KIghostguy

Kings Island's marketing department reports to corporate, not to the park. I doubt Mike Koontz had any say in the decision of Don leaving.

Page 70 for wooden coasters, page 72 for steel coasters: https://amusementtoday.com/issues/2023/2023gta/

The Golden Ticket Awards were yesterday. The full results can be found here: https://95a87e.p3cdn1.secureserver.net/issues/2023/2023gta/assets/downloads/AT-GTA-2023i.pdf Regardless of what you think about the validity of them, I always think it's interesting to see where Kings Island is ranked. This year, they were finalists in a few categories. #5 Best Park #6 and #7 Best Wooden Coasters (The Beast and Mystic Timbers, respectively) #2 Best Kid's Area #4 Leadership Award (Mike Koontz) Something that I thought was interesting was that none of Kings Island's steel coasters ranked in the top 25 steel coasters list this year.

This is authored by Rick!

Rick Bastrup, President of R&R Creative Amusement Designs, is releasing a memoir on September 8. It will cover the development of many of their memorable projects, including Adventure Express and Phantom Theater. Sure to be an interesting read for Kings Island and theme park history fans! https://rivershorepress.com/adventures-of-a-theme-park-designer

Hopefully fixing the speakers in the station, they haven’t been playing the soundtrack since May.

New themed decals have been added to the trash cans in Adventure Express’s queue.

Are the chef specials limited edition each day? I went into Coney Bar-B-Que at 5 today and was told that they did not have the bratwurst.

I’m disappointed that India was cut from the event. I really enjoyed the food at their booth in past years!

I am very happy for Dorney Park. I went twice last year, and while I enjoyed my time there, it definitely looks and feels as though Dick Kinzel had just stepped out on lunch break. A new coaster will be a nice breath of new life into the park. It is incredible to me that this is their first custom-layout coaster since George W. Bush was President!

Don Helbig has been a fantastic face for the park. A wealth of knowledge and very helpful with my book even after it was published, helping me to organize book signings and my presentation at Coasterstock 2021. Very sad day for Kings Island, but I wish him the best on any future opportunities.

I was at Carowinds two weeks ago and the food there was borderline inedible. Canada's Wonderland was even worse (although I was there a week before Lazy Bear Lodge opened). I agree that I have not been overly impressed with the Kings Island culinary scene this year. I'll take it over the food at Carowinds and Canada's Wonderland, but Cedar Point and especially Kings Dominion are so far ahead it's not even close.

Lots of new crates and barrels around Adventure Port today!

Here are some updates from yesterday: Bamboo railings going up for Cargo Loco's entrance/queue. Also the water tower seen in the concept art in the queue has begun construction. Additional bamboo has been installed for Sol Spin's queue/entrance. Something worth noting is that speakers have been added to almost all the light posts across Adventure Port. You can see them if you zoom in on the below picture. Hopefully for an IMAScore soundtrack?? Or unthemed pop/jazz music. Not much in-between at Kings Island these days! Rockwork(?) in front of Sol Spin for a sign(?). Last week it was just a wire frame. There is a new, painted Mercado sign that was added to the building. The painted Enrique's sign has been added to the front facade. I think this sign looks really, really good. Hopefully they're able to stick a fake window on there like in the concept art but I'm just not sure how it would fit given the size/location of the sign. Additional painted detail work has been added to the Coca-Cola Freestyle building compared to last week. Who knows when it's going to open...but I would say that it's certainly encouraging to see that when it does, it will be detailed and high-quality, based on the progress I've seen so far!

I ate at Grain and Grill yesterday. Here is my review! Entree: I got the beef option, which I thought was very good, if a little dry. My friend got the pork and I sampled a bit of his. I thought this was very good as well. Portion size was very small, though. I don't think either of these compared to the incredible crispy hoisin pork that I had at Kings Dominion last year. I enjoy that KI and KD's Grain and Grills have different menus, but something with a similar texture/flavor to that crispy hoisin pork would be very much enjoyed at Kings Island. The sauce selection to pair with your entree was great. I don't recall Kings Dominion having that option. Side: I got the pierogis, which I thought were just okay. I tried my friend's potatoes, which were excellent, probably the best side I have had at a Kings Island meal. I thought the wide selection and variety of sides were fantastic. There is a much larger selection than at Kings Dominion. Bread: I liked that there were three different bread options. I got the artisan bread and my friend got the focaccia. The artisan bread was fine, it was basically just a baguette you could get from the supermarket. The focaccia bread is definitely where it's at, though! Interior: This might actually be my favorite part of Grain and Grill overall. The interior of Grain and Grill is beautiful, and very much an improvement over what it was when it was Skyline. The tile on the floor, the tables and chairs, the wallpaper and colors, everything compliments each other very nicely and it feels elegant and mature. There are some nice decor touches, including a vintage Kings Island plate. One thing that did stick out to me was that there is a sign at both parks talking about how Grain and Grill sources their products from local farms. KD lists the exact farms on the sign, KI does not. I thought this was a bit strange. It's worth nothing that Kings Dominion's Grain and Grill doesn't have indoor seating, so this is a nice bonus for Kings Island. However, at Kings Dominion you can listen to appropriately themed music while you eat on their International Street while at Kings Island you are stuck listening to the stupid, random jazz music. So bonus points to Kings Dominion! Value: I personally feel like the portion sizes might be too small for the price point. I was still hungry after my meal, while I was full after eating at Kings Dominion. I personally would rather "regularly" eat at Coney Bar-B-Que or Brewhouse before Grain and Grill because I just feel like there is more bang for your buck there as far as price vs. portion size. I feel like this is definitely more of a "meal plan" type of restaurant, if that makes sense. Final thoughts: Overall, I would give the edge to Grain and Grill at Kings Dominion. But that being said, I still would say that I had an overall quality meal at Kings Island. It's a good, different option from anything we've had at Kings Island previously. Any way you slice it, this is a massive improvement in literally every single way from when Skyline occupied the space. Good job Kings Island!