robintodd

I agree this would be cool but I fear the event of times past would be brought up again and reflect negatively on the park. I think we should kee stories about people climbling the tower out of the media.

I didn't say they never have to add another roller coaster, my statement was they could not adding anything new in 2- 4 years. Only Flight of Fear would fall in that timeframe. With it being an indoor coaster out of the elements it's life could be longer than other metal costers. Remember Corkscrew at Cedar Point is still operating after 49 years (built 1976). It has been shown that metal coasters can have re-tracking done such as Fury 325 a couple years ago. According to chatgpt: Common operational lifespan for a medium-sized steel coaster is often around 30–40 years before major refurbishment, retracking, or retirement becomes economically likely for a park. Some parks invest in continuous maintenance and retracking, allowing coasters to operate well beyond that range (50+ years) if they remain popular and structurally sound. Interestingly enough the oldest operating all steel coaster is Little Dipper at Memphis Kiddie Park in Ohio (yes a kiddie coaster) was made in 1952. Remember we had Firehawk and Vortex at one time. Both "large" coasters. The only replacement was Orion. People still keep coming. It's not all about coasters especially as KI tries to become more family friendly. That being said, I would expect a new coaster in 2028 or 2029 at the old Vortex spot.

I'm one of those that look at CP and KI cams every morning. Interesting things are going on at the KI cams this am. 1) Crews are quickly tearing down Snowflake lake to complete the task before the weather hits this weekend. They are almost 2/3 of the way done since starting on Wednesday. 2) Zephyer seems to be taken down all the way to the ground (2 cranes are on the pad). I've never noticed this in years past hopefully it's just a routine 10-20 year maintenance. Would be interesting to know if CP's is doing the same thing. 3) Action on the Monster pad. About 4 employees with what looks like an arm for the ride were there this am. 4) The lights on the Eiffel Tower are still up. If I remember correctly these are usually down by now. I'm looking forward to seeing the snow on the KI cams later this weekend.

The park is perfectly right to fear "incidents". Most of the negative press happened on Grad Nights. I was going to the park back then it was more about drinking and drugs in the parking lot in order to "enhance" enjoyment of the park. That being said I must admit the amount of that kind of activity seems significantly less nowadays. Best example I can site is the lack of "teen dance clubs", malls and other places teens would interact etc. Seems like teens are more into staying home on their devices rather than being out in public. Finally, in my opinion the LAST thing KI needs is an attendance driver. With the advent of social media and the number of vlogs/podcasts there is no shortage of "what's new at Kings Island" news without the park needing to do anything. Back in the 80s and 90s it was important to get the word out about Kings Island but nowadays, anyone who is interested in theme parks knows or can easily find out about KI. I don't understand why some people complain about how crowded the park is by "giving away the gate" yet still want to see more marketing to drive attendance at an already busy park. Does it really make sense to market a park and when people come from out of the area and find the park so crowded that it affects their experience in a negative way. KI is unique in that not only is it in the middle of a populated area but it's a wealthier area than most parks are surrounded by (I notice this by noticing the neighborhoods and houses when driving to KI vs CP). I still maintain the park could not add anything new for 2-4 years and NOT see a drop in attendance. If they decide to up the price of season passes then it may make sense to market the park once attendance is an issue but until that time they will be wiser to spend money keeping up with the people in the park rather than attacting more people to an already crowded park.

I've not seen anything on the boards about the "New way to play" for the midway arcade. This was taken from the (several) digital ad boards thorughout the park. The 2 things I didn't capture was the claw pulling up a fastlane pass and a 2026 Gold Pass. Something is coming to the Midway Arcade, didn't know if anyone has any further information on this. (Pics by me).

This is not a good idea without extreme precautions. I would suggest refusing entry for anyone who seems intoxicated and NO selling of liquer for that night. I remember the grad nights. So much alcohol in the parking lot. Most of the "grads" would come into the park drunk. Some of the worst stories came from grad nights (including Tower Johnny). KI get's plenty of attendance without resorting to jr. or sr. frat parties (in my opinion).

Just got back from the park and am pleased to report that broccoli beef is BACK at Panda Express!!!! (seems as it was addedback last week). It's not on the menu board but they were making a fresh batch at 9 and said it's doing very well.

Smart move. Props to those involved.

After seeing the "DEMO LOOP" from the IAPPA show with Maestro and No Legs Larrys, I wouldn't be surprised if that was continuously shown in the lobby where the queue is. Seem to tell the story and be about 15 minutes long. (of course I'd much rather have what was done before.):

Went last night and had a fantastic time. Here were the highlights: 1) The meatloaf burger at Juke Box was fantastic. Unlike the other offerings they have a meatloaf burger displayed (unwrapped) and when you order they grab one out of the hot box behind the counter! Definitely the same quality as when it was at the Brewhouse and it's nice to get fries, onion rings or both as a side. 2) Tinkers show is FANTASTIC (I saw the 2nd show, extremely long line(s)). It is a broadway style "review" with fantastic sets and props. Definetly more money was put into this than previous shows and is by FAR (in my opinion) the best Winterfest show they have ever had. I put it on par with Phantom Theatre Encore. So much energy and Santa no has a much bigger part in the show and the addition of Mrs. Clause is a welcome addition. I got a little teary eyed when the did the "in the mood" number, it brought back such great memories of Woodchopper's Ball Revue. Another favorite part was the TAP NUMBER!!!! Nice to see a couple of nods to the choreography from the tap number in PT Encore. 3) The park looked fantastic. Nice to see the Trolly not runnng along Coney Mall, always seemed to be more of a nucance than anything. 4) Cannot wait to try the 2 new Fry options at potato works. They look really good. I'm going to have to make extra trips down so get all the food options in this year (the turkey ball looks better than last year's version). 5) The parade was like last year and continues to be a must see for me. The energy that is put into the event is amazing and I can't tell anyone involved with pulling it off how much I truely appreciate the effort. 6) One noticable deletion was the replacement of the plastic old time figures in front of Antique Cars (I didn't see any on top of Juke Box either). There are new lighted trees there so I'm afraid they won't make a comeback. If they are no longer going to display/use them (I didn't see them anywhere else in the park). I hope they sell them online, I would love to have one. All in all it seems to be an upgrade from last year. I'm sure there are things that may show up in the weeks to come (crossing fingers for the return of the plastic old time figures somewhere else in the park). Well done to all involved and will be looking to return several times this season!!!!!!!!

In addition the ability to see how "much time is left" before your next drink/meal. that would save alot of confusion.

As some of you may know the first thing I do every morning is check the webcams at CP and KI. This season has been interesting watching the transformation of Snowflake Lake on the Towercam. It has been left on so everything can be seen. Since Monday I've seen at least 10 people working every day, 11-12 hour days including this morning getting it ready. As of this am they are almost done with the 1st layer of plywood. Not sure how many layers there are (I would guess 2 along with the "cooler" layer of panels. Also of note, looks like the 2x2's and plywood are all new this year or at least they all look like they came packaged from a lumber company. Not sure if they use new every year (seems like they would re-use every couple of seasons) and if it's true they re-use the lumber that may point to Snowflake Lake returning for the next couple of season. Either way kudo's to those working on the project along with the rest of the team, looks like most halloween stuff was down by mid-day on Monday. It's been interesting seeing the transformation in real time and it certainly looks like they aren't "cutting costs" in this aspect of the transformation. Well done by all involved and can't wait to see the park for the first time in the 2nd week of November today.

Don't forget the Moose, the one that should have told you the park was closed

I never recall seeing a floral clock, rather it was a floral representation of whatever attraction for what was new that year.

We also saw Fangs on Friday, wanted to see it because consistanly it is the best show in any park and I always look forward to the Red Garter Saloon Rock show. Wanted to see it Friday to catch it Saturday as well, and we decided not to catch it Saturday because the show was sub-par in our opinion. The sound was not on par with previous years (balance was way off) and just not the same intensity. Don't get me wrong we enjoyed it (KI needs something similar) it's just that we weren't blown away as we have been in previous years. I would suggest hitting the second to last weekend. Seems as though the last Sat/Sun is always crowded. Get there Thurs, it's less crowded and stay however many nights you want. We stay 3 because it acts as an insurance policy in case of bad weather. Maybe we'll run into you next year! Cheers.