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I didn't go on it much but it was a good site to look at to prepare for my first Carowinds trip back in 2018. It is sad to see a park specific site close. While things like Facebook and Twitter are good for immediate information, they are not as good at archiving information that you can go back and look at historical posts (like threads and comments).

Now is a good time to bring up KIC safety while posting and meeting up at the park. It is important to the KIC admins that we are communicating in a safe and responsible way. Remember: The minimum age for membership on KIC is 13 years old. Discuss and communicate with other members that you do not know as if they are a minor. For the safety of all KIC members, the KIC meetup thread has always been accessible to logged in KIC members only. Be smart when meeting up with other members. Do not meet up with anyone individually. Bring a responsible adult to a meetup. (I have meet many parents at KIC meetups and other KI events and I am very glad to do so.) Here are some helpful resources that we ask for everyone to review. Safe Social Networking for Teens - https://www.connectsafely.org/social-web-tips-for-teens Online Safety - https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/online-safety Tip line if you or someone you know is being harassed, bullied or otherwise inappropriately contacted - https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/cybertipline Teens story about being groomed - https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/consumer-advice/technology/a559300/this-teenager-is-warning-others-of-online-grooming/ How to be aware of predators grooming you or your child - https://educateempowerkids.org/8-ways-predator-might-groom-child/ If any KIC member has any additional concerns, please feel free to reach out to any of the KIC admins via the direct message feature on here. KIC Admins

I would love to get a 50th anniversary logo with some 50th anniversary merchandise. I think Planet Snoopy could use some love in the form of a couple of new attractions. I mean, the last two new attractions added were in 2015. And prior to that the 2006 renovation removed several rides (hand cars anyone? Those were my favorite). There are just some areas that have a lot of open space that could use a new ride for the kids. Having a kid that is 40.5" (and just rode Viking Fury over the weekend), there definitely could be a few more things for him to do in Planet Snoopy. Carowinds has done a good job with their Camp Snoopy theme and adding in some newer rides. I would love to see KI do the same. I also wouldn`t mind seeing a ride like Music Express come to KI.

Discussing how the recent case illustrates the need to make the coaster community a safer place for everyone is welcome, but let's steer clear of any speculation. Some posts have been cleaned up. This is a tough time for the entire community. Those who call themselves enthusiasts should strive to be the best fans of the park. It should be about enjoying parks, supporting the industry, modeling exemplary behavior, and creating the safest environment possible. News like this, especially involving someone you know, feels like a gut punch. No one should lose sight of the fact that amusement parks and amusement park fans are part of the real world. We all have a responsibility for keeping ourselves, our families, and those around us safe. Since amusement parks attract an audience of all ages, special caution is warranted with respect to interactions involving younger people in the community. It's always safest to interact in groups and with people in a similar age range. Be aware of the signs of grooming and abuse, and don't be afraid to report inappropriate behavior to relevant authorities and to others as appropriate.

I just want to make sure that the victims know if there are any on here, That you are so brave for bringing this out. You are not alone in this and it was not your fault and don;t ever think it is! The coaster community should be a fun and inviting place to be. We can't have people like chad taking advantage of being YouTube famous and praying on younger girls. I can only imaging how parents feel when hearing about this kind of crap. I just feel so bad we even have to talk about this stuff happening to people.

I don't remember if I ever had an account and posted on Carowinds Connection, but it's sad to see an amusement park fansite close... I know the Kings Island ones were instrumental in helping me make some of my closest friends, and I imagine Carowinds Connection served the same purpose for many who call(ed) Carowinds their home park. It's also unfortunate how much history will be lost when the forums go offline - even if sites like archive.org save some of it, it'll now be far less accessible and easy to find.

Wow. Will be sad to see it go. Back in the day there were tons of park specific fan sites like Carowinds Connection. Hopefully someone will build a new site dedicated to Carowinds. We are very fortunate to have KIC. I remember the days when there was PKIUnlimited. Hard to believe that I have been a staff member here on KIC going on 15 years next month. I joined in October of 2005, shortly before Winterfest 2.0 opened.

Maybe that's the official reason cited somewhere or by someone, but I have hesitations on believing that. You can see that the opening under The Racer remained unchanged before/after conversion (match-up the structure between photos to see it's at the same height). The fact that the conversion wasn't in a single off-season, but spanned between two, is also interesting. (Photo one source, photo two from Google Maps)

No, that path already existed (albeit used for maintenance and not guest access). They removed the two hills to increase the height clearance on that path.

COPPA https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-coppa-frequently-asked-questions-0

I've ridden seven of Kings Island's roller coasters at night (Beast, Mystic, Orion, DB, Banshee, BLSC, and R.I.P The Vortex. I have yet to ride AE and Bat at night.), and each of them provided a unique experience. Do you think Kings Island has the best collection of roller coasters that give GOOD night-rides? Please note: The only two amusement parks I've been to other than Kings Island that I got to ride at least ONE of their roller coasters at night are Holiday World (The Legend), and Cedar Point (Valravn, and I think Top Thrill Dragster?).

The Carowinds Connection Forum site to shut down at the end of the year. https://carowindsconnection.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4951

My attempt to give the locomotives a more "accurate" look with my limited editing skills

I don't question that that was the reason given by someone involved with the changes, but if their goal was to make the opening higher then it doesn't seem like they succeeded

My understanding is that they quickly determined that they didn’t really have to remove that last drop after they did it, so it’s possible. Unlikely, but possible.

The final drop was taken out to allow for a path to Flight of Fear and eventually Orion to be added.

Celebrate Racers 50 years by giving it a synchronized lift hill, paint, and add back the final drop with a tunnel

Go to the CoasterMarina Instagram account. She talks with almost the whole Thrills United crew about it (mostly because she is a TU representative). She talked with Logan's dad and he broke down crying. It is truly a serious and sad time in the community right now because Chad was a brother to lots of enthusiasts. Now the community doesn't know what to do besides sit back and watch what happens. It's scary. Edit: I'll be praying for all of the victims. These people are my age. What is happening to them is sickening. Hopefully something good happens.

So you’re saying it’s a giper or higa?

Very sad... I hope they get to the root cause and put things in place to prevent events like this in the future...

Jake got a job with RMC by showing up to their IAPPA booth. He was able to help construct Iron Gwazi. Sad news of this happening.

That and you would have one more Dippin' Dots guy who can let us know future ride installments at KI.

We’re gonna need another Train...

With the success of Winterfest, fleshing out the park with more flats that can run during Winterfest would be a smart idea. Adding a new Der Spinning Keggers (Teacups) and a Musik Express to Action Zone or Oktoberfest would really add a lot to those respective areas. After they do that adding some additional family flats to a revamped Camp Snoopy overlay of Planet Snoopy would be great as well.

I meant just the name Marvel. Disney can't use the Marvel name at WDW or Disneyland, that's why the new Marvel complex at California Adventure is called Avengers Campus.

That’s the reason given by one of the people behind the change. The modification was done in-house by Kings Island staff, which forced the change to span two off-seasons.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2020/september/ready-set-boo-all-new-tricks-and-treats-fall-fest-opens-sept.-26-at-kings-island

Very true!

Took the opportunity to visit CP last weekend with just the wife (left the kids at home this time). Weather turned out nearly perfect, mid 70s with sun during the day. Was a little breezy which may or may not have been the reason Sky Ride and WindSeeker never opened. Fast Lane feels like cheating at CP this year, since they aren't selling them to the GP. Also, lets us bypass the whole access pass thing. I get why they do access passes, but it's so much added stress to the day, I really dislike them. Sat 9/12 - Crowds were about average Sat. Food stalls seemed busier than normal. Employees were talking about how busy they were all day Saturday. Thankfully the rain held off until after midnight. 12:00pm - Entered. Picked up Fast Lane and got lunch at Hugo's Italian Kitchen. They had a ton of food out and ready at noon and wasn't all hot. We shared a pizza. Was OK. Garlic Knots were already cold and stiff. 12:30pm - WindSeeker. Rode big boy seat in a middle-ish row. Didn't benefit much from Fast Lane here, the line was pretty short. Ended up on the right side. Left side best side. Still enjoyed it. Walked through the kid section in the front and soaked in all the decorations. Love the look of the park this time of year. 1:00 pm - Magnum. Rode very front seat. Quite rough as usual. Hadn't ridden this yet this year, so wanted to get it checked off my list. Got my fill for a while. 1:15 pm - Gemini. Forgot just how smooth this ride is, especially compared to other Arrow coasters from the same era. They were running both trains together which is just so much fun! Rode blue and won. 1:30 pm - Maverick. I've ridden this plenty of times, but still kind of surprised me on this ride. Rode in the very back seat. Convinced the back is more intense. Love this ride. 2:00 pm - Ate at Chik-fil-a. Thankfully, the line wasn't bad when we checked. The line is the worst thing about this place. Well, that and not being open on Sunday! Standard Chicken Sandwich and fries were delicious. 2:30 pm - Threw our stuff in a locker so we could ride Steel Vengeance x2. I put on a few pounds since last year (working from home is hard on my diet!) and I was no longer "comfortable" in the restraints. Love the ride, but Steve is rough on my shins. 3:00 pm - Left the park to go swim a bit. Came back mostly just for dinner. 6:30 pm - Ate at BackBeatQue. Watched them slicing some brisket and wife decided it looked good. Was very tasty. Mac n Chz there was really creamy and good too. They had a show on the patio, You're too old to trick or treat, I think. Was a Price is Right style game show. Was fun to watch while eating. 7:15 pm - Hopped on the CP Railroad for a circuit around the park. Didn't realize they have 2 variants of passenger cars. These were the plastic/wood seats without padding, but were a little more roomy than the other train. Was very comfortable. 8:00 pm - Called it a night and headed to the Boardwalk for some evening beach visits. After watching fireworks at KI this year, really miss having night rides at CP. Hopefully next year! Sun 9/13 - Crowds were below avg today. Rain stopped by 8am and the clouds were gone by 11am. Turned out to be another beautiful day. 11:30pm - Entered. Picked up Fast Lane again and bought a Tasting Card. Some of the food on the Tricks or Treats menu sounded good and we wanted to make a thing of walking around trying some different foods. 12:00pm - Ate lunch at Coasters Drive-In. Wife got a cheeseburger basket and I used my Tasting card for a Zombie Burger. Both burgers were hot and juicy. The additional toppings on the zombie burger were good. Feel like it was light on toppings and light on flavor though. Still a thumbs up for being unique. 12:30pm - Valravn. Rode in front right. Love hanging in the front seat on the first hill. This ride may not be crazy intense, and it's incredibly short, but it's still just a fun ride. Smooth, floaty fun. I love it! 12:45pm - Cedar Downs Racing Derby. I'm not a big carousel person but man this ride delivers. This is a MUST RIDE for my family on ANY CP visit. 1:00 pm - Used Tasting card to pickup a Pumpkin Spice Funnel Cake at French Quarter Confections. This was one of the items I was most interested in and it surely delivered. Wasn't a huge portion, but was perfect for wife and myself. I think this was a standard funnel cake with some pumpkin/cream cheese drizzle. Yum! 1:30 pm - Giant Wheel. Not many Ferris wheels around anymore. I do try to ride this whenever I come to CP. Unfortunately, they've only been loading 2 cars on 2 sides for most of this year so lines have been abysmal. Today they were running 4 and 4 most of the day so it was a little better. 2:00 pm - Sat and watched the Witch shows back in Fort Sandusky in the Frontierland area. They were entertaining. Fun watching them interact with the kids. They had a main show starting on the hour followed by some games with the kids and a mad-libs type storytelling show. 3:00 pm - Skyhawk. By far my most favorite flat ride at Cedar Point. Wish we had something like this at Kings Island! 3:15 pm - Used Tasting card at Wagon Wheel Pizza for a Fire Toasted Dessert Pizza. OH MY this turned out to be the treat of our day (why is this a TRICK?). The service here wasn't great, but the employees seemed to be trying and the dessert pizza was AMAZING. 3:45 pm - Maverick. Got a front row seat this time and Maverick treated us a little better. This was definitely a MUCH more enjoyable ride for me and my wife. One of my favorite coasters for sure. 4:15 pm - Gemini again. Had so much fun the first time we did it again. Did not disappoint. Blue side again, but lost this time. 4:45 pm - Used Tasting Card at the Corral for some Fall Mac & Cheese. Was tasty, but nothing too unique (very similar to the Mac & Cheese at BackBeatQue). 5:15 pm - Used Tasting Card at the Hot Potato for some Frankenstein's Fries. Got a terribly small portion of fries, probably for the best though. The pork they added must not have been drained at all as the fries were wet and soggy. I still liked it, but the pork juices made this a no-go for my wife. 5:45 pm - Tried to ride the CP Railroad in the back of the park, but the line was too long and there weren't enough open seats for everyone. 6:00 pm - Used Tasting Card for the 6th treat, getting another Fire Roasted Dessert Pizza from Wagon Wheel Pizza. They just had a large group of people order these and there was a bit of a wait. The employee gave us a free drink because of our wait and apologized, but the pizza was fresh and AMAZING again. We will be getting this again at KI in the coming weeks! 6:30 pm - Caught the train at the CP Railroad by Millennium Force. Road the train with the padded seats which had no real room for my long legs. Liked the other train better! Was going to ride a full circuit but when we got to the rear station, they announced there would be a 15 minute delay while they pulled off the other train at the front station. We opted to exit. 7:00 pm - Having used up our Tasting Card and feeling our trip fulfilled (and after walking about 24 miles over 2.5 days, our feet hurt!) we headed out for one last walk up and down the Boardwalk. The resorts close at noon on Sunday so we were nearly alone. Was beautiful outside at this time. The Tasting Card was a fun thing to mess with, although depending on your tastes, there may not be enough to warrant it. I also wanted to take home the lanyard/card combo so worth it for me. All of the items on the Trick or Treat menu can be purchased a la carte for around $7 each. If you intend to get more than 3 definitely get the card! Looking forward to checking out some of the unique foods at KI too. Unfortunately, I gained enough weight to not fit on MF and TTD this trip. Will be focusing on losing the weight I gained this year so that next year I can get back on those rides again! Thanks for reading. Hopefully someone found the insight on the Tasting Card useful as I've not seen a lot of people post about their experiences.

It’s starting to get exciting!

If pass holders often cost more than they spend then they wouldn’t continue the season pass program.

Well, if Coney is done, I hope Cedar Fair makes a bid to buy the front gate and transplant it to Kings Island. It would be a great replacement for the old Coney Mall sign.

This was a fantastic read -- thank you! I can't believe I missed it in March. I definitely agree that PT was one of the boldest and most unique rides KI ever had. Haunted attractions are a dying breed, and even though I was very young when PT was removed, I still knew that KI had lost something very cool and unique. I hope to see a haunted attraction go back into that building sometime, but I don't believe that will ever happen. The omnimover system is definitely not made with shooting style dark rides in mind. It is very slow and the cars are so close together, its obvious it is meant for a dark ride with sets and characters with a story.

Zadra cost Energylandia $16,404,915.90 which is pretty darn affordable for the ride it puts out. I daresay if KI payed RMC that same amount for something similar to Zadra, they'd be able to get more out of it since Zadra's cost probably had shipping and all that extra contracting factored in. I hope the CF not having a good relationship with RMC thing is just a rumor because I'd kill for something like Zadra. I'm wondering if KI would never opt for something like that though because GP would immediately think its like Son if Beast

@SonofBaconator business relationships change over time. Look in your backyard at Kings Island. They worked with Arrow again after The Bat.....

My latest YouTube video compares the stats of the 4 American giga’s, Orion included. It’s stats are comparable to the other gigas in every way. Orion is definitely a giga in my opinion.

The fountain flamethrowers makes King's Island Haunt unique and it wouldn't be the same without them. Same goes for the glowing Tower with eyes at the top. Taking out the flamethrowers would be like removing the frozen water in the fountain during Winterfest. Its a tradition I never want to see changed. Also toning down the Haunt and making it more family friendly will absolutely not attract everybody. It will make the people wanting the more adult Haunt, the Fearfest style Haunt go look elsewhere.

Based on the length of the project 10,300 feet it appears to be going all the way from King rd, to Western Row Rd. So this is not just something for the park we have to consider the entire distance from one side of the park to beyond the park. Which is the problem that it feels like people are ignoring. The problem is one half of the park grew past Columbia road years ago. One of the wave pools is located above where the road was located, the water park entrance plaza is directly on that path as well. So is a quarter mile of the handicapped parking, and employee parking, and there is no easy way around this area. Open up a satellite view of the park, trace out the road and you rapidly realize there is a lot of things to work around and in many places it’s going to require ripping up a lot of path ways and parking. Now go trace Kings Island Dr, the park has a big enough set back along most of the road, that the worst areas are the entrances and exits to the parking lot, the exit from the toll booths, and finally the lighting for the drop off lot. Compared to what it’s going to take trying to thread a new pipeline between the park and the parking lot this makes a lot more sense.

Speaking of an additional train there are other Crowns out their that are waiting to once breath life again. Here is one with a rare Caboose built by crown for wheelchairs. They would need to take a coach from Lew Brown and Kenny Van Meter to make them all 5 car trains. Photo credit: https://klaq.com/where-the-train-from-magic-landing-is-permanently-parked-at/

So are people implying that The City of Mason spent how many millions on a multi-year project that was completed the end of 2016 to improve Kings Island Drive only to allow the County to come in a few years later and rip it up for a new water line...that never happens (actually it happens unfortunately all too often where one form of government doesn't reach out to the other form of government, causing a road to be repaved one year only to be torn up the next for a water or sewer line).... Regardless, I do not see the City of Mason allowing KI Drive to be torn up this soon for a water line project. So the markers out there are either completely unrelated, or a stub for a future water line was put out there at the time, which would dictate the County potentially having to go thru the parking lot to get to Columbia Road. The survey is a work in progress, but some of the markings could be indicating that as a possibility - although that then means ripping up a portion of the newly installed pavement by KI heading to the new tolls...

Based on the information we have the water line project is still in the design phase, they might have realized it’s a mistake placing a new water line next to a defunct road that passes through an amusement park. It’s very possible we are looking at the early stages of the county deciding if the water line should be moved, or they already reached that decision, etc. Its a bad idea to jump to too many conclusions based on what we have seen so far. Redoing the drop off lot is the very kind of project which a park would be delaying or cancelling due to the pandemic.

Remember the waterline is for Warren County and not just Kings Island.

I thought gigas were measured from sea level?

I can see it now... The History of Kings Island: The Ride

Would be cool to see a Zamperla Super Air Race maybe in the Area 72 and continue to expand that area. The ride fits the theme.

No worries, you get your point across. Keep listening to your teacher and I am sure you will continue to grow and learn. As for the beer, leave it to us heathens.

Just for posterity. Enchanted Voyage - 1972 until 1983. Operated 12 seasons. Smurfs Enchanted Voyage - 1984 until 1991. Operated 8 seasons. Phantom Theater - 1992 until 2002. Operated 11 seasons. Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle - 2003 until 2009. Operated 7 seasons. Boo Blasters - 2010 and counting. (This will be it's 11th season of operation.) It woudn't surprise me to see the ride "refreshed" in the next few seasons. The conveyance unit seems to still be very dependable - but it's heading into it's 29th season of use. The guns seem very temperamental to me... but they always have, even when it was "Scooby new." What Boo Blasters has going for it, that most of the others didnt... is that the theme doesnt "wear out." What I mean is, its generic enough that it hasn't stagnated with kids. More about that in a minute... Just to take folks back - by the time Enchanted Voyage was converted to Smurfs, the Hanna-Barbera characters featured in the ride were (for the most part) irrelevant. Young children of the 80's weren't that familiar with the predominance of them because most of the cartoons the attraction was based on were long cancelled by then. The ride was in DESPERATE need of a re-do in its latter years. The Smurfs rolled in and breathed a new (albeit annoying) life into the ride. However, in a handful of years the Smurf craze died and the cartoon wore itself out. Kids that watched the cartoon grew up and lost interest by the late 1980's. (You have to remember that back then, there was no Cartoon Network, or DVD collections etc. Once a cartoon was removed from Saturday morning TV... it was virtually removed from the minds and interest of new generations of children.) "Smurfs Enchanted Voyage" was very popular for about the first 4-5 years that it operated. It kept a steady crowd in it's later years... but frankly the ride sort of became a joke and people made fun of its "trite" and "uncool" theme once the Smurf fad died out. Lets also not forget that its conveyance device was, a water trough... which at that point was 20 years old. I think the parks (the other KECO Managed parks all had Smurfs too) as a whole learned from this after realizing the novelty of a popular cartoon character had a shelf life (on average) around 4 years. SEV lasted roughly 2 or 3 seasons longer than it probably should have. Then along came Phantom Theater. Phantom Theater was kind of an anomaly. It was, IMO, one of the boldest and most unique things Kings Island ever installed. This may shock some... but I actually rank it second only to "The Beast" as far as originality and uniqueness to Kings Island. It really was a superb attraction - especially when it first opened - a real gem. Frankly, its my personal belief that the decision to add something so unique was probably due, in large part, by what they learned with the Smurfs. The KI executives probably didn't want to install another specific, pop culture character-driven ride that would become old hat in a handful of years. I first rode Phantom Theater in June of 1992. I remember waiting well over an hour to ride it. (The line stretched through HB Land.) I was amazed by it when I first rode - it definitely had a VERY similar vibe akin to Disney's Haunted Mansion (on a lesser scale - complete with its own take on the "Doom Buggies.") Actually, it was terrifying to many kids when it opened, and there were LOTS of crying and screaming children. The problem with Phantom Theater was, with time, the ride's figures wore themselves out. Many don't know this, but year after year the rubber masks and hands had to be replaced. They would break down, melt and deteriorate because of the constant movement and heat from the hydraulics. There was a whole shop inside the building (actually located just behind the cars as they faced the "Hilda Bovine" mirror-breaking scene) that housed spare parts for the ride/characters. When they needed replacements, they called up AVG Inc (who did the animations and theming) and ordered the parts by a catalog number. AVG had molds in storage and they'd re-pour the necessary rubber mask or hand. Once the rubber was spread in the mold, they filled it with spray foam insulation - this created a sort of "form" inside the mask or hand. They then had their coloring/facial accents hand painted by artists according to the original detailed design specs. They were shipped to KI on the foam heads and hand forms. When I toured the ride after it's closure and before it was converted to Scooby, I personally saw a whole bin of those heads & hand forms obtained from ordering replacement masks over the years. I asked if I could have one - but no dice. They felt like the equivalent of a nerf football. Frankly, the park HATED to lose Phantom Theater. But the ride's animatronics and effects had virtually worn themselves out. Being Paramount at the time, they already had worked with Sally rides at two other parks - and Sally came on board having already secured the Scooby licensing. And as we all know, Scooby is arguably the most time-enduring and most famous Hanna-Barbera character. Had CF not opted to drop the (no doubt) hefty licensing fee required to continue with the Scooby theming, I have no doubt the ride would still exist and be as popular today. When the licensing was dropped, that forced a generic overlay. Although very basic... and quite frankly, flat... the "Boo Blasters" theme is not one that's necessarily going to wear itself out theme-wise. Its not based on specific characters or being driven by a specific cartoon entity. In other words, kids dont know any of the "characters," so they aren't emotionally invested enough to get tired of them. Should it change to a Peanuts themed dark ride - which it could - it might breathe new life into the ride. But again, it would likely stagnate since it would be a very specific theme that is, IMO, already lost on kids...and adults... today. It will eventually change. It'll have to. The effects, animatronics and technology will wear/age out. When it does, the park will make the determination of where to take it. I cant imagine KI without a dark ride... but we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I pray for something unique and bold again.... so future generations will have something to discuss as passionately as we do "Phantom Theater."

Bring on “The PEANUTS Enchanted Voyage Through The Phantom Theater On Scooby Doo’s Boo Hill” MACK Rides: The Rocking Boat

The last couple years of Kenton`s Cove Keelboat Canal, the ride was really starting to show its age. I am glad that they renovated the original log flume (that actually opened at Coney in 1968). Keep in mind that while Tomb Raider was the direct replacement for that ride, Diamondback traverses through the area that was the final drop of this ride as well.