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It was great getting to meet some of the brains behind the architectural side of things at the small gathering. For me, it was getting to watch a POV on Orion on Fountain Square that made it really special. I'll never forget playing a small part in the rolling out of Orion. Orion will always have a special place in my heart.

The script, the name, the colors, it's my favorite no question.

Thank you sir, it means a great deal. Can't wait to be back next season. I may have a couple more things planned for release on the blog this year so stay tuned.

People do realize that Banshee is an Irish spirit, right? Not German?

So, unfortunately, I don't have a better picture of this sign, but here it is... The Adventure Express sign has always been awesome and nostalgic to me. It did get a refresh some years ago (see above), which looks nice, but I remember the older sign the best (link: https://rcdb.com/70.htm#p=8650). Also, once upon a time, I took a picture of the old exit sign with the plain-looking, 90's-esque font. As for newer KI signs, we can't forget about this... (And yes, that is a Crobat posing with the sign). Not only do I love this ride, but this sign is really cool as well! I also like the Invertigo sign, but I can't find a picture of it at the moment! As for past rides, Firehawk's sign was cool also.

I am sure it'll show up - maybe not this year, but eventually. The park seems to understands the importance of the ride to guests and with everything so messed up in 2020 it probably wasn't high on their list of things to do.

I have to go with The Beast on this one. The trip through the terrain, especially on a clear, moonlit night, is a an experience that can't be equaled by anything or anywhere else. Even during the day, The Beast give you the sense that you really are running through the forest trying to get away from something. And with nothing but trees around you, that experience has worked incredible well for over 40 years. Don't get me wrong. The Racer is a historic, classic ride. It's a throwback to an classic coaster era that we will probably never see again. As others have pointed out, it spawned a number of great woodies of the era including two of my personal faves: Screamin' Eagle at SFSTL (also designed by Allen and, like The Beast, runs through some terrain) and the American Eagle at SFGAm (not designed by Allen, but a coaster 100% inspired by The Racer). We are fortunate KI continues to maintain these two historic rides. And love it or hate it, I would have put Vortex in that historic ride category. Let's hope neither The Beast nor The Racer ever meet the same fate.

My humble vote goes to The Beast. I am a big fan of The Racer. Without it, The Beast would not likely exist, and I would love to see The Racer restored to its red, white, blue, smooth, racing, and backwards glory. The Racer absolutely helped the public fall in love with wooden coasters again. It was "just" a bigger version of what riders were familiar with (Shooting Star). But The Beast defined how a coaster could be huge, "epic", and have a personality. A story. An immersive experience before, during, and after. Much of this is due to the hidden setting that had to be ridden to be known, and even the logo. Just look at this logo. It looks like a poster for a great horror movie. Riding The Beast, especially at night, was like experiencing that movie. We are so lucky to have both Beast and Racer in one park!

I agree that they need to take a page out of Canada's Wonderland Frontier Canada section and take a few years and gradually build up that area. When I look at the whole area the only rides in the current Action Zone that I feel are not in danger of getting removed are Banshee, Delirium, and probably Drop Tower. I hope they are able to keep The Bat but from a chain standpoint if it comes to saving Vortex at Wonderland or saving The Bat (they are clones), they are going to save Vortex at CW because it is probably the fourth most popular ride there. I do think The Bat's ridership would improve if they found a way to shorten the queue. Long range if they got rid of Timberwolf they could do a more direct route to the ride. The park of course did something similar when they rerouted White Water Canyon's queue line to prepare for Mystic. Like others have said I would say Invertigo and Congo are probably both in danger. The interesting thing would be if the park kept Congo but just removed Invertigo. If they put some family flats in there like a Tilt-a-Whirl and Musik Express it might actually help Congo's ridership. I still think Congo goes at some point though. I do like either going with a Black Forest theme or just combining it with Oktoberfest. As far as the next coaster, I actually like something like Copperhead Strike in that area. Since it only has a 48" height requirement it would be something that more people could do. If they did reroute The Bat entrance with a Timberwolf removal, they could build the entrance to the new coaster on part of the Timberwolf plot and then go down in part of the old Bat path over to some of the empty SOB area.

Ditch the separate name entirely and blend it with Oktoberfest, then you have a proper Oktoberfest area like Busch Williamsburg with both family and thrill rides, and both "fest" theming area and the creepy forest area. It would involve a lot of concrete removal but could certainly be done.

They have already started a spooky them in that section with (especially) Banshee and The Bat. I would make sense that would be the retheme. Most of all, that area needs less concrete and more shade.

I think Action Zone needs a lot of work. As it stands, it is my least favorite main area of the park. Even when Paramount owned the park, Action Zone looked bad. I think they should do a Black Forest type theme which would fit well with Banshee and The Bat. The walkway leading into Action Zone would really set the mood for the new themed area with all the trees especially when they are illuminated at night. In the area itself, it would be nice to see new names for rides that fit with the new theme, new buildings and food locations that go with the theme, and more trees. I could potentially see Action Zone getting a major overhaul when it gets its next major coaster.

Saw this on IG. Let's do it here. Post a pic of your favorite ride sign and tell us why.

I was reading up on the Nickelodeon Universe in New Jersey just outside of NYC. They feature 5 coasters which is extremely impressive when you look at their stats and where they're placed. That got me thinking, should park chains enter this race? I argue yes. Operating an indoor park could have the many benefits such as: Year round operations Can remain open during rain, snow, etc Could incorporate a resort/waterpark There's certain cities in America that I think could benefit from an indoor amusement park: Seattle, Phoenix, Vegas, and Houston come to mind. There's obviously a reason why we don't see that many indoor amusement parks in the US but I think not looking into them would be a missed opportunity.

As of when this forum has been posted, I've been to Kings Island at least two or three times during the FALL season. In those 2-3 times I've been, I've been looking for in the "Kings Island ride graveyard" for The Vortex's tombstone. But all the times I've looked, I've had no luck finding it. Here are MY two possible reasons why I think this is: One; Kings Island hasn't had the time to make the tombstone yet. Or, two; Maybe Kings Island is, possibly, planning on, sometime, resurrecting the ride. Who knows? This is just MY prediction. Let me know your thoughts on why there is no Vortex tombstone.

I guess Haunt wasn't completely cancelled this year. And at 300 feet up, riders can be scared without violating social distancing

https://www.facebook.com/events/852534388887054/?acontext={"ref"%3A"3"%2C"source"%3A"44"%2C"action_history"%3A"[{\"surface\"%3A\"permalink\"%2C\"mechanism\"%3A\"RHC\"%2C\"extra_data\"%3A[]}]"} Tracks Go Up: Cincinnati`s Giga Coaster rolls to Fountain Square at 4:45 on Tuesday, October 13th. Hear from the firms that helped create the station for Orion.

Today's Chef's Plate: Beef Sauerbraten with Ginger Brown Sauce, Savoy Potatoes, Honey Glazed Brussel Sprouts and Artichokes, Fried Onions and Micro Arugula on the menu. More details on the KIBlog. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2020/october/kings-island-foodie-news-beef-sauerbraten-with-ginger-sauce-highlights-saturdays-chefs-plate-special by Tell us your reviews below!

Absolutely delicious.

Thanks for all you have done this year. We have enjoyed the footage.

Unless a wheel was somehow physically damaged, which I would have to think is an incredibly rare event, the wheel would seem to be reusable/rebuildable. Arrow used the same wheel design since the first corkscrew model at KBF in 1975. I believe the only real design change was an increase in diameter when the three 7-loopers came along starting with Shockwave at SFGAm. Shockwave, GASM (SFGAdv) and Viper (SFMM) wheels have/had 9 ribs on them vs The Vortex and earlier wheels with 5. Not related to Vortex - but as I recall, when Shockwave first opened it used the smaller, standard-diameter Arrow wheel which wasn't up to the task. The urethane was literally melting in some cases and the wheels would start squealing. When the Ops heard the noise, the ride would be shut down temporarily during the day so maintenance could take teh train out of service and replace the damaged wheel. That led Arrow to create the larger diameter wheel which was better able to cope with the stress and temps generated by the ride. Again - that's the way I understand it. I do wonder how much a single wheel would cost if S&S would actually sell one to the public ...

The park probably spent $0 on anything gory or death-related this year, since this is a fall festival event. For the ride graveyard, they probably just used what they had since any money spent was spent on more friendly decorations this year.

I think another reason they could be doing this is to keep Kings Island in people's minds. Even though the ads are another way to make money (which some may or may not like - personally, I think it is kind-of weird that it's not ads directly related to the park, but whatever...), I think it's also the park saying "Hey, don't forget about us!" as one gets these e-mails every so often and therefore, it keeps Kings Island (or [insert Cedar Fair park here]) on people's minds. This keeps those who can't/won't go to the parks right now due to the current situation still thinking about the park as a viable entertainment option for when things get better (Like, "oh yeah, Kings Island!" The alternative would be someone forgetting about the park (out of sight, out of mind) and completely moving on to some other form of entertainment). Luckily, those of us who frequent this site are big fans of the park and won't soon forget KI, but as it's said around here sometimes, we aren't always the target market. Gotta keep people engaged somehow...

The new update looks great! I now am noticing no problems with the formatting, and the new interface looks cleaner than ever. Great job to all who helped work on it!

I hope this can help The Beast riders looking for a 'smooth' non-wheel seat row. With COVID-19 and social distancing, many non-wheel seat rows are currently unavailable. Fortunately, row 14 is available. My last three rides, all in row 14, were relatively smooth.

A night ride on The Beast has my vote.

I checked out the surf and turf by using a computer not connected to my email. I got the same offer on the website as the pass perk is. I'd guess they are finding revenue streams, which i support. I wouldn't be happy about it if were in a normal year, but like buying extra merch when I visit, I want to support the park in these lean times. It's a business, I know, but I have wringed every penny worth out of my pass, food and dining plans over the year.

After reviewing our themes post forum upgrade, we have purchased a new theme to get the dark/bright working properly. The bright/dark themes are the same now, and you can click the lightbulb or the moon at the top of the page to swap between them. The toggle button at the top of the page next to the search button is how you will select your background and other customizations Along with this upgrade of the forum and theme, KIC now has an even cleaner look and feel. We hope you enjoy these new updates. Let us know if you see any issues that we need to address in this thread.

Remember, there used to be Krazy City at Tri-County Mall. It opened in December of 2007, and was closed by December of 2009. It featured electric go-karts, an arcade, mini bowling, mini golf, a couple small flat rides including a Wisdom Tornado ride, a Moser Spring Tower among a few others. I agree that indoor FECs (Family Entertainment Centers) can be fun. In the Cincinnati market, there is Scene 75 in Milford. They also have locations in Dayton and Columbus (and have begun adding the SBF spinning coasters to some of their locations (not the Cincinnati location yet). I agree that an indoor amusement park/water park combo could be a big hit, especially when coupled with a resort hotel like the Great Wolf Lodge. For chains like Six Flags and Cedar Fair, it would provide a way to generate revenue in the slower winter months. But the capital outlay needed to get such an endeavor off the ground is likely cost prohibitive. Not to mention that they need capital investments to continue to give people a reason to return after their initial visit(s). Given the current pandemic and how Cedar Fair and Six Flags are just trying to slow down their cash burn until things return somewhat to normal, I would not look for either of them to launch into the FEC circuit any time soon.

True. I think I do remember that. This is just a joke: Or maybe Kings Island tried hiring skeletons to make the tombstone. But the tombstone was never made because the "Skeleton Crew" didn't have the GUTS to make it. LOL Not even the name, Son of The Vortex? No pun intended. When I said the "FALL season", I meant the time when Kings Island started doing the fall activities THIS YEAR. Sorry if that might have been a little confusing. And to answer your question, I know I've at least two times during the "FALL season." *starts sniffling and later a little bit of crying*

They probably don't have it yet because they were anticipating no Haunt due to COVID-19. No Haunt=no Vortex tombstone.

Even though The Beast is my favorite coaster, I have to go with The Racer on this one. It was the success of The Racer that lead to the second coaster boom in the early 70's. If The Racer wasn't the success that it was, we probably don't get The Beast or any of the coasters today.