Orion742

Not really a loop but I think it would be really cool if instead of the turnaround we have now for Orion it was sort of a corkscrew element that twisted down into the speed hill. Give the ride a really unique element for a giga. I also don’t even know if it would be possible with B&M clamshells.

Did the 2023 one say Vekoma on it for Snoopy’s Soap Box Racers?

If this is a family thrill launch coaster like Big Bear Mountain with onboard audio I would be all for it. I love Big Bear Mountain at Dollywood. It’s actually my favorite coaster at Dollywood.

Kings Island won’t get a thrill coaster by 2030.

Has anyone been to the park recently to see if it is still there?

New trains or could they be looking at raising the max rider height from 76 inches to something around 78 inches?

If it was a Vekoma family launch coaster like Big Bear Mountain I would be all for it. Actually Big Bear Mountain Is my favorite coaster at Dollywood. I would hope if they did they would theme it well and give it onboard audio. Cedar Point is putting onboard audio on Siren’s Curse so I don’t think Six Flags would be against it. That 10 inversion Gerstlauer Infinity coaster concept they shared in the survey looks amazing too.

I’ve done this poll before but it’s been a long time. I’m interested to hear everyone’s thoughts.

Big Bear Mountain and Dragonflier at Dollywood both have 36 degree operating temperatures so I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the same for Snoopy’s Soap Box Racers. I also believe it’s on the park for deciding what temperature to run it in because I know Energylandia runs their family boomerang in negative temperatures and snow. The park was also testing Racer in the snow last week so maybe they will run it in colder temperatures.

Orion’s speed hill.

Actually that ended up being the Zamperla family coaster they announced this morning. Speaking of the Intamin family coaster they announced yesterday, I think it looks fantastic. Now I know our 2026 addition is likely not a new coaster but if it was and we got this type of ride, I would be very happy.

Although, why would the park survey on multiple thrill coasters if they’re only interested in adding family additions. The park is listening to what guests want and I think eventually the demand will be there for another thrill coaster. We’ll just have to wait and see.

This news is very disappointing for me. I was really hoping that 2026 would be our year for a new thrill coaster. Everything was lining up for it. But yet again we get another family addition. I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks that it’s getting stale. The best case scenario in my opinion would be getting something like Big Bear Mountain. I don’t have a problem with getting a ride like that. In fact Big Bear Mountain is my favorite ride at Dollywood. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think this is the first time in the park’s history that we will have gone at least 7 years without a thrill coaster. Whatever it is I really hope this is the end of the family additions.

What I would really like to see for The Vortex plot is either a Mack Xtreme spinner or a Mack Stryker coaster. I feel that Mack Rides is something that we lack and is very unique. There’s nothing like it around. I think the Stryker coaster is more likely so I’ll go with that one. It can deliver high capacity, marketable, a relatively low rider height requirement at 50 inches, and it would fill the gap of a modern launch coaster that we need. Also in the future I would like to see an Action Zone retheme. Possibly to a haunted area or something with Banshee and The Bat already there. Whatever it is Action Zone really needs a new identity.

I saw that Fastlane was listed too so I contacted the park and they said Fastlane is not available for WinterFest 2024.

Although I do want to point out l, the Xtreme spinner has 51 inch height requirement and the Stryker coaster is 50 inches. Cedar Fair specifically selected 52 inches for Copperhead Strike I believe.

Also I wanted to point out, it wouldn’t be as hard as you think to make a 10 inversion Mack Stryker coaster. Let’s take a look at Voltron, it already has 7 inversions. It has a non inverted Immelmann. If you change that to a regular Immelmann that’s inversion number 8. It also has a top hat. If you change that into an inverted top hat that’s inversion number 9. There is also an over bank turn. If that is rotated a bit more it can turn into a cutback making 10 inversions. I believe Mack’s temperature requirement for their launch coasters just like Intamin’s is rather low. In the single digits. The biggest concern is not about temperatures it’s about if the trains will valley throughout the course. Keeping it low to the ground just like Voltron would make low temperature operations possible. That’s also the reason Mystic Timbers runs during WinterFest. Another concern would be off-season maintenance. If they can take about half the amount of trains off for WinterFest I think it would still be able to run successfully.

I agree. Personally I’d rather see a Mack Xtreme spinner but that’s unlikely considering the guests might not enjoy the spinning aspect. And Mike Koontz may not be a fan of it as well. A Mack Stryker is my #2 choice and I think makes more sense for KI overall than an Xtreme spinner. I think they could easily make it very different experience from Maverick 3 hours north. Time will tell. I’m very intrigued to see what this off-season has in store for us. Also I know being able to run a new coaster during WinterFest would be huge for the park. Mack coasters and the Stryker coaster can run in lower temperatures and especially if they keep it low to the ground.

A 10 inversion Mack Stryker coaster would be insane. I also believe it would be a perfect fit for KI and The Vortex plot of land. It would give us another coaster with inversions that we really need and a modern launch coaster. Personally I believe we need a signature standout top 10 worthy coaster (our Fury 325 or our Steel Vengeance for example). I think a Mack Stryker coaster would be that elite coaster we need. The way Orion preformed costing $30 million I don’t think the park should be afraid to spend if that means getting an elite coaster. Also I can’t confirm this because it is a rumor but I’ve heard CF spent $50 million on TT2 so maybe they’re not concerned about the price If it means they’ll see a return on investment.

It was open Friday when I was there. 2 trains all night. Opened about 20 minutes late but they figured it out. Purple and blue were in operation.

Sorry I’m trying not to annoy you lol but have you used it at the SOB location yet?

Speaking of which, if anyone is going tonight and is getting the lantern It would be cool to hear what the SOB crate interactive point does.

Personally I think this lowers our chances of a modern Vekoma thrill coaster in The Vortex plot, at least for a while. Kings Island is not going to debut a new coaster one or two years after Cedar Point got a model that will ride the same and feel almost the same. It’s like if Cedar Point built GateKeeper in 2013 and in 2014 Kings Island built a wing coaster. The park was actually looking into a wing coaster for 2014 but since Cedar Point was getting GateKeeper they decided on an invert. I do believe this makes 2026 our year with Cedar Point getting back to back major coasters and the parks not liking to do major additions in the same year. I think the park is saving The Vortex plot for something special and I can’t wait to see what it is in the future. I do think the park is going to have to get very creative with our next coaster. Should be very interesting.

I highly doubt that. Maybe in 2026 but I really don’t see CP and KI getting the same ride when KI is marketing it as Ohio’s first racing water coaster. It’s like if both of them added Top Thrill 2 in the same year and they both said the worlds’s tallest and fastest triple launch strata coaster. It doesn’t make sense to add the same ride in the same year when they’re only 3 hours away.

Or maybe they have plans for The Vortex plot of land and the end of Coney Mall before they want to do anything with Action Zone.