johnjniehaus

Anyone have any updates on The Racer re-tracking project? All I ever hear about is Camp Snoopy...

While Vortex is probably my favorite ride sign during my days going to the park, the zodiac sign is definitely....let's say very interesting (almost seems too detailed for an amusement park ride)

I don't remember the tour but I'll never forget the sound of that lift hill!

Ok so I've kinda got a similar deal. I've been quite a few times over the years but I've got three friends who I'm taking up there for the first time this year. So here's what I can tell you - typically the park isn't busy at all in May during the week. Best time to go in my opinion. Obviously the enthusiasts might be there for TT2 opening but I've been there in May the last 2 years and it's been low crowds and beautiful weather both times. I have never got fastlane (in May I never felt the need for it) but in busier season it would help tremendously as wait times can get extremely long for the major coasters. Maybe going in late Aug would be better because people are back to school/college but I can tell you never go in late July. Did that once and I'll never do it again. Never seen so many people in my life lol! As for hotels, I've stayed a few times in Sandusky and every hotel I've stayed at so far is an overpriced dump. It's a tourist trap if you ask me. I'd prefer to stay 30-45 min away where hotels are typically cheaper and also better quality. I mean sure you spend more $ in gas but I've just always been really disappointed in all the hotels I've tried in Sandusky and they are usually not cheap!

What! No way! They should have him roaming around at haunt or something

Do you remember what rides they typically offer the one time fastlane for and how much it cost in the past? I mean if I only do it on one coaster it's probably fine but I could see where single use would add up fast and maybe it's just worth investing in the real thing

Outta curiosity, does anyone think the fastlane at CP is worth the price you pay? Anyone have experience with it. I've always been the old school stand in line type of guy and if you don't ride everything you come back another day but this year I'm going with three guys who have never gone so I'm wondering if fastlane is an investment we need to make... I mean I have no idea what to expect concerning crowd levels with TT2 opening this year

I totally understand the business side of things and it's not really anyone's fault that coney has a troubled history and doesn't seem to turn good enough profits to be a viable business. Sure there have been many bad moves over time but as it's been stated coney technically died 50 years ago with the creation of Kings Island. Coney was essentially brought back to life and has been on life support for years essentially. So yes as a business and an owner of a business and property you are allowed to do whatever you want to do with your business or property. If CSO wants to tear down the pool or moonlight gardens they have every legal right to do so however trying to pin the blame on the previous owners for destroying historical buildings/pool is incredibly dishonest and false. CSO bears the full responsibility there. That was their decision and their decision alone so they just need to own it instead of blaming other people. As for me I love the CSO but their business model I think is very corrupt and the whole "non-profit" thing is kind of a joke. Sure maybe there isn't one sole owner getting filthy rich off the CSO but you better believe they pay their employees a ton of money to make sure that the business doesn't ever turn a profit. Now I'm for taking care of your employees don't get me wrong but my point here is that CSO is a very profitable "non-profit" labeled business and they must have a ton of money stashed somewhere in order to buy out coney and build huge music venues....that sounds like profit is being made to me.

Does anyone have an official source confirming that moonlight gardens is going to be preserved? On the CSO website it states that it has been deemed unsafe since 2018 and is listed in the section along with sunlight pool which as we see has met it's fate... I am a proud CSO subscriber but this has definitely made me start questioning how much I'll be supporting them in the future. Now they have a point which is that the previous ownership drove the park into the ground but as for them pinning the blame on the previous owners for closing the park and destroying Cincinnati landmarks...that's not entirely true. Sure maybe the park closed under the old management but CSO is the one behind the demolition of a historic record holding pool and possibly other historical buildings on the property. I can think of 2 other buildings besides moonlight gardens that seemed pretty old to me...For an organization who acts like they care about preservation (music hall, Taft theater, etc) this is a hard hit to me.... Like isn't there a way to repurpose coney and also save some of its iconic architecture? I'll give the CSO that they probably don't want to operate a pool but I'd be curious if anyone else would have been interested in purchasing just that section and possibly some of the parking area to continue operating sunlight pool? I don't know. I think Coney's demise was a long time coming but it doesn't make it hurt any less to see... I do think they should have kept the rides though I wasn't looking at their financial books to know profit margins... It just seemed like a bad move to me and I know my family wasn't the only ones who stopped going after the rides were removed.

That is quite the trip! Make sure you share all the details for us on the forums

I feel ya! I live in Harrison, OH so it's a little ways for me as well... If you want to carpool up there sometime this summer do me and maybe I can pick you up or something. One westsider KI fan to another

The stripes are cool though I agree with that the ride in general needs a good overhaul. I mean even something like they did with Adventure Express would be fine. Bring back the real Flying Eagles and a Backlot overhaul in 2025? I'm down!

Not sure if this is the right section for this thread so if not I apologize but I wanted to throw one out there for us to discuss our bucket list parks for this year and any amusement park road trips or other types of trips/vacations we might be kicking around for this year. Can't wait to hear where everyone is headed! Seeing as I'm a broke college student now, I will be lucky to get up to CP for two days. Does anyone know how far Michigan's Adventure is from CP and is it worth going to if you have never been? I have also kicked around the idea of hitting SFGA, Indiana Beach, & SFSL on a long weekend. ACE has a week long trip planned to the British parks and that's definitely on my bucket list but there's no way I'm coming up with nearly $3k this year to do it. Maybe one day...

Gotcha. Well I'll start. One thing I was surprised about is now seemingly affordable the event is given everything it includes. I mean out of town guests obviously have to get hotels but for locals such as myself this event is very affordable and is very exciting... I have always wanted to see some of the behind the scenes tours and I'm really excited about the Flight of Fear peek inside the bowl. The sign shop I've heard is pretty cool as well.

Did you create a new thread for discussion of this event? If so is there a way to find it?

Any more word on when tickets go on sale for coaster mania?

Cool my account is still under review or something so guess we'll see if it comes together

I finally decided to join ACE! If this event isn't sold out I'm definitely interested in it but I also think that ACE is a great organization and worth being a part of even if I miss out on the spring conference

Dorney park is such an overlooked and underrated park in my opinion. For a mid size park it's history is incredible and their coaster lineup is probably one of the best for a park that size. Iron Menace will be such a great addition to Dorney!

1) Delirium 2) Dogem 3) Monster 4) Viking Fury 5) Drop Tower 6) Sol Spin 7) WindSeeker 8) Shake Rattle & Roll 9) Scrambler 10) Cargo Loco 11) Eiffel Tower (if it is considered a flat) 12) Grand Carousel 13) Zephyr *If we still had the original Flying Eagles (I rode at Carowinds) it would place at #1. A vintage bisch-rocco flying scooter might be the world's best flat ride...

Same here friend! Only ever heard parents and their friends talk about the ride and the show got me interested in finding out more and the old ride looked like a lot of fun and with some good storytelling and good quality animatronics this would be one heck of a ride return for KI. PT has some of the best original characters in a dark ride and it's crazy that it's been over 20 years and everyone who rode the ride still remembers the characters. I'm talking about non-KI nerds who remember the characters' names and everything! Not just the Maestro...my dad and aunt are not enthusiasts at all but they still remembered and could tell you about Hilda bovine and no legs Larry and the rest of the PT cast all these years later

Very unfortunate chain of events. This park is plagued by the fact that it's in a smaller community with larger parks nearby and the fact that it just doesn't have much going for it at all. I personally think that they need to review their operating system. For example, could they do something similar to stickers grove in Ross, OH? Only be open for private events and maybe a few holidays? Coaster enthusiasts obviously want the leap the dips credit but if it wasn't for having the world's oldest rollercoaster, this park would have closed long ago. I'm very thankful to have gotten the credits in 2022 on both leap the dips and skyliner. Skyliner is actually a pretty good wooden coaster for its age and size.

Looks amazing! So glad to be a part of the Kings Island fan community. We have something there that no other amusement park has to my knowledge. A strong fan base that loves this park and loves the attractions both current and defunct that have operated here over the many years. KICentral is a way not only to learn about and discuss the park but also to connect with fellow amusement park fans who all have one thing in common - we love Kings Island and the amusement park industry!

I was wondering why there's not really any merch for Top Gun/Flight Deck/The Bat? Found pictures of this shirt online but don't see it for sale anywhere unfortunately. Flight Deck is what it always was when I was a kid and that is a really cool T-shirt design!

I'm kinda afraid of the regular que when this thing opens....