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Guessing for the Liberty Bell topiary.

The new hanger lighting is wonderful! Some really great detail work in the lighting design throughout the preshow. I especially love the touch of having the lights on the steps flashing as the aliens invite guests onto the ship. Major props to all who worked to make this happen!

Just now, sitting in the brake run of Diamondback. "We'll go ride The Beast next. It's so old no one rides it. We'll get right on it."

Here are some more video bits I captured today. The stairs are cool as well as the red pulsing IMG_6329.mp4 IMG_6331.mp4

One of the best food items on the dining plan is the Boom Boom Shrimp Po Boy at French Corner. You can get a side of Canun pasta salad (best option ) or homemade chips. This is the best hidden gem for the park as the wait time is usually minimal as many pass this location and it gives an enjoyable view of the Eiffel Tower and eating outside is like a small cafe in Paris. And if you time it out right you can listen to a show on the bandstand during the summer. A + for this location and food. I highly recommend it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Two posts have appeared in the circular planter between International Showplace and the Eiffel Tower:

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.

Well considering they restored/upgraded the lighting in the hanger queue, I think FoF will be sticking around for a few more years. I hope whoever put in the work for these effects can get the credit they deserve! Credit to KI Central for capturing the lighting in action, videos don't capture how great it looks! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIo36bup5Ew/?igsh=MThkdTJkeHRmaDRlbg%3D%3D

I am fairly certain that if The Beast were ever to be slated for demolition the entire tri-state area and all of Cincinnati as a whole would riot in the streets and swarm the park with picket signs

Weeds will replace it I imagine. At least for a while.

I'll be there in August. I so hope it is up and running and reliable cause I cannot wait to ride it!

Bumping this thread now that the 2025 season has officially started. Whatever goes in Vortex's plot, I'd love to see it have chaser lights on the lift hill like Vortex had. Fury, Orion, and Raptor's solid chaser lights look good, but I think having those old-style lights would make it blend in more with the area. As much as I could enjoy a new launch coaster at Kings Island, I would prefer something with a lift hill and a compact (not out-and-back) layout to replace Vortex. If WindSeeker does go due to reliability issues, I could see the bathrooms right there being moved as well, probably to the open space between Jukebox Diner and the basketball stand next to Coney Treats. Transforming that bottleneck into only being a ride entrance / service entrance would also allow the coaster to go over WindSeeker's plot and turn around there. It would also open some space back up for the entrance into Action Theater. I'm super curious as to how soon we'll see signs of next year's family thrill attraction. I just hope Vortex's replacement is as thrilling and as fun as it was.

Festhaus, Action Zone Refill, & I-Street LaRosa's Review 4/25/2025: We went to the Festhaus some time between 7 to 8pm and were pleased to see plenty of clean, empty tables with a ton of personal space available between each group. Even with the rain, there were (relatively) not a lot of people in the Festhaus and I waited longer to get past a family than I did to get through the line and check out process. I entered the Festhaus food line and made the split decision to get a Cheeseburger Platter (I forgot to get the menu price), and later found out that it had no cheese. While not a bad thing at all, I definitely grabbed it from the section marked "Cheeseburger". This might be a one-off mistake, but putting indistinguishable/fully wrapped items under the wrong label may cause more trouble for those who cannot have some ingredients than it's worth. As a whole I'd rate this experience at 4/5 Stars. The super tasty fries and Coca-Cola were what saved it from being a 3/5 meal. The plain burger was fine, albeit a little more juicy than I normally enjoy, and reminded me of the burger I got from Harmony Hall at Carowinds. After leaving the Festhaus, I ventured over to the new Refresh Station by Action Zone and got myself a Coca-Cola. The line was nonexistent and the drinks were flowing with good syrup/carbonation/soda water mixes. The only complaint I had was that there didn't appear to be signs directing guests to exit via the side doors, so a lot of people were going back out the entrance. There is also a sink marked "BOTTLE WASHING ONLY", which was a nice touch. It's definitely now one of my more favorite Refresh Stations in the park! Before leaving the park for the night, one of my group members agreed to use their meal plan to get me something from LaRosa's on International Street (they weren't hungry and didn't want to "waste" a meal plan opportunity). Through them I got two slices of Pepperoni Pizza and a breadstick (I didn't see the menu price), and enjoyed it as I ate it on my way home in the passenger seat. It seemed a little more fresh than my burger. As a whole I'd rate this experience at 5/5 Stars. The pizza tasted great, even after being out of the restaurant for longer than normal. So far, my overall 2025 Kings Island dining experience is rated at 4/5 Stars!

Visiting EPIC today. Beautiful park so far. Hour and ten minute wait for the Mario ride WITH a handicap pass. We all got the interactive wrist bands since Universal Orlando has become our home park. Taking photos but won’t share anything since the park really should be seen in person.

The Coasterstock schedule/itinerary is now on the KI website. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/events/coasterstock

Today it is... OPEN!!!

Thank you and I agree. You must see it in person. Here is the clip. PXL_20250419_183749675.mp4

Yes DB still running 2 trains today. Racer still one train with only red side open, at least before noon. Park is moderately busy with 15 minute waits on most of the coasters. Lots of school groups here today Edit: Blue side opening now

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.

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.

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'm in the camp of no spinning coasters please. I do not do super spiny stuff. And for me personally, I realize I do not speak for the trees, but as a longtime fan of Xtreme Skyflyer, I would really hate to see it replaced with something I simply cannot ride. A Screamin' Swing would be ideal as I love those things like most of you, but by the sounds of it that may not be what goes there. I will again say I just hope that whatever takes place there will be something worthy of that plot. I have a lot of great memories with Xtreme Skyflyer and I am hoping to be able to make many more there. I will also say that I would rather see the "family thrill attraction" go in that plot vs Vortex's. That land is sacred ground

Once again I come with another story of how terms are subject to change still occurs in this day in age after the merger. Season Passes | Season-Long Access | Kings Island How do I redeem my free Bring-A-Friend? Present your valid Prestige Pass at any ticket services window, and your guest will receive a ticket and lounge voucher. The Prestige Bring-A-Friend benefit is good for two visits annually during the pass validity. You may use the two free visits on the same day or use one visit on two separate days. Passholder must be present to redeem this offer. Prestige with the All Park Passport add-on can also redeem Bring-A-Friend tickets at other legacy Cedar Fair parks. Note that only two Bring-A-Friend tickets are available annually during the pass validity, regardless of at which legacy Cedar Fair park they are used. For context, the park advertised that you can use your bring a friend VIP ticket at ANY legacy Cedar Fair parks. After the lengthy battles of “terms are subject to change” I am ultimately skeptical of what the parks actually offer and this always call in to confirm information. I started off calling into KI over the weekend, where they said they are 99.99% sure that I should be able to use my bring a friend VIP benefit at Cedar Point. They referred me to Cedar Point to confirm and I did exactly that today. When I spoke with the operator, they stated verbatim that my bring a friend is valid ONLY at my home park. Totally contradicting what the park stated on their website. I’m going to call again tomorrow with this information but I wanted to let everyone know that once again there seems to be a major disconnect in what is offered and what is actually served. I’m hopeful this is just a simple bit of lack of coordination however if this is the case it’s extremely disheartening that what is communicated vs what is offered are totally contradictory. I’ll be totally transparent here: I hate not knowing what my pass actually gets me. I want for what I paid for to be valid and clear, which in my experience is as clear as mud with SIX and legacy Cedar Fair parks. I know park execs look at these forums, I know park employees look at these forums, I’m taking the avenues that are available to at least confirm what I can do; but this level of confusion is just unreal. I’m sorry, this should be a simple memo or an excel reference sheet it shouldn’t be a legal quagmire that turns into a he said she said situation.

We're planning on going up in the fall as well. Now that we have had a fall visit to CP, we no longer have an interest in summer visits. Looking forward to a (hopefully) successful year for both TT2 and Siren's Curse! I don't even know if I can say which one I'm most excited to ride as they are both very different experiences and my opinion changes by the day. At this particular moment, I think I am more excited for SC because that thing looks like something that could compare to Maverick/SteVe levels of crazy with that tight layout. But then other days I get more excited for TT2 for the speed and height and of course to revisit an old friend with a new hairstyle lol

Can't wait to get on this ride this summer!!!

Amazing adaptive use of some of the old light strings from the world's second tallest Christmas tree. Or so I've heard tell of. Correction: since Six Flags killed WinterFest at KD, I guess we now can claim the record back.

This new light package is more exciting than the ride experience itself

I wonder if they are "real" containers or if they are just a series of shipping container walls and ceilings stacked on top of each other, all living on one concrete pad. My best guess would be the latter. If they can't be easily removed I think it would be a great idea to repaint them with fun park-related graffiti. A second option would be to have a more professional-looking mural painted on like exists all over Cincinnati.

I would imagine a more last minute change. Don't think it was a long planned overhaul but is a nice change. Just with how basic the swap is as it seems to mostly just be new billboards, pictures on the boards, and new name, it doesn't seem like something that is a big refurb or investment. Nice to see it get a little sprucing up, but it is a pretty basic change that doesn't really amount to much more than a new coat of paint, so I don't think this was something that was a long time coming, just something to recognize the anniversary and add something "new" to the dry park during a smaller year where the new attraction is a water slide.

Hooray! I saw this on Friday and couldn't believe my eyes considering the timing of when I posted the question (just enough time for them to be put back up after someone read my post, but that's my headcanon). The location is a little further back than I'd personally have put it, but it's still super visible and is now framed within the circle. I'd love to see a neat little sign for it though. KI's sign shop has done wonders in the past, and this could be a nice partnership between them and the greenhouse team!

Only open during Food and Wine, only available to patrons over 21, for a minimal cost of 29.99, complimentary sleeve of saltines.

They have been running 3 which is as many trains as they have. With the new tracking it seems The Beast has exploded in popularity again. I've seen full queue's 2 of the 3 times I've been to the park this year and the one time without a queue was after the rains on Friday. It was a walk on around 6:45. Word has gotten out and the public has spoken, seems like the retrack work on The Beast over the past 3 years is an absolute sucess! Good call KI.

M4H00467.MP4

I am happy to upload them to our galleries @BB1. Fence photo!

Mine did last Saturday.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DIzN5hQBAXc/ Wonderful to see the actual people who pour so much heart and effort into classic attractions like Monster Mansion. It's hard not to see this and hope for what might have been for Phantom Theater.

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.

This was a really good idea using Queen City as the theme. Maybe this can put down our fears that KI will just start putting Six Flags IP's all over the park?? They could have themed it to Metropolis and have the Penquin shooting at us from the helicopter.

Guests say the darndest things... I'd be curious to see the results of a survey that asks some basic questions such as: "Did you know that Kings Island is part of the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation family of parks?" "What are your opinions of the Six Flags Entertainment Corporation since July 2024?" "How does the value of a Six Flags park pass with the All Park Passport add-on compare to similar passes from other park chains?"

Fast Lane does not equal preferred seating. It's not guaranteed for anyone in the stand by queue or the Fast Lane queue. If you get it, great....if not, just know you are never guaranteed it.

Turned off, or broken?

Oh....that's lame.

Nice change! Hopefully this is the start of a major thematic overhaul. Police cars and storage crates don't seem to project a great image of the Queen City

The Bat by far doesn't get enough credit it may not be the fastest or tallest coaster but it is certainly a fun coaster for the whole family and that top view for the first lift is amazing!

It's definitely possible. I could see the Skyflyer plot being used for whatever that 2026 family thrill attraction is. I think something like a S&S Screamin' Swing would fit there well there as a fitting replacement for a Skyflyer attraction. That's just mainly an idea though, so we'll have to see what happens with that plot of land come this season.

If FoF gets removed, don't expect that land to be used anytime soon. Vortex was removed over half a decade ago and that land is still sitting mostly vacant.

You wanna know what does have good capacity? Please, please, please, KI! I would love a MACK Stryker Coaster similar to Voltron. This would be a worthy replacement of Vortex in my opinion, and would look great in that plot of land. It doesn't have to be as long or big as Voltron, but something with powerful launches, strong airtime, and crazy inversions would fill all of the gaps at KI. Another ride that fills in those gaps is Time Traveler. Would love to see something like that come in as well. If you don't care about maintenance costs, (which they do because of Ka) then something like ArieForce One would be cool. I guess I could settle for a Raptor, but that's farther down on the list for me. Unfortunately, I don't see Six Flags going with RMC.

Chapter 1- The Old Dominion Line https://www.facebook.com/KDGoldenYears/ Following the success of Kings Island in near Cincinnati, Taft Broadcasting Company decided to duplicate the park in Virginia. One of the many things Kings Dominion took from her sister park was a small 36" narrow gauge railroad in a section of the park named "Old Virginia", a section that reflected the early years of Virginia; a similar concept to Rivertown at Kings Island. The "Old Dominion Line" featured two authentic steam locomotives built by the Crown Locomotive Works- the Baldwin Locomotive Works of amusement park railroads. The line ventured through the Virginian wilderness past log cabins and animatronics. https://www.facebook.com/KDGoldenYears/ The two locomotives that ran along the short line were the #601 "Patrick Henry" and the #552 "Stonewall Jackson." Like their Kings Island cousin's, both locomotives were modeled after the standard "American" style locomotive bearing the typical 4-4-0 wheel arrangement. When management asked Kings Island engineers for feedback on how to perfect the train ride in Virginia they suggested a more prototypical approach. This meant that the locomotives should have larger smoke stacks, darker colors, and most notably- wooden cabs (as seen in the picture above.) These changes were made to give the locomotives a more "primitive" look as steel wasn't as plentiful in the mid 1800s as it is now. http://parkfans.net/thread-1541.html The “Patrick Henry” was meant to resemble Kings Island's #12 "Tecumseh" locomotive respectively. The locomotive bared a large balloon smoke stack, featured 2 domes, and a gothic style roof, as well as a dark blue color scheme with red decals. The “Patrick Henry” also had a set of blue coaches with brown decals to match the locomotive’s color scheme as well as the look of older passenger coaches from the 1800s. There’s no audio to prove this but I suspect the “Patrick Henry” featured a 6 chime whistle. The locomotive also featured two flags, one was the American flag and the other one was the Virginia Flag. Though meant to resemble Kings Island’s #12, Kings Dominion’s #601 was one of the most cloned Crown models to date. The large balloon stack was seen on multiple crown locomotives throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s giving it a less original look. http://parkfans.net/thread-1541.html The “Stonewell Jackson” was meant to resemble Kings Island's #19 "Simon Kenton" locomotive respectively. The locomotive bared a narrow balloon smoke stack, featured 2 domes, and a curved style roof, as well as an orange-red color scheme with blue decals. The “Stonewall Jackson” also had a set of orange-red coaches with brown decals to match the locomotive’s color scheme as well as the look of older passenger coaches from the 1800s. There’s no audio to prove this but I suspect the “Stonewall Jackson” featured a 6 chime whistle. The locomotive also featured two flags, one was the American flag and the other one was the Confederacy Flag. This locomotive model was my favorite of all the Crown locomotives ever built because of its unique balloon stack design. This is was one of the more original designs ever found on a Crown locomotive. https://www.facebook.com/KDGoldenYears/ The line started in the Old Virginia section of the park, near the end of Candy Apple Grove not too far from the Rebel Yell. The train would run parallel to Rebel Yell until taking a right turn into the Virginian Wilderness. In the woods, like the Miami Valley Railroad, the trains past several log cabins and animatronics. The train would stop at a part of the line and actors would interact with guests on board. The train would then pass the engine house before finally returning to the station. In the later years, some of the scenery changed to accommodate newer attractions. In the early 80s, Grizzly was placed behind the station, similar to Mystic Timbers at Kings Island. The challenge was that the que line crossed the railroad tracks making operations interesting to say in the least. http://parkfans.net/thread-1541.html Towards the late 80s, the popularity of the railroad started to dwindle and some of the theming began to go away. By the 90s, Paramount attempted to revitalize the railroad by adding an action scene on the train but to no avail. Operations were so dismal that the railroad would close early around 6pm because it began to lose the park money. In 1994 Hurler was added and coexisted with the train for about a year. In 1995, it was decided that the line would be demolished and the locomotives and their coaches sold to other amusement parks. The fact that the railroad wasn’t a transport ride was one of the main reasons why it’s popularity decreased. One could make the assumption that Kings Island’s trains would have suffered the same fate if they weren’t used to transport guests to and from the waterpark. #601 currently operates at Busch Gardens Tampa on the Serengeti Express. The locomotive was repainted an off green color with a red cowcatcher and yellow decals. The original wood cab was replaced with a steel cab fitted with exhaust fans. The whistle was mounted on the additional dome and was toned down a couple of chimes, in my opinion to not scare off the animals. The original coaches were painted yellow to match a nearly identical locomotive bought from Six Flags Mid-America, now Six Flags St. Louis. The green coaches the train usually pulls is a part of an older Busch Gardens locomotive #4 that isn’t currently in operation. I was fortunate enough to see this locomotive down in Tampa when I visited Busch Gardens in 2012. Though I prefer its original look, I’m happy that the locomotive has more room to stretch out it’s wheels and isn’t sitting out to rust like a lot of other Crown locomotives. http://parkfans.net/thread-1541.html #552 currently operates at a small religious retreat called Dry Gulch USA in Adair Oklahoma. Like #601, #552 received a cosmetic overhaul with a black boiler, red domes, a red cowcatcher, red wheels, and a black tender. The most notable change however was the wooden cab. While in transport, engine #552 encountered a tree and suffered damage to its cab. The original cab was removed and replaced with a new, darker colored wood cab that can still be seen today. The locomotive operates on select dates and during the parks popular “Christmas Train” event with two other locomotives made by H.K. Porter. It is unknown what happened to the original coaches of the train whether they were sold to another party or are sitting on storage. https://www.facebook.com/KDGoldenYears/ There has been a bit of confusion as to where the locomotives actually ended up first. One rumor states that Dry Gulch bought the two locomotives and sold #601 to Busch Gardens. Another rumor states that Busch Gardens bought the two locomotives and #552 was sold to Dry Gulch. In my opinion, I believe both trains were initially sold to the Busch Gardens chain since Busch Gardens Europe was a short drive from Doswell. At the time, Busch Gardens Africa already had three locomotives but desperately needed a backup. I think #552 was less appealing to the company so it was sold to Dry Gulch. I could be completely wrong but that’s just how I think that went down. http://parkfans.net/thread-1541.html Remnants of the Old Dominion Line can still be seen at Kings Dominion today. The old railroad shed still stands vacant and the old route can still be made out on satellite. I think this ride could have served a greater purpose and could still be standing today if it acted as a transport ride. However, it’s placement in the park limited its potential to be used as a transport ride and was one of the many contributing factors to its dismantle in 1995. Also, the placement of the ride prevented a lot of potential expansion so, while I still wish it were there, I can see why the park made the decision to remove it. I hoped you enjoyed this! Please feel free to share your comments and post any pictures. I have way more pictures if anyone's interested. If you have any questions for me or any suggestions on what park I should do next, please let me know! Edit as of 2020: Cedar Fair aquired #552 to be a backup engine for the World's of Fun Railroad. The engine will be named "Levi"