super7

Exciting or annoying? I vote annoying. The atmosphere looks great all in orange lighting, but sitting by the fountain its annoying have the random flames shooting. Kings Dominion does not such thing. Just fog.

My wish would be Stunt Coaster because it is one of the 2 most hideous things in the park along with the warehouse formerly know as Tomb Raider....... But Vortex has seen its time and Firehawk is also a bad ride.

Instead of a low capacity, slow loading ferris wheel I vote for transforming WindSeeker into a skyseeker gondola ride.

I forgot Firehawk. Not a fan of that either. I would choose that to before Invertigo. Invertigo is at least visually pleasing as you enter the gate even though the actual ride is nothing special.

These are rides that need to go and be replaced Congo Falls Vortex (replace with B&M floorless) Stuntcoaster (its hideous, low capacity, and did I mention its ugly in the middle of the park?) Invertigo Boo Blasters (it was done soooooooo cheaply, even when it was Scooby Doo. Enchanted Voyage and Phantom Theatre were excellent dark rides) The skycoaster and the vertical launch upcharge (for same reason as Stuntcoaster, they are hideous!)

Yes. Because the wide midways are a great feature of the Taft-built parks. Bottlenecks take away from a good experience. For example, even though I think Busch Williamsburg is a wonderful park overall, the narrow walkways make the park often crowded when it really isn't.

I agree. The Taft parks (Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Canada's Wonderland and even Carowinds feature nice wide midways that don't make you feel crowded even when the park is crowded (unlike Busch Williamsburg, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, Great America etc). I hope they don't make the walkway there too narrow.

That's how I first remember it. Riding the Zodiac, you could hear the disco music coming from the Coney Disco. Anytime I hear certain disco songs now that they played there, I think of the awesome Zodiac.

Oktoberfest basically has the pirate ship and the misthemed Adventure Express. That area needs rides more than anywhere else. It’s very neglected. .

OK That's fair. Cedar Point is the #1 priority park of Cedar Fair I do believe. That being said, it is a B class park at best for the reasons listed about. The former Taft parks have SO much more potential to be A class parks....

Cedar Point has lots of rides and coasters, but it is hardly a flagship quality park IMO. Some of the dirtiest restrooms in the business, horrible food, total lack of shade (including the queues)/concrete/asphalt atmosphere and lack of total family attractions puts it in a B class category. Kings Island is in that same category IMO for some of the same reasons. Plus Cedar Point is not even a theme park other than Frontiertown. That definitely throws it out of a flagship status. In fact, I don't believe there are many flagship parks in the USA. Europa Park in Germany and PortAventure in Spain are fine examples of a flagship parks. Quality rides in all categories, excellent theming and atmosphere, updated facilities, etc. Kings Island has a lot of potential. When it was built, it was designed as one of the best regional theme parks in the US. However, changes of ownership really deviated from the master plan and lowered the park in its status. Cedar Fair has been taking it in the right direction. Kings Island needs a lot of infrastructure work to this day. CF has been doing that with new concrete, new buildings and remodeled restrooms. Still, compared to its sister park in VA, the park has a "trashy" atmosphere. For example. The condition of International Street and the general lack of trees are two big factors. I Street definitely needs an overhaul to be more like Kings Dominion with more shade and cozy sitting areas instead of the trashy white picnic tables that are in the main walkways with no shade. The park still has Paramount eyesores like the Stunt Coaster and the empty warehouse in Rivertown that trash it up. Oktoberfest needs a complete overhaul as there is not much to do there or neither is it Oktoberfest themed. Then there is the ever trashy Action Zone with no theme and no shade. The addition of the antique cars was also a step forward installing a new total family attraction. It should clean up that deserted area of the park with the potential landscaping. They also need to step up their live entertainment at these parks to become flagship. Cedar Point did that this year. One could go see shows all day long if one wanted. THAT is the kind of thing that elevates at park. Cedar Fair has been taking these parks in the right direction with themed attractions and replacing infrastructure. If they continue to do so, they could have several flagship parks from the Taft chain. KI, KD and CW are all in high population areas. KD is one of the most beautiful theme parks in the country (with some Paramount/KECO damage evident in the park) on one of the most highly traveled freeways on the est coast. It baffles me why their attendance is so low. Busch is surely a factor but lack of family attractions and shows is a factor also.

Huss Magic is an amazing flat ride. They have one at Marine land in Niagara. A better option than a Ferris wheel would be to convert the Windseeket to a Skyseeker. It would have better views than a Ferris wheel and have much better capacity and loading time. http://mondialrides.com/towerrides/all/sky-seeker

Zodiac. Excellent visual ride, you could see it from international street when you enter the park. High capacity, long ride cycle and efficient loading. Excellent view. It’s a shame these Ferris wheels don’t exist anymore in the slow loading ones are the only ones that are operating. .

I believe Action Zone should receive Transylvania theming. Considering that 2 of the rides already have that theming. Remove the splashboats and put in a world class haunted mansion type ride (but leave the water as a moat)! With the addition of a flat ride and a food location and a shop, X Base could become its own themed area.

Zodiac. That was an amazing ride. It was a long ride, high capacity and had a great loading system. Unfortunately they aren't made anymore. However, this would be a nice replacements. WindSeeker could be converted to this as it is waning in ridership. I personally do not like WindSeeker. It "feels" unsecure. http://mondialrides.com/towerrides/all/sky-seeker Cable Skyway. The one KI had was short and did not take a very scenic path (over rooftops include in the huge roof of Enchanted Voyage and it allowed you to see that I Street buildings are a 2nd floor façade). A better path would be from Rivertown to the Flight of Fear Area. Monorail. Not through the animals. Through the park. Bayern Kurve. Such a great ride that made Oktoberfest feel like Oktoberfest. Keelboat Canal. It was beautiful with the lake beside the train, versus that hideous warehouse that is there now. Plus the ski jump at the end was thrilling and you didn't get wet! Enchanted Voyage or even Phantom Theatre. The ride that is there now is cheap cheap cheap with 2d cutouts. The real Flying Eagles. Skylab and Flying Dutchman instead of the buildings that are there now. I think that Adventure Express occupies Flying Dutchman's spot so it would look nice where that T shirt stand is by the Bier Garten (where spinnen keggers was).

I am expecting something like the one at Cedar Point in Frontiertown. I am hoping for something where the cars go over and under the covered bridge, not just over it like that one.

Did you know that the band from "Off the Charts" perform at live venues around the Cincinnati area? The lead vocalists of River City also performed in that same show in current and/or previous seasons. They just had a 3 hour performance at the Fitton Center in Hamilton and it was incredible. http://www.rivercitycincinnati.com

If they remove the unused arcade and never open drink building (the former Coney Island Disco), there is more space than I originally thought. I was thinking just the Zodiac and DA alive shop areas. Hopefullly it will be as nicely landscaped as the one that was removed in the center of the park.

I think its wonderful. Since Paramount rampaged the park, the park has been seriously lacking total family attractions......things that everyone can do together regardless of motion tolerance. Now there are antique cars, railroad, the Eiffel Tower, helicopters and the carrousel. They still need a few more..... This does partially reverse on of the biggest pieces of damage that Paramount inflicted on the park, although the location will not be as scenic and there is still that horrible eyesore in the middle of the park..... I am really happy with the direction that Cedar Fair is taking these parks. Back to the Taft standard......

Retheme Adventure Express to Barvarian Railroad and extend it after the final lift hill. Then they have a new ride they can market without removal and for minimal investment. Real Oktoberfest is full of flat rides. So was the original Kings Island Oktoberfest. This area needs some flat rides in a package like Carowinds got for their new County Fair. Some more fantastic flat rides with great lighting packages like Huss Tri-Star, Magic, Breakdance, Flipper, etc or Mondial rides. Retheme Hanks back to it original German theming (they can still serve burritos thought, that food is better than German food lol) Oktoberfest flag and lighting package.

KECO was sometime in the mid-80s. I remember being VERY disappointed in what happened to the parks after they took over. Ride removals and general lack of park maintenance (sort of like a 6 Flags Park today). I remember at Carowinds they painted some of the rides in this awful off green color. They must have gotten a discount on that color! I think Frontier Canada was supposed to have a full blow steam train circling it. Imagine what that park would be like with that! CW did fare better with their flat rides than the other parks during the Paramount era.

The Paramount era was the darkest time in Kings Island history. The 4 original Taft parks (KI, KD, Carowinds, CW) were excellent, beautiful, THEMED regional parks. (Carowinds was not built by Taft, but was a high quality them park under them) There were the best regional theme parks in the nation (along with Busch Gardens). Under KECO, the parks suffered. Ride removal and general neglect were the pattern. Probably because KECO had loan payments to make. But they did overall keep the theme of the parks coherent. They were responsible for leaving Oktoberfest in its current condition for the most part. They also made a serious error at Kings Dominion by draining the lake and installing that horrible water park in its hole. I believe they were also responsible for not following through on Frontier Canada..... But then Paramount came along and totally decimated the parks. They were more concerned with promoting their horrible, forgettable movies instead of managing theme parks. They removed great family rides in may of the parks (trains, skyways, dark rides, car rides, monorails, etc). Their new installations often had nothing to do with the themed area, and were completely out of place in the parks. The Stunt Coaster is an excellent example. What an eyesore. They also neglected live performances as their focus was only on thrill rides. They neglected the landscaping and items such as the floral clock, etc. Kings Island survived better than the other parks. The most notable Paramount damage there is the hideous Stunt Coaster in the middle of the park, the decimation of Lion Country into the generic Action Zone and the awful warehouse that now sites where the Keelboat Canal lake once was. I believe the saving grace of the train was that it was transportation to the more remotely located water park.... KD fared very poorly. They lost their train, cable skyway, dark rides in the Lost Mountain. They destroyed the aura of the Grizzly by cutting down most of the trees around it. The park lost many of its live entertainment venues. Carowinds was totally decimated by Paramount. The park was once a beautiful park with lots of water and 8 sections themed to the Carolinas, Almost all of the water and theming were lost under Paramount. Most family rides removed including the riverboat, speedway cars, monorail. And again live performance venues removed. The park is just a shell of its glory. The look at Great American in CA vs Great America in Chicago. The CA version was decimated by Paramount as well. There is hardly anything left of the original theming of the park! While Six Flags is horrible neglectful management, they have left the Chicago park in tact much better... And even coaster-wise, Paramounts installations at these parks were not significant. When CF bought the parks is when they started getting great coasters.. For the most park Cedar Fair has done a great job with the parks. Before purchasing these parks, they did not seem to be a company that cared about theming, but most of their installations in these parks have enhanced the themed area of the parks. They have made some major errors like removing Thunder Road and Powder Keg Flume at Carowinds. But all in all it was a miracle that they saved these parks from the horrible wrath of Paramount.

I agree. While the use of video screens in any attraction is just a cheap way to do effects, it is much better than a brake block in the sun. And it was a good way to put a 3rd train on the ride to increase capacity and make it a longer experience.

I never liked the refillable souvenir cups. You have to carry it around all day, and try to protect the straw from touching dirty things......I also believe the soda gets a funny taste in the souvenir cups. It tastes much better out of the paper cups. The new option is more waste with paper cups though. Its a huge shame these parks don't recycle paper. I believe people would use recycle bins if they did it! Were I live, we have curbside recycling and we don't have to sort the paper, plastic, etc. The small drink cup seems to be big enough if you are just getting a drink. It is a little small if you are eating a meal. My only wish is that they had a bigger size if you were getting a meal. But again, for $30 for all season, I can't complain about anything with the plan. I am very happy that they no longer force you to carry a souvenir cup around all season long.

Yes I forgot that! Points to Cedar Point for still having that great ride.