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Looks like they had help (LOL)

uhhh thanks me too r/meirl

Too lazy to quote, so I'm just going to throw a few thoughts out there. Kings Island's main market is the Midwest, drawing in crowds from most of southern Ohio (northern Ohio is Cedar Point's territory), Kentucky and southern Indiana, and the surrounding states - as an employee, I regularly encounter people from Tennessee, Illinois, and Pennsylvania (though I'd imagine Kennywood/Hersheypark/Knoebels/Dorney Park draw a lot of Pennsylvania). In this market, the main competition is Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom; two smaller parks, but with large audience draws - Holiday World has several world-class woodies, a fantastic water park, and outstanding customer service and park experience, while Kentucky Kingdom has an RMC and a good flat ride lineup (from what I hear, I am planning my first KK trip for this summer). Both of these draw from two of KI's main records/draws (Best Children's Area in the World for 17 years in a row, and Most Wooden Track in a park) and directly challenge Soak City and KI's own history as a family-friendly park with good guest interaction. Kings Island's most recent additions are DIRECT responses to the challenges set forth by the competition. 2014 - Banshee 2015 - Planet Snoopy expansion 2016 - Tropical Plunge 2017 - Mystic Timbers (winner of 2017's Best New Ride by the Golden Ticket Awards) and Winterfest (attempt to please the market with guest experience and a throwback to the "good ol' days") 2018 - ... (New building in Coney Mall, likely quality of life improvements throughout the park?) So what am I getting at? Kings Island's main concern right now is market dominance in the Midwest (sans Cedar Point). They already have the tallest and fastest [citation needed] roller coasters in the area, and are acting very re-actively to market developments rather than proactively. This year break is much needed - the park's focus on the market has left its other inner workings lackluster. I see more complaints about the terrible parking lot (the employee lot is worse, I guarantee it), slow food service and bad Point of Sale systems, and a degrading family-friendly atmosphere (which I don't agree with). I see the addition of a new Coney Mall restaurant as a godsend, because they may bundle in an upgrade to PoS systems park-wide and put an end to the slow and unproductive food service (no offense to food service employees, but please, step it up, especially in Cornerstone Cafe). Looking to the future, what may the park do next? To look at that, we have to see how the Midwest market is evolving. 2018 brings Kentucky Kingdom two new flat rides, and two new attractions to their 5D theater, while Holiday World invests further into its water park. 2019 has murmurings of new coasters at both Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom. Seeing as KI has been largely reactive rather than proactive to developments in the market, this is what I believe the timeline for park development will be: 2018 - QoL improvements, upgrades to PoS systems, focus on guest experience and service 2019 - New flat rides (Antique Cars, new Coney Mall flats, new Planet Snoopy rides, or a combination thereof) 2020 - Water park expansion (new water slide, possibly in place of Mondo Monsoon) 2021 - Giga (new addition to Action Zone, reuses/upgrades Son of Beast's queue) 2022 - 50th! Repaint/new light package on Racer and other classic rides In conclusion, I find all of this "writing in the snow" and "DAE Kings Island NEEDS a giga?!?!?!" talk really annoying and quite childish. Kings Island does not care about what we, a small group of enthusiasts want, but rather what the general population want - and right now, that's looking like more immersive experiences, good customer service, and family fun. The time will come when Kings Island has reset itself as the King of the Midwest market, and after some housekeeping and ride padding, will unveil the biggest and baddest giga that the world has seen. We can let Fury 325 hold that title for a few more years ;). P.S.: I'm going to scream if I see another person say it's going to be an Intamin. I will eat an announcement flyer for any Intamin coaster that makes its way into Kings Island within the next decade, quote me on that.

The expense needed just to make access (roads, sewers, etc) to that part of the land would be prohibitive. If they really wanted a campground it would be much cheaper to try to negotiate repurchasing the land across KI drive where the resort used to be. It already has all the access in place. I don't think it is likely they will, but I would have to say it is much more likely than trying anything that would involve allowing guests to drive to the backside of the park.

Congo Falls will always have a special place in my memory! When I was 16 my extended family all came to Kings Island on a Saturday in July and it was HOT and crowded. There was no line for Congo Falls for some reason so we all piled on that boat and rode it over and over again. That was back in the days when if no one was in line the ride ops would let you just keep riding. I bet we rode it 6 or 8 times in a row and were completely soaked. Of course, that led to some serious chaffing....

I agree. I find it annoying when people think that Cedar Fair won't allow for a Kings Island giga because of Cedar Point. The main competition is Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World. I think the Kings Island market will some day get that huge skyscraping rollercoaster. I think for water park expansion, they should do it in 2020 since they tend to do a water park expansion every 4 years. I think they should put the water slide back in the back of the water park where the woods are where that out of the way family tube slide is. It would attract more people to that part of the water park. Giga in my opinion is definitely, but I'm constantly tossing years around. I'm currently thinking 2021, but I've tossed around 2019 (Diamondbacks/beasts anniversary where they usually add a coaster in years that end in 9s.) And 2020 (Millennium Force 20th anniversary which Kings Island added Banshee on Raptors 20th anniversary and added Diamondback on Magnum's 20th anniversary) I agree also on more flats. For example I think they should definitely put a flat on the old flight commander pad and use the old queue.

Of course. Associated Press. "Kings Island Ranger Killed By Lion; Found in Park Safari Section" (July 25, 1976) Wire Report _____________. "Lions Fatally Attack Ranger" (July 26, 1976) Wire Report _____________. "Massive Neck Bite Killed Lion Park Ranger" (July 27, 1976) Wire Report _____________. "Mauled Ranger Left His Vehicle" (July 31, 1976) Wire Report _____________. "Ranger Killed By Lion Had Been Injured Previously" (July 28, 1976) Wire Report Brinkmoeller, Tom. "Update" (January 5, 1978) The Cincinnati Enquirer Enquirer Hamilton Bureau. "Ranger's Body Discovered in Lion Preserve" (July 25, 1976) The Cincinnati Enquirer Enquirer Lebanon Bureau. "Illness Might Have Caused Ranger to Leave His Jeep" (July 27, 1976) The Cincinnati Enquirer _____________________. "Probe Launched in Ranger's Death" (July 28, 1976) The Cincinnati Enquirer Fusco, Pete. "Kings Island Ranger Killed by Lion Attack" (July 25, 1976) Dayton Daily News __________. "Lion Victim's Mother Wants Patrol Probe" (July 27, 1976) Dayton Daily News __________. "Lion's Bite Fatal Quickly, Coroner Says" (July 26, 1976) Dayton Daily News __________ and Stewart, Don. "Sheriff's Probe Asks If or Why Ranger Left Jeep" (July 29, 1976) Dayton Daily News Graham, Mike. "'How' in Ranger Death Determined, But 'Why' Unknown" (July 26, 1976) Journal-News (Hamilton, OH) ___________. "Kings Island: Investigation Ahead" (July 28, 1976) Journal-News (Hamilton, OH) Hunter, Ginny. "Blood May Be Clue to Ranger's Death" (July 28, 1976) The Cincinnati Post ___________. "Lion Victim Had Been Hurt Before" (July 27, 1976) The Cincinnati Post ___________. "Still a Mystery: Why Did Safari Ranger Leave Jeep?" (July 26, 1976) The Cincinnati Post No Byline. "Coroner Has Theory on Ranger Death" (July 27, 1976) The Journal Herald (Dayton, OH) ________. "Death at Kings Island May Remain a Mystery" (July 26, 1976) The Journal Herald (Dayton, OH) ________. "Lion Bite Fatal to Ranger, Coroner Rules" (July 28, 1976) The Western Star (Lebanon, OH) ________. "Lion Mauling Ruling Today?" (July 26, 1976) The Cincinnati Enquirer ________. "Lion May Have Killed Kings Island Ranger" (July 25, 1976) Journal-News (Hamilton, OH) ________. "Mauled Ranger Disobeyed Rules, Sheriff Reports" (July 31, 1976) The Cincinnati Post ________. "Mauling Death Probe Hangs on Blood Tests" (July 29, 1976) The Cincinnati Post _______. “Ranger’s Death Investigated” (August 3, 1976) The Warren County Reporter ________. "Sheriff Ends Ranger Probe" (August 4, 1976) The Western Star (Lebanon, OH) ________. "Tests Completed in Ranger's Death" (August 5, 1976) The Cincinnati Post Roher, Jim. "Mauling Victim Left Vehicle, Investigators Believe" (August 1, 1976) The Cincinnati Enquirer In addition to the above newspaper articles, I also have the full case file from the Warren County Sheriff's Office. That includes: the investigation report by Col. Lynn Ertel, witness statements from Dick Fussner, Candace Walker, Dennie Acus, Pat Callahan and Terry Gressner, first-aid report from the July 4 clawing, autopsy and lab report on John McCann, memo sent to the sheriff from deputy Harold Metcalf, June and July safety memos, job description sheet for Lion Country Safari, maintenance report on jeep #5, notes from Col. Ertel, the July 30 press release, and all photographs taken by Col. Ertel, Clark Nolte, Coroner Ralph Young, Dick Fussner and the Hamilton County Coroner's Office. Whew!

I like the ride, but a lot of people I know will only ride it if it's almost a walk-on. I don't think that spells death for the ride though. As for Congo Falls, I know a lot of people who love it. Oddly enough, I'd probably miss it more than Invertigo. It's a quick, great way to cool down on a hot summer day.

I'd say it was more of a theme park during the Taft era of 72-92 where each area had its own theme. Paramount pretty much destroyed this when they didn't keep up with theming consistency as they added rides like TRTR in the western section of the park and so on.

I'm in love with you

When they first introduced those "front of the line" spin wheels, I believe it was only $2 to play and if you won you got two front of the line passes to any ride in the park. My daughter's friend came with us once and she won three times in a row. If you didn't win the passes I believe the other spots were for things like 10% off your purchase in various stores inside the park.

Kind of off topic, but I wonder how often Google updates Google Earth? Son of Beast was torn down in 2012 and it's still on the map. On topic, thank you for the write up. Seems like he was just a young guy who maybe didn't appreciate how dangerous those big cats can be and paid for it with his life. Such a tragedy.

Twister layouts are ok, But Still, If KI even goes that way with a Twister-Terrain type coaster, I need them to still add a LOT of airtime hills, More than even a coaster like I-305, At the begging I want some nice huge floater hills and at then 2nd half some more low to the ground aggressive ejector hills, while doing that giving the coaster the nice Twister-Terrain layout we all want. Just me looking at the "sample" layout @Hawaiian Coasters 325 gave us. We don't have to use any layout in general (or all the space in the area) but I noticed in the area he built this coaster, one half of it is cleared out (circled in red) and the other side has trees (circled in blue). So I was thinking how about if the designers of this coaster made the first half more, "Hyper Like" giving it the bigger elements like the Floater airtime hills and some big wide turns (like Fury/MF). and once the Giga gets to the "forested" area it mostly becomes low to the ground and more intense with the aggressive ejector hills and the high-speed low to the ground turns (like I-305). If everyone associated with the building of this coaster gives it their all, This could well be the best coaster in the world.

I somewhat agree with the “dead end” aspect but I also disagree to an extent. While yes this area is a dead end it would be great to put something back by The Bat because although I love it, it’s such a trek to get back to ride it. It was great when SoB was back there too because you had choices. I would usually go to Bat (Top Gun) then go straight to SoB. While I do think Banshee helps in getting people back there, it still doesn’t seem like enough because you still have to walk so much more to get to Bat, the only thing back there. Another “people eater” back there would definitely be awesome imo but I just don’t see enough space for a coaster. For the time being I think that area should be left alone and if/when the giga comes, it should go somewhere in or around Coney mall to help alleviate the congestion that is Beast, Diamondback, and MT. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree that wherever the presumed giga is built, it'll be a terrain coaster. I'm not so sure on using the SOB station. I feel like it would be more work to retrofit that station than simply building a new one. I also don't know if it makes sense to add such a large scale attraction that deep into an already congested dead end.

Camprgrounds are typically flatter. Once you get back Behind The Beast and the Dinos area, the land is rather hilly. It really wouldn't be a good area for one. It would take a ton of money to make it useable for something like that.

I know (at least) chugh43, IndyGuy4KI, electricsun, @pianoman, @acole5292 and I will be there. I'm not sure what any of us are doing for lodging yet, but sharing hotel rooms and/or rental houses (eg. Airbnb) seems likely. Adam and I weren't big fans of the Lake Rudolph rental RV's last year. I plan to buy the all-day Friday ticket as well. It really makes sense coming from as far away as Columbus, since traveling would kill the entire day regardless. Might as well get there early. As a reminder, early bird discounts for HoliWood Nights ends January 10.

It looks like shear walls were in. Do you think the roof will be raised providing the open air nature seen in the Starbucks eatery on IStreet? Taken on final day of Winterfest.

Inverted Boomerangs are generally more well received than the normal ones nowadays so I think the park will keep it for a while.

Agreed. He did seem to be a rather careless fellow whose actions reflect that of someone who neither respected his own life nor the danger the lions posed. If this was truly known to be common behavior from him, he should have been reported and he should have been fired. Heck, he shouldn't have worked there at all.

An idea for adding a second Coney midway and expanding X-Base (since X-Base is considered a subsection of CM and not its own area). I was careful to leave room for maintenance and wary of the changes in elevation in the area, since the top part of the antique cars border lies on what is basically a 5ft cliff that the maintenance road creates.

Did you know Diamondback is the tallest coaster in the world to feature a splash down?

I can't believe he wasn't fired before the mauling. I can only hope it was that the incidents other than his leaving the vehicle were either not reported to his supervisors or were downplayed by those who witnessed them. Seriously, straddling a lion? Pulling their tails as a regular thing? What was wrong with him?!

I just renewed for 2018 and I was wondering do anybody else gamble with this? 5$ and you spin the wheel, whatever ride it lands on you get 2 Fast Lane passes. Obviously it's a gamble because some of the rides are just trash ( dodge em ) ( backlot stunt ) I mainly spin it for Diamondback, which is an amazing feeling when you win. There have been some cool attendants working who will give you whatever voucher you want though.

Kings Island itself is a reaction to market forces. Yes, Coney Island was looking to relocate, but it was the possibility of a new park in Louisville that lit the proverbial fire. Action Zone was Paramount's reaction to Six Flags.

I like the sound of "the biggest, baddest giga." After Kings Island got Banshee in 2014, it wouldn't surprise me that if and when the park gets a giga, it will be massive. Regarding Son of Beast's station, it would be best to level it. It's cool to see a track section from Son of Beast still standing after 5 years since it was torn down, but it looks a little ugly.

I honestly wish they would demolish it. I love that a little piece of SOB still stands and I realize it's used for Haunt, but it looks so bad. Pull it down and rework that midway down to The Bat. Let the past die, kill it if you have to.

Son of Beast's station looks bad, I'd rather not reuse SOB's old station..

In my eyes, that was the Catch 22 of Paramount. The quality of the theming was high, but the placement and place-setting didn't make any sense. I think that reflects the mindset of the company, however. The parks were tools to promote the brand, nothing more.

I don't see a campground coming anytime soon to the Kings Island area. Unless you grew up then, there's no way to describe how popular camping was during the '70's when Kings Island opened their campground. If you drove down the street of your average neighborhood, there was a camper parked in probably more than half of the driveways. While Kings Island definitely had a convenient place for guests to stay close the park, they were also taking advantage of a VERY popular pastime/lifestyle of the era.

I believe that is just the scaffolding covered in plastic. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is only a concept. I do get what you're saying. Like I can't create a picture like this with the elevations. I definitely think that they would find a way to make it work and have the coaster definitely use the terrain. Also, the ride can go over Banshee and The Bat. The Son of Beast station is much higher than that turn The Bat does by the station and it's a steel coaster so there would only be a few footers. There is more room between the Son of Beast station and Banshee than people think. This will be a terrain coaster for sure.

I propose getting a cabin at Lake Rudolph for all seven of us.

I think you're overestimating the amount of space between The Bat and Banshee where you have the lift starting. I also think you're underestimating the elevation changes in that part of the property as well as the sheer scale of coaster you're proposing.

A giga I made where it reuses Son of Beast's station. Yes, it does look a little long, but it's going to very fast so it has to be long. Also, it's a twister layout. It will combine the other 4 North American gigas in one. They'll also make the drop face Great Wolf Lodge.

I probably spent 45$ one time, it became addicting! sometimes I would spend 10 minutes just watching other people to see what they got. The idea of waiting over an hour in 90 degree weather is just something I refuse to do. 500$ for all season Fast Lane would be worth it, if you could include 1 extra person.

Welcome to KIC! I've never played these games myself, but some members have. If it's a day when lines are excessively long, playing until you win a "good" ride should be cheaper than splurging on Fast Lane Plus for the day. Paging @jcgoble3 , who likes spin-the-wheel games more than most of us!

Thanks I love original sources. It’s the skeptic in me:). Plus reading in the news papers at the time. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There might be the small wrinkle that the first ground up I-box is going to Energylandia in Poland: http://coasterhub.com/archives/23520 . Would still be really cool to have a ground-up RMC (though personally I'm not sure that there'd be a difference between I-box and topper when built from scratch, does anyone else know if there is one?).

I have thought that the area you shaded as an expansion would make sense for a family friendly flat ride and restrooms. It would give those that are too short something to do when other people in the party are riding Firehawk and Flight of Fear, which both have 54" height requirements. I don`t know if they would build a full midway like that though. Especially since the X-Base is already a dead end midway. Action Zone is a dead end, and until they reconfigured the entrance when Banshee opened, there was often a logjam of guests trying to get into the area.

That's a creative idea. I haven't seen anyone suggest making that area a Coney expansion. I've thought that Xbase could use that space to become it's own area. Though, I'm a sucker for classic Americana. What did you use to make that little map?

Well, at least your post lol

I love that CF is working with multiple manufactures. It's adding a wonderful depth to the chain's lineup. I mean Gerstlauer, B&M, RMC, GCI. All in the span of two years? A ground up RMC would be a welcome addition to KI.

I've got a buddy that worked in the rides department this summer. Apparently the ride ops are kept up to date on that sort of thing.

The page Chris referenced is an older one; many of the photo galleries are also embedded on pages for individual attractions. There are a lot of photos in the KIC archive; organizing them all remains a work in progress. If you're looking for pictures of a specific ride, check out https://kicentral.com/rides/ There have been some great forum threads with pictures and discussion as well. One of my personal favorites is standbyme's topic with photos from his 1974 collection, juxtaposed with present day shots from the same angles. See https://kicentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/24760-standing-within-3-feet-of-1974 If there's something in particular you're looking for photos of, let us know and we'll try to find it!

Tons of people ride Congo Falls. It's actually one of the highest performing rides in terms of capacity to expected capacity. It's great for those summer days where the park is packed and just 100°

5 years after this thread and it is still there!

But what constitutes a record breaker for you? It could be 1 ft taller than Millie and KI can say the tallest Giga in Ohio, or the midwest, etc. It could the shortest Giga and KI claim it in the longest Giga with a 90 degree drop. These days records are a variety of things.

Actually, I would argue that coaster installs have slowed down in the recent years. Parks aren’t installing as many as they were around the year 2000. Not to mention the arms race for tallest, fastest, longest coaster has slowed down a bit, in my opinion. I don’t think Disney is releasing Star Wars movies too quickly. And obviously other people feel the same way as The Last Jedi was the highest grossing film of 2017. Cedar Point isn’t exactly adding coasters every year. Gatekeeper opened in 2013. Rougaro was just a refresh of an existing coaster. Valravn opened in 2016. And now they are adding Steel Vengeance in 2018. In between, they have added some new family rides, and new additions to the water park. I would say that Cedar Point is relatively well rounded. They certainly have more flat rides than what KI has. As Brad said, Cedar Fair is certainly doing something right.

Are you sure that is not to have another zero? Where did you read this?