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Honestly, I don't really care if it looks like a castle or a theater. I do kinda wish they changed up the front a little besides some new paint and exterior details. But as long as the inside of the ride is good, the exterior doesn't really matter to me. And the GP will just see an abandoned/creepy building and think it's cool. The actual ride experience is what really matters. But I will say I really do like the new look of the castle/theater facade entrance! I like the maroon-ish color. Can't wait to ride this!!!

Prague's National Theatre has a stone bridge leading to that theater believe it or not.

A little disappointed they're still keeping the stone bridge. Sorry, but this is a THEATER not a CASTLE. Name me a theater/opera house that has a castle bridge.

New small look from KI’s instagram story which confirms there is a built in extended queue (which I hate short term because I am dreading any long wait times) but I know that the Boo Blaster’s queue did spill out frequently during the busier days, so this should save the employees from having to bring out temporary barriers.

And even CHAOS fits not just in space, but theming as well.

Looks like the facade is still being worked on. Curious to see the finished project!

Peanuts 500, Charlie Brown’s Wind Up, Joe Cool’s Dodgem School, and Snoopy vs Red Baron are the only rides I’ve not ridden in the history of Kings Island. I also rode Grand Carousel, Off Road Rally, Scrambler, Monster, Linus’ Beetle Bugs, and the Log Flume before Kings Island at Cincinnati’s Coney Island. The original Kings Island Dodgem there, too!

People really thought the queue would be next to showplace and the station would be where the brake shed is? Tbh they should've kept the old Rivertown Mining Company building and used it as the queue kinda like how Maverick used WWL's old station. Now it's just cattlepins with tarps as shade structures which doesn't scream "rusting/old west" to me.

I agree with most of your points except for these ones. The area between Diamondback and the log flume, in my opinion, has no chance of being cohesive unless they are in the same thematic area and/or there is some serious work done to make those two plazas feel like one. Kings Island started this process by including that area in Camp Snoopy, but it still feels disjointed. The Diamondback theme is fine — even though it doesn't fit into the "History of Cincinnati" theme as mentioned — but it does need more trees and foliage around it. Anything to make the splashdown look less constructed. The gravel is probably good for drainage and isn't really affected by any (presumed) chemicals in the water, but there's so much manicured grass around it that makes the basin look empty. This image from Kings Island History on Facebook shows a comparison between the area in 1972 and 2019. This photo from Robbie Zerhusen shows just how many trees were still in the area around the time of Diamondback's construction. Now that I'm thinking about it, most of my problems with the splashdown are with how manicured it is. Is a giant patch of neatly cut grass good theming for a historically themed area? (Side note: The theme of Rivertown as a "History of Cincinnati" based concept is not rigid, as shown by The Beast and more by Mystic Timbers. That being said, I would still love to see more nature incorporated into the area.) As for the big box, I'd much rather it be demolished and replaced with a new expansion of Rivertown than try to shove something into it. A small but natural-looking lake, an entertainment venue and/or dining location, and a new ride would all fit around that area with ease. The largest issues would come up with the parts of the building that are directly adjacent to Diamondback's track and supports.

I loved Chaos. I could go for that!

I for one am hoping that they bring back in an on ride photo of sorts, I think that is a nice souvenir that is something you can take with you for cheap

Come on Herschend...

Area portals would be good additions. But they won’t spend the $$ to do it.

It would also be nice if they brought back the Coney Mall, Oktoberfest signs, and maybe even add a Rivertown and Action Zone sign as well. The only signs showing you’ve entered a different land is Area 72, Planet Snoopy, Camp Snoopy and Adventure Port. So much the park could do to add to the experience to make it better.

For me- Flight of Fear- the train stopped a few feet before it was supposed to in the unload station and the train had to be manually pushed to get it on the sensors to unlock. Firehawk- been stuck laying back in the station for about 15-20 minutes.

I have only gotten stalled on two KI rides that I remember both times they got them running again and didn't have to do an evac - Boo Blasters - got stopped on that one once for longer than the typical loading stall. Some of the targets and animatronics also went dead until they rebooted and got us moving again Peanuts Car Ride - forget the name but it's the track one next to Woodstock Express. Remember being a kid and just coming to a halt right at the bottom of the bridge and the car behind us was already on the decent from the little ramp so it bumped us haha. Then the employees walked over to us and got us all out. The ride was broken but because we were nearly to the end anyway not sure if it counts as an official evac.

It will also be ironic to me if they do a half job at fixing ours up when they had all the parts of the CP one to work with. Theirs even had the bottom skirting. I like that ours kinda has a green and white color scheme at night but I agree hopefully they can reuse or get new lights because 2024 alot of the bulb sockets near the center on the arms were empty and the center pieces hasn't had lights for a VERY long time

@Hawaiian Coasters 325, all great points! I'm glad you are able to now express your opinions without fear of reprisal of when you were employed. If I were in charge (lol), I'd put more trees around Diamondback, but near the splashdown, I'd use native plantings that dont distract from the splashdown. Until junkyard coaster is removed, I'd add fast growing and easily removed...think white pine, redbud, Mimosa etc. When junkyard is gone, reimagine with existing large trees, fountains, topiaries and shade structures. The whole area from the tower to Vortex plaza needs to be redone. Heck, how about some push up ginko trees while we are at it Poor Peanuts area. I don't see how it ever objectively won best kids area... besides smoothing up to voters. Back to Rivertown. It has good bones, but needs an overhaul. I think you can keep the flume in peanuts, but smooth the transition. Redo the queue for Diamondback and either change the name or make the story fitting. We do have native timber rattlers and they are forest dwellers. The current tie in seems to be with western Diamondback rattlesnakes which are desert dwellers. When I first moved back from Phoenix, I thought that was the case, or KI was somehow tied into the Arizona Diamondbacks. Neither of which makes any sense since a desert in ohio or a team out west when the Reds are just down the road. Fix the aluminum box by utilizing it to potential ( new ride, paint it to be less of an eyesore, use projection mapping) and use the grassy area behind it. Rework The Beast promenade and widen the exit path... ideally, push the entrance back closer to slaughter house to where the outhouse is. Thank you for listening to me Ted Talk.

Imagine how nice it would have been if it looked anything like the art they used to advertise it.

I've said it many times Camp Snoopy feels unfinished. You can tell by looking at the concrete in the area. It's a mess of old and new concrete with some brownish stained concrete in different areas. The area over by the "new" sign near the flume is pathetic imo. It should've been all the brownish stained concrete kinda like in Adventure Port the year prior. Also why on earth does Kidzbop play in that area when they could be playing Vince Guaraldi music there? Soapbox Racers queue was done fairly well imo with the wooden posts, lighting, and decor but the whole area should have gotten that level of detail. They could easily have swapped out the metal ride fencing at the flats with wood fencing like other parks but chose not to. They could've done more wood light posts with lanterns (like Adventure Port) but chose not to. They could've added more trees to eventually become more shade, but chose not to. They could've added more "camptivities" to the area (ie scavenger hunts, craft parties, dance parties, and even bonfires as the sun goes down), but chose not to. They could've added a better soundtrack/playlist to the area but chose not to. Notice a common denominator? Goes back to my rants in prior threads.

But at the same time, if they decided November 15th and the park doesn't open for another 6 months, what good does it do - too late to ride at that point. Whenever it was decided to remove, the park/chain determined the timing wasn't right to announce. And people should be aware actions on their job have consequences. Vendors sign contracts for a reason. Employees agree to social media posting for a reason. I am reminded of a quote that Jason McClure (made while Senior VP in chain) has said and I have used it on the forum frequently as to why something may or may not be said from Corporate: "It is important to remember that Cedar Fair is a publicly traded company and that affects the type and timing of our communication." That simple statement says it all. There are countless of real world, everyday examples demonstrating this same technique in other businesses and industries. At the end of the day, they are not under any obligation to tell us the whole truth and thus they control the narrative and how it is presented (unless of course someone leaks it out earlier). The fact of the matter is someone in the know will not officially come out and say something against the narrative the park is telling...unless they don't care about potentially losing their job LOL.

In part why I have said for years other kid's areas within our own chain are better fits for "best kid's area" than ours ever was.....

It happens at every park. Maybe the bigger parks are more national news worthy, but I have seen national news run stories of regional rides getting stuck. Although getting stuck is a misnomer....the rides are designed to ensure guest safety with all the sensors and are not actually stuck. And to this point...can The Beast run with the exit gate ajar - sure it can - how many years did it operate without a sensor or magnetic gate there and could be open or unlocked and the ride still ran.... But safety is always a continuous improvement and thus the change to a magnetic exit in recent years, along with other safety features that most of the general public never see or here about. Most of the GP fail to realize that safety is the utmost importance on these rides and because the rides are a closed system, any sensor that faults cause the ride to shut down, and the majority of the time there isn't a real risk to the guests. That is intentional. Sure they could program The Beast to still run when the exit gate opens, but why would you do that and run the what if risk? Contrast that to a vehicle - your O2 sensor can come on, your check engine light can come on, you can open your door while in motion, the car will go without the seatbelt latched, etc. All of these are sensors that fault and throw up a warning light on your dashboard, but the car doesn't immediately slam the brakes on you while driving and come to a halt, but instead allows you to still drive it with those warnings in order to pull over to a safe place. At some point, depending on the severity of the issue, the car may came to a stop LOL, but it isn't as soon as the PLC throws a warning. Could you imagine a warning light coming on in your vehicle on I-71 and the car immediately stops and the chaos that occurs with all the vehicles behind you trying to avoid you. That would be a worse scenario than letting you continue with a check engine light on. Because a ride is a controlled environment, it can stop whenever the ride programs it to stop because it is a closed environment without having to worry about other outside entities being impacted by it. Sure it is a minor inconvenience to the guest, but it ensures that safety of the guests and employees are put first, along with the operational longevity of the ride because it isn't running hours on end with a "check engine" equivalent light on.

Theres hundreds if not thousands of videos online featuring many different occurences of people getting stuck on rides at Disney parks around the world. Whats much less talked about is getting stuck on rides at regional parks like Kings Island. Ive been evacuated off of a ride at Kings Island twice and both times, it was the same ride and the same set of things happened on it. That ride is Flight of Fear, launch didnt give the train I was on enough speed so the computer shut down the entire ride. I think it happened during Winterfest both times and both times, employees had to push the train I was in back into the station. The other times were WindSeeker and Diamondback. It was a unusually cold morning in April 2018 when I was riding Diamondback, just feet from the station after going through the full circuit just fine when the coaster broke down. At least one employee came out to check on us after we had been stuck there for quite a bit and all of us were fine. I think we got off as normal. Then theres WindSeeker. Nearing the end of the ride cycle, the ride came to a sudden stop somewhere between 50-75 feet in the air if I had to guess. And we were stuck there for a good bit, at least 15 minutes and I was wondering if we’d ever get off anytime soon.

The whole pad where Franklins Flyers and Space Buggies are should've BOTH been incorporated into CAMP. Space buggies could've easily been rethemed to PigPen's MudBuggies with a waterfall and sign right at the entrance area - Make KiteEatingTree also part of CAMP maybe slightly rework the queue to incorporate the sign/waterfall. Then the concession stand right there get a light retheme into CampCanteen. Suddenly the whole CAMP area has a really strong and clear entrance and you dont have two rides - one of which is actually nature themed - in, but NOT in the CAMP area.