For what it's worth, Kings Island is indeed guided by the same rain policies as Cedar Point (Cedar Fair afterall). And in terms of crowds... let's just say there are a lot of interesting people that visit Kings Island from Kentucky. :razz:Joey said:No stupid rain policy, no insane crowds and no coasters which are just large for the sake of it without soul.
I would also suggest to not worry about "narrative" for roller coasters. Paramount tried it's hand at making Kings Island a theme park - however Cedar Fair uses through-and-through a true amusement park design with attractions. Give it good looking facades, a nice looking queue, fresh coat of paint, and call it good at that. Any narrative is that which isn't intentionally there.
Kings Island is one of my all time favorite amusement parks. It carries a great heritage as one of the first "modern" amusement parks (Racer kicking off the Golden Age, etc.), saw a lot of interesting development from Paramount, and has received good additions since the Cedar Fair takeover.
The ride variety is my biggest draw to the park. Banshee, Diamondback, Beast, FoF, Racer, Firehawk, Adventure Express, Backlot Stunt Coaster, and Bat give a well rounded lineup of fun coasters, with Invertigo and Vortex providing... shall we say supporting cast? Delirium, Windseeker, and Drop Tower are also great flat rides.
Park layout is pretty conducive, and Cedar Fair has made great strides in condensing the Paramount sprawl of major attractions. (Bat, I'm looking at you) And Kings Island's Halloween Haunt is always my favorite Halloween event, far superior to other Cedar Fair parks.
All that being said, no, Kings Island is not a competitor against Cedar Point.
On roller coasters; I named nine Kings Island roller coasters that I seek to ride each visit. Cedar Point however has a solid 12 offerings I would prioritize for that visit: Top Thrill Dragster, Millennium Force, Maverick, Magnum, Gemini, Rougarou, Valravn, Wicked Twister, Gatekeeper, Raptor, and Blue Streak. Iron Dragon, Mine Ride, Mean Streak, and Corkscrew act as backfill. For flat rides, things are pretty matched: maXair, Windseeker, Power Tower, and Skyhawk are biggest draws.
The park layout of Cedar Point is one I most prefer - a main midway connected to a large loop means every roller coaster is on the way without major points of turn around.
And if you want heritage/historical significance; Cedar Point is the second oldest amusement park in the U.S. next to Lake Compounce.
No, Cedar Point does carry a cultural significance that cannot be matched by Kings Island, nor many other amusement parks for that matter. If Six Flags Magic Mountain were the Roller Coaster Nirvana, then I would in turn consider Cedar Point the Roller Coaster Mecca.