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I am going no matter what......any day at KI is better than being bored at home.

...and it literally brought me to tears. Sincerely, this throw back - and the nods to some of the lost rides of KI's past along the route - are so overwhelmingly heartwarming I cant help but be emotional. This, my friends, is how "The old days" at KI felt. Thank you Kings Island - you're doing incredible stuff.

I am only going to post this because the park has already posted a good amount of pictures on the Festhaus Glockenspiel, but the whole thing really looks incredible!

Its Good Friday...it ALWAYS rains on Good Friday. ALWAYS.

Yes it’s a huge piece of proof. Also those that have the ability to fly over and see what has been going on also have a lot of proof. Being that they have not shot down the speculation leads me to believe there is current activity (likely clearing/footers). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Another item on International Street gets a new paint job. More details on the latest KIBlog! https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2019/april/international-street-stein-refurbished-for-2019-season

As an associate, I got the chance to take a spin on Kings Mills Antique Autos (twice) on Sunday. It's beautifully landscaped and the billboards are a great touch. It really livens that back area of Coney Mall up! A beautiful addition that will enjoyed by people for many years to come.

IDK. That's a little wordy for a park slogan. Might want to tweak it a bit.

These? I loved these when I was a kid (I'm old now) and no one seems to remember them. It seems as if there were several flavors shaped like the respective fruit? Orange, apple?

I am by no means saying that this is for 2020. But I did spot this concrete truck (driving towards the parking lot) on the Banshee webcam on the maintenance road that goes from the parking lot and runs behind Flight of Fear and where Firehawk stood. (I would have posted it earlier but I was having issues with Tapatalk at the time) Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Well, maybe not during rain (being hit with water bullets at upwards of 50 mph is not fun to me), but wet wooden coaster tracks make for smoother and seemingly faster rides. Even fairly bad wooden coasters can vastly improve with a bit of H2O. As malem pointed out, the later part of Saturday looks ideal. Except Son of Beast. Speaking from experience. Also, beware of Bat when it rains.

I'd be fine with them getting rid of all alcohol in the park, really. I've been assaulted by so many drunk people during Haunt while I'm just trying to do my job and act.

Also you can see a little pond in the first image. It is now filled with dirt. Interesting!! Edit: I see now that the pond is still there covered by trees.

Ahh yeah I see it now.

A concrete sidewalk could be poured this morning and be walked on this afternoon. Two days later, it would be more than sufficiently cured for foot traffic. You wouldn't want anything load bearing to have that short of a cure time though.

Maybe they’ll relocate the maintenance buildings that line Coney Mall back there and build the coaster closer to Racer? Or open up a path connecting X-base and the end of Coney Mall. Dunno.

This just made me realize Rivertown is actually on the opposite side of the park from the river

There looks to be clearing all the way back behind Firehawk towards the Little Miami in October. On Google Earth, if you click on 3-18 there is nothing cleared, but once you drag the arrow forward to 10-18, there is significant clearing. Just happened to see this. Could be nothing, but looks to be something to me.

https://www.cincinnati.com/videos/entertainment/2019/04/17/take-ride-kings-island-brings-back-antique-cars/3502249002/ Video of the Antique Cars and a brief shot of International Street.

Yeah, and if they were laying concrete back there, it would almost certainly be on off-limits space because it is not likely that the concrete would fully set by the time the park opens on Friday Honestly, it very well could be footers or something for the Firehawk area

I was at the park recently and they had a privacy fence up in front of the former Firehawk area.

Yeah, doubt that concrete truck would be for dorms or tiques because they are almost finished. Plus, it looks like it was coming back from x-base area.

This is what Scooby looked like. Still searching for a Fred

The National Weather Service hourly forecast shows rain tapering off after 3-4pm on Saturday. Could be a great afternoon/evening if that holds up. I'll be at Preview Night and Opening Day no matter what the forecast says.

Actually now that I think about it, your right. I waited 3 1/2 hours to get my ride, front row at exactly 11:58 got back at 12:01. Does that make me the first rider of opening day??!?

Rain rides on Racer, Beast and Mystic Timbers are always a good thing, too.

I’d get wet to get a shirt like that

Yes. I would at least say "I dont see anything new." Not just leave it open-ended. Edit: Sorry guys. Both my pilot and I had some things come up today, so won't get to go in the air. Two more days though!

If there is nothing worth sharing, that is worth sharing as well...if you know what I mean.

The track has arrived!:

We are going to to get up in the air today. Pictures wont be uploaded till Saturday around noon though, if there is anything worth sharing.

Now if only they served beer out the window that this is over. If memory serves this was an Auntie Annes last year? I would love it if you could get some good German Bier and some pretzels and bier cheese there!

How many people here truly believe we’re getting a 2020 coaster whether it be a giga or not. For the record I believe we do. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Its amazing how much that had faded. The park is certainly paying attention to a lot of the small details this season. Which is a really good thing. It is little touches like this that add a lot of character to the park. Kudos to KI for taking the time (and money) to do this.

Have you guys noticed the shape of the trees in the land clearing going on? Kinda weird.

If the lift hill approaches the Little Miami, that clearing makes sense because that would probably be the area for the drop and sharp turn to the left towards all of that open space behind Banshee, or it could be for more storage buildings. I guess we'll see.

Whatever happened to KINGDINGDONG? Did he jump ship for six flags?

@Pedro Cerrano and @Magenta Lizard -- Yes!!!! I was searching to remember what they looked like (I couldn't recall if I was thinking of the clear plastic juice barrels school sometimes gave) -- but that picture...yes!!!! Man, that take me back!

There were red Fred Flintstones, and brown Scooby Doos too. Orange oranges . As I recall, the grape ones tasted best but it was hard to turn down a drink shaped like Scooby. I always tried so hard in my childlike way to save these containers and my mom always ended up throwing them out eventually.

Yes, but are the concession wagons going to sell the little plastic barrels of juice? That would up the game from my childhood (I feel like that's what they sold; I could very well be misremembering). Also, it is truly remarkable how much care Kings Island is showing to the park. I've said it elsewhere, but it's so easy to toss in a new attraction to entice people. But to make an investment in nostalgia is truly special. I usually hate the way movies and TV exploit our love for childhood things, but I feel like a theme park is a different matter. You are going to recapture some portion of your childhood, and there are so many little things that have a precise chemical impact on people. A sign with a certain color paint. Music. Beast paw prints. Going to KI is going to bring a lot of people to tears this year.

Considering the park JUST put in the Miami River Brewhouse, I doubt alcohol in the park is going anywhere anytime soon.

If you had placed odds 40 years ago that The Beast would retain its title as longest wooden roller coaster in the world all these years later, what would they have looked like? Perhaps each park attempting to out-do the last hadn't really kicked in like it did in the 90s, but I doubt anyone envisioned The Beast retaining that title for as long as it did. I adore the ride, and I'm so excited that they are bringing back the paw prints again (I wouldn't complain if they brought back The Vortex prints and Top Gun prints (though that would be awkward) this season as well). I don't have crystal memories of it, but one of my many memories of my youth is riding it with my mother. My father wouldn't do roller coasters, and I don't do spinny things (like the tea cup) so when it came to rides, it was either my sisters or my mother (or a friend eventually) My mother passed away when I was 12 after a second battle with cancer, sometime after her first battle I think she got the inkling to do something special with each of her 3 kids each summer, just mom and kid for a day or two. Our thing was always a trip to the zoo and a trip to KI, and a trip on The Beast was always a must. As I've grown older, I now get to ride the rides thru the eyes of my children. While the personal appeal had diminished slightly with age, it was quickly revamped as my oldest son grew old enough to ride The Beastie, then Flying Ace Ariel Chase, and exploded when he got his first rides on The Beast, Racer, Vortex, etc... shortly before his 5th birthday. Watching his face the first handful of times he rode each ride has been priceless. I have no clue how many times we've ridden The Beast together, but one trip will always stick with me. We were coming out of the double helix, sitting in 1-2 and starting down the last little bunny hill when a hawk must have seen something on the track, as we started careening up the hill into the brake run, certainly this bird was going to fly off. Sadly, it did not; I quickly had visions of Fabio and grabbed my son and ducked as much as we could behind 1-1. As we pulled into the station and the lap bars went up, practically the whole train ran into the front to see the damage (there wasn't any, but the riders in 1-1 confirmed that it had been a direct hit.) That is a ride I'll never forget. My daughter will be 7 this year, and I'm praying she gets the courage to ride The Beast (though I'd settle for The Racers, Adventure Express, etc...). She is definitely intimidated, hasn't even been on flying ace arial chase yet. I've got a hunch that our 3 year old will be a little more daring like his brother; we'll see how he handles The Beastie this summer.

Where memories live on

I've studied weather for 15 years. The Ohio River does not have any influence on how weather systems track. It has more to with troughs and influences by ridging. I do agree with one thing you said though, wait till Friday to make a decision about Saturday.....and in many regards wait till Saturday to make a decision about Saturday. My mom and I had just lowered the restraints and buckled our selves in on Drop Tower one year and a "monsoon" came along. It was a very interesting ride to say the least.

Another great read on the KIBlog. Some history in that post. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2019/april/the-beast-40-years-of-terror

They are far more likely to have more responsible guests when they serve alcohol than when they don't. People who want to drink will find a way to do so. When you add barriers to that, they generally drink more. As someone who has cleaned the parking lot many times on Haunt nights, most of those people aren't buying alcohol in the park. There is a reason we used to call it the White Trash Bash.

FOF and Antique Autos ERT all day?