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And maybe if we're lucky, to replace the remaining areas of asphalt inside the park.

Well, "Dance at the mascaber" isn't a scare zone. They do however have one called Dance of the Macabre. It's meant to be more of a photo op for park guests than the typical scare zone. Don is in the Communications/Digital Marketing department. If you can't gather from the name, he doesn't make the mazes or decides if they're closed or not. Speaking of "waste", this post was an absolute waste of my time. Do some research and some spell check next time.

Thank u! Mama n tha bois lyk 2 c grate revoos lyk this 1! -Sam When it rains, the outdoor scare zones close and the scareactors are put inside the indoor houses. To review these as you did is not fair because you didn't get the full experience... all you saw were the props. And Don does not run the park, nor does he oversee the haunt attractions, as JubJester pointed out above. To call him out for a closed outdoor attraction on a rainy night is not an accurate or polite thing to do.

Dude did you run out of coffee today? I can’t recall ever seeing you so cranky. Be nice to the noobs, even if they deserve it.

If he had his way, we’ll get this, and trash cans for number 4 recyclables.

Hello KIC members. We are happy to announce that Kings Island has greenlighted our project "Kings Island: 50 Years of Memories". We know many of you are thinking right now "Wait, Kings Island hasn't been open for 50 years?" and you are correct. In order for our project to be completed in time for the premiere in the Spring of 2022, we must get things started. Making a film can be a long tedious process. The distinction of our documentary is the backdrop will comprise of home movies provided by past employees, industry leaders, and park guests. Many of these old clips are 8mm and Super 8 film that will be restored to the highest quality possible and upscaled to current standards. This type of restoration is a long and detailed process as we go frame by frame. Kings Island is very excited about this project just as we are. We hope you will share this information with friends and family who grew up going to Kings Island. Click here to submit your home movies or photographs of Kings Island KI50Movie Facebook Page Make sure to follow our hashtag #KI50movie We will leave you with this quick presentation/teaser trailer we put together. We hope you enjoy it! https://youtu.be/bLvZEc8cxNY ***UPDATE 11/22/18 Just wanted to provide an update on the project. The film is now listed on IMDB along with the poster for the film. Click Here Our diverse team has grown to 17 wonderful and talented people. Our website is currently being built and should be up soon. www.KI50MOVIE.com We are currently working on multiple pre-production chores and finalizing our fundraising campaign. Look and listen for us on tri-state radio and television programs promoting the project over the winter. We are still in need of home movies and photos from over the years. (You must be the owner or have the rights to any submissions. Please do not submit photos or video you found on the internet) We will be announcing an open call for former employees of Kings Island in hope to start filming interviews during the summer of 2019 and 2020. (Unfortunately, current employees of Cedar Fair will not be able to be interviewed) We updated the project logo....Look at the beginning of the post

Hi folks, So, eleven years ago, I was a lot more active in this website. Not just the forums, but its production, content, etc. as well. Helping out with that shaped a lot of what I studied in school and what I do now. Love that this site still has an active, great community. Made a lot of good friends from here, have met a lot of great people over the years. Back in 2007, myself and some of KIC's staff had the chance to visit Americana/LeSourdsville Lake five years after its last season. We documented the closed park and what might become of it. That story launched my website: http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2007/10/lesourdsville-lakeamericana-revisited_29.html Since then, I've had the chance to photograph a few other abandoned amusement parks (among a lot of other subjects). With the demolition of Americana/LeSourdsville almost complete, I decided to go back. My buddy Scott helped out with his drone. Thought some of you might enjoy the video, photos, and history. Ryan, Dane, Gabe, Robbie (and yes, even you Bill (but not you Dan*): hope you're all doing well. Here's the story: The End of LeSourdsville Lake/Americana *Just kidding, Dan.

I am sure the park will be holding onto the pavers that were removed. Both for when they are wrapping up the project in the spring to fill in any that were damaged, and to have stock to replace any that are damaged in future years down the road.

I see the mother in law's tongue plant there. I'm guessing it was the same one that was in Tower Gardens this summer beside the chair with the barrel. With everything else that has been said, I can now say that the 2020 B&M GiGa will be called Mother of Beast and will feature a barrel roll. #breakingnews #motherofbeast

I can’t speak for everyone, but it’s my favorite time of year at the park now.

After managing to actually catch up on my homework as well as attempt to conquer a Physics exam, I definitely felt ready to go to Haunt for the evening! Usually I go by myself, but this time was an exception as one of my school friends joined me for this trip. Needless to say, both of us were excited! We were originally planning to arrive at the park at 6, but we didn't arrive until 7 due to traffic. I did hear that President Trump was in the area, and that happened to be true in Lebanon when I (attempted) to head south on State Route 48 after turning off of U.S. 42. I didn't get too far before having to turn around, so I had to figure out an alternate route on the spot, using my fairly sharp sense of direction and my friend's phone's GPS to find a way around the road closure and reach 48 via another intersection farther south. Even though it took time away that we could have otherwise spent at Kings Island, we got to explore Lebanon a little, and it made the moment that much sweeter when we finally reached Kings Island. There was some traffic on 71 (since it was rush hour) but as usual, it moved quickly. Now I know that I should never take for granted the low traffic and lack of lane/road closures I face on 99% of my 45-minute, Kings-Island-bound trips. Upon arriving, I noticed long lines to enter the parking lot from both directions on Kings Island Drive. Fortunately, the associate parking lot had no wait. #perksofworkingatKI I wondered if we should invest in Fast Lane to make up for the lost time (there was even a line at the Fast Lane stand when we entered the park) but I decided to see how the ride lines were first, as we came for the rides and didn't care about doing any Haunts. Since it was cold and rainy, I hoped that the lines for the rides would remain short while most flocked to the Haunt attractions. I instead chose to spend my money on riding Xtreme Skyflyer, since both of us wanted to ride it (and I wanted a night rain ride on it for the experience!). The rate was only $10, but with my Platinum Pass discount it was only $9 each for the two of us! We got suited up for our dark, rainy, and COLD flight. After rising above the fog and watching the park shrink below us, we heard "3, 2, 1, Fly!" after which I pulled the ripcord and we free-fell for a solid 2-3 seconds before our harnesses caught us and we flew back and forth over Action Zone! It was still as fun as I remember from my two rides back in August! Even though riding Skyflyer first was my decision, I still thought we were crazy for making Kings Island's scariest ride (in my opinion) our first ride of the evening. I don't regret it though! While at Skyflyer, we saw that Drop Tower had no line! The Bat was next though since we were right by the entrance. Passing the long lines for Blackout and Wolf Pack, we made the scenic journey to The Bat's station, where we waited only one cycle to board. I say "cycle" because only one train was running (which I guess has to do with the rain, much like how a certain other Arrow runs 2 of its 3 trains in the rain). We rode in 4-2 because a group wanted us to go in front of them in line. For the record, it was my first time riding The Bat with one train operation. And of course it was great! The dark and the rain made the ride feel much faster than 51 mph. And like Skyflyer (and any ride we rode that night), it was COLD. Next we joined Drop Tower's nonexistent line, and we rode in seats 24 and 25. It had been a while since my last night ride on Drop Tower, so I was excited for this (and so was my friend, as she LOVES thrill rides like I do). Since it was raining, I got to feel the rain go "up" as we dropped (since we fell faster than the rain) much like on August 18, 2016, when I rode Drop Tower in a downpour! From Drop Tower, we saw Invertigo's short line so we decided to ride it next. The line looked like roughly a two cycle wait, but the separator was seeking out groups of two to fill in the few remaining empty rows. We were a group of two, so we got to get on the next cycle! We were sent to one of the end rows (which are my favorite seats!) and we rode on the backwards-first end on what I would say is Kings Island's most intense coaster! We had fun on another one of my favorite rides at Kings Island! After getting off Invertigo, I noticed it was already after 8:00. We decided to head into Coney Mall Maul. I knew Coney Maul was a scare zone so I kept my eye out for scareactors, of which I saw a good number of them scaring fellow guests (and me on one occasion ). I loved the atmosphere of Coney Maul and how it used the already present "classic midway" theme of Coney Mall to portray a haunted carnival of sorts. While we didn't get around to Pumpkin Eater, I have heard good things about it so I will make sure I can see it at some point between now and Closing Day! We approached X-Base to see if Firehawk was open...and it wasn't. My friend has never ridden Firehawk, so we hoped to ride it at some point since it would (attempt to) operate for only three more weekends including now. We decided to ride Vortex and then check back at Firehawk later. Vortex happened to be down as well, but it didn't look like it had been down for long and had actually started cycling as we approached. The line was still closed though, so we waited outside the entrance with a few people in front of us who ended up leaving after a minute, so we were the first ones in line. Other guests, upon seeing the ride cycling but still closed, either waited with us or walked away. Knowing Vortex, I knew that cycling trains makes an excellent indication of how soon it will go back up, especially since I saw the trains cycle with a few riders on board (the guests who had stayed in line for the time it was down). A few minutes passed before my fellow associate opened the line, and we went in. As I guessed, Vortex was running two trains because of the prevalent showers. Train 2 was on the transfer track while 1 and 3 were running. Since we were first in line, we of course took the opportunity to walk on to the front row. Train 3 waited in the station as we arrived. Now we already knew that riding in the rain on a cold night such as this would already make for a crazy experience like we had on Skyflyer, The Bat, Drop Tower, and Invertigo. But little did we know that Vortex would more than willingly kick it up a notch or even two. I already knew we were in for yet another crazy ride when we rolled out into the rain. The view was excellent as always for the 56 second ascent up the lift, after which we proceeded to get blasted in the face with cold rain and wind for the next two minutes! And let me tell you (and don't ignore this just because I'm a huge Vortex fan...I promise I am not sugarcoating! Please hear me out! ), the ride was absolutely HAULING. Not only was the train running quite smoothly (Seriously, it was pretty smooth! Fellow KICers who rode it last night: would you agree?) other than the snappy transitions of course, but it was FLYING through the elements and would not let up until reaching the brakes! It was absolutely crazy, especially since the temperature was only in the mid- to high-40's!! And also, on a side note, my Toothless hat I was wearing was spared, as it did not fly off; thank goodness. After that epic, wet, and COLD ride, we headed back to Firehawk. Surprise surprise, it was still closed. Either it had not reopened since the first time we checked, or it had gone back up only to go back down a short time after (we were not at Vortex for too long, 5-10 minutes tops). Flight of Fear was right next door but it had a big line... ...so we headed right back to Vortex and rode it a second time! This time we rode in the back for what would be our craziest ride yet. We thought our front seat adventure was crazy enough, but add in all the airtime and intensity of a back-seat Vortex ride...and that was just what we got! Another HAULING night ride complete with a 55 mph, 40 degree blast of wind and rain as Train 1 pulled us over each hill and through each inversion! It literally left me speechless as we disembarked; I was thinking, "WOW...what just happened? That was totally wicked!!" I think it's safe for me to say that aside from my downpour ride on June 12, that was the craziest ride I have ever experienced on Vortex to date! It was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! Both of us could hardly feel our faces after the ride, but we had SOOOO much fun. Back to Firehawk, for the third time...only this time it was OPEN! I got a locker for the few loose articles we had with us, and we got in line. However, the third time would not be a charm for long as it went down AGAIN...and we were only two trains away. Firehawk was actually running only one train (the red train) but at least the line was short. It was just before 9:30, and we had to leave the park by 10 since my dad wanted us back at my house by 11. I suggested riding Vortex a third time, but we were still recuperating from the crazy experience that was our previous ride, so we decided to stay and see if Firehawk would go back up before we had to leave. It started cycling at roughly 9:45, but had not reopened by 9:55 when we left the line, so we ended the night with our failed attempt to ride Firehawk. On our way out (after grabbing our stuff from my $2 locker), we decided that Friday the 26th would make a good backup date, and that hopefully we can go again then so my friend would have one last chance to ride Firehawk. We also wanted to ride WindSeeker, but it was down until it went up RIGHT AS WE WERE LEAVING. As for Vortex, it stayed up for the rest of the time we were there after its brief downtime just before our first ride. We got a total of six rides in the three hours we were there (we took our time ) so even though we didn't do EVERYTHING we wanted *cough*Firehawk*cough* we still had a blast! Quality over quantity! We loved the idea of getting a ride on The Beast (especially since Vortex was quite epic) but like Flight of Fear, it had a pretty long line, and we didn't get to Rivertown since we spent our time in Action Zone and Coney Maul. But hopefully we can come back together on the 26th and fix that (especially if it rains again ). It definitely was AMAZING in here at Kings Island, and we're glad most of the ride lines were short! I always underestimate how much I enjoy Haunt season, even though the fall season is my favorite part of the season! Getting the occasional fog cloud in the face, walking under the numerous spotlights and the other ambient elements, listening to the area-specific music (which of course fits extremely well), and watching my back for any scareactors in the vicinity nicely contributed to our experience. We'll be back! Fingers crossed that my friend can finally ride Firehawk on the 26th! My next time there will be next Friday night when I'll visit with another friend (who has gone with me before, in 2010 and 2013)! (and you may notice, I don't have any photos for this trip, other than one dark Firehawk photo I took while waiting in line. I forgot to charge the battery for my digital camera, and I didn't want to expose my phone to the rain for too long. ) +Xtreme Skyflyer: 1 YTD: 3 Total: 3 +The Bat: 1 YTD: 7 Total: 107 +Drop Tower: 1 YTD: 2 Total: 36 +Invertigo: 1 YTD: 7 Total: 31 +Vortex: 2 YTD: 154 1/3 Total: 647 1/3 +Firehawk: 0 YTD: 4 Total: 21

They could still be trying to select a contractor, etc. If it is like the old Antique cars, all they will have is a load station which is nothing more than a covered porch. The old ones also had a bridge. Beyond that, the actual track is nothing more than a concrete slab on grade. Not much to any of the above buildings. Keep in mind that we are about six months out from opening day in 2019. Still lots of time to get stuff done. Now if they wait until the spring to start pouring stuff, we maybe talking about a May opening versus opening with the park. I doubt that they will do that though.

I had a blast last night at Haunt! I saw Sam 4 times, went through Chaos 3 times (the first of which resulting in me making it out the correct exit alone as everyone else got lost and exited the maze incorrectly) and got lots of pictures with my Haunt friends. I also managed to do Field of Screams (which I usually avoid because of the massive line) as it was only a 15 minute wait. It was pretty cool, but I still enjoy Chaos and Slaughterhouse more. EDIT: Oh yeah, there's also a pop-up T-Mobile stand in Action Zone where you can win a Front of the Line pass; not sure if it's good for a Haunt maze or a ride, though...

I have a random question that I was thinking of. I love my Vortex. And I mean LOVE it. I've ridden over 50 coasters, and it's my #1 overall, wood or steel. But a lot of my friends don't like riding it because they think it's rough (and refuse to believe that 5-1 alleviates any issues). Despite my love for all things Arrow, I See der Point, and was wondering if this is a problem that can be solved and bring new life to the ride. I think the new Vekoma trains (as seen on the Carolina Cobra) could solve this. The problems people cite always seem to be restraint-related. Having ridden the Carolina Cobra, I gotta say, those trains make a boomerang glass smooth, which is quite a feat. I know the trains are compatible, as the Carolina Cobra originally operated at Geauga Lake with trains identical to those seen today on Vortex and many other Arrow Loopers. So basically, I want to know how you all feel about this, or about the idea of retrofitting rides with a new train style. It was done on Steel Dragon 2000, the Carolina Cobra, and probably many others. Why Not Vortex? For those unfamiliar with these trains, they can be seen in action here: *Photo originates from Theme Park Review

Earlier I made a post that wasn't very good and stated some incorrect things. I have recognized mistakes that I have made and corrected the post. I want to say thanks to you all that posted something that pointed out something wrong I did. I am sorry, those of you in which I offended. I am here to discuss the passion that we all have for this wonderful place. I am open to any questions you all would like answered. Thanks

The MT webcam tonight showed the Christmas lights being tested on the whitewater canyon covered arbor that is used as the train entrance during Winterfest - more progress in stringing the millions of lights

I rode The Voyage back on Labor Day weekend this year, and it was incredibly rough. Maybe it was because it was so hot when I visited, but it was a one and done for me. It is a fun park to visit, but they haven`t really added anything of late that will cause me to want to visit. Granted, I will take my son when is older and tall enough to ride their rides. Thunderbird is still an amazing coaster.

They replaced about 400ft of track last year. It was the full structure too, not just the top layer.

I wonder what “track improvements.”

I don't want KI to get the hive dive. I want their giga to have its own signature element like Leviathan's speed hill and Fury's Hive Dive (Treble Clef).

Would've. Heh, just being pedantic

@JubJester is being really cranky about grammar today so we are just trying to get you to correct your mistake before he shows up and chews you out.

Good gawd, people! The food was always really good. Can we just accept that???

Haha! I'm not to big of a coffee drinker, but maybe I should try it ! I'll blame my crankiness on it being an early Monday. The huge lack of spelling and common sense (it's raining, of course theyre weren't scareactors) was frustrating.

No, it will stay on the South side of The Racer.

If that's what you meant, I think you meant "wasn't" instead of "was" or "always" instead of "never".

The marketing campaign for this new season of Doctor Who is extremely edgy. Glad you had a good time!

I was there. Managed to get through all the mazes and scare zones except for one. Actually a good night

Here are my thoughts on haunt this year WARNING possible spoilers. This was also my first time through a couple of the haunted houses and scare zones. i managed to get through all of the houses and outdoor mazes expept for Backwoods Buyou because it was closed. 1. Slaughterhouse This one Is my favorite of any at the park. This house combined sensory and pop scares very well, pretty gory too, this one became very overwhelming to my senses, but over all I liked it a lot. Bonus to see the furnace from phantom theater. 2. Killmart This house is the most realistic to me. Lots of actors running around. And it feels like your inside an actual department store when the world has experienced a fallout. Lots of unexpected scares. Btw what in the world is a 50's car doing in the middle of a modern department store. 3. Blackout This house blew me away with some of the effects! I expected it to be way different going in but still liked it coming out. I saw two scare actors and one guy directing us in the right detection. I think a cool thing they could do with this one would be a scareactor getting lit up by strobe lights right as they jump at you. 4. Field of Screams Very neat outdoor maze. This maze had lots of scare actors that blended in very well and scared me. This maze had a very long wait. Probably 15 minutes. Still very neat and very cool. 5 Madam Fatals Cavern of Terror This maze was very dark this time around. The workers gave us flashlight so we could see where we where going. This did end up making for a very cool experience in the end. It's always neat to walk through the old Tomb Raider building though. 6 Chaos Kings Islands all new new for 2018 haunted house. The best word to describe this house was dillusional. This house had all the newest effects and it even had a spinning tunnel. Half of this maze was a mirror maze though. If they had put more than one actor in this part of the maze it would have been very scary and cool. Overall this maze just messes with your senses, very neat idea. 7 Urgent scare This particular haunted house was my very first every haunted house. I was barley old enough to know what the heck was going on so I just ended up looking down most of the time. Because of this I barely remeber any thing about it besides on pop scare where a lady popped out from behind a curtain and said "HAVE YOU SEEN THE DOCTOR" and for whatever reason it's engraved in my mind. That being said this house in pretty cool. Some neat props and good actors made this maze very cool. It's defiantly one of the longest houses in the park. I really ended up liking this one. 8 wolf pack My best tought for this is "eh". There is no real story that this maze tells. It's just people in a cabin in the woods that gets mauled by crazy wolf like creatures and your just right there in middle of it. The end was pretty cool with the giant wolf head being controlled by a guy that was in costume. Overall this one had the longest wait though, field of screams came in a close second. SCARE ZONES I think it's worth mentioning that this was a very rainy and windy night. For all except for one time we walked through one of the scare zones there where no actors, they where probably all in the houses. 1 Pumkin Eater. Cool effects and props and some creepy audio. I think the scare zone will be neat when I experience it with scare actors. 2 Coney Maul The play on words that is it's name was the coolest thing about the scare zone. There where fog bubble that where cool. I'll have to come back on a night with no rain to really experience it. 3 Wasteland It was closed. I went through this last year and it was nothing special. Even with actors it was boring at best. 4 Dance of the Macabre . Not a scare zone. More of a picture zone. Last year when I walked around one actor got me by sneaking up behind me and screaming loud in my ear. Overall this is a very neat experience. The rain drove the crowds away and the lines where short. We got into Blackout in under 5 minutes witch is neat because the line is long most of the time. We waited about 20 min for Wolfpack and about 15 for Feild of screams. Other than that we got into all of the houses in under 10 min. This was defiantly a fun night! I do apologize for calling out and blaming Don Helbig for something that wasn't his fault. This is my bad This is the corrected version.

That is correct.

This is Cincinnati- nothing is guaranteed as the weather goes. We dropped 50 degrees in a week. They wait too long and they will be waiting for spring and opening in May. With a month of concrete cure time, someone has to be doing the math. It’s not a purely simple project. The rail still has to be anchored to the concrete and they will need a garage and fueling area. Depending upon the fuel tank, above vs below ground, they are subject to all Ohio Fire Code/BUSTRs regulations. It’s not a coaster project, but it’s not something minor either.

The smoked turkey was back this weekend. Had a different bark on it but man was it good. Today they had the corn pudding at Coney. Again, excellent. Thanks @Magenta Lizard for pointing it out.

New construction photos. Looks like we might be ready for the path to be laid.

Wow, this conversation makes me extremely glad I'm no longer in the Apple Universe. Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Polls are generally not a good indicator when they can be loaded with multiple votes or swayed in a particular direction.

I hope it’s not a separate charge event. But I would go anyway. Fireworks at midnight anyone? i hope it’s like a Times Square party throughout the park.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens. Winterfest was mind blowing and amazing last year and I expect no less this year. The NYE thing sounds very exciting and I can’t wait to hear more details!

It was actually Simon Kenton at the time

It looks like you are off to a great start with your teaser video Brian! I can not wait to see the final product. Best of luck with your project and keep us updated along the way.

Hmmmm...didn't Coney Island have a "Land of Oz" theme back in the day? Nod to the past, hint for the future, or just a random happenstance?

I think once the area is cleared and opened up there will be more space that you think.

I wish we had a Gerstlauer coaster just so we could have this epic light show during haunt and winterfest

X-Base is disqualified for lack of restrooms. Duh.

Rivertown - DB, Beast, and MT. Need I say more?

People on other fan sites moan about Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom losing their Sky Rides. And when the parks had their Sky Rides, people complained that they allowed views of the rooftops and ruined the "magic!" In other words, there's always something to complain about if you choose to look hard enough.