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^ Photo #117 - I bet not many of you realized they firs left trees in the center of the rosebowl.

It has been said the Carolina GM, son of the former CEO, is high maintenance and has high operating costs.

It's time! Time to awake from your winter slumber and return to Kings Island: Where Thrills Connect! This year will be a great year for the park! Not only did they announce a HUGE water park expansion with the new Soak City, but new shows, new food options, and [coming soon] a new state-of-the-art phone app! Soak City, which opens to the public May 26th, will feature all new amenities including Tidal Wave Bay, and brand new 650,000 gallon extreme wave pool! We will also see the Lazy River break through its dam and pick up some speed as it becomes the new Splash River experience! Is live entertainment your thing? Kings Island continues their newly-re-found tradition of excellent shows with the addition of some real winners this season. Highlights include the brand new British Invasion, which celebrates the British domination of rock 'n roll in the 1970s. Also in June, Ed Alonzo - one of the greatest actors and magicians of all time - will have his own daily show in the Kings Island Theatre! Hungry? New food options at Kings Island are sure to please even the most selective taste bud! From fresh-never-frozen burgers, to glutton-free pizza, to new options such as burritos and Philly cheese steak sandwiches, Kings Island has made great strides to return the food options to their former glory. Season passes are still on sale and offer a FREE Gold Pass upgrade through May 28th. Some of the benefits of a Gold season pass is FREE parking throughout the 2012 season, early access to the new Soak City, early access to several rides on every operating day (sans Fridays during Haunt) and free admission to Halloween Haunt! Check out Kings Island's official site visitkingsisland.com for details and to purchase/renew your pass!

There was also a goose that many people showed interest in. This bird was in Coney Mall, and seemed to have made a nest inside of a fountain. The area was blocked off, so I couldn't see for certain.

Yep. Look in the Trip Reports section of the forums! http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/forum/11-trip-reports/

Yep, first rider of the season on Adventure Express... and in the front row.

^ oh, snap!

Mine was WWC. I rode it a few days after it opened, waited in line for about 3 hours! It was too cold and I got pneumonia. Ah, still a special place in my heart.

Hey, I can't make it there today... someone please let me know what kind of background music they're playing over the Main Gate and/or International Street (It's a thing...) Thanks and have a great time today!!! -Eric/"Tb"

Will you be putting lanterns in the window to warn if Ringo is coming by land or by sea?

"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

Terpy, what was it like when the British really invaded? I mean like in 1812. :) :) :)

In response to the colonel, The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse was one of many icons to both the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland. Tarzan's Treehouse...not so much. I had always envisioned a Wild Thornberrys tree house attraction to be placed in the grassy knoll in-betwixt Phantom Flyers (now Linus Launcher) and Timmy's Air Tours (now Sally's Sea Plane), and have the log ride instead become what would equate to a cross between Splash Mountain and Ripsaw Falls, called Nicktoon Falls. Then again, I had once envisioned a completely different version of the former Nick Universe, what with four separate areas - Jr. Ville, Neutron Plaza, Splat City & Mt. Gushmore, and Bikini Bottom. Jr.VIlle would encompass the northern quarter, going from Wind-Up to the Snoopy Boutique. This is where a majority of the kiddie attractions would reside (the rest would sit inside BB), however, the Character Carousel would be moved into the area as a new flat ride would take its spot in NP. All rides are based off Jr. shows (Lazytown, Backyardigans, etc.). Compared to the other three sections, this would receive the least amount of significant changes. Neutron Plaza, themed primarily to Jimmy Neutron, sits on the eastern corridor and is essentially the smallest of the four sections. Sitting in Carousel's position would be an Astro Orbiter-styled attraction for the entire family. The big change here would be the addition/creation of a Festhaus-style indoor restaurant, Nicktoons Cafe, going in the spot of both Ice Cream and Snoopy Grill (Blue's Ice Cream would be moved over to Jr. Ville). Taxi Jam (now Great Pumpkin) would be rethemed to Danny Phantom (with a name of something like Danny Phantom's Ghoster Coaster). Splat City & Mt. Gushmore resides down south, and is a hybrid of themes. The Wild Thornberrys treehouse concept I mentioned up above would be in this area, roughly where Linus Launcher sits now. Runaway Reptar would stay the same, except the theme would more closely resemble that of an actual episode of Rugrats. What that means is a mix between alphabet blocks scattered about and positioned to look like a cityscape and actual skyscrapers and buildings, to blend that sense of imagination and reality the show is famous for. Also, behind RR and making its way into Nicktoons Falls, is a faux mountain range with the Nickelodeon letters in the style of the Hollywood logo. That mountain range carries its way into Mt. Gushmore and Nicktoon Falls, a heavily rethemed log ride built similarly to Splash Mountain. The focal point would be a rock formation of five famous Nick characters (Tommy, Jimmy, SpongeBob, and the Fairly OddParents) like Mt. Rushmore. Bikini Bottom is the last section, to the west, and is the biggest change to NU. The inspiration for BB comes from an attraction called Mermaid Lagoon at Tokyo DisneySea, which is an indoor kids area made to look like everything is underwater. The same concept would be applied here, as people would feel as if they were underwater, and in the town of Bikini Bottom. The star attraction here is the Crash Course Boating School, an indoor/outdoor dark ride/coaster. Other notable attractions would be offshoots of ones found at Mermaid Lagoon, such as a Jumpin Jellyfish parachute ride, and a clone of a ride from Great America (Boatmobiles, now Peanuts Pirates). This is all I can remember for the time being, as I had this all planned in my head years ago. Perhaps I should try and create this in RCT3... EDIT: I would have had a crudely drawn picture to illustrate the zoning, but it won't let me put up the picture.

I would actually want a 2nd flume. Something big and waving back in the treetops. Like what they had in the past back by The Crypt. When I think about it, adding something like a large treehouse for adults and kids to walk through would be kind of cool too. Kind of like the Robinson Family Treehouse at Disney. I could go on and on with this. The bottom line is not to put all extreme rides up, but a collection of attractions that would create sentimental value from individual memories. I understand that everything at KI does this, but I am referring to something that the entire family can enjoy together, like Dinosaurs Alive.

Because they wanted to ride ^ Photo #116 - KI opens tomorrow woo....

I think it's called nostalgia.

Actually, I think the break run happened awhile later... I'll be here all week!

Thanks for doing this, all the pictures were great. And thanks to hendrick for the fades. I remember I first heard of this thread when it was mentioned on Kings Islands twitter. From the first post, (Hanna Barbera logflume/D-Back que and shop, Planet Snoopy overlook and log flume) to the last post (Eiffel Tower sky ride/Eiffel Tower WindSeeker behind) it's been a great thread. I had no idea when this thread would end, and was sad when I read the news today. Thanks for everything !

Thank you standbyme. This has made the first two months of the off season not seem like such a let down. To get to see exciting pictures/comparisons of Kings Island everyday kind of kept the magic alive to me. I have never seen many older photos of what Kings Island has looked like, so it was nice being able to see what the parked used to look like, and even more getting a comparison today (with one minor exception ) Now the off season truly begins

thanks again, I wish this didn't have to end, it was always enjoyable catching a bit of the past and comparing it to the future. It looked like a ton of work, but something you'll get to enjoy for years to come. Thanks to you we can all enjoy it for years to come.