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I'm not here to split hairs over this. I realize there are plenty of situations where a kid may have had good parents and upbringing and still have behavior issues. That's just how it is sometimes. However, I will stand on business. Have you worked in a school recently? Because I have. I have worked as an SRO and I have worked for juvenile court. I've seen some of the worst child/parent situations. Not to mention we live in the age where the bullying/constant flow of being on the internet/information overload and dopamine hits for likes is through the roof. And this is what we see in real life every day in public places-the park being no different. Twice already, myself and my fiancé' have had a group of underage teens asking if we were of age and if they could come in with us. My response every single time is "absolutely not. I'm not liable for you". Moving on.

I remember I was expecting Mystic to be named SplinterCat up until the announcement and then that night when it was announced I couldn't wrap my head around the name Mystic Timbers bc it just sounded so strange and unexpected.

This all makes me really want to see an alternate reality version of the park with the alternate names/themes in place.

This is really good for those parks, though I have to wonder what it means that Kings Dominion didn't get Winterfest back. I feel like these two will be scaled-down events as they get rebuilt into a more Winterfest-like product. The KD locals would have probably loved to have a scaled down Winterfest compared to nothing at all. Could BGW's ChristmasTown have played into it or is this all just more fuel for the theory that Kings Dominion is going to get sold very soon?

I've had the original Phantom Theater queue audio playing basically on repeat these last few weeks and I think I see — or rather hear — what you're hearing. The biggest similarity that I can tell is that both actors are portraying characters that have gone mad and are reflecting that in their voices. I don't know if there's a specific reference or not, but it does feel like there could be. The connection of both Maestro and the Joker being theatrical individuals is a nice catch!

I just wonder how hard it is to slap a PNG logo on shirt or hoodie as opposed to asking AI to make something that’ll be sold. I did this in literally 2 minutes without AI.

Unfortunately I saw someone wearing a hoodie with the Mystic Timbers design (second photo) on either Opening Weekend or the weekend after. I could be convinced that the fifth shirt (The Beast with the claw coming down through the letters) was made by an artist, and that the only AI on the following shirt is in the coaster, but the rest are indisputably AI slop. There has been some debate where an artist claimed to have done design work for 2026 KI merch, but I believe that was cleared up to be a different set of designs. Some of the PT:ON merch also looks like it got ran through the slop machine to recolor it, but at least the art was made by a human being. I'm still baffled by the fact that they didn't even come up with a third design or anything to market Phantom Theater with (the first two being the main advertising artwork and the ride logo). I'm sure something with Archie would sell really well (as long as it isn't ai slop) and that they could have made one of those Jack Sage button up shirts for Phantom Theater like they have the other rides.

I’ll leave that to @DonHelbig to answer. I thought the name Splintercat was trademarked and the park actually did some lore building with the sound of buzzing bees and Don posting a picture of a stock splintercat on twitter. From what I remember it was all a diversion.

I know there’s dozens of Phantom Theater related topics out there but I felt like I needed to isolate this one for discussion sake. Is there a correlation between Mark Hamill’s Joker and Richard Doyle’s Maestro? When you listen to how each voice actor voices their respective characters, you can’t ignore the similarities. It’s also worth noting that Batman: The Animated series debuted in 1992, which was the same year as Phantom Theater debuted Kings Island. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, if both the characters’ voices were based off theatrical individuals, or if there’s something deeper to that. Thoughts?

Well, I first heard about the AI slop merchandise being sold at Cedar Point a month or two ago. Not surprisingly, Kings Island is doing the same. Mystic Timbers' track is going wacky. Banshee looks like Diamondback. Orion has three seats per row and a vertical spike. Those are just a few examples. And the longer you look at them, the worse they get. I wonder... have you seen anyone actually wearing this slop, whether it be from CP, KI, or other Six Flags parks?

I think my Top 5 non-ride additions would be (in no particular order): More theming in general across the entire park. Coney Mall backside rework + Grand Pavilion-esque restaurant addition to replace KillMart. Rivertown expansion to replace the TR:TR building. A complete rework of Action Zone to at least make the path shapes less awkward. A conversion of Soak City into a new waterpark with great theming. See my Wildwater Junction concept for more on that. As for things to bring back (again in no particular order): Short events during the summer such as the Food Truck Festival, Run & Ride/Color Run, and the summer BBQ event(s). I think they could host both the Food & Wine Festival and a smaller BBQ "festival" later in the summer. Something easy that fills out the parts of Summer that don't have the big festivals going on. Worlds of Fun just announced a new nighttime passholder ERT event, but it only runs from 8-10PM on certain nights. If KI did something similar I'd want it to go until at least 11PM. The forgotten theming items on International Street (mentioned by others in above posts). I'd be fine with a setup more like at Canada's Wonderland for a "standby" mode, but keep some of the fancy elements so we can continue to have fountain shows. Bring back the gas lamp-looking fixtures and add some new landscaping around the Eiffel Tower. If they take out that asphalt under the tower I'd much rather see it replaced with concrete since the rest of the street already has pavers. More entertainment that lasts all season. They can have a few weeks between seasons where some theaters are dark, but allowing most of the stages to be dark for half of the season is not great. A revitalized Halloween Haunt. Go back to the FearFest name while we're at it. This would've been a good excuse for adding the maze upcharge and making the event more scary/adult oriented. Lastly, and this goes for more than just KI, bring back the classic park logos and use them more around each park.

Add me to the list for restoring the Royal Fountain. It's just not the same; not even close.

Which is also about last time Action Zone got significant attention outside of Banshee. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Did any of you see the Ramones when they played? As a life long punk rock goon, that's the one that always blew my mind. July 18th, 1990.

My top 5 that would be easy to do (I would think) is 1) Bring back the Classic Royal Fountain, 2) Add some pavers around the Eiffel Tower, 3) Bring back the area portal signs for Coney Mall and Oktoberfest, 4) Bring the lampposts back to International Street, 5) for a ride bring the Skyride back.

I second bringing back the gas lamps on International Street! I'd also like to see pavers replace the blacktop around and under the Eiffel Tower. Also while at it, get rid of that sliver of blacktop in between Camp Snoopy and Mystic Timbers. I'm still shocked they didn't rip out that section of blacktop when they put it Mystic in 2017.

What this person said! I also liked the vintage Orchestra-style music. and.... REPLACE BURNT OUT BULBS on the iStreet buildings. It's the first AND last thing guests see.

For rides, fill the empty Vortex plot with a multi launch coaster, the Crypt building with a Vekoma madhouse, Skyflyer plot with a Scream n Swing, and Action Theater with a flying theater or planeterium type attraction. Empty ride plots/buildings imo should be filled with RIDES not Haunts or restaurants. Bring in more limited time popup events and entertainment like Dive in Movies/late night activities in Soak City, Food Truck festivals, late night ERT events for passholders/coaster club members, and competitions like 5ks and eating contests. Didn't Carowinds do a hopscotch competition a few weeks back? Expand Food and Wine and make it more immersive and move it up to the beginning of May and have it run on every operating day through like before Memorial Day. Add a Brew and BBQ/Barrels and Bites Event in Rivertown in June and a Viva La Fiesta style event in Adventure Port in July. Add a Kids focused event (ie Kidzfest) to Planet/Camp Snoopy Speaking of Camp Snoopy add camp style activities to Camp Snoopy for kids to partake in like crafts, tye dying T shirts, bubble parties, etc. Bring back Spirit Song and/or other concerts to Timberwolf and focus on building it and NOT giving up on it after one year. Do a "Summer Music Festival" type of event like what Carowinds did in 2024 and have multiple stages throughout the park with Timberwolf being the main stage Bring in the Splash Water Parade Decorate the park with summer vibes style decor from Memorial Day through Labor Day like what Dollywood does for peak Summer. For example: have things like kites, pool noodles, umbrellas, etc hanging over pathways as well as air dancers.

Mate, I had tremendous parents and I was still an absolute terror and hoodlum. Its brought on by kids being kids with bad brains that don't function properly.

What makes International Street have more ambience: the fountain pedestals and gas lamps. Redo the pavers so there is a (flat) delineation between sidewalk, curb and street (no black pavers, though, to hold on heat.) get rid of the grass around the tower and do lush landscape. Flower baskets galore in the entire area.

Night ERT events and midnight closes would be nice again.

A sign clarifying the rule that a giga coaster is a coaster with a height OR DROP of 300' or more.

While I agree with this analogy, I'd rather see them finish up that landscaped backyard before the brush comes in and takes over and then do a major refocus on AZ.

The map "location" for that ride has changed from HB/ Nick/ PS to IS a few times over the years.

The Clown Band. Seems like KD is more or less getting done version of the same.