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The same thing they did in 2009 with a generic "up and down" coaster.

They're probably building something that is high capacity, efficient and mechanically reliable. That's what they need more than anything.

What? But that's the point of this thread isn't it. Say what you want KI to get, and everything to the contrary is diversion or ridiculous. I believe this thread is about "Decoding" the possible 2014 ride. I assume that means predicting the new ride based on past evidence and solid facts(that we have so far). Not to be confused with 'LOLOLZ I WANT A DIVE MACHINE SI THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE GETTING LOLOLz'. And simply ending it there, with no solid reasoning other that its an 'incredible experience that KI deserves'. So lets think while we predict. That's been my point all along.

No way on God's green earth they will build a wooden coaster on that particular plot of land. They're trying to make us forget Son of Beast, and if they built a woodie there, the GP would confuse it for Son of Beast, declare that it killed people, got stuck in the loop and is sinking, and therefore refuse to ride it.

I wonder if they "cedah point" yet?

But it's really not the same park. Different owner. Different management. Different people. Different times. The 2013 Kings Island is not the 1972 Kings Island nor the 1979 one. Heck, the 2013 Cedar Fair is not of the Kinzel variety, even.

This is something that nobody has really mentioned, so I figured I might. They removed the water tower from the center of AZ. This is just wishful thinking but what if this new ride came out there. Like example a coaster that you can walk under parts of. (Like Diamondback). It would bring a lot more action to the area having that right there above you. Action it needs...

The world of amusement park games is really interesting. One of my hobbies is to travel around to different amusement parks to play games. I've never seen park employees or managers stop a patron from playing a game because the patron was losing too much at a particular game. Not once. I've seen people drop more than $400 at a game at any one time without much to show for it. The gentleman in the story took the spending to new levels, and the story does bring out that the losing was accentuated by playing "double or nothing." Still, no one really thinks that the operator did anything wrong assuming the game conditions were fair (which is another story altogether). On the flip side, I've personally seen all kinds of antics from amusement park games personnel when an expert player is playing. A short list: Instituting "on the spot", random prize limits where no limits previously existed or were posted because the player is winning too much for the operators liking Immediate changes to prize limits after an expert rolls through Constant reminders by games managers to employees to enforce prize limits (only) because an expert player is on the premises Park personnel "backing off" an experts play (i.e., telling the player to stop playing for the day), even if the expert hasn't reached stated (or unstated) prize limits Banning an expert from playing a particular game because they're too skilled Amusement parks and the larger carnival game operators don't have any incentive to rig the games. They're not going to risk their licenses just to squeeze out a few bucks when they know they're going to win in the long-run. I have never felt like any of the games that I've played at well-established places are rigged. They don't have to be, because most people can't beat the games. On the other hand, the relationship between the parks and the expert players is often very uneasy. Some games are beatable over the long-run by an expert player, and the parks seek to limit exposure to those players through the use of prize limits. What most parks don't understand, however, is that the expert games player (unlike an expert who goes to the casino and seeks to stay as low profile as possible) is actually good for business. Why? The experts are walking advertisements for the games! When you see someone walking around with a lot of prizes it lets others know that the games aren't all impossible and that they can win too. It's a very odd coexistence at times.

I think "The Beast" name ought to be left alone, it is an iconic ride and no more sequels need to come off of its legacy. If the park wanted to it could rename everything after this ride, lets say Flight of Fear is now The Beast Within or Firehawk is now Flight of The Beast. Making sequels is just confusing to people who aren't coaster fans. The other day at work, one of the girls said "Yea I loved The Beast but did you know they tore it down". Took me twenty minutes to get her to understand that she never rode Son of Beast and that is the one that went down.

Parking. Lot. Coaster.

This is going to be the longest summer of my life if we keep posting like we are now!

The FAA, not coaster enthusiasts, regulates how high objects near airports can be. And that's that.

I for one miss your hair being green! Is it friday yet? Im ready to look at the progress,this thread is taking a turn towards boring!

I'm no Mayor Bloomberg on the size of the cup (that's just gotta be flamebait) but the larger ones did melt and get deluted, warm and disgusting. That got poured out or into (gag) the trashcans where it baked until it smelled awful and drew yellowjackets. The free refills on the day of purchase is just like Carowinds and works out pretty nicely, $.99 to get a refill isn't too harsh. Guess it's time to retire the Spongebob, Maverick, and Shoot the Rapids cups!

True, the only facts right now are what we can see, but there are still some logical deductions that can be made. 1. Whatever it is, I would argue that a main goal will be to remove any and all memory of SOB, and the nightmare it became. Two conclusions can be drawn from this. First, it will be a major install, meaning, something large...something that is not a wild mouse. In other words, a big coaster. Second, it will not be wood, for obvious reasons. 2. Construction has started really early. The only logical conclusion to be reached from this is "big". So with those two points, the first just being logical inference, and the second a fact, we come to the same conclusion: big coaster. (most likely steel). 3. It is a fact that Banshee has been resurrected, and with the "evil phenom" writing, we just may have a name. This is the weakest of the bunch, though, IMO. 4. Cedar Fair has been in love with B & M lately, and nothing erases a history of maintence nightmares like a B & M. Hence, Gatekeeper. Intamin burned a lot of bridges lately with Cedar Point's series of unfrotuante events, the latest being the disappointing STR. 5. Kings Island is the only "flagship-esque" park in the entire chain that does not have a giga coaster. 6. B & M recently started building gigas. And so, we come to the only logical conclusion: B & M giga named Banshee. See how easy that is?

You have tasted coaster footers before??? I don't know if I'm more worried that no one said anything, or that I'm the only one who is saying anything.

No. Cedar Fair will do what ever it takes to make the new ride profitable for KI. If that means they break the hight of a 13 year old coaster, then thats what it means. And frankly, the GP won't give a darn.

Maybe this is just me, but wouldn't it be smart for Cedar Fair to wait and see how Gatekeeper is viewed and talked about by the public before building multiple wing riders throughout their chain? You have to realize that whatever is happening at KI was on the drawing board before Gatekeeper was even beginning to take shape. Much like WindSeeker, I am afraid they might put too many eggs in one basket. I understand that there are other wing riders out there which can give a general view of what the public thinks, but I feel like it would be good business technique in general to have one of your own and see how it goes before mass-producing them. Just my $0.02 here.

I've never understood why amusement park games aren't typically considered gambling in the United States. In Canada, they are. And the prizes are much, much better.

And even a song: I want...my BabyBack! Terp, who just HAD to.

Warren County airport is several miles north of Kings Island. A departure analysis using a runway 19 departure does show an obstacle but it much closer than Kings Island. Several radio towers south of the airport are taller than anything Kings Island has built or even considered. Long story short the FAA really wouldn't complain about anything Kings Island is building as long as it lit appropriately at night. My money is on a B&M Inverter, btw.

There is no such thing as an improved version of Shooting Star. Terp, who loved that ride with all his cash, at least one 1971 night.

I'm sure if Kings Island really wanted another wooden coaster, that they'd be smart enough to market it in a way that doesn't remind people of Son of Beast. This is the same park with one of the greatest wooden coasters in the world after all, and the same park which used a certain pair of wooden coasters to kick-start the 2nd golden age of coaster building. Just sayin'.

No way on God's green earth they will build a wooden coaster on that particular plot of land. They're trying to make us forget Son of Beast, and if they built a woodie there, the GP would confuse it for Son of Beast, declare that it killed people, got stuck in the loop and is sinking, and therefore refuse to ride it. Yet Six Flags Magic Mountain put Apocalypse on Psyclone's spot just as one example. Psyclone didn't have an incident where 26 people sustained injuries leading to its first closure, followed several years later by another involving a woman suffering a head injury leading to its second, permanent closure. There won't be a wooden coaster in that spot for next year, no matter WHO builds it.

While this guy brings bad judgement to a whole other level, imagine the carnival worker that just let him do it. No integrity. No values. I have always wondered how bad off a person must have it to live that type of life. I truly feel bad for both people. Now I'm gonna go hug my wife & kids.

They don't seem to be as "in to" record breaking as they once were. Don't count on it, though I'd love to see them build the longest coaster in the world.

Off topic; but I love how because of this thread, KIC is getting a ton of new members.

Nobody did a tr on Opening Day that was with me the whole day, and I had a lot of time to kill in the car so why not...? I'll warn you now that these pictures aren't very good. I just took a few throughout the day real quick. I wasn't planning on making a tpr, but why not i guess. I was really excited to go to ki all week, but on Saturday morning I just wasn't feeling up to it. At the last minute i decided to go. I was dropped off and headed for tower drinks. Beastie1980 was happy to see me, i was just in time to jump into the kic photo. IMG_7298 by vacationphotos2013, on Flickr I'm the one in the blue shirt in the top left corner. Me and Beastie1980 got to meet Terpy, that was really cool. Hey terp. After that we kinda split and most of went to feastus. Some ate while most of us just sat around and watched the show, it was like a rock and roll show or something... But they had Michael Jackson in there, and he's the king of pop so i didn't really get that. But I guess the MJ fans were happy, so who cares. Then the group split again and they tried to get a table at the Reds Hall of Fame Grille. Apparently that didn't work out so we all met up at hanks. Me, Beastie1980 (plus her sister summer and her mom), Muppetfan1999, and Fire-Beast-of-Fear all sat at the really short kids table and ended up talking for about 2 hours. IMG_7308 by vacationphotos2013, on Flickr I liked this picture because there was a bee on his hat and I caught him as he grabbed his hat and threw it across the table. xD We didn't even notice until the whole group got up and left us ...almost xD. Indyguy4ki was able to take us to see Don real quick. I've never seen do before so that was neat. IMG_7314 by vacationphotos2013, on Flickr I didn't really know what to say so I just kind stood there... haha. Us six kinda split away from the group and headed to Flight Deck hoping the line would be shorter than the others. On the way there we saw the teaser. IMG_7319 by vacationphotos2013, on Flickr Apparently the line was not short... It was stretched all the way to the tunnel. I've never seen it that long before. We were all really shocked. haha. We decided since all the lines were going to be 2-3 hours we tried to figure out the ride that would be worth waiting for. They picked Diamondback. I wasn't all on board for starting my first ride of the season with DB since I've never rode it before, but at this point i really didn't care. We got over to DB with a nice line waiting for us. IMG_7349 by vacationphotos2013, on Flickr (Rawr! lol waiting in line for DB) Me and Beastie1980 sat in the front of the car while Fire-Beast-Of-Fear and Muppetfan1999 rode in the back. It was really fun, everything i thought it would be. The ride photo was really bad, my whole head was sideways and it looked like it was about to fall off or something. xD We then started walking to the Reds Hall of Fame Grille and made reservations, and the we got in line of the Eiffel Tower wanting to see SOB gone. Halfway through the line our table was ready and we ditched the line and ran to the Grille. Its a lot nicer than i thought it would be. The prices weren't out of this world, and they had FREE REFFILS. Yeah, I'm not sure if those are going to stay or not but we were happy about that. We went out back onto the porch and it was really close to DB. After we ate we headed towards the old Crypt building IMG_7334 by vacationphotos2013, on Flickr (you guys were standing tallest to shortest me and summer just couldn't resist snapping one ) and met up with Malem. Muppetfan1999 wanted to ride his favorite, Firehawk. That was good with me since nobody i know likes that ride and I don't really get to ride it that much. Firehawk was like an 1.5 hour wait i think. I rode with MuppetFan1999 and Summer. Me and him really liked it, while Beastie1980 took a pledge to never ride it again xD. After that we ran over to The Beast where we met up with Ohio Colts and his Family. IMG_7336 by vacationphotos2013, on Flickr We were about 4 rows of bars away from the gates when we had to stop for fireworks. About 10 min later we got onto The Beast. I sat with MuppetFan1999, we were both really excited because none of us had really had a night ride on The Beast. Both of us just had like a dusk ride. And we were off. Me and him were stunned, it seemed faster this year and it was the best Beast ride I've had. I loved the sound of the screams in the dark tunnels. After we hit the break run me and him both exchanged the 'THAT WAS THE BEST BEAST RIDE EVER' look haha. It was more fun with the Kicers too. Beastie1980 had to wait for her sister and her mom but me and Muppetfan1999 had to make a mad dash to the parking lot because we kept our rides waiting. Fire-Beast-Of-Fear also joined in and we tried to get out of the park as fast as we could. Almost no lights were on, the rides were all shut down, and nobody we in the park. Creepy... As we cut through river town, Planet Snoopy and down International Street, Fire-Beast-Of-Fear said goodbye while me and MuppetFan1999 sped walked out to the parking lot together since our rides were waiting for us in the same spot all the way near the big welcome sign. We said goodbye and Opening Day came to a close. Well actually the park closed 45 minutes ago but same thing right? It was really fun i hope to go for closing day as i will be moved down into our new house that is only 30 minutes from ki than the usual 4 hours. We headed back to our soon-to-be house where i got to pull staples out of the floor. Fun stuff. I'll definitely try to go for the next opening day. This was probably my favorite ki trip even though of the insane lines.

Opening day was awesome! Too bad I didn't get to go back to Girl Scout Camp but it was way worth it to ride Firehawk and The Beast with Duncan!!! Best riding buddy ever! Haha, but I can't wait to see everyone again, great PTR, Faith!!

Just gonna leave this here. Because this is a great point.

This would be Amazing!

I'd rather remain in sweet oblivion until more information surfaces.

You have tasted coaster footers before??? I don't know if I'm more worried that no one said anything, or that I'm the only one who is saying anything. I was going to say something but needed to be caught up first.

..And thats brings back the whole Conversation as to whether Kings Island can actually Have a Coaster very much taller than 300' due to the proximity to The Airport.Except for the fact that the Eiffel Tower and Drop Tower are both 315ft tall.

Japan would not be very happy with that....

Nor do they underengineer them. They are expensive, but in this case parks get what they pay for. See, to the contrary, many recent HUSS rides.

Ah, I think I missed that in between the lines. And that is true. Even their innovative designs, form inverts to wing-riders, are just solid performers. The talk I always hear from the few folks I know in the business always come back to the same line; B & M doesn't over-engineer the rides.

The discussion of prototypes began because of one poster's hopes a new coaster would be the first of its kind, not because WingRiders at this point are prototypes. Obviously, they are not. Even B&M's first major production coasters were and are reliable as they were delivered, though.

Gatekeeper is not a prototype, and it will be a home run. The WRs mentioned above are wildly, wildly popular. Plus, it's a B & M, meaning its reliable and no in need of an endless string of tweaks, downtime, etc. as is the case with Intmain's products, as breathtaking and ground-breaking as they can be. I wouldn't rule out a B & M Giga at all. It would see KI follow the same pattern as CW (Behemoth, Leviathan. There's certainly room for any type of layout one can imagine.

How did I forget the name Mindbender still my favorite at SFOG. Now for Kings Island 2014 I would like for some connection to The Beast. If Sega has no issue perhaps Altered Beast this time don't forget about the tunnels and terrain.

I was thinking more along the lines of a Sir-Mix-A-Lot hit from 1986

I think I'm going to be enjoying the right side more than the left, based on the POVs. I'll find out on Thursday!

I am beyond excited to hear that service was better this weekend! I loved the restaurant and the food, and working out the kinks will only make it better for the park and the customers. Thanks for the updates everyone!

My best guess is a B and M giga. One idea I have though is a giga that has inversions after the mid-course break. The drop from the break would probably be between 100 to 150 feet which would be great for a couple of loops, a zero g roll, etc. I know it's a little outside the box, but the space is available for it. It would also be extremely unique.

Chilli's Baby Back Ribs....

If it's a pterodactyl wingrider, I demand Johnny Quest music in the queue.

I'm pretty sure you guys are putting way too much thought into this. Let's look at the clues: 1.) Cedar Fair trademarks the name Banshee. Think back to the teaser on the fence. Mysterious, bone-chilling screams? Unless the park is really trying to throw a curveball here, I don't see what other name could be used. Before anyone brings up Mustang, was the name Mustang trademarked? 2.) It would be almost unheard of for a seasonal park to start construction this early for a small attraction. AKA: The odds of us getting a wild mouse are pretty small in my book. 3.) We have footers on the ground! They look like coaster footers, they smell like coaster footers, they taste like coaster footers, they sound like coaster footers... you finish the puzzle. 4.) Does Cedar Fair have a history of building ziplines? I mean, not to be rude, but really? Do you honestly think that is what this is for? 5.) This is almost certainly B&M. But why Diamondhawk, why are you taking all our toys? Cedar Fair doesn't seem to exactly love Intamin right now. In fact, Intamin hasn't been used at Cedar Fair since 2010 for I305. I remember Don saying that Kings Island wanted to focus on reliable, high capacity rides after disasters such as Son of Beast, The Cyrpt, Backlot Stunt Coaster, etc. Also, if that's not enough proof, CEO Matt Ouimet said while at the B&M plant looking at Gatekeeper, that Kings Island was on his radar. 6.) Don is trying to throw you off with that tweet. And it clearly worked. Hats off to you Mr. Helbig. Don't look too much into this. I know the anticipation is great for the new ride, but not every word out of Don's mouth will have to do with this new attraction.

After the long wait the POV's for Gatekeeper are here. Right: Left:

Guy atop the Eiffel Tower: "Well, there's 'Son of Dirt;' and over there is Days of Dirt."

While in Line for The Eiffel Tower today, I was wearing my Son of Beast T-Shirt.. Op: "Hey Nice shirt!" Me: "Thanks! Really wish it was still around. I was sorry to see it go" Op: "Yeah I know, Well, Whats replacing it is gonna be awesome!" Me: "Oh yeah? What have you Heard?" Op: "Racer Mach 2 is opening in 2014. Its gonna be a racing Steel Coaster that will be almost 400 foot High" Me: " Really?!?! Where did you hear that?" Op: "Ive heard people talking.." Sounds Like the Dippin Dots Guy is up to his old tricks again....