Shaggy

I'm hoping they will avoid the whole "blast/launched B&M Wing coaster out of Wonder Mountain." I personally would prefer to see it left as is. When Paramount installed Volcano at KD, the design team essentially crucified the structure of Lost World/Fantasy Mountain for what was (IMO) and underwhelming short gimmick coaster. When the gimmick - and maintainability - of Volcano wore out, they were left with no way to salvage what was one of the most unique and over-the-top theming elements ever created for any park (the mountain.) Wonder Mountain is to Canada's Wonderland what Eiffel Tower is to KI and KD. Imagine if CF suddenly decided to build a coaster that ran up the side and over the top of the Eiffel Tower. It’s essentially the same idea.... and it’s just tacky. I'm in the GCI camp. Wonderland needs a new woodie. Its been 42 years since they had a new one. Seems to me its time...

Took me a week or so to find the right words to post. Here goes... I had seen Don around the park prior to meeting him. Specifically. he'd come ride Beast when I was on crew and people would "whisper" about him being "The Racer Guy." I first officially met Don at the Son of Beast announcement media day waaaay back in spring of 1999. I was introduced to him, and Jeff Siebert at the exact same time. I still have the pic in my files. After I met him, I'd often see him at KI - specifically on media days - and I always marveled at his KI knowledge and stories. He always has had a reserved, quiet demeanor. But once I got to know him I realized what an really outgoing guy he is. I was ecstatic to find out that he was hired to oversee Marketing at KI and would carry the torch. (He was mentored by the great Ruth Voss - and always speaks endearingly of those lessons she taught.) Don obviously brought with him a vast amount of ability, knowledge and know-how, but also he had the key ingredient - a passion. Its getting more and more rare these days for a person in an executive level at any theme park to have the profound history, and love, that he has with/for KI. Don is the epitome of someone that completely understood the effect that a place like KI has on peoples lives. In 2017, it was Don who single-handedly got behind the idea of what was to become "Kings Island: A Photographic Journey." He was the project's biggest supporter and cheerleader, and without him it would have never happened. He made a dream come true, just by saying "Yes." For that I will be forever grateful. Although its very sad to know I wont see him in an official capacity at Kings Island, I also marvel at his tenure. He is to be congratulated on a very long-term, successful run. In an industry that tends to blow through marketing folks like water, its a testament to his ability and tenacity that he maintained the career at KI for so long. I am super excited to find out what his next chapter will be. Helbig 2.0. But I mostly look forward to taking many more spins around the park with my friend, "The Racer Guy." Fly birdie fly - thank you for carrying that torch bud.

The general rumor I've heard is that Phoenix, and now Sand Serpent are being removed for the station of a potential B&M Hyper.

The Peanuts license was more or less "inherited" by CF once they took over Knotts Berry Farm in the late '90's The Knotts Family had first secured the rights from Charles Schulz back in the early 1980's. Prior to the buyout, Cedar Fairs "mascots" were the Berenstain Bears... which held some marketability. After the Knotts purchase, they expanded the Peanuts license to extend to their other parks. Peanuts is reliable, safe, steady, and Snoopy is a universally recognizable character. The broad spectrum of HB characters had a much wider appeal in the 60's-early 1980s. A big part of their success was that every year there were a barrage of new shows, characters etc. They had their steady characters, but they also constantly introduced new serials to continue to draw in new themes and interests. However as Hannah-Barbera aged, their empire did too - and by the 90's the creation of new content/characters ground to a halt. HB productions ceased operation in the early 2000's - and Warned Bros (who bought the rights) had no interest in creating new content, just milking the tried and true goldmines like Scooby. Also, there was a big shift in children's entertainment in the 1980's that changed the cartoon landscape. Laws were changed that allowed toy manufacturers to create cartoons that served the primary purpose of selling toy lines. You first saw it with Masters of the Universe, My Little Pony and GI Joe... and that immense success soon expanded to nearly every toy line. That left a lot of the tried and true cartoon production companies in the dust. HB had good taste of it with the Smurfs - which became a licensing juggernaut - but that's about it. That trend continues today... Monster High, LOL dolls, Transformers etc all have toy line tie ins. Kid's taste in entertainment is flighty. One day Lambchop is the hot property, then within 6 months its Thomas the Train. So for a park to attempt to ride the wave of what's hot with kids would be futile. I assume that why CF sticks with the easier, broader Peanuts license. Had HB Productions not ceased/sold out, and still created new content, coupled with successful toy lines, I suspect it might still be a theming staple at KI.

The key to a proper Camp Snoopy re-theme isn't so much the rides, its the atmosphere. The better Camp Snoopy areas (Carowinds & Knotts - not to be confused with CP's lesser version) are very woodsy, densely tree-covered areas with a remote wilderness/log cabin like feel. If KI's plan is to "re-do" Planet Snoopy, they will need to gut the area and spend a great deal of the budget on installing more mature landscaping and tree covering. Right now, the entire back half is a concrete jungle with a lot of very bold-colored rides. Hopefully Adventure Port is an indication of the kind of job they can do... but it needs to be top notch if they hope to re-gain the accolades the kids area once had. Side note: Having recently visited Carowinds, the thing I took the most note of was the attention to modernization of restrooms. In the newer areas they took the time to gut/remodel the bathrooms as well - and it made a huge difference in the enjoyment of a day at the park. KI's restrooms are nearly something from the dark ages - antiquated and nasty. Amenities such as a clean, fresh bathroom score a lot of points with guests. They need to spend a good deal of capitol on that sort of basic infrastructure.

The question is… is Orion operating today?

Fury's track flexes quite a bit - so obviously that put a great deal of stress on the support that didn't have much give. Its a stress break. I would suspect a re-engineered support may be in store, not a simple replacement. I would also expect Orion to be closed pending a close inspection of similar supports. Glad it didn't happen last Friday, when I was there riding it...

Don't forget Flying Dutchman. The Arches are now being called "Dutchman Arches"

...and the hills... but no loop ;-)

Here's Orion 13's picture of the SOB in-station reference Elevation @ 218 - SOB's height World largest rose bowl - SOB's infamous double helix ...and there's your Outpost 5 reference.

The Southern Yellow Overlook signage in the station is referring to SOB.

My speculation is Adventure Express will have lots more “props” - specifically in the tunnels-all illuminated by black light.

Here’s a few pics of sculpting under way…. The trains look to have been “refreshed .” Also, were those “shields” always there in the final tunnel exit?

It was closed all last season - but still there. By chopping block, I meant slated for removal.

I havent seen anything official - but what from what I have heard locally - It will be SBNO this season. So it sounds as though its already been retired - I wouldnt count on "last rides."

I've also heard - via local word of mouth - Deluge is on the chopping block. Take note of their locations.

The “Fantasyland “ font logo just can’t be beat. I wish they’d just bite the bullet and switch back to it permanently.

I typically give KI a break. But this year we upgraded to “Prestige”. I was curious about the VIP lounge and knew that it would be a temporary location. However I simply cannot believe the VIP area entitled us to… water… in Dixie cups.. and plain Lays potato chips. No, I’m not joking - that was it.

I'm really glad to see WOF getting some love. I first went to the park in 2008 and was surprised by the poor state it was in. It had been terribly neglected. For a park with such an amazing "theme" on which it was designed, I felt all potential had been ignored. The pics indicate its turning a corner and getting the love it deserves. Thanks for sharing KIghostguy. Carowinds continues to hit the ball out of the park with their capitol improvements, IMO. They've obviously taken a lesson from Canadas Wonderland - whom I believe to be the outstanding leader of the Cedar Fair parks. I truly hope KI's move to add two flats this year is an indication of many more to come and they follow the same trend.

I personally always felt the Bubba Gump overlay should have gone to Stunt Crew Grill in Action Zone. It would have fit well next to Congo Falls and played into the whole "back-lot" theme they had going. FYI - the Gump overlay to the former Octoberfest Gardens was chosen because the former restaurant was (at the time) the least patronized food stand in the park - and the "waterfront" location helped validate the theme. When it opened, it was part of a concentrated effort to improve some of the food options in the park (Happy Days Cafe was another example of a "restaurant" overhaul.) By mid-Paramount era, the food offerings were pretty bad. Those two additions breathed some fresh life into the choices of things to eat. Unfortunately the quality didn't last.

I wasn't suggesting it would be removed for those things. I was just pointing out "isms" people (that were not around when The Bat was at KI) may not have known about the ride. What I was saying was, the novelty probably would have worn out and wouldn't have had much marketability as newer, faster and more intense coasters were built. I referenced Screamin' Demon as an example. By the time Vortex was built, interest in (and marketability of) that ride had waned - and the park pulled the plug on it in favor of a new attraction on the same plot of land. I wish, probably more than most, The Bat had been a rousing success. But I also think that had it been a reliable attraction, people might not talk about it or reflect on it as much 42 years later. IMO there's a vested interest in the ride because of its mystique. That mystique (along with the various tall-tales about it) is what perpetuates a lot of the conversation about it to this day.

Definitely real. Dave Focke confirmed it directly to me. SFO only got one B&M - and it was a floorless - at a time when CP was heavily involved with Intamin. Simultaneously, KI was eyeballs deep in SOB and Paramount was working heavily with Vekoma. Perhaps CP passed on the floorless concept at the time, opening the door for SF to swoop in.

I personally think that, no matter the design flaws, The Bat would have been a short-lived coaster. Over the 10 years that followed it's installation, coaster technology evolved extremely rapidly. By 1992, the first invert was operating. Obviously, The Bat is my personal obsession... however I also recognize its challenges outside of the engineering issues. Here's a few things that often get overlooked with the coaster. - It was LOUD. Specifically the lift. you could hear it all the way in the parking lot. It was that familiar Arrow tubular clunking (like Vortex had) - but much louder. - It was jerky. It was not a smooth ride. Specifically, it caused neck/ear boxing like other Arrows. The horse collars were replaced to try and alleviate some of this. - It wasn't that fast. Because the swinging was a novelty, that made up for the fact that it only ran at a top speed of around 35 m.p.h. To put it in context - That's the speed of Woodstock's Express. If I had to guess, I think The Bat would have rounded out the '80's then bit the dust for something bigger - much like how Screamin' Demon left after an 11 year run. I think Vortex would have still happened (possibly in some other location or form) because Arrow multi-loopers were the definitive trend in the late 1980's. It also stands to reason that instead of Top Gun, KI might have very well become home to an invert. If so, it could have potentially undercut Raptor at CP by a year or two - and helped the KI avoid the B&M exclusivity agreement that hindered the park for years. IMO Backwards Racer may not have happened had The Bat succeeded. I know the recaR origin story is oft debated - but I was always told it was a knee-jerk reaction to The Bat's extensive downtime (to help promote the park for Memorial Day in '82.) However, because of recaR's success (and to offset the excruciatingly embarrassing PR issues they faced with The Bat) it was held over... I always recall visiting KI in '82, and the park was promoting the HECK out of Racer now running backwards, it was a marketing campaign the park pushed hard in '82 & '83. By '84, King Cobra was their new PR talking point - and by the end of the season The Bat was no more... they had newer, bigger things to market.

Given the fact that they are gonna string colored confetti banners all over Adventure Port, there's no reason why they cant bring back all of the themed area archways/signage. I doubt they will, but one can hope.

I once asked why all the archway signs into the themed areas were removed. HB had one (well, 3, through the years) Octoberfest had one, Wild Animal Habitat had one, and of course Coney (2 through the years, actually). I was told it makes for ease of equipment to move through the park, as well as parade floats. While I understand that reasoning, I also think they added a great touch and could easily be brought back with a "pivot" action to them where they could swing out of the way.