for Halloween festivities and I got the coaster bug again. I tried every test seat and I wasn't even close to fitting in any of them. It hurt knowing I couldn't even relive my childhood memories of riding coasters.
In May 2025, I was prescribed a GLP-1 and the weight just melted off through a combination of the medicine, getting more active, eating less, and eating better. Last week, I hit my goal of losing 100 pounds, so I thought let's try KI again, there should be something I fit on. We tried The Bat first and I fit easily. What a fun, suped up version of the Iron Dragon. I was optimistic. We went over to Bashee and I could not fit in that seat. I thought all the big rides wouldn't work.
We went over to Adventure Express and fit on that ride! This felt like a suped up version of the Cedar Creek Mine Ride. We walked over to Orion and I say, "let's try it for shits and giggles." The test seat lit up green and I teared up. It was a ten minute wait and I still feared the possibility of the walk of shame, but I fit. Easily.
Climbing the hill, I'm just overcome with emotion. Reliving that childhood, celebrating a personal goal, unlocking the possibility of visiting new parks with my adult budget, and the sheer adrenaline made for an incredible ride. It had been 20 years since riding a major coaster and it was an absolute blast.
It was seriously one of the most fun and rewarding days of my adult life and I can't wait to explore all of these new possibilities! Cheers!