RingMaster

That wasn't Collective Soul that moved to the Showplace Stage; it was that Jordan chick and I remember they were having a field day trying to stop passersby from watching the show from outside Showplace because they didn't pay for the concert itself. Also, it's not the actual stage itself that's used for a Haunt, but the path leading to it that goes directly behind Congo Falls (dubbed Shantytown due to the placement of souvenir huts and "shanties" littered on said path). I've always wanted to see Kings Island pull a CityWalk/Downtown Disney by having the former parking lot become a massive shopping/dining district, with a brand-new amphitheater to replace Timberwolf placed outside the park, and, in place of the parking lot, a new parking garage over near Boomerang Bay. But, 'tis but a dream.

It worked for Worlds of Adventure, didn't it? Oh, wait.... Also, about that topography map....that area (particularly the bit closest to X-Base) is both severely forested and very hilly. Those who have been to the Haunt know the Trail of Terror is an uphill trek through a forest (once you pass Grandpa's shack it starts going up) and the queue line goes down a pretty steep incline. Less of the idea that the infamous Trail may have its last set of victims at the end of this year and more on the idea that you're talking about spending millions razing that entire area and flattening it, so to speak, to make it guest-accessible. And that is a pretty massive parcel of land next to Firehawk (ToT clocks in at under 20 minutes to walk through).

Hopefully it gets a complete overhaul like the bathroom in Planet Snoopy did in '06 (next to Sally's Sea Plane) instead of the "cosmetic upgrade" its conjoined twin received in '09 (facing Diamondback). Although I wouldn't mind having all the restrooms in the park with those hand dryers.

I find it interesting that both the Sandusky Register and Cedar Fair are calling Q out for wanting a merger with Six Flags, when it was Q themselves that helped prevent said same possible merger in the form of the proposed Apollo deal.

1. Maverick - Cedar Point (beastfan26) 2. Millennium Force - CP (coasterguy15) 3. Diamondback - KI (Indyguy4KI) 4. The Beast- KI (McSalsa) 5. Prowler - WoF (thekidd33) 6. Top Thrill Dragster - Cedar Point (Centurey) 7. WindSeeker - Kings Island (jcgoble3) 8. Intimidator - Carowinds (Coney Islander) 9. Magnum XL-200 - Cedar Point (LordSkippy) 10. Intimidator 305 - KD (TombRaiderFTW) 11. Dominator-KD (TylerRider) 12. Silver Bullet - KBF (KIfan1980) 13. Xcelerator - Knott's Berry Farm (TH13TEEN) 14. Big Dipper - Geauga Lake Park (PhantomTheater) 15. Flight of Fear - Kings Island (RingMaster)

Maybe next week. Perhaps the week after that. Or perhaps even the week after that.

Up until several years ago, Disney ALMOST went that particular route with California Adventure, an overpriced, underachieved eyesore that more closely resembled a Six Flags park than a Disney park. They're currently spending close to $2 billion on fixing their mistake, but that was after building another Disney park overseas (Hong Kong Disneyland) and now currently planning a SIXTH (Shanghai Disneyland). Maybe instead of expanding their reach to the furthest corners of the planet, maybe the Disney Corporation should dial things back a bit and fix what's wrong with the original two properties Walt helped create.

To quote one Admiral: ....or is it a trap?

Disney is definitely shaking in their boots right now. Makes me wonder if they'll try to gobble up the theme park rights to Marvel Comics as has been rumored. Also makes me wonder if Uni Hollywood really wants to push for a Potterland West after Uni Orlando's runaway success with El Wizarding World as has been also rumored.

Let alone letting go of his second-in-command for reasons the vast majority of people have yet to figure out and then lying about said second-in-command's sudden departure from the company to the shareholders/general public. Also, had that deal gone through, Apollo would have possibly followed on their own plans of acquiring the Six Flags properties and performed a massive liquidation, closing down possibly more than half of the 35 parks they would own.

Right. We've gone from crappy food at marginally high prices to crappy food at ridiculously high prices. But don't get me wrong, though. I love the fact that they sell roasted turkey legs at stands. I would actually happily pay seven dollars for one and munch on it for a good hour or two while people watching on Coney Mall. I just haven't bought one yet 'cause I keep forgetting to. .....we need some original, one-of-a-kind, homemade food items the park can call its own (that aren't LaRosa's or Skyline). A return of the bakery would be nice, along with the return of the Kettle Corn stand, and stands selling different varieties of popcorn like Tokyo DIsneyland has (such as Honey, Chocolate, Sea Salt, Caramel, Cream Soda, etc.). ....ooh, and fried pickles, like from Toot's. I LOOOOOVE fried pickles.

Actually, Tombstone is the only maze that even closely fits with the surrounding area. Coney Maul is themed to a dilapidated carnival, yet its attractions include a haunted mansion, haunted hospital, psychotic prison, and backwoods trail. And Waste Land, which used to be themed to a government outpost overrun with aliens, hold a slaughterhouse, a vampire bar, a farm with rabid scarecrows, and a werewolf-infested forest.

Well, given the circumstances of the movie franchise and the fact that it deals with sentient robots, I can see why people have a hard time understanding why a wooden coaster would be themed to said movie franchise. However, given that some wooden coasters can be pretty rough *cough*Mean Streak*cough* and completely mangle your insides, it would be understandable why a wooden roller coaster would be named Terminator.

You're right. 32 years is too soon.

From my understanding, the Seven Dwarfs coaster would replace the three major meet-and-greet areas that were originally planned for the expansion (Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Pixie Hollow), and that Snow White's Scary Adventures would be replaced with a smaller meet-and-greet area combining the three previous zones. Although I really want to see them create attractions based off of TRON. Tomorrowland is in dire need of an upgrade (more so in California than in Florida), and I believe TRON Legacy could be the film that can jumpstart the long-awaited overhaul of Futureville (along with Star Tours II in 2011).

Too bad it won't go upside down before turning people inside out while going round and round: EDIT: It won't let the video play on here.

Well, Knott's Berry Farm's WindSeeker gets a big K put on top of the tower as a nod to Sky Cabin....

"Don't say I don't know, say I'll find out..." Or something of that nature. I guess the one thing I'm not particularly fond of is the way Haunt is treated (big surprise there). Aside from a few key things that I absolutely love in the four years it's been Haunt (more roaming monsters, dark comedy, and Urgent Scare), it's essentially FearFest with more blood and gore thrown in, especially now that I've had the opportunity to finally go out and see other people's haunts. I see how much bigger, better, and more innovative theirs are and how basic, cheap, and downright unimaginative ours are. I'm glad that our Haunt made the top five on Amusement Today's list of best haunted events, but only partly, simply because I see so many missed opportunities to really wow guests in terms of the way mazes are designed, and instead, go for more blood, gore, and shock value with marketing. Yes, it gets people to come to the park, but they've already seen everything there is available. People with a season pass go to the Haunt, see what's new, then go spend their money at another haunted event that actually bothers to change up their routine every year. I know I'll be spending a heck of a lot more time at other peoples' haunts than at Kings Island if there isn't a massive overhaul done in the next few years.

Could you be more specific as to what a beast looks like? It's a bit ambiguous. The "beast" creature was actually an old werewolf prop from a maze back in the FearFest days, specifically Curse of The Crypt. That particular prop has been used as a makeshift outdoor setpiece for years now, including a campfire scene next to the Festhaus and a "duet" with the cast of Phantom Theater the one year they were in Action Theater's queue line. EDIT: Found the picture of it on KIExtreme: I remember there being two of these guys in the maze, but I don't know what happened to the other one.

My take on the layout for both WindySeeker and Action-y Theater utilizing TopGun's photo: Red - Queue Line & Entrance Blue - Exit Green - Action Theater Entrance

That makes two Haunt attractions, then, that would be needing a new home come next fall: Urgent Scare - Utilizes one side of, the queue line, and exit path of AT. People know how crowded it gets back there when the hospital that the Overlord built is open. Now that a new thrill ride will be erected three feet away from AT's entrance/exit, that makes for an even more crowded back half of Coney (potentially worse than X-Base Alley with FOF, 'Hawk, Death Row, and ToT). If AT doesn't come back next year (doubtful that it won't, though), that's a 3,000 square foot attraction in loving need of a home...although there's one spot I know of large enough to hold that attraction but would add even more headaches to X-Base that, frankly, aren't needed. Wolf Pack - Invaded Son of Beast's station this past Haunting season. It's been up in the air since the beginning of the season on whether or not Sonny will open next year (after the SBNO announcement for this year), and this haunt is in the same boat. If SOB doesn't open, you can be sure that Wolf Pack stays in its current location. If SOB does open next year, that's a werewolf-infested attraction in loving need of a home...although the rumors of Club Blood moving to Death Row's spot back in the summer months had me thinking of the possibility of Wolf Pack replacing Trail of Terror, but that would make for one nasty X-Base with the four most popular attractions within a one-minute walking distance should US go in the spot I'm thinking of.

Case in point: WindSeeker at Cedar Point is taller, grander, cost far more money and is in every way superior to that to be installed at Kings Island. Oh, wait... What was your point again? You also neglected to mention Timmy 305, which some people declare to be better than Millie in some aspects (just don't tell Giga that!)...

....so.....how about them Flight Decks?

They already have that type of thing down by Vortex and Spongebob. I think that looks and feels real nice! I'd love them to do the whole section in that! Except I think those might be getting axed to make way for the same brick pavers seen in Rivertown or even the newer pavers up at the front gate. I really want to see the Coney buildings get a nice new paint scheme to give the area an even fresher look come Opening Day, though.

2:00 is the latest I can see the event open, and even then that would mean some departments wouldn't get to go home until well after 4 in the morning.