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^^Voyage destroys The Beast imo. In fact I prefer Mystic Timbers over The Beast. While Beast has been running better in recent years thanks to the awesome work from the Gravity Group, rides like Mystic and Voyage has that non stop action packed airtime/twisted filled ride while Beast is mainly drops, gradual turns, and straight sections.

Exactly this. The Voyage is the one and ONLY roller coaster on the planet that, if magically placed side by side with SV, would make the decision hard on which to ride if I only had time to ride one.

"Every sign has a starting point. 🔨 🎨 We're going behind-the-scenes with a look inside the #KingsIsland sign shop, where the park’s personality is built, painted & brought to life!" Kings Island just released this video and I thought it was very interesting & informative! https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18rtkQmBj9/

I would say that the flashlight aspects of the ride help with its rerideability, but compared to some other parks all the KI dark rides have stuck around for a comparatively short time. I think if they changed up the audio for a holiday overlay that could extend the variety for the passholders who’d be riding this attraction frequently. Hopefully these characters become mainstays in the park, and in 10-15 years they choose to update the ride rather than making a 7th dark ride in that space. I haven’t seen this talked about much so I imagine most people won’t notice, but the onboard audio is different for every other car which I appreciate. And they are seemingly adjusting the audio so each car only hears it once. Hopefully by June the ride can be operating and it’s full potential (I still have no idea what’s going on with that character behind the curtain)

Its sloppy and really just absolutely sick of AI being used everywhere. There is literally nothing good about AI that I can think of. I just want clean air, water, land and for people to use the thing between their ears.

I feel like KI might have to make alterations in a few years. There’s nothing wrong with the Opening Night story, but I feel like plot based rides usually have a shelf life, or at least the story does. Compare that to Mystic Timbers or Verbolten where there are multiple story possibilities that keep the experience feeling fresh. Then look at more ambiguous rides like the Haunted Mansion and the original Phantom Theater where the mystery allows for deeper lore building and immersion, which is part of what makes them feel timeless. For more context- for the original Phantom Theater: Maestro is the main speaker where he goes through 6 different spiels in the que, I believe 2 while he’s holding the curtain open, and I believe 3 when you see him before the prop room. There are other characters with minor speaking roles I’m sure @BryanJay can list but what I’m trying to say is that there was variety in the ride. Compare that now where you hear: ”Are you ready to be an usher?- it’s 10 minutes ‘til showtime” or “with one wave of my magic wand” on repeat. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy the park brought back the IP- I just hope they look into adding more variety in the audio for future seasons to add to the experience.

Twenty years after its debut, The Voyage still delivers one of the most intense rides in the world—and remains the best wooden coaster I’ve ridden. Read more: https://themeparksbydon.com/the-voyage-celebrating-20-years-of-wooden-roller-coaster-greatness/

It's my #1 wooden coaster as well. It wasn't until I rode a night ride on Dollywood's Lightning Rod 10 years later, that anything wood or steel compared even closely in excitement and intensity. I love Mystic Timbers, but I think there is a market at Kings Island for a wooden coaster that is taller and faster (maybe even longer!) than The Beast (as long as it's properly executed this time). It's just rather unfortunate because wooden coasters are cheaper. For the money they spent on the ho-hum Orion they could have built the best wooden coaster in the world.

Well the rights to both characters in terms of amusement park attractions belongs to six flags now so that's a similarity haha

I might be crucified but I actually prefer the Voyage slightly over The Beast. Never thought I'd say that but Voyage has the length and speed and offered a slightly more exciting layout. They are my top 2 wooden coasters - I see it as The Beast is the legendary classic and the voyage was the same idea but built decades later with all the modern elements and transitions. Both are amazing rides - the single best element on any wooden coaster is still the double helix finale on The Beast but I think the voyage is the stronger coaster by just a tad over the course of the entire run

RMC has made some amazing rides with impressive technology but Will Koch and the Gravity Group brought that special spark of creation to make The Voyage such a unique and incredible ride.

Great article Don! Next to a Beast night ride, The Voyage is hands down my favorite wooden coaster ever. The Voyage is the most unrelenting and aggressive coaster and I love every second of it. I was lucky enough to ride it over 20 times in one day last time I was there a couple years ago. Cannot get enough of it, although as I get a bit older I have to recuperate a bit the next day...ha!

100% while I'd much prefer them to hire a real artist or graphic designer the could have at least done their due diligence to make sure AI created realistic designs based on real photos or artwork. These look amateur at best and like they only prompted AI once and did not editing of whatever it spit out the first time. They shirts and designs look horrible and I've even seen some merch in the pass holder group with the park name spelled incorrectly due to AI merch errors....like what the heck literally nobody checked this before they hit print because the amount of errors is insane! The only way to send the message tho is to not buy this merch and let it all hit the discount racks next season when they realize they couldn't sell it. As long as people buy AI slop like this there is no incentive to stop creating more AI slop merchandise

I just wonder how hard it is to slap a PNG logo on shirt or hoodie as opposed to asking AI to make something that’ll be sold. I did this in literally 2 minutes without AI.

I wouldn't be surprised if Invertigo closes the same year the park starts construction on whatever is replacing Vortex.

And I would honestly be shocked if Tony Carovillano isn't the same way. After all he was supervisor at Vortex during its first few years I believe. I'm honestly sure any park president who knows and understands the park doesn't want to lose any of their major rides especially when they still haven't replaced the one removed years prior.