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Hello everyone. As you may know, I created a thread on here 4 years ago that i believe was a catalyst to get the park to sell those track slices of Vortex. And thank you again IceePirate for going out of your way to help me acquire my piece. However, life has hit me in an unexpected way and I need help. I have listed my Vortex piece for sale on ebay. I need the money to help my family get through tough times and I don't know what else to do. I'd rather sell it to someone on here who would cherish it as much as I do than to a random person. As much as I cherish this piece of history, my family comes first and I don't know what else to do. Thank you KICentral for helping me achieve my piece of Vortex. I need your help now again. My piece is listed here: RARE - Kings Island Vortex Track Slice | eBay Thank you KIC. And thank you IceePirate. I need your all's help now more than ever.

If they remove it we will be looking at an empty spot for next 3-5 years. Unless this is where the new 2026 family attraction will be located. I know most speculation is The Vortex spot.

lol. I love that I’m a standard to now be met!

Cedar Point has had a long history of building record-breaking roller coasters to generate hype and draw attention. However, these records are often short-lived, serving more as marketing tools than lasting achievements. Rides like GateKeeper and Valravn were promoted for their impressive stats, but once newer attractions came along, the focus quickly shifted, and those records lost their significance. Take GateKeeper, for example. When it debuted, it was celebrated for its records, but by the time Valravn opened, much of the attention had moved on. Valravn broke several Dive Coaster records—tallest, fastest, and longest—but just a few years later, Yukon Striker at Canada’s Wonderland surpassed many of those stats, highlighting the temporary nature of such accolades. This trend isn’t new. Magnum XL-200, which broke the 200-foot barrier in 1989, was groundbreaking at the time, holding the title of the tallest and fastest coaster in the world. However, as other parks introduced their own hyper coasters, Magnum’s record-breaking status faded. This is simply the nature of the amusement park industry—what’s new and exciting rarely stays that way for long. Cedar Fair has strategically spread its record-breaking coasters across multiple parks instead of keeping them all at Cedar Point. Coasters like Fury 325 at Carowinds, Banshee at Kings Island, and Yukon Striker at Canada’s Wonderland gave each park something unique to promote. It wasn’t just about Cedar Point holding all the records—it was about ensuring each park had a standout attraction. However, when records fade, the experience the ride provides becomes what truly matters. A coaster might not hold records anymore, but if it still delivers great thrills, unique elements, or a smooth, fun ride, people will keep coming back. Magnum, for example, may no longer be the tallest or fastest, but it’s still loved for its airtime and nostalgic charm. GateKeeper may not be breaking records, but its graceful inversions and lakeside views continue to draw fans. Ultimately, records are just a tool to spark interest when a ride is new. In the long run, it’s the ride itself—how it feels and the memories it creates—that determines its lasting popularity. Other parks will get fed, it’s just a matter of restructuring.

Best of luck! Hope all is taken care of. Make sure to post this on the Kings Island Season Passholders group on FB for a wider audience. I’m sure there’s someone that would jump at this kind of thing. Especially before the holidays!

If I remember correctly, the canvas "Congo" portion of the sign is removed each winter, similar to the removal of queue sunshades and famous Timberwolf curtains.

8" lol I found the Turkey Ball to be a ton of shredded turkey and not enough stuffing.

I tried last night at 9:30 and they were out. I ended up getting the smoked sausage, but I am not posting the photo (although I did take one.) I would be moderating the thread the next 8" days. You can find it in the WinterFest 2024 gallery if you wish.

I finally got to ride Racer yesterday at WF. A first time experience to ride it during this season and seeing the park all lit up in lights on the ride made it quite magical. I also love the ornaments in the station.

Cedar Fair does not exist. And no, they don't. Six Flags doesn't operate how YOU play Planet Coaster. You didn't read what I said.

Yeah, it's definitely weird favoritism for literally no reason (the current Six Flags CEO was GM of Kings Dominion from 1998 to 2007, a.k.a. a time in which Paramount Parks was in competition with Cedar Fair and in which Kings Dominion added things like Volcano, Hypersonic, and Tomb Raider: Firefall, which were big deals at the time) and not because Cedar Point is the closest thing to a destination park in North America outside of Florida and California. YOU think Orion and Leviathan are lackluster, and YOU think getting a smaller RMC is a sign of disrespect or whatever. That you think those things does not make them correct. Coaster enthusiasts do not know how to run amusement park chains. Intamin hydraulic launches are unreliable and always have been. They've shredded launch cables multiple times and injured riders. They have more moving parts than any other launch type in the modern era. Intamin's spare parts availability seems atrocious. That they've lasted as long as they have is honestly surprising--I think if the upfront cost wasn't as large as they were, we'd have seen them go away sooner because parks wouldn't have bothered trying. Note that when a train on TTD shed a part that hit a rider, CF didn't bother with, for instance, building barriers between the ride and the adjacent guest areas, which surely would've been cheaper. Cedar Fair tried an alternative on Top Thrill 2, the ride they sold passes and tickets based on the promise of riding, that worked so well that it operated for a few weekends in May and then closed for the rest of the year. I think that, very understandably, was the last chance for the industry to try to make the stratas sustainable. I expect that SF will do what they can to make TT2 work for 2025, but if something major comes up, it'll get removed and fall into that The Bat-Son of Beast-Hypersonic XLC category of rides where in 10-15 years, people on social media will incessantly post things like, "Who here got to ride TT2 while it briefly existed? What was it like compared to the original? Don't you think Six Flags should've tried harder to make it work/shouldn't Cedar Point rebuild TT2?" In the meantime, I honestly understand the decision to remove Kingda Ka, and I think Xcelerator is ABSOLUTELY on borrowed time. Amusement parks are businesses.

If the Crypt building ends up being demo'd, I'd buy the eye off the triangle of light door in a heartbeat. LOL. (I hope you all know I'm not kidding) But The Vortex plot, for the love of everything DO NOT put a family ride in there. That would be a HUGE slap to the face to everyone.

Let’s just wait and see what happens. Shall we?

And there is precedent for that. Remember, we did get the original Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle in 2003, the same year that Delirium was added. I think a new flat ride that utilizes The Crypt`s ride building, and uses the existing queue entrance would be a good fit. Give another ride that is in air conditioning and could run during Winterfest. Boo Blasters definitely needs a refresh of some kind.

Honestly a family thrill coaster in the Crypt building plus an update to Boo Blasters in the same season would be a pretty good investment.

IMHO, there are probably two or more potential things for 2026 that KI is currently looking at, both family-oriented thrill attractions, one may be a coaster and the other something else. Planning is still on-going and the ink certainly has not dried on the contracts, so the PR is vague in that regard. Either way, it's a bigger thing coming since it made the chain-wide PR (as opposed to a few flat rides or something)

There was a survey marker spotted near the exit of Boo Blasters earlier this season:

Does the park own the Skycoaster or is it leased from Ride Entertainment?

To the Gerstlauer point, I would love to see the Infinity coaster as it checks a ton of boxes. Curb appeal, dive elements that aren't as forced as a B&M dive, inversions, and most importantly for families a 48 inch height requirement. It is a great successor to Vortex in that location. It is also worth noting that Baker Concrete is listed on the NOC and one of the projects they have listed on their website is the footings for Pipeline at SWO.

Remember that Notice of Commencement is for 2024 and 2025 additions and modifications. I think it's very likely that it doesn't include 2026 construction plans at all. For example, with Orion the NOC said 2018, 2019, and 2020 additions and modifications. Now I'm very interested that Ride Entertainment is listed. RE does a lot of work with Gerstlauer and KCL Engineering. An infinity coaster was listed in a recent survey. Obviously an infinity isn't really considered family thrill so the odds are really low for that being the 2026 project, but what if in the very unlikely chance they're just trying to throw us off here and we're getting the infinity coaster after all, but KI just didn't want it to get out? Also looking at Ride Entertainment's portfolio, it looks like they do work with upgrading dark rides. And one of the options in a recent survey was an update to Boo Blasters. However, I don't see how a shooting dark ride is considered family thrill. Unless, maybe the park pulls a 2003 and adds a dark ride update and a thrilling flat ride the same year (ie Scooby and Delirium in 03). https://rideentertainment.com/lagotronics/

On a serious note, trying to further decode 2026. I don’t think we will be getting a coaster at all. For one, coaster is omitted from the list of park additions amongst all the parks within the chain: Also Ride Entertainment Systems and Zamperla was listed in the commencement of work. So I’m guessing we’d get a flat thrill ride from their lineup? https://rideentertainment.com/sales-home/ https://www.zamperla.com

I agree, it would definitely fit the theming.

I’m still in the camp of putting another water ride in Rivertown.

I wouldn't have any issue with a family coaster going in the crypt building. I just don't think it is the right size or dimension for it. If they prove me wrong and pull it off, whatever. It would almost definitely be an improvement over the current state. I like the odds of a flat ride going inside, or it being outright removed. I agree 100% about The Vortex plot. For the love of all that is good in the world, DO NOT waste that plot with a glorified kid coaster. We would absolutely drop my family's passes for that stupidity, too.

A family coaster in the crypt building OR The Vortex plot is an epic failure. The crypt building needs an intense, inverting flat in there. (If they remove the triangle of light door I'd buy a piece of it in a heartbeat or a piece of Shiva off the wall) That Vortex plot needs the inversion record. Its what it was built for. (Well, actually a suspended coaster that later ended up being demoed and replaced with the inversion record) If they put a family ride in either of these two plots, I'm revoking my pass permanently.