Leaderboard

I was lucky with a grandma that realized how important trips to KI were. So, after I moved to Texas from Cincinnati when I was a kid, I'd come up every summer to spend it with my grandparents here in Cincy. She'd get me a pass every summer and just drop me off to have fun all day and pick me up after the park closed. I was a very responsible young teenager...Ha! KI was and still is my zen place...I would dream and could not wait till summer to get back up here and visit my favorite place in the world as was my grandparent's house. It was a world away from boring west Texas. So, yep, I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to ride The Bat, Beast when it opened, King Cobra and Demon. And very fortunate to live in Northern KY to visit my favorite place as often as I want now.

Never trust concept art.

The mystique of the original Bat makes me happy. As a silly kid, somehow, I managed to get a lot of rides on it. Guess I hung out by it all the time. I was just in awe of it. As an artist and graphic designer, I came up with a similar idea of an unrealistic coaster that traveled below the track one day on vacation with my grandparents on their motorhome table on our way out west. Then wow, it was a reality! Like Shaggy said before, it was just fun to watch...I was in awe. Different time and place for sure. I had seen nothing like it before...same way I thought about King Cobra when it was announced. KI had a certain mystic to it getting those rides along with The Beast. The Bat was a slower ride, but the extreme swinging made it a blast to ride even though that was its downfall. I still remember the descent on the 2nd lift hill swinging through the trees. Growing up with the park, since it's very early days, I can still envision both of those rides when I walk through the park. Geez, I don't feel that old...and don't even get me started on how much I miss my Flying Eagles...ha!

That's about 90% more trees than Carowinds has.

Finally a chance for Buc-ees to have a place to sell their brisket and melts and have a breakfast option all day ! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The 2023 Haunt and Winterfest hours were silently added to the website. As of right now everything is the exact same as last year other than the fact that New Years will go from 4-12 AM instead of 4-1 AM. The addition of Sunday haunt hours remain in place from last year's test run. Park Calendar & Hours of Operation | Kings Island (visitkingsisland.com)

Amen! See also Paramounts Carowinds concept art for Drop Tower: Stunt Zone (or whatever it was called).

She is supposed to have a phone interview today. Super proud dad! Even if it don't work out she is sure trying and excited about it. I wish I could do it myself for a season.

Yeah...

Many lifeguards used to dine at the SC Subway often as it was close to the break room and it was an affordable lunch. If they get rid of it I'm sure the park has plans for renovating the space out for a new dining experience.

Do you have the Adventure Port blueprints?

It lines right up with the concept art and blueprints. Trust me. No surprises coming. That is the entrance and exit for AE. I'm guessing they may add an on ride photo for AE and add a photo booth on the exit.

Double post: Concept Art is a double edged sword. If you do it, you may raise people’s expectations and not be able to deliver on what was drawn out. If you don’t do it, you can’t advertise your new product as effectively. I like the drawn concepts over the digital ones but I’m personally not a fan of the Adventure Port’s concept that features the pond because I don’t think they’ll be able to make the water that light blue but I’ve been wrong before. Concept art isn’t false advertising because it’s a concept on a product that’s not finalized but things can get exaggerated at times and maybe that’s our fault as the consumers.

Wasn’t The Racer running backwards in that concept as well?

I wouldn’t trust concept art either:

Well I am jealous you got so many rides. Back then I couldn't drive yet and didn't have season passes. So my only opportunities was with youth group or family day outings. I got to ride it once and then it shutdown that day. All other times the ride was down the whole day. Actually I do not remember when season passes started. I started getting mine in the mid-90's after getting married.

Technically 3… if you count her subway in the water park. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I mean, it is consistent? It is far and away the best Cincinnati Chili place for me to go to, but I do love Cincinnati Chili and if I go to International Street the variance in quality is minimal compared to just about anywhere else in the park. But personally I am perfectly fine having 3rd party restaurants in the park as long as those places are indicative of the region. Kings Island is Cincinnati-ish, so having Cincinnatian food there is acceptable. Tom+Chee, LaRosa, Skyline (better if Gold Star lol), Graeters is all good. Chik-Fil-A and Subway are just boring national chains. Use those spots for more thematic or regional offerings, this includes Auntie Anne's, Starbucks, and Panda Express.

Based on the lines I would see, when they were open, a lot of people eat Subway. Our son frequented it quite often as he is a very picky eater due to sensory issues. On a related note, I’ll be curious to see what will go in the Subway location at Soak City. While on the food topic, can we PLEASE get the Pommes Frittes back at The French Corner????

I don’t think the concept art should be taken too seriously as it is just concept art. I also think the perspective of the picture makes it look like the work being done is farther back than it actually is. From the webcam, it does not look like much has been down behind the Coke Marketplace (in the small sliver that we can see) besides the ground being torn up and the storage containers being moved, so the work being done in this picture must not be that far back. I also think the storage containers staying nearby indicates that they will be moved back behind the Come Marketplace or somewhere back there after construction is finished. That being said, I think you do have a very good point about something more being done beyond the concept art based on how far back construction is going. I personally don’t think Kings Island will squeeze another ride back there, especially as it does not look like a large foundation has been dug, but maybe Adventure Express’s entrance portal and queue is bigger or more than we thought. Maybe the concept art is inaccurate, and Adventure Express’ new plaza will be more behind the Coke Marketplace. Maybe a new Adventure Port souvenir stand or even an Adventure Express photo booth are being added.

I agree with you. I just don’t like when people say a model in general has a service life because there’s too many factors to take into consideration outside of the model. Like you said, bad steel can doom a coaster from the beginning or a multitude of other things

I personally think that, no matter the design flaws, The Bat would have been a short-lived coaster. Over the 10 years that followed it's installation, coaster technology evolved extremely rapidly. By 1992, the first invert was operating. Obviously, The Bat is my personal obsession... however I also recognize its challenges outside of the engineering issues. Here's a few things that often get overlooked with the coaster. - It was LOUD. Specifically the lift. you could hear it all the way in the parking lot. It was that familiar Arrow tubular clunking (like Vortex had) - but much louder. - It was jerky. It was not a smooth ride. Specifically, it caused neck/ear boxing like other Arrows. The horse collars were replaced to try and alleviate some of this. - It wasn't that fast. Because the swinging was a novelty, that made up for the fact that it only ran at a top speed of around 35 m.p.h. To put it in context - That's the speed of Woodstock's Express. If I had to guess, I think The Bat would have rounded out the '80's then bit the dust for something bigger - much like how Screamin' Demon left after an 11 year run. I think Vortex would have still happened (possibly in some other location or form) because Arrow multi-loopers were the definitive trend in the late 1980's. It also stands to reason that instead of Top Gun, KI might have very well become home to an invert. If so, it could have potentially undercut Raptor at CP by a year or two - and helped the KI avoid the B&M exclusivity agreement that hindered the park for years. IMO Backwards Racer may not have happened had The Bat succeeded. I know the recaR origin story is oft debated - but I was always told it was a knee-jerk reaction to The Bat's extensive downtime (to help promote the park for Memorial Day in '82.) However, because of recaR's success (and to offset the excruciatingly embarrassing PR issues they faced with The Bat) it was held over... I always recall visiting KI in '82, and the park was promoting the HECK out of Racer now running backwards, it was a marketing campaign the park pushed hard in '82 & '83. By '84, King Cobra was their new PR talking point - and by the end of the season The Bat was no more... they had newer, bigger things to market.

Grain and Grille looks like a solid add if they could move Skyline over to CFA (and don’t get me started on how much better their IStreet looks. KI blew it when they redid ours essentially for a parade route that is weird anyway with two show stops in the same area on opposite sides of the fountain. If they could relocate the clutter that is the fastlane Picture kiosk, they could add additional seating on that corner and even add a small outdoor bar

I did ride it a couple of times under the Italian Job name. It wasnt really a splash down. It was like yard sprinklers that sent multiple strong streams of water outwards as the train passed over the track.

Diamondback’s first two supports on the lift hill are now completely painted. They have started on the third one as well.

It would be neat to see terracotta tiles in Adventure Port like in the new Fiesta Village at Knott’s Berry Farm. I noticed in this picture, that there is a thin gap between the newly poured patio on the side of Enrique’s and the support beams. Maybe the gap is for tiles to be placed?

It was also supposed to have a bunch of nice landscaping instead of concrete and gravel, but we all know how that worked out.

It was also supposed to be yellow track instead of black according to the teaser footage.

A few other Italian Job/Backlot things came to mind that I need to put out into the world. 1) The weird “fence thing” atop the station roof. (@CoastersRZ, looking at you here for your architectural expertise) (P)KI and (P)CW’s versions of the “Italian Job: Stunt Track” debuted in the same year, 2005. They were so similar that even their budget cuts were identical. Both feature this weird, steel structure that looks similar to a fence atop their stations. (P)KI: (P)CW: I’m not sure what purpose this part of the station serves or if it was meant for something else. If anyone does know, though, I’d love to find out. Interestingly enough, when (P)KD got their version of the ride the next year…the weird, fence thing wasn’t built: WHAT IS IT!!!! And hey, while we’re talking about the Kings Dominion version… 2) Remember when Paramount announced it as “Italian Job: Turbo Coaster” but later changed the name to “Italian Job: Stunt Track?” Event after they changed the name on the billboard, turbo coaster was still mentioned… And ultimately it was just the same ride anyways.

Am I going to far out on a limb to say I think they should just incorporate The Viking Ship into the Adventure Port area? Give it a matching paint job and update the queue then call it the Pirate Ship or something. I would guest if there are cargo ships, then there are pirate ships.

A relocated TOGO from Vegas.

I mean, even if it had EVERYTHING promised in the promotional artwork and video, it still would’ve been a mid tier short ride for that regime. How they didn’t place an action movie themed ride in the area of the park known as “Action Zone” (who’s loose theme was action movies and sets), will always boggle my mind. Also, reading back a few pages, CBS gets a lot of flack for that ride being “budget cut,” but I believe CBS wasn’t fully in charge until early 2006. And IJ:ST would’ve been in planning stages a bit before its 2005 debut. I think Paramount/Viacom was just always cheap.

It’s frustrating as you see what they are capable of when given time and budget. That’s why the hosing down of brown that VikingFury got a few years ago seems even more odd.