Losantiville Mining Co.

I don't know why I thought they just rebuilt the entire double helix not too long ago. If they change anything about it I'm wondering if they'd build the tunnels to be a little wider so it doesn't feel like you're gonna hit the wall — even though that is one of the best things about the second half of the ride.

I don't expect to see more than 1 post about it per month, but this would be a really cool thing to document in preparation for it's 50th anniversary in 2029. On the KIC post with those photos there was even someone calling for The Beast to be removed because it's rough (which tells me they haven't ridden it with any of the recent retracking efforts).

Tonight's visit to Winterfest was short and sweet! We only popped into the park for dinner, but still got to experience some of the magic of Winterfest during our time there. I used my Six Flags app in the park for the first time since the big v5.0.0 update and it worked every time I used it. We got to see about the first minute of Yuletide Follies on our way over to the Tannenbaumhaus for Swingin' Into Christmas. The line for LaRosa's felt a little long, but not enough to warrant opening the second line. We saw the show twice and I noticed that two of the performers were wearing the same costume. That's odd because normally all of the performers are wearing outfits that go together, but nobody normally has the same exact outfit. It's just something I noticed was different and led me to believe that someone else might've called in sick with this being a quick change. (Side note: I think I heard that the Cedar Fair costume department is based out of Worlds of Fun/Kansas City in general. Is that true?) I really enjoyed Swingin' Into Christmas and thought it was very energetic! The live band really helped and might be what was missing from Ghouls Gone Wild that made it feel so bland for me.

Kings Island has put out its first round of America 250 merchandise in preparation for the national Quarter Millennium celebration coming in 2026. The new merchandise comes complete with the official logo (as seen in other park chains' celebrations) and a new park name/skyline design. Other patriotic apparel is available from previous releases. There are currently: a new America 250 t-shirt (big design on the front, logo on left sleeve) a new America 250 hoodie (big design on the back, logo on the breast) a new America 250 cross body bag (logo on front pocket, no KI logo) a new America 250 baseball cap (logo on front, no KI logo) an older patriotic Kings Island t-shirt (KI logo on the front, no America 250 logo) an older patriotic Kings Island baseball cap (KI logo on the front, no America 250 logo) I think the flag might be the only piece of AI art on the new merchandise (given it has 11 stripes at most and does not follow regular physical conventions between the obverse/reverse sides where visible) but overall looks very nice.

I think someone said these "visitor cities" were where people visited from, not the cities where parks are located. My question is this: how do they know the home cities and how is NYC 2nd on this list? I believe the numbers, but it's interesting to see. Kings Island being in the top 5 overall is not surprising. As much as I want the other parks to also increase, I very much hope KI maintains its top 4 status overall. We have a very special thing going on and I'd hate to see anything happen to it.

They were having a Winterfest Media Day either yesterday or today. I think it might be today because I saw posts with all of the specialty food posted today.

Rivertown Expansion V2: Most of this is the same as before, but now with better visuals and a new reason for being. For its 50th anniversary season, the world's longest wooden coaster receives new surroundings and brings some of the old Rivertown back to life. What this expansion trades in quantity of attractions, it gains in long-term beauty. I'd love to see a small food stand — like Rivertown Potato Works but smaller — added somewhere in there as well. The mystique of walking down a dead-end path to The Beast would be lost, but I think this expansion would be better than nothing. These photos could serve as inspiration for what the new additions could look like. Image: Bob Joiner / KICentral; the old Rivertown | The bottom of the photo shows the old Rivertown Reel amphitheater. The lake under KCKC would serve as the basis for the new lake. A new gazebo next to the lake might also be a good option for smaller shows like Jingle Jazz. This would also be an opportunity to add a few more trees and shrubs back next to the railroad tracks. Image: Bill Rinehart / WVXU; Kemper House in Heritage Village, Sharon Woods Park | New Indoor VIP Lounge or other building. This style would play into Rivertown's "History of Cincinnati" theme. Credit: Google Street View; Rivertown Junction at Dollywood | New Indoor/Outdoor VIP Lounge. This kind of building would be closer to the VIP Lounge at Kings Dominion and would include some outdoor seating for the nicer days. Credit: Google Street View; Wilderness Theater at Six Flags Great Adventure | New Outdoor Amphitheater. This would provide a venue with covered seating and the potential to be somewhat enclosed for Winterfest. Credit: Google Maps; Red Garter Saloon at Cedar Point | This building would be a good basis for a new indoor entertainment venue and is about the same size as the Rivertown Arcade. Its smaller stage would provide a more intimate environment for shows.

I could've sworn there was another one after that. If not, oh well then. I just saw a photo from the earliest Festhaus setup that had the old logo in that spot and realized it was no longer there. The sign for Diamondback also has the park name on it but the Banshee sign doesn't. The Diamondback logo might also be the only one with the park name that does not have the park logo on it. I know part of the reasoning is so they can use that logo in ads and such so people associate the MT name with KI (which is funny since the MT initials are also now used in Dorney Park). Queen City Stunt Coaster has the logo on its billboard. Orion has the park named just about everywhere except for the sign. Neither The Beast nor The Bat have the KI name on their main signs. I'd love to know the reasoning behind those choices. Side note: does anyone know when/why the capital "I" was changed on the classic Kings Island logo? I always thought there could be people who mistook it for a capital "J" and that might be why. Personally, I feel like it changed whenever the park started to use the classic logo more and made the dot of the first "i" into a Cedar Fair flag and especially when they remade the logo for Phantom Theater Encore.

Does anyone know when they removed the big Kings Island sign from over the Festhaus stage? I noticed its absence recently and realized that it hasn't been there for a while.

I wonder if the "escape room" model would really work at a park like Kings Island considering how SlingShot, Xtreme Skyflyer, and the laser tag games all went the way of the dodo bird. Maybe it'd be better if Universal's Horror Unleashed do well during the summer months. A Vekoma Madhouse would be my choice if the park chooses to keep the Tomb Raider building. Like I've been repeating recently, I'd rather have an area expansion with a new lake in that spot

One issue with adding something like Night Flight Expedition to Kings Island is that the building itself is at least double (maybe even triple) the size of the Tomb Raider building (100' x 100'). I can't get a good measurement of the NFE building, but it's quite a bit larger. For reference the entire Phantom Theater building is about 160' x 180', Action Theater is about 160' x 130', and Queen City Stunt Coaster is very approximately 375' x 250'. All of this to say: it would be very difficult to put a coaster of NFE's size on that plot while effectively using the Tomb Raider building. I really like the idea of updating Action Theater with modern technology and reopening it on a full-time basis. The biggest changes I think the park would need to complete before that would be the addition of a Vortex replacement coaster and a completely new queue line experience. The current queue is so far out of the way both physically and visually. It was better presented before WindSeeker with its plaza, but now even WindSeeker is less visible behind Kings Mills Antique Autos. I personally wish WindSeeker could have gone in Area 72, but either way its presence doesn't help to show off Action Theater. If the park can add a new dark ride, I'd really love to see it. A Vekoma Madhouse would probably fit very well within the Tomb Raider building if they don't take it down in favor of a Rivertown expansion. Otherwise, the park can do a lot with the open space they currently have IMO.

I've successfully logged into the app. It's very nice so far and looks a lot like the new Carowinds app I posted about last month. The overall experience is a lot like the Cedar Fair apps (like Oldiesmann said), but the presentation is in the style of the new websites. For the Legacy Six Flags parks I was able to use my Cedar Fair pass number to add my pass there, and it seems to be the same across all passes now. I'm a little worried about if any features were removed for it to be on one giant app, but the App Store preview shows mobile ordering and a nicer Wait Times view. My largest gripe about this new app is that it now takes two clicks to access your season pass to scan your QR code. I already use my Apple Wallet to get through the parking tolls, but it was already hard enough to get my QR code up when i was headed into the toll booth.

Six Flags 2026 Events (as of 12/01/2025) Most of these are group events, but I believe the Special Events calendars will be released closer to each park's 2026 Opening Day. I'm personally expecting the major parks to host an America 250-related festival, though only time will tell. Canada's Wonderland (Vaughan, Ontario) https://www.sixflags.com/canadaswonderland/events?event-type=groups Performance in the Park (Any Operating Day) Physics, Science & Math Days (Any Operating Day) Cadets Day (May 23) SHSM Certification Series (May 7, 14, 15, & 19) Festival of Music (Select Dates May 7 - June 12) Engineering Day (May 8) Wondercoaster Building Contest (May 8) WonderLEAD — Youth Leadership Conference (May 20 & 21) Marketing and Sales Seminar (May 22) Graduation Celebration Package (M-R in June, Excluding 6/29 and 6/30) Carowinds (Charlotte, NC) https://www.sixflags.com/carowinds/events?event-type=groups Performance in the Park (Select Public Operating Days) Festival of Music (Select Dates March 14 - May 30 | 10am-2pm) Education Days (Select Dates March 27 - May 22 | 10am-2pm) Youth Leadership Day (March 27, April 17, & May 8 | 9:30am-11am) Meteorology Day (April 10, May 15 | 10am-12pm in Aeronautica Landing) Future Health Professionals Day (April 24 | 10am) School-Only Thursdays (April 30, May 14 | 9am-5pm) Grad Nite (May 1 | 7pm-1am) Engineering Day (May 1 | 10am-12am) Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH) https://www.sixflags.com/cedarpoint/events Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day) Amusement Park 101 (May 11, 14, & 15) Physics, Science, & Math Days (May 11, 14, & 15) Festival of Music (May 13, 14, & 15) Engineering Day (May 14) Girl Scouts Day (June 24) Dorney Park (Allentown, PA) https://www.sixflags.com/dorneypark/events Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day) Coaster Quest (Any Public Operating Day) Engineering Day (May 2026) Frontier City (Oklahoma City, OK) https://www.sixflags.com/frontiercity/events School Days (May 1 & 8) Kings Dominion (Doswell, VA) https://www.sixflags.com/kingsdominion/events Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day) Dance Festival (April 11) Festival of Music (Select Dates April 25 - June 6) Marketing Day (May 1) Education Days (Select Dates May 1 - June 5) Girl Scout Badging (June 6) Scare School (October 10) Kings Island (Mason, OH) https://www.sixflags.com/kingsisland/events?event-type=groups Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day) Festival of Music (April 24, May 1, May 8, & May 15) Physics, Science, & Math Days (April 24 & May 1, 8, 14, 15, & 22) STEM Days (May 8 & 15) Knott's Berry Farm (Buena Park, CA) https://www.sixflags.com/knotts/events?event-type=groups Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day) Adventures in Education (Any Public Operating Day; Excluding Sundays, based on availability) Fire & Law Tribute Days (January 5 - 22) Festival of Music (May 1) Knott's Grad Nite (May 14 & 28) Jr. High/Middle School (May 14 | 7pm-12am) High School (May 28 | 9pm-2am) Michigan's Adventure (Muskegon, MI) https://www.sixflags.com/miadventure/events Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day) School Opening Day (May 20) School Days (May 22, May 27-29, June 3-5) Darien Lake (Corfu, NY) https://www.sixflags.com/darienlake/events LIVE NATION® Concert Series (July 7, 11, 19, 26, 31, August 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 14, 30, September 3, 11, 17, & 28) Music Fest (May 15, 16, 18, 22, 29, 30, June 5, & 6) Education Days (May 18) Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, CA) https://www.sixflags.com/discoverykingdom/events/groups/student-and-youth/education-days Education Days Discovery Field Trip Fiesta Texas (San Antonio, TX) https://www.sixflags.com/fiestatexas/events Education Days Grad Nite (May 14) Great Adventure (Jackson Township, NJ) https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/events Grad Nite (June 5 | 8pm-1am) Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, IL) https://www.sixflags.com/greatamerica/events Physics Day (April 23) Grad Nite (April 24, May 9 & 16 | 9:30pm-3am) Math & Science Days (Any Regularly Scheduled Operating Day April 25 - June 30) Dance Fest (May 3, 17, 31) Technology & Engineering Day (May 15) Great Escape (Lake George, NY) https://www.sixflags.com/greatescape/events Education Day Magic Mountain (Valencia, CA) https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain/events?event-type=groups AVID Party (March 13) Jr. Grad Nite (May 8 & 22 | 6pm-12am) Grad Nite (May 15 & 29 | 8pm-3am) Six Flags New England (Agawam, MA) https://www.sixflags.com/newengland/events Educational Days Six Flags Over Georgia (Arlington, TX) https://www.sixflags.com/overgeorgia/events Education Days (April 16 & 23, May 7 & 14 | 9am-4pm) Grad Nite (May 1 | 7pm-2am) Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, TX) https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/events?event-type=groups Education Days (April 24, May 1, 8, 14, 15, 21, & 22) Grad Nite (May 8 | 6pm-12am) Six Flags St. Louis (Eureka, MO) https://www.sixflags.com/stlouis/events Physics Day (April 24) Education Days (May 1, 8, 15, & 22) Valleyfair (Shakopee, MN) https://www.sixflags.com/valleyfair/events Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day) Appreciation for Education Days Career Day Engineering Day School Days Marketing Day Homeschool Days Physics & Science Days Scout Days Worlds of Fun (Kansas City, MO) Festival of Music (Select Dates May 2 - 17) Education Days

Fiesta Texas has added a Prestige Passholder Midnight Bash event for December 31st happening from 10PM-midnight. Eligible participants will be able to access exclusive ride time while the rest of the park (minus these rides) stays open to guests. It would be nice to see this kind of event come to the other major parks next year. That's the kind of thing the Prestige Pass would be good for. It would also be a good place to bring in separately-ticketed events for non-Prestige passholders. I'd certainly consider upgrading to Prestige if this kind of event was included.

I'd love to see the lampposts brought back, I just wonder where the park would put them along the street. They'd probably be best going in the side areas and toward the front/back of International Street. Without the planters under the trees I don't think there's a great place to put them around the umbrellas. The lighting towers need to stay on the sides of the fountain as well so we can keep having the fountain shows. There are quite a few cracked pavers, the History Walk does not have a stone made for 2025, and there are a few parts of the fence around the fountain that are on the verge of being broken from people leaning on them/bumping into them. I hope we can see some repairs made if they decide to improve any other parts of the I-Street area (like I really hope they will).