BlondyRidesOn

I've seen interviews with Alan Schilke from RMC where he mentioned their team having a bucket list of coasters they wanted to give the I-Box track to. Does The Gravity Group have a bucket list of wooden roller coasters that they want to refurbrish with their precut track?

With the ride being repainted, I kinda hope one of the announcements is that it's being rethemed and annexed back into Rivertown this year.

I remember seeing the lights on the log flume in this video from 1980. At around 1:30 in the video, you can see the lights down the trough with a log going over them:

I have fond memories of my childhood of eating the chicken tenders and curly fries (back when they still sold those) with my family under the old arbor tunnel. I remember listening to the clickety clack of what's now Great Pumpkin Coaster (Then known as Top Cat Taxi Jam). I was disappointed when the tunnel was removed. I was reminded of this tunnel after riding the train at Winterfest this season, queuing in the White Water Canyon entrance. While it's cool to see that arbor tunnel there, I still miss the one on the midway. Looking at old photos of the old tunnel, it looked like a portal that took guests from one section to another without the theming clashing. There has always been an awkward transition between Planet Snoopy and Rivertown, as well as the walkway into Rivertown from the floral clock past the upward spiral on Backlot. If the park ever brought that tunnel back, I'd love to see it be built in either of those two areas.

I like the new International Street and new Royal Fountain. I used to feel iffy about the aesthetics of the fountain changing, but seeing the reintroduction of the European theming of the buildings made up for it. At the end of the day, it's the architecture that makes International Street what it is, the fountain leading to the Eiffel Tower just ties it all together. I do think that it would have been cool to see street lamps returning to the street, but it is what it is. In terms of food, I will say that these past couple years I've noticed that Cedar Fair is starting to show that they're not afraid to delve into theming a bit more. French Corner opening up during Tricks & Treats Fall Fest in 2020 is a great example. I didn't expect the park to add French food to their dining line up, and I was pretty impressed when I ate there. I really like the croissant sandwiches with the pomme frites on the side. And the interior is decked out with pictures of French landmarks and maps of Paris. I recommend eating there; it's a nice food stand and it enhances International Street's theming I think we should give props to the park for returning some "international" foods outside of Grand Carnivale, because this could be a step towards returning International Street to what it used to be prior to Paramount's tenure.

It may be unlikely to happen, but with Premier Rides refurbishing the old Kangaroo, the Norman Bartlett Flying Coaster from Kennywood, it would be cool to see them get the rights to the patent and bring that style of ride back. I say that it's unlikely because Kennywood likes to say that Kangaroo is the last of its kind, and because Premier has only made coasters. Something to dream about.

My brother was at the park on Halloween, the final operating day of the fall season, and he told me the band organ was missing. I knew immediately when he said that that it was being restored. I'm extremely excited that the park has made it official! It's also exciting to see and hear the bells working again. One thing I noticed when listening to the video was the arrangement of "Jingle Bells." I'm not too familiar with Wurlitzer 165 rolls, which our beloved 157 plays, but usually it would sound like this on our band organ: Perhaps it's another arrangement?

Was Baynum involved with the paint on Rebel Yell/ Racer 75 in 2014? I'm inclined to believe that The Racer will be fully repainted for next season if it's being advertised as such.

I'm hoping so too! With all the nostalgic changes we've seen the last few seasons, it wouldn't surprise me if the patriotic color scheme returned.

According to Baynum's website, it looks like 1996. https://baynumpainting.com/projects/2021/9/6/the-racer I can't wait to see it looking fresh next season. It'll probably look like a brand new coaster when it's done.

June 4, 2021

I think it looks nice. As much as I think the Taft/KECO logo would've been cool to use, or even the 1971 concept logo, the official logo is pretty nice and reminds me of Cedar Point's 150th. Personally, I'm more excited about The Racer finally getting an overdue repaint. I'm hoping for a return of the red track and blue catwalk railings. Lately Cedar Fair and the park have been doing a stellar job with restoring a lot of what made pre-Paramount era Kings Island great. A lot of cool things to look forward to!

Last minute submission. Croissant sandwich from French Corner on International Street.

I love the new decals on the International Street trashcans. Only saw one so far.

Looking at this screenshot from the video provided in the blog post by the park, the frames around the elevator doors are painted very similar to the Parisian Patina color. But, as BoddaH mentioned above, it could be that that is the Tower's usual color but it has gotten sun faded over time. This makes me even more excited for the 2022 season and what else the park may have in store.

-Have The Gravity Group finish retracking/ reprofiling The Racer. -Repaint Racer to its original red white and blue color pallet. -Restore the Wurlitzer 157 band organ on the Grand Carousel & upgrade with MIDI program, much like Cedar Point's Wurlitzer 153 on the Midway Carousel. -Touch up the paint on the Grand Carousel to bring the ride back to it's post-1969 restoration standard.

On my visit a couple weeks ago, the ride operators on Racer would dispatch Blue Racer first and then Red Racer about a second after. This way Red slowly catches up with Blue on the lift and they disengage from the lift chain at the same time. My brother and I saw it while waiting in line for The Beast just how even the trains were up until they spit off. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't RMC do the electrical work on Rebel Yell/ Racer 75 in 2019 to incorporate the jockeying up the lift? I thought I heard someone say that in the past.

I find it's in the middle. For people like me, and other Kings Island history buffs, Racer is extremely integral in the park's lineup and in coaster history and that it should be preserved. It also seems to be very popular. The park concedes that it has gotten over 1 million riders each season since 1972, and that only Mystic Timbers, Banshee and Diamondback get more riders annually (which may change with Orion). However, for many years, I have heard people complain about the roughness. I find that most younger people don't have the appreciation for it. The track work and reprofiling this past offseason by Gravity Group and the park's wood coaster maintenance team seems to have paid off and it seems like it's making a comeback. I also really like the LED uplighting on the white structure and how it is incorporated into the fireworks show. In my opinion, Gravity Group should continue retracking it until the entire course is reprofiled and smoothed out. I threw out the suggestion on here of changing one of the hills coming back in and adding a double down to mix it up a bit and add more pops of airtime, but that's unlikely to ever happen. And like how BoddaH said above, bring back the red white and blue paint on the structure.

I loved their galleries of old park pictures. I was hoping one day to use their photo gallery of the Paramount Story tiles to figure out which one was which. I'm gonna have to go on there before Monday and save as many photos as I can.

Since Coney Mall is supposed to be themed to Cincinnati's Coney Island, why not recreate a modern version of the fountain that was there from 1965 - 1971. Top photo: Coney Island Central Bottom photo: Cincinnati Views

Entry #4 Sunday night in Paris May 5, 2019

Entry #3

Entry #2 July 31, 2020 Looking up.

I have so many good photos of the Tower. This is one of my favorites.

I got so excited when I first saw the front of the trains. When I saw the picture of the entrance, my excitement levels increased ten fold. I'm loving these improvements! Good job, Kings Island!