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The rides close in phases based on lightning proximity, with the final phase being all rides closed.

So I have construction through Indiana no matter if I go through Indy or L'ville, so to keep things simple for entering St Louis and since my hotel is off of I-70 on the western bit of St Louis, I'm going through Indy. I did prioritize the trip to KC for this hotel, and while it is 20-ish minutes from downtown, I am a good 45-55 minutes from SFStL. For KC I can practically walk to WoF. For Branson, staying on what I think is the main strip, something like 10-15 minutes from SDC.

So what I'm hearing is that they should just build another fort around the SoB station 🤣 I will say that the structure already doesn't look terribly great. Even with the nostalgia and speculation surrounding it, we have to recognize that the old photo booth is in tatters, there's a "random" overgrown queue line, the fencing around the station is continuing to deteriorate, and the structure itself is rusting away. If it is to be demolished before the end of the year then I bet it'll be after the park goes to weekend operations. That timeline would allow them to bring more equipment onto the pathway during the week (or bring anything down from the station via the exit ramp). Once everything is removed from the station they can start demolishing the exit ramp and bring the rest of the structure down without having to close The Bat and Banshee.

I think the park was more than happy to let the Son of Beast station stay for as long as they could. It didn’t really cost them any money to keep it, it served a purpose as a haunted house, and it’s mere presence kept enthusiasts speculating. Now that the building is officially condemned and all of the haunt props have since been removed from it, I think the park can’t keep kicking the can down the road and finally has to address the aging structure. If many of you recall, there is an actual house that set within the loop of the train. A fort façade was built around to hide the house, and the integrity of the house began to wear overtime to where it eventually collapsed- but you wouldn’t know it because it’s covered by the fort. The Son of Beast station, however, is 100% within the public eye as guests pass it when on their way to ride The Bat. Heck, even if for some reason, The Bat was closed and they blocked that path off you could still see the station from Banshee, Drop Tower, an to an extent the Eiffel Tower. If bits and pieces of the structure begin to deteriorate and crumble people will be able to notice that. The station itself is close to The Bat so I’m sure that the park has to finally address it. I honestly think that’s why The Vortex station was never saved, same as Firehawk’s, it’s probably the best interest of the park to tear out a structure instead of kicking the can down the road.

Noodle on THAT for a few minutes.

After months of discussing different name ideas, they’d land on the winner: Just Pasta.

Which was about as uncreative, and welcome as one could imagine LOL. How they’ve not done a pasta place is beyond me. Noodles are dime a dozen and you just heat some vats of sauce… you’d think they be all over cheap food for the masses.

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He’ll best be remembered for giving guests Alfredo sauce with pasta as a new culinary creation at the park.

Chef Perez is now at a casino in southern Indiana.

I rode Kumba for the first time in ‘94 or ‘95 and at the time thought it was absolutely amazing. Compared to the Arrow multi-loopers it was just so smooth and fast. I rode it for the last time maybe five or six years ago and after I got off I thought “am I more prone to headaches now, or is this thing just really head-bangy anymore?” (Maybe a bit of both…) But I don’t think the old OTSR B&M loopers have kept their allure—I’d say the same thing for Rougarou and Kraken as well. When I worked for SEA I asked one of the engineers one time why they couldn’t just replace the OTSR restraints on Kraken with the new “vest” type of restraints (like on GateKeeper and other newer B&Ms) because I thought that would make a huge difference in ride comfort. He told me that the restraints couldn’t simply be retrofitted on the existing B&M trains—it would require new trains (and possibly some track modifications for those new trains) and it would be cost prohibitive on an “old” coaster.

I can confirm from an inside source that a pile of dirt on the former SoB station platform has indeed moved. Many Bothans died to bring us this information.

Have a great time!

After seeing some reports from other parks, I'm starting to think that Six Flags is making an effort to condemn/demolish various dilapidated buildings across all of their parks. It might be part of an effort to both beautify the parks while also removing the burden of care/upkeep that might otherwise come with these structures. Magic Mountain in particular will reportedly demolish their old Laughing Dragon restaurant and one of their old sky ride stations while Kings Island is at least looking to condemn the Son of Beast station. I wouldn't be shocked to find out that this effort hits every park in some way.

John Reilly and the rest of the new(er) corporate team seem to be more invested in seasonal festivals and events than anyone was right at the time of the merger. It feels like they really want things to change, but as always their budget is limiting what can and can't be done. If they can actually get through this park portfolio optimization and continue to pay off the massive amount of corporate debt then I think we will see more improvements. The short answer to "Why continue to host Carnivale if it's watered down?" is because they already had all of the assets for it sitting in storage. I'm hoping that this being the last year is because corporate has a plan for something new to come next year. I, personally, enjoy Grand Carnivale for the general atmosphere but wish they would be able to host more things throughout the day. The watering down of the event over the past 3-5 seasons it's been held is very evident, though I also have to imagine that it's reputation has also been stained by everything that's happened during its tenure. It's clear to me that there were major plans in place during the 2019 season that were entirely stopped by everything that followed. We first saw Grand Carnivale in 2019 alongside the renovation of International Street and the expansion of other events (Haunt alone received four new scare zones and a new show that year). HalloTween debuted as the early-teenager Halloween event. The pandemic ruined any plans for events in 2020, including whatever remained of The Great Pumpkin Fest and HalloTween. Tricks and Treats Fall Fest was introduced as the filler event and proceeded to take over from the other two family events in 2021. 2022 brought us the wonderful 50th anniversary celebration, and then it was back to the status quo in 2023. Halloween Haunt received upgrades in 2024 with the new interactive lanterns, and received two new experiences in 2025 with Order of the Dragon and The Conjuring: Beyond Fear. (I'm still a little upset that the Tower Gardens interaction points were removed for 2025.) If the corporate team succeeds in making new festivals happen across all of the parks then I think we'll see some good results, but they need to make sure that whatever is put on has more staying power built into it. Either way, those are just my thoughts on the matter.

I found a video from Dorney Park in 2019, but pretty much the same vibes at KI that first year with the international entertainment and walk around characters.

There’s no reason events like this can’t even be on a 3-4 year rotation. The assets are there, but they don’t have to do it every single year. These should be “Signature” events that are major drivers. related note: I had a good conversation with Mike Koontz a few years ago during CARNIVALE (2023, the really bad year when they had the parade at 7:30 so the entertainment staff could all be clocked out by 9 sharp) and he mentioned his frustration around being a “launch location” for events like this where corporate has an idea and throws tons of money and resources at it the first year at a few parks (remember year one it was only at 4 parks total and they shared/rotated a lot of the assets like costumes, floats etc) but then rolls it out and the “test parks” are left to keep the event going with a reduced budget that’s now theirs. He said it’s annoying because people see KI as the ones watering down the event, when in reality without the major corporate budget from the first year, there’s no way to make it sustainable without cutting things.

Ok, I complain, but the churro cupcake is really good and really good looking. AND just watching the parade for the what??? 432nd time? It still works. Kids and adults fill the streets, they dance, they get excited, they make a memory. Whatever they move on to needs this kinetic energy because it really make whole event worth it

The fact that Tony Clark basically hinted at it being the last year makes me wonder why they did it anyway. I knew that with them likely knowing it being the last year of Carnivale, they'd use it as an excuse to water it down even more. I really hope that the under this new CEO and COO that they really take a long look at these events and actually focus on growing them rather then sticking their foot in the water and either stop doing the event entirely after one or 2 years or cutting back year after year. I also hope Mr. Reilly actually comes out to see Grand Carnivale and that he takes note at how watered down it has gotten and that he listens to guest feedback. However, I still think even if they offer to improve Carnivale to back how it was in 2019 if not better, it would be a hard sell to KI loyals who is far used to Carnivale as is so I still think it is time for a separation from Carnivale and to try something new. Like I don't see how the KI fanbase can get into another year of the same event calendar even if they promise to invest more money into putting on these events at full potential. Like if they come out in March/April of 2027 with the exact same events calendar with no changes whatsoever, I think there will be more backlash and disappointment from longtime KI fans than excitment and I hope those in charge at the park and corporate level recognize that these guests are ready for a change. Every event over the last couple of years especially Carnivale has had more "they should've done this or this would've been better or look they cut this" rather than "I'm looking forward to going to this event again." At this point, I think it may be time for a new special events manager/team with fresh minds that are more willing to think outside the box and push for more. Like Cedar Point in the same state and the same chain has had more thought put into their peak summer events. I can't see why KI can't.

Well, as expected, it’s less than before but more than nothing I guess. Makes me sad to see an event that was AMAZING year 1-2 be… this now. First few years there were seating areas all over the park, couches, sectionals, tables. There were food booths located throughout the festival area. There were crafts that related to different countries. It was the framework for an event that seemed custom designed for this park with international street and the Eiffel Tower. Instead of building this event into something unrivaled, they’ve cut and cut and watered it down to the point that I don’t even know why they bothered this year. We are in a major metropolitan area with a rich cultural community. Instead of leaning into that to make this the must do it was year one, they’ve nickel and dined it into a fairly pointless event. Wish they’d just stuck with the 250th stuff and built a “Taste of America” burger and bbq fest with craft beers.

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Coming to a gift shop near you-pieces of the station for $1400 to mark 14 years since SoB was demo'd!

So it looks like I will be able to work around the sparse rain in the forecast for St Louis and KC. When it's not raining (aka, the days at the parks for me) however, it's gonna be a tad toasty...

A guest got confused and thought it was Halloween Haunt:

It could actually be cool if they really did run it right into the closing show. The first year a few of the floats stayed out as set extensions for the dance party. They should run the floats back up around the tower- circle the tower and have the cast fill that whole area for a giant street party vibe. As it stands, the parade ends, the cast just wanders up to the stage while empty floats drive back to storage. They could make it way cooler.