Shaggy

My predictions... CoW - Area re-theme with flat ride package WOF - Hybrid CP -Pavillion with family coaster & flats KI & CW - Planet Snoopy makeovers/expansions

Don't waste your punctuation.

Actually, the new pins are for The Demon and Lion Country Safari.. The other pins produced prior were for Wild Animal Habitat and The Screamin Demon. Remember, (Screamin) Demon had 2 logos - "Screamin" was dropped in 1983 to better align its name with the other coasters. Lion Country Safari was the name that pre-dated Wild Animal Habitat from 1974-1976. Its a subtle - but noteworthy difference. I'm glad someone in merch is being savvy and knows the history/difference.

Good Lord KI is killing my wallet this season! The merch is simply the best its been in 30 years... Now they need to sell maquettes of the Phantom Theater characters. Those would blow my mind...

The price of gas... plain and simple. Less people traveling.

I want KI to implement it. I witnessed a situation with a large group of “teens” when I was at KI on a Sat night about a month ago… let’s just say it was like watching a storm brew… then all heck broke loose. Thank God security and Mason police were quick to act - but it was literally terrifying to watch. I may be saying too much, but there’s something odd going on in general. Places like parks and malls etc are the new targets of trouble-makers of a certain dynamic. Until drastic measures are taken to ensure that they cannot attend in groups/congregate, they will keep trying to lay claim/ownership as part of their turf war.

Puppet Tree. Beastie. Screamin Demon. Guilliver's. Zodiac. WWC. KCKC. Eagles. Fascination Parlor.

FYI - If you haven't taken the time to walk through, do so. At some point they'll probably close it in order to prep for Haunt and WF. I hope they keep/bring back the signage next season... obviously the pavers will stay.

Im glad someone else remembers the "snakes"... essentially garden hoses gone crazy. That was always a funny part to me.

I have not. I'd like to - its been way too long. I believe Shockwave has nearly faced the wrecking ball a few times, but managed to survive. I too worry because at some point cost outweighs worth.

SDL is highly HIGHLY underrated IMO. A Schwarzkopf gem. I haven't been to Hershey for nearly 20 years (I was supposed to go to the ACE Con there last year - but concerns over Covid deterred that), so I hope they are maintaining it well. I'm a sucker for those original Schwarzkopf full-circuit loopers - my top 10 steel also includes Mindbender at SFOG and Shockwave at SFOT.

There was once a long-standing rumor that the park was considering "flipping" the main entrance to the back-side. It never came to be, of course, but the idea was you'd enter in the Midway America area and the current entrance area would become the back end of the park. Obviously things worked out for the best - they eventually got a much improved/expanded entrance area and were able to acquire the old golf course area - hence Candymonium. But back in the day, the park grew to a point that the original entrance area was a terrible bottleneck. Fun fact - Hersheypark originally had an Intamin Double-arm ferris wheel right inside the original main entrance. It was just like Kings Island's Zodiac but Hershey's Giant wheel predated the KI one by a few years. When KI expanded Coney Mall, they used pictures of Hershey's Giant Wheel for promotional purposes. (you can tell because the Hershey wheel had the unique pinwheel logo in the center of each wheel.) I first went to Hersheypark in 1984. The park was only about 1/3 the size that it is now. The Comet still used its original trains and had hand-brakes. I also seem to recall that it might have had a 2-point unload/load process where you exited the train in the curved part of the station - then a ride op sent the train forward where it loaded. The Superdooperlooper was the "big" coaster in the park (there were only 3 then.) I was obsessed with the SuperDooperLooper - and must have ridden it a dozen times that first visit. I still love that coaster and it holds a special place for me.

The Wildcat is long overdue for a rehab. It was already rough by its 2nd or 3rd season - and that was over 25 years ago. They did replace the trains sometime in the past 10-15 years or so with millennium flyers, I think that helped a bit. (I havent ridden since that change was made) But man oh man was that thing rough with the original PTC's. If this is a hybrid conversion, it will be a wonderful change. The underrated wooden gem in that park, however, is Lightning Racer. I love that ride, and boy is it beautiful to look at and fun to ride.

I'm a very mild-mannered kind of guy. However, I nearly got in a physical-fight with a young punk at SFGAM a few years back. He proceeded to "attempt" to film his ride on Goliath by holding his phone in his hands above his head... and he was in the seat directly in front of me. If you've not ridden Goliath, its not a mild coaster by any stretch of the imagination.... as we went up the lift, I said to him (loudly) "put the phone away" - but he refused. He then proceeded to get tossed all over the place losing control of his arms and phone during the ride. I managed to not get hit - narrowly. By the time we hit the brake run, I was so angry that I reached forward and grabbed the hood of his sweatshirt and pulled as hard as I could. By the time the train reached the station we were in a full-out verbal fight. He was COMPLETELY oblivious to anything other than his own desire to video/stream that ride..... and could not, in any way, understand that he put others (me) in danger. He was a complete punk about it. Once we were out of the train, he quickly realized I was about twice his size and I wasn't backing down. So he proceeded to exit the ride as quickly as he could - scampering away into the crowd. His GF, however, apologized to me. My point is NOT that anyone should physically take matters into their hands like I did (that was wrong.) Its to cite an exact example of how, too often, the ones filming have a "superior" mentality. Until they are "awakended" to the fact that what they are doing is literally ignorant - and dangerous - then they're oblivious to the safety and welfare of others.

I visited CGA about 20 years ago. My first, and only, time (so far) seeing the park in person. I knew that it was surrounded by corporate buildings, but I was still shocked at just how shoe-horned it was. It is literally surrounded on 3 sides by an office park, and then a residential area on the other. It was obvious then that the park had no where to grow. Frankly, its a wonder this hasn't happened sooner. Its always fought battle after battle due to its location - especially with the 49'ers stadium adjacent. I hate to see the loss of a long-standing park, but can also understand how it makes financial sense. That land is like sitting on gold. I cant imagine that the 49'ers will not have some say as to how much developing the new land owners can do... they share the parking lot with PGA. P.S. - Count me on the side of not wanting any cast-off rides from CGA relocated to KI. I'd rather see them go to other parks. That having been said - send their flyers to Carowinds, and bring our Eagles back. Now THAT would make me happy.

No Legend?

The footage used in the KI YouTube video was filmed just prior to its closure. There are certain unfortunate indicators in the footage that it was near the end of its life - most notably the condition of the attraction's animatronics. The park edited the footage from the ride too, for instance, the levitating dress does not appear because in its final 2 seasons someone had ruined it with fake blood. Adding the blood was a poor choice made by someone that wasn't smart enough to realize the ride was designed to be tongue-in-cheek, not macabre. Prior to the closure, DAFE, as well as ACE was invited for tours. Most of the figures had been removed by the time of the ACE tour. There were also several "personal" tours given, both before it was deconstructed as well as after the transformation to Scooby had begun. Final rides on Phantom theatre were done by the general public. I was in the 3rd to the last car. The final 2 were filled with employees that worked on the ride. Here's some fun, abeit dark & overexposed pics of myself and friends playing around with some of the props during an individual tour we took before PT was removed and during another tour as it was being converted to SDATHC...

The park has already said that they will be using that area to add something "for everyone to enjoy..." They also are quoted as saying most of their guests dont like to "get thrown around on a rollercoaster." https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/2022/05/28/construction-begins-transformation-cedar-points-beachfront-area-wicked-twister-sandusky-GateKeeper/9929021002/ I think they re-iterated it at the debacle that was Coastermania. Doesn't sound like a ginormous coaster to me... Shaggy

The reason I personally preferred KC over any B&M standup was simple. It only had one inversion. The B&M's have inversion after inversion, thus the pressure on your legs/groin increases throughout the ride. I've ridden Chang, Riddler's Revenge, Georgia Scorcher, Iron Wolf, Mantis and Vortex. I also rode King Cobra, Skyrider and Shockwave. The Togos were a far more enjoyable ride to me.

They already are, I'm sure.

I saw the show yesterday. I really, really enjoyed it! I actually got "misty" mid-way through the show because I realized how virtually every person in the audience was excited and rooting for the show. That's, no doubt, because of the special place that the original ride has in so many people's hearts. Its designed to be campy, corny, silly fun - and I hope everyone unfamiliar with the ride "gets" that. There's a lot of in-jokes and references that may go over the heads of those unfamiliar with the history. For instance, there's a very obscure, tongue in cheek reference to Paramount by the Maestro when he addresses all us people "out there in the dahhhhhhhk." (Sunset Boulevard) The jokes move pretty quick, so it will require re-watching to catch all of them. I don't think its on the level of the Taft/Keco era productions like Celebration, New York New York etc. However, its an immense step up from the lack-luster entertainment that's been housed at the Kings Island Theatre since CF took ownership. There's one particularly delightful number who's inspiration was "lifted" from a classic Jim Henson Kermit/Muppet Show sketch. It was extremely well done/well suited for this production. It is the highlight of the show, but then, I've always been a sucker for a good tap number! Ironically, I found the chorus members/dancers often outshined the namkesake leads at times (not including Maestro, who was spot-on.) Although the actors portraying Houdelini, Hilda and Garbanzo definitely resembled and embodied the characters, I found their vocal talents challenged at times. (Particularly Houdelini seemed to be struggling vocally.... but that may have been because I saw the last show of the day.) Its important to point out that the show's instrumentals are pre-recorded, and many of the chorus vocals seemed canned as well. At times, the 5 leads, who are mic'd, were struggling to sing over the music - which was turned up waaaay too loud at points. I'm sure given time, this will improve. There's an awkward "slap-stick" segment at the top of the show that needs some work. Its obviously done to set-up a really great acrobatic act that comes later in the show, but it has a weird silence to it - so the audience wasn't sure how to respond. When the performance concluded, about 1/4 of the audience responded with a standing ovation. It was great to see that response. But as I said earlier, you could feel the guests "rooting" for the show the entire time. That speaks volumes. Most importantly, the line to get into the theater before the show snaked all the way to International Street. I had deja-vu, because that's EXACTLY what it was like back in the hey-day of KI entertainment. In the day, you had to make sure to show up at the theater early because the crowd to get in would be so big. I hope the crowds continue to show up for this one - allowing the park to increase the quality/budget of it's live entertainment offerings. Finally, I need to mention the lobby full of artifacts and information about the original ride. So smartly done (it sets up the premise of the show for those that, perhaps, are not familiar with the ride.) Those displays stand on their own as one of the most heart-warming throwbacks Kings Island has done for the 50th. Seeing those few original props, signage and renderings was akin to seeing cherished old friends. Kudos to the cast, the Director, crew and more for giving us this gem. Shaggy

There’s a HUGE flaw with that new poster. The horse is facing the wrong way. Carousels always turn counter-clockwise. Somebody should have caught that. Tsk tsk tsk. Out of all the wonderful posters they’ve produced, this is my least favorite. Such a shame because the KI Grand Carousel is, by far, the most beautiful thing in the park. Here’s how the image should look: ( minus the obvious backwards wording of course)

My hope is this show is a smash.. and gets held over into next season (as shows used to do waaaaaay back in the day,,, Celebration etc.) But more importantly, I hope its a smash and sends a message about how, to this very day, the attraction remains immensely popular... (I plan on seeing the show tomorrow... VERY excited!)

I cheated and watched the dress rehearsal from last night. All I can say is WOW WOW WOW! I am man enough to admit I was an emotional mess watching it. KI has outdone themselves!!!!

There seems to be a TON of nostalgic interest in this ride. I hope there's a chance that a 2.0 version can come back someday. At CS Mike Koontz mentioned an awareness of the need to re-hab Boo Blasters. He specifically cited Toy Story Mania at Disney as something he liked (he asked CS attendees how many had ridden it.) So it seems to me they are likely exploring options.