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I dunno, I'm not really on board with the whole "Vortex's replacement has to be an inversion-heavy coaster" thing folks have been saying on here for a bit. I'm not judging because I am FULLY guilty of doing the same thing, but I think it's easy for us to fall into a pattern of wanting certain things to not change, even when it might not make business sense to keep them the same. I feel like whatever goes in a well-loved attraction's place has to be marketable as a distinctly new ride from what was there before. (Not to mention, the next coaster doesn't necessarily HAVE to go in Vortex's spot... but it does seem the most obvious place, right?) Problem is, without jumping into theming-heavy stuff that already wasn't Cedar Fair's schtick, ever, and especially probably wouldn't be Six Flags's thing right now with the legacy CF parks, I don't know of anything that jumps out particularly well for the park. We're more than good on wood coasters, and I think our bases are more or less covered on launches, inversions, and anything inverted. The trend right now for most big names in the industry? Intamin's and Zamperla's and Gerstlauer's and Premier's multi-launch coasters, Vekoma's new looping coasters and family inverts, GCI and Gravity Group's new wood coaster technology and designs with inversions, RMCs with inversions, Mack's launch coasters, and B&Ms with launches (and sometimes also inversions.) We don't have a lot of those things exactly, sure, so we COULD add them, but I fear they'd end up a bit lost in the lineup. So like, if I HAD to choose something that actually seems semi-likely for the state of the chain right now, I'd probably pick a 10-across B&M Dive. I'd put a first drop facing towards the walkway around where Vortex's batwing was, tunnel it under the path, and come up into an Immelman over the walkway right about where the basketball game currently is. I have no idea what to add to it after that point to make it stand out, though--we've already got a B&M with a splashdown, and I don't know that there are many other quirks that B&M does these days that aren't already represented on our other B&Ms. I'd hate for us to get something unremarkable. We've got lots of quality supporting players in our lineup, but I think it's important to also take a few risks to make some headliners, lest we develop what I lovingly think of as "the Canada's Wonderland problem." So, what I'd rather see happen, if we're sticking to coasters, is a Firechaser Express-like ride that's debatably more theming-heavy than Mystic Timbers. We've got the bases covered as far as base models go from most manufacturers, so it's time for something more than a fresh-out-of-the-box coaster. That's not me just really liking theming--I think doing Dollywood-level theming on a family coaster, which aligns with KI's current target audiences, would be the right move for a standout attraction in both the park and the market. Unless I'm forgetting something, no major players in the seasonal park world except United Parks and Herschend are doing themed coasters right now. Heck, you could even go so far as to have a drop track like Verbolten. (If we're considering options besides coasters, I'd absolutely put a themed log flume in Vortex's spot. But that's not this thread, so I'll keep that to myself! )

Intamin and Universal have been working together a lot over the last 10+ years, so I wouldn't be shocked to see it happen again. As far as what it could be or where, I feel like the only thing semi-certain is that it won't be for Epic Universe if something is getting built in the next 3 years or so. All the other details are anyone's guess. There's been extra speculation elsewhere recently that Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit will be removed in the near future. A lot of people on social media want it to be replaced with an Intamin with a vertical launch. While I get that draw, putting something like that on HRRR's footprint would result in something that seems like it'd be difficult to market as a different experience to HRRR to people who don't know coasters intimately. I thiiiink Blue Man Group stopped performing in their residency sometime mid-pandemic, which means there's a large empty building immediately adjacent to HRRR's footprint. That's a lot of potential new space that also has a lot of "storefront" within CityWalk. I don't immediately know of anything in Intamin's catalog that comes to mind to put on the front doorstep of USF that would be exceptionally showy on its own, but it's Universal. I'm sure they'd think of something and use it well. If I'm tossing in pipe dreams here, it'd be neat to see some additional buildings between USF and IOA moved and that space used for some kind of dueling coaster where one side loads guests from IOA (in the Lost Continent) and the other loads from USF, somewhere along HRRR's footprint. Yeah, I know Stardust Racers is opening at EU next year, but this is MY pipe dream, dang it.

Agree agree agree. Make the entrance more thematicband reroute the traffic flow, but don't make it a modern wasteland. Don't put a coaster element there. I keep hearing that Sirens Curse would have been a great fit for The Vortex plot. I disagree. A tilt coaster, replacing Invertigo et al, would be a perfect skyline attraction as set the stage for coaster excitement.  It's relatively flat, developed land there. Take advantage of the terrain at Vortex .

I agree, I honestly think overtime the updated Carowinds and Cedar Point enterance plazas won't age as well. KI sort of has a more timeless feel to it, even if it does feel less up to date in the moment

Redesign the way people can get in and out, but keep the cavernous entrance.  Keep the slow reveal of international street and the tower.  That is a part of the KI experience. I don’t want KI to lose more of its charm.