befat

That's pretty cool. When driving up I-71 North, the cranes peak out over the trees before you can even see the Warren County Water Tower or any rides in the skyline. Those cranes really are massive! Furthermore, while Orion won't "look" that much taller than Diamondback, it balances out the park nicely. I always liked how Son of Beast framed out the Eiffel Tower when driving north and Orion has a similar effect.

Listen Linda.

On one hand, I think building out this park with rides along with the Sesame Street brand could be a really successful endeavor. On the other hand, I think it's really strange that they are dropping rides into the existing park instead of adding an additional area. Not sure how that's going to work. https://sesameplace.com/san-diego/about-the-park/

The emerald ash borer has a lot to do with the tree removals you see around the park.

That is a good point! I'll add one more - Ghoster Coaster - Surf Dog (definitely an upgrade)

I should clarify, I have ridden a B&M's with floor-less trains and regular sitting trains (a la Hulk). Just curious if people think the floor-less experience is that much greater. Would it be worth the extra cost to add the machinery in the station to accommodate the floor-less trains? The ride layouts on these coasters seem to be similar regardless of the train style . Either would be a worthy replacement for Vortex in terms of lift hill height and inversions. I took the "sitting coaster" terminology from RCDB.

What about a B&M sitting coaster (a la Hulk or Time Machine)? Are floor-less trains vastly greater than sitting?

I agree - and Racer.

1. It's kind of funny that The Vortex land will probably sit empty for a while right after the land across the way was just redeveloped for Antique Autos . (After 20+ years! For the most part.) 2. While I think The Vortex station is a goner, it would be cool if KI reused it for a 3rd coaster. Does anyone know of another example of a coaster station being reused for an entirely different coaster? I don't think RMC's and stand-up to floor-less conversions count. I will miss the Victorian (ish) styling of the station. 3. How far would be acceptable for a new coaster to go back without encroaching on Beast's seclusion? I'm thinking not past the crest of the first lift hill.

It was built to house the helicopter for the helicopter tours. Last I knew, it was used as temporary storage in the summer and for winter maintenance on the wood coaster trains in the off-season.

The tiny wave pool looks like fun for little ones! It's interesting that they are adding a second play structure. I wonder if the older one will return for 2020. I'm surprised they aren't putting in a mat racer slide. I like how Cedar Fair is getting creative with new waterpark additions. The little wave pool here and the cliff jumping attraction at Canada's Wonderland are definitely unique but simple concepts at the same time.

I agree with this whole heartedly! A coaster that’s 10 feet taller than the Eiffel Tower would just look... strange. I think if they go taller, it needs to be in the 400 foot range and go on the far north side of the park.

It looks like Flight of Fear is finally getting an entrance sign! Will the queue be rethemed to fit the meteor shower motif?

It took me a minute to figure that out too, but KI tucked it into the ride stats. See "height of hills." https://www.visitkingsisland.com/explore/orion

It’s amazing how the media can get headlines so wrong sometimes. The Beast has Orion beat by over 2000 feet in track length... Kings Island announces newest roller coaster, Orion, park's largest and longest coaster

Highly rumored to have been considered for WindSeeker. Furthermore, there was speculation that this would have been the name if Cedar Fair went with Funtime as opposed to Mondial.

I love how the funbrellas are still up. https://mobile.twitter.com/scottclemonsrva/status/1159895394400329731

Carowinds also opens for spring break. They are getting pretty close to a year round operation.

Not since Geauga Lake / Wildwater Kindom stand alone waterpark closed. Michigan's Adventure's waterpark is named Wildwater Adventure though. Speaking of Geauga Lake, I am kind of surprised that their giant slide complex was never relocated to another park. It was already relocated once from when Six Flags had the waterpark other side of the lake so maybe it couldn't handle another relocation. Good call. I missed that one since I was relying on aerial images and Muskoka Plunge didn't stand out since it's just the 4 slides. So that just leaves Michigan's Adventure without the drop box slides. CW appears to have gone with a different manufacturer - Splashtacular. I believe all of the other drop box / snake pit slide complexes were done by Whitewater. Valley Fair has a slight variation since they opted out of the tube slides and went with regular body slides instead.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the waterparks at MIA and CW. CW escaped the Boomerang Bay and Soak City rethemes. I think their last slide install was a relocation from a defunct park. I don’t think the waterpark there is a major draw due to the lower summer temperatures in Toronto. MIA’s waterpark is a big draw for that park but new attractions come few and far between.

Pro tip for guys- use the bathroom outside the front gate if you need to go #2. It’s crazy that there’s only one stall in the inside front gate bathroom. (Sorry, too much?) Also, if you have kids, you should definitely utilize the Family Care Center!

This looks like the same new attraction lineup that came with Cedar Point Shores with less slides in the kiddie pool. Looks like a great addition to CGA’s little waterpark which really isn’t so little anymore. Michigan’s Adventure and Canada’s Wonderland are the only parks left without the Snake Pit slide complex. (Obviously excluding Schlitterbahn.)

Obviously, RMC is going to pull off their first conversion of a wave pool here.

Thank you. I could have sworn I saw some bolts for Diamondback packaged in a steel drum in oil. Is that possible? I’m now thinking I’m crazy as my Google searches are coming up short on the subject.

Kings Island already admitting defeat by declaring that this coaster will be trash. Seriously though, it’s probably a steel drum that the bolts came in. There appears to be a black one next to the T shaped footer.