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So now that the dust has settled, or hopefully started to at least, my thoughts in no particular order: The ONLY misdirection by the park here was holding the announcement on National Roller Coaster Day, but even that was justified by also being the anniversary of the date the old 'tiques closed. Anyone who thinks the park deliberately misled them is deluding themselves. I don't get the mentality by some "enthusiasts" (scare quotes for a reason) that the park is obligated to put in a big new roller coaster every year and that they have to complain loudly when the park does something else. Enthusiasts are only one demographic, and a pretty small demographic. Families pay the park's bills. And on that note, this is something the whole family can do together. My 67-year-old dad, when he saw it, said "finally, something I can ride!" My 64-year-old mom is excited for it too. This is something parents and grandparents can ride. That is important. Although my parents took me to Paramount's Kings Island a few times as a kid in the mid-90s, I have almost no memories of the park in those days. But one that has stuck with me is riding the antique cars, and how I was scared of the big rides but loved the scenery and driving the cars. So yes, I'm excited for it too. It's childhood nostalgia for me. It's awesome to see the park correcting the biggest mistakes made by Viacom. First we got flying scooters again (even if they aren't as good as the originals), and now 'tiques. I can finally begin to forgive Viacom for the travesty of what we now call Backlot Stunt Coaster. Although it wasn't announced, I hope Racer gets some substantial track work and refurbishment, including a paint job. Such routine things aren't generally announced this far in advance or at a big public presentation like this. Much more likely that it would just be a post on the park's blog around February or something like that talking about it, perhaps even with pictures of the partially completed work.

We sometimes bring my parents along on bring-a-friend Sunday's. They're mid-70's, and will absolutely love letting our tweens get behind the wheel and take them for a spin. Something fun for them to do with their grand-children, and a better guest experience for them and their grand-kids. And the park will have some extra spenders in the park as a result. Win-win-win.

Most of the people I know are happy about it. When you have a place attended by so many people, there are always going to be those that complain when they do not get what they want every time. That doesn't mean that most people do not like it. There are always going to be those who want nothing but thrill rides and you could give them a new thrill ride 4 years in a row, and if they don't get it the 5th year, they will complain. I think this represents a small percentage though. I love coasters as much as anyone, but I love variety. Amusement parks used to be about variety. I like to see a park have some nice, quality adult non-thrill rides to add some variety to the day. This addition certainly adds to the variety at the park. It is the type of attraction that also, with its landscaping, makes the park more attractive and scenic to look at.

It has been two days since the big announcement. I was hoping for a bigger plan being announced that included into the 2020 season. After thinking about it I am very pleased with the direction that has been chosen. At first I was disappointed for selfish reasons, but when I informed my children they were very excited. Just a few weeks ago we were at Cedar Point for the first time, and they drove the antique cars there, three times. I never thought they would enjoy them because they are such coaster fans. Now looking at it through their eyes, and the park needing a reason to get people excited for upcoming seasons I cannot wait until I am driven around the course by my children. Good move Kings Island to please the families, and people who do not or cannot enjoy the wilder rides. I think it will bring a lot of life back to a section of the park that needs it.

On Wednesday there was an announcement for Thursday. That's all the park was responsible for with creating hype. Not sure what constitutes attention. Social media makes keeping anything secret impossible. As stated in my post a few pages back. Kings Island had nothing to do with creating hope that a coaster was coming leading up to the announcement. The posters/teasers were not made by anyone at Kings Island.

First things first, I am so unbelievably giddy upon news of the 'Tiques returning to the Island. Secondly, now I feel a weird suspicion as if this addition is part of a multi-phase expansion that would see the addition of a brand new area to the park where Dinosaurs Alive! once stood. See crude blue-sky plans below. Essentially a path reaching from Firehawk's exit/photo booth that snakes around the maintenance buildings almost mirroring the maintenance road and merging into the former path of DA. The original entrance to DA would serve as the second access point to the new area, with the entrance/exit to Antique Autos at its mouth. Another crazy idea is to re-purpose the former Action Theater into a dark ride (*cough*Phantom Theater RIP[Reconstruction In Progress]*cough*) and have its own path connecting to both the new area and Action Theater's former exit beside Windy Seeker. Two flat rides go in (one for X-Base and one for the new land), install a new bathroom across from Flight of Fear (where Chaos/Board 2 Death Haunt maze is now) and the roller coaster, of course, lies within most of DA to do its coaster thing. Oh, and a gift shop and eating place.

^This, exactly. I brought my parents a couple of weeks ago, 83 and 76. They enjoyed the train, Boo Blasters and the Eiffel Tower. They were glad when I told them the cars are coming back.

I love this! I can't wait to see how Coney Mall will look next year with the Antique Cars. Hopefully, this trend of revivals continues and, dare I say, brings about the return of a certain Maestro and his theater. A little wishful thinking is healthy. Les Taxi lives again!

I personally hope it gets removed. The other buildings used strictly for haunt are more hidden from the main paths, Blackout is behind a fence, Urgent Scare back in the old theatre inside The Racer turnaround, the crypt building is obvious but it isn't a clear sign of haunt. Whereas Killmart is right on the main strip of Coney Mall and it just looks bad with it being a large boarded up building made to look dilapidated. It is a decent theme and a newer house but think it would be better served to be revamped in another area.

One big benefit as others have mentioned is that it gives something that kids and grandparents are able to do outside of Planet Snoopy. One other benefit of having something to entice grandparents is that they will potentially spend more money on food and beverage as well as buying souvenirs for their grandkids. This could be as good of a low cost big return attraction that the park could have done.

Name: King Cobra Location: Action Zone In addition, after riding Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City in May I would fully support something like that coming to KI. For people who are concerned about us already having one multi-launch, I would say that Time Traveler and BLSC are completely different type of experiences from each other.

I’m sure he wasn’t coaxed into saying that. He probably just saw the ads and thought it would be funny. Ive also heard: ”Can I have a burrito?” ”Can I at least have something to eat?” ...as well as him acting like he was crying. EDIT: Check this out...

Name: Snoopy Kart Double Dash Location: Vortex

Very happy to see this get added... They're fun, and can be ridden by almost anyone... Glad they went with the steerable version...

That part of the park was always dead in my opinion and wasted a ton of potential space. I'm happy they're finally doing something with that as well as taking care of the Flight Commander pad that was just sitting there. It would have been, "uncomfortable" if they decided to keep the pad and add a new flat ride there, especially considering what happened back in 1991. I've asked this question on the Haunt 2018 thread, but do you guys think Killmart will be gone after this year or do you think the cars will coexist with the current building?

^I was thinking about what area of the park it would be nice to add a fountain or something similar, looked at Google Earth and the only place that doesn't really have anything is Coney Mall. A few days later we have the 2019 Antique Car's returning, with nice landscaping, water features and a bridge and more!!! It sounds like Kings Island is going to try and make the new car ride as close to Les Taxis as they can, I think we're in for a treat!

Next will we see recaR ehT return? Hope so! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see a multi-use lighting package for The Racer? The coaster track with a lighting package similar to I-Street would be a beautiful addition to late night fireworks!

Perfect! Thanks, everyone!

Rivertown Freestyle!

I'm assuming this location will replace Battle Creek Barbecue, which is near the area pictured in the artwork for Boathouse Grill. The food at Battle Creek Barbecue is really good, especially the brisket, though the building itself is dated. The new facility should be a big improvement, but I'm always a little sad to see a unique park building replaced by a more generic one. Here's a picture from CPFoodBlog for reference: Photo: CPFoodBlog: http://cpfoodblog.com/park-food-guides/worlds-of-fun-dining-guide/worlds-of-fun-battle-creek-barbeque/

I can’t wait to see the Antique Cars used for Haunt and Winterfest! I think it’s a great move on KIs part. It’s entertainment for all ages!

Don't confuse the fanboys who look at all evidence to the contrary and still believe whatever they want to happen is going to happen, then get upset at the park for "leading them on", with actual enthusiasts. The former may be louder and more obnoxious but they are a very small fraction of Coaster and theme park enthusiasts. In this case, the seasoned enthusiasts tried to explain to the fanboys that their "proof" of SoB returning was just an artist at Cedar Point having a little fun putting Easter egg references to other parks in his theming posters, some wood that was added by a ride op, and several logos that are scattered around Kings Island, all of which have been there at least a year and some for several years. That SoB is a dark mark on Kings Island history. That since the entire structure has been removed (and was never as structurally sound as it would need to be) that they weren't going to make an RMC SoB (if they do eventually build a ground-up RMC, why would they continue to reference a failed ride?!) While the enthusiasts were trying to convince them to calm down and actually think about it, they did the equivalent of sticking their fingers in their ears shouting "I'm not listening!" And now, that it should be clear that sensibly this was never going to happen, they're yelling at the park for raising their expectations, and still holding out hope that next year they'll get what they want. It gets really tiring after a few years of seeing this cycle, and giving too much attention to the ridiculousness makes actual coaster enthusiasts look like idiots by association. The vast majority of coaster and theme park enthusiasts understand that it is ultimately a business, and Kings Island ideally is going to make the decisions they believe make sense from a business standpoint. The rumors last year made it very clear that a large population (not just a few so-called-enthusiasts) missed the antique cars, and bringing them back would be a popular decision with many park attendees (and not for nothing, it is a relatively inexpensive addition). I personally believe that it is also a continuation of laying the groundwork of infrastructure in Coney Mall that is leading up to a new Giga that will be around the old Dinos Alive area. I think it would make business sense for the park, and it also happens to mesh with my personal aesthetic belief that is where a Giga "belongs" if the park adds one. But, if I'm wrong, I'm certainly not going to blame the park for "getting my expectations up" with all of these Coney Mall improvements. I'm happy to see the improvements for their own sake.

I could definitely NOT see such a thing. Why do so many people want to see the park do this? Why would the park resurrect anything related to a ride that sent two dozen people to the hospital and is generally a giant black eye for the park? I daresay nobody in the coaster industry is even willing to be associated with that name at this point. Son of Beast is dead and buried, as proven by the tombstone in the Banshee queue. Let it rest in peace. Please.

Yes, antique car rides like this have a single pedal (press for gas, release to brake) and a working steering wheel. A guide rail prevents riders from drifting off course, but it is otherwise fully rider-controlled.

Currently at Canada’s Wonderland, reported by @CPFoodBlog

Before I rant about this,I’m not trying to sound rude or mean about this 1.Kings Island is owned by Cedar Fair right,they made the posters right? 2.did I state that anyone at KI had made those posters,NO! 3. In my second opinion on the negative side thing,I was only comparing the hype with Mystic Timbers because if you recall,there was so much hype in both mystic and antique,but when the shed was revealed,everyone believed that they put too much hype into it,same with antique,if they go out and say something is coming back,what major ride comes to mind SOB,and then when antique was announced,the same effect happened

Judging by the line 'Controlled Center Guide Rail slip clutch steering prevents abuse', yes they are as you term it 'driveable'...

Here is my full opinion about this announcement Positve side 1.we are finally getting antique cars back Negative Side 1.bad location,with the recent (yes I know it was last year but I’m going to say it was recent) closer of DA,that leaves tons of trail space that could be used for antique cars and it would make it feel special for newcomers who have never heard of it yet 2.just like Mystic Timbers(the shed in particular),so much hype was put into this(even though it was last minute hype,it still gained tons of attention) and then they let most of the SOB fanbase down 3.in my opinion,in order to make this version of antique cars cool/special,so much refurb is needed in that area that it would probably take a long period of time 4.if Cedar Fair had fully looked into what they produce (I’m talking about those outpost 5 posters people) then they would have fully known how many people would believe that sob was return,this announcement is what I believe to be poor marketing for a ride and a mistake by Cedar Fair/Kings Island.

I'm 99.99% sure it'll stay on the right side of The Racer (red side) the entire time. I highly doubt they'd go on the other side because of the maintenance road.

Dino's closed last year and were removed this year. It hasn't been stated if the cars will go in that area or not.

Ok i have a stupid question(only because busy year so haven't got to go since very early season). Some have said its going where dinos were. Did they close down the dinos this year?

What did the posters look like,I haven’t been too active recently/up to date on coaster news and etc EDIT:sorry about this comment,I started on the first page of this feed and I didn’t see how many pages there were yet,and I was completely confused about it,sorry

^^See you guys are asking about it now, but when I asked everyone skipped over me on page 5. Yes I'm quoting myself to prove that I asked this question.

The dialogue there has been switched up a few times. When I saw it a couple weeks ago, that line was "We shoulda went to Kings Island." With 2019 passes now on sale, I'm not surprised that they decided to change it to that.

^especially since parks like Cedar Point only allow one visit and Wonderland not valid for Haunt for the promotion...if the free entry for 2018 were consistent across the chain then maybe, but that isn't the case

Think Der Spinning Keggers would be a great addition to Okoberfest, and be a new flat ride that we don't have in our current line up. Biggest return I would love though is Phantom Theatre. It was a great dark ride and Scooby and Boo Blasters are terrible compared.

Cedar Fair is all about the BBQ recently!

Is it wrong that I was hoping for 2 sets of 'Tiques and for them to replace Backlot?? Oh well. Count me in the absolutely thrilled and satisfied camp. My only hope/concern is that the track layout will be very twisty and contain a plethora of trees, bushes, bridges, tunnels, and water features. I really don't want concrete slabs for days.

The only thing I'll give SOB was that it was very intimidating. Just the sheer size of the structure just made my mouth drop at the time. Just think, a wooden support Diamondback, save for a couple feet tall. SOB in my opinion, looked more intimidating than SV does now.

I’m pretty sure I’m responsible for the crappy weather. Today was visit 29. Rained 24 of the 29 times. Lol Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The enthusiast fanbase right now

Well, this document is very interesting. I would say I am about 90% sure we are getting a B&M in 2020. Is it the long-rumored Giga? Possibly. Could also be... Dive Coaster: These things are GP magnets, Valravn at Cedar Point is crazy popular (it drew a ton of people away from Millennium Force when it re-opened on a Friday when I was there, Millie's wait dropped from 90 minutes to 45 almost as soon as Valravn when up) and they are not as expensive as other B&M models, so I would not be 100% shocked if Kings Island got one, though they did just announce Yukon Striker for Canada's Wonderland and Valravn is in the same state and is still pretty new, and they may not wanna undercut Valravn's long term legs. Floorless Coaster: This is another option, though they would need to make it huge and do stuff Banshee does not do to keep the 2 from feeling too similar. However, it would not be much cheaper than the Giga, and since so many people seem to want a Giga, why not just go for that? Wing Coaster: The craze for these seems to have died down slightly in recent years, but this is still an option. They could also pull a Thunderbird on this (TBH Floorless too) and have it be launched, though Kings Island is pretty close to Holiday World and I imagine people would notice if KI ripped off Thunderbird. Also, this would also be fairly expensive and not too much cheaper than a Giga. B&M's other models are options, save for a Hyper and Invert since KI already has them, but the chances for any of those seem VERY low to me. There is also the option that KI gets a brand-new model of B&M, such as the rumored 4D coaster, but we would have nothing to speculate on that until construction started. If I was gonna bet, though, I'd go Giga. There have been enough requests for it, it was speculated for BOTH Banshee and Mystic Timbers by fans (some of whom got annoyed when it turned out those were a Invert and GCI Woodie) and it would be a HUGE draw to Kings Island. Millennium Force no longer needs protected, it will be 20 years old in 2020 (off-topic: I see MF becoming a ACE Landmark in 2020) and CP has new draws like Valravn, Steel Vengeance, and possibly their own new 2020 coaster. If KI and CP both get huge new coasters in 2020, it could draw people to BOTH parks, meaning even more money for Cedar Fair. It would also be a warning to Kentucky Kingdom not to step on KI's toes, since there are rumors about KK getting a hyper coaster. It just seems to make sense- though if we do get a Giga in 2020, I would not expect another big coaster for at least 4-5 years after, so not sure what the park would do for its 50th in 2022. Probably bring back Phantom Theater or something?

Make it wooded. Make it neat. Put in some water features, This could be cool.

Oops!

Somebody already has decided what they think is being added.

RMC The Beast Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Does anyone have a legit picture of the post at Cedar Point? The one posted is a real close up that you can see some sliver of a building. I'd like to see a clear shot of the building. Like everyone else said, if this poster really is at Cedar Point, then the comments from the rep at KI might be true ("Park spokesman Chad Showalter told WCPO, "We have nothing to do with the speculation you are reporting on.")", but the CP rep sounds fishy (a spokesman for Cedar Point, Tony Clark, told us, "Cedar Point does not comment on rumor or speculation. Fun stuff, though, isn't it?"). Saying "we don't comment on rumor and speculation" is not the same as saying "It isn't true". They are totally hinting at something, and they WANT people to hype up over it. What gets more hype than a bunch of hilarious conspiracy speculation stories?

Now that we know the most-rides-in-a-single-day record on Vortex (66), I have another question (or two): If I manage to break that record at some point -- would I need to provide proof somehow? Is there a book or document containing ride records that would need to be updated, or would I just need to get word to the right people that I broke the record? I may or may not attempt to ride Vortex at least 67 times on one of my days off, so I'm just curious.

Additional questions answered by Chad Showalter at Kings Island. Thanks Chad for answering these! 1. Will the band organ on the Grand Carousel be fixed anytime soon? By the reports I’ve received, the band organ works, although there are times throughout the season when it may temporarily not work. Check out this story about Mikey Mills, and his pain-staking efforts to get the band organ working again from 2015 https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2015/09/08/kings-island-wurlitzer-band-organ-carousel/71642452/ 2. Any plans to give Viking Fury some long over due TLC? I love the Viking Fury, and it’s one of the first attractions I rode at Kings Island. I even remember eating at the Bier Garten with my family in the Fall of 1981 when it was being constructed across the lake. Personally, I like the ‘old theme park’ feel that Viking Fury has, but I know that park leadership addresses painting, refurbishment, etc. by prioritizing each attraction by its need. Unfortunately, it’s a living document that can change multiple times throughout a season or year, so it’s not something that we make public. 3. Any chance that Kings Island could start selling those big giant fun size park maps that Cedar Point sells for $1.99? It is something we’ve talked about. I would not be surprised if it’s something we offered in the future. 4. Where do you store all the Winterfest stuff?’ WinterFest items can be found all over the park, behind the scenes. From buildings be constructed just to house the decorations, to previously unused areas, our team has done a great job making sure that all WinterFest materials, décor, props and more are safe during the offseason. 5. Is there a list of attractions/shows that were in the Kings Island theater? If so, can that be shared? The information is available, but unfortunately, it’s not compiled into one document.

What is this I keep hearing about the mighty Beast being shut down over a freaking raccoon? Unless said racoon’s name is Rocket this is just ridiculous. Even Woodstock Express should have no problem easily dispatching a raccoon.