Quickblog: Coasterstock 2018

During the winter of 2016-17, I happened to read a blog post by @CPFoodBlog talking about Coasterstock and what a great event it was. So last summer, my friends Nick, Anthony and I decided to attend the event. It was by-far my favorite coaster event that I've ever attended and couldn't wait until the 2018 edition.

I was really happy they switched to mailing out your drink wristbands, t-shirt and other credentials ahead of time, it made a large portion of people not have to wait to check in.

The early morning ERT on Banshee and a few of the other rides is always a great time. That said, I'm not one who really marathons very many rides, ESPECIALLY inverts, so after two or three rides, I took pictures for quite awhile. I also had the chance to meet a whole bunch of people who I've followed / have followed me for a long time, and that was my favorite part of this event was connecting with those people. Give them a follow on Instagram - they include:

Instagram:

@j_fannin15

@mramusementmedia

@brianlammmedia

@kristopherwernerdesigns

@midgetman82

@wildgravitytravels

@cpfoodblog

@rfessler77

@acole5292

@coaster_to_coaster

@coastermattproductions

@evang2323

(If I missed you - let me know and I'll edit the post)

(If we only follow each other on Twitter, let me know as well and I'll update the post)

I had the chance to try out Coney BBQ finally while I was there. I had the bbq pulled pork sandwich, macaroni and cheese and the cornbread. I thought it was a fantastic meal - I already can't wait to go back and use my food plan there again to try something new.

The weather was kind of a crapshoot all weekend. Day 1 was pretty uneventful weather-wise - We had great weather for our walkback of Banshee, Racer and Diamondback. The ERT on night 1 also had no weather issues. I don't think there's any coaster I've ever been on that's so underwhelming during the day and so great at night as the Beast. Mystic and Diamondback are also awesome at night, but great rides during the day too. I thought the first day lunch was underwhelming. The food was only ok and the questions asked were fairly lame, although I did think they dropped a hint about getting either a Giga or RMC in the future (which might have been confirmed by the picture a few days later of Fred Grubb and Don Helbig walking behind Racer). Day 2 we dodged rain all day in and out. Our Beast tour was awesome in that they took us as far back as you can possibly go, which is just before the turn into the hill before the second lift. Got some great shots back there. Unfortunately, the groups after us got poured on. Right after my tour, I decided to head back to my hotel for a bit to relax and edit some pictures to enter into the photo contest. As I was walking out, it started drizzling and when I hit the parking lot, I looked down towards Soak City and couldn't see anything besides a wall of water. So of course I couldn't find my car and got stuck in it for about 2 minutes before locating it. When I came back for dinner, it was sunny again, although threatening rain. Dinner was very good, and I got to eat BBQ pulled pork a second time, which I enjoyed yet again. They played a Family Feud game of Kings Island trivia which my good friend Jon @coaster_bean was selected for. However, he didn't make it back in time for dinner so they picked someone else. It was entertaining to say the least. The ERT that night occurred after the rain a bit, so Mystic on a wet track was AWESOME. Even rode Woodstock Express that night. Couldn't repeat my photo contest win from 2017, but so happy for my new friend Marcus @midgetman82 who won with an incredible long exposure shot of the carousel. Can't say anything negative about Coasterstock - such a great event and I can't wait to attend for a third year next May.