Leaderboard

I attended yesterday from open to close. Got Bat's last first ride of the day of the season, plus 12 more rides before it was told to close around 3:30. I caught its last train of the season but didn't know it until my train rolled out of the station and the driver spieled, "That 'all clear' sends you out of here on the last train of the season!" It did briefly go down just before 2, but thankfully for short enough that it could reopen despite the already-below-minimum ambient temperature. Even in the mid-30's, it was hauling! I also rode the B&M's before they closed, and finally got my lifetime Delirium count to 100 plus its snowy last ride of the season. When I got tired of the cold, I marathoned Flight of Fear and got 24 rides in just a couple of hours! Additionally, I unexpectedly got WindSeeker's last cycle of the season the previous night before it went down, meaning I netted three last rides of the season in just over 24 hours!

Here's a pic from the KI International Street webcam, getting ready for Winterfest with some snow coming down.

The only thing that would ruin it for me is the 'thoosies who complain about it from the start. Yeah, there are things we all would love to see and experience, but it's going to be what it is, the park/Six Flags/Sally planned the attraction, none of us did and unless someone donates a lot of $ to add something they may want, it'll be what it is when it opens. Sit down, enjoy the ride for what it is and get back in line (or don't).

I agree with you that it would be nice to have, but I'm just not sure how feasible that would really be. Every ride has its own parameters for operation and every state has its own rules for adherence to manufacturers' restrictions. Rides themselves can also be so temperamental as is. Even with the same ride at two different places, they are just going to respond differently to their environments. I'm not sure I could expect both FOFs to operate the same / tolerate the same conditions as each other**, much less Goliath at SFOG and Diamondback. The same would go for Ninja at SFMM and The Bat; Silver Bullet at Knott's and Banshee; and Racer 75 at KD and The Racer. **See infamous stories of KI's FOF causing electrical issues while Drop Zone lifted through its brakes as just one example of a location-specific quirk, something every ride has in one way or another.

In 1991, when Smurf's Enchanted Voyage closed for Phantom Theater construction, the park opened two additional rides for Winterfest to compensate for the dark ride being closed (Dodgem and Antique Cars). It would have been nice for the park to go the extra mile and open something new that isn't usually open since Boo Blasters is offline this year.

For sure! On here it's been great, other forums and Facebook groups/pages haven't been as positive. 'Thoosies drive me nuts in general, but especially when it comes to picking apart new rides (anywhere) complaining that the parks/companies should have done x,y,z instead. Then they're the first ones to cry when those rides eventually get removed/the ones who monopolize the conversations instead of just enjoying them for what they area. Maybe, as my age has progressed and life has hit me fairly hard over the past year, I just tend to enjoy things for what they are instead of wishing/hoping for something different.

Everyone on this forum's been cool with it, but I dislike all the people who are like "Six Flags cancelled KI's family thrill attraction for 2026 it was going to be a coaster!!! Phantom's a cheap replacement" as if in less than a year they completely cancelled their plans for a coaster, and completely developed a completely original dark ride and built all the effects for it. (Even if I personally would've preferred a family coaster)

I agree as long as it's better maintained than Boo Blasters had been, I'll be happy. A lot of people have been waiting so long for PT to return... I have faith in KI for this one.

Only thing that could really ruin it for me would be lack of regular upkeep.

New (or at least new to me) rigging in the carousel pavilion, presumably for WinterFest?

They were mislead? I get that investors aren't necessarily park specialists, but anyone with any exposure to legacy Six Flags knows how they had deferred maintenance, underinvestment and slashed staffing to the bone leading up to the announcement of the merger. The more this shakes out, the more it smells. Meanwhile, the "architects" of the merger will collect their golden parachute. If the company survives, they can make their money after the stock rebounds after this great reset. If the company doesn't survive, as we know it, I hope these folks loose what equity they have built up in the stock. Lawsuit: Six Flags misled investors about park conditions before merger with Cedar Fair - cleveland.com https://share.google/gifvfcjHO2tGGeMCH

They could make a dent in the debt load if they were able to offload 3-4 "non-core" parks in a package. It may take inclusion of a marquee "core" park to sweeten the deal and bump the price though.

I think the issue that shapes a lot of the discourse about food at the parks is that the passholders who have the dining plan and go all the time know which places have good food. For example, I know that the chicken tenders at Festhaus are the Sysco Special, so I just don't get chicken tenders there and go to Chicken Shack instead. But Tammy Ticketholder who comes to the park once or twice a year isn't going to know that and is going to assume the food is similar quality everywhere since the prices are similar everywhere. And then when she's disappointed with her $17 meal and shares her experience, passholders scold her for not knowing better and drop the classic "I haven't had any problems this year" line. On a totally unrelated note, I wish they had the buffalo chicken flatbread and harvest flatbread at Street Pizza all the time. They definitely looked a little sloppy and could be messy to eat, but I would take those over the regular LaRosa's pizza any day.

Looks like a fun little coaster. We go up to Louisville every fall for Louder than Life and this year the festival included KK admission. Got to visit the park for the first time in 35 years and enjoyed it. The festival signed a 10 year contract with the park and it looks like the money is being put to good use.

My lady and I got to the park before 2PM yesterday and we were disappointed that we didn't get a chance to hit all the B&Ms once more before they were done for the season. But alas, they were down. Much of the park was honestly very dismal yesterday. However, I did get a first ever experience with getting a bit of a snowy ride on Delirium for the first time ever. That was something. That was the only ride going in Action Zone. Most of the flats were running and Racer/MT/FoF were of course going as they would during WF. We noticed a lot of the eateries were breaking down for the season and really just as a whole, the park felt like it might close earlier than 7 due to the weather getting marginally worse and the overall crowds being non-existent. I will say the $2 sale inside the gift shop by the entrance by the lockers was a nice surprise. We got a few mugs, cups and a magnet. Granted they were Orion overstock, still can't beat $2!

You didn't hear about The Beast being open for WinterFest? For the three trains that could run once, it would the The Thrill of a Lifetime!

Wind also came into play....

I appreciated that the park was open this past weekend, but I thought it was very strange that all the non-Winterfest rides went down for weather around 1 yesterday and didn't come back up. It was cold, but I was at Canada's Wonderland the weekend before and they ran everything all weekend, even though the temperature there was colder than it was in Mason yesterday. I know Canada has wheel heaters in the station. Maybe it would be wise for Kings Island to invest in those so that they can run their rides in colder temperatures, if they plan on having this bonus weekend in future years. At the very least, it would be nice to have standardized policies so that you know that all the B&M gigas across the chain will operate in this temperature, all the B&M hypers, etc.

True, but my hope would have been that they would have spun off the new company (the combined SEA/FUN) into a new IPO that may have gotten Scott Ross & Hill Path to take the profits and exit. (I realize that may just be wishful thinking…) To be honest, I’m really surprised Hill Path didn’t cash out a long time ago—they bought most of their shares in the sub $20 price point and the stock now routinely (for a few years now) trades in the plus $50 range (and a few brief times in the +$60 range). I would have thought the fund investors would have wanted to take their profits and cash out a while ago.

I guess the easy solution would be (crazy idea here) heaters and seating at all outdoor entertainment venues so at least the outdoor shows are tolerable and get the crowds the performers deserve. And yes to the Showplace renovation- I’ve said that for years, then a show like swinging or follies could go there instead of bandstand.

All this not to mention the layout plans next to the concept art! You can't read much on it, but I can definitely say it looks like the theater scene will return. The track layout is the same. I think the concept art is in scene order as well. Even if they've changed the scenes, it's at least a base for the ride. The very cartoon-ish elements appear to be there, but I can't tell how much they persist from this image. I could also believe that most of the "working" items on that wall are for PT:ON alongside the 30 panels of scene concepts. There looks to be concepts for a balcony, a mirror, and a gargoyle dude there too.

I’ve been aware of this concept art for awhile now. On one hand it’s a leak so I didn’t really want to give it more attention, but since it’s been cycling around now, I do truly think these are conceptual sketches and not the actual scenes from the ride because it contradicts with what I’ve been hearing from some people building it. From my view most of these are too low quality to make out, but for example there’s two versions of the theater scene: One with a smaller-scale version of the pepper’s ghost effect and one with a screen. I believe the 3rd concept art is of Larry in place of Maestro’s stage in the beginning scene, and from what I’m told that’s something that’s been changed by this point. Slightly related, but I do hope after the ride opens, they display or share this concept art somewhere. I know recently Knott’s Bear-y Farm released a book about the history of the Knott’s Bear-y Tales dark ride, and while I was there around the time it opens I got a very cute illustrated kid’s picture book telling the plot of the ride, and I’d absolutely love for Phantom Theater to get something like that.

Nice article, Don.

^ I understand what you both are saying. But a dialog-heavy show like Tinkers needs to be in KIT so people can hear it. Festhaus has a terrible venue for this show. An off season park improvement should be the International Showplace. While a complete indoor venue would be impossible, a tiered seating arrangement with be ideal, along with firepits or heat lamps for a shorter show. You could even have two shows, 15 minutes each, at the top and bottom of the hour to take care of the cast better. KI really needs another climate controlled venue. If they ever get rid of The Junkyard Coaster, a complete revamp of this area with an pleasant looking venue, new restaurant, restrooms, etc would be ideal. I doubt that the current iteration of ownership would value this.

If I remember correctly, before the front gate on the right side of the gate, there were flower beds that featured floral arrangements of the words Kings Island and a featured ride, like The Beast.

Social media is not real life. A quick perusal of park-centric "social media" would have me believe that literally every ride at every park is closed for several hours every day, and when not closed, almost killed their father's, brother's, nephew's, cousin's, former roommate due to a restraint malfunction, etc. It's all meaningless nonsense propelled by algorithms designed to trigger outrage. As pointed out above, the only thing that matters is whether the parks are still pulling in revenue on Saturdays in October. And there has been absolutely zero indication that the parks will have any difficulty doing so. I agree that the messaging strategy regarding now up-charging for certain attractions was poor. But the fact of the matter is that it has never been cheaper, in my lifetime at least, to visit the parks. If anyone is so so price-sensitive that they're going to complain about the value proposition, previous fall attendance trends suggest that there are literally thousands of others who will happily take their place, ready to pay extra for access to haunted houses.