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I'm keeping a close eye on KK. For the first time in its history, I think its making some amazingly positive changes. From what I hear, the investment shows - and the revitalization will continue.

All the props in the window displays are from Encore.

Sadly it’s not getting better- actually worse. Tonight a good 40-50% of the on ride screens were out. Only one load window worked, one organ window worked, one mirror worked, one boiler video was frozen till we almost past it- the first one still off. Interesting that outside of the mirrors and boiler ones, these aren’t synced with anything- just loop. Not sure why it’s so hard to keep these going. Only seen them working on preview day. Whatever people think is “supposed to happen” with the legs behind the curtain- I think what we have is it. With daily ops about to start, I don’t see any “new or broken effects” being added. I think it’s shoes behind a curtain- nothing more The sticker signs keep peeling, and I keep sticking them back down. But I’ve been doing that since previews so it’s an ongoing problem that’s not being fixed. Cmon guys. This is your “big add” for the season. Treat it as such.

I hold to my theory that the food at KI looks better without the annoying paper and portion cups.

I'm glad they went with different because we'd probably not have Beast if they kept it safe.

Invertigo is indeed open!

I don't know the reason Intamin and RMC use those stupid style of seatbelts. Even for people who have no issues with the length, it's an awkward reach, especially if the person has range of motion issues with the shoulder. Traditional "make it click" belts like B&M use would be much better.

Invertigo has reportedly re-opened, I have not confirmed this myself however. photo from u/coasterelement

Well when a company shows they care about the park they run (jk) I think Snoopy's Soapbox racers is really nice for what it needed to be, and I think this is exactly what Kentucky Kingdom needed as well. Kentucky Kingdom needed a good rebuild, while Kings Island has needed to re-strengthen its already-good existing lineup.

Notes from my Thursday ride on PT:ON (mostly criticisms, but I have to add that my love of the ride outweighs my criticisms): The queue felt very empty, but then again the park did as well. I got in line around 1:56PM and was boarding within 20 minutes. The line constantly moved, but I did notice the queue signage is looking worse for wear after less than a month of opening. Each of the emergency exit gate signs need to be connected from the top and the bottom of the gate. The wall sign stickers also need to be replaced with actual signage, but those aren't as important to me. Most of the animatronics are still working really well. I think the first Hilda was the only one I noticed being "wrong". That said, they all still need a B-Mode and everyone needs more lines overall. If I'm gonna hear the noises from 3 scenes away I don't want to hear the same thing three times. The first boiler screen was on today(!) but it showed a "No Signal" screen on. Here's to hoping for it to be fixed Something that keeps bothering me is how easily I can see the ceiling, especially in the turntable room. I think if the lights were pointed down just a little more and had less-soft lighting then it would do a lot of good. I don't think the new spacing of the ride vehicles is working out too well. Maybe it's fine for groups of 3+ people, but I've noticed that everyone seems to "crowd in" on the ghost notes as soon as they can reach them, which lags the flashlight response time. I'd understand if they need the extra time to reset the system but even then I've noticed that the notes just turn off before the cars are out of the sightline. I'd prefer to see the cars spread back out for 2027. How many of the dressing room doors in the shop windows are originals, from Phantom Theater Encore, and/or brand new? I've been wondering what y'all think. Day 14 of quietly pleading for that Halloween Haunt overlay using the original voice lines. Kings Island and Sally you can re-record them if you have to, but they need to have the antagonistic feel for it to work.

Has anyone else noticed that, with the addition to the Preferred Lot, most of the remaining section of Banshee (the part closer to the park) is being blocked off for more bus parking? I tried to park over there a few weeks ago before they got the cones entirely set up and was asked to park elsewhere. Security had it the cones set up as if they were marking the new exit lane so it wasn't clear what it was for, but they were going around ensuring people didn't park there. I appreciate that they're using that as a temporary addition to the bus lot, I just wish they would have signage up for it. If the parking lot ever got a complete repaint I'd love to see KI angle the spots so it's easier to get in and out of them. They also really need to do something about the 4(?) party spots at the front of Preferred and the ends of each row where folks love to park on busy days. It'll be expensive (adding concrete curbs to an area that's long been unbroken asphalt often is), but it would be worth the cost. Some additional notes from my Thursday visit to the park: The park was somewhat empty for the amount of busses I saw in the parking lot. There is a sign on the map across from Peanuts Showplace that still has Boo Blasters on it. I saw a COSI truck at the park (I forgot it was a physics and math day) which was interesting. The 3 car KI&MVRR train felt really nice and filled up remarkably well for how empty the park felt. I wondered if there's a reason as to why there aren't more tables on the order pickup side of Tom + Chee. The gap between the tables and the fence feels very wide, and it doesn't look like the fence has any openings beyond the gate on the International Showplace side. No signs of life (or demolition) in the Son of Beast station. I thought about riding The Bat, but I was already supposed to be leaving so I could get to work on time. Invertigo was testing as I left and sounded a lot better than I remember.

At this point I'm hoping that in 2027 the park takes a break from any new ride and puts their capex towards live entertainment and special events. More like what Kings Dominion is doing. Great Adventure started their Safari Spring Break celebration on opening day and had multiple shows starting opening day. No reason KI can't do the same. I'm going to put my wishful thinking hat on and list what I would do if I were in charge of the park in 2027 while keeping things realistic. I will use the 2027 calendar as a reference for dates. Friday April 16th - Perks and Play Season Passholder Preview Day: I wouldn't change much from this year, but I would add some special activities like what Carowinds did. I would partner with a local charity and invite people to donate certain things towards it and would offer special rewards based on what and how much was donated. I would also hold a Q&A/presentation event in the Kings Island Theater and would show off what is new and what is coming up in the season and maybe drop a few surprises or hints about an upcoming new attraction (2028) Saturday April 17th - Opening Day: This I would make into more of an event. Think Reds Opening Day! I would start by inviting all the local High School and College marching bands and local organizations and would form an opening day parade. The parade would take place around noon and would run the Grand Carnivale/Winterfest parade route. The park would open with a special opening day ceremony right before 10 and would feature speakers like the park president, the executive chef, and more. Then an honorable family would be chosen to come up and help count down and press the "button of fun" to open the park where confetti and ribbons would be shot out announcing the park is open for the season! During the day both Hifi Honey and River City along with a few other local bands would be set up doing sets on stages throughout the park mainly the Festhaus, Bandstand, and Carousel Pavilion. I would also invite multiple local food trucks and have like a food truck festival going on around the Eiffel Tower. I would also invite a bunch of local radio stations to exhibit and broadcast live at the park that day. Saturday April 24th - Sunday May 16th - Food and Wine Festival: First change I would make is moving Food and Wine up earlier. Most parks that have food and wine hold it during the springtime and not early-mid Summer time. This would also help free up space later for more events which I'll get to in a moment. What I would do is make food and wine more immersive. Instead of being just contained to the Tower Gardens/Carousel area I would expand it to around and under the Eiffel Tower as well as down both sides of International Street. I would also add a tasting card and focus more on the food than the wine like what other parks do. I would also add more activities outside of the few lawn games and the mural painting. I would do other crafts like tye dyeing a F&W festival T shirt, decorate your own wine glass (plastic glass), as well as more games and would host some sort of eating competition or try to break some sort of record (like what Carowinds did with the whole hopscotch thing) Fridays from April 23rd through May 21st - Food Truck Fridays: This was an event the park had in like 2016-2017 where every Friday in the spring time select food trucks would come and set up around the Eiffel Tower and the Showplace. This was a cool limited time event and a good opportunity for local food trucks. Surprised this hasn't returned. May 29th (Memorial Day weekend) - June 13th Brew and BBQ Festival: This would be a new event. This would be held in the Rivertown area starting from the Carousel Pavilion and would go through the area in front of Diamondback's entrance. This event would be set up similar to Cedar Point's upcoming Barrel's and Bites event. This one though would be partnered with local breweries. Similar to Food and Wine it would be very immersive and would be family friendly where there would be live entertainment and lots of activities for everyone to enjoy. June 5 - June 20th - Kidzfest: This event would run alongside Brew and BBQ but would be held in both the Planet and Camp Snoopy areas. It would be more geared towards kids but everyone would enjoy it. While this would be hard to do, I would attempt to get some outside IPs to come and do meet and greets and stuff like what Canada's Wonderland does. I would also have Tie dyeing parties, dance parties, crafts and would also have a lego station where kids could play with legos. I would also partner with Crayola and would allow kids to use sidewalk chalk and draw on the concrete in the area. Obviosuly there would be rules and limits with it and parents would have to supervise it and the chalk would have to be either given back or thrown away when done. But I think back to my elementary school days where at the end of the school year some kids would get to write on the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk and I remember getting real excited for summer break when seeing that! July 2-4 - Star Spangled Celebration Basically Star Spangled Nights, but I would make it 3 days instead of 1 and would make it a whole day thing instead of just a bigger firework show. Think what Cedar Point will be doing this year. I would bring in stunt performers along with roaming actors and stilt walkers/entertainers and would have extra live entertainment outside of the summer show lineup with some local bands. July 17th - August 1st - Viva La Fiesta Yes I would retire Carnivale. I feel like it has run its course and its time for something new. What I would do is would bring in Viva La Fiesta in and it would take place basically in the Adventure Port area and would run from there to the area around the Eiffel Tower and Carousel and would have the bandstand be the main stage. It would be a lot like the other parks that do it so nothing to really explain here. I would also bring the Splash Water Parade in as the Carnivale Parade replacement. It would likely run through July into some of August. I would also bring in some sort of 5k/color runs and would try and hold some dive in movies/afterhours in Soak City. I would also try and bring back passholder ride nights after park close. I would also bring back Coasterstock as it was under @DonHelbig as well as Coaster Camp Out! I'm not going to get into Haunt and Winterfest here. I would likely add an Oktoberfest though that would run alongside Tricks and Treats and would take place in the area in front of Festhaus near Viking Fury's entrance and would run to the entrance to Action Zone. Hope everyone likes my proposal. Just a reminder it is just an idea of mine and likely won't happen.

I liked the concept for the Morning Rush event. The fail for Cedar Point was labeling it as a replacement for CoasterMania, which then draws the comparison. Offering significantly less, charging more invited the backlash they received. If they had just rolled it out as an all-new event with no reference to CoasterMania, it would have been much better received. The concept was good. How it was introduced was not.

^^I agree with a lot of that. I would really like to see some sort of steel drum show or a "beachboys-ish cover band" show in Soak City I also would like to see the Area 72 launch party return along with Busker Jam in Rivertown. Also would like to see the paint show return to Snoopy. I've had similar thoughts about a KI specific summer event. I just think Viva La Fiesta would fit well in Adventure Port. Why not double and do Viva La Fiesta in AP and an "Island Nights" or "Summer Nights" event in Action Zone taking place at the same time. Have it be part of a whole "Summerbration" event.

Shout out to Tony and the Six Flags team for listening getting ratioed and having their hand forced!

The guy in question has been responding to comments about it, and, if I remember the measurements he gave correctly, he said he's about 6'2", 220lbs, and works out regularly (meaning his issue is not body fat). I think the most concerning part about this is that the park/maintenance/someone who could check does not entirely mind if guests can fit in one seat but not another. It would be much more helpful if they went the B&M route and provided a few "fluffy" seats/rows with a longer seatbelt option. Either way this is the kind of thing that should have been checked and plans made to remedy it ASAP. Yes the trains would probably need to be recommissioned, but the guest satisfaction would be worth it. The comments also make it sound like not every seatbelt got changed, just a majority of them on various seats — which would throw out the "Intamin required it" theory. That lines up with some people saying that they felt no difference while others notice an incredible difference. ALSO any rides that do have a fluffy person seat/row should make sure their ride ops/queue attendants/etc know which row(s) have that and should make an effort to put the person in that row when asked. (B&M should also make sure their dive and wing coasters have more than one fluffy seat. I had a friend who needed one but couldn't get to it because of the group they were forced to ride with.) Apologies in advance for being passionate about this kind of thing. It breaks my heart everytime I see someone get rejected from riding because of their size.

ElToroRyan has a video on the subject and its pretty clear that something changed and it can't be explained by weight gain. One guy reports having a 34" waist and not being able to ride. Probably an outlier, as body shapes vary quite a bit, but still very concerning.

I think Kentucky Kingdom got the better of the three Vekoma family coasters installed in the tri State area in the last two years.

Some entitled enthusiasts are partially to blame for this. The criticism surrounding previous Coastermania events being: the same thing every year, a money grab, park officials didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, why not "X-coaster", food is terrible etc. Then it was cancelled/ modified & the masses lost their mind oven that decision. Could it be better? Sure. Anything can be better. No reason you have to go every year. IMO- although the logistics would be VERY difficult, the park should attempt to not have the same guest consecutive years (same goes for WCO). Spread it out to the masses. I'm interested to see the next revision but did get a chuckle how quick that news came out (almost too quick) that Morning Rush was also "cancelled".

That would be a good thing to have in one section of KI Collections. They could put out some more FearFest merch (beyond just the singular pin) as well for the nostalgia points. It doesn't need to take up an entire store, just one part of one store. A Winterfest section could also work well.

I've been trying to work out comparisons between these various separately ticketed special events and haven't entirely come to a satisfying conclusion yet. So far I have: Morning Rush | Cedar Point $95 per ticket (does not include daily park admission). 3(ish) hours of exclusive ride time. 1 Premium All-Day Dining Plan wristband for after the event. 1 Single-Use Fast Lane Plus ticket to use after the event. 1 event t-shirt featuring the featured coaster and event name. Coastermania | Cedar Point ~$60 per ticket. 2 days of park enthusiast activities. [I haven't been able to look too far into what specifically the event offered, but from what I do know] Special tours, exclusive ride times, and catered meals. Holiwood Nights | Holiday World $150 per ticket 2 days of park enthusiast activities including special tours, exclusive ride times, and catered meals. Disney After Hours | Magic Kingdom Starts at $175 per ticket. Multiple nights (each separately ticketed); 10PM - 1AM, guests may enter the park beginning at 7PM. Unlimited popcorn, ice cream products, and select bottled drinks. Halloween Horror Nights | Universal Studios Florida Starts at $87.99 per ticket. Multiple nights (each separately ticketed); 6:30PM - 2AM, depending on the night. Unlimited access to haunted houses and available rides. Halloween Horror Nights Premium Scream Night | Universal Studios Florida $399 per ticket. 2 nights (each separately ticketed) 6:30PM - 1AM, guests may enter the park beginning at 7PM. Unlimited food and non-alcoholic beverages. Unlimited access to haunted houses and available rides. Universal Fan Fest Nights | Universal Studios Hollywood Starts at $74 per ticket. Multiple nights (each separately ticketed); starting at 7:30PM. Includes access to special experiences and shows, and the opportunity to purchase specialty food items and merchandise. From what I'm gathering, Morning Rush in its advertised state is a new format of exclusive ride time with some fancy add-ons included to justify the price. I think this new event was the result of Cedar Point being told to cut down Coasterstock into a new (smaller) event because the overall budget was reduced. In my opinion there's a really easy fix to make the event actually worth the price: make it a nighttime after hours event, make the t-shirt design something that you can't already get a near-exact copy of from a store, and open a few more flat rides. I understand that those four were chosen because they're in close proximity to each other, but I don't think this was thought through beyond that. What will guests do after they've ridden the four coasters? Can they use the dining plan for a treat during the event? Event admission does not include park admission for the day. If this is the "replacement" or "successor" for the enthusiast event, don't you think most guests might already have a season pass/dining plan/drink plan? I think the inclusion of the dining plan is good no matter what since you could use it to get snacks that you wouldn't normally get throughout the day. The price breakdown works out for the most part. $50 for the Premium All-Day Dining Plan, $25 for the shirt, $12 for the Single-Use Fast Lane Plus ticket, and $8 for anything else that might be needed. The cost breakdown may not be 100% how the park broke it down, but it's what I gathered from the available 2026 prices. It's not clear if the staffing costs are included in the ticket price or not. What I think this event really wants to be is an after hours event that's hosted 1-2 times per month after the park closes to the general public. Call it different things each month depending on where it's held. Midnight Midway / Shoreline Mania / Wild Frontiers / Gemini Thrills $100 per ticket. Unlimited access to one area of the park depending on the event (Main Midway, The Boardwalk, Frontier Trail + Frontiertown, and/or Top Thrill 2/Gemini Midway) from park close-midnight (3 hours). 1 Premium All-Day Dining Plan wristband use before and during the event. 1 Single-Use Fast Lane Plus ticket to use before the event. (No FastLane availability during the event.) 1 event-specific t-shirt displaying the featured area and event name.

So, I rode Phantom Theater its second weekend, and it's taken me a bit to process exactly what I think. The ride storyline? Wonderful. It reimagines the original concept of the ride (which, not to be a hater, but I think it wasn't anything to write home about) into something that has a story and a progression and is engaging. The new "guns?" Fantastic. It's such an elevation of the shooter dark ride concept to have you aim at projections instead of specific targets. They can put a target anywhere, make them move, make them disappear when shot--it's an objective improvement over the 20 year-old standard we had from 2003 to 2025. It makes the whole experience much more dynamic. The animatronics? Incredibly well-done. I LOVE the queue. The way the cars have been reconfigured to move in close groups of 1-2 cars (with plenty of space between groups) instead of consistently placing them with one empty space between? SO smart. It allows scenes to reset between groups, which was something the shooter dark rides in that building severely lacked. Giving the scenes the chance to refresh makes the experience feel a lot more intentional, rather than seeing (for example) Boocifer finish his line for the car ahead, reset, and then repeat himself, which was basically always my experience on Boo Blasters and it reminds you that you're on a dark ride instead of on an adventure. However. I feel like Kings Island, across every owner since at least 1991, has consistently bitten off more than it could chew (or, to be plain, upkeep) when it comes to theming. I fear Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare may become one of the more egregious examples of this, perhaps even by the end of the season. Adventure Express, the original Phantom Theater, Flight of Fear, Tomb Raider: The Ride, Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle, Queen City Stunt Coaster, Boo Blasters on Boo Hill, and Mystic Timbers have all opened with theming that none of the owners across those eras could or would put the upkeep budget or staffing into consistently. Boo Blasters infamously had a fog wall effect that lasted maybe a month or two after opening, disappeared, and never came back. The best that's happened (almost all within the last 5 or so years, mind you) is that some of those rides got their theming repaired and refurbished as a capital investment, meaning they became advertised additions instead of, y'know, part of the maintenance budget so the park could consistently offer top-form attractions. Without knowing details, Phantom Theater seems like the most high-tech ride to hit the park since at least 2002, possibly ever. And like, elsewhere in the park... Adventure Express's final lift is basically back where it was pre-refurb. None of Mystic Timbers' lights sway, the Coke machine doesn't move, and more. It's just the tape deck, the lights that may or may not flicker, and the projectors that may or may not properly align audio and video and train location to show you whichever monster. QCSC probably won't use the helicopter at all. Even on my Phantom ride, cracks were showing. One scene, a screen didn't play as our car passed. Another scene, the appearance/disappearance of notes was out of sync with our car. They disappeared as we passed. Neither of those ruined the experience, by any means--I'm not disillusioned with the ride because that happened. I had a great time. But I'd be lying if I said that from an upkeep standpoint, that didn't feel the slightest bit ominous. It was weekend two. I'm supposed to believe that the management who can't keep Adventure Express's final lift fully lit will keep several projectors properly calibrated with the lights from dozens of flashlights and timed with the car groups for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 6 months straight this year? I'm having a very hard time believing opening day 2027 Phantom Theater will feel like the same ride as 2026 Phantom Theater, in an unfortunate way. And it's annoying, because this is a darn good ride that millions of people should be able to experience as it was meant to be experienced. I would really, really like to be wrong. It does make me wonder what the strategy is with new rides. Like, does the ride have to serve a certain ROI the first year to be considered a success, and then it just has to be enough of a semblance of itself to not actively drag down the average guest's day while not demanding too much money? Tangentially related, I've got a hunch we'll see PT replace more of the Boo Blasters chainwide. Much like with Justice League: Battle for Metropolis, I wonder if the cost of developing the ride will be offset by copying and pasting it elsewhere. It certainly wasn't a cheaply-developed ride, and I wouldn't be mad to see it show up at some of the other parks.