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Love the new precedent of announcing Curtain Call episodes in advance so I don’t have to stress about a random drop on Thursdays. Starting the new year off right.

If the Festhaus gets any renovations I'd like to see some aspects of Sangerfest Halle (Fiesta Texas) also brought in alongside the Harmony Hall (Carowinds) elements. That building just got a nice post-merger renovation and looks really good. Two things I'd really like to see return are the streamers and the classic Kings Island sign with the ribbon behind it. I don't think the shows and the food offerings need to be German-themed, but the building being better themed would be very nice. This would also be a good opportunity for some "holiday hooks" to be installed where crews can just bring in pre-assembled decorations and hang them like they already do with wreaths and such. It would be nice to see all of the food stalls centralized in the building (like at Harmony Hall), but I recognize the logistical issues there might be with trying to fit that into the building as it currently exists. The international food hall concept could work well if they have a line for Chinese food (Panda Express), a line for "German" foods (hamburgers and such with German names), and a line for Italian food (LaRosa's). The current setup already has three big lines serviced by two kitchens, so I would think reducing it down to three lines serviced by one big central kitchen wouldn't be too bad. Side note: If that upgrade happens I really hope they don't try to put "Festhaus | International Food Hall" on any signage. I really hate the new naming scheme where everything has an extended name like "Tormenta Rampaging Run", "The Inn at Kenton's Cove" (which also has the issue of being anachronistic), or "Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad | 12 Days of Christmas" (only called that on occasion, but I've heard it enough to be upset). The new Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare name is not included in this because its name extension is used as a way to distinguish it from the original — a small but important difference. I really hope any realized version of a Vortex replacement receives a simple 1-2 word name.

Hopefully they at a minimum change the facade

Can I just say: You're my favorite part of this website. I feel like you show up every 2-6 months, tell us how hot you think Jim Cummings's voice is on Flight of Fear, and then disappear without a trace for another 2-6 months. I first heard his voice in The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, so he will always and forever sound like Tigger to me. It is always a jumpscare to hear someone actively thirsting over Tigger, in the most entertaining way possible. What a legend. Please never change or leave. I love you. EDIT: Sorry, I forgot to actually respond to the thread topic, lmao. Flight of Fear, at least to my millennial sensibilities, is kind of a cornerstone of Kings Island. Like, if I think of 4 rides that define what KI is to the majority of people at this point, I'd say (in descending order) Beast, Racer, Diamondback (or Orion), and FoF. COULD FoF go away someday? Sure, but the ride itself seems popular enough that I feel like there could be value in it getting retracked, a new LSM launch system, and new trains at some point in the next 10-15 years so it can keep doing its thing. Like, don't get me wrong, I love Adventure Express more than I love some people--but if Adventure Express can earn an ROI with a simple theming update, I feel like FoF absolutely could. Reimagined theming (probably without Jim Cummings, I'm incredibly sorry to say) and a retrack, at minimum, seems like it'd pay for itself with some kind of subtitle on the name to differentiate it from what we've known since 1996 (e.g. "Flight of Fear: Race to the Void") and some advertising.

Das Festhaus at Busch Gardens Williamsburg still serves German food along with more accessible options like pizza. It's interesting that Cincinnati's German heritage and the popularity of the various area Oktoberfest events doesn't translate to the tastes of Kings Island guests.

IMO, this would be a great location for a few things: VIP Lounge PT Gift Shop A museum Relocate Great Pumpkin Coaster indoors (silly I know but it could be another indoor attraction that isn’t dictated by the weather and could open up some space outside)

*SPOILERS* (Please avoid viewing this pdf if you don't want to see each scene listed by name over the layout of the ride, animatronic layouts, other schematics, etc.) Mason redid their whole portal system using OpenGov Citizen Services, which you can access by creating a personal or citizen account. I already have one from past uses. It's much easier to access their monthly reports which are posted and can be access without an account. I assume these will be listed on the December monthly report which should be available soon once we hit January. SPOILER: It appears there's many different versions of the plans, in which the most recent version was approved after they omitted some HVAC renovations due to budget constraints. It's not like we know the entire ride itself from these documents, but it does list each scene by name and show a general layout of some figures representing what I assume are the animatronics. By looking at the wiring diagrams and equipment lists, you can generally tell where the screens will be located, as well as a few other certain elements. If mods want to combine this with another thread or keep it separate, that's find by me. I don't think I'm breaking any rules as I think others have posted documents from the city of Mason, but I understand if this isn't allowed. Project_Barnum_APPROVED_DWGS.pdf

How many daycare centers serve German food

Too bad it hasn't worked in there. On my last Disney trip, one of my favorite places was the Biergarten in Epcot. Met people from all over the world at our table, enjoyed some decent German food, had a couple of giant glasses of exceptional beer and thoroughly enjoyed the band playing and working the crowd. It was amazing! Such a festive atmosphere!

I'd personally like to see Panda Express moved elsewhere. I agree that it doesn't necessarily need to have German food... though it IS in the last visages of Oktoberfest and IS in a German themed building. the smell of Panda Express is nauseating and overwhelming when entering the main entrance. Keep LaRosas, but I'm not sure why a place that served: Bratwurst, currywurst, weisswurst, schnitzel, roasted meats, potato specialties, etc.... wouldn't go over well... AND be a MUCH more pleasant smell upon entering. Most of those things are relatively easy to cook.... less overhead. It would NEVER work, but I always thought that it would be interesting to see what could happen if Hofbrauhaus took it over for a season and had the lively atmosphere that they have along with German-themed entertainment instead of, what is usually, a "music review." I would thin year #1 would go over because it would be something new... and something most have never seen.

I feel like "wastes" is a strong word in this case. It serves its purpose as an indoor entertainment venue much better than it did when CarnEvil was in there and only being used for a month and a half each year. The theater could use a good renovation to make it more than just a bunch of chairs in front of a stage, but having the shows in there is good for the park. I wonder if they could move the stage further down and have the chairs angled compared to the "back" (exterior) wall. It might help with fitting more seats in there. I'd love to hear some ideas as to what else could go in there besides the theater and indoor meet&greet space? Something interesting I noticed about these drawings is that some parts of it still have artifacts of a past time. The old stairs just outside of the DB Trading Post are still there despite the fact that they were removed in 2009. The differing line weights for all of the different kinds of pathway concrete/paving is also cool to see. Looking at the queue room again, I'm starting to think more and more that the animatronics and their loops shown at IAAPA will be placed here without many changes from what we saw at IAAPA. I do hope there are some more lines of dialogue added to the loop alongside getting some of that sweet organ music back in the line. It also looks like there are no connections for FunTV monitors in the queue room (other TVs/"monitors" are listed elsewhere).

Texas also has the advantage of population—both in the state overall and the individual MSAs (I’m assuming SFFT pulls pretty well from the Houston and Austin markets as well). San Antonio is also a pretty long drive from DFW—close to 5 hours if I recall correctly. San Antonio has been able to support two large theme parks in the same market for many years with both SFFT and SWT (granted, SWT is the lowest attended of the SeaWorld parks…) Doesn’t SFOT have some weird ownership situation (or maybe did int he past?). I seem to recall something about the park actually being owned by a local ownership group separate from the other parks. I may be remembering that incorrectly, but that sticks in my mind for some reason… I’m really curious about how the new Universal “kids park” will do in the DFW market—I’m sure there will be some crossover, but wonder if the target demographic is so different from SFOT they won’t really impact each other much?

Definitely would love to see a complete overhaul of Festhaus. The streamers were a nice touch back in the day. There was also the sense that the entertainment there was supposedly the best in the park; the ice show in particular was always a highlight. Now it feels like whatever show is in there is just something tossed off to play in the background while people eat. Would love a really good bit of entertainment in there. Also, I know this has been mentioned before, but I'd really like them to rethink the food options. The pizza is always among the worst in the park, and the selections aren't anything special (and Panda Express just seems odd in a German-themed building). Would love if it was rethought to an international-style restaurant, with offerings from around the world. Maybe a bit of BBQ, German food (obviously), Mexican...and you could keep Panda Express. When I was a kid, going to Festhaus was a highlight of the day; now it's just "that place we go when it's too hot or rainy." But please bring back the Blue Ice Cream beer.