WoodVengeance

King Cobra was in there too, doesn't mean we're getting a new King Cobra.

The first phase of Wildwood Grove cost Dollywood about $37 million when the area opened in 2019. Also, Big Bear Mountain cost an additional $30 million when that opened this year. (for comparison, $30 million is what Kings Island spent to put in Orion, adjusted for inflation it's even more than that) I do have a ton of respect and pride for Kings Island since it's my home park and I've been going there my whole life, and I'm also impressed with what Kings Island is doing with Camp Snoopy next year. However, Wildwood Grove is just on another level and I feel that area is just going to keep getting expanded as time goes on. I just don't think Kings Island can get that "World's Best Kid's Area" award back, unless the park is willing to invest more money into Planet/Camp Snoopy than they did with Orion which I can't realistically see them doing.

If I had to pick between the two, probably the wildcat model. The top gun model looks nice as well, but I really don't think it would be a good fit for Kings Island, mainly due to the capacity with those 8-person trains. Personally if I had to choose a new-gen Vekoma to go to the park, I would go with a tilt coaster. It would be highly marketable with the general public and be different enough from a ride like Valravn to justify its placement in the same state. My only concern with the tilt coaster is that we don't really know how much of a maintenance issue the tilting track would be, as no new-gen tilt-coasters have opened up yet to really serve as an example. Of course Gravity Maxx exists, but that's a 20-year old coaster and doesn't have the same technology found with new-gen vekomas.

Potential spoiler for a 2024 coaster in the US:

With Camp Snoopy coming in 2024, I'm thinking it's very possible we're going to see a Soak City expansion in 2025.

I just realized each major owner of KI has contributed to our Planet/Camp Snoopy coasters. Taft with woodstock express, KECO with great pumpkin coaster, Paramount with flying ace aerial chase and Cedar Fair with snoopy soap box racers.

Given how some "thoosies" went to the Orion announcement just to boo at the park, yeah I don't blame Kings Island for not wanting to do in-person announcements.

Personally I don't find this shocking at all, as a matter of fact I felt it was fated to happen. Ever since Vekoma reworked their coaster division, their newer coasters in Europe and Asia have received a lot of critical acclaim, far different from the boomerangs and SLCs they were known for building prior. In addition to that, Vekoma is usually regarded as one of the most reliable manufacturers in the industry, with even Disney relying on them often for this reason alone. Historically, Cedar Fair has been selective with the manufacturers they choose for their projects. B&M and GCI are selected quite often for Cedar Fair coaster additions due to their reliability, whereas Intamin and RMC are often neglected due to previous issues the chain has had with their coasters. If Vekoma can build coasters as reliable, if not more-so, than a company like B&M while also providing elite ride experiences, then you bet Cedar Fair is going to be interested in working with them. I very much believe we're about to see a Vekoma renaissance in the states not just with Cedar Fair, but with other chains and parks throughout the entire country.

As of 8/10/2023 | 3:51 EST * means unconfirmed but has evidence supporting it California’s Great America- Canada’s Wonderland- Moosehorn Falls (Splash Works expansion) Carowinds- Cedar Point- Top Thrill 2 (Zamperla multi-launch conversion of Top Thrill Dragster) Dorney Park- Iron Menace (B&M Mini Dive Coaster) Kings Dominion- Kings Island- Camp Snoopy (Vekoma family shuttle coaster, new play area) Knott’s- *Highly likely a Camp Snoopy addition Michigan’s Adventure- Valleyfair- World’s of Fun-

Even if they did, I'm certain Gravity Group could've redesigned the ride a bit to make it more compact. This is the same manufacturer that built Boardwalk Bullet after all. Although I still think a GG shuttle woodie would've been a far more interesting ride than the B&M Dive they eventually got, I understand why Dorney went with the latter. Factoring in Dorney's competition with parks like Hersheypark and Great Adventure combined with the effects of the pandemic, the park needed their next coaster to be highly marketable. Not only are dive coasters very popular with the general public, but it so happened that neither HP or SFGAdv had a dive coaster, so the opportunity was ripe for the taking.

Yep, though I don't think it will happen in 2025 since Soak City is still unaccounted for.

Probably. It seems pretty evident that Knotts is getting something for Camp Snoopy next year, so I wouldn't be surprised if they get a clone of SSBR, or another coaster model that reuses the same name.

Well, I got the FAAC repaint correct at least...

Having the kids area split between Planet Snoopy and Camp Snoopy is really taking be back to the 90s and early 2000s when we had our kids area split between Hanna Barbera and Nickelodeon.

If the rumors of Canada's Wonderland getting a coaster in 2025 are true, then probably not.

I'm thinking Knotts is getting this as well. The fact this ride has "soapbox racers" in the name probably alludes to that.

Vekoma let's go

They haven't scheduled an announcement yet, but there is a teaser on their facebook that pretty clearly teases a camp snoopy addition. They might be doing a surprise announcement tomorrow but we'll have to see.

Before tomorrow's announcement, I just want to say this has been pretty fun speculation. I'll admit Planet Snoopy and Soak City aren't necessarily my cup of tea, but it's always nice to see the park getting something new even if it's something I personally won't ride. Here's hoping some day I can help contribute to the next major decoding thread.

At the moment it's just Dorney and KI.

Could be coincidence, but apparently Snoopy's birthday is on August 10th.

Planet Snoopy is possible as well, but we will see what happens tomorrow.

I'm hoping it's not another lackluster 6am announcement like what Cedar Point did with Top Thrill 2

To be fair here, Kings Island has done this with the announcements for Antique Autos and Adventure Port as well, so it's not really a new issue for the park when it comes to non-coaster announcements.

As expected, the comments on the post are already being filled with people asking for RMC Son of Beast...