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We shared a lot of the sentiments listed above.

I love your idea for the theatre stage. Its too close and the figures too large. If feels more like a store display window with a bunch of anaimated fugures in it. Even if they HAD to use the turntable (did they really?) It could have been incorporated into the whole stage set - like having "extras" or chorus girls running onto the stage to make it in time. I even like the idea of seeing some human (and ghost) audience members infront of the stage - like we are tru "opera boxes" a bit further back. Thats one of my only nitpicks and mainly a counter to those wanting reflected images back

Unfortunately, the drop in temperature on Saturday seemed to lead to a LOT of people walking around with the ugly AI hoodies.

Good. Thats a excellent reflection of the growing and rightful rejection of AI slop. And it will only keep going because the reasons why it all sucks are so vast that just about any person can resonate with at least one of them.

You are absolutely correct. No creative/the arts, no Kings Island. No Disney World. No Disneyland. No Pokemon. No Magic The Gathering. No Skyrim. No Minecraft. No nothing. I dont actually know lots about art history overall, its just that so many things I know have fit together like puzzle pieces especially now that Ive watched like 300 animated shows. Dang, itd be so cool to get a animated show about Kings Island.. A 4 parter special for Phantom Theater.. A debut episode about The Racer.. All that with a twist of all the rides and attractions basically coming to life so that there are sentient characters that represent them all. Could always go the Cars/Planes/Brave Little Toaster route for the likes of The Racer. Imagine how beautiful the animation would be when made with love by the efforts of animators, scriptwriters, voice actors, concept artists, and so on..

Besides the fact that the Flash Powder barrel is still used at the exit for The Beast, these are the current original Phantom Theater props still being used in new Phantom Theater Opening Nightmare. 1. Balcony where maestro stands 2. Ride system and Cars for the ride 3. 99 % sure that Wall bust near the electrician is an original Phantom Theater queue prop 4. The ledge where maestro pulled back the curtain at the beginning of the ride may still be there but currently their is a curtain there blocking it, the candles at the end of the ride were original candles and they were removed during remodeling this year for the new ride. 5. The Chandeliers in the queue are originals and they are also retrofitted this year with additional lights to simulate lighting that’s all I can think of for now be sure to let me know if you guys have more.

I agree. MUCH better than Boo Blasters! But I also think the ride could be better. I wish that there was a more clear plot throughout the ride, although Boo Blasters didn't really have a plot either. I just don't understand the whole "shine the flashlight at the Ghost Notes!" thing. Like why? I did sense there were some "dead spots" throughout the ride where nothing was really happening and I was just waiting for the next scene and the next time I got to use my flashlight. Don't get me wrong I really like the ride and think it's a great upgrade, but if you strip down everything it's essentially a very similar ride to everything else that has been in that building. If I were to give it a grade, it would be a B

How do we feel about the new look of the KI Essentials store? I think the Eiffel Tower motif is kind of nice even though it visually breaks up the archways that make up that side of the entrance building. The sign is a little too big and some of the forms feel bulky, but it's better than what was there before. My biggest question about the design is if the blank wall in the corner closest to Grain & Grill was intentional? It looked so weird for just being blank while every other wall had something on it.

As they should.

There is a chance that those 10 parks aren't the only ones that will be receiving Park Presidents seeing as Six Flags has yet to put out an official announcement about it. Part of this could be a funding issue where they only have the money for some parks to get them while the middle-of-the-road parks could be fine without a Park President. It could also be a situation where this is a new testing phase to see if the parks actually run better under the new leadership since so much has changed since the last management shake up. We're already seeing this with the two versions of Fast Lane, so it's a possibility. I'll have to go back through my lists to see which parks I think SF would actually sell off first at this point.

There is a reason I did not post the AI designs on the KIC social channels. The channels that did, the replies are nothing but negative feedback on the designs.

I'm hoping that this is the kind of thing that bringing back a boots-on-the-ground Park President will fix. You've put it beautifully! I'd like to echo that there are some things that will probably be fixed in the coming weeks, but some of the other stuff is likely sticking around for a while. The gift shops in particular feel a little empty and stale right now. Just this past Saturday I was talking to someone about how burnt out I felt with the park after my first visit of the season. Some of that feeling dissipated after I got back to the park on Sunday, but I'm definitely in an era right now where I need to take things slower than I have been. This is going to continue to be a rougher stretch of time for Kings Island, but I'm hopeful that the steps that people like John Reilly are taking will be better in the long run. Creativity and the arts are what made parks like Kings Island thrive in the beginning! I absolutely love when the arts get integrated into anything (though I am incredibly biased as a creative and fine arts person myself). I'd really like to see people in the company who understand the importance of creativity, especially in spite of how the legacy Six Flags company operated. This will sound bad, but I really hope the AI merch fails entirely. Not only does it get the details wrong, it's also incredibly ugly! Also, the new AI magnets are $9 a piece. Even after considering the minimal amount of labor that went into them (which literally only consisted of printing, shipping/delivery, and stocking) there is no way these things should cost more than $5. That also feels like a stretch. I won't be buying them and I hope none of you do either. No matter what your opinions on AI are, please please please do not buy that crazy ugly merchandise!!

I get it. But, on Sunday, it seemed to be a lot of people "with" the one(s) who legitimately needed to go through the back entrance.

I was looking at the merch and this one really popped out. Sorry the shirt is not flat for the best look of the logo. Does the normal park guest not realize or care the train's placement is not practical and makes no sense?

I generally liked it. It's at the very least a HUGE upgrade from Boo Blasters. My only issues are that the dialog could be a bit more clear and maybe more use of music through the ride (especially for a ride themed to a theater with a maestro). I'll give it a A-.

New rules in place for Red White Blue Ash https://www.wlwt.com/article/red-white-and-blue-ash-new-rules-2026-july-4/71074481?fbclid=IwY2xjawRTRolleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFXNnZUanFtV2tXNDY5cVBwc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHqrdMTzBIOjiRVCZi-w34I_SptJfoBO500HT11GRNR63ucTxS-hrLs36F0ch_aem_ku8a42ENOHhDGZ08f_FB_w

On Friday, it took me right at an hour to get through the Fastlane line. When I was a few people behind the Fastlane scanner (where the 3 lines merge) there was a person sighing the green sheets in the exit hall. They would just open the door and lets 2 or 3 groups in. Groups being a family/those together. Then one group from the regular queue and a group from Fastlane. So 3 to 4 groups of people for 1 group in the regular line. I felt bad for the regular line queue for they were really getting the shaft on throughput.

At first, I found the presence of soaps and the like pleasant as I saw that stuff at Sweet Spot but you have helped me realize the other side to it. Its clear between this and the AI slop shirts that are present that corporate doesnt care whether the products sold in stores look good and full of life. Corporate wants products that sell and thats it. Which means putting out things that are generic and/or AI slop generated instead of things that clearly had lots of effort put into them by graphic designers and the like. By working to cut costs so much, they have completely lost the points on why parks exist and why they continue to exist. If I had the power for just one day to have Cedar Flags do exactly what I want, I know precisely what kind of things I would make them make happen. Having it so they are creative people like illustrators and writers on the board of directors, for example. At least the quality of Sweet Spot treats remains excellent. It helps the kitchen and equipment for making the sweets is right there and if corporate tried to mess with what Sweet Spot has had going for so long, it would not end well. Fresh treats are important for a park to have, especially when so many mass produced treats have such a repetitive taste that is often really enjoyable at first until the satisfaction and joy diminishes as an example of the law of diminishing value. Corporatizing things only makes the world less full of life and diminishes the experiences that bring people to places like Kings Island. It is plastering a dull vibe and energy that is inconsistent with the life the arts and entertainment bring to society. And without the arts, the very meaning of what it means to be human could very well vanish. Art is ever present within Kings Island because posters, ride logos, fonts, treats, foods, drinks, inventions, rides, floral arrangements, and so on are all forms of artist expression when you get down to it. Creativity is why things like all the ride and coaster types in the world have ever been invented. Societies worldwide would not exist without creativity. And all of this is something corporate does not understand and does not want to understand.

To be fair, Phantom is one of the more inaccessible rides due to the use of stairs in the queue and the ability for anyone to ride it. I do agree that the Accessible line was very long this weekend, but there was a more-than-usual amount of guest waiting in the standard line too. Hopefully the wait times are able to be lowered as operations become smoother, I do think the added accessibility door within the queue should really help with that on a typical day, previously that was the job of the ride operator and the process of signing the green sheets slowed operations. I do really fear the longevity of the some of the smaller set elements. I'm hoping the newer technology and BTS infrastructure work that I believe wasn't done for the Scooby Doo conversion should help. But I really fear that it won't be long until we start seeing videos of kids climbing on Larry in the queue line. I think they should've had some additional barrier in place besides the queue line.

Home Run by KI & SDR. The line was deceivingly long Sunday afternoon. We rode near the end of the operating day, so was in the line room when the Fast Pass and Accessible lines closed. Once those were exhausted, the main line went very fast. I don't recall hearing anything from the original musical score from the original- thought that was to have been played somewhere. Good (ride) add though. From here, it's really on the "guest." For instance, I get that some are physically unable to navigate the line queue; but I don't feel like that is a license for your party-of-10 to skip to the front of the line. The accessible line was out the door and down the walkway a bit with what seemed to be a lot of able-bodied people surrounding one. We'll see how long it is before line queue props are damaged from enterprising <18 guests going to places off-limits. There are a lot of moving parts to keep maintaining, so I hope KI is up to the task; lots of "burnt out bulbs" that weren't replaced from last Fall on those front buildings though....

True, but that position is still an elevator attendant (and my reply to you said "attendant at elevator door" so the position location was already identified). And if that is the message you got from my post, then you missed the entire point of my post LOL.

They didn't remove the elevator person. They removed the person standing/sitting at the base of the tower watching guests and scanning for ride requirements and helping catch prohibited items like drinks.

Did anybody else notice the park didn't put up any signs at all for the grand carousel's 100th anniversary? The park probably realized they would have to use something other than AI to honor that type of anniversary.

Removing the elevator attendant is kinda like removing the park ambassadors. Seen on the bottom line, but lots of intangibles that cannot be measured are now gone. Anyone that has worked the elevator attendant position can attest to the guest interaction that you got (and more so than probably any other associate position in the park) and undoubtedly had positive impacts on a guest's experience that day in the park. Whether it be answering a question, offering up ride or food suggestions, to just maybe listening to them vent a little bit if they had a bad day, it is all valuable interaction that is now gone.

I might have to wander out there this year. I haven't been in 7 years, despite visiting Virginia and West Virginia last year (mainly because Google routed me over US 35 instead of the AA highway, so I didn't go through Huntington at all).