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A very Happy Halloween to everyone!

I don't think it's unreasonable for users to ask for evidence and more information, especially when there's been a lot of content created without any evidence / sources provided whatsoever. I also don't see any benefits for users to be coy or super secretive with the information they share. Regarding what @Oldschool75 is referencing, there are blueprints for the original Bat tucked into the Orion queue. You can see them in the below screenshot, from this video. It's a little hard to tell, but there are are corkscrews overlaid where the two helices are.

And, if there is a silver lining through all of this...it’s that we can all avoid this!

I don't see anyone saying @gforce1994 is inaccurate in his information. I think people are asking for an explanation of where and how he got his information. That is part of the TOS. A simple explanation would go a long way for members to understand where he is coming from. If the easter egg in the Orion queue is all that was used, just state that. I think members appreciate his creations, but to give the thread credibility he needs to give context and explain the sources beyond a picture in a queue.

I went back and forth over whether or not to do a section on COVID, and ultimately I decided not to. It's still an ongoing situation, so I feel that writing a section about it and its impact would be premature. Additionally, I want to end the book on a positive note. Right now, the narrative ends with Orion's opening, and that's what I want the book to end on, not on COVID. There will be a portion within the Orion section talking about how coronavirus impacted the construction and opening of Orion, but there will not be a dedicated COVID section in the book.

The effects in the last tunnel do not appear to me to be new. It just appears the existing effects have been fixed. But it does look the best I have seen in a very long time. There are a few feet of red track, the area it is in is very smooth now. It’s hard to tell while riding but I do not think the sections correspond to track segments. Which suggests to me that the rail or maybe more was cut out and refurbished or replaced. Overall though it’s a few feet of track, maybe 10 ft total.

The ghosts of Winterfest paitently awaiting their time to shine in 2019.

Halloween is my favorite holiday.

There’s new LED’s light based fire effects, and more. The ride was flying through the course tonight!

This would explain why AE was closed the last few weekends.

Yes, the helix and the lower valley had new track placed (its red compared to the normal brown), and there’s new lighting effects on the final lift.

They need something like Tantrum at Darien Lake. I feel like the park would do better if they got a modern coaster.

Yes, those are two corkscrews originally designed for The Bat’s layout. I have seen the actual physical blueprints (and more that I can’t even discuss here) with my own eyes and can confirm this.

Go ride Orion and see for yourself. The original layout had dual inversions. Yes, I said Orion. Here is one of the full-size inversions built. Photo credit Kings Island Blog/Sit On It Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s interesting that the original Bat (the one opened in 1981) was designed to have corkscrews. The original ride was to feature two corkscrews-the first being before the second lift hill, and the second one being before the final turn. Some of the original design can be seen as an Easter Egg in the Orion queue. I used NoLimits 2 and recreated it. Here is The Bat as originally designed: https://youtu.be/GvH-SCRIGcE

I was just going to post something about this. I thought this new section was a test paint. I thought AE may be getting a paint job this offseason.

I am out of town...so I didn’t have access to my computer photos...so I grabbed these off of my Walgreens photo account...this one was from 2009, so it should be Massacre Manor’s line.

My Eleventh Commandment senses are tingling.

The new machines were gone today. Perhaps we will see them permanently installed next season throughout the park or chain.

Honestly I would love to see a (ground-up) RMC family coaster.

Now show this with the clearance envelope.

Just got off a night ride, it was much faster than before.

That is so exciting! Thanks @gforce1994. I hope someone can get some pics somehow. I hope to see that last tunnel fixed up, it is appalling how it looks now.

I’ll try to get some. It’s in the helix away from the midway, but it’s noticeable when you ride it. The effects were pretty neat.

RMC Woodstock Express... Lmao

And the final ride’s plans I obtained show just the helixes with the inversions removed. The plans also have notations of the ride’s behavior in the each element. Great recreation gforce1994

I would love to see Adventure Express get some TLC for its 30th anniversary next year. It would be nice if they brought back the old station soundtrack and fixed the final tunnel.

I think from a historical perspective, looking at how KI and other parks are handling (in the future, it will be the past tense of handled) the COVID-19 pandemic will be valuable information to future readers. I have quite a few Time Magazine issues that I'm planning to keep around for purely historical reasons (such as the Blackout that occurred in 2003 or information on the SARS pandemic). Also, I think there are lessons to be learned from past events; hindsight is 20/20 after all...

They are relatively low maintenance rides. The trains don't experience any extreme speed or hard g forces. They should last a long time plus due to the slower speed it doesn't feel as rough. Plus they are good family coasters and fill a good spot in almost any park line up.

He always does a great job. Thanks for the history flash-back, and the rare pics Kyle!

I agree with what you are saying. Racer started a new boom of Wood coasters and we may not have the amount of wood coasters across the globe without it. I think The Beast ignited a spark to the industry of what a wood coaster can do besides just being an out and back.

I think if you're going off of 'significance on the amusement and theme park industry' I'd have to go with The Racer... I think a lot of people are answering different questions though...

The Beast wouldn't exist without The Racer since it probably wouldn't have been built if Kings Island wasn't as successful as it was in the early seventies. However, I have to go with The Beast here. The question is asking which had the most significance and, while The Racer was the start of the coaster boom, The Beast was the one who got it rolling by making parks strive for bigger and better. I don't think there was any coaster before The Beast that people had such a strong loyalty to, but now that designers are striving to create more unique and intense experiences there is a mountain of coasters with a huge fan bases and are renowned around the world. It's truly impressive how, even 40 years later, The Beast is gathering more and more loyal fans. Honestly I am one of them. The Beast is one of my favorite coasters. It's setting and temperament makes it one of the most memorable coaster I've ever ridden. Every ride has a different feel each time because every little thing can change the experience( the time of day, the time of year, the whether, if there is a breeze or not, how much you feel the trims, etc..). It's truly a special ride. Basically what I'm trying to say is, The Racer is a classic that helped kick started the modern coaster industry but The Beast is a legend that changed the industry forever.

Racer is what sparked the first coaster wars. We wouldn't have twisted shivering or Mystic Timbers without The Racer

You can see two pieces clearly from The Beast line.

We’ve come a long way from this time last year when everyone had to empty their pockets and put their items in the bins and all bags having to be taken off and inspected. I think it was last Winterfest, Kings Island must have upgraded the metal detectors or something because guests were allowed to keep their phones and other items in their pockets without having to place them in bins. Now bags don’t even need to be checked with these new metal detectors, creating a seamless process. While COVID-19 has mostly had a negative effect, it has at least pushed innovation in the coaster industry.

There are two pieces in the pic.

So there are 2 pieces in my pic or are you saying there is another somewhere else? Hard to tell on mobile.

Pics I took today. The one piece of track is still there.

Good to hear!

Thunderhawk is by far the smoothest SLC I have been on. Flying Cobra's is by far the best boomerang I have been on! Your are right that Wild Water Adventure is huge. I have never seen it hit capacity even on the busiest days. It has 3 kids areas, 3 wave pools, a lazy river and around 7 slide towers. The park on paper may not look much different then 2005 but it is. Everything has received new paint, new flats, reworked midways, Thunderhawk and a second train station. It looks much more Cedar Fair now and way less carnival.

That construction looks great! Even though it's for the kids, I'm sure those fans of MiA are really excited. As for me, I've been to Michigan's Adventure once in 2005. Shivering Timbers was fun and when I got back from the trip, I recreated it from memory in RCT2. I also rode all the other coasters, including Big Dipper. The one reason for me to go back there would be to ride Thunderhawk as it used to be at Geagua Lake/SFWOA. Though I never went there when it operated, GL/Six Flags Worlds of Adventure seemed like a really cool place and I'd love to ride some more relocated coasters from there - I've already ridden Firehawk (X-Flight) and Possessed (Superman) at Dorney. The only ones left for me to ride would be Thunderhawk, Dominator (Kings Dominion) and Flying Cobras (Carowinds). Aside from this, Grand Rapids looks cool and it would be nice to ride their Mad Mouse again. Fun Fact: Mad Mouse was my first Wild Mouse coaster. EDIT: Also, I remember their waterpark being a decent size. IIRC, I remember Adventure Falls being fun and having a better drop than Congo Falls.

This is actually one of my favorite small parks now and is very underrated. Its an easy park to just take your time and enjoy things. The ride line up isn't too shabby either and some of the architecture kind of gives it its own character, especially the arcade by the lake and the Dodgems building. Also, Shivering Timbers is amazing in the front seat. Corkscrew is actually kind of fun as well for what it is. Wolverine Wildcat is a simple re-tracking away from being good. silver2005, who hopes to return next year along side a trip to Sandusky and possibly Erie.

I know this isn’t what kind of photo that is expected in this thread...but it is one of my favorite trips to the park during Halloween. My nephew dressed up as Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. We had saved some of his hair from a previous haircut to make sure his goatee matched. The real fun was when he had his sweatshirt on over his costume...the double-takes from everyone seeing him were priceless...and little kids would just stare at him while waiting for rides.