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The new 2026 Halloween Haunt map has been posted! I'm happy to see that it finally only includes Haunt stuff again. From what I can see there is only one issue on it where the icon for Outpost Frozen Cocktails is in the wrong spot, but other than that it's just the gray vs green grass areas that look weird. It's too bad that Phantom Theater will be closed during Haunt and won't have an overlay. Kudos to the KI team for posting it more than 36 hours before the start of the event! Link to the map: https://qr1.be/AS58UZ

A small sample size for sure, and it's anecdotal - not published. Family, friends, coworkers etc constantly question me about Kentucky Kingdom and my patronage it. They still call it Six Flags and it's close to 20 years since they operated the park.

Congratulations to Kings Island, Sally Dark Rides, and Plague Productions for their parts in bringing this dark ride back to life so wonderfully! It's very well deserving of the Best New Family Attraction award in my eyes, and I hope we can see Kings Island bring some more Golden Tickets home in the near future.

From Amusement Today: Kings Island’s Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare scored with fans and snagged the prize for the first time in the category of BEST NEW FAMILY ATTRACTION. Kings Island Central wants to congratulate Kings Island on its well-deserved latest Golden Ticket Award. Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare has revived a beloved dark ride, which includes new technology and a storyline that features a fresh way to interact with the characters The original Phantom Theater opened in April 1992 as the third incarnation of Kings Island's dark ride in that building, which included Enchanted Voyage and Smurf’s Enchanted Voyage. Learn more about the original Phantom Theater on our past attractions page here: https://kicentral.com/parkhistory/past-attractions/phantom-theater/

I took the survey. Interestingly enough, the last section, you could just type anything you wanted and asked for you to be very specific. I said that I want Arie Force One installed at KI. How I have been on Steel Vengeance and Wild Cat's Revenge and would like something like that offered at Kings Island

It’s tough to see someone lose their livelihood, but I’m not disappointed with Tony Clark being let go. Coasterstock and Mother’s Day brunch were axed because of him, with no replacement to follow. Also, his “Morning Flush” event did not go over well and was, quite literally, flushed down the drain. This company badly needs fresh minds in more positions of power. The old guard is stuck in their ways, and holding up progress. Six Flags needs to pivot to current trends with guest experience being at the forefront. As Bob Iger at Disney once said. “Innovate or die.”

Apologies for the double post, but this seems to be making the rounds as yet another causality of this lovely merger. Grain of salt and all that…

Cue the Living With The Land music.

A Tilt Coaster would make for a great replacement for Inveritgo. A big ominous tilt drop that can been seen from patrons walking into the main gate. Without the tacky flyover that ruins the ambience.

An important thing to note too, is that it is inside. That's a huge plus of bad weather days.

Maybe I'm biased, but I don't see Flight of Fear going anywhere. The building is in good shape and would be expensive to tear down (just look at Tomb Raider), there is also a whole crane system in the ceiling for assembly of the ride. It's very integrated into Area 72, removing it would mean reshaping the whole area. FOF is also for the most part a crowd pleaser, I've seen a lot of people get off the ride laughing and saying it was worth the wait. The long line can be attributed to its poor capacity, but people still wait for it. People also go wild for the launch out of the station. I believe when FOF's time has come, it will get new track, supports, new more accommodating trains, and an updated launch. Maybe we could see a layout change, but for the most part I think the building and all the infastructure will stay.

The thing is, with the state of the economy, the state of Six Flags as a whole… I wouldn’t be surprised if KI continues to not get another major roller coaster until past 2030. I hope I’m wrong… but there’s a lot of parks out there in need of new rides and since KI still manages to make sales they may not view this park as a place that needs a new ride to keep attendance up. AFO could be the only chance for a new ride for the foreseeable future. I really hope I’m wrong.

There is definitely a need for a launch coaster, but I'm not so sure that Flight of Fear isn't also on borrowed time. I know it's an energy hog and it's quite old. I wouldn't be shocked to see it gone within the next 6 or 7 years. I'm all for ArieForce One because most of what Cedar Fair / Six Flags have put out lately has just been ok rather than outstanding. AF1 is a surefire top 10 coaster. Also, I don't think that getting AF1 necessarily means that KI doesn't get another (launch) coaster 3 years later on The Vortex plot. AF1 might just be the odd one off.

He said that it would return in an ACE event. Only for it not too afterwards. A lot of people considered Coasterstock the superior event to Coastermania. That didn’t sit well with Tony Clark, considering Coastermania was his thing and not Coasterstock. https://www.ridewithace.com/blogs/ace-news/2026/02/21/ace-western-great-lakes-no-coaster-con-2026

I agree, but want to point out: the Paramount Parks were the objects of massive investments for the most part. The legacy parks saw their investments slow down. So, at this time, they are heavily investing in MM, NJ, Chicago, OT, OG. Maybe in a way, ki is similar to Knott's. Huge attendance ( but ki was pass holders) and does really well without frequent large investment. So in a sense, ki could go down a similar trajectory and still be a cash cow, but they'd have to spend money on infrastructure and making the park cohesive and very well themed.

Hoping the reception matches the ROI with this one. I’d love for this to result in a focus on more thematically dense, immersive type of attractions. Feel like KI deserve that kinda thing. As weird as things are now, I like to think this era is going to result in the park being a “crown jewel” of whatever the chain does or doesn’t look like. The early era of Cedar Fair was weird, but it worked out pretty well.

I'm starting to get concerned about the future of John Reilly. Based on discussions on here, other forums/discussion board, Tower Topics videos, and people actually in the industry. John Reilly has a very strong vision for the company based around enhancing the guest experience and we've seen that with focus group meetings at select parks as well as bringing back Christmas events at GAdv and Over GA after the previous regime axed them. However, with the stock continuing to plummet along with the decreasing guest sentiment surrounding the brand recently mainly due to X2, I have a very bad feeling shareholders may try and push him out which I would hate bc a lot of this stuff is not his fault, but more the fault of his predecessors going back like 20 years.

Are we actually sure that the "Six Flags" brand is harmful and/or associated with low quality in the eye of the park-going public? What I mean by that is that while, yes, within the enthusiast niche the brand isn't held in high regard, is that the case with John Q Public at large? Often it is the case that the things enthusiasts focus on or take note of are in now way on the minds of the average guest, most of whom couldn't name a coaster manufacturer with a gun to their head.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this coaster stays SBNO for a while. All these new announcements from Six Flags this past week has led to about an 18% drop in the company’s value. Big changes need to happen immediately.

What I find sad in all of this is we lost Cedar Fair as a company. Before purchasing SIX, they had a good reputation. Sure the purchase of the Paramount Parks in hindsight wasn’t the best decision for them at that time, yet they made it out in the late 2010’s looking good. Matt Ouimet as CEO got Cedar Fair back on its feet enough to the point Zimmerman could take over in 2018. Maybe that optimism the takeover team was feeling led to the SIX purchase. A lot influenced that choice. In the end Zimmerman is the one that made the handshake with Selim. I’m not going to bother having to explain what has happened since, the sentiment is very loud among the enthusiasts, general public, and stockholders.

I created this concept of how ArieForce One could fit into Area 72. Not exactly how feasible this would be, especially with the relocation of maintenance buildings. I think if this coaster does get relocated to Kings Island, I feel Area 72 would be the best fit thematically for this type of attraction. Action Zone would also work, but I think that area needs a new haunted theme to coincide with rides like Banshee and Bat. I don't think Arieforce One would fit with that if Six Flags plan on preserving the ride name.

I’m on the boat that would totally jump onboard the idea of Premier doing a total retrack, trains, support treatment so we can have this ride around 30+ more years!

At this rate, We may not see six flags last long enough to even dismantle the coaster.

A better summation of my thoughts exactly. I think the chain has a list of places that it could go, with one of those being a fallback spot that would require little-to-no modifications. From now until (presumably) December they'll send out surveys and gauge interest for which park might want it most. The surveys that are going out right now are very interesting to me because of how they each seem to have a few vague-ish options alongside Arieforce One. For the Kings Island survey I'd rank it as 1) Tilt Coaster, 2) Halloween Area, 3) Single Rail Coaster, 4) Arieforce One. I really just don't want it at KI. I did find it odd that they would suggest a generally Halloween-themed area considering the fact that Holiday World already has theirs about three hours away. I'd be more open to a more medieval-ish area (called Knightly Kingdom in my headcanon). The tilt coaster would be nice if it actually broke some records and isn't just the "longest coaster in the Cincinnati area with a twister layout" or something like that.

The second coaster in the survey matches the stats for ArieForce One.

They must have got one heck of a deal on it, or RMC is trying to take a loss in order for potential future gain. I'm not certain how roller coasters are "paid off" in the real world. And each manufacturer is different. Like with Orion, B&M certainly didn't charge KI $30 million. They likely got design, engineering, consult fees, etc. Then the park paid out the trades...footers, erectors, plumbing, electrical and so on. But did the park take out a loan for the projected depreciation of the coaster? Did they have $30m sitting around for the project in an interest bearing account? So with AF1, what if RMC took the balance owed from Fun spot to their assumed creditors, worked it out with Six Flags and Fun spot to make that the purchase price ( just for numbers sake, say 8m) and gave six flags a substantial discount for fees to move it and reassemble with modifications? Steele Vengeance has been an expensive coaster to maintain from what I hear. The carpenters are constantly replacing wood due to the stresses. I've heard Railblazer was problematic ( and Fiesta Texas had to close theirs for quite a while for modifications). So Cedar Fair wasn't happy with the company. AF1 is a completely steel coaster, so even with relocation, it's likely to be less problematic than those two. Hence, a good chance for RMC to attempt to work on the relationship.

They didn’t buy something at a yard sale without having a plan for what they were going to do with it, not knowing what extra costs they might incur, not knowing if they could even install it in a park. They want the chatter it’s generating. It takes the focus off the negative news cycle they’ve been in.

Math.

Literally nothing to struggle over. Just noting that sometimes park people sound ultra-tone deaf to be able to complain about miniscule stuff when that energy could be used for more important things besides complaining on a forum about ice. I love this hobby, I love this park. But sometimes I just can't with folks. Also I'll take a 10-piece spicy nugget and an apple frosty if you're offering.

Thanks beastfan. It's been a rough two years. I lost my dad a year and a half ago to liver cirrhosis... It was a very long and painful process, and I think I'm still dealing with the grief and coming to terms. He was the one who got me into my love for amusement parks and roller coasters. Been dealing with a lot of financial trouble too lately. Things just keep snowballing, but I'm trying to be strong for my family. This website helps me from completely losing it.

So it's opinion, gotcha. I'd be surprised if SF has decided definitively where AF is going. I'm sure the list of candidates is narrowed down to one or two parks, but there's a nonzero amount of surveying, engineering, etc., work that needs to be done before they'll "know" where it's going. In "the world"? Sure, obviously. But in that context all of these conversations are meaningless drivel. But a lack of ice at an amusement park is exactly the kind of "death by a thousand cuts" type of issue that affects guests' experience in a meaningful way. And worse, it's a solvable problem.

Might as well post something supporting the Carowinds location predictions A map shot from Theme Park Brandon: Add in the flight themed area and the ride just fits there better. No offense to KI. Anyway, in my opinion, KI needs two things when it comes to coasters: A launched coaster that isn't from the Paramount days. More inversions. Only Banshee, Flight of Fear, and Invertigo have them now, and the latter is on borrowed time. ArieForce One may be the more fun coaster, but KI would be better off with the Intamin multi-launch and spinner combo. The optimal location would probably be Action Zone, which includes removing Invertigo, Congo Falls, and Timberwolf Amphitheater. I included the spinner because KI has neither that or a wild mouse. I think I should root for that now. I think it does more to fill in gaps at KI. And I also favor retheming Action Zone into a spooky theme while we're at it.

I really don't see this current Six Flags putting another Drop Tower in a park that already has one especially putting a smaller one in when KI already has a 300 plus foot one. Personally, I think if Six Flags bought along with Arie the Intamin package and Switchback here's where I think they'd potentially end up: AF1 - Carowinds (South gate area expansion of Aeronautica) I think also Harley Quinn from SFA would go to Carowinds. 7 inversion multi launch - KI (Either Vortex site which would need to be leveled or Action Zone) Spinner - KD (GoKart area in Old Virginia) Switchback - Dorney (heard rumors of their chute the chutes being on the chopping block) Half Pipe + Drop Tower - Great Adventure (Shoreline Pier/Boardwalk Phase 3)

Here me out: ArieForce One to Carowinds. I've seen multiple videos on it and imo after much thought it makes more sense to put it there. Sorry KI fans. However not all hope is lost: How about KI gets that 7 inversion Intamin multi launch coaster that's for sale for under 15 million dollars. Plus it has green track I believe which would be ironic (iykyk).

Indeed, but not sure either standard layout would fit in the area without removing Congo Falls, so it'd have to be custom, which I don't believe we've seen yet for this model? It would be interesting to see what Vekoma could do with a custom layout.

Those trees are my #1 reason for not wanting a front gate coaster, however I think a tilt coaster could look really good if they managed to only have the tilt tower occupy Invertigo's land. The park has already taken out enough foliage over the years. I'm not a fan of the front gate coaster idea for other reasons, so it's a no from me. It seems that survey with the same 15-20 options went out to most of the larger parks, so I wouldn't be so set on the idea of KI getting its own record-breaking tilt coaster anytime soon. I think that would be a really good location for it if the park wasn't already building some new water treatment stuff next to the tank located near the brake run on your layout. If they do put it right there for some reason, I'd demolish the Alien Abyss building and either rebuild it to be parallel with the lift hill or replace it entirely. My guess is that the spot where it might actually fit best at KI is down the hill from Orion where Firehawk's final turnaround and helix were. The ramp and service road right there could be reconfigured to fit the new queue near Orion's entrance and queue. That also puts the coaster on flat(ter) ground than the top of the hill provides.

Well deserved.

The fact that these corporate morons thought this merger was a good idea, coupled with the fact they thought the Six Flags name had any brand equity/positive reputation, is proof (in my opinion) that this was never going to work. And I’ll say it…. The hype around AF1 is stupid. It’s a hand-me-down coaster from a failed park that may not even come to fruition. And if it does, it’ll most likely be altered in some capacity to be forced into a park it’s ill fit for. I remember a time when Six Flags was mocked for ride relocations, parking lot coasters, and terrible customer service. Well… here we are. And unfortunately there are quite a few stellar parks, KI specifically, who are going to suffer because of idiotic, greed fueled decision making processes of a bunch of out of touch boomers. Not to mention the talented folks who got fired a few years back because of this merger.

Remember that a private owner could also be a pretty large company not just a wealthy family. Taft Broadcasting was kind of a sweet spot because the parks were a small slice of the larger corporation. Under Paramount the parks promoted the movies and the performance of the parks themselves to justify every capex dollar was not as scrutinized as it was under CF and now Six. Regarding purchasing power Herschend seems to be doing just fine with that with their $30,000,000 Fire in the Hole and $60,000,000 million NightFlight Expedition. Last thing to consider. Kings Island is currently pumping more money into the corporation than they are getting out of it. Money they generate is going to less successful parks for investment in them. That would not happen as often in a smaller group of parks.

Everything comes down to scale. My rough estimate is that Kings Island sells somewhere around 200,000–300,000 season passes. So even a 5% decline would mean roughly 10,000–15,000 people choosing not to renew. That's a lot of people, but in a publicly traded company, it's still a relatively small number compared with the interests of shareholders. I can understand why people aren't renewing, but unfortunately, consumer dissatisfaction alone probably isn't enough to force meaningful change. If shareholders really wanted to push for change, they would have to use their voting power—and the shareholders with enough ownership to really matter are the major ones. At around 1% ownership, you're talking about roughly 1 million shares. That's an enormous position for an individual investor. That's one of the fundamental problems with publicly traded companies: the interests of employees and consumers can sometimes take a back seat to the interests of shareholders. The larger companies become and the more they consolidate, the greater that tension becomes. That's where I think government has a legitimate role in preventing excessive consolidation and monopolistic behavior. I actually agree that a private owner could potentially be better for the park. The catch is that a private owner wouldn't have the same purchasing power as a company the size of Six Flags. Food, drinks, supplies, insurance, equipment, etc. could all cost more. Pass prices might have to increase to make up the difference. And eventually, that private owner could face the same temptation to sell to a larger company. So I'm not convinced that public ownership is inherently bad or that private ownership is inherently good. Both have their problems. For all the complaints, though, I'm still grateful that these parks exist. People travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars to visit American theme parks. Getting into Kings Island for around $120 is still an incredible value. As for whether Six Flags makes it through all of this? I think they will. And if they do, it probably won't be because of our measly offerings to the gods of capitalism. It'll be because the major shareholders decided it was in their interest. Rich protects rich. It's the good ol' boys' system—and the number of good ol' boys keeps getting smaller. Eventually, the proletariat will overthrow the bourgeoisie. May we all be around to see it.

The last time I checked, this was not a junior high school hallway. Since you guys want to air your grievances with each other on every thread (and I thought my message was clear the other day about treating everyone with respect here), either cut it out, or you can find somewhere else to argue with each other besides KIC, for I have had enough. This is a place to have fun and forget about the outside world for a bit.

I like the idea for a new themed area for Action Zone, but would a Halloween theme be it, we have Halloween Haunt already.. Someone said on YouTube that Kings Island/SF could make a deal with Hasbro to bring Dungeons and Dragons, bringing that type of themed area to the park, that would be popular imo.

A new horror theme area at Kings Island. Guys Action Zone might be finally getting a retheme it deserved.

I always wondered how the actual structure held up to all of those unusual elements and the stress of the forces required to go through them. That's interesting.

One thing I don't like about the idea of changing the layout of AFO: the change of that outward banked airtime hill. That element is just so fun and different compared to almost any ride at any park.

Not gonna lie, my first thought when I heard they bought this was "With what money?" Judging by how they staffed Kings Island this weekend, it would seem like Six Flags doesn't have any room in the budget to spare. Operations across all departments felt like they were at bare bones despite it being a holiday weekend with great weather. Regarding the actual sale itself, I can't help but feel lukewarm about it. I'm glad the ride lives on, but I also can't really feel hyped about it. So much of the anticipation comes from the gradual reveal, piecing clues together, and looking forward to whatever the ride experience may be; but I feel like once we know where it's heading, that's going to be the end of the excitement. It might be nice to ride it again if it ends up nearby, but it's not something I'm itching to get on no matter where it ends up... And if it does end up at Kings Island, for me, it will always feel like a hand me down. There'd be no finer point to it not belonging to the park than it retaining its original name.

From Coaster101: https://www.facebook.com/share/14xUTQxusAf/?mibextid=wwXIfr

If you don’t like hearing about no ice on repeat, maybe the park should fix the problem. 🤣

It makes sense given the financial position of SIX. They are unwilling or unable to spend big capex on the large former Cedar Fair parks that were taken care of pre-Covid. All the big money is going to the legacy Six parks in big markets. They must realize though that one of their parks could use AF1 especially at fire sale prices. This is probably the best possible ride for the money out there or they wouldn't be doing it. This is a top 10 coaster in the United States per most enthusiasts.

Relentless Decent should be their new corporate slogan. “Don’t aspire to be amazing, just be relentlessly decent and barely meet some expectations”