Leaderboard

Actually, Chad never left. He's been at the park for almost a year now.

New post from KI Twitter!

This should have never been removed. I partially learned to drive on these things. It's a cherished memory for me as it's something me and my dad did together. I lost him last year, and I'm really glad it's coming back

Pix from tonight

Here is a different perspective of the Kings Island skyline: Here you can see a portion of where the monorail track was, along with the pond where the animals grazed: Here you can see the pond closer, as well as more of the former location of the monorail track: Here is the view of the safari looking northwest, towards Great Wolf Lodge: Here is a view of the safari looking north, notice Kings High School in the background: Sorry for the low resolution, the video the pictures were taken from was shot in 4K but they are compressed when uploaded onto the forums. Hope you all enjoy!

@PKIVortex took the words out of my mouth! Not every coaster is glass smooth, but I think that is a good thing. A lot of wooden coasters (at least if they're not Mystic Timbers) are not totally smooth but a lot of people enjoy them. The Beast makes a great example of that. A coaster does not have to be totally rattle- or roughness-free to be a good ride (though they may not be as comfortable). We all have our opinions. Vortex may not offer the smoothest ride, but it still has a solid spot in KI's lineup (and the hearts of many, including mine), has the historical significance AND a lot of people still enjoy it today (including myself). After all, it has withstood the test of time for 31 years and counting, whether you like it or not. B&Ms definitely deserve their rave reviews. However, they would not have come to be if it weren't for the technological advancements and breakthroughs through the tireless efforts of Schwartzkopf, Arrow, Vekoma and numerous other manufacturers. Nowadays, many overlook the historical significance of coasters like Vortex and how they were state-of-the-art for their time. But that does not mean no one appreciates them anymore. I love Diamondback, but Vortex has my heart. <3 -BFF, a proud Arrow fan.

Guysss! I did a thing!

Don't you have to open it first?

Not that this should surprise anyone, but KI has once again won the Golden Ticket Award for Best Kids' Area.

I'm not sure which particular animals the building in question housed, but as far as I know - there were still two animal keeps still standing (along with a few other random structures) as of a few years ago. The building in these photographs was mainly used as storage and accessible via a very eroded and overgrown pathway. For years after the first Winterfest revival was cancelled, it was used to store a ton of WF decorations that never made it into that crappy haunt thing with mean Santa. It also had several of those classic HB benches that were installed circa 2001 and removed for Nickelodeon Universe. The heaters for the animals were still hanging from the rafters the last time I was in there. A second pen, known as "The Bolt Barn," was just up the hill from Son of Beast and had most of the surrounding brush and trees removed. It was also somewhat renovated. Inside were aisles upon aisles of tools and parts specifically used to maintain Son of Beast. The pond itself is very random to see in person, but still cool, and behind Adventure Express on the hillside there were (was, maybe with Banshee now there) some other structures. I think they may have been some sort of stations with phones. The former monorail maintenance shed (which could house one train indoors on special track and allow maintenance staff to work underneath) eventually became part of the facilities for Steel Coaster Maintenance. In the yard out front, that once was the switch track for the monorail, several things were stored there such as FoF's original OTSR trains (at least one of them). Underneath all the random stuff you could still find a monorail footing or two. Hope that helps @Bansheeback, I've got photographs somewhere.

They should really do a DropTower/Ball Drop at midnight....

Breaking news for Winterfest 2018! It will be bigger and better then last years for sure! Posted from Don on the KI blog. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2018/august/dont-look-now-but-winterfest-is-just-around-the-corner

Well, at the stroke of Midnight, my ride warrior will have a birthday

Viagra's Eiffel Tower.

LOL. I figure it'll go back to Top Gun if the USAF is paying for it. And apparently Vortex makes King Ding Dong's vajayjay itch. Who knew?

Wait. Adding trees? Who are we, Disney??

Equally impressive would be opening the Rivertown Freestyle at Midnight.

United’s Flight of Fear and Vagisil’s Vortex. Though Advil may get in a bidding war for that one.

I'd pay good money to go tour old abandoned parts of fairly well established places. The museum center, music hall, KI. I did the old brewery tour downtown where you go into an ancient looking aging cellar, love that stuff.

Here is a pic of DJ Duke Edwards spinning at the old Coney Disco from my 1978 employee yearbook. IIRC, he worked here during weekdays in the summer, but was a prime time DJ at WOKV (the 50,000 watt voice of Disco in the tri-state) for his regular gig.

This ride is going to look fun! They needed a good launched coaster. All credit goes to Carowinds

No, sounds like they made YOU mad with antique cars.

#whatsunderthecoveredbridge?

Thanks to Chad, we have a new set of answers! 1. Can we possibly see more of the classic rides return someday (Skyride, Trabant type ride, etc?) Adding classic rides is something that leadership is open to, as evidenced by the return of Antique Cars in 2019. 2. Can we see the floral style bushes along the Royal Fountain brought back? This looked very nice! Anything is possible, but I’ve not heard any talk of their return. I enjoyed them too, and for me this is one of the best, most nostalgic areas of the park. 3. What happened to the antenna that was on the Eiffel Tower, is it in storage at the park somewhere? I looked into this, and as far as I can tell, it was disposed of when it was taken down. 4. Can The Racer get repainted back to its original colors? I love the pictures of The Racer from the days when it had its original colors. I’m sure it will be discussed the next time that The Racer is being considered for repainting. 5. Why is there no Coca-Cola freestyle refill stations in Action Zone? It’s a good idea, and I will pass that suggestion along. I would imagine that we were able to build a number of freestyle refill stations, and park leadership placed them where they could serve the most guests. But, as the park changes, it’s something that we could evaluate as we consider future locations. 6. Why are there no bathrooms in x-base? Currently there are two restrooms in Coney Mall, on each end. Unfortunately, X-base is right in the middle of Coney Mall. I went out and walked it today, and it takes approximately 2 minutes to get to either end. If you ever have to make a decision about which one to go to (in an emergency) go to the Vortex restrooms. They are approximately 37 steps closer.