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On April 17th we got lucky and got a Virtual spot for Battle at the Ministry. We were actually in the MineCart Madness queue and had to jump out of line because our Virtual Line started in 15 minutes. The queue line itself was outstanding, Universal held back NO expenses. Unfortunately for us the ride went down while in line so it ended up being the longest wait of the day for us. The ride itself was great but it broke down again halfway through our ride. The lady next to me puked . . but other than that, it was an epic adventure. They had signs everywhere they were in a 'Technical Rehearsal' but still very happy to be there. Can't wait to go back and get the full ride experience.

Thought I’d share on this thread: I had the opportunity to attend AP Previews to Epic Universe this Sunday and had one of the best days I’ve ever had at a theme park. While I won’t go in depth about my day, I wanted to connect both of my theme park hyperfixations. For everyone calling for the return of the Phantom Theater ride (Including myself as it’s basically the only thing I post about on here, then Monsters Unchained is probably the closest that any rides been to capturing what I love about that ride, alongside being one of the most technologically impressive dark rides I’ve ridden in my life. The park is 10/10, no notes expect that they need Icees with their drink plan and the other universal parks and theme parks as a whole need to be just as good.

Or, if the park doesn't want to pay royalties for using sports teams' logos, use food logos- Red- LaRosa's, White- Graeters, Blue- Skyline.

I got to go last Thursday on the 17th. I totally agree with you on Monsters Unchained . . It may well be the best Universal ride across all parks. Definitely the best Dark Ride. I was also really impressed with their Mack coaster Stardust Racers. Might be better than VelociCoaster . . flip a coin. It would be great to get one of those in The Vortex spot.

A few thoughts: splitting it could make a lot of sense if they got rid of TimberWolf. There's a ton of concrete that exists, so an aeronautic theme could be pulled off. The other side, as you mentioned, would be great as an Oktoberfest expansion, a haunted area, or a reintroduction of Adventure Village. That would tie in well with Adventure Port. Or, they could make the entire area Adventure Village again, similar to JungleX, with a multiple year phase in. Some are calling for this to be a DC Universe land as well.

In that case, I feel like if KI isn't going to go with a Haunted theme for Action Zone, then flight theme it is, but I would hate to see Banshee rethemed. Maybe they could try and fit Banshee's mythological flying ghost theme into an aviation themed area.

The new festival structure site looks a lot more organized from above! I think it might be another couple of weeks until we see vertical construction, but once those poles go up it's just a matter of landscaping and putting the shades up. After that maybe we'll see the new tables move out of Tower Gardens. Did anyone manage to see if the Living Liberty Bell holder had been moved somewhere outside of the construction fence? I'd hate to see it be gone forever because it was in the way of a big tent. I hope it goes back up with the landscaping and gets its little sign back.

Here's some photos I got from the Tower when it was opened for the last few hours on Saturday.

I know Kings Island is technically in Greater Cincinnati, but Dayton is not too far away. Dayton is the birthplace of aviation. Up at Carillon Park in Dayton, there's an exhibition about the Wright brothers; they even have the Wright Flyer on display. Why not an aviation themed area (I know Aeronautica Landing at Carowinds is kinda that)? They could tap further into Southwest Ohio's history and heritage with that kind of attraction.

Seeing that "falling trees" teaser gave me quite the nostalgic memory. I remember first coming to this website during the 2017 decoding thread (which spoilers alert, ended up being for Mystic Timbers)

I knew I went to a PP night a few years ago, and just found the pics...April 15, 2016...a few shots from that evening:

My thoughts: B&M: less so due to saturation. An exception would be the Family Invert, which could potentially replace Arrow suspended coasters. RMC: not that likely. There's room for conversions, along with new rides, but I think the relationship won't improve anytime soon. Intamin: Zimmerman isn't over the rocky past with Intamin. That said, I cannot rule them out for a Ka replacement. Vekoma: this new era does seem to be the next big thing. However, to me it doesn't feel like there are that many modern Vekomas right now. Zamperla: after Top Thrill Lawn Ornament, I see them being restricted to flat rides, mice, and smaller scale rides. Mack: it feels like this is the one that is going to be getting a lot of newer rides, with the extreme Spinners leading the way. Of course, this is just rumors at this point. S&S: In terms of ride experience, I would love to see more of these. Unfortunately, with many of their coasters being problematic, I can't see anything more than 4D Free Spins at this point. Some names you left out: Premier: though AlpenFury is just the first new Premier coaster in legacy Cedar Fair parks (the others were Paramount era), I can see growth there. This includes potential retracking of rides like old Arrow loopers (not including mega-loopers). Gerstlauer: Not many coasters as of now, and I don't see many coming. I'd love to see a 15 inversion Infinity Coaster one day. That said, does Hangtime at Knotts have a lot of downtime. GCI, Gravity Group: not sure how to answer that, since wooden coasters often get maintained and re-tracked using their parts. I'm not including SBF Visa (primarily kid/family oriented), Zierer (family oriented with two exceptions) Jinma (Chinese manufacturer with a lot of copycats), or Skyline Attractions (they earned this.)

Shawn---Yes, I will do that when I get that chance.....as long as I have time available then I will make plans to take photo of Adventure Express then I will let you know......I want to take my time and not rush..... And yes, I do appreciate the compliments...now that I'm chasing the goals not only with getting my 2,000th ride with the Adventure Express but I do have The Bat (330) & Cargo Loco (435) so both rides are getting somewhere close to my 500th ride. I got this and can do it and promise you all that nothing stops me or get in my way of achieving my goals. It will be more exciting when I hit my 2,000th ride with the Express this Summer.....but it will be within the next few months to reach that goal.