Shaggy

At this point, I would not be surprised to see parks like KI cut spring weekend-only operations, and push back opening until the typical time period when they normally begin full time operations. There’s no way this thing is going to settle down by early April. We’re still at surface level of the iceberg. That having been said - they will do what’s right. Don’t get upset, or angry or frustrated. Any decisions they make will be done for our welfare, and the welfare of their employees.

Agreed - but remember that its highly contagious and although it may not have affected them much, it may fatally affect someone of questionable health. I am glad to know people are getting checked, and I hope that stay confined if tested positive for the sake of others.

Broadway shows are now closed in NYC for the next month. That's mind boggling. Most of them will not survive.

Good God ... was going by the one news article I read which specifically said "inside."

No INSIDE gatherings over 100 in Ohio now.

I'll be anxious to see if the virus can actually live outdoors. I have read that experts believe that although the virus can live on interior surfaces like countertops, plastic, metal etc. that is not believed to be an effective means of transmission. At this point, its is believed to be transmitted mainly through person to person contact. I would suspect that we've not yet seen the peak of the transmissions... experts are saying that may not come for another 8 weeks... it may get better - or it may get a lot worse. I will say, for all those biting their nails over media day, or opening weekend or first rides on Orion etc. Take a chill pill. The park will do whats right and act in the best interest of its guests and their safety. I am POSITIVE Cedar Fair is monitoring the situation closely. They are not going to make any broad statements about cancellations, or closures etc until they have more info and concrete directives. Right now there's just too much left unknown. It is not a situation that calls for panic, but it IS very concerning. To say its just a "common cold" is kind of a slap to those that may have lost loved ones to it. Downplaying the severity of it undermines our ability to contain and control it. Of course we have to be rational... buying truckloads of toilet paper isnt going to help much. The best quote I read in this thread was from Malem. "Personally, I'm a lot more worried about potentially spreading it to others than about getting seriously ill from the virus myself. It's quite dangerous to vulnerable populations, and it does have the capability of making even otherwise healthy people very ill." That is exactly how I feel. We all need to be very cognizant of our role in halting the spread. If that means we cant go to KI for a few more weeks... so be it. Health is more important. My current modus operandi is to be "cautiously optimistic."

Just for posterity. Enchanted Voyage - 1972 until 1983. Operated 12 seasons. Smurfs Enchanted Voyage - 1984 until 1991. Operated 8 seasons. Phantom Theater - 1992 until 2002. Operated 11 seasons. Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle - 2003 until 2009. Operated 7 seasons. Boo Blasters - 2010 and counting. (This will be it's 11th season of operation.) It woudn't surprise me to see the ride "refreshed" in the next few seasons. The conveyance unit seems to still be very dependable - but it's heading into it's 29th season of use. The guns seem very temperamental to me... but they always have, even when it was "Scooby new." What Boo Blasters has going for it, that most of the others didnt... is that the theme doesnt "wear out." What I mean is, its generic enough that it hasn't stagnated with kids. More about that in a minute... Just to take folks back - by the time Enchanted Voyage was converted to Smurfs, the Hanna-Barbera characters featured in the ride were (for the most part) irrelevant. Young children of the 80's weren't that familiar with the predominance of them because most of the cartoons the attraction was based on were long cancelled by then. The ride was in DESPERATE need of a re-do in its latter years. The Smurfs rolled in and breathed a new (albeit annoying) life into the ride. However, in a handful of years the Smurf craze died and the cartoon wore itself out. Kids that watched the cartoon grew up and lost interest by the late 1980's. (You have to remember that back then, there was no Cartoon Network, or DVD collections etc. Once a cartoon was removed from Saturday morning TV... it was virtually removed from the minds and interest of new generations of children.) "Smurfs Enchanted Voyage" was very popular for about the first 4-5 years that it operated. It kept a steady crowd in it's later years... but frankly the ride sort of became a joke and people made fun of its "trite" and "uncool" theme once the Smurf fad died out. Lets also not forget that its conveyance device was, a water trough... which at that point was 20 years old. I think the parks (the other KECO Managed parks all had Smurfs too) as a whole learned from this after realizing the novelty of a popular cartoon character had a shelf life (on average) around 4 years. SEV lasted roughly 2 or 3 seasons longer than it probably should have. Then along came Phantom Theater. Phantom Theater was kind of an anomaly. It was, IMO, one of the boldest and most unique things Kings Island ever installed. This may shock some... but I actually rank it second only to "The Beast" as far as originality and uniqueness to Kings Island. It really was a superb attraction - especially when it first opened - a real gem. Frankly, its my personal belief that the decision to add something so unique was probably due, in large part, by what they learned with the Smurfs. The KI executives probably didn't want to install another specific, pop culture character-driven ride that would become old hat in a handful of years. I first rode Phantom Theater in June of 1992. I remember waiting well over an hour to ride it. (The line stretched through HB Land.) I was amazed by it when I first rode - it definitely had a VERY similar vibe akin to Disney's Haunted Mansion (on a lesser scale - complete with its own take on the "Doom Buggies.") Actually, it was terrifying to many kids when it opened, and there were LOTS of crying and screaming children. The problem with Phantom Theater was, with time, the ride's figures wore themselves out. Many don't know this, but year after year the rubber masks and hands had to be replaced. They would break down, melt and deteriorate because of the constant movement and heat from the hydraulics. There was a whole shop inside the building (actually located just behind the cars as they faced the "Hilda Bovine" mirror-breaking scene) that housed spare parts for the ride/characters. When they needed replacements, they called up AVG Inc (who did the animations and theming) and ordered the parts by a catalog number. AVG had molds in storage and they'd re-pour the necessary rubber mask or hand. Once the rubber was spread in the mold, they filled it with spray foam insulation - this created a sort of "form" inside the mask or hand. They then had their coloring/facial accents hand painted by artists according to the original detailed design specs. They were shipped to KI on the foam heads and hand forms. When I toured the ride after it's closure and before it was converted to Scooby, I personally saw a whole bin of those heads & hand forms obtained from ordering replacement masks over the years. I asked if I could have one - but no dice. They felt like the equivalent of a nerf football. Frankly, the park HATED to lose Phantom Theater. But the ride's animatronics and effects had virtually worn themselves out. Being Paramount at the time, they already had worked with Sally rides at two other parks - and Sally came on board having already secured the Scooby licensing. And as we all know, Scooby is arguably the most time-enduring and most famous Hanna-Barbera character. Had CF not opted to drop the (no doubt) hefty licensing fee required to continue with the Scooby theming, I have no doubt the ride would still exist and be as popular today. When the licensing was dropped, that forced a generic overlay. Although very basic... and quite frankly, flat... the "Boo Blasters" theme is not one that's necessarily going to wear itself out theme-wise. Its not based on specific characters or being driven by a specific cartoon entity. In other words, kids dont know any of the "characters," so they aren't emotionally invested enough to get tired of them. Should it change to a Peanuts themed dark ride - which it could - it might breathe new life into the ride. But again, it would likely stagnate since it would be a very specific theme that is, IMO, already lost on kids...and adults... today. It will eventually change. It'll have to. The effects, animatronics and technology will wear/age out. When it does, the park will make the determination of where to take it. I cant imagine KI without a dark ride... but we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I pray for something unique and bold again.... so future generations will have something to discuss as passionately as we do "Phantom Theater."

If I count (and remember) correctly, I believe there were 11 new coasters built for 2019 in just North America and Europe.... out of those 8 have inversions. New-for-2019 coasters with inversions in North America: Yukon Striker (Canada's Wonderland), Steel Curtain (Kennywood), Maxx Force (SFGAm), Copperhead Strike (Carowinds), New-for-2019 coasters with inversions in Europe: Zardra (Poland), Dynamite (Germany), Fury (Germany), Untamed (Holland) New for 2019 coasters that did not have inversions... Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (Universal's Islands of Adventure), Kentucky Flyer (Kentucky Kingdom), Wilkolak (Poland). So... judging by those numbers, I'd say that inversions are very much IN ;-) I am nearly willing to bet money that Kings Island's next coaster will include them as well. Oh, and just for posterity, launching is very much IN too.

I'll give you my two cents... There was a "turn" in the 80's when it seemed like KI became a bit more of a "teen" park rather than family focused. Because of that, I think some may look on that time as the period in which Kings Island was more interested in thrills rather than being an all-day entertaining, quality family experience. I attended KI many times during the "Linder Years"... I recall that it was still a good guest experience - clean, well managed etc. I do, however, distinctly recall that as I returned each season it seemed more and more rides went missing. Many (including myself in the past) have laid blame on the owners at the time - American Financial - for the fact that "original" rides disappeared during the tenure. Truth is, at least a few of those rides had just naturally worn out and there probably wasn't a lot they could do to salvage them. TMK American Financial didn't come in with a sweeping arm of change insisting rides be scrapped. (That was more Paramount's style) In reality, the park was still being managed by the same people (KECO) as had operated it in years prior... it was just owned by someone else. By this point, the park was nearing it's 20th anniversary, and many of the rides had probably "reached the end of their service life." (Sound familiar?) I vividly recall that during my visits to the park during the time period I noticed the wear and tear of certain aging attractions. For example, by the time it closed, Smurfs Enchanted Voyage was a dusty, rust-stained and overall unkempt ride. I certainly wish at least a few of the original/classic rides were still there. There's validity to the argument that rides of the same ilk at other parks have fared better. (Need an example? Just look at Kennywood's Turtle.) But from the start it was always Kings Island's moniker to not allow the park to stagnate. When KI was built, it was a nod to Coney Island and Cincinnati's past, but the new owners were adamant that it was to be it's very own unique park. (This actually caused a bit of an uproar among Cincinnati Coney Island purists that initially refused to go to KI when it opened out of protest.) Much to their credit, some major rides/attractions were added during the "Linder years." Vortex, Amazon Falls, Adventure Express, Waterworks, Phantom Theater even Top Gun (originally contracted by AF before the Paramount Agreement was signed) are all to be credited to this era. That says quite a bit about their focus on investment. Consequently, these attractions have evolved into staples of the park now deeply etched into the hearts of those that grew up riding them. (Need proof? Phantom Theater is one of the most missed and most reminisced rides from the park's past - and it was a replacement!) In hindsight Paramount did far more damage to Kings Island's original vision than the "Linder Years" did. The entire focus during this time was to commercialize the park - and that ultimately caused the park to lose it's soul - not to mention any type of coherent theming. At the time I personally championed it.. I mean, the rides were so grand.. but when IJST opened I remember walking away from media day devastated by what they had done to massacre the most beautiful part of the park (and in the midst removing not one, but two of the most classic attractions.) I stopped attending KI for the next two seasons because I was so upset by what I saw. In the future, I'm sure some may argue the same thing about CF. Heck with the loss of Firehawk and Vortex some already are crying that the current owners are "destroying its history." But fact is, there's probably more to be said about investment in new attractions than there is to be said of keeping aged ones. The reason KI is still around, and still a HUGE force in the Theme Park industry, is because it has evolved and changed with the times. I'll finish my soapbox by saying that we haven't seen the last of ride removals. We, no doubt, will see other aging and less popular rides removed in the near future.... the VERY near future. Its a necessary evil that will continue to allow the park to flourish. Finally... as someone that has attended KI for 40 years, I can say its current state rings of the same vibe as those "glory years." It has a bit more to go... *cough* show quality *cough*... but the Kings Island of today is really grand. I'm personally very happy with what Cedar Fair is doing with the park. That having been said, I predict that the next few years will see a renewed focus on general infrastructure and family experience. They're giving the thrill-seekers their big gift this year, they'll likely concentrate on smaller thrills next... I just hope they add a few more trees in the mix as well ;-).

Alrighty then...

Mmmmkay... we shall see...

Me thinks you are in for a surprise...

I noticed that too - they've enclosed the former outdoor queue. Oh - and it seems pretty obvious that those are bathrooms that they've added closer to The Racer.

Have you ridden an S&S 4d Free Spin coaster? I've ridden 3 of them - and they are terrible. (I only rode the last two for the "count.") If... and that's a big if... Kings Dominion is getting one... then shame shame shame. Not of CF quality. Shaggy

Coronavirus Care Center

May I ask why it matters so much? Im not trying to ruffle feathers. I just don’t understand why it’s a big deal whether a fence is added or not. Historically the park has often erected a wooden fence to shroud areas from view of the public. Sometimes for esthetic reasons, sometimes to mask what’s going on behind them. Just to name few - when KCKC was torn down, a wooden fence was added. Same for King Cobra, Xtreme Raceway (I think it was called), Kings Mill Log Flume, Food stand in Rivertown (pre MT), Sunshine Turnpike, and most recently Firehawk (Probably more but all I can think of right off the top of my head.). Back in the day - during the original Run of Winterfest - entire areas of the park were masked by wooden fencing to deter guests from accessing closed sections (rear of Rivertown, Coney Mall, Wild Animal Habitat etc) If I were to guess, Id expect them to put a wooden fence up along the midway from Rivertown to Coney Mall. If nothing else, to hide a currently unattractive area of the park (not to mention build mystery.) It would (or will) be a loooong fence to cover all that area - however. My prediction is it’s probably shocking to see the large plot of land sitting empty. It would make sense if they had to remove a lot of trees and foliage growth to demolish Vortex. They likely destroyed a lot of the soil under Vortex with equipment. That having been said, I would think they’d want to at least attempt to mask the vacancy and disturbance to the landscape. If you’re concerned about being able to see the site - there’s always the view from the Tower. But the park has been pretty clear that nothing immediate will be happening in its spot. (Make no mistake, however, something IS going to go in that area.) But bottom line - if they do or if they don’t, it’s not a big deal. At least not as big a deal as many on here like to make things out to be from time to time. Just sayin’

I've been suffering from bronchitis and a terrible sinus infection. So I finally broke down and went to Urgent Care yesterday. I asked about Coronavirus prep (not because I was concerned I had it) and they said Urgent Care facilities do not even have testing supplies yet.

Somebody pulled out the cork.

None "died." I think the water ranges from only a couple feet deep to it's deepest part - 5 feet. The guests were evac'd and none injured - just wet (according to reports.) Its already reopened. Now if the boat flipped or something that could be bad...

Here is a picture I dug up of the former "Congo Curio Gift Shop" in its final year before the area was re-themed to Action Zone. (By then it was called Outback Trading Company or such. You'll notice in that picture that Cobra's loop was in the midst of being primed for it's repaint.) Also, there are 3 subsequent pictures of it's demolition and the foundation of "Ice Scream Zone" being poured during the winter of 1998. As far as the opinion that Action Zone was tacky... Adventure Village was, IMO, the worst that area of the park has ever looked. From about 1995-1997 the area was a shell of its former self, a ghost town as far as foot traffic and void of all of its previous lush theme elements. (Even the hay & bamboo thatching was removed from all the building rooftops and shingles took their place.) For those of us that lived through the terrible Adventure Village years, Action Zone was a welcome change. A major shift happened around 1994 and then in 1995 when Skyflyer was installed - the area was stripped of all theming and was just a bunch of brown buildings. If I recall properly, it was during the opening of the 1994 season at the preview for "Days of Thunder - The Ride" that I first noticed the waterway in "Adventure Village" had been removed. The stream that led from under Cobra under the footbridge entrance to the area was gone and the path had been widened and paved. (Mostly likely for congestion control following the premiere of Top Gun the year prior.) By the time Skyflyer was added - the whole area had become a large, flat plaza - very blah.

I hope that’s the music they’ll play in the station!

"Marketed" is the key word there. As I understand, amounts marketed are typically for the whole project - not just the cost of the physical coaster. ;-) Either way it's all semantics. Orion is the coaster KI is getting. Comparisons will always be - that's just nature. But I have a feeling all the complaints about it not being a "record-breaker" will change once it opens. Well, at least until coaster geeks get bored and start whining online again - which seems to be a favorite pastime. LOL!

Its my personal belief that the size of a coaster at CF Park A has nothing to do with the size of the same coaster-type installed later at CF Park B. I believe it to be related to financial planning, marketability, and sustainability in the region. They make independent installation decisions based on what the specific market can support. Likely, a capitol expenditure amount is set and they approach manufacturers with a "What can you give us in this type of ride with a budget of $xxx." Shaggy

I've been fortunate to have been to both parks. I attended many years ago when they were under the original, and/or previous ownership. Indiana Beach was still owned by the Spackmans (Tom Spackman was a very nice man.) When I went to Fantasy Island it was called MARTINS Fantasy Island and owned by Martin DiPietro. (I think I went twice.) Martin's was a quaint park with a decent CCI woodie. I remember Silver Comet being a fun ride, but nothing to write home about. It wasnt, IMO, and all-day park. Rather something you did as a stop on the way to Niagara Falls. Indiana Beach was the better of the two - and Cornball Express was a real gem. However I'll always remember IB the most for having the weirdest "coaster" I've ever ridden - "Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain." I went to the park a couple times - and was struck at how much it literally seemed like an old-school sea-side amusement park. I'm sad to see them go, but don't feel a personal loss because it has literally been 18 years since I went to either. I had actually told myself this past summer "I need to get back to Indiana Beach"... but I'll just have to live with my memories. Here's a few pics of my last visit to Indiana Beach in August 2002.