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Kings Island losing B&M?


SonofBaconator

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It seems like a premature topic but I came to realizing that by 2020 we'll have 3 B&Ms. The only ones we'll be missing are a wing coaster, a floorless, and a dive coaster- all of which are at Cedar Point. Additionally a flying coaster seems unlikely as does their family coaster model. With the addition of this 2020 coaster, do you think Kings Island will be finished/taking a break from B&M? I don't see us getting other type of coaster model from them in the future but its not impossible.

Thoughts?

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I could see KI adding a wing and dive coaster from B&M in the future.  B&M could also come out with a new type of coaster.  As much as I like B&M rides I also like variety.  I would like to see other coaser manufacturers at KI in the future.  Like Gerslauer, Mach, RMC and although unlikely Intamin.

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^B&M now makes family inverted coasters much like Flying Aces.  

B&M is not the end all be all.  I'm hoping for some variety in designers going forward.  Though, I really think KI needs to focus on the non-coaster line up for a bit including some new flats, a total make over of Boo Blasters, and a modern log flume. 

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I can't think of a B&M coaster I didn't love... So I'm not sure any of the reasons given would merit not using them...

I could see a Mack fitting in well with the family theme of Kings Island... Copperhead strike is fun but not nearly as intense as a B&M.


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30 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

B&M is not the end all be all.  I'm hoping for some variety in designers going forward.  Though, I really think KI needs to focus on the non-coaster line up for a bit including some new flats, a total make over of Boo Blasters, and a modern log flume. 

I think it'll be a while before we see another coaster at Kings Island after this. I'm saying like 4-6 years. I doubt they'll do another log flume. It seems like log flumes are dying out. I think we are more likely to see new water rides in Soak City than the park itself. 

My 5 year plan following 2020 (probably will change)

2021 - Planet Snoopy expansion

2022 - Soak City Expansion, 50th anniversary celebration

2023 - flat ride package, Invertigo/Congo Falls leave at the end of season

2024 - new restaurant and/or family ride/prep for 2025

2025 - Mack double launch

 

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19 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said:

I think we will see the end of service life of Vortex within the next 5 years.  I believe the area will be used for a B&M Dive or a Mack Launch.  

I don't know. As much as I absolutely hate Vortex and would love to see it wrecked, I do agree that it's an icon to the park and doesn't have that much maintenance issues. 

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I don't know. As much as I absolutely hate Vortex and would love to see it wrecked, I do agree that it's an icon to the park and doesn't have that much maintenance issues. 
Blasphemous! You should be banned to Six Flags America for that comment!

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25 minutes ago, SonofBaconator said:

No love for RMC Trex?

I don’t know if that would have the capacity that they’d need.

15 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

I don't know. As much as I absolutely hate Vortex and would love to see it wrecked, I do agree that it's an icon to the park and doesn't have that much maintenance issues. 

I agree that it would be tough to see it come down. Far worse than Firehawk. I, like some, have “retired” from the ride - but I come out of retirement for special occasions. If they were to replace it with a dive it would be kind of a “meh” trade off, but I would fully support something like Copperhead Strike.

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23 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

I think we will see the end of service life of Vortex within the next 5 years.  I believe the area will be used for a B&M Dive or a Mack Launch.  

Don't you put that evil on me, Ricky Bobby.

Now as for the premise about there not being much left in B&M's catalog we could get, I think two things need to be said:

1) Just because Cedar Point has a certain type of ride doesn't mean we aren't ever getting one. GateKeeper is absolutely not preventing us from getting a Wing coaster. It's a great ride and has quickly become a Cedar Point staple, but I seriously doubt that anyone considers it a flagship ride at that park. I'm not even sure it was in 2013.

2) B&M's existing catalog is almost certainly going to be expanded to new models at some point in the future. It's silly to think that B&M will never design a new type of ride ever again. IIRC, they recently trademarked a name that very well could be a new coaster model they have in the works.

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I mean rides like Corkscrew are still going strong so I hope Vortex still has life left in it, if any arrow is going to be going I’d put my money on The Bat. In regards to more future B&Ms id love to see a launched wing coaster in 24’. Maybe we could see a Mack Multilaunch but I’ve heard those are incredibly expensive (even higher then B&M), unless we see prices for Mack’s going down I just don’t see it happening. 

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7 minutes ago, Ben43065 said:

if any arrow is going to be going I’d put my money on The Bat.

The Bat is sitting on a really undesirable plot of land. It's not remotely flat, and its location way off the beaten path is no doubt a huge contributing factor to Bat's apparent lack of popularity. See Vortex at Canada's Wonderland, which is an essentially identical ride but is located right off a main midway and is still very popular. If The Bat goes, it will probably be due to the ride becoming difficult or expensive to maintain rather than because that land is needed for something else.

 

Granted, Vortex at Canada's Wonderland may also be more popular than Bat because the other coasters at CW that hang below the track are hot garbage. That's not true at KI. Even Invertigo is better than those two hunks of junk, and I hate Invertigo.

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9 hours ago, Shawn Meyer said:

I would love Kings Island to be the first park to get a Floorless roller coaster with the new vest restraints on it. Also give it a fun exciting layout like Dominator at Kings Dominion. I would be up for that!

They should make it launched too! I would be all for that! B&M has not built a ground-up floorless in quite some time, so I want to see what new ideas they could implement into new design!

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On 6/22/2019 at 1:06 PM, silver2005 said:

B&M is not the end all be all.  I'm hoping for some variety in designers going forward.  Though, I really think KI needs to focus on the non-coaster line up for a bit including some new flats, a total make over of Boo Blasters, and a modern log flume. 

It's funny you mention this, because Saturday I was sitting in the smoking area having a quick vape when a family was sitting down across from me, and their daughter said she didn't want to ride any more coasters and her dad said "well you're pretty well done with Kings Island then" and it dawned on me, as a coaster enthusiast, I can spend an entire day just riding awesome coasters, but they don't have a ton of rides for people that don't do coasters. It may be time to concentrate for a while on some flat stuff. 

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18 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

I don't see us getting a wing coaster just because Cedar Point and Holiday World both have one. It seems like the midwest area is covered when it comes to that type of coaster model.

The vast majority of people who visit Kings Island have never been to (or likely even heard of) Holiday World so that's not even going to be a factor in deciding what to build. Only enthusiasts care about whether a particular ride model exists at a nearby park, and enthusiasts are such a tiny minority of Kings Island visitors that we don't even register as a blip on the radar. The general public only cares if it's good. That's why the 285-296 foot height of Project 2020 won't matter. They will market the ride with its 301 foot drop and as long as the ride is fun, the general public will love it.

There are a great many rides at Kings Island that wouldn't have been built if nearby parks' ride lineups were a deciding factor in what to install at the park.

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On 6/22/2019 at 1:51 PM, BoddaH1994 said:

I think we will see the end of service life of Vortex within the next 5 years.  I believe the area will be used for a B&M Dive or a Mack Launch.  

Not a criticism, but just curious how you might be defining "service life." SFGAM and SFGADV removed their mega loopers, but the SFMM one still remains (Viper) as do Arrow coasters older than our 1987 Bat-replacement. I never particularly cared for Vortex as a ride (the headbanging ruins what would otherwise be a really cool experience), but in my experience the reliability and capacity benefits kept it going. When you say "service life" do you think it's a matter physical age or more of a matter of space/benefit ala: it's outlived its usefulness and the site could be utilized for something better?

For me, that seems to be the biggest benefit of removing Vortex: a large plot of land is free'd up. The Dive Coaster thing seems to fit in line with how other parks have been developed within the chain (it also adds yet another high capacity, reliable ride with an enjoyable and unique guest experience). I'm curiously watching the Mack case at Carowinds and how that ride holds up in terms of reliability, etc. 

Anyways, just curious if you have any insight as to how "service life" may be defined. Universal stated that their dueling B&M inverts had outlived their "service life," but there are B&M inverts even older that are still running just fine. Firehawk was also said to be "at the end of its service life," but that ride was always an unreliable piece of junk. 

On a personal note: if Vortex is staying, I think it'd be nice to see it get refreshed. Throw on some fresh paint (maybe a new color scheme), add in those comfortable Vekoma trains, clean up the station, tie it in with the whole nostalgia thing. 

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I would be very happy to have something other then B&M. Give us something launched like a Blitz coaster!!!! I would love to intimin come back into the fray! Don't hate on me just because I would love to see that. I know my opinion is not what yours is. I still think its a possibility myself. I would love to a cowboy coaster come in and replace the TR:TR tan box. Maybe even have the coaster go in and out of the box.

I also would love the park to replace KKBC at some point and get a nice long tall flume. I really miss KKBC.

They could also add some flats to a park that has what....1 major flat ride?

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49 minutes ago, Maverick44 said:

I am sure there is a company out there still making them. All things come back around. look how people dress now a days lol

EDIT - Found a company that still installs flumes.

https://www.whitewaterwest.com/products/super-flume/

https://www.whitewaterwest.com/products/log-flume/

WhiteWater West has a good relationship with Cedar Fair- the tropical plunge slides that Soak City (among several other parks in the chain) received in 2016 are their AquaDrop and Tube Slide models. 

Definitely wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility.

 

Also, they have their own version of the ProSlide Tornado.... the Abyss. If the rumblings of the removal of Mondo Monsoon are true, I'd love to see WhiteWater install some kind of water coaster or Fusion slide. Maybe even the Slide Wheel.....

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