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You got jokes. I never admitted to anything, actually. I just don't care to debate this with you any longer. This ain't a ****ing match so let it go.

Pretty cool the Starbucks is getting in on the Phantom Theater theming. I actually was just thinking the other day how it was a missed opportunity that Starbucks wasn't doing a special "pink/purple drink" themed around Phantom Theater. Well looks like the park had the same thought! I'm not much of a Coffee drinker, but I love the look and nostalgia of the pink drink at Starbucks even though I've never tried it. Now can we get the Banshee Twist back maybe themed to Phantom this time?

They gotta have more designs to sell their slop to the masses. Can't get coaster boys to buy the same shirt multiple times a year.

Thank you for admitting you were wrong. I appreciate it.

That statement is really gross. Disability is a broad term and plenty of folks who have what would medically be considered a disability have insanely amazing creative outlets. If anything, the same people stanning such an absurd statement should realize that AI is stealing from the very people they think they are defending 🙃

Here's a story that Hershey may not open on time due to a union strike. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/hersheypark-pennsylvania-could-forced-close-165740558.html

The concrete islands that were put into the three Taft International Streets are ugly, tacky and do not tie into the lands. However, the lush landscape helps to disguise them. KI did not have lush landscaping...it was linden trees with some rose of sharon and ornamental grass. And because people, people, often trash was thrown in. KD has to compete with BGW. Taft had to appease the local opposition and has maintained that charm. I'll take today's IS at KI over the 2018 IS any day.

I'm almost certain that KI could've had some of those landscape islands and the parade route if the table area was extended further toward the fountain. That's what Kings Dominion has in addition to the islands that make their I-Street too narrow for a parade float to pass through. Their path is also much less uniform with a ton of different paver designs and (for lack of a better word) undulations. It looked like they simply placed pavers over the old asphalt when they completed their International Street renovation in the 1980s. I believe another big difference between KI's and KD's street design is that KD has trees and foliage on the fountain side of the tables. If KI didn't have the lighting towers then I'd advocate for more trees. They could do more foliage on the ground either way. If all of the jets are functional then it's not been when I've looked; although, I also only ever see one or two that appear to be broken. Now that I'm thinking about it, how much are the lighting towers used for besides the banners and lighting up the ground below them? Do they help light up the fountains at all? I only remember the lasers being projected from them in 2022. If they're not being used for anything besides ambient lighting and banners then I'd prefer they just get replaced with [electric] gas lamps that banners and medallions can be attached to.

When KI renovated international Street, i belive that they designed it so we could handle parades. So it did not get the beautiful landscape islands (and all of the trees) that Kings Dominion has. When KD has parades, they do not go down international Street. They just go around the Eiffel Tower. But that park has a longer walkway between Candy Apple Grove and international Street then Kings Island does between Coney Island and international Street. When they renovated international Street, I was hoping it would end up landscaped as beautiful as Kings Dominion, but it did not. On a sidenote. Has anyone ever seen all of the water jets functioning on the new fountain? On all of my visits since the renovation, there are always a couple jets that are not functioning correctly….

I don't think the park needs to stay true to the ride theme (it's already so loose as it exists right now), they need to bring back some variation of the Rivertown Mining Co. building and give it some good and powerful fans. Copy the structure concept over from Beast's queue if it needs a reference. Diamondback can keep its snake name, but KI should make the queue look more "Rivertown" themed when viewing it from the pathway.

And keep places open as long as the sign says. On Saturday, Tower Drinks said open until 8:30 and by 7pm it had been closed and wrapped up like it was never open...

So, I rode Phantom Theater its second weekend, and it's taken me a bit to process exactly what I think. The ride storyline? Wonderful. It reimagines the original concept of the ride (which, not to be a hater, but I think it wasn't anything to write home about) into something that has a story and a progression and is engaging. The new "guns?" Fantastic. It's such an elevation of the shooter dark ride concept to have you aim at projections instead of specific targets. They can put a target anywhere, make them move, make them disappear when shot--it's an objective improvement over the 20 year-old standard we had from 2003 to 2025. It makes the whole experience much more dynamic. The animatronics? Incredibly well-done. I LOVE the queue. The way the cars have been reconfigured to move in close groups of 1-2 cars (with plenty of space between groups) instead of consistently placing them with one empty space between? SO smart. It allows scenes to reset between groups, which was something the shooter dark rides in that building severely lacked. Giving the scenes the chance to refresh makes the experience feel a lot more intentional, rather than seeing (for example) Boocifer finish his line for the car ahead, reset, and then repeat himself, which was basically always my experience on Boo Blasters and it reminds you that you're on a dark ride instead of on an adventure. However. I feel like Kings Island, across every owner since at least 1991, has consistently bitten off more than it could chew (or, to be plain, upkeep) when it comes to theming. I fear Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare may become one of the more egregious examples of this, perhaps even by the end of the season. Adventure Express, the original Phantom Theater, Flight of Fear, Tomb Raider: The Ride, Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle, Queen City Stunt Coaster, Boo Blasters on Boo Hill, and Mystic Timbers have all opened with theming that none of the owners across those eras could or would put the upkeep budget or staffing into consistently. Boo Blasters infamously had a fog wall effect that lasted maybe a month or two after opening, disappeared, and never came back. The best that's happened (almost all within the last 5 or so years, mind you) is that some of those rides got their theming repaired and refurbished as a capital investment, meaning they became advertised additions instead of, y'know, part of the maintenance budget so the park could consistently offer top-form attractions. Without knowing details, Phantom Theater seems like the most high-tech ride to hit the park since at least 2002, possibly ever. And like, elsewhere in the park... Adventure Express's final lift is basically back where it was pre-refurb. None of Mystic Timbers' lights sway, the Coke machine doesn't move, and more. It's just the tape deck, the lights that may or may not flicker, and the projectors that may or may not properly align audio and video and train location to show you whichever monster. QCSC probably won't use the helicopter at all. Even on my Phantom ride, cracks were showing. One scene, a screen didn't play as our car passed. Another scene, the appearance/disappearance of notes was out of sync with our car. They disappeared as we passed. Neither of those ruined the experience, by any means--I'm not disillusioned with the ride because that happened. I had a great time. But I'd be lying if I said that from an upkeep standpoint, that didn't feel the slightest bit ominous. It was weekend two. I'm supposed to believe that the management who can't keep Adventure Express's final lift fully lit will keep several projectors properly calibrated with the lights from dozens of flashlights and timed with the car groups for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 6 months straight this year? I'm having a very hard time believing opening day 2027 Phantom Theater will feel like the same ride as 2026 Phantom Theater, in an unfortunate way. And it's annoying, because this is a darn good ride that millions of people should be able to experience as it was meant to be experienced. I would really, really like to be wrong. It does make me wonder what the strategy is with new rides. Like, does the ride have to serve a certain ROI the first year to be considered a success, and then it just has to be enough of a semblance of itself to not actively drag down the average guest's day while not demanding too much money? Tangentially related, I've got a hunch we'll see PT replace more of the Boo Blasters chainwide. Much like with Justice League: Battle for Metropolis, I wonder if the cost of developing the ride will be offset by copying and pasting it elsewhere. It certainly wasn't a cheaply-developed ride, and I wouldn't be mad to see it show up at some of the other parks.

More water features and a new soundtrack.

The Snake Pit Saloon sign is absolutely one of the coolest in the park.

If they want to stay true to Diamondback's theme, the would need to remove the "Ohio greenery" look and add lots of bare dirt with plantings from the Sonoran desert.... prickly pear cactus, saguaro cactus, chaparral, mesquite trees, cholla cactus, and Palo Verde trees.

Some sloppers claim that it makes art more accessible to disabled people. It doesnt. Disabled artists hate AI slop and just keep on creating art.

I didnt know they have one! This is so cool! Id love to work in there! I did do some graphic design projects at trade school.

Finally got to ride! I love the queue, it kept me pretty entertained for quite some time. The portraits in the hallway are excellent. And the loading area.. Far exceeded my expectations! Its so cool! I was struggling with learning the blaster basically the whole ride. Between that and how many scenes there are, it took some time for my brain to process it all and my love of the ride increased as a result while using the bathroom after getting off the ride. I am really pleased about the castle redesign and the designs of the vehicles and blasters and that they brought the most iconic song from PT: E into the ride. Projecting notes on a lot of the scenes instead of having screens everywhere was a brilliant move. Larry running around the way he is towards the end of the ride is such a clever reference to Scooby Doo/Boo Blasters. The scene that references was one of my favorite things about Scooby Doo/Boo Blasters. I was honestly really shocked at how different the scenes are compared to Boo Blasters to be honest. Overall, it is a fantastic addition to Kings Island and I need to ride it more to fully appreciate and process everything that is there on ride. Way better than Villain Con Minion Blast and Fast & The Furious Supercharged.

I really wish they could just move one associate from one of the five alcohol stands in Rivertown over to the Coke Freestyle. The bar by Diamondback already needs to go back to being a food stand, so maybe that one? I think they should put a new grill location there since they removed the hot dog from Jukebox Diner and the Brewhouse. Speaking of Rivertown, is there anything y'all think the park could do to improve the ambiance of the area that won't cost a million dollars? My vote would be a queue building for Diamondback and more trees/natural foliage. I feel like there has to be something they could do beyond that, though. I'd love to see more river-related theming as well.

^^Can he also please increase the staffing budget for the drink stands and the smaller food stands like Meteor Canteen, Pig Pen's Mess Hall, and Wishbone Grill so they can be open more often?! Drink stands specifically. It is hard to have increased guest throughput when the Tower Drinks and 2 out of the 3 Rivertown drink stands are almost always closed bc that backs up the lines at the ones that are open.

The worst part is that cleaning like this is a simple training issue that can be solved with a bucket, a rag, and a command to wipe the trash from the table/counter into the bucket. Sweeping is a little harder since you can't carry around a broom/dustpan as easily. It would be best if the park hired more dedicated custodial staff (dedicated as in specific, not dedicated as in better). That might actually be coming sooner than you think as (from what I've heard) Six Flags just increased their capex budget specifically for maintenance and park services. John Reilly really wants to improve the guest experience beyond what it has been for the last few years — I hope we can see some good benefits from that at Kings Island.

Now that's an article I'd like to read, Don. Would love to see one of top 10 dirty and top 10 clean

Cool. Let it go and move on. K thx.

Dollywood’s Splash Country opens its 26th season with Neon Nights, new food offerings, upgraded amenities and one of the cleanest water park experiences in the Smoky Mountains. Full Story: https://themeparksbydon.com/dollywood-splash-country-neon-nights-2026/

^That will be changing soon....