marineman

My family will be closely watching. If it's a disappointing announcement, we will discontinue our passes after over 20 years, and we'll take a trip or two to non Six Flags parks per year until and unless Kings Island improves. To us, the park is already starting to feel stale. Another 2 years of it, and we'll move on.

The news about '26 is likely going to make this point undeniably clear.

This news is absolutely beyond frustrating. Orion is largely viewed as a let-down. Pretty much everything since then has been utterly weak from a thrill-seeker standpoint. Next year is a water coaster, and not even a good looking one if we're being honest. Now, 2026, the sixth year AFTER Orion, it sure sounds like a family-friendly flat ride. Really!?!? I've tried to stay positive about this merger, but if this is true, I'm giving my passes a break after having them for 20+ years.

Here's my take. KI has the same mindset as Phil Castellini with this very clear comment a while back when fans were making comments about expecting more for their money: "Well, where are you going to go?” Exactly what motivation does Cedar Fair have to do better? Who is going to stop going because of issues with hot chocolate? Let's keep going. What about people holding phones on rides, which literally puts us in danger, yet if you get smacked by one the park isn't liable in any way? What about people fist-fighting? Food portion complaints? Dissatisfaction with park upgrades? I saw a kid slam a soda off the side of a trashcan in line for Banshee yesterday all because they told him to make sure to finish it before trying to board the ride. It splashed at least 4-5 people, and an employee watched it happen and did exactly nothing. Whatever the issue may be. It is a business, and business is good.

I'm really hoping that our long trend of playing the safe card and having beef with half the coaster companies out there will change, and we will see a couple more risky, off-the-hook coasters show up. Let's be real, we're essentially a wood and B&M park at this point. It's time for a change, and that likely means working with the RMC and Intamin types again. Maybe wishful thinking, but I will truly be very disappointed if either of our next couple coasters feature the words "wood" or "B&M" in their descriptions. Arieforce One would easily be a top-tier coaster at Kings Island! It truly impressed me when I rode it. It was also a relatively cheap build at under $20m out the door next to our B&M additions. To my knowledge, the steel-built RMC's are proving to be workhorses, and it seems Six Flags has no hesitancy in working with them.

Totally! We have significantly more wood coasters than loopers. I'm thinking (and certainly hoping) the next couple/few coasters we get will feature multiple inversions; and not of the likely-to-fail wood variety of inversion! :-)

I really can't see a scenario where it would or should be removed before Invertigo.The Bat still runs pretty well, and despite mentions of issues getting parts for Arrows, there are plenty of them still getting makeovers. I also think we have better plots for the next couple possible coaster projects, so I highly doubt it'll get chopped for the real estate (though that is very much PRIME real estate for a new style terrain coaster). I'd be surprised to still be looking at Invertigo in 5 years (since I mostly just look at it due to the very poor ride quality). I would be surprised to not still be riding The Bat in another 5 years. I like the odds of it outlasting it's little brother up north, Iron Dragon.

Agreed! It feels like yet another filler project, like many of our recent ones unfortunately. And also, they TOTALLY missed an opportunity to play off The Racer red and blue theme... LOL!

I'll focus on what, IMHO, are the two areas with the most room for improvement. Action Zone: This area really has no identity. I think there's plenty of argument backing removing Timberwolf, Falls, and Invertigo. Maybe even the Skyflyer? That leaves a LOT of space. I'm of the mindset that a highly visible "entry way" coaster would modernize the park a lot, and you can't see much of any coasters at Kings Island when you pull up. Many CF/SF parks have had such rides for quite some time. However, that's likely a 2029/2030 project at the earliest, assuming there's a Vortex plot coaster coming in 2026 as speculated. Start by removing less (Timberwolf or Falls?) and make a flat ride area more on par with Aeronautica Landing at Carowinds. Our flat ride offerings are pretty weak, yet there are some really good options out there. This could likely be a sooner rather than later upgrade, and it could still be done in a manner that leaves room for a coaster project in the future. I wouldn't be surprised to see a re-theme overall happen there given the Six Flags rights we'll now have access to. Likely, more comic-related. Aside from Banshee, Delirium, and occasional rides on The Bat and Drop Tower, this area offers very little enjoyment to me and my family in current state, and it's a LARGE area. Area 72: Please, a legit bathroom! The two back there now make a nursing home smell amazing, and the wait sucks. There's really no others nearby, either. A space-themed flat ride or two could also be great in this area. A space shuttle themed Zamperla Air Race, or a Mondial Top Scan for example. There's a lot of talk about dark rides, too. I think this area would be prime for that option, given the natural fit with the space theme, and cold/wet weather proximity to FoF. Of course, there's always the option of connecting Area 72 over to Action Zone, which would open a world of opportunity! Again, that's likely a longer term project, though.

Honestly, and I may be wrong here, I just don't think it's a "home run" build that warrants a lot of attention. Even the layout compared to many other water coasters is frankly pretty uneventful. Of course, I may be biased because I am not a big fan of water parks. Maybe I will go ride it and be pleasantly surprised?

I've been on a couple water coasters. They are decent rides, but I'm also not much of a water park guy. Lines there all move too slowly for my liking, and a Master Blaster will be no exception. It'll be something I may ride at most once per year on a slow day. I'm sure the masses that like the water park will enjoy, but it's a very "meh" addition to me personally. Still, I agree that the water park has been neglected for quite some time, so I'm not upset to see something added. In the meantime, I'll just keep hoping that a big coaster announcement is coming for the following year.

My wife and I were in line for The Beast Sunday having a conversation about how dumb it is to have that big, ugly, empty building sitting there used for literally nothing except a haunted house. It takes up a good bit of space itself, and there is plenty more around it. The survey that went out mentioning an indoor/outdoor ride could certainly fit that building/plot. Personally, I'd much (much, much, much, ...) rather have a more intense looping coaster since the park is fundamentally lacking in that area with the removal of Vortex, Firehawk, Cobra, etc and most new coasters not having loops (except Banshee). Still, the real estate makes sense. If they do it, hopefully they at least make it a legit, butt-kicking ride.

Please, not another B&M! A Vekoma would be alright, and obviously an RMC amazing. We need something with a different feel, though. I also do worry that our baby coaster for the year will be used to buy KI at least another 2-3 years before building anything significant, which sucks.

I totally agree, and I like B&M coasters. Banshee and Diamondback are, IMHO, both extremely good rides and they rate very highly on my top rides list. I also think Orion is far better than the critics make it out to be. The issue is, B&M has their niche, and it's fully filled in the park now. Big, wide, smooth, reliable rides are great, but they are also similar. Isn't that exactly why everyone was mad about Orion in the first place, since it was too similar to Diamondback? Why repeat a similar feel again? It's time for something different.

I am very disappointed in the SSBR (now that we've established that acronym, lol), mostly because my fear is KI will use it to delay building anything significant for at least 2 years. I was really, really hoping for a big, legit 2025 coaster, but I certainly wouldn't bet on that now despite a couple years of rather uneventful releases in the ride department. I mean, the barrel ride? Really!?!? Speaking to The Vortex plot, it doesn't have to be a very small coaster. There a lot of woods to the far side that could be used, up to and including the area between Beast, Racers, and Orion with a clever track layout. There's also a big plot to the other side of The Beast, all the way over to White Water Canyon and Mystic Timbers that wouldn't be totally off limits with some creativity (though they won't do it). KI has just been stuck in a B&M rut and they suck at compact coasters (aside from dives, which are largely not very good IMHO), but plenty of companies have made very good rides that would easily fit that space. RMC (albeit an unlikely candidate), Mack, Vekoma, S&S, and even Zamperla. I really hope they go a different direction than B&M for whatever the next ride i, especially in that plot. We could do so, so much better with it. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed SSBR isn't ruling out a '25 project too, but if I were one to bet, I'd say it probably does.