Rivertown Rider

Carowinds Intimidator is now Thunder Striker.

It looks like the Rivertown side of the restrooms have been painted brown. Taken in January: From today:

I did like the first drop as well but my knees still hold a grudge over the rose bowl.

My theory on the love SOB gets is that it comes from people who either never rode it or were very young when they first rode it so they don't remember the roughness. SOB will always hold a special place for me for the hype that preceded it as well as being the first coaster I got to watch the construction of as I was just becoming an enthusiast. But other than the loop the ride was not great.

I would love to see a screen printing store like you see at many malls, but in this case it would have a lot of different designs for various rides throughout the park. Have ten or so different plain colors in various sizes. You would buy your shirt pick your design, they would screen print it, and you could pick it up later in the day. From the park's viewpoint they don't have to keep a ton of inventory for rides that may not sell a ton. But if someone comes in and wants to buy a shirt with Zephyr or Cargo Loco they could easily screen print it.

Some work is going on at the Character Carousel today.

After looking again, I agree that it is probably just the foliage this time of year that led to it being a different color.

There does appear to be more trees removed behind Orion almost directly behind the road behind Orion's transfer track. Here is a screenshot from April of 2023 compared to now. April 2023 Earlier today. I do wonder if long range they may move some of the storage things behind and around Timberwolf to this area. It is not a ton of clearing but it is something to keep an eye on.

That chain and their upcharges are a little crazy.

^ I agree. A Screamin' Swing ride along with a Trabant style ride (as a nod to the former Wheel of Fortune ride) would be great additions to Rivertown. A sleek steel coaster would fit in great in Coney.

They could just rename Woodstock Express to The Beastie and make a lot of people happy.

Invertigo or Xtreme Skyflyer

So apparently Pig Pen's Mess Hall is a new restaurant but exactly where is it going in Camp Snoopy? There are some storage containers besides Snoopy Boutique. Could they be retrofitting that building or is it going elsewhere?

While the article does say that Linus Launcher will be part of the new area, I am hoping that it is also one of the repainted rides mentioned. That purple doesn't really fit with the Camp Snoopy / Rivertown transition. I also hope they repaint the outside of the restrooms building.

Pepe Le Pew frequents the park already. I saw him running thru the Flying Ace queue the other night.

I think carnival games have their place in an amusement park but I don't know that we need four basketball games (including 3 point challenge). I would love to see them take out the one between Juke Box Diner and the popcorn stand, level that ground out, and put in some flats. Obviously the dream would be to take out 3 point challenge and bring back the Eagles. Coney has 3 of the 4 basketball games and it isn't uncommon to see 2 of the 3 closed frequently.

The old arcade building used for Killmart two months out of the year in Coney Mall would seem to be a good location. I don't know how busy or how much money they make off the Antique Photos in Rivertown but that would also seem to be a good location.

I'm excited to see what comes of this. I would love to see the next big coaster go in a rethemed Action Zone. If it is going there, the next couple years will be entertaining especially the reaction that will come about if it isn't going in The Vortex plot.

Here are some pics from tonight

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

In that first pic it looks like the Race For Your Life building is being painted red. Also one of the observation areas on the flume is painted yellow. While I realize concept art doesn't always mean it is definitely changing that will be a nice color change. I'm also curious to see if the restrooms also get a refresh. That area between Camp Bus and Linus Launcher would be a good place to add another restaurant if both of those rides were relocated elsewhere in Camp Snoopy or Planet Snoopy.

One of my favorite parts of Winterfest is seeing the love that the flats get this time of year compared to many of them being walk-ons during much of the year. Cargo Loco and Sol Spin both add a lot of energy to that area of the park. As has been mentioned by others the area between the Eiffel Tower and Rivertown LaRosas is pretty dead so some more flats in that path would be great. The Backlot queue could easily be reworked to add some flats.

I got to ride it three times earlier this year. My wife was a little over two months removed from surgery so we did the noncycle seats when she rode with me. I also rode once in the cycle position by myself. I actually liked it better in the noncycle seats. It isn't as good as Guardians but it is still a fun coaster.

My wife found that there are some new items over at the Kings Island Gear site including two new Made To Thrill posters. I am happy to see The Bat version 2 finally get a poster and also to see the new AE one. I believe the two NanoCoasters are new as well. https://www.kingsislandgear.com/collections/new-arrivals

Better yet, send the Seabreeze ones to Carowinds and bring our original ones home.