AFTER LAST YEAR'S successful trip to Six Flags St. Louis, the Class of 2009 is ready for a sequel.

This time the destination is the Kings Island Cincinnati amusement park.

On Sunday, 39 people are expected to participate in the junior class trip, including chaperones led by Assistant Principal Sue Kovacs.

Students will report to school by 6:45 a.m. and will return by 10:15 p.m. The charter bus ride will take approximately four hours each way, leaving seven hours of free time.

What are some of the attractions students will find once they get there? Well, to begin with, how about 14 roller coasters? They include:

• The Beast, the longest wooden coaster in the world — 1.75 miles, to be exact.
• The Backlot Stunt Coaster, which lets riders feel what it's like to be a stunt-car driver. "Drivers twist through a parking garage, dodge near collisions, race down stairs, chase through tunnels, and narrowly escape massive explosions triggered by gunfire from a helicopter," according to the park's description of the ride.
• The Firehawk, in which "adventure seekers lie down to experience this 51 mph, top-secret, all-altitude airborne mission. But they’re certainly not relaxing — within seconds, each pilot is facing the ground, experiencing the inconceivable feeling of human flight."
• The Drop Tower, in which riders "plunge 26 stories from a height of 315 feet straight down at speeds of over 61 mph on the tallest Gyro Drop in the World!"
• The Vortex, in which riders are lifted 12 stories in the air for the first hill. "You’ll be rocketed along 3,800 feet of track at speeds exceeding 55 mph through two vertical loops, one corkscrew, one boomerang turn, and a 360-degree helix."

There's also Nickelodeon Universe, which is for little kids, but hey — what's wrong with a little nostalgia? Students can revisit their childhood by strolling through two "neighborhoods" dedicated to SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer.

At the park, everyone must be in a group or in pairs. Each group must have two active cell phones on at all times — there will be two cell phone check-ins, one at 1 p.m. and another at 3.

In addition to the $50 tickets, students must bring their own money for lunch, dinner, snack, and souvenirs. Permission slips are due on the day of the trip.

The trip is yet another accomplishment for junior class president Isaac Chambers. To date, he has organized two other ground-breaking expeditions for his class: last year's Six Flags trip and the inaugural Allerton Experience two years ago.

As for this year's excursion, Chambers expressed himself succinctly.

"It's going to be awesome," he said.

The sophomores had also planned a class trip this year but could not go because there was not enough interest. Also, the seniors will be gone May 23 to Six Flags St. Louis for the traditional senior class day trip.