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Mine is still stuck in the gmail void somewhere.

We all remember the good ole days when a young gent or gal could spark up a black and mild or rip the ole geek bar in the park, before that beautiful privilege was taken away from us. My favorite smoking area was back by WindSeeker, it was peaceful, would watch the ride go up, and down, and up, and down, repeat. Though the X-Base one does hold a special place in my heart, sometime I would chain smoke and feel like a character out of a sci-fi movie, stressed from these GOV nda’s ruining my life, but feeling a brief moment of freedom when I would light up a marb red. What was your favorite smoking area at Kings Island?

Extracted this conversation into its own topic. It deserved its own thread. I like this one a lot. (Bottom one is my preference.) Vintage but a sharp & clean look.

I think I will pass on the BK idea. Original recipes & creations from the chef is way better and seems to be working for them.

The latest construction blog from the park: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2025/january/soak-city-expansion-construction-updates

Tower Gardens. ”Come crush a few menthol-laced heaters near a framed, yet faded, poster for ‘Mission: Impossible II.’ Don’t go down by the stagnant pond, though. Yeah, the one that’s gated off and where the car from Wayne’s World was once parked?” Topic of the year award already claimed early into 2025, by the way.

Only for people foolish enough to drop $12 for a Whopper meal that isnt worth the $7 it costs at a normal BK. Nah, take that idea down the street.

While I like the retro logo concepts above, having both the crown and flag adorning the word “Kings” makes (in my mind, at least) the logo look “heavy” on one side.

But KI already has the king of the burger with the pub burger and meatloaf burger!

Weighing in on the vintage marquee logo discussion, below are three more ideas. Mine are not as detailed or original designs like Losantiville Mining Co.'s post, mine were pulled from various sources off the internet. Top: 1971 concept logo, screengrabbed from a business letter. Middle: Official Taft/KECO/Lindner era script (1972 - 1992) with legacy Cedar Fair/ New Six Flags flag dotting the "i" in "Kings." I believe this is the same logo created for the cover of "Kings Island: A Ride Through Time." Bottom: 1971 concept logo with legacy Cedar Fair/ New Six Flags flag dotting the "i" in "Kings." My personal preference is the official logo that was used before Paramount, but the original 1971 concept logo has its own unique charm and is very eye catching.

Thank you! I just grabbed the logos off the internet and used the photo edit feature in my phone's gallery. I like your version with the crown and flag, they both look good together. I tried my best to tilt it a bit to see how it would look.

The left side being heavy is the biggest issue I've been having as I continue to play with the logo. The added height on the "K" makes it harder to place on the map I've been making and would be a little tricky on letterheads/the wavy scheme Cedar Fair put on their ads. I tried stacking the words for the KECO park I'm trying to design and it looks much better to me. (If you would like to know more and possibly help design, there is a new thread in the Off-Topic forum). Below is the stacked logo for that park. This looks much more balanced! You may be able to flatten it out a little depending on what program you're using. I'm on Adobe Illustrator since it's what I know how to use, but it was hard to recreate each letter without drawing it from scratch. I'd be interested to see more if you do choose to flatten it out!

The Amusement Park Railroad Thread Due to recent members asking me to post vintage pictures of old trains, I decided to create a central thread around amusement park railroads whether they are still operating or defunct. This is information I've gathered throughout the years as both a train and an amusement park enthusiast. Once a week, or maybe more times if I'm not busy, I will make post regarding a different amusement park railroad. The information I will provide will be accurate and any inaccurate information will be edited. Most of the pictures I'm about to post are not mine so I will link them the best I can because some links are dead. I invite you all to participate in the discussion and ask me questions! My first entry will be very soon since I'm still putting it all together. But for now, happy railroading!

Letting the chef decide what we (the guests) eat does not seem in line with what we want. We want it our way, and we want to eat like Kings, with a crown atop our heads. When Gary Wachs conceptualized Kings Island, he wanted I-Street to be a celebration, a welcome, focused on flags, fountains, and fun. He stated that the cuisine needed to represent all nations, which would include America, it would be a disservice to him, THE FOUNDER, of KI to not include some grub that is patriots like. So what would that be? Burgah King (pronounce this like Peter Griffin would, family guy reference lol) YOU get to choose it your way, be a king, and get to enjoy a mother flippin custom flame grilled Whopper on I-Street. Could you imagine how magical that would be? Now imagine seeing Snoopy? Yeah, case dismissed, it would be baller.

IIRC this was a promotional event with the Share a Coke With program. Basically you’d have a stand where you could get samples and if memory serves me right it would also have a share a Coke station to make your own label. I think this would have been circa 2014-2015. It wasn’t a terribly long stint and I believe it was traveling across the chain at that point for their Coke promos.

That's what the meal plan is for

Absolutely not.

Isn't that the truth LOL. The number of people I have interacted with at KI that have no idea that 1. Cedar Point exists LOL and 2. that it is owned by the same company as KI.

In the initial press release for the merger, this was stated: "The combined company will also have entertainment partnerships and a portfolio of beloved IP such as Looney Tunes, DC Comics and PEANUTS to develop engaging new attractions enabled by compelling characters, environments, and storytelling." Perhaps there's a reason they didn't include DC and Looney Tunes on there? If the new Six Flags decided to end their licensing with DC and Looney Tunes, having to retheme every single attraction and area that use those IPs would be a huge project in and of itself given how much old Six Flags used them in their parks.

If you haven't seen it:

Koontz informing the KI staff:

Chapter 1- The Old Dominion Line https://www.facebook.com/KDGoldenYears/ Following the success of Kings Island in near Cincinnati, Taft Broadcasting Company decided to duplicate the park in Virginia. One of the many things Kings Dominion took from her sister park was a small 36" narrow gauge railroad in a section of the park named "Old Virginia", a section that reflected the early years of Virginia; a similar concept to Rivertown at Kings Island. The "Old Dominion Line" featured two authentic steam locomotives built by the Crown Locomotive Works- the Baldwin Locomotive Works of amusement park railroads. The line ventured through the Virginian wilderness past log cabins and animatronics. https://www.facebook.com/KDGoldenYears/ The two locomotives that ran along the short line were the #601 "Patrick Henry" and the #552 "Stonewall Jackson." Like their Kings Island cousin's, both locomotives were modeled after the standard "American" style locomotive bearing the typical 4-4-0 wheel arrangement. When management asked Kings Island engineers for feedback on how to perfect the train ride in Virginia they suggested a more prototypical approach. This meant that the locomotives should have larger smoke stacks, darker colors, and most notably- wooden cabs (as seen in the picture above.) These changes were made to give the locomotives a more "primitive" look as steel wasn't as plentiful in the mid 1800s as it is now. http://parkfans.net/thread-1541.html The “Patrick Henry” was meant to resemble Kings Island's #12 "Tecumseh" locomotive respectively. The locomotive bared a large balloon smoke stack, featured 2 domes, and a gothic style roof, as well as a dark blue color scheme with red decals. The “Patrick Henry” also had a set of blue coaches with brown decals to match the locomotive’s color scheme as well as the look of older passenger coaches from the 1800s. There’s no audio to prove this but I suspect the “Patrick Henry” featured a 6 chime whistle. The locomotive also featured two flags, one was the American flag and the other one was the Virginia Flag. Though meant to resemble Kings Island’s #12, Kings Dominion’s #601 was one of the most cloned Crown models to date. The large balloon stack was seen on multiple crown locomotives throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s giving it a less original look. http://parkfans.net/thread-1541.html The “Stonewell Jackson” was meant to resemble Kings Island's #19 "Simon Kenton" locomotive respectively. The locomotive bared a narrow balloon smoke stack, featured 2 domes, and a curved style roof, as well as an orange-red color scheme with blue decals. The “Stonewall Jackson” also had a set of orange-red coaches with brown decals to match the locomotive’s color scheme as well as the look of older passenger coaches from the 1800s. There’s no audio to prove this but I suspect the “Stonewall Jackson” featured a 6 chime whistle. The locomotive also featured two flags, one was the American flag and the other one was the Confederacy Flag. This locomotive model was my favorite of all the Crown locomotives ever built because of its unique balloon stack design. This is was one of the more original designs ever found on a Crown locomotive. https://www.facebook.com/KDGoldenYears/ The line started in the Old Virginia section of the park, near the end of Candy Apple Grove not too far from the Rebel Yell. The train would run parallel to Rebel Yell until taking a right turn into the Virginian Wilderness. In the woods, like the Miami Valley Railroad, the trains past several log cabins and animatronics. The train would stop at a part of the line and actors would interact with guests on board. The train would then pass the engine house before finally returning to the station. In the later years, some of the scenery changed to accommodate newer attractions. In the early 80s, Grizzly was placed behind the station, similar to Mystic Timbers at Kings Island. The challenge was that the que line crossed the railroad tracks making operations interesting to say in the least. http://parkfans.net/thread-1541.html Towards the late 80s, the popularity of the railroad started to dwindle and some of the theming began to go away. By the 90s, Paramount attempted to revitalize the railroad by adding an action scene on the train but to no avail. Operations were so dismal that the railroad would close early around 6pm because it began to lose the park money. In 1994 Hurler was added and coexisted with the train for about a year. In 1995, it was decided that the line would be demolished and the locomotives and their coaches sold to other amusement parks. The fact that the railroad wasn’t a transport ride was one of the main reasons why it’s popularity decreased. One could make the assumption that Kings Island’s trains would have suffered the same fate if they weren’t used to transport guests to and from the waterpark. #601 currently operates at Busch Gardens Tampa on the Serengeti Express. The locomotive was repainted an off green color with a red cowcatcher and yellow decals. The original wood cab was replaced with a steel cab fitted with exhaust fans. The whistle was mounted on the additional dome and was toned down a couple of chimes, in my opinion to not scare off the animals. The original coaches were painted yellow to match a nearly identical locomotive bought from Six Flags Mid-America, now Six Flags St. Louis. The green coaches the train usually pulls is a part of an older Busch Gardens locomotive #4 that isn’t currently in operation. I was fortunate enough to see this locomotive down in Tampa when I visited Busch Gardens in 2012. Though I prefer its original look, I’m happy that the locomotive has more room to stretch out it’s wheels and isn’t sitting out to rust like a lot of other Crown locomotives. http://parkfans.net/thread-1541.html #552 currently operates at a small religious retreat called Dry Gulch USA in Adair Oklahoma. Like #601, #552 received a cosmetic overhaul with a black boiler, red domes, a red cowcatcher, red wheels, and a black tender. The most notable change however was the wooden cab. While in transport, engine #552 encountered a tree and suffered damage to its cab. The original cab was removed and replaced with a new, darker colored wood cab that can still be seen today. The locomotive operates on select dates and during the parks popular “Christmas Train” event with two other locomotives made by H.K. Porter. It is unknown what happened to the original coaches of the train whether they were sold to another party or are sitting on storage. https://www.facebook.com/KDGoldenYears/ There has been a bit of confusion as to where the locomotives actually ended up first. One rumor states that Dry Gulch bought the two locomotives and sold #601 to Busch Gardens. Another rumor states that Busch Gardens bought the two locomotives and #552 was sold to Dry Gulch. In my opinion, I believe both trains were initially sold to the Busch Gardens chain since Busch Gardens Europe was a short drive from Doswell. At the time, Busch Gardens Africa already had three locomotives but desperately needed a backup. I think #552 was less appealing to the company so it was sold to Dry Gulch. I could be completely wrong but that’s just how I think that went down. http://parkfans.net/thread-1541.html Remnants of the Old Dominion Line can still be seen at Kings Dominion today. The old railroad shed still stands vacant and the old route can still be made out on satellite. I think this ride could have served a greater purpose and could still be standing today if it acted as a transport ride. However, it’s placement in the park limited its potential to be used as a transport ride and was one of the many contributing factors to its dismantle in 1995. Also, the placement of the ride prevented a lot of potential expansion so, while I still wish it were there, I can see why the park made the decision to remove it. I hoped you enjoyed this! Please feel free to share your comments and post any pictures. I have way more pictures if anyone's interested. If you have any questions for me or any suggestions on what park I should do next, please let me know! Edit as of 2020: Cedar Fair aquired #552 to be a backup engine for the World's of Fun Railroad. The engine will be named "Levi"