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I was happy when Mike Koontz said that Cedar Fair plans to continue to do the same level of theming with all new additions. With this, I hope Action Zone gets a new addition soon. I am also amazed with how great the area looks, especially considering that it came together in less than a year. I also was happy when Mike Koontz said that he wanted as many trees saved as possible. I know parts of Adventure Port do lack shade, but I applaud Kings Island for saving most of the trees. The only area that saw a noticeable loss of trees is around Cargo Loco’s queue, but I do not know how that could have been avoided. I do like how the trees to the left of Adventure Express’ original entrance (now near Sol Spin’s exit) were preserved as well as the trees behind Sol Spin. The area in front of Enrique’s unfortunately lacks shade, but there were really no trees already there to work with.

Easter Eggs are fun

So this all but confirms that Adventure Port was a last minute decision as many here speculated. Not that it takes away from the final result. Even though the area was heavily delayed, it is a very welcome addition!

Yes, I was glad to hear those things as well. No much new information in the public comments that were made in the video that @RedSummit20self promoted his channel with, but good supplemental information. I do commend @IndyGuy4KI for getting a personal interview with the park president and insisting on nothing less.

It’s not a far fetched assumption though: https://www.incrediblecoasters.com/SteelVengeancePhotos.html https://coasterforce.com/iron-gwazi-opens-at-busch-gardens-tampa/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zadra_(roller_coaster) Upon my internship I saw a piece of wood dangling from SV and reported it. Carpentry came out and stated that was not integral to the ride’s structure and was just left over wood that was kept on from MS. They still shut the ride down and drilled the wood back in place but it didn’t seem like an urgent issue but likely would’ve looked odd to anyone who saw a piece of wood dangling. Again this was just a conversation I had so take it how you will.

Soak City closing at 3pm today.

I’m not discounting the potential maintenance issues but you also have to look at 2018. Cedar Point ordered a hybrid with new trains, a first of its kind hybrid hyper with new trains and a first of its kind single rail. Not only that, but having interned there myself, I talked to carpentry and they said that a lot of the original Mean Streak structure was not removed when they converted the ride to Steve Vengeance. Of course I don’t have any source to back up my claim but if you want evidence that it’s accurate, compare Steel Vengeance to Iron Gwazi or Zadra where they are all about the same in height but have significantly different support styles. I’m not discounting the issues that the chain encountered with RMC, but I often remind myself what they asked RMC to do in one season; new technology across three of their parks is a pretty tall order.

To finish the trip I stopped at Kings Dominion. And I can attest to those that have spoken positively about the food at KD are 100% right. The portions are plentiful, and the food is very tasty. You will eat every bite on your plate, and you’ll know you shouldn’t because you have rides to ride but the food is just that good. For lunch I stopped at the new Firehouse BBQ ended up getting the brisket with side of street corn and corn bread. (I know corny.) All I can say is that it was excellent, this was my favorite meal for the trip. For dinner I had to see what the buzz was about comparing KI’s G&G vs KD’s G&G and yes, KD’s G&G is so much better. Sirloin pulled out from the warmer and freshly sliced. What a great way to keep a protein moist, tender all while retaining its freshness. It’s a small detail that goes a long way. For the side I got the 3 cheese scalloped potatoes with bread. All in all well done KD!

In addition, it has been reported that all of the RMCs Cedar Fair installed in 2018 have had significant maintenance issues. I saw a video from one of the winter chill outs at Cedar Point where one of the maintenance workers placed RMC in the same boat as Intamin in terms of reliability, which isn't a good sign at all.

Finally. It wasn’t listed on the entertainment portion of the app, but Saturday night they had live music (2 people) in front of their new restaurant/bar. This would be a great addition to the patio area of Enrique’s. I could see myself going to the park for a burrito bowl and a getting a beer and enjoying some live music in that area. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Fun observations. This platter of basically approvers was an option in dining plan at wonderland Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Other dining notes: Canada wonderland had 4 subway locations. Only 1 was included on Dining plan, and only these options pictured. In this case… I’d say they should get rid of subway… Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Canadas wonderland Amazing brisket. Served with chili churri sauce, cornbread muffin, and a side. Super lean (no fat) and so tender. I got this for 4 of my 5 meals there and was not sad. Shown with vegetable medley, which was also great and didn’t taste like it was previously frozen. They also had a Korean BBQ chicken half that was very good. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Canadas wonderland was the best food option. Most variety on the plan. And great execution. Here’s the menu at backlot cafe. Pizzas here were made to order and very fresh. Spaghetti and meatballs were generous portion. Taco bowls didn’t look good… but we were pretty far from Mexico Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dorneys food was meh. Only think I thought this group would appreciate is that subway is still there and you can choose either chips or 2 fresh baked cookies. After heavy eating, it was refreshing to get a few subs instead of other meals. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Other foods from my 4 park trip last week: Kings dominion graining grill sirloin option. Sliced fresh when ordered. Large portion. Served with hummus for pita and grilled broccoli Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So I was torn about what kind of trip I want to do this summer. I've been putting a Canadian trip on the back burner for some time now, but I've ultimately decided I want to see the ocean again, so I'm settling for a Virginia based trip. The 3 parks I know for sure as of this post are Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Kings Dominion, and Six Flags America. I want to include a 4th park, and its a complete coin flip between Carowinds and Hersheypark. I'm leaning to HP as they have 2 new credits for me whereas Carowinds wouldn't add any, but Fury 325 and Afterburn are hard to pass up, especially because I can finally ride them at night. For beach going, a day at Virginia Beach is likely in order. I won't pass up advice on the VA parks, but I am pretty comfortable kind of just winging it as I've been to Kings Dominion before back in 2004. I've heard a lot of weird stuff about SFA so any prior knowledge of that park going in would be helpful. I'd like to know what I'm getting into with that. No advice needed for Carowinds or HP. Other than that, hopefully I get to KI more this year than the past 3 years, a CP trip is in the works (possibly with Waldameer), a KK day trip is a possibility, and a very big maybe is a HW day trip (if you consider a 3 hour drive past a time zone change a day trip and your name's not @malem).

Everything looks so much better without the flappy paper liner thing and all the dumb little “portion control” cups. Someone needs to get a grip on KI food ops.

Well-now we are out of newspaper and have downgraded to red/white checked paper at Grill and Grain. Give. Up. On. The. Wax. Paper. Please!!!!!!

Sorry for double post, but park will be closing at 9pm tonight.

With SV particularly, so much of the ride is inside the structure, which I would conjecture adds stress to the structure. Also, and is hearsay since I can't cite where I heard it, RMC recommended not reusing the lift hill on Mean Streak and building a new truss lift. But Cedar Fair/Point wanted to keep a wooden coaster look.

Well looks like Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman will hopefully be told about this as soon as possible so he can sit down with Navarro and discuss things to keep them here!

Not to mention the 2018 Cedar Fair RMCs were the first with the much heavier swing-axle trains. Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

Busch Gardens Williamsburg had their annual Food and Wine Festival event taking place, so naturally being that I attended last year. I purchased a sampler. The food was great as usual. The only disappointment I had was they brought back almost all of the previous menu options from last season which although was tasty, I was hoping to try some different things. The food portions are what you would expect for a sample, the real kicker is using the sampler for adult beverages, which they pour to the brim. I’m ranking BGW second out of the 3 parks I visited. Only because it is a Food Festival and not daily food ops.

From my 3 park trip this past weekend: Out of the 3 parks I visited, Carowinds by far was the worst food out of them all. Edible but definitely had a “People gotta eat.” Vibe going on. Portions were small and the food seemed old. First night I ate at Harmony Hall Markeplace. The Ribs were tough, but the Mac n cheese was decent. On the second day, I had lunch at Chickie’s & Pete’s got the Philly cheesesteak with crab fries. Carowind’s does not include dipping sauce with the meal unlike CP. Last meal I ate was at Blue Ridge Country Kitchen, got the half chicken (pigeon) and Mac n cheese which was not even close to what was served at Harmony Hall the previous night. The Mac n Cheese seemed like picked off the shelf, GFS brand. All I can say about that meal is wow, that was baddd. I did splurge a bit and treated myself to a Fury Freeze, it was good but I’ll probably stick with picking more traditional flavored dip n dots after trying it. The best meal out of the three meals I ate there was the Philly Cheesesteak with crab fries.

You're not crazy. It would be better to record several people to tap along side with (audio wise) just to fill out the sound and make it full. Vocal choruses in PTE (to my memory & assumption) definitely seemed to have recorded tracks, even last year. In general, when its a choral moment, it's usually nicer to balance pre-recorded bgvs with the live vocals being barely heard. You dont want fully recorded nor have the soloists stick out like a sore thumb. Least this was always my opinion of the best outcome. I don't believe we have any substantial evidence that PTheatre will make a return directly following PTE... that's all I can deduce, and the most Im willing to postulate from rumors. Though, I absolutely think they should go for it!

I thought those chemical crates were for the Area 72 Launch Party in 2021. I do wish some of them stuck around past 2021 and were used as theming around the area, though.

Retrospect is high quality. Especially the choreography. The choreographer knows how to feel music to the movements. They eliminated the live band It’s a soundtrack I would choose dancers over a band anyway since they are visual So there was a budget cut But honestly the sound track is powerful The show has an odd, non posted schedule It’s split into two different 15 min sets interspersed with a dj party. People cannot know when the show is happening unless they walk by Why does KI do thst? They do the same thing with the Nativity show at Winterfest The other parks have these same shows with posted show times

I’ve thought of that as well. If the pandemic didn’t hit, I’m sure the timeline would’ve been 2024 considering that we lost two coasters and gained one from 2018-2020. On top of the pandemic, I’m sure the Dragster incident changed a lot of things up. Cedar Point can’t really afford to have a ride that size SBNO for multiple seasons with how heavily they rely on destination travelers. We can afford to have a 5 year gap in our coaster lineup- we did it before from 2009-2014. In theory having two Ohio coasters installed in back to back seasons could prove beneficial. The rebranded TTD is going to be a massive project so what we get won’t be anything of that magnitude, however, having two new additions within a year a part of one another on opposite sides of the state might encourage more travel from people in neutral areas.

It is unique in that I haven't been on those others... Also it is a fun ride, and very quickly makes me very dizzy. The change between looking forward and "not moving" to looking to the side and "wtf I am upside down" disoriented me greatly. That said though, it is a fun ride, better than expected. And those seats are HELLA uncomfortable. I hate solid shoulder straps, makes it impossible to take deep breaths and are panic inducing.

Don’t underestimate the lower free cash flow that resulted from the COVID year(s). While every park chain has come back like gangbusters since the pandemic finally ended, you can’t lose basically a full season (and reduced capacity the following season) and not have it impact the bottom line. Every park had to think very differently about their five year capital spending plan after the events of 2020.

I want it in the old Action Theatre space - It's an old "Midway Vaudeville Theatre" that has been long abandoned and recently reopened for development by the park, but as they began renovations, the theatre came to life and they realized that the spirits from the long departed ORIGINAL Phantom Theatre had taken up residence in this forgotten about corner of the park. The spirits "won" and development plans were halted, now... "sweaty tourists" can once again enter the theatre "if they dare" as the talented ghosts return to their rightful place as the premier entertainers at Kings Island. They could keep the weedy overgrown look "hidden" yet create a new "Marque" and rework - clean up that whole odd end of Coney by Wind-seeker. THEN rework BooBlasters into a Carnivale themed shooter style ride where you collect points as you travel through CARNIVALE celebrations of the world with Mardi P Gras and all of the other characters created for the scavenger hunt they do at CARNIVALE

Let me start out again by saying that in my opinion PTE is the best overall show ever in the history of KI (my optinion, your mileage may vary ) That being said I saw PTE yesterday and noticed that during Happy Feet there was an audible tap track playing over the dancers. As a tapper myself I found it to be disturbing as volume of the track drowned out the "live" tap dancers (who are excellent). Originally last year I suggested they mic the stage from underneth to get a little more volume and I think at the end of the season they seemed to be doing that. I went up to the sound guys and asked them saying that I wanted to hear the dancers. One of the guys told me "it is a recording of the dance by the cast". The problem with that is it sounds like only 1 dancer was recorded. There is a definite difference between 1 dancer and 8 when it comes to tap. I'm not saying they needed a recording of 8 dancers but at least 3 would have made a difference and taken away the "solo" feel of the recorded track. Tap is a very specific type of dance in that you can see the feet hitting the floor. "Overdubbing" the sound of the dancers takes away from the live aspect of the piece in my opinion. I also noticed that some of the chorus parts were overdubbed also. Maybe they were last year and they just didn't have the sound adjusted right but I was under the impression that last year EVERYTHING was live. It was obvious when it was being played because it came in louder when they punched it in. That being said the Hilda understudy did a great job and they did overdub just the 2-3 falseto parts of the character. It was pretty seemless (nice job by the audio tech) and didn't bother me as I could understand how not everyone can do it the way the usual person who plays Hilda does. Again the show is still fantastic I wanted to point out that (again in my opinion) the new overdubbing takes away from the live aspect of the talents of this extremely talented cast. It also may have played a part that on a non-busy day with the rain in the forecast the theatre was only about 1/3 full. I could understand overdubbing with a full house but then again I was there for the last 2 shows last year and noticed no sound issues at all. In my opinion, keep it simple and keep it live and loose the overdubbing when not needed. One last thing. The new dialog that took the place of "blasting your boo's or something" is interesting and I'm thinking may be a hint for next season. When the Phantom says "is that boo thing still there" it almost seems like he expects it not be there. Like it's going to be replaced. After seeing the interview with Mike Koontz and how he stated the plans for Adventure Port were thorwn together in a year it make me wonder if something else was planned for this year and because of supply chain issues or other delays that had to be put off till next year. Hense "is that boo thing still there". If we do get a new Phantom Theatre in place of Boo Blasters next year and they do the PTE show for one final year the dialoge could still be the same and instead of the audience saying "yes" a resounding "no" would be heard. It would be really neat to have a show foreshadow a new attraction. We'll have to wait and see.

Completely agree. You’d be surprised how beneficial a relationship with the community, media and fan base can be. How how non-beneficial it is when those relationships are neglected or destroyed…

It was a unique show for the dozen or so of us at the end of International Street.

That looks SO much better without the Fish and Chips newspaper they keep putting on the plates. Just use the plates and fill the up a little more and BOOM - better impression already. Keep a bunch of microgreens or a big bunch or two or parsley or other cheap herb to toss on a sprig or two and its "almost Klassy"

I don't understand for the life of me why they DON'T add that in on Friday and Sat nights (even a few other weeknights when it is high season). Local acts could audition for an entertainment person and they could build a "roster" of acts appropriate for 3-4 themed areas. Create small themed stages, promote the heck out of the local acts and give them free exposure for probably minimal actual pay to the act. That was one of the things I actually LIKED about the COVID season - the "mini shows" like BrewBeats and the CarGuys (whatever their name was) really added to the dynamics of the areas. I was actually bummed when bigger live shows returned and the budgets were cut for those little "pocket shows". Simple live music acts would fill that void, and fill the evenings since it seems like all shows are done by 6 this year (except RetroSPect)

Wow, thank you, @chuck norris! I was not impressed with food at Canada's Wonderland overall. Slow operations or no fountain drinks available (I'm looking at you Backlot Cafe) meant you had to wait in 2 lines for eating...one for food, another for drink, so your food was cold or your drink was hot! :/ Spaghetti and meatballs was very good...but cold. Brisket was good, Mac was not at Lazy Bear...and it was cold. My friend got the platter you pictured above and enjoyed it. I had chicken fingers next door...garlic BBQ...and was asked three times if I wanted them with the garlic BBQ sauce or plain...and they were cold. Lol.

Other foods from my 4 park trip last week: Kings dominion firehouse bbq (newest restaurant at KD) Brisket (with some fat) and a side of salad. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Other foods from my 4 park trip last week: Kings dominion firehouse bbq (newest restaurant at KD) Brisket and street corn. Much larger portion than KI beef options. Some fat, but minimal. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Other foods from my 4 park trip last week: Kings dominion firehouse bbq (newest restaurant at KD) Crazy large portion of great quality chicken. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Other foods from my 4 park trip last week: Kings dominion grain and grill Shrimp and Mac & cheese. Similar to KI. 1 skewer of 5 vs KI is 2 of 3. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Mason has committed $15 million in incentives to keep the tournament here. A state representative from Lebanon also added money to the house's version of the state budget bill but it remains to be seen whether that will actually make it to the final budget. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2023/06/05/mason-commits-15-million-to-keeping-western-southern-open-in-ohio/70289020007/

Canadian's don't get tired of Cirque

Firework show drones are fair game.

There are about 200 markings on site……. for the [retracted] launching.

I saw a post on Facebook claiming there are pink markings on Vortex’s old plot of land. Can anyone confirm or debunk this claim?

My advice for Six Flags America is: don't eat there. I had the worst amusement park meal in my life at their Johnny Rocket's. And ESPECIALLY do not use the Johnny Rocket's bathrooms. On the flip side, one of the best amusement park meals I've ever had was at Kings Dominion. The prime rib at Outpost Cafe is incredible and reasonably priced.

So Jan 2-3 I've been in FL to visit Sea World and Busch Gardens for the first time. Just finished Sea World today and I'll share my experience below. I'll be posting my thoughts on Busch Gardens (going tomorrow) later on. Sea World was definitely a good park with great animals and shows. Saw Orca, Dolphin, and Sea Lion shows. Good amount of shade at the park and beautiful landscaping. I didn't think it was very strong on themed areas (most of the park had the same landscape vibe) but the theming on the rides was definitely very prevalent. Going in I got to See the nearly completed Surf Coaster and it was actually smaller than I had thought it would be. (Shorter in height and length). I love Standup Coasters so hopefully this one will be awesome.... just not sure if I'll be back in FL at all in 2023 and if I am will I be at sea World? Ice Breaker also managed to have it's fair share of issues. First, it was experiencing a late opening due to technical difficulties and then once it opened it had a 2hr wait and then closed in the afternoon because of more technical delays and was announced around 5 that it wouldn't reopen at all. So I did not get to experience Ice Breaker either... On to the rides I did experience. First was the B&M flyer Manta which was absolutely beautiful. Definitely my second fav flyer after Tatsu at SFMM. Second, was the weird water coaster/splash boat ride Journey to Atlantis. Very good, never rode anything quite like it, and it had a short wait earlier in the morning. Was unable to get a second ride due to 90+ min lines rest of day. Third, was the B&M floorless Kraken. I've never got why people like Floorless Coasters and I still curse the day Cedar Point announced the Mantis Conversion to floorless. I personally think that floorless are less unique and often are rough rides (moderate head banging and B&M rattling). However, Kraken was flawless, smooth, forceful, had airtime, great elements, great pacing it was a GREAT ride and if every floorless was like Kraken I would be riding them a lot more than I do. Fourth, was the B&M hyper Mako. So with Mako I hear people saying it's better than Dback and frankly no it's not. Mako is a relaxing floater airtime machine that delivers a smooth ride with perfect airtime that lasts nearly 6 seconds over each camelback. However, after the midcourse breaks, Mako was really lackluster and boring in my opinion....lots of turns with no forces and no airtime. Diamondback is a better hyper from start to finish. Lastly I rode Infinity Falls which might be the best white water rafting ride I've ridden. The huge drop was amazing the actual flume channel was filled with surprises too! If I'm ranking the coasters I rode at Sea World Orlando here's my list - 1. Kraken (blew me away because I expected it to suck and it was phenomenal!) 2. Mako (great airtime but is a little over-hyped) 3. Manta (solid flyer second to only Tatsu, familiar but fun too) 4. Journey to Atlantis (if this counts, it was definitely interesting and fun but can't compete with other "real" coasters)