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I’d much rather have Kings Island build its own RMC from the ground up.

Don, I have a ton of respect for you and generally agree with your statements. That being said, why is it bad to get enthusiasts talking about an overall positive purchase? Didn’t you know “what was in the shed” for a year and had park fans talk about it? What is the difference here? It’s fair to be harsh on SF when it is warranted but this does not seem like one of those situations. Would you rather these forums just be silent? Isn’t that the whole point of this website? When people are unjustly harsh it makes statements that are warranted hold less weight.

I for one am glad they bought it. It could have just been demolished and that be that. Parks do stuff like that all the time. The fact that it has been bought and has a chance at living on somewhere else is great. While a ground up RMC has always been a dream for a lot of us, if this ends up at our park, I know I for one wouldn't be upset in the slightest. In fact, quite the opposite. I never got a chance to go down and ride AF1 and with all the hype about how great it is, having something of this caliber have the potential to take up residence at our park would be a great thing. Something that people have raved about having a second chance at life at a well traversed park wouldn't be a bad thing. It would strir up a lot of hype and give KI something that truly packs a punch and fills a void in our already great line-up. Imagine being able to ride 3 RMCs in just a few hours of each other. Steel Vengeance at CP, Wind Chaser down at KK and if AF1 ends up at KI, we'd have that as well. I see no negatives here if we get it.

This is definitely feasible for KI to accept its relocation. The ending of it can be changed, much in the same manner that Wildcat's Revenge was changed. I also think it was stated that it can be altered. Now, to what extent, I'm not sure. Since it won't be installed until 2028 at the earliest, I'm not even sure where it will be re-located to. I would not mind this being moved to KI for sure. IDC if it's not a ground up RMC. It seems to be considered a great coaster widely by the public, so I'm all for it being moved to KI.

I think it goes into Area 72 behind Orion using the leftover Firehawk and Dinos area and goes towards the storage area towards the river if it comes to KI. The new Six Flags is big into making their new major rides fit a themed area. AF1 would fit the theme of Area 72 perfectly. That's part of why I think KI and Carowinds are the front runners right now for this.

Take this with a heavy grain of salt, but ElToroRyan on YouTube stated that he's heard recent rumors of Kings Island being the park that bought ArieForce One. I do consider him a credible source, as he previously was the first to report about Top Thrill Dragster being redone by Zamperla and Kingda Ka being retired after 2024. This is unconfirmed, so it's entirely possible that this could be false or there could be a change of plans, so please don't take this as fact until we hear otherwise.

I think Six Flags very well bought it with a handful of parks in mind as to where it could go, but I also think the decision hasn't yet been made. That will depend on permitting, land surveying, and cost to construct new supports/level the land needed for it. In my opinion, if AFO is going to be shipped nearly wholesale and as-is to a park then it should not go to Kings Island. I also don't really like that they've said they're keeping the name Arieforce when it's named after the Arie family who owns FunSpot. I'd probably like it more if they were able to turn it into something new at Kings Island (while retaining the elements in between new track) and change the name/colors. It very well could fit in Area 72 with some demolition and help beyond just modifications for a third train. All of this said, I'm being very selfish because I'd much rather Kings Island get a hybrid with a custom layout and a good theme that fits with other areas of the park. I'd also really like to see The Vortex plot filled with a non-hybrid coaster first as well. Marcus Leshock is a Chicago-area newscaster who covers a lot of amusement/theme park industry news for his station. He does a lot of stuff up at Chicago's Great America and is kind of like John Matereese is with Kings Island. I think he gets some of these news stories before a lot of other people because he and his team are very diligent and have an eye out everywhere for this kind of thing.

I guess you forgot about the events leading up to 2009? How many pages and pages did we go through of speculation? I mean its always been our M.O. And then I see you made a post on Facebook promoting discussion on where AFO will end up...

Just released from Marcus Leshock on his X account, Six Flags has purchased ArieForce One, now on to speculation to where it will go!

I watched the video and he put 2 different potential locations. One in Area 72 replacing some of the maintineance buildings and the parade float tent which I don't see happening for obvious reasons. The other is back behind Banshee and he mentioned he heard a pre merger rumor of the park potentially expanding the park's footprint to connect A72 and Action Zone which I don't see happening as KI can't even staff the park consistently as is. What makes you think they'd be able to staff a major expansion like that?

Dollywood is preparing for a future without Dolly Parton—but her presence will remain woven throughout the park and the Smoky Mountains. Here’s how Dollywood plans to carry its Dreamer-in-Chief’s legacy forward. FULL STORY: https://themeparksbydon.com/dollywood-future-without-dolly-parton-legacy/

Also the fact they're also saying 2029 is there's likely a lot of unknowns about permitting and the timeline of dismantling the ride and shipping it to its new home. In fact didn't ArieForce originally get delayed a year bc of permitting issues down there? However, I feel if it ends up at KI or Carowinds they shouldn't have much in terms of problems of permitting. I also think since they said they plan to announce the new home later this year that we'll start seeing parts showing up at its new home later this year and they may want to announce it before it becomes obvious. May want to keep our eyes out and look for survey markings/land prep later this fall to see if we find any potential clues.

I haven't seen the release as it's been a busy work day. Whichever park gets this, I hope they don't ask the manufacturer to completely redo the ride, only as much as is necessary. SV has been such a maintenance load, and I'd conjecture that many of the issues were with Cedar Fair wanting so much stuff AND a completely new train design. From a non engineer perspective: change what needs to be changed with the elevation and hopefully allow it to run three trains if feasible.

Well said!

Let’s spend the next several months speculating about the same thing every day while we wait on Six Flags to announce what they’ve already decided.

One of the associates at the turnstiles recently told me that the delay is especially bad with "older" season passes that were first purchased 10+ years ago, as the system has to scroll back to those earlier passes. I don't know if that's actually possible but it made enough sense to me and provided some small talk while waiting for my pass to come up. Tuesday's announcement could entirely be an investment plan for the next however many years. I can imagine that we'll at least see some of the Six Flags America rides being announced as coming to operating SF parks. It's plausible that we'll also see either the extension of pass sales and/or the announcement of a new pass sale. Park sales and payment plans don't really fit into what I read of the announcement teaser. There's a package of 3-4 Intamin rides on the market from a park in China that didn't end up using them, which could be an easy win for Six Flags if they can get them for a low enough price. I was thinking about AFO after seeing some more speculation this weekend and made the joke that it'll be sent to Walibi for the Loup-Garou conversion/replacement. That got me thinking that it could actually be cool if Kings Island were able to take most of it and frankenstein it into a custom layout that rises from the Son of Beast station and dives down toward the stage of Timberwolf. That would be much better than just plopping it down somewhere on the outskirts of the park like has been suggested.

I've been saying everywhere basically that those who are "expecting" Tuesday's announcement to be ArieForce One or a major capital program announcement are setting themselves up for disappointment. We seriously need to keep our mind open here and not immediately jump to conclusions. This is kinda turning into the antique car announcement 2.0 where so many people were expecting it to be a reborn of Son of Beast bc of "teasers" up at Cedar Point which weren't teasers and everyone complained that the park "overhyped" it or "trolled" us when really the enthusiasts overhyped it for themselves.

The drink system works well at the Herschend parks. I’d love to see KI and other Six Flags parks do something similar.

Coke needs the same system they have at Herschend parks with the barcodes on the cups. It could work with passes for the paper cups as well. Scan your cup/pass and you have 20 seconds to fill up your drink. Then you have fewer staff at stands and they could be keeping the drinks and ice filled instead of scanning passes and asking if you want to convert to a souvenir cup instead of paper when you already have said plan. Back on topic. I don't think KI is getting AF1. I would be totally surprised if it does. Nor do I think this announcement on Monday and Tuesday has anything to do with it either.

I agree. They need to move to an RFID system. Way too many times I get stuck behind someone at the parking lot gate not knowing how to scan their phone…

I’d much rather have ice for my drinks when I use the drink plan I paid for.

Camden Park the only park not rumored.

LMC here again with an update to my Rivertown expansion idea. I've been thinking about what flat rides Kings Island needs, and I've come to the conclusion that it could be nice to have another Drop Tower in the park. This one would be a mid-size space shot tower around 100-150ft tall. The launch upward would differentiate it from Drop Tower while the lower height could be more appealing to families. Drop Tower's 300ft height may be too intimidating and the Kite Eating Tree isn't a ride for adults. Another 1-2 towers would add capacity if needed. I'm not sure how many towers would fit in the space I allocated for it, but my map was also just for visualization purposes. Rivertown really needs a traditional flat ride to add to its collection of three coasters, water ride, and railroad. It would be even better if Linus Launchers and CBRRLR could be folded into Rivertown and rethemed to match the area.

Or there is an underlying issue / issues in the industry as a whole? Remember when the car industry had lots full of vehicles, they were unable to sell due to a chip shortage? "Shareholders" as in people with a 401k?

All the while, below the surface the cracks had already started to form on the business side of things. Cedar Fair had still have not recovered from the lost revenue from the 2020 limited operating year. That was the seed that made them eventually look toward a merger.

New menus look great. But have you ever had a meal from Enrique's look that good LOL

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Bmfm33Z54/ Looks like the Python has found a new home in a traveling circuit and is operating at the KY State Fair

It’s official: https://www.sixflags.com/blog/arieforce-ones-next-chapter-begins-at-six-flags?fbclid=IwdGRleAUNFIdwZG9mAWZkaWQWUOBTRmcC5Y089XtuquOunya6PeQCoWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR6IQQ_V5cUhvs2fa_Iygeq0gtc9t0NTyZyp1RYBPZmbOZ2mke0Wk1OHtZ5Usg_aem_yO77BiqWcfOhhVhNQYKFOg

Going to throw my idea out there, yes this involves removing attractions, but anything is possible. I am sure my scaling is off, but you get the idea.

Or that they have paid their direct tv bill.

I also agree, and it’s definitely possible on a large scale. At Perfect North Slopes with my season pass all I have to do is put my skis on, go to the first lift and the gates automatically scan and accept me on. Don’t even have to go through any “entrances”. It’s amazing!

I haven’t renewed my season pass, dining plan or drink plan for 2027.

Those locations were his speculation only, and I definitely don't see that second location happening for the same reason you just described. The first is a little more feasible, though I imagine it would add significant costs to build new maintenance buildings farther out from the park as well as the parade float tent. If AF1 comes to Kings Island, I think it would probably go somewhere else instead of the two locations he brought up.

I believe it stays in the US, but I would be completely shocked if KI gets it. However, I have heard rumors that Six Flags bought it, but there are rumors of every park chain so take with grain of salt

I hope it stays in the US!

The creative mind who helped bring Disney’s Animal Kingdom to life is sharing what he learned about imagination, innovation and turning seemingly impossible ideas into reality. Joe Rohde’s new book, Floating Mountains, arrives Sept. 8—and it’s one I plan to add to my bookshelf. FULL STORY: https://themeparksbydon.com/joe-rohde-floating-mountains-disney-imagineer-book/

You know, that’s definitely fair. It’s exceedingly frustrating when a company known for high quality starts to lower its standards.

Update on this: I was trying to figure out how to capture evidence that it's happening and finally got a screenshot tonight when I logged on and went to check the 2026 KI Food Reviews discussion. As you can see I've posted in that thread at least three times since July 28th, but it still started me out before super7's post when I clicked the button to start me at the first unread. I can't figure out why it would do this beyond something not counting posts as being "read" correctly.

I recently saw an article from Harvard talking about how 70 to 90% of all business mergers fail to meet the original expectations and goals of the merger… and a good portion go on to file bankruptcy… Not exactly an optimistic outlook…

Not sure if this has been mentioned but I was having my smoked wings and green beans sitting between the Coconut Cove Cafe and the changing rooms when I saw someone go up to the side of the Cafe (on the outside) interact with a screen and 4 doors opened. Seems as though they used the mobile app to order food and there is a wall of hotboxes that can be opened with a code from the app. Wonder if there are any more of these in the park. Looked very efficient.

Just goes to show how quickly things can and will change… I try to take in things now and be in the moment as I get older. I still have fond childhood memories of the Paramount days. With the movie IPs and Nickelodeon, we were like a version of a Universal park. Top Gun, Face/Off, Days of Thunder, Tomb Raider, Outer Limits… I think it’s incredible to have grown up near a theme park like that. So many large areas of the nation don’t have a major park nearby, so I do consider myself lucky for Cincinnati to have such a destination place.

Some of the Winterfest lights were never taken out of the trees and have now been there now for several years. These LED strings usually have a 5 year life span in use so will see if Six Flags replaces them or lets them burn out like many of the C7 bulbs lining I street have. I did notice that last year when Pumpkin Eater moved into the theater space the entire strings of C7 lights outlining the theater roof were totally removed. Not sure why but the theater definitely looked better during the summer nights and Winterfest seasons with the lighted roof line.

IMO I feel like I got my value out of my pass this year. The first part of the season I had a very light attendance schedule as I was testing for certifications for work (the 9/10 aka a management cert for the financial industry) BUT I feel like I did get to use my pass at Cedar Point quite a bit in July, my free snacks and exclusive VIP parking enough to warrant the pass. Now I’m planning on heading out west to LA this October and I believe Knotts will be doable on that trip. I believe at this point I have the cash so im just going to buy my pass outright and all of the works for 2027.

The ride showed no increase in attendance will have parks lining up to buy it.

I'm in the same boat. I think if Kings Island ever got an RMC, it would be best if it had 3 trains for better capacity. AF1 has two trains with only 5 cars instead of the usual 6. I think the layout for AF1 would also make it awkward to fit into either Vortex plot or Action Zone, assuming that's where it would go. I think AF1 would be a better fit at a park like Holiday World (especially the 4th of July area with that color scheme) but there's still no telling what's going to happen to AF1 at this point in time.

Rivertown Expansion V2: Most of this is the same as before, but now with better visuals and a new reason for being. For its 50th anniversary season, the world's longest wooden coaster receives new surroundings and brings some of the old Rivertown back to life. What this expansion trades in quantity of attractions, it gains in long-term beauty. I'd love to see a small food stand — like Rivertown Potato Works but smaller — added somewhere in there as well. The mystique of walking down a dead-end path to The Beast would be lost, but I think this expansion would be better than nothing. These photos could serve as inspiration for what the new additions could look like. Image: Bob Joiner / KICentral; the old Rivertown | The bottom of the photo shows the old Rivertown Reel amphitheater. The lake under KCKC would serve as the basis for the new lake. A new gazebo next to the lake might also be a good option for smaller shows like Jingle Jazz. This would also be an opportunity to add a few more trees and shrubs back next to the railroad tracks. Image: Bill Rinehart / WVXU; Kemper House in Heritage Village, Sharon Woods Park | New Indoor VIP Lounge or other building. This style would play into Rivertown's "History of Cincinnati" theme. Credit: Google Street View; Rivertown Junction at Dollywood | New Indoor/Outdoor VIP Lounge. This kind of building would be closer to the VIP Lounge at Kings Dominion and would include some outdoor seating for the nicer days. Credit: Google Street View; Wilderness Theater at Six Flags Great Adventure | New Outdoor Amphitheater. This would provide a venue with covered seating and the potential to be somewhat enclosed for Winterfest. Credit: Google Maps; Red Garter Saloon at Cedar Point | This building would be a good basis for a new indoor entertainment venue and is about the same size as the Rivertown Arcade. Its smaller stage would provide a more intimate environment for shows.

A full re-route and separation would probably be the best option for it. Widening the path would still require a new bridge and might not solve the separation issue. I'm hoping the parks can take some time over the next few years to build dedicated Fast Lane paths for any ride that's still missing one. The Beast is the first that comes to mind, but I think there are a few other rides (especially at other parks) that still have Fast Lane going up the Exit path (which should be exclusively reserved for Accessibility and exiting purposes).

Not too long ago the Music Hall was seeking tax benefits from the state and city. I’m somewhat tempted to ask how does the city and state feel that this organization who got a tax break is now destroying a local icon? What does the City of Cincinnati or better yet the state of Ohio have to say on these matters? I place blame 50% on the original owners, 50% on MEMI. They should have known this kind of backlash would come, I’m interested to see if any action may come from the legislative side of things.

Well, at least Moonlite Gardens might be saved... Still ashame that the pool will be demolished. I still miss working in the rides department there... Such a shame that the previous owners let it deteriorate... If only Ron Walker hadn`t passed away in 1997...

What the ownership did to Coney still makes me sad. It had so much potential, and was terribly mismanaged by the ownership that eventually sold it to the CSO. When they removed the rides at the end of the 2019 season, that was the beginning of the end. They didn`t really invest much into the place after that point. I still miss working in the rides department there terribly. I know several of the full time staff that was laid off with the sale of the park. The concession stands at Riverbend that used to be run by Coney employees are now being run by MEMI`s vendor company. I shutter to think what the parking situation will be on the first sold out concert. Coney`s parking employees had the handling of traffic and parking down to a tee. The whole situation is sad. I don`t know why they could not continue to co-exist.