johnjniehaus

If the existing theming would actually be restored to working order it would be something. So, I'm definitely for mist/fog... runaway mine train at six flags over tx had a fog machine in it's first tunnel (for fright fest probably) but it added a really cool touch to the ride experience. They should definitely do something like that with AE 3rd tunnel because it's so fast it'll be over before anyone has the chance to suffocate in the fog. Anyway, I would like to see the final tunel repainted and updated with better audio. Other tunnels just spruce up what is there. The ride should have some projection lights or something to light up the trees or scenery at night. Basically enhance the night Rides. Even if they just touch up the que and add a few thematic elements like they did FoF que when building Orion (meteor with mist, barrels, etc) One final thing is probably something I only have an issue with how boring the que tunnel is...like I would like to be able to watch as they dispatch the trains because that's so much more interesting than watching the fun TVs! As it's constructed currently, I have to squint through the cracks in the boards to watch the dispatched trains. Makes the line feel shorter if you can watch the ride while waiting. Sadly Firehawk was the master of that... you could see the entire circuit from that que!

Ok visited Six Flags Over Texas (10/10/22) and here's my thoughts/experience 1. This park is SO CONFUSING to navigate. The Dallas/Ft Worth airport was easier to get around than the park was! I got lost/couldn't find the entrance for a ride on 3 separate occasions. Even the employees couldn't tell me where the entrance to Titan was! 2. Plagued by typical Six Flags understaffing issues. They really need to start fixing some of that. Judge Roy Scream and Mini Mine Train were both closed the entire day and countless flat rides weren't open either. If Six Flags doesn't want to be the Walmart amusement park chain and wants to start charging Busch Gardens and Dollywood prices, they absolutely MUST have all the rides that are able to operate open. 3. They don't get enough credit for their unique coaster collection...I was actually surprised In the diversity of coasters and thrill levels. This was a really good lineup. New TX Giant was a great RMC and I didn't mind that it doesn't have inversions. Titan while not a traditional hyper is still a good ride and one of only two giovanolla hypers. Shockwave is the #1 Schwarzkopf coaster I've ridden and the back row ejector airtime is rivaled only by pheonix at Knobles. Runaway Mountain was a really neat premier rides indoor coaster and La Vibora was my second (and preferred) bobsled credit after Flying Turns at Knobles. Runaway Mine Train was really good for an early arrow mine train and had great pacing and 2 awesome tunnel sections and of course the saloon! The clones (Mr Freeze, Batman, Pandemonium, Joker Freespin) were all running smoothly and were enjoyable as well. 4. The ride ops were really good! Most six flags parks don't have enough ride ops and Over TX seemed to be short staffed but the ops they did have were working hard with a smile on their face. For example, Six Flags Over GA has 5 ops in station and 2 for seat assigning/fast pass line and all 7 seemed to have got up on the wrong side of the bed. Over Tx had 2 ops working Shockwave who were super energetic and were giving high-fives plus they were dispatching trains WAY faster than GA was on Mindbender. The Shockwave ops needed the employees of the year award they were so good! This is probably my last out of state amusement park trip for 2022. Making my list for 2023....any suggestions?

Ok so at first, I was thinking why the heck are they talking about moving a 30+ year old ride? Like either leave it alone or tear it down for something better.... however your art here has sold me on the idea. Tear down the monstrosity of an eye sore previously known as The Crypt and move Congo Fall over to Rivertown. Looks amazing but sadly this will probably never actually happen.

I voted for the current day because I do feel like Cedar Fair made pretty solid additions. If I could travel back to a year of Kings Island park history and visit the park it would be 1983 or 2000. If traveling to 1983, I would be able to ride the original Bat, Screamin Demon, Zodiac, Enchanted Voyage, Safari, Der Spinnen Keggers... If traveling to 2000 it would be son of The Beast, king Cobra, action theater, backwards racer, phantom theater... I personally think that the 1980s was a great era for the park. The Bat while short-lived and problematic was very bold addition, viking fury is probably the best swinging ship ride I've ridden, backwards racer (I never rode it) according to my family was great, king Cobra was first standup on US soil, Vortex stood solid for 30+ years, white water canyon was huge too! The 1990s are mixed to me. For example Adventure Express is the second to last arrow mine train built and Top Gun was the final Arrow Suspended Coaster installed. Obviously those rides are great and are still operating and if The Bat (aka Top Gun) closed next year it would be dearly missed but like Vortex it's done it's time and paid it's debt to the park. Invertigo/Face Off has aged rather poorly and seems irrelevant now that Banshee is right across the street. In my opinion the 2 revolutionary additions in the 90s were Flight of Fear/Outer Limits and Drop Tower (which remains the world's tallest gyro drop). Other 90s attractions such as Phantom Theater, Action Theater, and flight commander didn't stand the test of time. The 90s also saw the closure of the Wild Animal Safari, Der Spinnen Keggers, flying Dutchman, Skylab, the Ferris wheel, enchanted voyage, and the giant slide. However to truly answer the question, I think whatever decade your teenage years and young adult years are/were is the best decade at Kings Island. My grandma will of course say how she loved the park in the 1970s and how she misses the fresh made bread and the Skyride and the enchanted voyage and the safari....my dad will say 1990s because he remembers waiting for Top Gun and Flight of Fear during their opening years and how different and "great" those coasters were to him. He will also always say how much he misses Action Theater/Days of Thunder, Flying Eagles, and King Cobra. I am a vote for our current decade because I love all the additions I've seen in my teen/young adult years.

See I always get corrected when I say Diamondback is longer than Orion but I'm talking about ride time...not track length.

I never realized there was so much hate for Charlie Brown Christmas Spectacular! Everyone in my family LOVES that show BoddaH1994 girlfriend isn't the only one who is bummed I guess. I remember that show being very popular in the first few years but last year it definitely did have a drop in attendance. Hopefully it comes back in future Winterfest lineups. I have many fond memories of that show.....my dad finding a new fav Xmas song (Lucy's Santa Baby), my youngest sister who watched Charlie Brown Christmas all year round finally getting to see Snoopy for the first time, and my grandma going to winterfest for the first time last year and making us criss cross the park to see that show. I will definitely miss it but it will be nice to see Tinker Toy Factory in an actual theater where you can hear better than what you can in the festhaus. Also, are the actors for Santa and Tinker the same every year for that show? My sister swears they are and I've never paid close enough attention to it to say for sure....?

The same mystical witches that came out of the swamp to roll away the witches wheel must have taken it to the same place they took the witches wheel....a place nobody can find them again

I have heard multiple people say that! So interesting....

Ok my KI favorites list - 1. Diamondback (back row) 2. Beast (row 16) 3. Orion (any row) 4. Banshee (row 1 or row 4) 5. Flight of Fear (back row) 6. Racer (non wheel seats) 7. Firehawk (back row) 8. The Bat (back row or front row) 9. Adventure Express (anywhere is fine) 10. Mystic Timbers (towards the back) 11. Vortex (I never found a seat I liked) 12. Woodstock Express (back row) 13. Invertigo (back/front row) 14. Backlot Stunt Coaster (front row) 15. Flying Ace Arial Chase (don't care) 16. Great Pumpkin Coaster (back row) I've always wondered where King Cobra would rank for me seeing as it closed the year I was born... however, I love standup coasters so I could see it being in my upper half. My favorite coasters ever out of 155 total coasters (not counting Larson Loops or Disk-O-Rides/Coasters) 1. Diamondback - in the back row 2. Millennium Force 3. Magnum XL 200 4. The Beast 5. Velocicoaster 6. Maverick 7. Hadrigs Magical Creatures 8. Space Mountain (Disney World) 9. Steel Vengeance 10. Pheonix 11. Nitro 12. The Boss 13. Riddler's Revenge 14. Shockwave (Six Flags Over TX) 15. X2 HM: Verboten Worst Coasters 5. Boomerang (Six Flags St Louis) 4. Tempesto (Busch Gardens Williamsburg) 3. Great Goofini Barnstormer (Disney World) 2. Python (Coney Island, OH) 1. Primeval Whirl (Disney World)

Thanks for the information! Great to hear first hand stories too. After watching Beverly Hills Cop III scene I know why all the double and triple wheels have been closed. That was epic! Wonder if Intamin still got all the credit or tried passing the buck to Waagner-Biro when there was a lawsuit over the dangerous malfunction of The Spider at WonderWorld?

I still think this was one of the most unique/visually cool rides ever to operate at Kings Island. I believe the Zodiac was an Intamin Double Ferris Wheel that operated from 1975 - 1986. As far as I know none of these rides exist anywhere in the world at this point. If one defunct ride type could return, I think this is the #1 choice for me. Anyone else have thoughts, information, or stories about the Zodiac. I posted some pictures of it from KI and also from Wonderland Sydney where it eventually closed in 2004.

At Kings Island, Diamondback should be the next repaint...red track and black supports. However, I'm loving the ideas proposed for Woodstock Express as well! Banshee needs a repaint too but I'm not sure if they should change the color. The purple/pink and Blue was pretty epic.

I can see where it would feel that way. For example it felt more like one section before Antique Autos took out the left side of.the midway and when Vortex was still around. To me Stunt Cars have never felt like they were in Coney Mall but they technically are. I honestly associate Stunt Cars with International Street because it's right behind the Tower however the entrance is clearly a Branch off of Coney Mall because Rivertown doesn't start til you get to the Laroses pizza

Ok so my thoughts - 1. I'm shocked it was actually a good announcement..why did they wait so long? Who knows but good just the same 2. Why not just keep it Octoberfest? Adventure Express could have gotten a retheme to fit the area. However, the new area seems interesting and unique. I'm excited about the storyline they create for it other than this is the unofficial Indiana Jones Temple of Doom Mine Chase Coaster in the middle of a German Festival. 3. Adventure Express updates/enhancements is very exciting to me and indicates this ride will be around for many more years! Long live Arrow Dynamics! I would like to see additional theming in some of the tunnels. The final tunel is the best if all the guys are working..... almost never happens. Second tunel has gotten a little empty over the years - what happened to that huge snake with the skeleton? The first tunnel is so dark it's hard to tell what is in there. The third tunel is the empty one you go flying through. Idk what should be in there but I'm sure they will do a good job. 4. Nice flat rides though I must complain for a minute that all the replacement rides for former rides frankly aren't the same as the originals. Example - Flying Eagles VS Woodstock Gliders, The twin Antique Car tracks (Antique Car/Les Taxis) VS Kings Mills Antique Autos, Skylab VS Sol Spin, & Der Spinnen Keggers VS Cargo Loco. I think most of us agree the original versions are better than the modern equivalents. However, that's not to say that this is not a great addition to the park. I like Zamperla Endeavor rides but I LOVE HUSS ENTERPRISE! Something about no seatbelt in that cage is way better than the Over the Shoulder restraints and open seats. Unfortunately very few HUSS or Schwarzkopf Enterprise rides are left. Long live Scream Weaver at Carowinds! I still curse the day that Cedar Point announced the closure of Witches Wheel. As for Cargo Loco, a good teacups ride has to actually spin the platforms. Some of them are so slow you MUST spin the cups to get any fun because the platforms rotate at a snails pace. For example, mad hatter at Disney World and Lemon Twist at Dollywood were both excruciatingly slow platform rotations. A example of a good tea cups ride is the Tea cups/Craisy Daisy at Knobles. Anyway hopefully this one actually spins at a nice pace. Unfortunately it doesn't have the tilting platform.... however if it actually spins I will still enjoy it. 4. Am I the only person who hates the names? - Like Sol Spin? Any spinning ride with the word Spin in the ride name feels like a lazy title. For example nearly every other Zamperla Endeavor or Huss/Schwarzkopf Enterprise has a WAY cooler name that doesn't utilize the word SPIN. For example - Highland Fling, Scream Weaver, Witches Wheel, Enterprise, Skylab, Catwoman Whip, Scream Extreme, Silver Bullet, Supergirl Skyflyer, Wagon Wheel, etc. I will enjoy this ride but that name is a reflection of the greatest case of laziness I've ever seen on naming a Kings Island ride. - Cargo Loco is a decent name but Der Spinnen Keggers was way better (pardon me if I misspelled DSK) - Adventure Port is ok but kinda generic. Like how about you create a name of this mystical land or country we have come to visit? Adventure Port isn't a place it's an entry point. It's just an ok name that fits in perfectly with the lame vibe of Sol Spin. 5. You obviously can't tell from the concept art but I'm praying that this area gets some lights packages on the rides. For example, Sol Spin is supposed to be an ancient sun disk so what if it had yellow/white lights that did a chase sequence or something? Cargo Loco might be a bit lacking for nighttime lights but it could be like the dogem and have projection lights that change colors as the ride rotates. Adventure Express use to have a ton of green and red projection type lights along the track but now it's mostly dark. I would like to see those return. Adventure Port doesn't need as much bling lighting packages like Coney Mall or International Street but I don't want to see another dark boring stretch like Rivertown and Action Zone. well that's my thoughts!

I was just there on 10/9/22. Love the park and Mindbender is second only to Shockwave at SFOT in Arlington when it comes to Schwarzkopf coasters I've ridden. Idk why the GA Batman is so crazy but it's definitely got more speed/whip in those inversions. The Superman is the best of all the clones because it was built for GA plot of land. Overall nice park and I FINALLY got to ride the Monster Mansion - one of the most bizarre dark rides ever!

While I consider Kings Island as my home park, technically Strickers Grove is my home park as I live 15 minutes from it and about 45 from KI... Strickers has a fun atmosphere and the best time to visit is during the Fair that gets hosted there during the summer. I've been 4x this year. As said above the Tornado is the hidden gem!

You said it. FoF has been a lot rougher this season for some reason to the point my 40+ year old family members threatened to stop riding it. After riding Mr Freeze at Six Flags Over TX, I'm realizing how smooth Premiere Coasters could be and for some reason FoF isn't smooth. I think Dback is next candidate for a repaint. I like the Red and Black suggestion over the Red and Yellow. Change it up guys! The GA Scorcher is Red and Black and look really nice! Definitely Red and Black is the way to go...

YES! That and the huge Skyride are the 2 I would love to see come to KI from CGA.

Ok my guess is something lame like a retheme of the Miami River Brew house or an additional restaurant somewhere else in the park. Could be an all year season announcement which I don't think is a good idea. What rides can operate in the Jan/Feb weather? Ok my hope is it's a flat ride announcement for Octoberfest and a reboot for that area with new scenery/architecture improvements. That would make me jump for joy! It will be interesting regardless because even if it's a stupid announcement it can't be any worse than when the Cedar Fair announcement said we were getting nothing! Lol

I forget what it was called but did they discontinue the Charlie Brown Christmas show that was inside the KI Theater?! That was our family's favorite one and it looks like Tinker Toy Factory gave it the boot!

Yellow and Red does look sharp on it...

Now that The Beast has been working well for a change, something I'd like to see in the upcoming future - 1. Childhood dream of seeing Intamin manufacture their double or triple Ferris wheel again with the first installation being the new Zodiac at KI..... wishful thinking because I don't think that'll ever happen. 2. I'm with some of you.guys that painting and or adding lights on Banshee and dback would be great 3. Repaint of Woodstock Express. It's still very nickelodeon in it's color scheme. Should have yellow track with red trains or something like that. Definitely yellow track because Woodstock is yellow. Idk what color trains but definitely stay away from the neon nickelodeon colors.... don't want a tatsu repaint on our hands!

Revisiting this topic which has been dead for awhile... https://www.interlink-lg.com/used-rides/bobsleigh/ There's a used Mack Bobsled for Sale...Based on my research I think it formerly operated at a now defunct park in Japan. It actually looks pretty fun.

Ok so July 31-Aug 4 I hit 5 parks over 3 states. These were Lakemont Park, Knobles Amusement Park, Six Flags Great Adventure, Hershey Park, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg. (Drove right past Kings Dominion and Dorney Park....I currently don't have a platinum pass and decided to invest my time and $ into non Cedar Fair parks since conceivably I could upgrade to a platinum pass in future years.) Regardless so here's my thoughts and let me know if any of you have been and what your thoughts are. Lakemont Park is so small and seems mors like a recreational park but leap the Dips is an amazing piece of history and actually Skyliner was a pretty good Woodie... similar to Thunderbolt at Kennywood. Knobles Amusement Park was amazing.... well except that I spent$60 in 4 hrs on tickets. Regardless Pheonix is my second fav Wooden wonder after The Beast at KI. Twister was amazing too and is my 4th fav Wooden coaster. You usually don't hear much about twister but it was really good. Rode my first ever bobsled style (flying turns) was cool. Black Diamond was a way better dark ride than boo blaster. The teacups were a PTC crazy daisy and was alot of fun. The Flyer was the old Bisch-Rocco style and now I know why my dad hates Woodstock Gliders because it's so dumbed down compared to the old models. He remembers the Eagles at KI which is now at Carowinds. Now I've been spoiled on a Bisch-Rocco model and I'll probably never ride Woodstock Gliders ever again.... Six Flags Great Adventure surprised me in many ways. First El Toro didn't live up to irs hype....so first of all I had high expectations like maybe this can knock beast out of my top wooden coaster spot?.Nope! Not even close Beast is WAY BETTER! El Toro is probably my #5 wooden coaster but I felt it was rough and the end of the ride wasn't very enjoyable. (I don't like Mystic Timbers because of that side to side throwing motion and Toro was doing that too.) The airtime was crazy but I prefer the Pheonix for air and The Beast for location and speed and length and location and speed and length and did I forget to say location!? Anyway I rode 3x in 3 different seats and walked away with a headache so no I'm here to say El Toro isn't the best wooden coaster out there. It's good but not the best. Kingda Ka was amazing especially considering the dragster at CP has been closed for awhile now. I love b&m stand-ups and Green Lantern was of course one of my favs at the park. Nitro was great. Second favorite hyper after Dback. Skull Mountain was cool. Biggest surprise was the Runaway Mine Train. Everyone on YouTube and in articles say it's rough and I disagree. I didn't get a headache from the mine train and I rode it 3x in a row and probably close to 6x throughout the day. The location and speed and airtime was awesome...one of the better arrows in my opinion. Final rides to comment on at the Para-Drop which was unique, Twister which was my first "top spin" and it was a blast (kind wish Crypt would make a return to KI because top spin was alot of fun), and the Houdini Great Escape which was one of.the weirdest rides I've ridden....like I logically know it doesn't flip upside down but it feels like it. Trying to determine how a Vekoma Mad House works makes my head hurt.... anyway I Love that ride. Won't ever happen but I would go for a Phantom Theater themed Vekoma madhouse in the former action theater building at KI you know former action theater is now phantom theater.... Hershey Park was really nice. Super Duper Looper, Great Bear, Candymonium were awesome...laff Trak was cool too. Skyrush was like a mini millennium Force but those restraints kill.your legs. Trailblazer was a cute mine ride and comet was a classic. The Kissing Tower was the first observation tower type ride I've done that isn't an elevator to a platform like the Eiffel Tower. Busch Gardens Williamsburg I can't say enough....rival to Epcot in my book. Such great theming and rides. I did behind the scenes tour which was worth every $ . Loch Ness Monster was a terrific arrow looper and was really smooth for that ride type. They went into how much maintenance goes into that ride and how often they replace wheels to keep it smooth.... just visually looking at some of KI wheels on Arrows like The Bat for example I think that Busch Gardens hold theirs to a much higher standard. Like the wheels on The Bat would be replaced if it was at Busch gardens. Griffon was a great dive coaster. Apollo's Chariot was a good hyper. Idk.why people hate on it. Pantheon was down alot but I finally did get a ride on it and it was a fun mix of velocicoaster and Mr freeze reverse blast. InvadR was BETTER than Mystic Timbers in my opinion. Alpengeist was surprisingly rough and had bad transitions so it was a 2x and done for me. Raptor and Banshee are more comfortable. Verboten I cannot say enough about. Rode it 10x and got all 3 show scenes. Smooth, great launches and positive gs, great night ride, drop track was amazing! Best coaster in the park. (Wish I could reverse the clock and ride big bad Wolf because I know some people say it was even better than verboten) Escape From Pompeii was best themed splash Boat type ride I've ever been on. The fire in there is nuts! So there's my thoughts on these 5 parks and their offerings.

My "luck" has finally improved with the post refurbishment Beast. Have been up there once a week for the last 3 weeks and have encountered no beast breakdowns or closures. If there was a problem I guess it's resolved or maybe I finally kicked that bad luck in the butt.