FUN&ONLY!

It looks like some of the retracked section of The Racer has already started to be repainted. That’s nice to see!

Maybe Kings Island will lay pavers after all!

It looks like Red Racer’s retrack is coming along very nicely from the webcams. On the other hand, though, it appears that no progress has been made on Diamondback’s repaint since Winterfest. A few areas of the track had been repainted near the station in December, but that seems to be it. Maybe Baynum Solutions is focusing on other projects before getting back to Diamondback.

Based on the concept art, it looks like Adventure Express’ queue is going to be lengthened. It would be cool to see new theming there as well as in the station and tunnels. New fog, the return of the old station soundtrack, and more audible speakers would go a long way too. Also, parts of the queue and station were repainted last off-season, but both could use some additional work. The roof, in particular, looks really bad. It also appears that the basketball game near The Racer is being stripped. I know it is part of Adventure Port in the concept art, but I wonder how Kings Island will be able to make it feel like it is part of Adventure Port instead of Coney Mall, especially if Adventure Port remains concrete and Coney Mall pavers. For me at least, the change in ground kind of distinguishes between areas.

Decoding threads are SO FUN! The speculation makes the entire season so enjoyable as everyone is following the construction, knowing that a big attraction is coming the following year.

I would think that a 2024 coaster would be very probable for Kings Island considering that Cedar Point and Canada’s Wonderland are technically getting new coasters this year and Carowinds is receiving a very large addition in Aeronautica Landing. Besides some “wild card” parks like Dorney Park, those are the only two parks that I could see getting a new rollercoaster before Kings Island. However, the refreshed Top Thrill Dragster may push a potential 2024 rollercoaster back some. I really hope not, though, because when Canada’s Wonderland had Yukon Steiker pushed back for Valravn in 2016, it took THREE years for it to finally open. I guess we’ll know if a coaster is in store for 2024 in a few months.

Not to mention that ride crews need to get trained at the new rides. Construction started on Adventure Port pretty late, which I one reason why I assume the addition was last minute,m. Cedar Fair always wants new additions to be announced by the time season passes go on sale and to be ready for Opening Day.

Opening Day and Saturdays in May are VERY busy. The more I think about it, the more I think the changes were made because of staffing even though I previously said otherwise. The last few days in August seemed to struggle in terms of staffing, and I assume a lot of the workforce is still in school until late May.

I fell like Adventure Port was a last minute addition. SlingShot definitely was not supposed to be removed this past season as it had been repainted prior to the start of the 2022 season.

I am not a fan of the changes. Kings Island changed many of the early 8:00 PM closings to 7:00 PM as well. I am almost positive these changes are not because of staffing too as it is so early and the park had normal hours last season. It’s probably just for Cedar Fair to save money.

I am still a little confused by the Notice of Commencement. A lot of manufacturers were listed that almost seem copied over from the last Notice of Commencement. If Kings Island is working with B&M, it could be for new parts for an existing B&M, and I believe SkyHigh Coasters also offers the service to remove rides like SlingShot.

In his lastest video, ElToroRyan reported that he heard rumors of Cedar Fair executives riding Velocicoaster and being extremely impressed with it. He even mentioned Cedar Fair might be planning Intamin LSM coasters. I don’t know how likely this is (because it’s Intamin), but something like Velicicoaster (unfortunately without the insane theming) would be perfect. It is not incredibly intense, so the general public loves it, and enthusiasts love it too.

I assume the policy failed if it is completely gone now. Either it did not prevent as much unruly conduct as Knott’s Berry Farm hoped or it hurt attendance. My bet is on the later.

Kings Island posted the Fast Lane pricing today as they went on sale. It appears that the prices for Fast Lane are identical or nearly identical to the old Fast Lane Plus prices from last year.

I wish Mason posted filed blueprints online. You have to go into City Hall to get the latest updates for Kings Island’s big new attractions, so we often don’t find out about the blueprints immediately after they are filed.

I know others have said this, but I think the best fit for Kings Island would be a MACK Rides Extreme Spinner would be the absolute best fit for Kings Island as it would be a modern launch coaster with inversions while also being different from Flight of Fear. Also, it would look stunning in The Vortex plot of land along the midway. I think Kings Island's next coaster will open in 2025 as Cedar Point’s reimagining of Top Thrill Dragster will probably prevent a new coaster for Kings Island in 2024. However, I suppose there is a chance for 2024. Since Dorney Park is currently filing foundation plans for the park‘s new rollercoaster, I’ll point out that Orion’s foundation plans were filed on April 18, 2019. I assume that not a ton of prep work will be done to The Vortex plot of land before foundations are dug, but if we see plans pop up around April or May, we will have a good idea of what is coming.

It seems like both Dorney Park and Cedar Point will be getting new coasters for next year (or at least additions the parks can market as new coasters in the case of Cedar Point). It will be interesting to see if any other parks add major new rides or if we see more area rethemes. I hope we see both!

Good observation. This likely means that the area will remain concrete instead of pavers, but I hope Kings Island does a good job with it.

There likely is more concrete removed beyond the area. I wish the camera was panned a little more to the left. LOL! If it is for utilities, I think we will see construction crews dig deeper to place the utility lines.

I suppose, but it would be in such an odd location. This really has me scratching my head.

I don’t know for sure if the construction crews are done removing the concrete in the area, but it appears that only a specific section of the concrete was cut out with how clean the cut lines are. I don’t know why Kings Island would only remove some of the concrete and not all of it, but it is interesting.

I think this is a good move. I know a lot of guests get angry when they cannot use their Fast Lane passes on all the top attractions because they unknowingly bought the wrong pass.

Fair, but I feel like a darker black or grey paver color would have worked just fine. Kings Island could have even used lighter colored pavers to make the ground look like a runway. I think that would have looked and aged better. On a side note, I think he would be awesome if Kings Island hired IMAscore to create a custom soundtrack for Adventure Port. I think that would add a lot to the new area.

That is a good sign. While the concrete in Oktoberfest did not look that bad as it was relatively new (it was poured when Banshee opened), pavers make any area look way better. I was honestly a little disappointed when Kings Island decided to pour new concrete in Area 72 after digging out the old concrete. It just does not age as well as pavers or look as nice. It is better than asphalt, though. The asphalt walkway between Area 72 and Coney Mall already looks pretty bad with all its cracks after only a few years.

I would want to see Phantom Theater return if it were a new ride in a new building (like The Crypt building) and not just a retheme of Boo Blasters. I think we need MORE indoor rides, so gaining one while losing another, even if the new ride is slightly better, would not be ideal. I do think, though, that Planet Snoopy and Soak City need love, and those two areas may get attention before we see a new Phantom Theater. Action Zone also needs some love. If Kings Island were willing to build a whole new show building, a new Phantom Theater could actually work really well with an Action Zone retheme to something more haunted.