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I spy, with my little eye, in the Emporium...

As I have discussed it with one of the people who created the new playlist for I-Street (he put in a lot of hours of work on it), I can guarantee you it isn't just "the same as KD's", although it may have some overlap of individual songs. Some of my best time the past couple days was spent sitting by the fountains chatting with friends and enjoying the ambiance. It looks like Oakley (or as I like to call him, Stumpy) has been doing a little bit of renovations in between Beast's upper and lower queues: I was on the fence about getting the drink plan, although it is the first year I even considered buying it thanks to the disposable option. I did, and I already have used it at least seven times. It is definitely going to be worth it for me!

Yesterday I actually heard a couple songs that I heard at Kings Dominion on International Street! In fact, the very first one I heard upon arrival at the park was "Romantic Flight" from How to Train Your Dragon, (which I heard at Kings Dominion while walking out after closing) and it was so cool that the very first song I heard at Kings Island for the 2017 season was one of my favorite movie soundtracks!! Also, when I was on my way out of the park, I heard Dimitri Tiomkin's "The High and the Mighty," which, fun fact, was the soundtrack that played on the very first WindSeeker cycle that I cleared. I agree wholeheartedly that the instrumental music makes walking up or down International Street soooo much more relaxing...and I hope it carries on to many future seasons!

No joke... Timbers has a 30 minute wait!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I heard the theme song of The Godfather in full glory while walking and it kind of made me do a double take, it fit in SO WELL. Opening day was WAYYYYYYYYY less busier than Preview day by a LONGSHOT. The lines were still long but not as unbearable as it was on Preview Day. Like a normal summer saturday almost. The park really seems to have upped their game this year, compared to the last two years. I have had a great three days spent at the park.....

The long-awaited return of instrumental music to International Street did what jcgoble3, freaks76 and others have tried and failed to do. I spent a good deal of time there this weekend, enjoying the atmosphere without power walking to the next ride. Jonathan, there are KIC members who can vouch for that statement's accuracy, should you need verification.

Yes, it is very refreshing to hear the instrumental music return to International Street. Kudos to whoever made that decision. It just adds so much to the atmosphere and makes things seem more like Disney.

I just had an epiphany what if whats in the shed is actually symbolism for the "fallen rides"...

Here are some other things that I have noticed so far for this season: There are also signs up around the base of the Eiffel Tower that say "Pardon our dust Snow -Winterfest." There are several round footings (matching the ones on International Street by the fountains) in the Tower Gardens area, and on the path between the floral clock and Paradise Island. And that large round concrete ring over in that area (there is also a concrete ring out by the front gate before the metal detectors), is likely a base for some large Christmas trees for Winterfest (just a thought). Also, I rode the Grand Carousel both yesterday and today, and was disappointed to not hear the band organ playing. Instead, they were playing the piped in music, which was bearily audible. They did replace the cool white LED builbs on Carousel (which made it look almost like the lights weren`t even on), with regular incandescent bulbs, which is a much improved look. Also Vortex still has an on ride photo, but it is exclusively a Funpix on ride photo location (no staff are running it, it just has the Funpix kiosk. The Vortex drive box has been repainted as well. There is also a 30th anniversary banner hanging in the station.

Several weeks ago I won two tickets on Twitter for Opening Day. I never would have chosen opening day if I was buying tickets but was of course excited for the chance to go for free. We are not season passholders but we showed up plenty early to make sure we were in the best position to hop in line right behind all the early entry folks. This was only my second trip to KI and it's been two years since my first. We decided it was probably best to head straight to Mystic Timbers first because the the line would just keep growing throughout the day. That didn't turn out the be the case, but we're still glad we went here first. More on that later. The app said the wait was 3 hours, and that turned out to be pretty accurate. From the time they dropped the ropes for us non-early entry folks at 10 to the time we were exiting the ride was almost exactly 3 hours. The ride itself was fantastic. It reminded me of Maverick a little bit in that it's got a great, intense first drop followed by nonstop action. I loved all the airtime and the tunnel was fun. We sat somewhat towards the back but weren't picky with where we sat due to the waits. I won't spoil anything about The Shed here but let's just say we were quite underwhelmed. By the time we were leaving MT it was already 1 PM. We were hungry but saw that Diamondback's queue wasn't too bad so we jumped in (not literally as that's prohibited). The wait wasn't bad at all, maybe 30 minutes from queue to exit. I was pleasantly surprised because I figured the waits on every big ride would be awful. We rode DB very back row and it was fantastic as always. The first drop is unreal. After DB we walked back to our car for lunch and some much needed time off our feet. Upon re-entry we headed to Banshee. We didn't mind having a longer wait because we wanted our food to settle a bit. The wait for Banshee was probably 45 minutes or so. It is a really fun ride. I don't remember the g-force being as intense as it was yesterday when I rode it two years ago. We rode back row there as well. We wanted to ride Invertigo but it had been in and out of operation all day and the wait was usually around 45 minutes when we looked so we decided to pass. We saw The Racer only had a 15 minute wait so we headed there. Both trains were running so it was going quickly. We went on Blue towards the back. I really enjoyed this one as it's got some good drops. My wife wasn't a fan because it's pretty rough and she probably won't ever ride it again. Next it was back to Diamondback. We rode the back car but the inside seats this time, and it was an even better ride than our first. The wait took probably an hour because it shut down for 15 minutes or so while we were in line. Diamondback is still my favorite ride in the park. We headed back out for a dinner break next and debated whether we wanted to go back to DB or given MT another try if the wait wasn't horrible. While I really enjoyed the ride itself my wife was having a hard time separating the ride from how underwhelmed she was by The Shed so she was intrigued to ride it again. We decided 90 minutes was the most we'd want to wait for MT. When we got back in MT showed a 2 hour wait time so we went toward DB. After a pit stop we saw MT was down to 90 minutes so we went for it. The line at that time only backed up to the Whitewater Canyon entrance. It ended up taking 2 hours because they shut down for a short time but it was so worth it. It allowed enough time for it to get completely dark by the time we got to ride. We had been planning all along to ride The Beast at the end of the night because we didn't time it right two years ago to get a true dark night ride last time, but we lucked out and ended up being able to ride MT and The Beast back to back in the dark. Both were fantastic! As far as a night ride The Beast probably wins just because there's more time spent out in the woods and more tunnel where it's pitch black, but MT was great as well. It felt so fast. Overall the day exceeded my expectations. When we were there two years ago it was a weekday and crowds were really light, so I was dreading the opening day crowd and long waits. I was really pleased though that we were able to ride DB and MT twice, and Banshee and Beast once. I didn't leave feeling like I'd missed something I wanted to do. MT is a great addition to the park and will only add to my excitement the next time I get to visit Kings Island.

Also, for those riding Mystic Timbers, you can't ride with a fanny pack; I found this out the hard way.

I just have to say: I think it's beyond cool that KI is selling merch branded with Miami River Lumber Co. on it. That's one of several little things they've done to really make an impression on me with theming Mystic Timbers. Better yet: the Miami River Lumber Co. hats they sell actually fit my ginormous noggin. This is extremely rare. I'm so happy!

MagentaLizard, please pass along many thanks to the creators of the IS playlist! One of the highlights of my visit on Friday! Probably the whole season! Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

It's the same soundtrack that is at Kings Dominion, which can be found here: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't think it was communicated to play the band organ opening day -- checked with someone and it was playing today. (Sunday) It's sounding pretty good, so I'm sorry you didn't get to hear it!

With the exceptions, I'll edit my statement in saying that 90% of GCI's age well (mostly newer ones, ones designed primarily with the Flyers, ones not in harsh environments, ones that may be in parks that have lax woodie maintenance). With KI's history with wooden coasters (sans SOB), I'm not the least bit worried.

I'm not sure if anyone has commented on this yet but yes you do stand in line to order your food (the grilled chicken sandwich was wonderful) and then find a seat... The only reason why the line was long is cause the kids were still learning their registers... (15 year old newbies) they felt bad about the lines and my cashier apologied to me about the wait that it was his first day.... I felt like I stood in line the same amount of time that I did for other places to eat on preview night so it really wasn't that bad honestly Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

We made the mistake of going right to MT when we got to the park and had to wait 4 hours. It would have been shorter but the ride decided it just didn't want to run a couple of times. They were routing people through the Crypt building so it was neat to go inside there after all this time. The ride itself was fine. Smooth and fast and very rerideable. The shed was... interesting. Nothing mindblowing but cute in its own way. I had no expectations of the shed going in so anything I got was just icing on the cake. I like it.

I was able to ride Mr. T once today, around sunset. The wait was about 2 hours but MT had been down earlier in the day so I was glad the wife and I were able to get on. This was my gist GCI and now I am hooked. This ride is fantastic. The only downside to it keeping its speed the entire time is that it feels like you hit the brakes after only 10 seconds. I can't really complain though because the ride experience is so great. I will definitely come back on a weekday so I can ride it 5-10 times in a row. I thought the shed was fine. They hyped it up a lot but hey, that's still 10x more theming than DB and Banshee combined. I think if they had just built the coaster without the shed I still would be happy, but it's definitely different! Unfortunately it was still light out when we got off, so the first night ride will have to come later this year. Overall I was blown away by the entire experience. I think this has a legitimate shot at best new ride at the golden ticket awards. This ride is outstanding.

Been thinking about this... ...but they can always add onto the shed. They have lots of room in the first area of the shed.

I rode Boo Blasters tonight, and they've put some work into it on the offseason. It's only the second time I've seen the screen with the face in the first part of the ride (the cemetery) working. The display on the TV in the cold storage area toward the end was also working which I had never seen or realized should be there. Nearly all of the targets were functional (a large change from the end of last season), and the animated pieces worked smoothly. The only thing I noticed was non-functional was the photographer tourist being chased in circles, it didn't move.

^ Fast Lane line moved pretty fast from the three times I've been in line. Make sense Mystic Timbers doesn't have bins. They need the train to get out of there fast. So people aren't sittung in or outside the shed. (Which I think kind of ruins the shed if you're sitting there for a while).

I seen on twitter someone saying "I got a free Mystic Timbers souvenir!!!! A huge freakin splinter... thanks KI" LMAO so true...

Let's just hope the GCI Crew didn't build that fence.

This deserves its own topic, so I split it off from the 2017 Kings Island discussion thread. Instrumental music on International Street helps create a bold front gate statement at KI. Expectations are set high from the moment guests enter the park - as they should be.

Someone broke part of the fence in the Mystic Timbers Line. This is why we can't have nice things lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edit: This is in the back section of the queue near the shed & RFYLCB. Also, didn't know what thread to leave it on butt wanted to share and it made me a little sad. Lastly, while typing this in line for Mystic Timbers watched someone ahead of me about break another. [emoji50]

ended up having a great preview night. drove thru the parking entrance around 3:20... (no issues with traffic aside the normal 71 stop'n'go coming from downtown.) my friend needed to process his new pass (new to the area and his first visit to KI as well) but luckily the worker who was tending to that line, said my friend could just scan his barcode at the gate, and he would just have to get it processed before his second visit.. (avoided that long wait!) and was inside waiting by the fountain shortly before 4pm when they opened the whole park (also avoided the crowds heading back to Mystic Timbers early.) rode the first train of the season on The Bat with the first riders walking on. Banshee maybe a 10min wait, walked on Adventure Express and Racer. the coney section was fairly empty around 5pm.... maybe 20mins for FOF and 15mins for Firehawk. walked on Vortex... and then was met by a wave of people upon entering Rivertown... 45 mins for Diamondback was fine. the one hiccup was food/bev ... lines for anything food or drink related were already insane at this point tho we did manage to get a couple beers after standing at the bar at the reds grill for about 25mins... but our idea of relaxing and having a couple beers while we waited for nightfall was an anxiety filled joke trying to get a bartenders attention and we were surround by frustrated people trying to do the same. (it was like RTC level of angry peeps when you don't have enough food and drink stalls..haha) so we relaxed instead by checking out Mystic Timbers from the eiffle tour (and realized just how quickly the entire park had filled up...) waited 1hr for a front seat night ride on The Beast. and at 9:15 we got in line for Mystic Timbers and just after midnight got onboard. exited thru a empty park and empty parking lot. good karma or well played, I'm not sure.. but we both had a blast!

I agree with the fact that MT might pay homage to the old coasters from the 80s like King Cobra and The Bat. I feel like Kings Island's given us all the clues, we just have to decode whether the scenes are old rides or not. Ever since they revealed Mystic Timbers back in June, I always thought they were going to use the shed to hint at something bigger coming in the future...

Just add [spo iler] in front of what you want to hide and [/spo iler] after what you want to hide. And do it without the space in between the o and i. I had to do that so you could see the code.

I love the look of an open air Skyline. About time they did this.... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

All the coasters you mentioned above that didn't age started with PTC's instead of the new flyers. The PTC's did do a number on the track that the new flyers just can't remedy for those rides, they simply weren't designed for the coasters. I think every coaster that started off with the Flyers has aged well except for Apocalypse which lets face it year round ops and SF owning it doesn't help. I think eventually MT will have a little bit of bite to it but KI definitely knows how to take care of their woodies and I think it will be a great ride for years to come.

And change the projections or add more. I can only imagine the possibilities for Haunt!

From my experience, GCIs age rather well. It will develop some bite in time, but the comfort level shouldn't falter too much. To those who have ridden this as your first GCI and loved it- the power of GCI compells you.

I really wish the shed had used animatronics instead of projection screens. I understand the theming is a huge step for Cedar Fair but it still leaves a lot to be desired. Even if they just had spinning axes or moving tree branches I would have been satisfied, but a quick animation on a screen looks and feels very cheap. This is a state of the art brand new coaster that was marketed to be highly themed but it falls very short in that department for me. Flight of Fear, Adventure Express and Italian Job all are much better themed (ik Paramount owned the park then but still, these rides are older and technology is so much better now). The actual ride is a grand slam though!

I was in the same boat. At around 9 though I was just like "eh, might as well." It was about 3 hours (downtime included) before we got on. Along the way we met a really nice gentleman who knew a lot about roller coasters and it was an absolute blast taking to him throughout the wait. It was about 11:30 when we finally got on. I was lucky enough to get first row with my newly acquired friend. Mystic Timbers was amazing. We were flying through the layout with no letting up, smoothly whipping from side to side and flying out of our seat. To me it felt like a miniature Voyage. So far this is my second favorite woodie (though this may change over the weekend with the additions of (hopefully) Lightning Rod and Thunderhead). Overall, I think KI hit a grand slam with MT. It's a great ride for coaster lovers and newer riders alike. As for the shed, I got the "Total Eclipse of the Heart" experience and I was laughing the whole time! I thought it was absolutely hilarious (then I got a surprise that scared me a little but I still enjoyed it). It was less than I expected, but in the same way, more than I expected. Honestly the only way it would have been better was if they Rick-rolled us. Still, the main takeaway is that you shouldn't expect anything mindshattering. Just expect an extra little thing at the end of an amazing ride. Also, to all those haters, would you rather sit on a brake run or have the shed, regardless of it met your expectations? Overall, 9.5 out of 10, possibly the best ride at KI (still have to mull it over), definitely the best woodie at KI. I can't wait to marathon this and Diamondback together over the summer. Two great airtime machines with different types of airtime (It seems like I got my wish for a coaster with some more ejector airtime!) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I somehow got in the wrong line and ended up at Mystic Timbers. Really wanted to ride Surf Dog but Mystic Timbers was amazing. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

I think if the park had not said a word about the shed and it was just a surprise for your first ride, I think people would LOVE it. However, since it was so central to the ride's marketing, many people will be understandably disappointed. Curb your expectations and you will enjoy the shed. Don't expect some groundbreaking thing that's going to put KI on the map. Just expect a fun little distraction from sitting on the brake run and you'll love it.

I don't need to explain Mystic Timbers to anyone here, we're KIC and I know we've all been excited for it. To be honest, when it was announced I wasn't expecting much from it. However, as the wood began to take over Rivertown and just the sheer scale of some of these things in relation to others became clear, I knew we had something special on our hands. As a massive fan of some of GCI's more violent creations such as Thunderhead and SFA's Roar, I could tell this had a shot at being my favorite. When it was announced that ACE was invited to Media Day, I knew I had to do it. The initial plan was to host and ride down with one of my ACE friends who was planning to travel in from the East Coast, but she had something come up. Luckily Kat, my region's ACE rep, lives only a few minutes from me so we were able to ride down together! At rope drop, we were walked back through the park, still dark and sleeping silently wrapped in the blanket of the offseason. As we neared Rivertown, the silence was interrupted by the soft sound a uniquely creepy soundtrack, the metallic clinking of GCI anti-rollbacks, and the most unsettling-sounding lift siren ever. We entered a queue line that snaked back through the woods surrounding Rivertown, past the smashed truck as its radio very audibly crackled emergency alerts for the area; something was on the loose. In the chilly air of the morning, we waited surrounded by logging equipment, faint white lighting, and security cameras on TVs giving us the play-by-play on the sketchy occurrences in the woods. After the wait, Kat and I were in the station (which has the tiniest platform ever by the way) and ready to go! The very first thing I noticed sitting down in Mystic Timbers's trains was that the padding was harder, it's the new stuff they have on Lightning Racer. Second off, the restraints are significantly tighter than any other GCI, but it is the only ride at Kings Island where only one click on the ratchet is required. I'm not even that big and I had to yank it down with a bit of gusto to get it to lock for me. But with that, we were on! The rev of a truck's engine filled the station as we rolled out to finally figure out what's in that shed! The slow crawl through the forest at night was the perfect way to set the stage for the moment of truth. Our train engaged the lift and began climbing up over the treetops as the lift announcement played, instructing us to turn our car around. As we neared the top of the lift, the train slowed to a crawl. "Whatever you do," the voice warned us, "don't! Go in! The shed!" The lift sired chimed out as we were dropped into the first turn, which was your pretty standard GCI first drop. And then into that first high turn over the lift, I noticed I was thrown out of my seat just as violently as Thunderhead as of 2014 was doing. And diving out of it, I noticed that the rest of the hops were practically on the ground. I knew from that exact "oh crap" moment that whatever was about to happen was to be absolutely insane. And my god it was! The main ride back by the train loop feels exactly like Voyage and Thunderhead had a baby! You get violently whipped around all over the place and irreverently kicked out of your seat for the entire ride as the train hops, skips, and jumps along the forest floor. Some nice laterals in the turnaround (this ride is seriously laterals done right, not like that garbage helix on Legend) and we were belligerently rampaging our way back to the midway, getting thrown every which way right on a collision course with that shed we were told to avoid so much. Finally, the ride itself finished off the experience by dropping us down to the water, kicking us a few more times, and then rising into the brake run with an ominous building with open barn doors like jaws loomed in front of us. "Stop," the loudspeaker ordered us, "do not go in the shed. Stop, do not go in the shed." The train crept forward as the warning garbled into static. Like others, I had formed a guess for the eternal question that the enthusiast community ran with: #whatsintheshed? It changed as the season went on but on media day eve, I posted it on my Facebook. My thoughts were that Oakley (the tree character from the logo that looks like Angry Orchard) would be projection mapped ripping the walls off the shed to attack the train and then trigger a giant loud saw blade prop to fall from the ceiling spinning, stopping only inches from the ride envelope and scaring the crap out of riders. As the train rolled into the shed, it sunk in exactly what was going on. I was strapped into a coaster train in an enclosed space in which it was understood something was about to happen. And I was completely at its mercy without even knowing what it was. My knuckles turned white around the restraint and I clenched my teeth in preparation for whatever was about to happen. Shot backwards, saw blade thrown inches from my head, anything. Now I won't reveal what happened publicly (if you've ridden it, please PM me for my opinion if you want it!) but all I will say is that it's a fun little twist to cap off a ride on the greatest coaster in Ohio. It's fun, it's quirky, it'll keep you coming back for more, but it isn't the selling point of the ride. Like the ride was marketed (and yes it was), the main focus is the coaster itself, not the little shed bonus at the end. And #whatsintheshed and "ride into the unknown" (on the billboard on the gate) have a whole different meaning to them now. All in all, Kings Island really outdid themselves with Mystic Timbers. This coaster is proof that records, gimmicks, or anything of that nature is needed for a ride to be world class. Mystic Timbers was marketed as a good ride with an interesting theme and fun bonus at the end and that's all it needed. The ride experience comes from the fact that this classic traditional wood ride system was applied with the use of CAD and FEA to create a modern mechanical marvel, the perfect coaster for a park that has a tradition of pushing the wooden coaster to its technological limits and finding new ways to use the system. This is the greatest coaster in the state of Ohio and the fourth best wooden coaster I've been on, above legendary world-class wooden coasters such as Boulder Dash and El Toro. It's really violent, it throws you around, the theme is great, and the location brings it all together to complete the package. Out of 253 different roller coasters, Mystic Timbers takes #9 as the highest ranking coaster in Ohio and the highest ranking GCI. Wanting something by which to remember my new favorite GCI (in addition to the tons of free stuff they gave us for media day) I headed over to the little four-way display they had set up. Talking to employees, Mystic Timbers didn't get a custom built gift shop like Banshee because Banshee's gets no business anymore, so they set up this little display down by the old Crypt building. This will allow you to purchase any Mystic Timbers swag your heart desires but if it puts Kings Island in the red, they can just get rid of it. But for right now, it's permanent. But I bought this shirt and it's awesome. The coaster has a Snapchat geofilter even! It looks awesome! Rivertown will never be the same! Later I met up with Scott Schaffer from Upstop Media who was there to film and his friends Andrew and Michelle for another ride! Scott's great and got me some lanyards to give my girlfriend for her lanyard collection, and he even showed me his gimble and other filming equipment! McCauley Caulkin and Donald Trump ride Mystic Timbers! It was this ride that I noticed that ACE had started the tradition of dancing in the shed! After that ride Kat and I headed out to lunch with Scott Short (the other ACE regional rep over Ohio) and Dave Lipnicky (ACE VP) and I headed home for some rest in between events. All of this was free with media day! This is all stuff I bought! I love the shirt! (Special thanks to my lighthouse bedspread for the cameo in the last two photos) After hanging out at home and freshening back up a bit, I headed back for the First Rider Auction! Traffic wasn't too bad but I got there ridiculously early, early enough to tailgate the parking gates a bit. But once we got in I got to start meeting up with people I hadn't seen all offseason and it was awesome! Jennifer (WailsLikeABanshee) had invited me to hang with her and her boyfriend for this event so I met up with them at Red's Hall of Fame Grille with dinner. After, we headed for Mystic Timbers for their first ride! I couldn't tell at first if she liked it because her first reaction was to ask for a glass of water, but she later admitted it was her new #1 so that's great! We spent most of the evening just power lapping the thing! Also got to meet up with Josh (Stashua123) and Melissa (Beastie1990)! All of us went for a ride after! Met up with them and a few others and we all had a nice convo about the ride outside the gift stand. KIC meetup! Sadly this pic didn't capture the moment when Melissa almost cracked my nose with her skull getting thrown into me (which was HILARIOUS) but we had a blast! After that the sun began to go down and the night rides were on! One more ride was all we needed and it was insane! Walking out was bittersweet. I was sad that the day was done, but extremely happy to have welcomed this new mechanical wonder to the world. I know it has the brightest future ever ahead of it so long as Kings Island maintains it as militantly as it deserves to be. I was already starting to hear the lovely screech of side friction wheels on the later rides, so I can tell it'll break in quickly and nicely. On the way, we passed Sweet Spot and spotted a kid with Josh's exact shirt color, glasses, and hair inside! Wanting to be jerks, Jennifer and I ran up and tapped on the glass only for a kid that wasn't Josh to look at us like we were crazy! And that laugh right there was the perfect way to close out the day. What an amazing day full of two amazing events! Thanks so much to everyone who gifted me with this opportunity! Thank you Kings Island and ACE for Media Day, thanks to the Dalton Foundation and my donors for making the First Rider Auction a reality for me! Thank you GCI and Kings Island for installing the newest generation of a timeless ride system in my backyard. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing coaster so close to home and that'll surely make life with my home park that much more special! And a special shoutout to my ACE friend Celia for trying to make it out here, I can't wait to get you on it! And a very special "haha you missed out!" to my girlfriend for not making the effort to get down here on the grounds of "the coaster looks lame."

International music returns to International Street! Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

While working at Emporium today, I noticed they were playing the Kings Dominion International Street soundtrack, among other tracks. It was also nice to hear Fanfare for The Common Man by Aaron Copland. Hopefully it lasts.

About time!

ITS ABOUT DANG TIME. The question is, did the service speed increase?

I hope I have the story 100 percent correct. The Miami River Lumber Company was opened in 1983. The lumber company was open for one day when everyone ran out of the sawmill (shed.) They wrecked the truck on the way and never came back. You are now exploring the site that was abandoned years ago and seeing what happened in the shed.

Fresh paint on Vortex station and all 3 trains. Really makes me excited do for how great it could look with a fresh coat on the ride itself... But thankful for the investment none the less. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is a much better atmosphere than yesterday lol Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Overall I would give the park a solid "A" for the day. I don't know that they expected the crowds to be as huge as it was/ We've been at Gold Pass night before and never have I seen it this crowded. For the first time in a long while, the staff seemed equal to the task. For a park that has shown themselves to be a quart low on customer service in years past... bravo! Walking up in the parking lot after 90 minutes navigating the drive in (we only live 15 minutes away) I noted that it seemed to be the same crap pop music roll in the parking lot. Immediately upon entering; the music befitting of an International street was noticed by our entire family. EXCELLENT move! Food lines were long, but seemed to move pretty well. The Mystic Timbers area looked amazing! Very well done! Only critique really... Upon leaving and strolling back through I-Street. I noticed that not only were the lights on the buildings not on, they appeared to be completely gone. Not awful; they were usually half lit anyway. But, the fountain lights weren't on and the buildings don't illuminate much (this was at 9:30p not 1a). The exit to the park really seems like it needs a lot more light. But other than that; KI has upgraded themselves across the board it seems.

Just got off Mystic Timbers lol it was great! Thanks to all the crew who stayed late and it still pushing people thru, you guys are awesome! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A couple of notes from my visit to the park tonight. International Street seems to be playing instrumental music again (no pop music), which even my wife commented on how it made the entrance seem grander. I rode The Beast shortly before 5pm, and only waited about twenty minutes for it. They have new signs at the top of the two lifts that have the Beast paws on top of them. My wife noticed it first when we were in the station waiting for our ride in 6-2 and she asked me what was ontop of the lift hill signs (from the station, they looked like owls). As others have mentioned, Dodgems has new LED lights. Oddly, we got walk on rides on Vortex, and Windseeker, and a ten minute wait for Firehawk. Also, there are now queue lines for Chik Fil A and the Skyline in Coney Mall. Overall, it was great to be back in the park, and the food stands seemed to be handling the crows the best they could, given the large crowds.

Hi all! It was good seeing some of you at the media event yesterday - King's Island is really to be congratulated and thanked for a terrific event. I'll share my thoughts on MT - and will take off my rose colored Kings Island glasses to do so. Going in, I was less interested in "What's in the shed" than I was the ride leading up to it. I had hoped for a mid-sized woodie that would prove not only popular, but re-rideable. Personally, I look for certain things - air, continual speed and pacing, surprises, and comfort. I was ecstatic when MT delivered all those things. Air - it's a air-time machine. There's pop after pop after pop. I'm a back-seat rider 75% of the time on woodies - MT changed all that. It is definitely a front seat ride, and I couldn't get enough of it. Continual speed and pacing - A lot of coasters seem to reach the final breaks gasping for air, having petered out. Not MT. From the time you drop off the lift until you reach the shed, it retains it's pace: fast, fun, and thrilling. Surprises - I wasn't expecting the directional changes to be as fun as the were. Specifically - the two directional turns just before the mid-course tunnel were great! Comfort - the older I get, the less I want to feel bruised and battered, or sore. I literally woke up today expecting to have a coaster-hang-over. Instead, I woke up wishing I could go right back to the park for more. That says a great deal about the trains, track engineering and quality of the ride. Frankly, MT is the best wooden coaster in the park. It doesn't hold the legendary status of Racer or Beast, of course, but it's a coaster that people will flock to - not once-not twice - but over and over again. Its as though you took the best qualities from wooden coasters you love, and combined them. There's a vibe of Holiday World's woodies - specifically The Raven - but without the bone-jarring roughness. Finally, while I'll not speak specifically of "What's in the Shed"... I can say I wasn't disappointed - but only because I hadn't hyped it in my head. It was exactly what I had assumed it would be. Actually, I was a bit charmed by it more than I thought. Without spoiling it, I LOVE throwbacks, references and hidden nuggets in attractions. The things you see in the shed are, essentially, Kings Islands version of "Hidden Mickeys." And as someone else said, would you rather sit on a boring break run in the blazing sun, or have something fun to entertain you?

Wild! I had so much fun today on my dozen or so rides I managed between Media Day and First Riders. There is a fairly significant difference, IMO, depending on which side of the train I ride, even more than I noticed between front of the train or back. The left side doesn't throw you out of your seat as much as the right. It's still fun, but it offers a tamer more relaxing ride for anyone looking for that. I'm not going to discuss in detail the actual contents of the shed, but just in case someone really wants to go in clean I am going to use spoiler tags. This ride is just gorgeous from all angles, whether riding it or observing. There are some amazing areas where the ride interacts with the WWC queue area (it almost feels like you could shake hands with a rider from the bridge just before the turntable), and there are so many picturesque spots to watch or photograph from. Even without the train or WWC running while I rode, there was so much to look at in the surrounding areas while on the ride. It will be absolutely amazing when all three are going at once: the interactions are going to add such excitement. I can't say that I prefer either a daytime or nighttime ride. During the night, there is that excitement of wildly and blindly racing through the dark woods, but during the day one gets a still wild ride and the bonus of being able to see this beauty! To sum up, I didn't even begin to get my fill of this coaster yet, and I am looking forward with great interest to getting to know it even better as this season goes on. Each ride just makes me want another.