Rivertown Rider

I think that was probably always the plan to sell it. The problem is if they become part of a chain it is probably going to be the same result as what happened the last time. Six Flags would do the same thing they did the last time. Cedar Fair wouldn't invest in it enough because of the proximity to KI. Best case would be similar to Dorney, worst case would be Geauga Lake. An interesting chain to buy it that would be Herschend. If they could turn it into a mini SDC/mini Dollywood it would be a great scenario. It would take a lot of work but doing a Kentucky version of that type of park would be great. Herschend owns Newport Aquarium so they could work on combo tickets/ passes between the two if they wanted.

^ That's kind of my thoughts. Tempesto (SkyRocket II) is a fun coaster but I would think if a park is adding one they are probably still going to go with Premier unless they have severe footprint problems at their park.

I would really like to see the park focus on their flats collection. I think looking to what Canada's Wonderland (IMO the best flats collection in the chain) does where they mix thrilling and family flats throughout the park. Some of my ideas: Rivertown: A Screamin Swing would fit great in that area of the park. There are no big thrilling flats on that half of the park. Coney: Add a Tilt a Whirl and a Top Scan. Oktoberfest: Bring back the Keggers. Also put a Musik Express where the ladder game is. Action Zone: This is an area that could use some family flats. Maybe move the Flying Eagles over there with a Camp Snoopy revamp. Putting a revamped Phantom Theater would also get people out of the concrete jungle that is Action Zone.

Of all ride types to rip off why in the world would they choose the Sky Rocket II?

While the Chaos building is small, turning it into a year round funhouse would be something else for people to do in Area 72. Grandfather's Mansion at Silver Dollar City is another great funhouse.

I've thought for several years that Kennywood would be a good park for the chain. With its relative proximity to KI, CP, and DP it could be a way for the chain to sell more platinum passes. CF would also do a much better job with operations than Kennywood does.

I would say Carowinds had the best decade overall. Adding Intimidator, Fury, and Copperhead Strike were all great additions that elevated the park's standing. While Intimidator is probably one of the lesser hypers, Fury is my #1 steel, and Copperhead Strike is a great addition. What they have also done with even their smaller additions (i.e. Camp Snoopy and Harmony Hall) and themeing has elevated the park. I don't think Carowinds is as good as either CP or KI overall but it is certainly a park that CF was smart to invest in. It will be interesting to see what they do in the decade ahead.

Yeah we definitely don't need any conversions at KI. My thoughts are more I'm curious if they will ever do a ground up RMC woodie at KI or if CF looks at RMC and sees more headaches than they are worth.

Like others have said, I doubt we will see Intamin come to a CF park anytime soon. I'm more curious if we will see another RMC installation after the headaches they have had with SV and to a lesser extent TT.

I agree with you. I got a front row zen ride on El Toro last summer and it was painful.

Thanks for posting these pictures. It was great to see some of the aerial and ride pictures of very rare-to-find attractions of the past. It always amazes me how much the park has changed over the years.

I think dark rides can be worth the investment if they are well done and use the appropriate ride system. I think one of the biggest problems with Wonder Mountain's Guardian is that the ride system has such a low throughput that it doesn't make a lot of sense. They have also had problems with the 3D animation screens which were supposed to switch to 2D animation this year to help with the graininess of the video quality (per the ACE event I attended last September). The other problem is that dark rides in a regional park atmosphere either need to use an Omnimover system or the boat-type system that Enchanted Voyage used to be really effective. Monster Mansion (as mentioned earlier in the thread) at SFOG is a great example of what can be done when the system is at its best. Original IP and a great way to get out of the sun for a few minutes. The problem with the shoot-em-up type rides are that the blasters are so finicky. That is not just a KI problem, it happens everywhere. I do think CF should go to a company like Sally and have them work up some Peanuts-themed dark ride ideas and then update all of the various Boo Blasters rides with the same overlay. The other major benefit with dark rides are they give another ride that can be open year-round which gives another ride that can be opened during Winterfest. Dark rides are probably never going to be headliners in a regional park atmosphere but they do a good job of filling out the overall line-up.

While at this point IMO KK is a half day park, them growing can only be a good thing for us as KI fans. More competition is going to make KI invest more to keep people coming to KI. If the addition is a Raptor that is the perfect type of addition for KK.

If Vortex was built in the days of social media, it would probably be, "I can't believe Kings Island is building another Arrow, they expect this to be something that lasts a long time? They should've went with Togo."

One interesting option would be if they did something like the Gravity Group coaster that Dorney is getting. It would seem to check a lot of boxes (small footprint, likely low cost).

When I saw @King Ding Dong had posted in this thread, I was hoping we could color our own Rivertown Freestyle location.

I'm definitely looking forward to the reverse trebel clef, as the trebel clef is my favorite of Fury's elements. I also think that helix near the end has the potential to be the best element. I do think this is going to be a case like a Lightning Rod where even though a short ride, it packs so many elements in that it will be a great coaster and should easily be the best steel coaster in the park.

I can attest to the fact that Lost Coaster will valley with less than four people. They sent my car with just three people. We got halfway thru the course and came to a dead stop. After what seemed like 10 or 15 minutes, maintenance walked up, re-set the ride, and we finished the course. Definitely the strangest coaster experience I've ever had.

Great news. I enjoyed IB a lot when I went there a couple years ago. I look forward to see what improvements they make.

Yeah basically the gist of what was said is we don't remove rides just because enthusiasts don't like them. Wonderland is relatively land locked so I think when they are ready to build another coaster that is when something will get removed. Being how busy that park gets, they do need to try to add something with good capacity.

I really enjoy Wonderland but after their top 3 (Leviathan, Behemoth, and Yukon Striker) it goes down quickly. The fourth best coaster in the park is probably Vortex (which is the exact same layout as our Top Gun/The Bat). I like Minebuster more than most but aside from those all of the rest of the coasters are easily replaceable. I attended the Coasters 'Eh event there last year and they have no plans to get rid of Flight Deck (my worst coaster ever). I could see Time Warp leaving though and a Mack Multi-Launch would go good in that area of the park. An RMC or GCI would also be great in the park but they would have to work thru the builder issues mentioned a few posts above.

I could see the chain going to a Mondial, Gerstlauer, or Larson and buying some flat rides in bulk. It would likely bring the cost down. I could see them for example putting a Mondial Top Scan at KI, KD, WOF, DP, and CP. Carowinds, Wonderland, and Knott's already have one.

One of the things I have been wondering is if theme parks reconsider queue design and also the amount of restroom facilities. While KI is in relatively good shape on the restroom component, it probably wouldn't hurt to have another restroom between The Beast and the train station, another one closer to the Eiffel Tower, and of course one in Area 72 (since we haven't had that officially confirmed). Obviously there are costs associated with that, but it makes sense to have more.

^ I had always heard because they wanted to make Drop Zone/Drop Tower the tallest structure.

I'm glad that Cedar Fair and Kings Island are doing this for passholders.