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Adventure Express' new sign.

Here ya go!

spoke to Chad the other day and he says they hope to be open in 2 to 4 weeks depending on testing of all rides.

Former arborist here. Larger box(ed) rooted trees are generally slower to establish and have a higher mortality rate than 5 or 8 gallon trees and balled/burlap trees. The need more bald cypress, hemlock and tulip poplar across the park. They are fast growing larger trees. Add in medium sized trees like dogwood red buds. Add sugar maples to contrast the autumn blaze maples. I counted 14 6 foot tall southern magnolias that have been planted this year too. Even though those are "tiny" they cost a pretty Penny, even wholesale. Those would likely not live as they have an extensive shallow root system. And if they would love, it would likely cost more in labor vs material for purchased trees. I do like the idea of native trees though. That's a great idea...start seedlings in pots and get them up to 6-8 tall. Between seedlings and cuttings, you can have an endless supply.

Showtimes have been posted on the official site. The schedules appear to shift a bit during Grand Carnivale: Phantom Theater Encore May 27 - 29 | June 1 - July 21: 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM & 5:30 PM July 22 - August 6: 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM & 4:00 PM August 7 - 13: 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM & 5:30 PM No shows Mondays. The 70s on Demand May 27 - 29 | June 1 - July 21 1:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 3:30 PM & 5:00 PM July 22 - August 6: 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM & 4:30 PM August 7 - 13: 1:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 3:30 PM & 5:00 PM No shows Wednesdays. RetroSpect May 27 - 29 | June 1 - July 21: 7:15 PM, 8:00 PM, 8:30 PM, 9:15 PM & 9:45 PM July 22 - August 6: 6:15 PM, 8:00 PM, 8:30 PM, 9:15 PM & 9:45 PM August 7 - 13: 7:15 PM, 8:00 PM, 8:30 PM, 9:15 PM & 9:45 PM No shows Tuesdays. Off the Rails June 10 - July 21: 1:30 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM & 6:00 PM July 22 - August 6: 2:30 PM, 3:30 PM & 5:00 PM August 7 - 13: 1:30 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM & 6:00 PM No shows Thursdays.

Loving it!

Tower person at top said was working then had issues and down for rest of day. Trains were put away and person at gate....

We broke it at Coasterstock riding 18 times in a row

Any news why Orion is down and when they plan to reopen it? Hopefully not a longer closure?

I am making my first trip of the season next Tuesday. My fingers are crossed, but breath is not held that AP will be open. I will settle out of court for AE to be open and construction walls down while the new rides finish testing.

PSA - in addition to the usual rides being down, Orion will not be going today. Also more rides than normal seem to be going down making the waits for what is open longer.

I really question how firm they'll be on that if Universal does well in Texas. You can't tell me there isn't money to be made by building a Disney minipark somewhere like the Midwest, East Coast, New England, etc., especially if it promises Disney magic at a price point that's less than a ticket to Magic Kingdom + airfare + hotels, and especially especially if it uses IPs Disney hasn't used (or used well.) I have no concept of a Frozen minipark outside Chicago, the NYC/Boston/Philadelphia area, Atlanta, Toronto, etc. not doing well. At the risk of tiptoeing into political territory: The Walt Disney Company and the state of Florida are already in a legal battle regarding Disney's control of the local government. Last week, Disney cancelled the move of its Imagineering team from California to Florida. Trips to Magic Kingdom are baked into American culture, the Walt Disney World complex is far, far too big to move elsewhere, and it's not in Disney's interests to start neglecting its Floridian parks... but it could also start to cannibalize its domestic WDW attendance (while still seeing a big-picture increase) by building miniparks, depending on how they're built. Why would parents pay thousands to meet Belle in Orlando when just as much magic can be found when meeting her in Chicago, and it only takes a few hours in the car?

You guys called it!!

Had a “back deck” early lunch there today. Agree the two sauces are nice. They’ve got to get Grain and Grille figured out. It’s all over the place quality and operational. On a slightly related note (as they were evicted for G&G, the Skyline pavilion is getting sone love and attention-now if they could somehow reconfigure the building to have a second small order window on the side facing the seating…

Got to try Skyline Nachos at GABP tonight, they were awesome and reasonably priced being around $10. Doesn’t hurt the fact that the game brought us in attendance free pizza, and more important a win! I’m sure King’s Island has a spare nacho cheese dispenser that currently isn’t being used that can find its way to a Skyline in the park.

Anyone interacted with Kevin at the lounge? He is a great guy!! Truly worked hard to make sure everyone was having a fantastic day. Even greeted my wife and I by name after our 2nd time in the lounge today.

Brew house has been very good this season. I’ve had the BBLT, KI Salad & Clucks in a barrel all in the past week and they’ve all been very good. They also give you 2 dipping sauce without charging extra unlike some other chum bucket restaurant on istreet.

If we get a return of Phantom Theater, I personally hope some things change; for the better. I was 5 when I rode it so my knowledge is solely based off of old POVs, images from here, concept art found in books, and so I’m in no way an expert on this stuff, just appreciate a good dark ride. I’m also going to be basing some of this off of other dark rides and my own “fan fiction” so bare with me: A more interactive que One of the first nitpicks I had about the original layout of the que was how the natural light shown in from the outside based on how guests entered the building. This could easily be fixed by simply re-angling the entry way to prevent the natural light. I think it was cool how you saw Maestro interacting with guests from his balcony, but personally I think it would be an improvement if he never turned around and kept playing his organ, never addressing the onlookers. This would make him seem more demented and “stuck” in his past state so when you do see him later on, it really makes it seem like you distributed the spirits (plus the park wouldn’t have to animate him swiveling in his chair and moving his mouth). I’d also have portraits with moving eyes that follow guests as they move through the que (this is a practical affect that can easily be done at home.) I’d put more details into the hallway where the busts are just to give people more things to look at which would take their concentration off of the busts thus making the affect stand out more when you realize the head has been following them. The ride itself My biggest nitpick about how the Phantom Theater was done comes down to how heavily they relied on animatronics. Granted when building the ride I’m sure they didn’t anticipate the park was going to be sold to Paramount and that the upkeep was going to go downhill… If you look at what Haunted Mansion does at Disney, you don’t really see animatronics until the second half of the ride as it relies on practical affects for the first half like 2d portrait scrims as opposed to having a character behind them like ours did. I’m fine seeing Maestro at the beginning of the ride but personally I felt like we shouldn’t see actual figures until about halfway through to give you that “you’ve distributed us now we’re going to materialize and wreak havoc” vibe. Again a nitpick but I’m sure that would save money and upkeep if they did this. This nitpick will probably get me tarred and feathered but I wouldn’t have the soundtrack playing throughout the whole ride. I’d have the vehicles have audio that would sync to ride to where you could be hearing Maestro talking to you. You could bring in the soundtrack when you would start to see the characters in their physical form and have it play through the rest of the ride (recall in Beetlejuice when you didn’t hear his music until he appeared with his antics.) I’ve started this before but it would be cool to see the ride vehicles swivel to face different directions, allowing riders to see something different each time they ride (similar to the shed.) Imagine the cars are numbered and the odd numbered cars are facing a scene on one wall while the even numbered cars are seeing a different scene. Thanks for listening to my nitpicking and fan fiction. If the ride comes back and is 100% like it was I won’t complain in the slightest, just thought I’d give my 2 cents.

I hope Kings Island puts Adventure Port decals on the trash cans around the area like with the trash cans at Aeronautica Landing at Carowinds and the trash cans at The Boardwalk at Cedar Point. Just putting the Adventure Port logo seen on the construction walls would look really nice. Also, while I sound like a broken record at this point, I do hope that Kings Island puts up the banners around the area. That would make it way more immersive.

So, if they pave the parking lot next season...would that be considered an additional attraction to release to the press......LMAO.

https://www.reuters.com/article/walt-disney-parks/disney-dismisses-idea-of-building-miniparks-in-us-idUSL4N37J386?utm_source=reddit.com I think we’ll see more mini parks of non Disney IP, similar to what we’re seeing with Nintendo, Peppa Pig, etc. Regarding this article, this seems like a complete contrast to Disney’s entertainment model in the 90s when they wanted to be present virtually everywhere as they tried their hand at their own version Chuck E Cheese, their introduction into international markets, and of course the failed Disney’s America in Virginia.

For the life of me, I simply do not understand their move to get rid of the rides. I know the pool is a draw, but my family specifically would visit Coney and have passes just for the rides. We'd go to KI or Holiday Worls for a fun day in the water. We had passes every year, but their decision to get rid of the rides changed that. Being close to the park, it was a fun afternoon of bumper cars, a ferris wheel, a fun small coaster and everything else on the dry side with beautiful trees and the lake. I'd like to know how the decision was made to just get rid of all that.

Just visited their site to see if they’ve updated it to reflect these “anticipated” additions. Literally one line of copy on their home page that easily missed if you’re not looking for it. On a side note, I noticed this: I find it hilariously ironic that they have a beautiful, historic venue that was literally built to host Big Band concerts that’s currently being neglected/used for storage. Sigh.

I'm not too surprised by this. They are still being somewhat frugal and might be waiting to see how some of these others do. As mentioned they have tried some similar standalone experiences before and they haven't done well, or not gotten to actual construction like Disney's America. Peppa Pig only has one park right now that is more of a second gate to Legoland Florida, and another set to open in an area that is currently growing and set to have the Universal kid's park (which was announced first). and these parks appear to be very small and likely inexpensive, not something that will probably draw people to it, but capture families already there for an extra stop. Nintendo doesn't have any parks themselves, just lands within existing Universal parks. Universal's park in DFW is the only other similar thing to what Disney would do. If it does really well and they expand, Disney might reconsider this stance, but I think they just want to pull people to their other parks. Universal's theme parks aren't really geared towards children overall. They have small kids areas and family attractions but aren't targeted at young children. Their new park is so it isn't really competing with their current resorts but can build loyalty and brand recognition for kids from a young age like Disney does already.

I would love the casino next door to add a roller coaster just to poke fun at coney's decision, something akin to the big apple coaster where it's just the one ride. It would be infinitely more intriguing than the entirety of coney at it's current state.

so KI just needs a company sponsor to the VIP area like Skyline Chili or LaRosa's to have better benefits so people can stop complaining about chips and pop ?

Also my guess, and probably the right decision.

Painting stripes in the lot

I've had the same experience. I love the idea of the new dessert items but they can sometimes end up "trapped" in a busy location like Enrique's. Fortunately you can grab-and-go at Coney BBQ and Sweet Spot.

Kings Dominion had (still has I think) so many trees and shade, except where they have added coasters and become allergic to anything green.. I still think of Kings Island back when it had a fair amount of trees. I'm not sure the reasoning as to why they remove trees within a 100 yard proximity to any coaster at Kings Island. Orion needs help with any trees, although it finally has grass underneath the coaster. Mystic Timbers' queue needs the trees replaced that died due to the pine mite but that is an easy swap out with some arbor vitae. Heck, they can drive two miles up to Sharon Nursery and stock up.

In full disclosure, I worked for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment previously, but this is from the standpoint of a coaster/park lover—so, no bias as a former employee intended. First off, let me also say that my least favorite coaster type is without a doubt the B&M standup. I think I’ve given the model a fair shake, and rode different ones whenever I had the chance-thinking maybe some day I’d actually like one. But after Mantis, Iron Wolf, Chang, Vortex (Carowinds) and probably a few I’ve forgotten about, no such luck—I hated every single one of them. Years ago, I actually liked King Cobra at KI, so have pretty fond memories of the Togo standup. (Although, I wonder if I’d still hold that opinion if I could ride one today…) So, I was less than enthused when I found out SeaWorld Orlando’s new coaster was going to be a new model of B&M standup. But, I’m pleased (and a little surprised to say) that this new breed of B&M standup is a pretty good coaster! Visuals & Layout: Pipeline is built at the very edge of the park alongside the parking lot—just feet from the fence. It encompasses the front of the park space from the front gate thru the old festival area heading toward Ports of Call. The placement is pretty good, because the coaster action is clearly viewable as you’re entering the park and from the parking lot. I had heard rumors that the original plan was for a longer coaster that would extend over the entrance, with a new gate being built to accommodate it (ala GateKeeper at CP) but that plan died in budget cuts (and, knowing how this capital spending funding works—doesn’t surprise me a bit!). It’s an attractive coaster, and it’s placement is good for building excitement as guests enter the park. The Trains & “Seating”: Of course, there’s not really “seating” since it’s a standing coaster, but obviously you are secured into the train. The “saddle” (I guess that’s the best term) looks pretty similar to the other B&M stand ups, kind of like a bicycle seat with about the same level of comfort (so, not terribly comfortable, but ok). The main thing I hated about the other stand-ups was the head banging from the OTSRs. Pipeline has resolved this by having a hard plastic vest (kind of similar to Banshee or GateKeeper, except it drops over your head instead of connecting two sides in front). There’s still OTS bars to hold onto, but they’re so far from your head there’s no danger of banging against it. The vest was a little tight, especially around the collarbone. I’m not a particularly large person (5’8” and 160lbs or so), so don’t know how the vests would feel on larger body types. The trains are unique because they’re perfectly flat with no edges—I was surprised at what a visual difference that would make in the ride experience. The really unique difference in these trains compared to the old standup models, is the vertical movement of the seats. Once you’re locked in, your seat has an up and down range of motion of about 4” or so—that movement plays a big role in the ride experience later on. Ride Experience: Short answer-it’s fun! I’ve complained recently that it seems like every new coaster is launched and the traditional lift hill was disappearing. But, despite my Gex X old guy complaints, a launch works really well in a stand up! The launch is fast and occurs before you’re expecting it. After the launch you hit a “bunny dip” before ascending the first hill. The dip really gives you a preview of the airtime to expect for the rest of the ride-and there’s a lot of it. I never thought “airtime” and “stand-up” would be terms used in the same description, but the airtime is what really makes this coaster stand out. At least four times during the ride course, my feet completely left the floor—that’s a really cool feeling on a coaster. The pacing of the ride is good—quick and disorienting with equal mixes of positive and negative Gs. I’ve read some complaints about people saying the ride is too short. It is short, but I didn’t think it felt overly so (no more than pretty much any other coaster). Misc. Operations & Stuff: Pipeline only runs a two train operation, and there was almost always one stacked or in the station. It *felt* like a really slow loader, but I timed several dispatches and it was consistently 01:30-01:50 dispatch times—so not horrible. But, it just felt really slow. I think operationally, it would have improved throughput a lot if there there would have been a separate unloading station, instead of unloading/loading in the same spot. Of course, that would have increased the staffing needed—and, again understanding the thought that goes into labor costs & planning at SEAS, it’s not a big surprise it wasn’t done this way. The ride theming was pretty much non-existent, which is sad because the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks used to do a pretty admirable job with this. But, after Ice Breaker and Pipeline, I’d say that Cedar Point actually puts more effort into ride theming than SWF does now (and that’s a sad thing to say about a theme park in Orlando!). All-in-all, I definitely rank Pipeline as my #2 favorite coaster at SWF now (after Mako—which IMHO is an under-appreciated masterpiece!). If you’ve always despised stand-up coasters like me and find yourself in Orlando, give Pipeline a chance. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

I knew this concept was doomed from the start. I am 100% the target demographic for the galactic star cruiser. I hit literally every checkbox. 1. I love theme parks, and travel frequently to visit them. According to coaster count, I have visited 46 different theme parks. 2. I have children (2 girls, 9 and 11) that both love theme parks, all things Disney, and especially and star wars. 3. I LOVE star wars. I traveled to Chicago to addend Celebration, I have Star Wars memorabilia all over my man cave, I have seen every movie that has been released since I was born at the midnight showing opening day, and I am a member of the 501st legion and cosplay Darth Vader 4. I am at a point in my career where if I really wanted to, I could afford the asking price for the galactic starcruiser. With all those points being taken into account, I never even considered going. The price was simply way to high, and the entire experience honestly sounds overly structured and stressful. If it was $2000 for the experience we likely would have given it try already, but at $6,000 before any travel expenses, it was never even on our radar as a vacation option. If I, will the 4 points listed above, am not willing to visit the galactic starcruiser, virtually nobody would be willing to do so. I am honesty surprised it stayed open as long as it did.

I am gonna venture someone is testing drones and fireworks this week and doesn’t want us to view it on the webcam. [emoji3525] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I love that certain places are doing special deserts, but they need to 1) get a separate line for these and highlight them and 2) figure out how to get them to you since I waited in the full prep line at Enrique’s then another 5-10 minutes to have them pull it out of the fridge and hand it to me. I think people would eat this up (no pun intended) if they made it way easier to get. But on a related note. This thang is GOOD!

IG was testing in early 2020 and opened 2022.....

IG was testing in July 2021 but opening was pushed to March 2022 due to Covid (perhaps RMC learned a bit from the difficulties with SV at CP??). There were a few soft opening dates passholders were able to enjoy in February 2022.

If there are soft openings of the rides, I still hope there is a big “Grand Opening” of the area once the area is finished. Kings Island needs a media day and official grand opening to really get the word out about their new investment.

I'm hoping for a nice eye catching lighting package on Sol Spin.

Our KI P+ passes worked this weekend at CP for both access to preferred parking and single use FL+. I asked if this was a mistake but was assured that KI P+ benefits were also valid at CP.

Except on Sunday's. It was such a waste to have a kitchen and staff that are not available on one a busy weekend day. I won't miss them, I found Chicken shack to be a good substitute plus they have wings.

I believe both Vortex and now Bat have similar problems, metal fatigue. Arrow Dynamics requires Non Destructive Testing annually. If you are a seasonal park with freezing temperatures the instructions say to do the testing towards the end of the off season. The requirement is 20% of high G areas and 5% of the rest, typically you rotate what you inspect so every few years you have hit everything. When multiple problems are found you expand your search, if those areas also show defects you do 100% inspection. Every defect you find has to be repaired. I suspect The Bat needed 100% inspection. The problem is at some point you’re fixing too many issues, the steel is just too worn out. You can fix the problems, and increase inspections throughout the year, but realistically the track just needs replaced. More often than not when a ride reaches this point the parks solution is to remove the ride. I believe this is what Kings Island really meant when they said Vortex had reached the end of its service life. To my knowledge Arrow never specified an end of life for their coasters. They specified where and how to test for defects. They also provided guidance on how to perform repairs. But from the documentation I have seen and read when a park states a ride has reached the end of its life, that is due to the park or chains standards not Arrows. The claim going around for The Bat is that the incident with the wheel last year caused more damage than was originally known or found at the time. It’s very possible this is wrong. No one is ever going to discuss issues like this publicly. Metal fatigue is an area where a park running all the trains all the time ends up hurting the coaster. The more days a year and hours in a day the park is open it does more damage. Cycles do matter on metal fatigue. So do the forces that the ride produces, those swinging cars might be fun, but they are not easy on the track. IF I am right, this likely would have only been found a few weeks ago.

I believe they had some in the petting zoo at the Lion Country Safari. Being that it closed in 1993, 100% of them are certainly dead now, I'm sorry.

Ah, a thread for me. This post is just going to be a disorganized collection of thoughts. I have to agree with a lot of what’s being said here. As a kid I was absolutely fascinated by all this type of stuff. I still am, I guess. Haha. I’ve been/still am lucky to have made it to the Disney parks quite a bit. My wife and I did our honeymoon in Disneyland this past December because we’re both super into it. I love all of the animatronic shows/rides, but have a special love for the older style dark ride attractions. If even most of the figures are static, those Fantasyland dark rides are top tier in my book. It’s remarkable how well you can tell a story with such simple props, sets, figures, and lighting. Something about it is super cozy and fun. Totally immersive. Totally memorable. I’d love to check out Knoebel’s Haunted Mansion. Looks like an absolute classic. And of course, I feel like these days I can’t pop into a thread like this without obnoxiously droning on and on about Phantom Theater. I’m sure there are some who are sick of it, but I feel like this thread is the place for it. Haha. But yes, I can’t explain how incredible of an experience it was to have a ride of that caliber in Mason, Ohio. It was truly up there quality-wise with some of the year round parks. Maybe not quite on the Disney/Universal level, but absolutely impressive for a seasonal park. It definitely brought a level of magic to the park that I feel has been lost. I’m sure the same can said about the two previous Enchanted Voyage rides, but that was before my time! Anyway, my love for the ride runs deep. Ironically enough I just had this shirt delivered yesterday: Anyone have any insight of the ultimate fate of our Phantoms? A while back someone on a Facebook group claimed to have a picture of them in the boneyard before they were ultimately scrapped. I never saw any pics before they were removed for some reason. I definitely miss seeing them around during Haunt season. Oh, also. Bring back Phantom Theater.

I could talk about animatronics, lighting, lasers, and tech stuff all day. Not only is it my job, it's my hobby when I'm not working. I can't answer specific tech questions about KI or any other CF parks for obvious reasons, but I can talk about all of my hobby work. I've built 3 custom animatronics, and I bought one from Poison Props last year. I also have a small laser / lighting setup at home. If anyone is interested, I can post some videos or pictures of my props, lasers, lighting, any of that stuff. I can also go in depth on how the props work, down to what each valve does or even programming. Just let me know what you want to see. This thread is the perfect opportunity for me to talk about my hobbies outside of theme parks, which I don't usually get to talk about on here.

We have an almost 20 year thread on KI ghost stories/experiences: