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What Giga? We got 2 Hypers!

Put me in the camp that hasn’t been this excited about a new ride at Kings Island since Mystic Timbers debuted in 2017.

Oh no not this again lol. I thought this horse has already been beaten dead a million times lol. I respect your opinion, but I can't see how people couldn't be excited about a 300 foot coaster lol. Look I know it wasn't Fury or Millennium but it was the biggest investment in park history. Im going to end this talk right here as there's already a million other threads on this subject. Back on topic. I'm very excited about this mainly bc I never got to ride the original Phantom Theater. I was born like a month before it closed. I haven't been this excited about a Kings Island new ride since Orion. I'm also really liking the direction the park is going with updates. It's a much bigger improvement over the very few updates we got for RiverRacers.

I'd say this is the most excited I've been for a season at the park since the 50th anniversary. Getting the new Phantom Theater, the remodeled Gift shop, restoration of the 100 year old carousel, and the return of the Monster - it's shaping up to be a good year! As for new additions, I honestly think I'm more hyped for PTON than either Orion or Mystic Timbers. I would rank my excitement for new attractions through the last decade or so as follows - 1. Banshee 2. Phantom Theater 3. Orion 4. Adventure Port 5. Antique Autos 6. Mystic Timbers 7. Woodstock Gliders/Space Buggies 8. Camp Snoopy 9. Anything to do with the water park Worth mentioning I was more excited about the retracking of The Beast and racer than I was about any new additions the last decade

That's honestly a very bold thing to say considering we got a giga coaster in that timeframe.

What would be neat is if they had the scores included on the picture!

I have faith too , but honestly I am very excited and the last time I was anticipated for a new KI ride was Mystic Timbers! 😁

As of November it’s been said to be opening with the park in April, but I think it’s too early in construction/a liability for them to confirm that it is. I also won’t claim to know anything about construction but I assume there’s less room for error when retrofitting an indoor attraction with new props than there are with an outdoor project built from the ground up. But I choose to be optimistic. I have faith in Sally Dark Rides.

I think it needs to be ESSENTIALS that are park themed. Theres nothing "essential" about a snoopy plush. There should be a dedicated shop for Peanuts there as well as in PSnoopy. I'd like to see Build A Bear go away and a full Peanuts/Loony Tunes shop take its place with a strong store design. They could even keep the "stuff it yourself" idea, just scale it back a bit to allow for other stuff. That might work better in the "Trading Post" spot since they could do some fun IP merchandising on the "porch" EMPORIUM could be current KI ride themed stuff as well as general gift and "topical" stuff like a haunt shop, new ride shop etc. Move the KIGallery to the old Build A Bear location with park history displays and vintage ride themed, park history themed things in a more "gallery" style setting. There just needs to be a reason to go in different shops - as it is now there is the same exact stuff from one end of the street to the other.

Would you like to see Kings Island and Cedar Point join the Six Flags parks with Grad Nites? https://themeparksbydon.com/six-flags-grad-nite-2026-dates/

Kings Island also didn't have the flat ground readily available like Cedar Point did. Maybe if they tore something big out or leveled an area, but that would've taken far too long.

I'm pretty positive Siren's Curse was never in the conversation to come to KI. It was SF Mexico and then SIX decided Cedar Point.

The way Mason has changed how they share permits, we won't know until the process has already started or unless someone gets any permits in person.

Canada's Wonderland did this with Leviathan. I think a year or two after it opened.

They need to revisit the story, do a bit of a relaunch.

It looks like the structure of Snowflake Lake is now entirely disassembled and crews are back to working on removing everything from International Street. I wonder if there will be any other projects going on around the park this offseason. Last year the big projects were RiverRacers, Splash River Junction, renovations to the security plazas, the KI Trading Co. renovation, the addition of the Carousel Pavilion, and the various restroom renovations. Could we see anything beyond Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare and the KI Essentials renovation?

I heard a rumor that the park turned it down bc they would've had to cut trees too close to The Beast (assuming it was going to go in The Vortex site). I don't remember where I heard it though. Not to mention The Vortex site is not flat so they would've had to do some major work to be able to put it there. I also doubt Mr. Koontz wanted to remove any more major rides for it (which is why it didn't go in the Invertigo/Congo/TW area which it actually would've fit well there). Also the park was already lined up for a waterpark expansion in 2025 which was more overdue than a major coaster. Siren's Curse likely wasn't decided on for CP until like mid summer after Mexico couldn't get it built.

I often wonder exactly how close we came to getting Siren's Curse. My guess is that had TT2 operated consistently from the start we would have gotten Sirens last year.

Thanks, robintodd, for compiling this list. It's super interesting to see this lineage listed out. I distilled the list into what I think many would consider to be "the" major coaster installments--that is, big, landmark, adrenaline pumping attractions. (I also added The Beast and Top Gun to this list... ) The Racer (1972) Screamin' Demon (1977) The Beast (1979) The Bat (1981) King Cobra (1984) Vortex (1987) --- Top Gun (1993) Flight of Fear (1996) Face/Off (1999) Son of Beast (2000) --- Firehawk (2007) Diamondback (2009) Banshee (2014) Mystic Timbers (2017) Orion (2020) What I see from looking at this data is that there have been three distinct surges of big coaster additions in the park's history: they were added consistently between 1977 and 1987; 1993 and 2000; and 2007 and 2020. It also looks like those coincide with changes in ownership: the transition from Taft to KECO is at the tail end of the first era, then the purchase by Paramount, and then Cedar Fair. It should also be noted that, overall, Cedar Fair seems to have made a special impact on the park in their time: all major coaster additions have been guest favorites and highly reliable. Their stretch of routine coaster additions also spans the longest amount of time compared to prior owners. The data also shows that while Kings Island may have always catered to families, thrill seekers were never really excluded from the equation for a majority of park history. Even in those "off years" between big coasters, there have been other significant draws for thrill seekers like Delirium, Tomb Raider, Xtreme Skyflyer, and even the backwards Racer. This is on top of other family additions like the aforementioned smaller coasters, kids area renovations, the Lion Country Safari, the original Phantom Theater, Adventure Express, etc. Overall, it's clear that the park has fared far better than many others. I also do believe that every addition we've had since Orion has been a net positive for the park as a whole. But it seems hard to not feel that there is currently an unusual and distinct lack of the fresh thrills the park has (mostly) always kept up with. The additions like Snoopy's Soapbox Racers, Adventure Port, and Phantom Theater are well-received, but in the past, there has often been a greater effort to add more extreme additions at the same time. The formula post-Orion is seemingly "one or the other," whereas the park we've been used to has often felt like "both" was an option. We are now approaching the longest gap between major thrill attractions, not just coasters, the park has ever faced. Speaking just for myself, I do feel that gap a lot these days.

The 8 or 9 year gap was based on the time from Orion in 2020 to the next major coaster installation which you anticipate in 2028 or 2029. If the park did this the whole time, they existed they would have about 6 or 7 large coasters right now assuming none of them were torn down. That is not replacement rate. Again, I think this could be a one off. Thanks for your numbers above. You did forget Firehawk in 2007*. That is worth mentioning because the seven-year gap from Son of Beast to Firehawk is for now the longest gap between large coasters in the park's history. * Also the Bavarian Beetle, The Bat (1993), and Scooby's Ghoster Coaster.

Had to do it (Again, if I missed any, let me know). Interesting how close the averages are. Blue Streak 1964 Cedar Creek Mine Ride 1969 5 Corkscrew 1976 7 Gemini 1978 2 WildCat 1979 1 Wilderness Run (Jr. Gemini) 1979 0 Iron Dragon 1987 8 Magnum XL-200 1989 2 Raptor 1994 5 Rougarou (formerly Mantis) 1996 2 Millennium Force 2000 4 Top Thrill Dragster 2003 3 Maverick 2007 4 GateKeeper 2013 6 Valravn 2016 3 Steel Vengeance (rebuilt from Mean Streak) 2018 2 Wild Mouse 2023 5 Top Thrill 2 2024 1 Siren’s Curse 2025 1 AVERAGE YEARS 3.39

I see you point, just not that adding a roller coaster is a must for a park like KI. One of the main concerns is that KI has a need for more flat rides. Also the larger the park is the more it takes to keep up the current park without adding anything new. Not sure where you're getting the 8 or 9 year gap. The last coaster we had was 2024 and I'm looking at 2029 at the lastest (hopefully 2028) for the next coaster. They have twice waited 5 years between coasters and 6 times they have waited 4 years. The Kings Island we grew up with is different than the park now. Then they were fighting to get recognition and the area around the park wasn't nearly as built up with homes as it is now. They had plenty of undeveloped land and a much smaller footprint to keep up than today. The KI of old not only had coasters but also quality shows to draw people. Not all was good, however because KI always wanted to be the "first" which burned them at times with the original Bat being the biggest example of this followed by Son of Beast. The fantastic times we grew up in with CP and KI each adding a coster every other year if not every year are gone for good (they were good times!). A park can only have so many coasters, not only for employee and maintenance costs but I'm sure there is also insurance costs. In the past they just needed to prep land and build a coster. Now they may also need to add in the cost of getting rid of an existing coaster to add a new one. I did a quick look at coasters and when they were built listing the number of years since the last coaster. (I was curious) and found the average number of years between coasters is 3.25. If I missed any in the table below let me know but I found it interesting. Again I may have missed something, let me know. I'm a data nerd so I just had to look this up. Now I need to look at it for CP. Coaster Year Built Year Since Last Coaster The Racer 1972 Woodstock Express 1972 0 Screamin’ Demon / Demon 1977 5 The Bat (1981) 1981 4 King Cobra 1984 3 Vortex 1987 3 Adventure Express 1991 4 Great Pumpkin Coaster 1992 1 Flight of Fear 1996 4 Invertigo 1999 3 Son of Beast 2000 1 Woodstock’s Air Rail 2001 1 Queen City Stunt Coaster 2005 4 Diamondback 2009 4 Banshee 2014 5 Mystic Timbers 2017 3 Orion 2020 3 Snoopy’s Soap Box Racers 2024 4 AVERAGE YEARS 3.25

Oh, don't get me wrong I also have a lot of faith in SDR. Everything I've seen so far makes me believe that they will get it done in time for Opening Day, especially if they just need to install sets and such once it gets to the park. I'd assume that most of the major interior renovations were completed with the electrical work (whenever that was posted) and the rest is paint and installation. The parts that didn't look ready for installation were the lobby (queue) and exterior. As for the set pieces we know how some of the scenes look, like the dressing room hallway, parts of the prop room/boiler room, and one of Maestro's organs. I have a theory that the giant pipe organ that used to be between the living room and the dungeon will be reused in that same spot in the new ride. One thing I'm still curious about is how the scoring system will be handled. Will each score be on a screen at the end like in the Justice League rides, or just in each car like it's always been?

The exterior feels like something that would be last on the list, although I think they should really just get started whenever the weather clears up enough to actually start working. Nobody wants mid-April to come around and there still be a ton of missing paint/stucco/railings. Cedar Fair/Six Flags' track record for opening attractions on time has been absolutely abysmal these past few years, so I hope they're trying their best to keep to schedule. Would the crews installing the interior be the same ones working on the exterior? If not then I'd hope they can work concurrently rather than needing work on one to be done before the other begins. We haven't seen anything about PT:ON potentially being ready by Opening Day either, but hopefully the plan is to have it open with the park. I feel like in years past (pre-2021) we would've heard about a first rider charity auction by now as well.

I've always thought of KI Essentials being more of a "forgot something? Get it here" store for medicine and some outerwear for the park.

^ You may have missed my point which was that there are longer term effects when not investing. They may not see a drop in attendance those 2 – 4 years, but in the long-term the park can start to suffer. Full retracking/refurbishment of steel coasters is exceedingly rare. I can only think of four occurrences off the top of my head. Usually by the time a steel coaster needs retracking it is no longer popular enough to justify a very expensive retrack. There may end up being a longer life for B&Ms and Intamins vs the old Arrows, but that is an unknown at this point. The 8 or 9 year gap between coasters you lay out is just not sustainable if Kings Island is to remain the Kings Island we grew up with. Note that I do recognize the unusual circumstances the park finds itself in right now so this could be understood by the park with this being a one-off.

Kings Island and Six Flags should bring in Alex Honnold to climb the Eiffel Tower. It would be a spectacle—up there with the Wallenda skywalks and Knievel jumps. https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/25/sport/alex-honnold-taipei-101-free-solo-netflix-intl-hnk

I didn't say they never have to add another roller coaster, my statement was they could not adding anything new in 2- 4 years. Only Flight of Fear would fall in that timeframe. With it being an indoor coaster out of the elements it's life could be longer than other metal costers. Remember Corkscrew at Cedar Point is still operating after 49 years (built 1976). It has been shown that metal coasters can have re-tracking done such as Fury 325 a couple years ago. According to chatgpt: Common operational lifespan for a medium-sized steel coaster is often around 30–40 years before major refurbishment, retracking, or retirement becomes economically likely for a park. Some parks invest in continuous maintenance and retracking, allowing coasters to operate well beyond that range (50+ years) if they remain popular and structurally sound. Interestingly enough the oldest operating all steel coaster is Little Dipper at Memphis Kiddie Park in Ohio (yes a kiddie coaster) was made in 1952. Remember we had Firehawk and Vortex at one time. Both "large" coasters. The only replacement was Orion. People still keep coming. It's not all about coasters especially as KI tries to become more family friendly. That being said, I would expect a new coaster in 2028 or 2029 at the old Vortex spot.

I don't agree with the statements on the park not needing more attendance at all. While the park may get busy more often than not, we live in a world where consistent additions and upgrades are almost required to keep a place like Kings Island popular. Without that year-after-year constant investment I'd start to think we were becoming more like Dorney Park or Kings Dominion than Cedar Point and Carowinds. We'll see more on how that might turn out after this year if Cedar Point does indeed finally take a year off from additions. As for bringing back Grad Nite, I think it'd be a good thing to try out again. Kings Island has gone through so much change since its last Grad Nite event and the habits of high school seniors has also changed. The park also has a stronger security presence, so if anything starts up there is a better chance of catching it before it's too late. This would also only take up 1-2 nights each year, therefore not adding to the number of people in the park during the day. Any additional guests would likely be those who would already come with their school during a standard park field trip. I personally went on the trip during my senior year of high school and had to contend with all of the other seniors in addition to all of the families who were already at the park for the day. If anything, adding a Grad Nite would take guests out of the park and make it less busy during the day in exchange for it being closed early for a special event one night per year. It would be amazing if we could also get one or two other one-night special events each year to help bring in more money for the park.

I don't see why not. KI and CP used to host grad nites I believe CP hosted one up until like 2017 or 2018 (correct me if I'm wrong). I don't remember the last time KI did. I think KI should host one. It would be a great opportunity for local schools around here. I'm just wondering if the park is scared to host it bc of past "incidents" involving school age kids making front page news at the park and they don't want that to potentially happen and ruin grad nite.

I too like some of the others on here thought the Phantoms were too "cute" or "friendly" when I first saw them but the design has grown on me. In the original they were borderline creepy and I think that's the difference in the two attractions - original phantom they were meant to be creepy and haunted. The new one they are supposed to be engaging characters once again but they are a bit more family friendly. I think it has the potential to be a great ride and as I have said before I think it's great that people are being creative and not just bringing back a 30 year old ride. I know we still have beloved old dark rides at Disney or Knoebels but when you are creating something new for today's audiences I think it's natural that it changes a bit from what the expectations of a dark ride were in 1992. Oh I also don't think I've mentioned yet that I think the red "box seats" or doom buggies look better than even the original ones did. The greyish blue was classic of course but the red gives it a real restored theater vibe. Really digging the red ride vehicles

AI doesn’t do a good job of detailing things that a high quality camera can. You can see the individual strands of hair, the fuzz in the coat, etc. Also piano keys are consistent so I would argue the image is authentic.