FUN&ONLY!

I really hope he is not just talking about the new stained concrete at the entrance to the area and that the park actually stains all of the concrete throughout the area to make it more cohesive. There IS new stained concrete at the entrance to the area, but then the rest of the area is currently a mess of old concrete, new concrete, and orange concrete.

I think they should have honestly just bulldozed all the concrete and started from scratch with pavers or at least fresh concrete for the whole area. The pavement doesn’t seem very cohesive as it is currently.

While this doesn’t necessarily reveal any menu changes, according to the October 2023 City of Mason Permit Report, Juke Box Diner and Chicken Shack (or at least the kitchens) are being renovated for this season, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the interiors of these restaurants look a little different this season. I’m thinking that both are going to now be set up as quick service restaurants like the Corral at Cedar Point or the renovated Coasters diners at many Cedar Fair parks. Also, the October and November 2023 Permit Reports also mention the renovation of retail locations in Soak City and the replacement of the lazy river trough. A massive new $1.25 million bar and shade structure is also being constructed adjacent to Coconut Cove. There are some other interesting tidbits in these permit reports as well, but most of the permits are for work already announced (like Camp Snoopy). https://imaginemason.org/download/PDFs/monthly_permit_reports/2023/Issued-Permit-Summary-October-2023.pdf https://imaginemason.org/download/PDFs/monthly_permit_reports/2023/Issued-Permit-Summary-November-2023.pdf Here is the link to the site if anyone wants to access permit reports from other months: https://www.imaginemason.org/city-government/engineering-building-planning/monthly-permit-reports/

How many markers are in the area? Are there a lot?

The original calendar Kings Island released for last year had that final week in August, but sometime in January or February, the calendar was changed so that those days were removed altogether. With the calendar change, the hours were also cut leading up to Memorial Day. Eventually, the last few days in August were added back but without Soak City operating hours. There is a rumor that talks of a possible Six Flags/Cedar Fair merger began in January of this year, which would align with a lot of the cost-cutting we saw this year. In addition to Kings Island slimming its operating calendar around that time, a Peanuts show was rumored to have been cut before Kings Island opened for the season. Additionally, certain rides started the season with slashed operating hours (the water rides and train) compared to previous seasons, and a lot of game locations were also planned to be shuttered for the season.

https://www.wlwt.com/article/kings-island-winterfest-christmas-lights/45767917?fbclid=IwAR3DxfTjGMFA8vrtN0aypkyyKH82siznn08kGltRetYCbqOg7STSEpExozk Despite the entertainment cuts, at least we can look forward to a big increase in lights for Winterfest! I hope the new lighting is well done!

Honest question. For people who went to Winterfest last year, what’s bringing them back this year. There’s absolutely nothing new and a lot of the good stuff has been cut. It’s really sad to see. With everything that’s been going on this year, I just don’t get excited about Kings Island like I used to.

I am very worried that Kings Island is headed back to the Paramount days but with even tackier themes. I don’t even know where Kings Island could put a DC Universe in the park without ruining the themes of classic attractions. Action Zone seems expendable, but I just cannot see the Banshee name and theme biting the dust. It is probably one of the best names and logos for any ride in the world. All other areas of the park are classic and their themes should not be touched by DC in any way. Vortex also deserves an originally themed replacement and not some DC comics themed rollercoaster.

I don’t know. I think Kings Island’s future definitely looked brighter in 2022 than it has all year… especially now. All we can do is hope for the best at this point.

The biggest thing I am concerned about is the mention in the report about all the possibilities of the new IPs. I would absolutely hate to see DC themes come to Kings Island in any form. I would easily rather have a Kinzel-era unthemed rollercoaster installed than a rollercoaster themed to DC.

Going along with the broken effects on Adventure Express, the state of the effects on Mystic Timbers the past couple weekends is easily the worst I have ever seen. The truck noises that play when a train is dispatched were completely gone. The entire lift hill sequence including the noise it makes when creating the lift hill was completely gone. Furthermore, the “don’t go in the shed” and subsequent “go in the shed” was completely gone from the brake run before wanting the shed. This is on top of the lights being out on the crashed truck by the entrance, most of the shed lights being broken, the backpack with the radio in the queue line no longer working, some of the TVs in the queue not working, and the audio on the stairs no longer working (which goes something like “There’s an old truck in the lumber mill, you got to jump start it, get out of here. Right now.”) These effects not working coupled with the broken effects in Area 72/Orion and Adventure Express is sad to see. Even on Backlot Stunt Coaster, the propellor on the helicopter has been broken all year.

A survey was sent out this past summer asking about new events and parades. Maybe we are getting something new?

While I do not know how much the tournament affects park attendance, Kings Island makes a point of keeping the park open during the tournament even if the park can barely be staffed. Even if people do not visit the park while in town for the tournament, the rollercoasters running in the background of the tennis facility is free adverting and lets visitors become aware of the park (if they were not already) so that they may make future plans to visit the park. I could possibly see a big 2025 addition to coincide with the expanded tennis tournament and increase in visitors, but it is probably too late to carefully plan out a big new rollercoaster for 2025 (assuming one is not planned already). Instead, maybe Kings Island will take advantage of the opportunity and advertise a massive new 2026 addition (which seems more likely) during the 2025 tournament to entice visitors to come back the following year.

Then they use it as a lame excuse to shut rides down and save money on staffing.

That makes sense. I wasn’t at the park last night or even in the area and was just blindly going off posts and footage from last night. I am glad Kings Island has not backtracked on the decision to pump more fog. It really makes the park atmosphere as good as it is.