CoastersRZ

Yep, I remember the temporary set up for that Haunt. They need to do something in that area to liven it up a bit. It would be nice to see a small flat ride there. And put a solid roof on the International Showplace. I cam fine with keeping the open sides, but a solid roof over it would allow them to utilize it for a Winterfest show.

I have loved the Screamin Swings that I have been on (Skyhwak and Barnstormer). They are fun rides, One put on the former Salt Water Circus site would be a nice added addition on a midway that has seemed under utilized for far too long.

I think that the lights may have been removed when the ride was refurbished in the year 2000, when the ride was standing but not operating for that season. When it reopened in 2001, I believe that those lights were gone. Not positive on that, but I know they have been gone for a while.

My wife has consistently stated that she wished the dining plan had a snack option, for things like an Auntie Ann`s Pretzel, or when she just wants fries from Rivertown Potato Works but doesn`t want a whole mean. Weren`t they testing that at one of the other Cedar Fair parks back in 2019?

I agree, that they should reconfigure the queue so that is utilizes the full queue instead of just half. They didn`t really modify the queue after they added Fast Lane to it, which is when they stopped using the right side. I still miss the shaded structure that extended from the main queue to the ramp. It was nice on sunny days to provide some shade in that area.

Cedar Point has several large metro areas to pull from. And keep in mind at Cedar Point, there is more to do than just the amusement park. There is the water park, the beach, they have a large marina, Castaway Bay, the Sports Force Park for tournaments, the Saw Mill Creek resort, the beauty of Lake Erie. One could easily spend an entire day at Cedar Point/surrounding hotels, without even setting foot in the amusement park. It is more of a destination park compared to KI, in part because it has the hotel infrastructure (owned by Cedar Fair) to support that kind of activity. KI has surrounding hotels, and can be a multi-day park for non-Cincinnatians. However the surrounding hotels are not owned by Cedar Fair, so it does not generate additional revenue by guests staying in the hotels, like it does at Cedar Point, Knott`s, and the Carowinds hotel.

And keep in mind that Banshee is the longest inverted coaster in the world. It beats out Raptor at Cedar Point. I would hardly say that it is scaled down. I will admit that Cedar Point`s water park is better than KI`s. Part of that is because Cedar Point has all the hotel rooms to fill, and they are more of a vacation destination, when compared to KI.

Except, Firehawk was a low capacity ride which required lots of operators to run. Vortex from what I had heard was going to need some major money to keep it running. If you read Evan`s KI history book, we should be fortunate that KI got Orion, since it was originally slated for another park. On your subject of Knott`s, yes they are landlocked. But look at the market that they are operating in. Disneyland and Universal are not far, so competition is more prominent there. Also, look at what Knott`s has added since 2010 in terms of coasters. Coast Rider in 2013 (Mack wild mouse) and Hang Time in 2018 (Gerstlauer Infinity coaster). Kings Island in that same span has added Banshee (2014), Mystic Timbers (2017) and Orion (2020). Clearly Cedar Fair is investing money in KI. Also, Knott`s is open year round, so if they get a major new coaster, it can draw crowds over more days compared to KI. Knott`s is a terrific park. Is it sad that KI lost Vortex? Yes. I think that the park needs to add something in that spot soon, as it makes the back end of Coney Mall seem very barren. I still don`t like that you can see The Beast`s station from the three point challenge.

I kind of suspected this might be happening when the front of the organ was missing when I rode the Carouse at Winterfest earlier this year. Hopefully the restoration will allow it to play continuously. It adds a certain nostalgic fee to the carousel. Thanks KI for taking the time and money to restore this historical item!

I wonder how much of the parking lot they are actually going to repave. It has needed some work lately, as the pot holes were quite treacherous and sometimes difficult to avoid.

They may not actually be repaving the lot right now, just preparing to repave. Most asphalt plants shut down in the area for the winter and reopen in early spring.

Or we may not find out anything until the park opens for the 2022 season...

I am excited that they announced opening day already. April 16th is the day before Easter. I am glad that they are opening at their usual opening time in mid-April instead of the beginning of May like they did this year. This looks to be a more "normal" operating calendar. Ie, 10am openings, and daily operations beginning in mid-late May.

I assume that he was referring to the new coaster track that Gravity Group installed on The Racer this past off season. It would seem like a logical place to expand the use of that track. By all accounts, Racer was moving great with this new track from GG. Only would make sense KI would use more of it. Unless there were cost/schedule reasons for not using it.

I think the real issue is current ownership. They are the ones that prompted the decision to remove the rides. Still a silly move in my opinion. I wish someone would purchase it and reinvest in the dry side and add a couple of things to the pool as well.