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Sounds like someone just put out an old tombstone/decoration where the coloring on the name had deteriorated. I don't think there's a whole conspiracy afoot here. Probably some seasonal employee grabbed it from the storage area, threw it on a truck, set it out with a bunch of others, and then went about their day.

@BoddaH1994, I do not know you personally, but coming from someone who is a casual fan of Kings Island and rollercoasters, all of your posts as of late seem to have one purpose: to go at the park and constantly say negative things about their PR or operations. ON this site, we often voice our frustrations to certain users who always come to the parks aide (even when times they shouldnt), I see no difference with what you are doing here. I see your posts as forcing a narrative on the people on this website to try to prove a point. That being said, you have every right to voice your own opinions, but at some point, it does come off as beating a dead horse. I do not know what your end goals are here. It seems that you are much more upset about this than anyone else (including Don). I mean no ill will towards you at all, I just wanted to voice how your posts over the past few months have brought quite the negative outlook on the park.

I think you’re being a little extreme here. We all miss Don Helbig, and it is sad that he is gone. However, why would the Kings Island employees setting up the gravestones intentionally do something like this? And why are you creating the narrative that Kings Island hates its fans? It’s not “them” against us. You kind of sound like Alex Jones saying that.

Roaming Scareactors have been a unique part of Haunt/Fearfest since the beginning... over 20 years. If most people at the Haunt didn't like them they wouldn't have them. To that guest I would say, "why are you at Halloween Haunt if you don't want to be scared?" If being scared is that bothersome, he has the whole spring and summer not to mention the time earlier in the day before Haunt starts to enjoy Kings Island without being scared. Yes, the "no boo" necklaces are a cash grab, but people buy them which seems to be what the park cares about. That guest has to realize that there are some people who look forward to Haunt all year as it's configured and it would be selfish to try to change it just because it's not entirely his cup of tea.

Working in the haunt industry and being trained by some of the awesome heavy hitters throughout the Ohio Haunters Association, I can say that roamers are good to have. At an outdoor attraction, such as KI, to get people amped up to enter the house (maze) or scare zone, you want to have queue actors (aka roamers at KI). Imagine going to a haunted house in the middle of October and there is nothing outside of the house to set the mood that you may get scared including actors. You just walk up to the building and enter with no "setting" being portrayed, no actors giving you information on the place whether rules/history/portraying a character that may be inside...it'd be boring for sure. If they half @** or not even that, the entrance experience you'd likely expect the inside of the attraction to be half @**ed. The queue actors not only amp guests up to head into an attraction, but they set the expectations of how to act within the attractions. Yes you have your greeters at the entrances of the mazes for the rules but in person interactions when a guest touches what they shouldn't touch (actor or prop) queue actors have more flexibility to roam, tell a guest to stop, flag security down, etc. I have not worked a Cedar Fair haunt, but I will say that I do know the haunt industry is way more complicated than what meets the eye.

Some new paint on Viking Fury as seen tonight, September 1, 2023.

Found this in the archives!

I decided to make this it’s own thread because I think is needs attention. I’ve shared this before but I’m not a huge fan of the idea of roaming scareactors. I think the practice is an inefficient use of labor and therefore should be eliminated from Halloween Haunt. It’s been stated on here that there will be less scareactors this season. This could lead to less immersive mazes/scare zones. Why not simply pull these employees from the pathways and put them in the mazes and scare zones where they could be better utilized? I argue there’d be more value for guests if the mazes and scare zones were more immersive as opposed to spreading the staffing so thin around the park. Regarding value, I think guests should be allowed to choose whether or not they want to get scared. If people want to get scared, then they should go to the mazes/scare zones. I don’t agree with the idea that you should have to pay more to not be scared via the “no boo” necklaces. It comes off as an unnecessary cash grab. I don’t think I’m alone in this but I’m not confident that this will ever become a reality unless attendance drops to the point where they would need to take action.

Yeah that's my prediction too unfortunately. I'm not a waterpark person so SC additions might as well be a nothing year for me. I mean at least the water park fans are happy. I'd much prefer to see a new gen vekoma or new dark ride (either boo blaster re-do or crypt building) in 2025.

You have to remember that the Golden Tickets are voted on by people who typically have very extreme biases. I know/know of several who have very very strong tendencies to vote a certain wooden coaster off of one night a year instead of the whole year in aggregate. If you can look at me dead in the eyes and say that Guardians is a superior coaster to Diamondback, which I rank well above Orion by the way, you have to be daft. Point is that I personally see these awards as a glorified ACE poll that is skewed as not everyone is going to make it out to every park. I take every poll with a grain of salt, everyone has their own views, but when you have The Beast at 6 and Ghostrider at 9 I question if Knotts were to do a coaster event if their rankings would rise.

From news articles I've seen and BGW website it sounds like Loch Ness Monster is getting a full restoration/refurbishment. I can't wait to see what they do and I hope this is also a maintenance refurbishment as well to keep this coaster in prime condition for many more years. I've always thought that BGW takes good care of this ride and this has only reaffirmed my belief that they are looking to keep this coaster around for a long time. Such a great ride and is actually one of the smoother arrow loopers in operation.

Respectfully, I disagree. I think the marketing was very a straightforward and uncomplicated attempt to market something different from the norm of what the last 10 years of ownership had offered. It was a themed roller coaster, not just the tried-and-true Cedar Fair "coasters and concrete" approach--and what's more, it was a marketing approach that proved very successful 15 years earlier for Tomb Raider: The Ride. They told us something was coming, but they didn't exactly tell us what. What Marketing said: "There's a new roller coaster coming next year with a mysterious shed at the end of the ride. That's all we'll say until April!" How Marketing advertised the ride: A new roller coaster with a spooky theme and a mysterious shed at the end. "Come ride our new ride and discover the mysteries awaiting you!" How enthusiasts took it: "There must be a backwards launch*! Or a drop track*! Or a whole second half to the layout that's not shown in the renderings*!" Enthusiasts, the following April: "What do you mean it's a themed alternative to sitting on the brakes under the sun?! It should've been so much more! I can't believe the park hyped this up so much!" * = These, verbatim, are things that enthusiasts across the Internet were saying at the time. I'd wholeheartedly agree with you if the park spent time on social media or elsewhere making hints about elements to expect within the shed, but they didn't. That's why I have a hard time agreeing with enthusiasts who were disappointed with Mystic Timbers--I kinda feel like they played themselves and are blaming the park for it. I don't feel like the public at large had nearly as much beef with the shed as enthusiasts, either.

Wish granted. https://www.facebook.com/Baynumsolutions/posts/pfbid02mDFGpQZ5JXUCYWqW2gtAEoYySLogrqkgQJD4a815Ym7KgkUgj2uoLnDdai4aCiArl

The log flume “enhancement” at Six Flags over Texas is interesting and encouraging. So many log flumes and water rides have been removed in recent decades, and it’s nice to see one get refurnished, upgraded, and even hyped as a marquee attraction. Regarding Flash at Great Adventure, would be interesting to see the cost difference to add a second train. With all the advancements in “fast track switching” that have come out recently, seems like 2 train ops would be standard equipment on this coaster when installed at larger parks. I could see Holiday World adding one of these in 5 years or so as a “grown up” compliment to Good Gravy. Could even be on the same land.

The fact that someone went out of their way to create a nearly identical burner account to discredit the park is beyond petty.

Once again, why are parents bringing little ones? Back when I was young we had these things called babysitters. I knew some teens in my neighborhood that would make some good money babysitting. Don't parents have "date night" anymore? Also, it's ok to tell little Johnny he has to wait to experience some things in life. (they have to wait for a license, etc). oing to KI for Haunt should be an experience you do once you have reached a certain level of maturity (actually now that I think of it going to KI alone should have the same criteria.) I don't blame the kids, I blame their parents. We are practically forcing these kids to grow up faster than they should. They are missing (in my opinion) crutial parts of their childhood necessary to become a well rounded, thoughtful, mature and kind adult. I feel the past couple of generations have had a hard time telling their kids NO. To me it was a vital part of my childhood. Understanding to be patient and good things come to those who wait and if you break an expensive toy you don't automatically get another one is, in my opinion, crutial to becoming a well rounded person. Obviously you were too irresponsible to have the expensive toy in the first place and should do without to make you appreciate what you had (and people wonder where this "entitled" mentatlity comes from, It's a learned behavior.). Look I understand especially with the cost of living that it takes 2 parents working to raise a child and I hate that. Gone are the days when wages were such that a family could have 1 bread winner (wife or the husband) and I think childeren in the end has suffered because of that and it's more a product of our society rather than the fault of the parents. But in the end having a child is a responsibilty and sacrifices are to be made. If you only get to go to Haunt once a year when you can afford a sitter instead of every weekend then so be it. Eventually your child will be grown and out of the house and you'll be able to go when you want again. But those years you have with your child are you raising the next generation slip away far faster than you can ever imagine. Before you know it you'll have grandchildren and hopefully you'll be able to watch them while your adult kids get to have a "datenight" off and go to Haunt while you experience the wonderful time of letting your grandkids eat what they want, have tons of sugar and stay up late. As a grandparent of 4 myself I can truley say those times are ones I cherish much more than any Haunt, and in the future when I'm gone and my grandkids look back I hope they cherish time spent with me and my wife more than time at an amusement park. As a society I hope we get back to focusing what's really important before it's gone. After all once you loose your parents/grandparents you don't get to go on Amazon and order another one. The fact that you can't is what makes them so precious in the first place. Thanks for hanging on till the end, this really went in a different direction than I though it would when I started. But hopefully some out there can read this and it will make a difference. We're all in this together, keep your stick on the ice.

The Golden Ticket Awards were yesterday. The full results can be found here: https://95a87e.p3cdn1.secureserver.net/issues/2023/2023gta/assets/downloads/AT-GTA-2023i.pdf Regardless of what you think about the validity of them, I always think it's interesting to see where Kings Island is ranked. This year, they were finalists in a few categories. #5 Best Park #6 and #7 Best Wooden Coasters (The Beast and Mystic Timbers, respectively) #2 Best Kid's Area #4 Leadership Award (Mike Koontz) Something that I thought was interesting was that none of Kings Island's steel coasters ranked in the top 25 steel coasters list this year.

CHAOS becomes Alien Abyss. Trivia on the bandstand Scare Zone: Abandoned in Rivertown https://www.visitkingsisland.com/entertainment

Id be quite OK with that, just keep the fog generators, the fog lingering around the bottoms of the drops is what makes the night rides so good!

This sudden move should have everyone thinking one name. Disney. Ouimet played significant roles at Disney in his earlier career. He developed Disney Cruise Line, oversaw the refreshment of Disneyland in preparation of its 50th anniversary, and was involved in the development of Disney time-share products. Currently Disney is facing challenges galore. Speculation circulates Disney may even be broken into two companies--one comprising the Parks/Resorts, retail, licensing of merchandise, and other similar business lines. Should this come to fruition Disney will be searching for executives to lead the spin-off businesses. Skill sets Ouimet is uniquely qualified to fill. Following Ouimet's tenure at Cedar Fair as an extremely effective and transformative CEO, he was tapped to serve on the Board of Directors in a role created to allow him to seek out development and acquisition opportunities to grow Cedar Fair. In this new role Cedar Fair failed to make any significant park acquisitions until 2019 when it was announced two Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts in Texas would be acquired. Quickly thereafter Cedar Fair announced the acquisition of Sawmill Creek hotel, golf course, and marina in the Sandusky area. These acquisitions are minor when compared to the sale of Great America property in California with only an 11 year operating sale-lease-back agreement in place. Read this quote from the Cedar Fair announcement of Ouimet's departure carefully: “I am extremely grateful to have been a member of the Cedar Fair management team and board of directors,” said Matt Ouimet. “I have great confidence in the Company’s current leadership team and will enjoy following their future successes.” Could Ouimet be foreshadowing a similar future role with another company overseeing acquisitions and development of entertainment, waterparks, amusement parks, and resorts? A position in which he would be looking for strong management teams overseeing portfolios of desirable cash flow positive properties ripe for application of Intellectual Property assets to leverage value, attendance, and profitability? If so, Ouimet would be keen to "enjoy following [Cedar Fair's] future successes" and possibly being a part of that bright future.

I hope Congo Falls outlives us all.

I don't think the long term plan was to allow Vortex site to sit this long. For example whatever plans they had were probably totally changed by the pandemic and the TTD accident that forced millions to be spent on Cedar Point and I'm sure they are liable in whatever lawsuits were filed against them as well. However, I really do hope they can put a bandaid on Invertigo and congo falls until they are in the position to replace them. Actually if they were to be forced to remove them, I'd prefer to see the new coaster be put in their spot immediately. (I've actually gotten kind of use to seeing the empty field in the back of Coney mall and if they've waited this long, they can tear down and build a replacement for Invertigo and congo before addressing The Vortex plot. Besides the drones are a nice touch to the fireworks and the launch pad for them is in The Vortex station area currently) All I'm saying is if Invertigo and congo lifespan can't be prolonged I would prefer that they are immediately replaced instead of them filling an area in the back of the park first and leaving us with a new vacant location right in the front of the park where everyone coming in with be welcomed with a big plot of nothing

Pro: love the new scare zone, it delivers more and gives a different direction with the flow of crowds. Also love what they did with Pumpkin Eater although it is super small. Con: I’ve been coming to haunt for decades now, and every year it somehow gets worse. The dj’s in Action Zone and Coney Maul zapped the haunt ambience. I’m sorry, but the Macarena or pop is not something I want in what’s supposed to be the best haunted event. Something like this would be GREAT for a children’s event in PS or maybe the waterpark but not the main park. Way too many kids, for an event that used to state publicly that it was not designed for individuals below 13. The chaperone policy is not being enforced and there were as there always is a horde of children running around bumping into my group. The event just feels different from what it used to be. Even looking back 10 years ago it was so much more than what it is now. If you want a family event create a day event that’s at the waterpark, give them that experience like what they used to. Theming is hard to quantify but in some parts it was really good, others it just felt cheap. The park used to use old PT props in coney for the coney maul, we used to have a lot of interesting toxic/alien props which i wonder what happened to them. I’m actually shocked we didn’t get anything in the adventure port area as I thought the park was gung-ho for dia de muertros in the past few years. I’m not going to harp too much on the scaractors as I know there have been shake ups in the past few years and it’s the first night but I really hope the park invests in the event overall as I feel like it’s just a husk of what it used to be. I think my biggest irk is the fact that the park used to have unique attractions like Tombstone, Trail of Terror & Carnevil and they’re long gone. It’s upsetting which I know times change I know the park can’t have certain attractions anymore due to recent additions but I feel like we lost something along the way.

Slash the price of tickets is correct. Saying slash the price off tickets would remove all price from the tickets Compare "slash the ear of Van Gough" to "slash the ear off Van Gough"..... in which instance would his ear, or a portion of, remain?

Might be having to move some data around due to space restrictions. We are working (well Malem) on a new server with more space and getting everything upgraded. It is slow going, but know we have all the data. I have the full photo gallery backed up in multiple locations. More details coming out when we have news to share.

Another TT2 Pit Stop! This time, our host is Michael Manley, CP VP Maintenance & Construction. Say hi to the really big crane.

It will. Voyage has everything you want in a woodie.

The live entertainment is very weak. Nytewalkers plus the very worn out Monster Rock. No offense to the great talent in the show but that show has had the same playlist and high school choreography forever.

Built in 78. No "end of service life" for Loch Ness!

Very excited for Haunt this year! I’ll definitely be one of the first in line for Alien Abyss on opening night! Hopefully it’s scarier than CHAOS was. CHAOS was always one of the least scariest mazes, at least for me. Alien Abyss seems darker and creepier than CHAOS, so fingers crossed! Hotel St. Michelle had some of the best theming for a Haunt maze that I’ve seen, so hopefully Alien Abyss is on the same level. Abandoned seems like a solid scare zone, so it will be interesting to see what it’s like. From the description, it sounds like it plays into the Mystic Timbers theme. Maybe it will connect the lore of Diamondback, The Beast, and Mystic Timbers? Either way, I can’t wait for Haunt!

Maybe they're reusing old Wolf Pack props for Abandoned?

I have been very impressed with the videos she has been creating. She has an awesome talent. Hopefully she is hired full time when her internship is up.

And keep in mind that this also means most rides have not been able to have their morning inspections and start-ups, so some rides could be hours before opening after power is restored depending on where it was in the start-up procedures.

They’re waiting to get your vote for the best haunt event before they actually show what budget cuts they have in store for us.

I would love to see them keep Congo even if they got rid of Invertigo. If they could get creative with the land around the area they could potentially put something like Copperhead Strike. Regardless Action Zone needs a lot of love.

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Sometimes it's not that simple. If Invertigo and Congo Falls become too expensive to maintain and operate, then it's very likely Kings Island will make the decision right then and there to remove those rides, even if nothing has been planned to replace them. I'm certain the park would have preferred to keep Vortex operational for several more years until a replacement was planned. Clearly, that's not what happened and that plot still sits mostly vacant to this day. Yeah it stinks seeing that hole in the back of Coney Mall, but it's understandable why the park chose 2019 to remove Vortex. I'm hoping the park can at least keep Invertigo and Congo Falls operational long enough for Vortex's spot to be filled, as I don't want Kings Island to gain a reputation for removing coasters all the time. I'm not saying this is going to happen, but if Kings Island made the announcement tomorrow to get your last rides on Invertigo before it closes for good, I would not be surprised. I speculate Invertigo has about five years left at-most, and Congo Falls may very well go with it.

Sorry to bump a thread that was last responded to in 2020, but I feel like I'm at a point to where my home office is "complete" in terms of roller coaster decor, however as of late, I've started to add some Bengals gear due to their successes. There are a lot of pictures attached - apologies in advance. Some of these were taken earlier on in the process. I have collected quite a bit over the last 10 or so years and have quite a few shirts that I can put within this space as well, such as the one for Banshee Media Day and the First Rider Auction for Mystic Timbers. The shot glasses on the shelf - there are several non-KI ones, such as Dragster, Millennium Force, Maverick, Valravn, Magnum XL-200, Lightning Rod, Intimidator 305, and Fury 325 from my travels.

If you go during HalloTween you’ll be able to see the massive statue from Tomb Raider. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Beware, buying through CW means you'll miss out on the incredible Pass Perks that Kings Island frequently sends out.

Peter… Peter… pumpkin eater… (Repeat x10,000) I only scared in that area for about 30 minutes every night last year when I was sliding but it never failed that I’d be leaving the park with that stuck in my head.

I fully support them cutting the Peter Peter pumpkin eater song that’s on a 10 hour loop in Action Zone from last season.

Roamers are a great part of the experience. Not only for the atomosphere but from the aspect of having employees among the crowd that can report anything "unruly" going on. It's like having more security around, not just for unruly behavior, but to help out people with question, problems, etc. Also I'm sure there are several people who only work haunt at night. In my opinion haunt should be intended for adults (18+). This is why the kids area is closed. They are open during the day and on Sunday for the family crowd but, in my opinion, Fri and Sat nights should be for the adults to play. In all we're talking about 12 nights out of the year for adult haunt. In the past when they first started the event you never saw kids. They closed the park at 6 and re-opened at 7 (literally clearing the park). Nowadays people are pushing strollers at 11pm at night. As far as the "no boo" I would love to see those go away. It does look like a money grab. If you don't want to be scared then leave before 7. I think some of the scareactors "edit" themselves because of the chance of kids being around and I think they sould be free to do their best. It's only 12 nights out of the year.

Cost-cutters have their place in the business, but unlike management they don't have to focus on the full picture when thinking of potential cuts. Some costs just don't have revenue directly tied to them. How much does landscaping net them in ROI? On paper nothing--actually a big negative-- but take it away and perceived value of a park goes down. A guest feels the park is less special, and may spend less money at the park, make fewer visits, or be willing to pay less to come in. Think of those car dealerships that give away the coffee and donuts in the mornings. There's a psychological effect on the customers that indirectly makes them money. The cost-cutters, doing their job, would just find the cost-cutting opportunity not realizing or caring what the wider effects would be. The biggest cost-cutting I've seen has been the modest investments for new attractions, and they're industry wide. The economy is not good, but not horrible. The lack of investment though has been worse than what we saw in 2009-10 when it was horrible. Can anyone recall a string of three years when things were this modest in terms of investment? Take next year, the two biggest park investments are a modest Dive coaster (Cedar Fair) and an "off-the-shelf" large boomerang coaster (Six Flags). Regarding day-to-day- cost cutting at Cedar Fair, I'm sure the orders are coming from the board in Charlotte. The "best day ever" Ouimet strategy from several years back is out and the strategy of cost-saving and mostly status quo is clearly in. Hopefully, this is just echoes of the pandemic and they'll be pulling out of the ultra-conservative pandemic "survival" mode soon. Large, top-tier amusement parks need continuous maintenance and re-investment just to maintain the status quo let alone grow the business.

That and a workshop.

I am very surprised that the Blackout building will remain vacant. It was also surprising that we won't be getting a scare zone in Adventure Port. Maybe Coney Maul could be extended into Adventure Port, or at least back towards WindSeeker? I'm glad that Rivertown is getting some attention, though. As for the removal of C.H.A.O.S., while I am sad to lose a maze, I'm sure Alien Abyss will be amazing!

A squirrel LOL https://www.fox19.com/2023/09/04/kings-island-briefly-loses-power/?fbclid=IwAR2kS0Hx9yXz4_ReLW_Wwh7rAhuZaTyJSt3U2Dg0JMX1RXZkCOM8hhqEGio Although I do not think this was accurate...."Shortly before 10:30 a.m., a park spokesman told FOX19 NOW most rides were up and running again."

At a Six Park right now. Even if we add sponsors, we are still way ahead with parks, operations , food, and well everything.

That’s my view- like what you said, The Vortex plot has been vacant for a while so people are used to it. If they remove Invertigo and Congo Falls and replace Vortex, the front will look bare and uninviting. I think they should have something in the works for when Invertigo and Congo eventually leave. If those two get replaced in 2026 and Vortex gets replaced in 2030, I wouldn’t be upset.