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I’m still on my Haunt hyperfixation (which is very normal behavior to be having in January) so I made a layout for the Phantom Theater house idea (and also two other house ideas I had which I wanted to share, but didn’t think they deserved a whole new topic)

What records is this attraction breaking?

Before it closes forever, I went to EnterTRAINment Junction today. I wanted to document the Coney Island Display. Here is the KIC gallery of the photos. https://kicentral.com/photos/coney-island-display-entertrainment-junction Here is also the video I took. I also added the WinterFest Eiffel Tower display as well.

Prestige passholders at Kings Dominion were treated with fudge in their indoor VIP lounge: https://www.facebook.com/groups/865356666879314/permalink/8985172754897624/?

I am so excited and can’t wait for the record breaking RiverRacers attraction! Only a few months away!

I just died a little inside...........................

I also believe AZ becomes DCU within the next couple of seasons. Why wouldn't they use a highly popular IP that they already own? AZ theming doesn't even make sense any longer.

You’re right. Stupid idea. Haha.

For what it is worth, the Chattanooga area has already got a piece of Coney Island history. The Lake Winnepesaukah amusement park in nearby Rossville GA, has one of the original Coney Island and Lake Como railroad trains. Engine #35.

I would love to see the Coney display find a new home inside a Kings Island restaurant or a gift shop however that'll never be the case. Second best would be if jungle Jim's acquired it and kept it on display to the public. If course union terminal has a Coney display but I think the one at entertrainment junction is slightly bigger and better.

Okay so as someone who was extremely passionate about the removal and, in my opinion still, a downgrade in quality at the park, I get where you are coming from. However, at the same time I even as a child never really gravitated to lookout. As an adult, as someone who worked that spot, I know there were challenges to continuing that space. It's extremely reminiscent of what we got from the 90's, but the park simply did not keep up with the structure. It honestly stuck out like a sore thumb, even in the Boomerang Bay era which it was never touched up so that whole structure has been sun bleached. Better yet, staffing and the scanning for that area led to more issues than anything else. Try moving your neck in a figure eight location for hours on end, it's definitely not pleasant. That being said, being an adult, I have not even touched those slides since a child which I did some research and after a quick refresher, you can't even ride these slides solo above 52" without a child accompanying you so I'm just going to leave that as is. In the long term I think this is a net positive if the park does some decent theming, which we may actually get. I've been begging for more TLC for the waterpark and I'm hoping that we get some shade added in.

I think I'm going to miss it too. While I don't remember my time going through it—and certainly not in the beautiful detail you were able to describe it in—I always appreciated seeing the character it had with the pirate ship and how fun it all looked. The renderings for Splash River Junction are very pretty, but I'm worried that the sense of adventure might be lost with the new slide structure that's replacing Lookout Lagoon. I'm looking forward to seeing the new additions and hope they can be wonderful experiences for those that use them.

Welcome to KIC @coastergoblin!!! Hope to see you in the park!

Anyone else gonna miss Lookout Lagoon? Something about that yellow pirate ship…it’s hard to put into words, but to me personally it had the same jaw dropping effect that could only be compared to seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. As a kid I one day dreamed of setting sail and climbing on those masts, and dreamed of taking over the seven seas, plundering and pillaging for treasure and gold. I will truly miss the racing exposed water slides attached to the ship, they were slick, fast, and WET, everything you could want in a slide and more. The interaction between you and the person next to you made it feel like The Racer, and I’m glad to see this specific slide of Lookout Lagoon set the blueprint for RiverRacers. The design team KNEW they had to honor the legacy of these yellow racing slides, and will it live up to the legacy? We will find out… Now, you’re probably asking yourself, “well I think you’re forgetting something?” And for those weary eyed readers, you are correct. I’m talking about: the enclosed slide attached to the pirate ship in Loookout Lagoon. Oh, where to begin. See this attraction was like if you put FOF in the water park and cranked it up to 10. I remember opening day 97 rope dropping this attraction in my swim shirt and making a mad dash (walking, of course) to that specific slide in Lookout Lagoon. I remember standing on that deck looking into that black hole of mystery and intrigue, wondering what would happen when I send my body down that serpentine slide. There I was, grasping the yellow fiberglass tube with both of my hands, feeling that cool chlorinated water against my feet, sending tingles down my spine, the rush of the water was deafening. A guard said “you can go.” And then I went. I remember that intial drop giving a slight hint of floater airtime and just being transported to another world, another time. The bright yellows of the slide disappeared into a black hole, I didn’t know which way was up or which was down, it was like a warm blanket of mystery and intrigued enveloped me, and let me know I would be okay. This drop then turned into a 90 degree turn to the left, the laterals pushing me to the right, yet my body turned left, a sensation I have yet to experience on another slide. This lateral sensation quickly turned into a drop heading into the Lagoon. A subtle change in angle lead to the lagoon, or the pool as some may say, and SPLASH! A Great Wall of water overcame my body, and there I was, drenched. From there on, I knew I was in the right place, I was in Lookout Lagoon, while this may be a telling of my story from the first time I rode it on opening day 1997, that story remained the same each time I rode that enclosed slide up until 2024, it’s a shame the park didn’t do a send off, maybe sell pieces of the slide? It just shows I come from a different time, when the park just put a little more care into the guest, now it’s all about shareholders. I wish RiverRacers well in its journey in continuing the story of Soak City, but for now, a large, Lookout Lagoon, sized hole in my heart will remain forever. Never forget the yellow enclosed slide.

The naming scheme for these additions does stand out a bit much from the rest of the waterpark. Could it be an indication of a Soak City retheme in the near future, or at least a renaming away from Soak City? I think Little Miami Waterworks (or something like it) could go hard and give Kings Island its own Carolina Harbor/South Bay Shores non-Soak-City type of name.

Agreed! It feels like yet another filler project, like many of our recent ones unfortunately. And also, they TOTALLY missed an opportunity to play off The Racer red and blue theme... LOL!

If I'm going to be honest, this addition doesn't seem like it was added to make Soak City a competitor for the best water park in the area. More like "well it's been nine years since we added Tropical Plunge so we might as well add something to Soak City so it doesn't look like we forgot about it".

Honestly, and I may be wrong here, I just don't think it's a "home run" build that warrants a lot of attention. Even the layout compared to many other water coasters is frankly pretty uneventful. Of course, I may be biased because I am not a big fan of water parks. Maybe I will go ride it and be pleasantly surprised?

Um, your FB site since its inception in 2016 has given more park updates than the park has.... Jim is on top of it with his daily posts...

I legit keep forgetting that we're getting a new water "coaster." Since the announcement there's not been anything from the park about it. @IndyGuy4KI has been doing more updates than the park has.

I don’t understand why the park won’t use this IP. It can be easily milked for Haunt, a ride, and even merch.

I'm kind of torn on 2 of those options. On the one hand, being a coaster enthusiast, I voted for the Gerstlauer infinity coaster. If plans for a new coaster were put on the back burner in place of Peanuts Interactive Dark Ride, I would not be disappointed, especially if it means a makeover for the Boo Blasters on Boo Hill ride.

I’m guessing they will do this once Banshee needs repainted. It was 14 years between Diamondback being built and when it was repainted so maybe we can expect AZ to be replaced with DC theming in 2028?

Then, you will be disappointed to learn that the Coney section will be transported along with the rest of the display down to Chattanooga.