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Here's some good news! Shanghai Disney is reopening May 11th! https://wdwnt.com/2020/05/confirmed-shanghai-disneyland-opens-may-11th-with-reservation-only-limited-attendance-and-temperature-screening-chapek-states-other-disney-parks-will-follow-same-protocol-when-reopening/

In my opinion, you've already been clear in the fact that you've heard of a concept but don't have physical proof. You're not misleading people by creating a rendering and passing it off as the actual unbuilt ride. I'm interested in hearing what the coaster is. Also does anyone remember that Paramount survey years ago that included the pixelated concept art for the Mrs. Puff's Boating School and the Addams Family Reunion Coaster? I would have loved to have seen either of those built, but I don't think their theming would have held up... especially after the IPs would have likely been removed.

You make a fair point. I don't talk about the economic side much, but that doesn't mean I don't care about it. And one of the biggest reasons I don't is it because it is hard for me to convey my thoughts on the subject. I can't help but wonder if perhaps there could've been measures put in place to protect our citizens' health and our economy. But I have no answers in that regard and speculating on it probably won't help now at this stage.

Sorry was not trying to be a buzzkill. I am sure we will see something as soon as they can get back into the park.

I doubt we see any updates until they can get back into the park to get footage.

It’s been a quiet last couple weeks. Here’s to hoping we get some pics with green grass, or maybe even a POV soon.

Stay tuned. @teenageninja and I have something in the works along the lines of “alternate history.”

In my experience, rumor mills often have a bit of truth in them. It is human nature to want to share "confidential" or juicy information. Obviously you have to take into account the source of said information, but in an organization, official communication focuses on messages the company wants to deliver and at a time management feels is right. The reason the rumor mill plays such an important role is that it delivers the information employees care about, provides the details employees want to know, and is delivered at the time employees are interested. Further, it is amazing how many times an employee hears of an upcoming or pending change at their work from a guest or customer before they themselves are told of it officially through their work...how does that stuff get out...I can assure you there are members of this forum that found something out about a change coming to KI and shared the rumor with an employee before the employee heard about it from KI... The key is to decipher and figure out who is saying it and their intent. Is it someone saying something (even maybe made up) because they are seeking their 15 minutes of fame and wants to be the first to mention it...or is it a legitimate source simply wanting to share their knowledge...once that is figured out, one can determine how much credibility to put into the statement...

My vote counts for nothing, but I'd love to hear it and given your collection/body of work/reputation—I'd say it's most definitely worth hearing. Speaking as a published author, former/pseudo-active journalist, and given our mutual friends, I'd trust you. Especially since you're framing it as something you heard.

I know of another proposed coaster from the Paramount Days that never made it past the concept/rendering phase. I never saw blueprints, never heard any official stats, never saw concept art... but I know for a fact it was an idea in the works. But since I don't have anything to prove it, does that mean the standards here dictate it cannot be discussed? Now - don't read that facetiously - its a serious question.

This is how some people look with the way they talk about the mere suggestion of being asked to wear a mask for the benefit of others: I can't believe Cedar Point makes me wear a strap on my glasses to ride their roller coasters. If that's going to be the policy, they should provide them for free. Under the ADA they can't make arbitrary rules that uniquely affect me and my disability. It's my constitutional right as an American to ride any roller coaster I want without a glasses strap and I don't care if they could fly off and kill someone. The bin of broken glasses and phones in the lines is just fake news. Glasses straps don't do anything because my glasses are great and don't come off. And anyway, if other people don't want to have my glasses hit their face at 120 MPH, they just shouldn't go out to a theme park.

well it is early may rn, so anytime soon they’ll probably be getting back into the parks to prepare for opening... plz all we want is hope rn, no buzzkills plz...

i sure hope so, quarantine is driving me insane...

If I recall, the artwork kept the flying saucer as like a "cool, random, what, woah" thing.

I wasn't questioning whether it was real or not - both the Addams Family and the Boating School were real concepts and had real concept art attached to them. They were both included in surveys Paramount publicly sent out in the early 2000s, and I know I've seen the super pixelated pieces of art floating around online before. Here's a forum discussing one of the surveys, from 16 years ago: https://coasterbuzz.com/Forums/Topic/new-paramount-parks-ride-survey. It includes the boating school (I guess it was officially titled SpongeBob Squarepants: Crash Course Boating School) and a few other ideas, like Mission: Impossible and Soundwave (which rumor was would be a retheme of Flight of Fear). Unfortunately none of the artwork was posted in that topic, but there's some descriptions and opinions of the concepts in the comments.

The licensing issue, as I understand, was that Charles Addams widow (Marilyn Matthews Miller) obtained the rights after his death. She held the copyright tightly, and passed away in 2002 leaving it in limbo. The Addams Family Coaster concept has been posted about a number of times on this board. The concept was based on using a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter coaster in a dark ride format - complete with a mansion facade and show building behind. Separately from that fact, the rumor has always been that when Paramount passed, the concept was - in part - reused by Gerstlauer at Dollywood for Mystery Mine. Over time I've heard people (outside KI) say the coaster was plotted for Coney Mall, or Rivertown etc etc etc. But I understood it never made it that far enough in planning to be specc'd for the park. The coaster was to be heavily themed - and the "story" was based on an Uncle Fester experiment gone wrong.

Well, my saying that was not meant as a "tease" of information. Rather, I was seriously asking a question because - IMO - the direction (and tone) of this board seems to have changed in recent months. Traditionally, KIC forums have always been an open forum of collective ideas, experiences, varied knowledge levels and ideas. That's what made it fun to post and read. If that's no longer the case - I'd like to know.

@Joshua , maybe the words victim blaming were a poor choice. You said that choices people make determine their fate, which I agree with, to an extent. But the scenarios I mentioned are all real and are all tragic. My interpretation of your posts (and many others on and off KIC) is that all the things that kill us are playing second fiddle to covid 19, when in fact, they kill many more. If all the attention was focused on any one of these issues in a non pandemic time, like covid is now, the problem would be solved. Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

If it would have turned out anything like Twister at Knoebels, which is a glorious lateral machine, then I'd be a-okay with it. Most CCI's are heavy in laterals as well. I wonder if it would have been RMCed or not considering KI is probably the best at taking care of wooden coasters in the entire CF chain. Depends on how big it would have been, too. If we're going by the John Allen line of thought concerning height, anything below 120 ft might have lasted a while.

You darn well do if your life---and perhaps your wife and kids---are depending on you to run back into that burning building! Not everyone can just sit back and say, "well, at least I'm alive today". I think most people posting here are in relatively good shape. How would you feel being in one of these 10,000 cars showing up at dawn in San Antonio...just so you can eat today?

In recent weeks, we've noticed that the tone on the forum has taken a sharply critical turn, and we'd like to ask for everyone's help in fixing it. KIC is all about sharing our appreciation for the park and the industry, and we want to keep the discussion as open to as many opinions as possible. At the same time, snarky comments make the forum less fun to read and contribute to. It's getting old, and we need it to stop. Specifically, we're asking that critical comments be respectful; sarcasm and exaggeration should be avoided. Ideally, tell the park how they should improve; Kings Island is always looking for feedback here and on social media. Honest opinions and experiences, both positive and negative, are always welcome to be shared here. If you see posts that are creating an overly negative tone, reminding the poster to keep it constructive and/or using the "Report" button would be most appreciated. Thanks everyone for your attention to this matter. -Your KIC mods

The problem is I haven't found any evidence to suggest Paramount ever held the rights to produce their own version of Godzilla, which leads me to believe they attempted to get licensing rights only for the ride itself. If they intended to use the likeness of a pre-existing Godzilla, this is what they would have to do. (They never created their own version of the character, so they would've had to use somebody else's, which would account for why it was so expense.) Note that this doesn't negate your original point about Paramount licensing their IP out to their subsidiaries. It just means this instance was even more costly -- and ultimately futile -- because they would've gone through an additional company (or two, if they were trying to use Sony's). 20th Century Fox Television obtained the rights to produce it in the 1960s, well before WB acquired DC. Because of this, the home video release was stuck in limbo for a really long time and it wasn't until a few years ago that it was finally allowed to happen.

Some of you need to just put on a full-blown bodysuit to ride a coaster, if that's what floats your boat. At a certain point it's no longer about us, it's about you. Do we all need bodysuits to make you happy? Is that next?

I always thought it was interesting that Indiana Jones attractions could be found at Disney properties, meanwhile at Paramount's Kings Island—there were posters, one prop on display, and Adventure Express was Indiana Jones solely by association/it happened to have the theme playing in the queue (and that scam predated Paramount's ownership).

I've been keeping an eye on the Diamondback "splashdown" for signs of being filled.

AMEN! That coaster was insanely awesome. EXTREMELY fun ejector air. I rate it up there with Phoenix at Knoebels as best airtime I've ever gotten on a wooden coaster. Heck - the last seat of the train had a high back to prevent people from flying out the back of the car. I am so glad I got to ride Screechin Eagle many times. There will never, ever, be another coaster built like it - with that kind of out of your seat euphoria. I will always miss it.

I think things would have been better for Paramount Parks had Viacom not purchased the studio and its assets. There might've been a heavier push on rides based on movies with genuine theming, more along the lines of Top Gun as opposed to Face/Off and Drop Zone, which were merely name-drops with nothing in the way of theming. Granted, compared to Universal and Disney, Paramount didn't have as many ride-worthy IPs in the 90s. At the time, they were known for their adult thrillers and Lorne Michaels-produced comedies such as Wayne's World, Tommy Boy, and Coneheads. Apart from Star Trek and Mission: Impossible, the only major IP I can think of that maybe, and I mean maybe, could've made a ride was the Jack Ryan series (The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, etc.). The Saint too, but that's probably a stretch. Today they would have had Transformers, G.I. Joe, Ninja Turtles, The Terminator, Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity, Interstellar, and Sonic the Hedgehog.

The Addams Family Coaster is one of the great "What Ifs" to me. I love the franchise, I love "creepy! kooky! spooky!" theming, and I think a coaster that embodied all of the above would've spectacular (or as the great Vincent Prince would have said, "spooktacular"). I've also never understood why they didn't try to theme anything to Mission: Impossible. I know the first movie was criticized as being too hard to follow (which I don't get as it was fairly straightforward and is still one of my favorites in the series), but it was also the third highest grossing movie of 1996. Additionally, Mission: Impossible II was the second highest grossing movie of 2000. Star Trek was also at a highpoint at the time, with the release of First Contact and the popularity of DS9 and Voyager. It's a shame there wasn't more done with that in the majority of the parks.

I was personally told about the Addams concept in mid-January 2003 when I was at KI and toured Delirium and SDATHC while under construction. I photo documented the day, but was asked to not take pictures while in the Admin Offices... lets just say I learned, and saw a lot with my own two eyes.

It was at some point between 2003 and 2006. Craig Ross was general manager at Kings Island, but it was after the time Anthony Esparza left his position at Paramount Parks Design and Entertainment.

I'm just going off of speculation. In their proposal to Santa Clara, it mentions an impulse coaster 150'+ which matches Possessed's description. Add that to news that Possessed is being removed so I just put two and two togeather. I could be wrong, it just seemed likely since CF is trying to build up CGA and a relocated impulse could satisfy that desire until they build another group up coaster like a hyper.

Very interesting, if true. I thought for a long time that Swan Lake would make a great setting for a coaster (that is while keeping it an actual lake; not draining it before hand).

Is it? I suspect Cedar Fair will attempt to sell it, or depending on how badly they need parts they might just immediately scrap it for Steel Venom and Wicked Twister. Possessed is 20 years old and this would be the second time it would be moved, about the same age as Volcano when it was scrapped. This is also the oldest impulse coaster which is still operating, the original model was scrapped several years ago. I have not seen any recent developments on the hyper. I think it would be a great business decision and I have an idea on how to make it truly unique in the chain and the US in general. I would build it with dual loading stations, have one station runs forwards, and one run backwards trains. Get 2 of each so run 4 trains total, this is similar to how Universal Studios Japan runs Hollywood Dream (they only have one backwards train, so they run 3 forwards trains, one station swaps back and forth between backwards and forwards trains). But I cannot see Cedar Fair spending that kind of money on CGA, because the extra train, engineering work, and other modifications needed would likely cost several extra million dollars even though it would really be the standout attraction at the park, and basically give them two coasters for a few extra million over the price of one. That's the kind of ride which would get people to travel to the park to experience and being in California they have a large audience to pull from, and a lot of parks to compete against.

There is no TOS rule against it. There is also not a TOS rule pointing out the inaccuracy of such article if done respectfully. If the author of such article does not want to correct/adjust their article when something is pointed out, that is on them.

@SonofBaconator How about we start with signatures that are not entirely accurate.

Cedar Fair hates trees. That much is clear. Trees and foliage are just a nuisance to them. If I could change one and only thing about their business plans it would be this. I'm not even a tree-hugging-hippie, nor what many would consider an environmentalist. But, dang. They really need to fix this.

You guess? You wrote the article!

I second this. I absolutely loved working at Adventure Express. Getting to go into lockout on that ride made my nerdy side squeal with happiness internally.

Personally I was worried. I was worried that CF wouldn’t be concerned with keeping the landscaping up...I couldn’t have been more wrong there...I think that department keeps getting better and better year after year. I was worried that CF would abandon any attempt at keeping the park family friendly and turn it into simply a thrill ride park...happily that didn’t happen...it is still family friendly with some new great thrill rides. (I would like to see the park concentrate on a few new flat rides that the whole family can ride together.) I was worried that CF would migrate The Peanuts down to Kings Island and we would have to say goodbye to Scooby-Doo, Spongebob, Patrick and all of the other Nick characters...okay, that obviously happened...but all in all, having The Peanuts here isn’t AS bad as I thought it would be... but I still miss Nick. In the end, I am very happy CF took over...they have gone above and beyond improving the look of the park*! *With the exception of placing flagpoles at the foot of the fountain...and removing the fountain’s pedestals.

Not a so much a brighten, but more a giggle during this time... Imagine the looks he gets with that name being a police officer LOL

Using sod everywhere would be pretty expensive- they'd probably use it in the areas near the station and hydroseed the rest.

RIP Screechin' Eagle. The best stand-up in Ohio.

I've been on these forums since 2004, and just wanted to point out that this is one of the best posts I've ever read on here. This is the kind of stuff that has brought back here all these years!! Fascinating!

A store......with toilet paper! Now I know we're gonna make it through

Looks snazzy. Still seems strange to have a single row of seats in the train.

Coaster pulls in station... "Riders, how was your ride?" Riders whisper "Yay!!!"