FUN&ONLY!

I wouldn’t say Mystic Timbers is in the back of the Kings Island, but I do think The Vortex void needs to be filled. I also really hope another coaster is not removed before Vortex is replaced because that would leave a bad impression on a lot of fans. I could see a new coaster announced to leave right after a new coaster is announced similar to what happened with Orion and Vortex.

So the big question when it comes to a Vortex replacement is when it will happen. In Cedar Fair’s conference call yesterday, they said they want to go back to investing 9% to 10% of revenues back to what they wanted to invest before the pandemic, but they can only do so when their financial situation improves. They also said that for 2022 additions and beyond, they will only activate capital projects as the situation improves. It is also important to note that Cedar Fair is not currently committed to any future capital projects that have not been announced. For any projects that are already in development, Cedar Fair has no binding commitments to go through with these plans. With this, I think that the investments Kings Island gets next year for its 50th anniversary are somewhat dependent on what attendance looks like this summer. In regards to a new coaster, I don’t think Cedar Fair will have a normal year until 2022 at the earliest, and if Kings Island started planning a new coaster in 2022, we would likely see it open in 2024 with Kings Island usually starting the development of a new major coaster 2 years out. Realistically, I don’t know if Kings Island will start development of a new coaster until the year following or later, so I think an opening of 2025 or 2026 makes more sense. If I had to pick a year, I think we will see a Vortex replacement opening 2025 with development starting in 2023, but it really is too early to tell when Cedar Fair will be in a better financial position. https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2021/02/17/cedar-fair-fun-q4-2020-earnings-call-transcript/

Hershend simply buying the park likely won’t affect competition much. Hershend needs to invest a decent amount into Kentucky Kingdom in order to trigger a response from Kings Island and Cedar Fair. My only concern with Hershend investing a lot into Kentucky Kingdom is that there is really not much room to put in a major new attraction. Also, they are probably only going to get the operating contract for Kentucky Kingdom and not own it outright, but I may be wrong in that regard.

That color scheme looks exactly like Copperhead Strike. I really like the color scheme, though, and if the ride is going into Rivertown, it fits great! Would the entrance to this ride be near The Beast?

I would be so happy with an Intamin Blitz coaster like Maverick at Kings Island to replace Vortex, but I will only believe that Cedar Fair is willing to work with Intamin again when I see it.

I am not going to do a Google Earth overlay, but from others that I have seen like, Copperhead Strike fits pretty well in The Vortex plot of land with room to spare. Also, MACK Rides is currently building a 200+ foot launch coaster in China that look pretty cool and is supposedly going to feature a faster launch acceleration than their previous coasters, We probably won’t see a MACK Rides multi-launch as tall as this at Kings Island, but we could see a layout different and more intense than Copperhead Strike.

I feel like a Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster is likely because it would be a modern multi-inversion coaster with a beyond vertical drop, making it different than Vortex while still featuring many inversions. On the other hand, something like a MACK Rides multi-launch makes a lot of sense because it could also feature a lot of inversions, and Kings Island lacks a good modern launch coaster.

Come on! You can tell us!

That looks so much better than that big tan box! The view of the Tomb Raider building from The Beast’s midway is probably one of the ugliest things to see in the entire park because all you can see is the fire escape stairs or whatever those steps are and whatever Kings Island is storing back there at any given time.

I wonder if Kings Island is going to have more live entertainment this year. They really didn’t have any last year at the start of the season, and the shows they had later on were very limited. I know Valleyfair is hosting auditions for their live entertainment department right now, so I hope Kings Island also does the same. If Kings Island does have more live entertainment offerings this year, I only expect them to use the International Street Bandstand, the International Showplace, and the Festhaus. I know the Kings Island Theater is probably the best venue in the park, but I don’t see them offering indoor shows at least for the start of this year. Maybe they will offer indoor shows if Winterfest happens this year.

Would B&M have to manufacture completely new track to fix that airtime hill though?

Kings Island said reservations would open up in January 2021 for Camp Cedar which has now come and gone. Also, Kings Island has provided no updates at all for Camp Cedar since the project was first announced. I wonder why there has been such silence regarding the project, and I wonder when reservations will actually be available. I hope there haven’t been any setbacks in the construction and opening of the campground.

A flying theater like Soarin’ would be really cool in the Tomb Raider building. They could theme it to a flight through the Ohio Wilderness, and they could maybe tie Dayton’s history in aviation into it as well. I just hope they fit it into the theme of Rivertown. A flying theater would also be very immersive and add incredible depth to Kings Island as a whole. It would also be another family-orientated ride in Rivertown when there really aren’t that many.

Kings Island is probably either filling Diamondback with additional sand or repainting it. Either way, likely nothing major is happening to the ride or to other rides. However, I can’t stress enough how AMAZING a Diamondback repaint would be. It needs it!

Correct me if I am wrong, but Cedar Fair never actually said that. What they actually said has been misinterpreted tremendously not just on this forum but on other forums and in YouTube videos. What Cedar Fair really said is that they wouldn’t be investing in large attractions as often as they used to every 2-3 years, saying they would do so now every 4-5 years at the major parks with special events and parades to fill in the gap years. Cedar Fair never said anything about investing in cheaper rides. They just said they would be investing in large rollercoasters less frequently. It is also important to note that they will continue adding something to every park every year as was announced for 2020 (parades and festivals count as new additions).

Universal can afford to spend money on expensive rides. Also, when they tore down Dragon Challenge, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure was the only ride that replaced it. Velocicoaster is being built in a different area of the park. It is also worth mentioning that Universal is currently building a clone of Incredible Hulk in Beijing themed to Transformers. It also looks like Sea World Orlando is moving forward with their B&M Surf Coaster, and Wing Coaster track has recently been spotted outside of Clermont Steel Fabricators. Why are parks still buying B&M’s when a cheap RMC Raptor will pack a bigger punch? Parks always need reliable, high-capacity, crowd pleaser rides. In a park like Six Flags Great America, the fan favorite is a 1999 B&M Hyper Coaster even though the park has a relatively new RMC. The same can be said with Kings Dominion, they have a relatively new Intamin Giga Coaster, but the relocated B&M Floorless is still much more of a crowd pleaser and gives more rides annually. Even Cedar Point with rides like Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, Maverick, and Steel Vengeance, the top two most ridden rollercoasters are GateKeeper and Valravn.

I don’t think Kings Island is bringing back the reservation system because it says plan your visit where on Canada’s Wonderland’s website it specifically says to make a reservation. I also think capacity is increased from opening day last year though I feel like it also increased some throughout last season.

I don’t think any Cedar Fair parks besides Canada’s Wonderland are skipping rows based on their website information. I couldn’t access California’s Great America’s reopening information, but I could see them skipping rows because of local restrictions. Sometimes we all have to step outside of our comfort zones, especially during these unprecedented times. Don’t blame Cedar Fair or Kings Island. They did the right thing to protect the health of guests.

I agree it has more an old-time amusement park theme and feel with classic flat rides and an old wooden rollercoaster, The Racer. I think Vortex worked perfectly in Coney Mall with its mess of track and supports and old steel rollercoaster look. I think something like a Mack multi-launch coaster or a Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster would look good in Coney Mall because with both of these rollercoaster types, it looks like a mess of track, and they are both very aesthetically pleasing . I think something like a B&M would look way too modern for Coney Mall.

I don’t think The Racer looks bad (at least from angles viewable to park guests), but it definitely could benefit from a repaint (maybe they could repaint it to its original colors). However, I still think Diamondback needs a repaint more.

Diamondback looked way better in 2009 than it looks now. It’s not even close! That section of Rivertown just seems more dull these days. The splashdown is still an amazing visual spectacle though.

Diamondback has looked really bad recently with its incredibly faded paint job. It dominates Rivertown to such a degree that repainting it would liven up the whole area to an extent. Cedar Fair recently repainted Intimidator at Carowinds which is one year younger than Diamondback, so that gives me hope a Diamondback repaint is coming soon.

I don’t believe Cedar Fair ever really worked with Vekoma. I think the majority of Vekomas in the chain are from parks Cedar Fair acquired like the Paramount Parks. Unfortunately, I also don’t really see Cedar Fair working with Vekoma anytime soon after they have recently had to remove Stinger and Firehawk because of maintenance issues and not being able to get new parts. I know new Vekomas are supposed to be better rides, but it is still the same company and may provide the same poor long-term support.

Maybe an old car theme would work, but something like Monster Jam really wouldn’t fit at all in my opinion. I love theming, but I could see a new Coney Mall coaster not really having much of a theme because I don’t really know what theme would fit really well into that area of the park. I think was is most important is that a new rollercoaster in Vortex’s plot is well presented and visually appealing like Vortex was.

I personally wouldn’t want to see anything like this. Original storylines are better than IP’s in my opinion, and putting in a Monster Jam rollercoaster would likely take away from the charm in Coney Mall and Rivertown.