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Man….I miss the days when an event review topic was actually about the event and not just constant off topic bickering. How about we swing back to Haunt. Has anyone gone the last couple of weekends, how has the weather affected crowds and experiences? What has been everyone’s favorite maze, scarezone, or show. Anything that is back on the actual topic….

Come on a day with rain in the forecast...keeps the crowds away they say....line to AE lol

The weather doesn't appear to have impacted attendance like one would think.

Agreed-to transactions? Like the Prestige Pass bait and switch perks? Oh, wait. That’s right. They have the ability revoke any agreed upon “transactions” at their discretion. And while nobody is forcing either side to “engage,” this type of business practice is damaging to your potential/current customer base. Yes, it’s a business. But taking advantage of your consumers in the way Cedar Fair has been doing as of late is absolutely the opposite of what you would want to do as a business owner. I’ll echo other’s sentiments by agreeing that customers deserve better.

I feel like a Surf Coaster would probably be unique enough from other B&M models that the general public wouldn't really bat an eye over it being a fourth B&M. I've seen many comments from people who have ridden Pipeline at SWO, and they usually rave about how unique the ride experience is from anything else they've ridden. Keep in mind, SWO is a park that already has four B&M coasters and is about to get a fifth next year.

A perfect example are the coasters that Canada’s Wonderland pitched to their fans: two were wing coasters (one interacting with Wonder Mountain and the other being music related) and one being a Zambezi Zinger type GCI. I have no doubt CF wants to disperse unique rides across the chain. “Unique” is a subjective word though. To someone who lives in KI’s target regions, a dive is likely to be considered unique as the closest one outside of Sandusky is in Virginia. If they want to give KI something that’s “unique” they’d have to give them a spinner, a surf, or something from Vekoma or another manufacturer. The problem is, the park has a gap that it needs to fill with a looping coaster that sits above the track, in that case the main “unique” option that would excel would be a mini dive with at least 5 inversions. I think if you wanna give us something truly unique you replace Invertigo and Congo with a Surf but then we’d have so many B&Ms people would be in an uproar.

Also, I believe the reason we don't see 10-seater dive coasters anymore is because of the vest restraints requiring wider seats.

This is as of recently. In 2022 earnings call CF stated they were looking to add more unique attractions to their parks. The attractions that were added prior to 2022 was not driving up attendance the way they wanted according to CF. That’s why recently we have seen so many unique additions to CF parks. The only reason they added Iron Menace to DP is because it is unique because there is no dive coaster anywhere near there. And notice it’s a narrow track dive coaster so even more unique. My point is CF is taking a different direction in the attractions they are adding instead of plain launch coasters or hyper coasters, we are seeing more unique rides like the world’s first ground up Titan track coaster aka Zambezi Zinger. That is the type of rides CF is looking for.

If it was my choice. I’d like to see the park focus more on building indoor coasters. That way if they do go to year round ops. There will be a decent lineup regardless of weather. At the end of the day I’d rather see the park get the best bang for the buck coaster wise. Filling a hole in the lineup just to fill a hole doesn’t always produce the best results. **cough cough** Orion.

Valravn and Yukon Striker have the 8 row models and they have similar attendance. I see your argument for higher capacity trains- if you want with 7 seaters, you can use the standard B&M track over the larger ones that you see on the 8/10 seater coasters. 7 seater vs 8 seater trains is a difference of 3 people which, in my opinion, isn’t a huge loss in ridership….especially if the money you’d be spending on wider track would instead be going to more inversions or longer track length.

I admittedly don't know the context, but I don't really put much weight in any "unique attractions" comments. Cedar Fair's MO has been that if an attraction fills a hole in a park's lineup they'll add it regardless of similarities to another park. The only concern I have with B&M dive coasters is capacity, so while I'd personally prefer to see a wing coaster (GK at CP has monstrous capacity), it just seems like a dive coaster is a better fit for that spot. Capacity is also the reason why I think it'd be a mistake to go with anything other than the 10 seat wide model at a park the size of KI.

To me that’s like saying Raptor and Banshee can’t coexist in the same state. I think Valravn was made just to have another 200fter that broke records at the time. With Steel Vengeance and Top Thrill 2 coming along, Valravn has sorta fallen into the “part of the collection” category imo. I think we could have a dive of our own, if it’s more like Steel Menace where it’s more focused on inversions over height. If you go with a 6/7 seater dive, you could get away with standard B&M track so you could put more money into length/ inversions. If you could get a mini dive that squeezes out 5/6 inversions, you’d have a suitable Vortex replacement while offering the dive aspect.

What about have B&M recreate The Vortex layout with a sit down or floorless coaster?

I do think a B&M Dive would look really good on that plot, they could have the lift hill and turn into the drop mimic the lift hill and drop on Vortex. However, I just don't know if Kings Island would want a B&M Dive considering Valravn is in the same state and apparently Cedar Fair stated they wanted to add unique attractions to their parks. For a new B&M, it seems a B&M Surf Coaster would be a good option for that as it's a new and unique model that doesn't have anything like it nearby.

A B&M dive coaster seems like a natural fit for The Vortex site, given the elevation change.

Welcome to KIC!

I know it probably wouldn’t happen but since Cedar Fair is working with Vekoma again, I love the idea of a Vekoma Launched Flying Coaster like F.L.Y. at Phantasialand. It sounds like it has been pretty popular and the capacity is much better than any other flying coaster model. Obviously I think its popularity is greatly helped by the amount of theming that went into it and it’s interaction with the land it’s in. If King’s Island did go for the Vekoma Flyer, I think they should transform the old Vortex plot, Backlot Stunt Coaster, and the end of Coney Mall into a new mini land, similar to what they did with Adventure Port. I think a 50s theme would work best given the 50s style diner is already down there. I saw an idea tossed around on another thread about retheming Backlot Stunt Coaster into something themed to Route 66 and I think that would fit well in this kind of area. The new flying coaster could be themed around aviation in the 50s, which was the “golden age of air travel”, and should feature good interaction with the scenery and guests while also giving good photo opportunities, similar to Vortex. It should also obviously include a few inversions though I would not want this to be the focus. This would give King’s Island another desperately needed launched coaster with a gimmick that could make it highly marketable and an unique ride experience to the region. It would add to the inversion count of KI, which has been down ever since the removal of Vortex. It would also enhance the park’s aesthetics and theming and could maybe end up being the standout coaster KI needs. Ultimately, this is just a pipe dream but I would love to see this in the future.

They did half....so half an attraction and then remaining half of the parking lot.

Instead of a new attraction they should repave the parking lot!

Not unless Kings Island waits 4-5 years after The Vortex replacement to do the new Action Zone coaster or vice-versa.

The Bat is back! Just waited more than an hour (1 hr, 5 min, to be exact) and I’d say it was worth it. Line started to move faster once I got to the last set of downward stairs. While I’m glad I got to ride, if it’s time, it’s time. I just hope its (eventual) replacement keeps the rainforest