CoastersRZ

That building is the France building on International Street, so it is appropriate that they have a French themed eatery there. Glad to see something there, as opposed to the closed Yogurt Plus stand.

I would love to get a 50th anniversary logo with some 50th anniversary merchandise. I think Planet Snoopy could use some love in the form of a couple of new attractions. I mean, the last two new attractions added were in 2015. And prior to that the 2006 renovation removed several rides (hand cars anyone? Those were my favorite). There are just some areas that have a lot of open space that could use a new ride for the kids. Having a kid that is 40.5" (and just rode Viking Fury over the weekend), there definitely could be a few more things for him to do in Planet Snoopy. Carowinds has done a good job with their Camp Snoopy theme and adding in some newer rides. I would love to see KI do the same. I also wouldn`t mind seeing a ride like Music Express come to KI.

Wow. Will be sad to see it go. Back in the day there were tons of park specific fan sites like Carowinds Connection. Hopefully someone will build a new site dedicated to Carowinds. We are very fortunate to have KIC. I remember the days when there was PKIUnlimited. Hard to believe that I have been a staff member here on KIC going on 15 years next month. I joined in October of 2005, shortly before Winterfest 2.0 opened.

In my opinion, Cedar Fair has the better guest experience compared to Six Flags. Cedar Fair parks just seem better kept. Six Flags parks (at least the ones I have been to which is Six Flags St. Louis, Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags Great Adventure, and Six Flags Magic Mountain), all seem to have a cheap feel to them. From the theming to the way rides are placed to even the way that the buildings are painted. Now I have never been to a Six Flags park for their Christmas event, or for their Halloween events. But Cedar Fair parks just feel like they are built and maintained better with more thought on how things are laid out.

Way back before the pandemic began, I was told by my boss, that I was going to get to go to IAAPA this year. With the downturn in work coming in, that was off the table. Sad that it is canceled, but understandable. Hopefully business improves and I can attend next year. I have always wanted to attend this event, especially since my line of work is architecture. And I have done some entertainment architecture projects at my job.

Yep. That definitely looks like the Coney Island and Lake Como Railroad. Interesting tidbit is that "tunnel"/bridge that the train was going through allowed cars to access the parking lot. That tunnel/bridge is still standing to this day at the park.

Yep. You can actually see the line for King Cobra with people in line on the right side of the above photo. The entrance to King Cobra is today just to the left of the Ice Scream Zone. The exit to the ride, originally exited through a gift shop. In 1999 when Ice Scream Zone, the exit was just to the right of Ice Scream Zone, close to where the exit for Delirium is.

They could do that. They would just have to find a space to locate the station and queue though. Pony Express is immediately to the north, and there is an existing theater building to the east, and maintenance buildings to the south.

Food and beverage building. If they add bright shiny new rides near Paradise Island, that building will seem rather old and outdated, and it doesn`t currently have any out door seating associated with it.

I love this thread! Just re-read chapter 6 on Busch Gardens Tampa. It is a shame that one of their four engines might never run again. I would love for KI to acquire another engine as a back-up/to allow for rebuilds. Especially with the popularity of the train at Winterfest when they typically run both trains. Riding the train at Kings Island is one thing that I always love to do. Its also part of the reason why I love going to Dollywood so much!

Yes it is. Although, they might want to add a better F&B building to help with in park spending. But I totally agree. I would have loved if KI got the Rock `N Roller ride that Carowinds got a few years back. Would have been perfect in that area.

Knott`s is a tough one. I am sure that they have thought of options. Some are probably more expensive than others (parking garages, versus buying additional property). I enjoyed my visit to Knott`s back in 2015. Unfortunately Excelerator was down for refurb at the time. I agree that Kings Dominion needs to have something added to it. Of the former Paramount Parks, I feel that this park is the one that has not seen as much attention paid to it compared to the others.

There is that vacant plot of land behind the International Showplace, where the former Salt Water Circus used to sit. I have always felt that that area (by the seldom open food stand Paradise Island), could use a flat ride or two. That entire pathway back to the restrooms by the Rivertown Pizza has been devoid of attractions since the Ohio Overland Auto Livery (the south side of the original Antique Cars) closed. I have always wished that the park would add something along there. They have during Haunt and Winterfest, but a permanent ride in that area would be nice.

Yes, Ferris Wheels are by the very nature of the design, slow loading, which means lower capacity. Yes, a Ferris Wheel would look nice in Coney Mall. But where would be a good place to put it? There really isn`t much real estate along the length of Coney Mall, other than on the Vortex site.

Yes, we have addressed the issue. If there are continued issues, please feel free to PM me or any of the other moderators. As Brad said, we try and be as responsive as we can. I have two small kids, and can`t always hop on immediately to fix an issue. Robbie

I think you are pretty spot on. Keep in mind that the park recently put in fresh new concrete for the walkway to the front gate. Not to say that they can`t rip it out, but generally they wouldn`t have done that if they knew they were going to be renovating the front gate area. I still maintain that this has NOTHING to do with anything that will be coming to KI, especially for next year. Like I have previously stated, I would doubt that Cedar Fair adds anything to any of their parks for next season, other than attractions that have already been announced/were postponed from 2020. Cedar Fair even stated in their conference call that they are looking to control cash burn, which includes capital expenditures. I still think that this is much ado about nothing. Likely utility markings/maintenance related for existing utilities.

I highly doubt that these items are for anything significant. Given the current situation, I doubt that Cedar Fair is jumping on the capital expenditure projects. Keep in mind that most of the Cedar Fair parks did not get to debut their 2020 additions for this season. With the lack of income coming into Cedar Fair, they are not going to spend large amounts of capital for new projects in 2021. The earliest would be 2022, and even then, that maybe some what limited depending on how things shape up in 2021.

Keep in mind though that September, had historically been a slower season for Disney. I know that recently Disney typically hasn`t had much of a slow season, given their dynamic pricing, etc.

Especially, given the history of the sky ride at KI. I think The Beach suffered from lack of investment some too. I went to Holidayfest a couple of times. While there was no Winterfest back then, there really wasn`t much to Holiday Fest. Riding around the lazy river in a pedal boat was interesting, although the pedal boats couldn`t quite maneuver the bends properly.

I wondered what they planed to do with the old Sandcastle Suite site. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the update. I can`t wait to purchase my copy and read it! For those of you interested, we did a podcast episode on this book.

To be clear, the park may still very well be open in September (although they always have limited operations on weekends in September due to company buy outs) and October. The park is just releasing the operating calendar in one month increments at the present time. As someone who works 7-5, I am glad they are staying open later. The 11-7 hours were kind of difficult for me to enjoy the park after work.

My favorite memory from Kings Island is the first time I rode The Beast. Up until that point, I had been on The Racer, and even Top Gun, but wasn`t completely thrilled about coasters. I rode the ride with a neighborhood friend, Chris (who has since moved away). His family was the reason we were there in October of 1995, as they had received some comp tickets and took my family and I. I remember riding it, and it was unlike anything I had ever been on. Hard to believe that it will be 25 years this October. Little did I know at the time, what was born that day. My love of amusement parks has continued all these years. I have spent 19 seasons working at Coney, countless trips to KI over the years, and even worked there for a couple of Haunt seasons. I also ended up meeting my wife through Kings Island (that is a story for another day). I have made some wonderful friends through both Coney and KI. While I do not get to the park as often as I used to (having two young kids makes visits more brief, and has all but eliminated coaster trips that I used to go on, until they get taller), I still enjoy visiting the park, and now get to experience it through my kids eyes. (I wish some of the attractions that were there when I was a kid were still there. Hand powered cars anyone? I loved those when I was a kid.

That is a good question. The immediate thing that comes to mind is the proximity of Geauga Lake to Cedar Point. We all know how that ended up. I think that Cedar Fair could benefit from owning the SEAS parks. They would get several more parks that are open year round. However, I do not see Cedar Fair looking to take on another chain right now. They might bite off another park, but I do not see them doing anything in the next year.

Well to be honest, Kings Dominion hasn`t exactly been flourishing under Cedar Fair. Yes, they have received Twisted Timbers, but look at how many rides have been removed from that park. Especially in comparison to what has been added at nearby Busch Gardens Williamsburg.