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Showing content with the highest reputation since 02/28/2024 in Posts

  1. While eating some pancakes this morning at a restaurant in Pigeon Forge, I wrote a construction update based on the information the Kings Island Team has been willing to share with park fans. “While the Soap Box Racers are gearing up for action, we’re thrilled to share the latest on the makeover happening around the new Camp Snoopy-themed kids’ area. Drumroll, please! This spring, we say hello to Woodstock’s Air Rail, formerly known as Flying Ace Aerial Chase. Picture this: Woodstock’s in charge of delivering all the important Camp Snoopy mail, and the roller coaster is getting a nature-inspired facelift to fit the theme. Imagine a ride through a tree—the track is being painted green to represent leaves and the structure brown for the trunk and branches. It’s going to be a literal thrill for kids and their parents through the heart of nature! But what about the ride itself? Woodstock’s Air Rail, an inverted roller coaster by Vekoma (the same manufacturer for Soap Box Racers), will take you on a wild journey. The adventure kicks off with a 90-degree turn, then it’s off to conquer a double helix to the left. Hold on tight as you zoom under the lift hill and soar over the station like you could touch the sky with your feet. A couple more twists and turns later, and you’re coasting into the brakes and back into the station. Oh, and for those roller coaster enthusiasts who love details: it’s single train, 10 cars, with riders seated 2 across in a single row, making it a total joyride for 20 excited thrill-seekers. Our award-winning kids’ area just got a whole lot more exhilarating — Woodstock style! BTW — For those who like to keep track, Woodstock’s Air Rail is not a new credit.”
    13 points
  2. From the Kings Island website: Franklin's Flyers You can fly! Riders take flight in one of the unique carriages that spin outward like a swing and then rise above the ground. Once in the air, riders can take matters in their own hands by operating the carriage’s paddle in order to control the gliders flight, from mild to wild. Fly the way your heart desires, as all eight gliders have a unique route that only the rider can determine. Go for a fun and thrilling ride 28 feet in the air, weaving in and out of the clouds, maneuvering your way through the Camp Snoopy midway. Whether you choose to explore the high altitudes or cruise at a lower elevation, the choice is up to you. Woodstock Gliders is a ride that appeals to guests of all ages and something everyone in the family can enjoy together. It’s so much fun! You’ll want to ride this attraction more than once. Kings Island Team, you're welcome... again!
    11 points
  3. A dedicated Mac & Cheese place would have been a good fit for this location. Or return it back to what it originally was as the Sweet Tooth and sell ice cream and cotton candy. That would be a better fit in Coney Mall than a place to get adult beverages.
    10 points
  4. So the park just reached out to me. They have confirmed that the pass should work for parking at Knott's. The park also called Knott's Berry Farm, they confirmed with the IT department of Cedar Fair, and talked with the GM of Knott's of the situation. Cedar Fair wants to make sure this is working correctly for all parties.
    10 points
  5. It’s important when you’re in a communications and storytelling position that you have an understanding of who your audience is, and what they want and need to succeed in the role.
    9 points
  6. New construction video from the park posted today.
    7 points
  7. I attended Dorney Park's Winter Chill Out yesterday and got to see Iron Menace in person. I am very excited for this ride! As has been noted many times before, this is something very unique compared to Dorney's competition and will definitely allow them to stand out. It looks a lot taller in person, and the colors really pop. It is shocking that they were able to fit such a huge ride into a piece of property formerly occupied by a Vekoma Boomerang! I am very excited to see the final thematic package for Iron Menace as well as for the surrounding Steel Yard land. The level of detail of what they have done so far is very impressive, especially for a park like Dorney. Kingdom Productions is doing the scenic fabrication; they did the fabrication/paintwork for Adventure Port last year. Everyone there seems very committed to the McTavish Steel backstory, and it's so awesome that the corporate XDS team developed this authentic, regional story to reflect in the park. I also have to note their Ghost in the Machine haunted maze, which we walked through with the lights on. I was absolutely blown away by it! Everyone at Dorney is so excited for this ride. I got the chance to speak to both their Communications Director and their General Manager, and they were so enthusiastic about Iron Menace, Dorney Park, and hosting this event for the first time. It really seems like this project has injected so much new life into the park. I attended Dorney twice in 2022, while I was completing an internship at Hersheypark, and thought it was very "meh." After yesterday, I walked away very impressed and excited for Dorney's future. I can't wait for Iron Menace to open and see where they go from here!
    7 points
  8. Luckily, the Kings Island GM saw this Thread. They reached out to Knott's. They talked to the GM at Knotts to rectify the situation. Hopefully this covers the training issues at the parking tolls at Knott's and other CF parks as well.
    7 points
  9. It's offically March which means KI will open in just over one month! Here's to the last full month of no KI!
    7 points
  10. 6 points
  11. Imagine an adult beverages drink plan...
    6 points
  12. An 87 word paragraph accompanied by a 0.14 megapixel picture of ~8 feet of track is an absolutely embarrassing excuse for a construction update.
    6 points
  13. I mean, it’s probably way more hassle than it’s worth. Both of those structures probably require additional infrastructure where if you’re going to put a new pool/plumbing in — why not just spend the money on new attractions at that point? And we’re talking about two attractions that, while great for Coney, would be relatively unnoticed among the swath of KI offerings. Also, yeah it would be a good PR move in the sense that a few local tv news stations might use it as feel-good-fodder for the older crowd still watching the news and spreading Facebook nonsense, but how much is that really worth? It’s tragic what happened to Sunlite Pool and hopefully MEMI preserves Moonlight Gardens/some history, but the park truly died in 1971, not 2023.
    6 points
  14. There's some green track and a dark support!
    6 points
  15. The new parking tolls had news placements across the country, including The New York Times. Woodstock Gliders and Snoopy’s Space Buggies made it out of the park’s backyard too, including The New York Times, Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle, Orlando Sentinel, and a couple hundred others. When The Beast turned 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, news placements were garnered in outlets across the country. It was the cover story on magazines for the 30th and 35th anniversary. The 40th? Pretty much just the Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus markets with the story placements. It turns 45 this year. You won’t see Google alerts popping up in your email about the anniversary in many places. It’s all about how the story is pitched and selling why it matters to the news outlets’ audience. You can sell snow to an Eskimo if the story is compelling enough.
    6 points
  16. This constant need to attack the park and its communication is really getting old, and feels unwarranted here. Someone updated the map in the app early, and it was noticed. Accidental leaks happen and I believe we have noticed them before. Changes like this are typically packaged together and announced at the same time closer to the parks opening. Last year the first reference I can find to Outpost Frozen Cocktails was not until April.
    5 points
  17. I would love to see a giant swing. I think it would be a great ride to add for the park.
    5 points
  18. Way to go Holiday World!
    5 points
  19. Even if they can't easily produce video that often (it's easier said than done), it would be trivially easy to add a few extra pictures and provide some basic accompanying context in the update. "Here are some footers. This is the station platform, where guests will load. Here's where the queue will be." Instead they share a single picture that looks like it may have been shot with a Razr V3. It's not that hard. We're enthusiasts, we're easily entertained.
    5 points
  20. I'll be honest, there was a part of me that wondered if the two years of the Phantom Theater show would culminate in an announcement about the ride returning in some form. Boo Blasters getting old and could use some TLC. And with KI really leaning into nostalgia in recent years, it didn't seem too far fetched. My fear is if they did it, it would just be a reskin of Boo Blasters, using similar animatronics and reusing as much of the sets as possible (maybe calling it Phantom Manor instead of Phantom Theatre). And I don't like BB, so I wouldn't want to see that. I think that location is the most obvious place, but it's not where I'd like to see them put it. I'd rather they take the existing Tomb Raider building (or tear it down) and build a stately old, frontier-themed theater in Rivertown and install a completely new dark ride. Give it some real attention, use animatronics and some decent effects, and treat it as a big deal (maybe even call it Phantom Theatre: Encore, in an nod to the show). KI could use a really good dark ride instead of the one that's just kind of languishing.
    5 points
  21. Keep in mind, we are very early in the year. Knott's is the only park dealing with the new passes so far. I understand the hesitation with what we have seen with the Prestige pass. When the park saw this thread, they reached out and made sure things were right. The acknowledgment and willingness to verify with other parks and their IT department that all should be working as advertised, really does speak highly of the KI GM. No mater the decisions that corporate might be making (most likely not under their control) the local parks do want to do what they can to make things right.
    5 points
  22. I think that if the merger doesn`t go through, they have to pay Cedar Fair a termination fee. They also have to get the deal approved by the regulators, which given the scrutiny that current mergers are going through (Re: Kroger and Albertson`s), that is far from a done deal. I just wish we would stop seeing Cedar Fair cutting budgets/hours/experiences. Eventually, the park guests will realize how many things are being cut. It is akin to shrinkflation in the consumer packaged goods arena.. Keeping prices the same, but getting less product for the same price.
    5 points
  23. Because, as far as I can tell, the list appears to be the coasters the ACE President happens to be personally looking forward to, which is a pretty meaningless and arbitrary metric. Obviously it's better to be on the list than not, but I think trying to figure out "why" SSBR is not on the list is silly, given how completely subjective the list appears to be. Ask 10 enthusiasts what their most anticipated rides are, and you'll likely get 10 unique lists. See above. That it's not on this list appears to simply mean that Elizabeth Ringas isn't personally looking forward to it. As the President of ACE, she is, no doubt, aware of the ride, so I don't see how marketing would have much, if any, effect on whether or not she is personally excited for the ride. HW adding their first family coaster is bigger news than KI expanding their already well-rounded family-friendly offerings. Then again, if one's preconceived notion is that poor marketing is the reason for all things bad, then of course that's the lens through which everything will be viewed. Objectivity is hard, I guess. They don't build rides for "awareness" of the ACE President, they build rides to entertain guests. And so long as the ride's operating cost per rider metric is met, then it is "fulfilling the plan for the funds".
    5 points
  24. I believe the park announced awhile back it is just undergoing annual maintineance.
    5 points
  25. There are more than 400 amusement/theme parks in North America. All but one would have shared the news within an hour of the last piece of track being installed on a new coaster. Some would have streamed it live. The park has had a lot of really good PR people throughout its history. Thomas Olds. Ruth Voss. Bill Mefford. Carolyn Boos. Jeffrey Siebert. David Mandt. Susan Lomax. Dan Cahill. Steve Edwards. Maureen Richmond. Karen Hunt. Susan McDonald. None of them would have waited until the next day to share the news that the final piece of track on a new coaster had been installed.
    5 points
  26. After a phenomenal Phantom Theater Encore show at Kings Island, I know a lot of people are speculating if the Phantom Theater ride would return at some point in the future. My question to you is if the Phantom Theater ride returned, what would the new layout be? Would it be in a new area of the park? Would there be a new story within the ride? Here's what I think 1. Location: Where Boo Blasters is currently (Old Ride locaton) or I could see them making the Old Action Theater (which has been an eyesore for over a decade) into the new Phantom Theater. 2. Name: Phantom Theater: Return Of The Maestro. 3. Storyline: In the que The Maestro can talk about the destruction of his old Theater (poking fun at Scooby-Doo & Boo Blasters) and then the actually ride we take a trip throughout the Theater in the same buggy style as before with new characters and some returning Old characters, creepy yet goofy like the original. 4. We gotta bring Back animatronics some digital effects would be good but overall animatronics. 5. The same musician number as before but with a modern tone. 6. A few jumpscares in the ride and the re-use of some of the original animatronics from the original Phantom Theater. 7. Alternate idea: what if we brought back the boat system and make it like the original Enchanted Voyage but in the style of the Phantom Theater? So what do all of you think? Let me know down below your thoughts!
    4 points
  27. Not too surprising KI wants to push alcohol sales by adding another dedicated location since alcohol drinks have a huge profit margin, and as they say, alcohol sells (which equals more profits for the park). However, families are looking for food/snack options, not alcohol, and probably agree the choice of a cocktail location by the park was probably a poor one in terms of an overall family/child/teen park satisfaction.
    4 points
  28. I bought a 2024 KK season pass. I'm looking forward to the different events.
    4 points
  29. We are heading there this weekend. My first time in several years (pre-Wildwood Grove) and her first time ever. It does feel nice to spend the money someplace that genuinely cares about the guest experience.
    4 points
  30. Someone already mentioned this, but I'll say Delirium is my favorite at Kings Island. However, last year when they introduced Cargo Loco and Sol Spin, those were huge upgrades for the flat ride department at Kings Island.
    4 points
  31. Honestly I miss Scooby at this point, at least Scooby worked and was a lovable character, we need a new dark ride hell make it two new dark rides enough with coasters for a while
    4 points
  32. I just saw on a video last night that the high quality Phantom Theater was only there for 10 years. That awful, cheap replacement has been there for over 20 years. How can a piece of garbage like the current ride exist for that long?
    4 points
  33. I thought it was a nice little park.
    4 points
  34. *Terms are subject to change. No refunds.
    4 points
  35. It's amazing how simple, yet how effective something like this could be.
    4 points
  36. Very few people in Cincinnati will forego Winterfest to go to this. The people of Louisville? Maybe. And that'll hurt. A lot.
    4 points
  37. Here's a piece I wrote on Theme Parks By Don about Christmas at Kentucky Kingdom.
    4 points
  38. Does anybody seem to remember this giant billboard of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo in Hanna-Barbera land at Kings Island? If so does anybody know what happened to it, weather it got sold or destroyed? I'm curious because I used to love seeing it when I was a kid, thank you!
    4 points
  39. I think we ALL agree that Mr Koontz was proactive, professional, and demonstrated that he cared to rectify this situation. People reached out to Knott’s and got conflicting info. This was dispute the web site very much suggesting that the answer was yes. Clearly this was an IT/communications breakdown. No one went to Mr Koontz; however, he heard of the problem and rectified it. His efforts are not unnoticed.
    4 points
  40. I bought 2024 season passes to Dollywood, Kennywood, Holiday World and Six Flags (Diamond Pass) because I knew in the fall when they went on sale what I was paying for. There hasn't been any surprises or lack of clarity on anything.
    4 points
  41. As long as people renew their passes with all this degradation, they will continue to cut. Here's the 2025 entertainment announcement: New for 2025! Kings Island will amaze guests by turning on the royal fountain for three minutes each hour from June 20- July 1!* *Conditions subject to change with or without notice.
    4 points
  42. I concur! And they could keep the simple animatronics and scenery as things to see along the way. Like the C. P. and L. E. railroad.
    4 points
  43. I would still be ok with just a boat ride without the actors. Keep the animatronics and make a simpler story during the ride.
    4 points
  44. Plus… why is Good Gravy “most anticipated” but Soapbox Racers isn’t? There’s no doubt that this is a great fit for the park; however, if GG is on this particular list but Soapbox isn’t then it’s a referendum on the effort put into it, not the quality of the ride. Just remember- they spend this capitol to get an ROI. The ride can be great, but if the awareness falls short then it’s still not fulfilling the plan for the funds.
    4 points
  45. I think they are right by going with the Camp Snoopy push as the main thing, they want to retake the Golden Ticket Award back, and you don’t do that just by talking about a new coaster, it needs to be them talking about expanding Planet Snoopy, and that’s what they’re doing. It would be nice to see a Peanuts Pirate ride added someday, it’s popular at Carowinds.
    4 points
  46. You compared SSBR's track length to Good Gravy's total ride length (factoring that it traverses the layout twice since it's a boomerang). If you look at SSBR on Kings Island's website, it says it traverses around 1400ft of track. Granted SSBR is still shorter, it's only a difference of about 100ft or so of track.
    4 points
  47. It would have worked very well if it was just a transport attraction. Taking a nice trip from Camp Snoopy to Frontier Town is what we need.
    4 points
  48. USA Today released its list of the 2024 most anticipated new roller coasters. Snoopy’s Soap Box Racers is not one of them. STORY: https://shorturl.at/cjpG0
    4 points
  49. https://www.carowinds.com/rides-experiences https://www.kingsdominion.com/rides-experiences Kings Dominion is calling the ride "Project 305" and Carowinds has scrubbed it from the website entirely. I presume this means that a licensing deal has expired and will not be renewed and both coasters will have a new theme (and perhaps new paint) next year. The jokester in me wants to suggest "Nitro" and "Superman: Ride of Steel" as potential ride names ;-P
    4 points
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