Leaderboard

The furnace heat blaster and the flower smells were working on Saturday.

Wonder if it's KI, SALLY or a combo of both still making these tweaks. It seems like theres more dialogue now as well, or at least yo can hear it better. I rode it this week 2x and feel like the ending w Maestro and Larry had different lines each time - both ending with a variation of "You'll be back:"

Music definitely seems better. The entrance area seems to have a track ive not heard previous to this week. The overall sound system seems to be running an underscore based on the original theme, and the in-car audio seems to be carrying Larry's voice over with individual characters having their own dedicated speakers. Sound levels in the queue seem much better as well with both characters being heard in all areas of the queue.

I will wave at you as you pass on the west side of Indy on 70. I can almost see 70 from my house for I am 1/4 mile north of the Airport. So when you see the airport control tower you are the closest to my house. You will know when you hit Indiana but not by the sign, but by having to dodge potholes between each state line.

National Carousel Day is July 25, and there’s no better place to celebrate than aboard one of America’s most beautiful historic rides. Discover why Kennywood’s iconic Merry-Go-Round has been creating memories for nearly a century. FULL STORY: https://themeparksbydon.com/celebrate-national-carousel-day-kennywood-merry-go-round/

Gotta say, they‘re putting the work into getting it right. Appreciate the dedication. Kudos.

The unlimited option not working at parks outside your region is a pretty big downgrade, especially given the significantly higher cost. Can't wait to see all the food that gets thrown away next year because people didn't know they were out of meals or that the rules changed yet again.

So what I'm hearing is that they should just build another fort around the SoB station 🤣 I will say that the structure already doesn't look terribly great. Even with the nostalgia and speculation surrounding it, we have to recognize that the old photo booth is in tatters, there's a "random" overgrown queue line, the fencing around the station is continuing to deteriorate, and the structure itself is rusting away. If it is to be demolished before the end of the year then I bet it'll be after the park goes to weekend operations. That timeline would allow them to bring more equipment onto the pathway during the week (or bring anything down from the station via the exit ramp). Once everything is removed from the station they can start demolishing the exit ramp and bring the rest of the structure down without having to close The Bat and Banshee.

I can confirm from an inside source that a pile of dirt on the former SoB station platform has indeed moved. Many Bothans died to bring us this information.

John Reilly and the rest of the new(er) corporate team seem to be more invested in seasonal festivals and events than anyone was right at the time of the merger. It feels like they really want things to change, but as always their budget is limiting what can and can't be done. If they can actually get through this park portfolio optimization and continue to pay off the massive amount of corporate debt then I think we will see more improvements. The short answer to "Why continue to host Carnivale if it's watered down?" is because they already had all of the assets for it sitting in storage. I'm hoping that this being the last year is because corporate has a plan for something new to come next year. I, personally, enjoy Grand Carnivale for the general atmosphere but wish they would be able to host more things throughout the day. The watering down of the event over the past 3-5 seasons it's been held is very evident, though I also have to imagine that it's reputation has also been stained by everything that's happened during its tenure. It's clear to me that there were major plans in place during the 2019 season that were entirely stopped by everything that followed. We first saw Grand Carnivale in 2019 alongside the renovation of International Street and the expansion of other events (Haunt alone received four new scare zones and a new show that year). HalloTween debuted as the early-teenager Halloween event. The pandemic ruined any plans for events in 2020, including whatever remained of The Great Pumpkin Fest and HalloTween. Tricks and Treats Fall Fest was introduced as the filler event and proceeded to take over from the other two family events in 2021. 2022 brought us the wonderful 50th anniversary celebration, and then it was back to the status quo in 2023. Halloween Haunt received upgrades in 2024 with the new interactive lanterns, and received two new experiences in 2025 with Order of the Dragon and The Conjuring: Beyond Fear. (I'm still a little upset that the Tower Gardens interaction points were removed for 2025.) If the corporate team succeeds in making new festivals happen across all of the parks then I think we'll see some good results, but they need to make sure that whatever is put on has more staying power built into it. Either way, those are just my thoughts on the matter.

Yes, I was so happy to re-home Tag to a fellow Kings Island fan/collector. He will be safely preserved in a private collection along with many other very special KI artifacts.

There are some people who I consider a gift to humanity. He was definitely one of them. What an incredible life!