Hawaiian Coasters 325

To those who were origionally chosen, I hope the park does something to make up for it and I mean something well thought out and worth the cancellation not an extra bring a friend ticket or credit off of merch.

Herschend would probably need to sell off a few properties to come up with the money they would need to buy Kings Island. I don't think Six Flags would even think of giving up Kings Island. Too much of a cash cow. Until the park/corporate cleans house and brings in people who actually think outside the box and push for more entertainment. We see Over Texas and Great Adventure having more entertainment. Why can't KI who's attendance and profits are higher?

And sadly it looks like the Kings Island Theater will be dark during the peak summer season. I really hope we see something else in there after Brad leaves. KI really needs that indoor AC during that peak July/August heatwave!

Again it's early but the forecast for Saturday looks hit or miss with a 20% rain chance. Early forecast also is calling for 13-15 mph wind high which is fairly moderate especially high up so that may affect the 3 tower rides. Remember to take forecasts a week out with a grain of salt.

I believe that's Haunted Hotel at Funtown Splashtown USA which is a newer Sally creation

Looks like the ribbons are going up on the trusses

A little disappointed they're still keeping the stone bridge. Sorry, but this is a THEATER not a CASTLE. Name me a theater/opera house that has a castle bridge.

People really thought the queue would be next to showplace and the station would be where the brake shed is? Tbh they should've kept the old Rivertown Mining Company building and used it as the queue kinda like how Maverick used WWL's old station. Now it's just cattlepins with tarps as shade structures which doesn't scream "rusting/old west" to me.

I've said it many times Camp Snoopy feels unfinished. You can tell by looking at the concrete in the area. It's a mess of old and new concrete with some brownish stained concrete in different areas. The area over by the "new" sign near the flume is pathetic imo. It should've been all the brownish stained concrete kinda like in Adventure Port the year prior. Also why on earth does Kidzbop play in that area when they could be playing Vince Guaraldi music there? Soapbox Racers queue was done fairly well imo with the wooden posts, lighting, and decor but the whole area should have gotten that level of detail. They could easily have swapped out the metal ride fencing at the flats with wood fencing like other parks but chose not to. They could've done more wood light posts with lanterns (like Adventure Port) but chose not to. They could've added more trees to eventually become more shade, but chose not to. They could've added more "camptivities" to the area (ie scavenger hunts, craft parties, dance parties, and even bonfires as the sun goes down), but chose not to. They could've added a better soundtrack/playlist to the area but chose not to. Notice a common denominator? Goes back to my rants in prior threads.

Look I agree that the employee should not have taken that photo and posted it. In my years working at KI, when we would go in for on ride training, we would be told we can't take pics of new stuff/construction that hadn't been publicly shared by the park. I especially remember training day 2023 as the rides I worked were near Adventure Port and we were told if we got caught taking pictures of the construction we would get in serious trouble. At the same time, it's not that hard to make a simple announcement saying that "the decision has been made to retire this ride" before anything gets out by unauthorized people. It's also not hard if they know in advance a ride is going to close to announce it and let people get their last ride. Even if it is a ride with low ridership, it is still someone's favorite ride. I thought this would change with the new CEO, but I wonder if it is those on the board of directors who don't want to publicly announce these things.

There still would've been disappointment/criticism as it's not bigger than Millennium Force in the same state. That only fueled the decades old theory that Cedar Fair purposely does the bare minimum at KI bc of fear of upstaging Cedar Point. Orion also is shorter than I305 and Leviathan in stats so that would also draw criticism.

Orion had the "top secret box" with the old ride posters that were used in the campaign that they sent out to the media before the announcement. That's what happens when you have someone running the PR who sorta "gets it" (Tony Clark). Now if only they would try and restore relationships with the fansites that were sorta pushed out over the last few years when (you know who) was running the show.

When was the last time we saw a media preview package like this? Orion's announcement? This is cool to see.

Hopefully to a new better soundtrack. I swear if the jazz returns for a 5th time....

We got a saloon now?!!!! Jk it's probably that bar that was put in by the conjuring/crypt building

I'm honestly curious when they started playing that song at rope drop and who's idea that was? It honestly fits so well as it talks about having a great day during the summer and mentions building a rollercoaster and climbing up the Eiffel Tower which connects with KI very well. I'm also curious why they chose to not play it anymore at rope drop. I honestly could see a world where the higher ups were sick of that song and as someone who knew associates during the time that song would play they would dread hearing that song as it meant it was time to be in their spots as guests were in the park. I believe 2019 was the last year they played it and in 2021 (the first full season since covid) they started playing High Hopes by PATD but not at rope drop, it would be played as associates started to arrive for the day. In fact, Mr. Koontz selected a song each season from 2021 til his retirement last year to be played in the morning as associates arrive to help set the mood and get employees ready for the day!

I mean if they really wanted to, they could could do a double up/turn into the brake run over the exit of the 2nd vertical loop kinda like how the end of AlpenFury threads through Vortex's supports.

I have never been someone who believes SOB will be resurrected, but lately I have been dreaming about what that could look like so I came up with this overhead sketch of an RMC. Just to clarify how this would work, the drop out of the station and the entrance into the brake run would thread right through Banshee. The drop out of the station would dive under Banshee's upward turn into the inline twist and the finale into the brake run would go right over the exit out of the second vertical loop and right through the supports underneath the inline twist. I included some elements from the original SOB like the predrop, the double helix, and vertical loop, but added some new elements and a new twist on things. For example, the first turn is an outerbank turn like Steel Vengeance has and at the top of the double helix features a giant cutback element. The coaster then extends more towards the boneyard area and the finale would hug that downward slope going towards Banshee and the station.

I know I'm probably in the minority, but I would love to see the Phineas and Ferb theme song (aka Today is Gonna Be A Great Day by Bowling For Soup) return to playing at rope drop again. Imo that song really help set the mood for the day! I also would like to see a new version of the national anthem play as well before rope drop. I was thinking the Tabernacle Choir version like what CP plays at before they open. I believe KI used to play that version in the early CF days in the late 2000s, but then moved to the marching band version that's still played today. Imo the Tabernacle Choir version sounds more grand to me.

The exit ramp is already ADA access. There would need to be a ramp from the lobby to the load area as that's up a set of stairs from the lobby queue.

Looking closely at the "new" concrete path, there does seem to be some sort of temporary fencing set up likely for an extended queue.

I mean Music Hall looks kinda like a castle so maybe the park is going for that kind of vibe with it.

Also while ik it's hard to see it and it could just be the sun shining on it, but it looks like the facade from the metal part of the building has been painted purple instead of the greenish/greyish color from the past which would honestly be a nice touch.

There seems to be a boom truck of some kind in the Monster area

A potential spoiler of the exterior.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDie0UKOk0s Spoiler Alert! Doesn't look like much of the castle was changed just updated paint.