FUN&ONLY!

A batwing hugging the midway in Vortex’s successor would be awesome!

I came across the post on Reddit. A lot of this stuff we already knew, but this confirms that Grain and Grill is replacing Skyline on International Street and a new ICEE stand is replacing Tom and Chee. That is, if the post is true. Nothing was mentioned about the Subway locations, which is interesting. A lot of people are claiming the Subways are not leaving and that the one in Coney Mall is just getting a new roof, so maybe Subway is staying after all. One user in here even claimed it was on Kings Island’s 2023 park map. It being removed from Kings Island’s website makes doubtful, though.

One thing that I find crazy is how Kings Island is not making as big of a deal about the new track on The Racer, the supposed new signature restaurant replacing Skyline on International Street, or even Diamondback’s repaint. I know Adventure Port is opening this year, but these park improvements could probably generate at least some buzz. I remember when Kings Island retracked Blue Racer’s TURNAROUND and the local news was buzzing with stories of a smoother ride experience even though it was a relatively small improvement. It also seems like there more more blog posts about retracting updates in the past. When Kings Dominion announced Grain and Grill was replacing Panda Express, they released concept art. I feel like if the park could generate a lot more buzz about improvements like these if it wanted to. Even though a repainted Diamondback might not make someone jump in their car and immediately head to Kings Island, it will at least put Kings Island in their head, and maybe they will think about visiting. I guess news stories about Kings Island “parting ways with a 27 million dollar attraction” make people think of Kings Island, too.

I am starting to question if Diamondback will be ready for Opening Day. I drive past Kings Island every once in a while, and it appears that no progress has been made on Diamondback’s repaint in a few weeks. The lift hill supports are still yellow at the top, and the drop is still two shades of red (half of it being the older color). No other hills appear to have been touched at all. It looked the exact same the first week of March. I know that crews could be focused on painting sections of the ride lower to the ground, but there are only so many elements that cannot be seen above the tree line. Right now, it seems like 90% of the ride still needs fresh paint, which seems like it poses a threat to Diamondback opening in less than 30 days.

The roof is not looking good. I hope Kings Island does something about it before Adventure Port’s Grand Opening. You don’t want the centerpiece of a new themed area to look out of place.

Wilk’s Outdoor Living has been posting Adventure Port hardscape updates on their Instagram. They are currently installing big stone blocks to act as a curb (and will definitely be used as benches). I really like it so far. There are a few other posts on their Instagram in addition to these pictures.

I agree, but lower crowds can only be better for the employees if they can work during the hours of preview day.

I agree then that 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM does not make a whole lot of sense. 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM would probably allow for not only better staffing but also better attendance.

Last year it was also 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM. I really wish Kings Island would do the preview day they announced for 2020 before the pandemic started. Preview Day that year was initially scheduled to be 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Before 2020, it was 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM for a while.

Why did Kings Island remove SlingShot?

It wouldn’t shock me if Skyline was added to the Festhaus in some fashion. Maybe it can be served alongside LaRosa’s? I am more curious what is going to happen to the old Tom & Chee and Subway locations. I could see something like a mini Wishbone Grill replacing Tom & Chee, but something a little bigger could replace Subway.

What’s going where Tom & Chee was?

One thing I hope Kings Island does over the off-season is install new water canons for guests to use at White Water Canyon. I missed them last season.

I can across this thread on Twitter. It appears that Knott’s Berry Farm has cut A LOT of entertainment options recently. The cuts are especially interesting because they came right before the park’s usually super popular Boysenberry Festival, which usually includes additional entertainment offerings and not less. With rumors of very low attendance so far this year, maybe the cuts are a result of low attendance? Does anyone know more?

However, before the renovation of International Street, Kings Dominion’s version was still miles ahead of Kings Island’s. I do think International Street is better post renovations as the old pavers and color palettes did not look great. I do wish Kings Island tried to incorporate a sidewalk and more landscaping into International Street, but I suppose they wanted a wider street for better capacity. Kings Dominion gets much lower attendance than Kings Island, so the narrower International Street works fine there. Eventually, the trees should grow in, and International Street will look much better if the rest of it is well maintained. Speaking of trees, Kings Island should just plant a ton of trees throughout the park so that in 20 years, it is much more shaded than it is now. The lack of foliage will never get better without action. That area behind the Eiffel Tower and around Backlot Stunt Coaster could use A LOT of trees. Unless Kings Island plans on doing something else with that area, Kings Island should invest in trees for the future.

The Musik Express would look very good in Coney Mall. I could see a ride like that going where KillMart is or next to the Grand Carousel in that grassy plot of land behind the International Showplace. That part of the park has always seemed very dead, and I think something needs to be done behind the International Showplace whether it be a new ride, restaurant, or just trees and landscaping.

From this post on Reddit, it appears that Skyline has indeed been repainted. The colors look very similar to the color palette of Grain & Grill at Kings Dominion.

It also appears that the lines were repainted across the entire parking lot. The good news is that people will actually be able to park in a spot on busy days as the lines have been very faded in recent years in some parts of the parking lot. The bad news is that we probably won’t see any repaving in the near future.

I am still hoping that Adventure Port turns out to be great. I am honestly a little bit more hopeful now that Kings Island announced it is as a summer opening because that means that the area still has a few more months of work left. I do appreciate the park posting pictures of the progress, especially because I felt like almost none were shared during Orion’s construction. However, it would be nice to see some new angles. Also, maybe it’s just me, but I feel like construction is moving pretty slow. I feel like there is not as much change as there should be in the same picture posted today versus a couple of weeks ago. Granted, we do not know what is going on elsewhere in the area. I really, really want this area to be good and successful because there are many other areas of the park that could use some reimagining (areas like Action Zone, Planet Snoopy, Soak City, and even Rivertown could all really benefit from new life).

Is there any way Kings Island can paint the shingles to match with the red? Because the roof looks really weird right now in my opinion.

Do you have the Adventure Port blueprints?

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.

Based on the webcams, it still does not look like the Subway has been touched yet. Hopefully, Kings Island can get its replacement ready for opening day if there is one. I ready think an ice cream place would work really well there, especially since Coney Mall is more of a family oriented area. An additional ice cream location there could serve all those families who get scared away from the huge lines that the other ice cream locations get. I bet a lot of people decide to skip on ice cream when they see those huge lines, and Kings Island could capitalize on this demand by adding another ice cream location, which would increase ice cream capacity. If Kings Island did bring back the Sweet Tooth that was in that location before Subway, they could potentially serve other treats in addition to ice cream.

I doubt Subway will be replaced with a Mac and Cheese bar as Cedar Point’s Mac Shack just closed. I actually think a Blue Ice Cream stand would be a good replacement because there is not really and I’ve cream place in the back of the park aside from Ralph’s ice cream, which does not even serve Blue Ice Cream and is not always open. I just hope that it doesn’t sit boarded up.

It was probably even more mild in Cincinnati. Adventure Port is so behind on construction because construction started really late. It was also announced very late. I don’t even think Kings Island knew they were going to build it a year ago. A year ago, SlingShot was getting repainted. While it looks to be well done, it seems like a very last-minute addition.