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All right, spoilers ahead. Unfortunately, AE went down as we were getting into the station for our second ride and we had to split. So I only got one ride in. I’ll give my best overview for those interested, though I may have some of the details skewed. Photo dump. You’ve been warned!

Adventure Express is open! I rode it twice!

THIS!!!! This how you do a ride. Just these queue pics make me so happy. Is it a HUGE expense? no, not really, but does it make a huge impact? TOTALLY. It is so on theme, on narrative and well done on a pretty basic budget, that I expect this all the time now guys. YOU CAN DO IT!!! (well, hiring JRA didnt hurt LOL). Mystic, Orion and now this have proven there is a new focus in this company of doing things that engage on all levels. I don't see "just" a record breaker coaster coming in a long time - if ever to this park. I see a combining of stats with story (Orion) or filling a demographic niche (family coaster) with a story-rich experience (Adventure Express). I also think the approach of taking essentially "off the shelf" flats and integrating them into existing, or developing new "park lore" with supporting themed infrastructure is working very well these days.

Well spill the beans about what's different!

Here's Orion 13's picture of the SOB in-station reference Elevation @ 218 - SOB's height World largest rose bowl - SOB's infamous double helix ...and there's your Outpost 5 reference.

Cargo Loco and AE are open today from what I heard. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

WOW, absolutely impressed! this retheme is exactly the kind of reserved but effective theming Cedar Fair parks need to strive for and should continue to invest in! curious how many "outpost" and "southern yellow pine" references, clearly management still knows what the community loves lol

...and the hills... but no loop ;-)

The Southern Yellow Overlook signage in the station is referring to SOB.

Yep. Kids have turned them into play structures that you literally have to cross 6-8 feet of mulch to get to while the slob parents sit on their phones daring anyone to say anything. If you want to know why we can’t have an awesome park-here’s why. I give the planting around the stone head a few days till they are destroyed by kids climbing on it, and bets on how long until sone drunk idiot tries to jump the fence into the boat since it it “docked” right at the edge of the lake. People are idiots, but a lot of this was not thought out for the type of crowd this park gets (saw them there tonight.

We will use this thread to post reviews of Adventure Port. Post your reviews of Adventure Express, Cargo Loco, Sol Spin and overall theming. If you don't want to see spoilers, I would avoid this thread until you have a chance to experience it for yourself.

You should probably know that the Outpost 5 stuff is originally based on Adventure Express's original queue audio. You're seeing more mentions of it because Adventure Express just got its makeover. There's a really good chance you're setting yourself up for disappointment by looking into things any more deeply than that.

The Schedule has been revised August 16th, 17th, and 18th have been added (No Soak City those days) Friday nights August 25th 5-10 and September 1st 5-10 have been added

Not only that but the SOB eyes are clearly visible in the background

The seats aren't benches like on a Scrambler or Shake, Rattle & Roll. They're molded seats with a divider and individual harnesses. They wouldn't leave seats empty, just as they don't on WindSeeker- so capacity would have essentially doubled, (assuming equal ride cycle time). Regarding Cargo Loco, I'm glad to hear they're opening things as they become ready. That's the best thing to do at this point

Use the sternness that I saw last week outside the front gate. A gaggle of middle school boys were running and horseplaying as they made their way to the bus. Two guards called them out, moved around them and gave them the what for. The dejected teens complied. See also about 10 years ago when I was between the clock and junkyard coaster by Swan pond. I stepped into the grass to get a picture of Diamondback splashing down. I got dressed down firmly, but nicely, by a staff member. An adult being scolded by a teenager. That employee really cared about Kings Island.

That's unfortunate. The vibe around Adventure Port at night is lining up to be something special, and that's even before all of the elements are in place. Hopefully the park can figure out a way to keep some "nice things" around despite some of the guests' behavior.

I haven`t had a chance to ride Adventure Express yet. Our son is about a 1/4 inch too short at the moment. We did catch two rides on Cargo Loco today. It was rather difficult to get the barrels spinning too wildly. The operators were saying to spin them counterclockwise. It was difficult to do, but we did manage some spinning. The ride has twelve barrels, and each can seat up to five people, so in theory this ride can hold 60 people. Another great benefit, is those under 42" just need to ride with a supervising adult. That means that our two year old daughter could ride with us! It is one of the few flat rides on that side of the park that she can ride with us on. Huge kudos to KI for installing a ride like that which can be enjoyed by so many people. The queue line isn`t terribly long, but it is long enough and the theming is pretty good. The speakers in the line weren`t playing any music yet. My only real grip with the ride is that the queue area didn`t have any shade over the main queue. There were also a couple of bamboo pickets that were loose on the bottom. The ride operator called those in on our first of two rides. Can`t wait to ride Sol Spin once it opens. Hopefully soon. The whole area is really well done. I love the boat and the other thematic elements that were added around the lake. I can`t wait to see what else Cedar Fair and Kings Island do in future seasons.

Any reviews and spoilers please add to the new thread linked below. If you don't want spoilers you may want to avoid that thread.

the elevation... the "rose bowl" ...the wood. Brilliant, subtly-obviously subtle (is that a thing?) easter eggs.

Don't forget Flying Dutchman. The Arches are now being called "Dutchman Arches"

I like how Adventure Express is used to highlight the park’s past lore: Amazon Falls, SOB, King Cobra, etc. It makes sense that a coaster that features ancient ruins would have some metaphorical park ruins incorporated into the theme.

About to get my second ride in. Sol Spin is testing! IMG_2506.MOV I’ll have some more pics to share in a bit.

Did they do anything interesting with that third tunnel?

Cool that it's open, but sad that the Outpost 5 tweet had no mention of SOB

Getting in my car now. Ha.

Just a few minutes left till the park opens, I wonder if they will have something for the first Cargo Loco rider!

that's great to hear - my own kids get annoyed with my "on the path, please" to them all the time. It's really a parent issue at this point - kids will be kids. It's OUR JOB as parents and supervisors to teach them to respect the investments that the park makes. Sadly most adults with kids either just don't care, or worse, actively encourage it to get the 'great picture'. HINT - Timmy isn't THAT cute, and he really isn't cute "drankin' out of that giant beer mug in that ther planter" so get you darn kid out of the plants! LOL

I will say the other day I saw security tell a few kids to get off the brick ledge / wall on the path connecting Rivertown & Coneymall so maybe security actually does care about people sticking to path.

Adventure Express looking to be on the #KIRightTrack Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think that’s one aspect (mix of rides throughout) that CedarFair, and KI specifically are trying to address and do better at. It’s great to have an “award winning” kids area, but parks like Dollywood really excel at having rides of similar theme but different intensity and height requirements all coexisting in the same areas through the park. For Thunderhead, there’s whistle punk. For Dropline, there lumberjack lifts -all within eyeshot of each other with food (pizza) in the middle. Family units can all hang in an area and have things for all ages to do instead of one adult being sentenced to kiddie land. Now, I’d venture that our kiddie land has more “adult rides” than most, but it’s nice to see a better mix throughout. Now there needs to be a few lower height requirement flats in the area formerly know as action sone when that gets its retheme.

I know people are quick to anticipate disappointment, but the park is really ramping up the Outpost 5 stuff a lot. I can not help but feel serious anticipation for something big.

Here is a look at Adventure Awaits the new Fireworks and Drone show for 2023 thanks to @DeltaFlyer Post your thoughts and reviews below.

Inside (left half) of the new coconut cove set up. No changes to the menu… hamburger, hot dog, tenders, pizza.. maybe a salad?? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It cost money to go through the first year or so. I think that kind of soured people. $5 wasn’t a big ask, but it felt like a pay-per-ride that was dropped on us. Then it became free. Maybe that was the plan all along. With that being said, I think it would still be gone no matter what. I think the company got what they wanted out of it and then ditched it - all according to plan. Why else would they all be removed so close together? Clearly there were some that were closer to others. Oh well, at least this will be a thing that you can tell your kids and grandkids about, since it was so out of left field. If they were to do it today, I’d say use those as the animatronics for an indoor dark ride. Tons can be done - tons has been done - with these theme, so they’d know it’s safe.

Is that just because SOB was made of Southern Yellow Pine? Becuase most of KI's woodies are made of that same wood.

how were the lines?

Agreed. The worst offenders are typically the encouraging parents. The worst example I can think of is the giant troll at Haunt/Winterfest. Every time I walk by there are parents having their kids climb over the fence to stand by the troll and have pictures taken.

Here are my thoughts - LOVE that they kept the production level up. LOVE that they saw a way to use all the investment from last year in infrastructure and apply it to a more "budget friendly" show that can run every night without breaking the bank (I was honestly surprised there wasn't a "B mode" version of FFF that they ran on weeknights last year as that show was crazy expensive to run) LOVE that they created ANOTHER original song instead of cut and pasting pop songs BUT... Wish the song was a bit more "ADVENTURE" oriented. I got the hints of Adventure Awaits, but it seemed more about going home and goodnight that starting an adventure. Wish there would be better programming of the fountains. I don't love them during the day just bopping and hopping around as they seem way to "busy". Wish the day mode was more slow transitions to a few different "grand" patterns like the before - don't even use the "show squiggle". Then at night during the show, they basically do the same hopping and bopping - fairly random - mostly all of them all of the time. Seems like there could be 1-2 "fountain only" moments (see next thought) that really take advantage of the show squiggle and the other spray heads to create more "pictures" with the water. Wish there was about 3-5 more minutes. There was SO MUCH crammed into 5:55 that it was almost wasted at times. I feel like there are things that could be done to extend the run time a bit without upping the run cost. With Adventure Port opening (and giving them a "tie in" name for the show and park promo) wish there was a mini "park tour". FunFireworksFitty was about the seasons at the park and the park history moments - this show could be all about how "Adventure Awaits" at every bend and in every area of KI. Just a few seconds of area appropriate music with the fountains and laser images only - maybe 1-2 pyro adds for those not on I-STREEET would break up the same song used through the whole show LASTLY - JUST BRING BACK PHANTOM THEATRE ALREADY! Theres yet another nod to the attraction in the show and its the ONLY "ride from the past" mentioned, so there is clearly an acknowledgement that this ride has a huge fan base and merchandising potential. Just announce the return LOL

I liked a lot of the new drone and laser spots. I hid some photos under the spoiler header.

The show casts really brought a lot of energy to their preview performances today with a lot of familiar faces along with some promising new talent. Phantom Theater Encore has some nice little changes as well that enhance the character beats.

With Cargo Loco opening tomorrow. I’m assuming now that the Adventure Express will be opened Sunday, and Sol Spin possibly opening Monday?

#KIRIGHTTRACK Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The head.

Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?

I am honestly pleasantly surprised with the level of theming in Adventure Port so far. I hope Kings Island keeps it up.

Lol. That sky ride footer has like 9 lives. It’s like a monument to KI of yore!

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.