FUN&ONLY!

Maybe we will be #1 again in the future. Number one Halloween event?

I mean PEANUTS merchandise was 30% off today. Also, PLANET SNOOOY was the #1 kids area. I guess we should focus our attention over there.

Well we were the #1 kids area in the world for a while.

Woodstock Express is back to two trains today!

I feel like it is more likely a Carowinds maintenance issue rather than an engineering issue. The support does seem to be a bit odd for the forces applied to it, but considering this potential “flaw” exists on so many other moments on Fury 325 and other B&M coasters, I feel like it couldn’t be an oversight. Also, there are some wacky supports out there where it seems like the structure is not designed for the forces applied (just look at the picture of one of Diamondback’s supports below). Just because these supports may appear that they are not capable of withstanding the forces of the train does not mean they are insufficient. If the rumors are true that the crack has been developing for days now, this is a bad look for Carowinds’ maintenance team and Cedar Fair. Small fractures do happen in coasters all the time, but they are quickly fixed before they get out of hand. Carowinds’ maintenance team should be inspecting the whole layout every day and fixing any small fractures in the track. If they missed this fracture for almost a week, allowing the support to completely fail, that is bad.

It is scary to think of what could have happened if the support failure was not caught as soon as it was. Luckily, the failure occurred on a very visible part of the ride, and I assume it was guests or park personnel that noticed the issue and reported it. What if something like this happened in an area not so visible like in the woods? Would it have taken an accident for Carowinds to realize the issue?

Does anyone know why Woodstock Express is still on one train? The other train is not even in sight. Is it still in maintenance?

These Schwarzkopf designed rides seem to particularly have derailment issues. I know similar incidents happened on Mindbender at Galaxyland and Quimera at La Feria Chapultepec Magico. Any accident like this on a rollercoaster is tragic.

Where should we be looking? And what does “We’re #1” mean?

Yeah I don’t know what happened with people going to the City of Mason for permits and blueprints. I feel like people used to go all the time to get the latest on Kings Island. Nobody ever even went to obtain the Adventure Port blueprints. That being said, I never went myself, so I guess I can’t be talking. I feel like some sort of demolition permit or something would be needed for Kings Island to demolish the Son of Beast station or modify it.

The Son of Beast station cannot be condemned as some people are saying it is. Entry would be restricted by law. It has to still be pretty darn safe for employees to still be working in it. I feel like the supposed “structural issues” might have some merit (maybe some components or railings are fatigued and would need replaced), but I feel like the talk of the station having “structural issues” is just an excuse for removing it similar to how Kings Island says a ride has “reached the end of its service life.” In fact, if it is demolished and WCPO asks Kings Island why it was torn down, I would not be surprised if Kings Island simply says it “reached the end of its service life.”

Maybe the Paramount years could be a theme for a future fireworks show at Kings Island. Maybe one year the fireworks show could be called The Royale Finale Presents: The Magic of the Movies.

I would argue that having WindSeeker and Shake, Rattle, and Roll close a little early is worth it for the drone show. The Royale Finale is really taken to the next level with the drone component. Even on busy days, lines die down a lot by the time WindSeeker and Shake, Rattle, and Roll have to close, so the capacity hit by having those two rides close early is not that big of a deal in my opinion.

I feel like it just makes so much more sense to demolish the Son of Beast station during the offseason. Maybe it will be demolished over next offseason, but it is pretty early to be gutting the building for that. I do not want to jump to any conclusions, but this is around the time plans would be being made for a potential 2025 addition whether it be a new coaster or something else. Maybe this is part of a larger project. Maybe Kings Island is just trying to clean up an eyesore. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

I saw this comment on one of the posts about activity in the Son of Beast station on Facebook. I honestly believe that the scenic team is taking down Wolf Pack and that it will not be replaced by another Halloween Haunt maze. I do not know if I believe, however, that the structure is falling apart or condemned. If I had to guess, Kings Island never gave the scenic team a reason as to why they had to take down Wolf Pack and that the talk of the building falling apart is just speculation among employees. What I do not understand, though, is why all this is starting now. Wolf Pack had been just sitting untouched for years before Kings Island ordered the Som of Beast station to be gutted. With Wolf Pack allegedly not being replaced by another Halloween Haunt maze, the station is likely going to either be repurposed altogether (as a station again?) or torn down (what I think is most likely). If it ends up being demolished, why now?

Here is a video of Carowinds’ 50 Nights of Fire. Overall, it is a cool show, but I definitely prefer Fun, Fireworks, and Fifty to it. I also may prefer Adventure Awaits. What really elevates Kings Island’s fireworks shows is the lighting and effects on International Street. Unfortunately, Carowinds does not have that.

It would be great to see the old Son of Beast station demolished. It is such an eyesore. Even if Kings Island decides to build a new rollercoaster there, a completely new station would be better instead of the current station and surrounding maze of ramps. I do not see Kings Island paying to demolish it unless it a part of a bigger project, though, so if it is demolished, maybe the park does have plans for Action Zone.

We’re there any pictures? Could it just be entertainment staff planning a new Halloween Haunt maze to replace Wolf Pack?

I want to see Phantom Theater make a return at some point (as long as the new version is good), but I do not think we should read too much into the teasers from Kings Island. The park knows that people speculate about the ride coming back just like they do with Son of Beast, so the references could just be the park having fun. Also, this is me being genuinely curious, but how viable would a new Phantom Theater be? Is there a large enough audience that will remember the short-lived attraction and will make a point to visit the park to try out a new version. I feel like most fans seems to be die-hard Kings Island fans that will visit the park anyways. I know the same thing could be said for bringing back the antique cars, but that is a much smaller investment than a new dark ride (assuming it is done right).

I think @disco2000 was referring to a potential retheme of Iron Dragon (as some of its supports have also apparently been repainted) in addition to the all but confirmed retheme of Top Thrill Dragster.

I don’t really like that there were cuts at all in live entertainment like with the live band being cut from the bandstand. However, Kings Island still has it pretty good compared to most other Cedar Fair parks. It seems that Cedar Fair began looking for ways to cut hourly labor midway through last year. This makes sense because labor was one area that Cedar Fair was falling short when it came to quarterly earnings. Other chains spent way less on hourly labor comparatively. Cedar Fair acknowledged this in their earnings calls and said that they plan to be more efficient while still maintaining the guests experience. One of the easiest ways to save money on labor is by cutting performers in live entertainment because they cost a lot (labor was cut elsewhere, too). This could explain why Winterfest seemed to see a cut in the number of actors in the Winterfest Wonderland Parade as well as the cut of a full live production (Charlie Brown’s Christmas Spectacular), which was essentially replaced by a band in the Festhaus. This season, Kings Island was mostly spared by entertainment cuts. Cedar Point, however, saw Forbidden Frontier cut altogether and most of the actors and boats taken out of Snake River Expedition. Cedar Point Nights was also cut. The other parks celebrating their 50th anniversaries also seem to be getting a “light” version of what Kings Island got last year. I hope once Kings Island’s contracts with the current shows are over that continue to see a similar budget applied to new shows.

I wish Kings Island would crank up the soundtrack in Area 72. With The Racer’s brake run and Orion’s lift motor nearby, it is kind of hard to hear. It is too good to go unnoticed by a lot of park guests. I also wish the soundtrack would return to Orion’s station. I have not heard it in a while.

I completely understand why some items are not on the dining plan. Some items are probably just too expensive and probably somewhat limited in quantity (or take too long too make) to to justify putting it on the dining plan. Think about it like this. People with the dining plan are usually the ones who are the biggest fans of Kings Island and visit most frequently, so when a new premium menu item like this drops, people with the dining plan are first to know. If these new enchiladas take longer to make and are therefore limited in supply, people with dining plans would probably head straight to Enrique’s to try out the new food, which would potentially strain the supply of the enchiladas and prevent other from buying them. If the park does not turn a profit on new menu items like this, then there will be no incentive to keep introducing new menu items. The reality is, Kings Island needs a lot of guests paying in full to justify these new premium menu items. That being said, there definitely is a benefit to having people with the dining plan try out new menu items. After all, people with the dining plan would be the most likely group to try out something like this. When other guests walk by and see others eating something that looks delicious (like the new enchiladas), they will be more inclined to find out where the person got the meal so that they can purchase it themselves. It would be nice if Kings Island would offer the option to people with the dining plan to pay the difference for the meal. For instance, Kings Island could make the enchiladas a $5 dollar up-charge with the dining plan. While some guests with the dining plan may just prefer to get a burrito bowl that is no up-charge, I guarantee other guests will pay the extra $5 to get the premium new menu items. This would prevent too many people with the dining plan from purchasing it (because many will just decide pay no up-charge for a different meal) while allowing other guests to see the new meal and want to purchase it for themselves. The $5 up-charge would still feel like a decent value to people with the dining plan because their dining plan is not being completely wasted. When someone has to forgo their dining plan and instead pay full price for a meal, it makes it seem like their dining plan is being wasted, so they will opt to just use them dining plan on something else. However, when the dining plan contributes to the cost of a premium meal, it makes it seem like it still is being put to good use.

I really like the music playing around Adventure Port. It really does fit the theme of the area. However, I have not heard any music yet in the “ruins” area, or Adventure Express’ and Sol Spin’s entrance plaza. This may have changed recently, but it would be cool if there was a soundtrack in that mini sub-area of Adventure Port too.

The next rollercoaster going in Action Zone is really nothing more than some rumors that seem to be nothing more than speculation. I have heard. I am not a so-called “insider,” so I really have no idea where the next rollercoaster would go. However, with Kings Island hopefully going down the route of re-theming old areas with new additions as Mike Koontz indicated along with the new drone show currently occupying The Vortex plot of land, Action Zone seems like a prime contender for the park’s next coaster. Action Zone is begging for a thematic overhaul, which will likely only come with new rides. I also think Kings Island has been focusing on areas of the park that need it more before adding to other areas. Just from reading Kings Island: A Ride Through Time, I got the impression that Mike Koontz and team prioritize areas of the park that have not seen attention in a while before focusing on other areas. Koontz’ quote that he would prefer to add something in Planet Snoopy and Soak City before replacing Vortex’s embodies this thought process. Coney Mall saw attention way more recently than Planet Snoopy or Soak City. Also, when Kings Island plans a new ride, they decide the best location for the ride, which is generally based off locations in the park where want the park wants to see an increase in foot traffic. In my opinion, Action Zone’s foot traffic has been declining ever since Banshee’s “newness” wore off. Action Zone is not dead by any means, but later in the day, areas of the park like Coney Mall and Rivertown seem to still be buzzing while most guests have already moved on from Action Zone. Coney Mall is even a bottleneck at times near Vortex’s old plot of land, but I think that is partially because of the narrow midways in that section of the park. That being said, it all depends on how much a priority it is for Kings Island to fill The Vortex plot of land. It may very well be at the top of the park’s to-do list. However, I still think that if the next rollercoaster goes in The Vortex plot of land, then Action Zone will still see attention in the form of flat rides and a re-theme like Adventure Port. If the next rollercoaster goes elsewhere, I think it will be in Action Zone coupled with a re-theme.