Skibum

Like you, I hadn't been there since Fire Chaser opened. The park was beautiful (we went around the first of October and the fall decorations and Halloween lights were up) and everything was great. Next year, Lightning Rod will have a standard lift hill and not the LSM launch up the hill. The launch was fun (nothing like Flight of Fear's launch or Stunt Coaster) but you won't miss much with the more standard high-speed lift. Big Bear Mountain (the new coaster) was a fun family coaster and quite enjoyable. It's also one of the few parks where I took time to watch a few different shows. The park was very clean and the setting (surrounded by the Smokies) is maybe one of the best settings for an amusement park. I can definitely see why Dollywood received the accolades. Friendly and helpful staff, including the tram team telling jokes or trivia while you're riding to and from your car. Just the little things that make a visit better.

Holiday World is opening a new family boomerang next year called "Good Gravy". Top Thrill 2 isn't great but still better.

While I enjoy Orion, Millennium Force feels faster and more complete. The elevator lift hill is fast and sets the tone. The first drop felt steeper and the pullout had great g-forces. The tunnels keep the impression of speed going and then the big hill before the cloverleafs. Now, I always felt that another hill or two or tighter low clearance turns would have helped but MF keeps that momentum going all the way to the last elevated turn and into the brakes. Orion feels like it never quite capitalizes on its speed and the ending occurs too soon. Plus, Intamin does a better job at using g-forces than the new B&M coasters. Banshee is probably one of the best throwback coasters in B&M's current lineup. With all that said, I still enjoy riding Orion but can also say that I actually prefer Diamondback's overall ride experience.

Kings Dominion had (still has I think) so many trees and shade, except where they have added coasters and become allergic to anything green.. I still think of Kings Island back when it had a fair amount of trees. I'm not sure the reasoning as to why they remove trees within a 100 yard proximity to any coaster at Kings Island. Orion needs help with any trees, although it finally has grass underneath the coaster. Mystic Timbers' queue needs the trees replaced that died due to the pine mite but that is an easy swap out with some arbor vitae. Heck, they can drive two miles up to Sharon Nursery and stock up.

One thing that I do not like is that they ripped out a lot of trees in that area. Though I doubt they will, they should plant trees to hide the AE station and then install more trees around the area. Though I haven't been to Kings Dominion in a while, the park had a lot of shade and was a lot nicer in that way. I love Kings Island but they need to start planting more trees instead of cutting all of them down. Pretty soon, it will look like Six Flags.

I would rather they do something like this to Backlot. They could add in the trees and take away the cityscape. They could make this kind of a mine train theme and make the tunnels the "mine" section.

My guess is: 1) Change launch to LSM; 2) Redirect or cover the queue and 3) Potential name change. Changing the top hat height would probably require re-engineering some of the supports. My only wish would be that they would lengthen the coaster to include a better layout but the cash outlay would be enormous, given the potential changeover to LSM's (including retrofitting the trains with that equipment).

I wish that they could bring back a water feature. I loved the waterfall that used to be there as it really made that spot in the park feel special. Just a standard fountain would be a great addition and would make that area more relaxing by blocking out some of the sounds.

Quick question. Is the trim just after the first turn before the drop into the valley still on and as impactful? I was hoping, foolishly perhaps, that they would eliminate that and let the train give a pop of air as it zoomed over and down into that drop.

I would guess also that Cedar Fair had the capital allocation established and could not change that easily. Thus, they used the established budget and worked with B&M to build a coaster on that ground within the budget (which you covered in your research). For the 50th, I like the updates to The Beast and maybe they can also get the animatronics working on Adventure Express. I wouldn't mind seeing a special event that lasts well into the night to commemorate the 50th along with a larger fireworks show. Maybe some banners showing past rides (placed close to where the rides sat).

They should eliminate the magnetic brake that slows the coaster down immediately after the first drop before the drop into the ravine. Then, use the ravine's full depth and come out higher, right turn at 90 degrees, and then drop and add a camelback where the shed is (eliminating that whole dull stretch).

I may have stated this before but my preference would be to get rid of this ride and Invertigo and that is where a lovely RMC hybrid could go. Maybe take out Timberwolf, if needed, and that would give such a great first view of Kings Island. Plus, you eliminate a low capacity coaster and a water ride that is not adding much to the park. Of course, I'm not a "shoot the chutes" fan to begin with and that colors my perspective. At the same time, Action Zone could be rethemed to a more spooky setting (The Bat and Banshee are already there) by changing Delirium's and Drop Tower's names and adding just a little themed pieces to the area. I would then add more trees to the concrete slab that is Action Zone.

Having been on Avalanche Run/Disaster Transport at CP and Avalanche at KD, I would not prefer a bobsled ride. First, the capacity is terrible and the ride experience is so-so. I suppose that the ride is good for a family ride but I think a dark ride would be a better addition.

I would highly prefer this. Plant trees, remove or retheme the containers (retheme since they contain the electronics and tunnel, and maybe give the "subway" the mine feel with cross timbers and maybe some very dim lanterns. I always love water features but adding in trees would both help the coaster's theme and would be attractive from outside of the ride and queue. My only concern with this is the Dollywood has a coaster (Firechaser Express) themed to fighting forest fires and this would feel duplicative.

Current Favorites: Millennium Force, Raptor, Banshee, Orion, and The Beast

The book provides a great description of the planning for Orion and it is clear that they did not just take the hypercoaster layout and budget and giga-size it for Orion. Also, the front of the park looks really nice with the trees and doesn't need a coaster necessarily clogging it up. Although, I wouldn't mind seeing Invertigo leaving and an RMC or junior hyper taking over that spot. I'd hate to lose Timberwolf but it is really only used three days a year (unless I am forgetting something) and is taking up some vital land. The superstructure of a wood coaster would be an inviting view from outside of the park in that location.

While I think that Intamin would bring a little more intensity to the KI mix, I would also expect Mack or Gerstlauer to be the next provider. Intamin has so many options and I would love to see something like Kondaa in Vortex's spot. A blitz coaster would be fun as well including a multi-launch coaster like Taron. From a park perspective, it would round out some of the offerings that Kings Island has.

It truly is a great book. Excellent details and descriptions. Truly fascinating.

Finally ordered my copy and cannot wait to receive it tomorrow. I've been going to the park since 1975 and this history will be a true walk through time for me.

I will allow that it might have been unrelated to a coaster. Again, I was at the intersection of Western Row and Kings Island Drive and was headed east. So, I really didn't have the time to really look at it. For all I know, it was a piece to a wireless tower.

Not sure but it looked like steel coaster support on a flatbed over by the employee entrance today. It was a medium gray and approximately 20 feet long. This was at 4:15 PM. Could not take a picture as I was driving.

I won't say that I hated Vortex but I did not like it, especially in the last few years of its operation. First reason was that the first drop to me was underwhelming after that long lift hill. Decent air time but shorter than expected (early on before I became used to it). After that, the coaster just didn't age well. The looping curve developed a snap and the turn into the midcourse brake became painful. The funny thing is that I rode it in 1988 for the first time and, as it aged, I did too and I think that also had part of the blame. It just became harder for me to enjoy. I still ride The Beast but I'm careful to try and get a middle car and to also sit on the middle row and avoid the axles. This has made it much easier for me and I leave the back (former favorite spot) to those who are in better shape to take the beating.

This is definitely great news. We have both been vaccinated and I've been counting down the days until the season pass days. Just not sure if we'll wear masks in line or if we will discard them. All the "science" is pointing to minimal risk, as others have said, for outside venues and thus I will probably keep the mask in my pocket. I'm more excited about full train operations. The coasters can get back to cranking people through and lines will be more normal. Less than two weeks to go!!

We went there when X-Flight (aka Firehawk) opened. The coasters were a lot of fun and Batman: Knight Flight (now Dominator at KD) was especially enjoyable. I didn't care much for X-Flight there and my opinion didn't change when it moved to KI. The park, overall, was not attractive. The walkways seemed narrow, crowded, and the park seemed dirty. It definitely felt like a third-rate amusement park but with some nice coasters. At that time, I would have ranked the main Ohio parks (based on park upkeep and cleanliness) Cedar Point #1 by far, Paramounts Kings Island #2, and GL a very distant #3. I was hoping that, when Cedar Fair purchased GL, that Knight Flight would have been moved to KI but that didn't happen unfortunately. Yes, it was a pain to get to and we left long before park closing to make the three and a half hour drive home. So, we didn't have to fight the traffic in trying to escape on that two-lane road. I'm glad that I went but it never was a place that I wanted to go back to. I miss Sea World Aurora, though. It was so enjoyable and gave us exposure to the whales and dolphins that we couldn't experience without going far away. Sea World had a true sense of wonder for me. Back to thread. I don't see a need for Kings Island to create a new themed area. If we ignore The Vortex plot or take for granted that it will be addressed sooner than later, I would fix the Action Zone area first and see if there is a way to better connect it to the park instead of having the dead-end back by The Bat. I don't have any good ideas on how to do that but I think that would be a good start. Then, address the former Tomb Raider area and update the existing rides with broken effects. I would also begin adding back trees and some other landscaping to improve the look of the park. Some areas are really nice (walkway from BLSC to The Beast, walkway from International Street to Action Zone) and some areas are concrete wastelands (Planet Snoopy and Action Zone). I would love if they brought back the leafy tunnel using the arched arbor that used to connect Planet Snoopy (Hanna Barbara Land at the time) to Rivertown.

I would love a Cheetah Hunt style coaster, more so than Maverick. With the land available, they could do a lot of different maneuvers including negotiating a valley of "rocks/cliffs". The terrain would really fit that kind of element. Again, it would take Cedar Fair and Intamin patching up their differences (similar to Arrow and Kings Island back in the 80's).