marineman

I won't say I disagree that we will maintain a high enough priority to get "something" frequently. I am past my time of having children young enough that they want anything to do with kid or low-thrill family rides. I just hope CF doesn't overly double down on this concept of making KI a family park since thrill rides are what appeals to my family. In my mind, having just gone through their young childhood lifetimes to date raising them at the park and also visiting many others, KI is already one of the absolute most family-friendly parks there is. My children never had issues finding plenty to ride, and stepping up from small rides to the big stuff. There's nowhere better. Where we slip now is in the thrill department. Even overall inferior parks have a ride or two that easily meet or exceed our top tier thrill rides - both coasters and flat. Prime example? Kentucky Kingdom has Storm Chaser that is more forceful and insane than anything we have now. Waldameer has Ravine Flyer II, which is pretty consistently favored over Mystic Timbers. Fun Spot Atlanta has Arieforce. Fun Spot Kissimee has Mine Blower (after the RMC re-track, it is awesome). Similar parks like Carowinds has Fury and Copperhead Strike, which both destroy anything we have that's similar (and frankly, nothing we have even remotely compares to Copperhead). Plus, their flat ride lineup is stellar! Kings Dominion has a handful of rides, especially coasters, that would easily beat out our top ones. Plus, with the addition of Rapterra they will have what, 6 coasters with inversions next to our current 3 (and Invertigo is miserably bad)? I won't jump to conclusions until the '26 announcement is finalized, but we're cautiously monitoring things.

I wouldn't have any issue with a family coaster going in the crypt building. I just don't think it is the right size or dimension for it. If they prove me wrong and pull it off, whatever. It would almost definitely be an improvement over the current state. I like the odds of a flat ride going inside, or it being outright removed. I agree 100% about The Vortex plot. For the love of all that is good in the world, DO NOT waste that plot with a glorified kid coaster. We would absolutely drop my family's passes for that stupidity, too.

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.