Losantiville Mining Co.

Forced budget cuts strike again! (/s) I wonder if some parts of the coaster did not react well to the new element, and now something big either needs to be fixed or re-worked. There could also potentially be something under the coaster that needs to be fixed. I dunno

The space would be a good plot to park the food truck and put up some temporary big tents and tables as a place to sit until they get something more permanent for it.

Where exactly is the new pool area going? I keep looking at the maps and can't find its place

I'm excited to see that Food & Wine, Grand Carnivale, Haunt, and Winterfest are all back this year! If the wealth of resources does get shared around, I think it would make the experience better overall. Hopefully F&W and GC both get more advertising this year (and hopefully something that is not just posts with 25% event details / 75% season pass promo). Maybe the tasting cards will come back as well More details or changes for Tricks and Treats, Halloween Haunt, and Winterfest will probably released closer to August/early September, so I'm curious how those will look now that events and experiences are being shared between parks. This will be the 25th year of Halloween Haunt too, so I'd like to see if the park does something cool for that!

You've got a lot of awesome work on your website @C Dale Moore ! I always love to see others who do design/logos/branding

Speaking of events that might help bring in some cash flow: Dollar Days. While the prices would probably need to be increased and the event be renamed to "Value Days" or "Discount Days", it could be an easy way to increase guest willingness to purchase from the park. I decided to make a mock-up poster for a re-done Discount Days event for everyone to enjoy. I won't claim the ideas/prices to be realistic for what Six Flags is willing to do, but I know I would be more inclined to spend money if items were briefly discounted. The Discount Days Booths would be two or more of the small sheds, each stocked with cotton candy and ice cream machines. In short: increased park attendance for one holiday weekend; more money spent per guest (as opposed to normal operations); good park publicity; and a "new" event with a relatively low upfront cost. Send the event around to other parks in the chain (like with Grand Carnivale) to get more use out of certain equipment and branding if need be.

I wonder if this stand will be ready in time for opening day (/s). You know it's the off-season when someone is as excited for a new drink stand as I am.

I have a feeling that the smoking area inside the gate is partially meant to reduce the amount of people leaving the park and trying to get back in. Forcing guests to scan back in just creates the possibility for longer entrance lines and increases the number of re-entry tickets that need to be issued per day. It's also probably just easier for space constraints in this context. I wouldn't be shocked if the smoking area used for Haunt (the former season pass exclusive entrance) becomes permanent.

The new Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal II will only go hard if they continue the repeating initials pattern (KCKC, TRTR, KCKCII)

I saw someone claim to know about Xtreme Skyflyer being removed via a Facebook post yesterday. While I don't trust anything strangers say on social media, the idea is there. Time to start up a new thread, I guess. Canada's Wonderland removed theirs (part of AlpenFury is occupying that plot) and Cedar Point removed theirs (presumably for whatever 4th coaster in 4 years will be going to that park (just kidding... unless...)), so it doesn't appear to be fully out of the realm of possibility. Kings Island could use the plot for another attraction (I vote for a Wild Mouse) or some expanded dining/retail (much needed in Action Zone). If Carowinds also removed theirs it would free up more of the original riverboat path in the center of the park. Is this the end of the sky flyer attraction at these parks? Only time will tell.

On the bright side, surely all of these freshly cleared spaces at each park will allow for guests to get some food, go lay out their picnic blankets, and enjoy a nice meal under the sun! What's that you say? The open land will all be behind fences with no way to access it? Well shucks, that stinks. Yet another patch of grass they have to pay someone to mow, I guess. On a more positive note, I feel like some of these removals will turn out to be painful but good cost cutting measures if the chain actually ends up investing the savings back into the parks like they should. We are still within the first year since the merger officially went through and I am mostly just hoping for myself and the economy to survive these next few years to see the reinvestments happen.

I'd move the entrance sign for Invertigo up to where the vending machines are and do something to narrow the path down a little. Also paint Woodstock Express a nice shade of yellow to match it being themed to Woodstock and his little bird friends.

I think it would be awesome for the park to have more ticketed events, but I also think it could throw off some of the balance that currently exists for season pass holders. It would be a big change to add an after-hours event that takes away some of the public opening hours. The easiest options (IMO) for generating money while not taking away from pass holders seem to be adding behind-the-scenes tours, creating separately ticketed events that can happen while the park is still open to the public, and creating new paid experiences — mostly just what Tr0y said. Just don't take currently "free" experiences and put them behind a paywall. A dead horse that I'll beat is that Haunt should be separately ticketed from Tricks and Treats for non-pass holders. Lower the day ticket price a little, create a separate Haunt ticket, and develop a (good and feasible) plan for moving guests between the two events. Universal does this, Six Flags parks with Fright Fest have a haunted maze pass (around $20-$30), and two parks have already tried something similar. I don't know why they stopped doing it, but I think it needed more planning in general. Other than that, something I'd like Kings Island to do that other parks do is having trams in the parking lot that shuttle guests to and from the main gates. Other Six Flags parks have trams and I hope someone realizes it's time to bring them back to the Legacy Cedar Fair parks.

IIRC the "cheap labor" there is a different kind (putting it euphemistically) than the "cheap labor" here in the States. Forgive me if I'm thinking of the wrong country. The overall working conditions are also a lot different outside the US since they don't have to worry about paying for healthcare out of pocket in the same way we do and their wage systems seem to be a lot different too.

Brewhouse (good), Potato Works (easy), and Jukebox (fun) are my top 3. Being a simple man, if I can get a good hot dog, burger, or fries then I'm set. I have complaints, but the food experiences are high on my list of reasons to love Kings Island. I tracked my meal/drink plan usage for 2024 and an overwhelming majority of meals across six CF parks were good/great. While the food is great, the seating areas are not as stellar. Places like Jukebox need more seating on the Backlot side, while places like Potato Works need a better system for ordering/announcing when food is ready. There have been a few times when I've been at Potato Works and cannot understand what is being said because of the partitions. It would probably behoove the park to implement some order number systems at restaurants like Potato Works and Skyline where you have to wait at a window for your food to be made. Put a TV up at the window and number each order — although IDK if the point of service system the park uses has that option — then nobody would need to rely on asking for names for orders.

I'd like to see the park at least try to paint it so it is less visible, but that might also "too expensive" for some in the budget(cuts) department

I'd be curious to see how anyone's rankings change this season now that there are at least four restroom facilities being renovated. One of them looked like it had a high cost, so it might be a total gut job (which is what some of these need), but I hope it's more than just replacing broken items and putting up new paint. I don't really have a favorite as much as I have some that I go to on my regular route through the park, but I tend to agree with what has been said here already. On the note of the front gate men's restroom I have a big feeling that it would need to be physically expanded in order for more stalls to be put in. Ohio building code states that a number of stalls can be replaced with urinals (I forget the percentages), but the total number of toilets/urinals/sinks is all based on the number of people who are expected to be in the area at normal-ish capacity. Maybe something could work if the Wheelchair/Stroller Rentals and lockers were moved around alongside the restrooms. That would probably come with a whole front gate renovation, though. If any of you have been to the Aeronautica Landing restrooms in Carowinds, I think you might agree that those are some of the more impressive facilities in the Legacy Cedar Fair parks. It's clean, has cool vibes, and fun-looking fixtures.

I think they did. I will mention, KD had their original logo in front of their fountain when I was there in August. They still use the corporate one on everything else. It would be nice to see the big Six Flags logo removed/reduced in size from the parks that could do it (Magic Mountain, Great Adventure, Discovery Kingdom, etc.). Magic Mountain has already changed their big marquee sign back to their original logo, but still uses the Six Flags logo on their website. It is somewhat likely that as SFEC continues to merge, the websites will be updated to all be more standardized (hopefully to be more like the Cedar Fair websites). Seasonal events/event logos and marketing are already being merged across the chain. I'm curious to see how the bottles, cups, maps, etc. will look once all of the parks are open in May.

If my math is correct, this year will be the 25th Halloween Haunt/Fearfest event (2000-2025, skipping 2020). Maybe we'll see something fun for it, maybe not. Dorney Park did Halloween Haunt V for their fifth Haunt. On the topic of the seasonal events calendar, I looked and it appears that last year they were released on March 4th. I wonder if we'll see them sooner or later than that.

I believe Boo Blasters is a Sally Ride trademark, so whatever goes in would either need to be a collaboration or not use any of the current BBoBH themes/IP. There would also possibly be some issues trying to fit a coaster in there due to the ceiling heights — no matter how low to the ground it is. Personally, I'd like to see another omnimover dark ride go in there. Save the coaster for an already vacant spot in the park.

The park website has been updated with attraction pages for RiverRacers and the new/renamed slides in Splash River Junction. It looks like Bluegill Lagoon is the water tower area, Riverbank Slide Out is the renamed Aruba Tuba, Salamander Sliders is the 7 new slides, and the Tadpool is a pool for the smallest swimmers. Nothing has been added yet for the new blue ice cream stand, but the pages for all of the front gate shops (KI Trading Post, KI Collections, and Convenience Corner) have been removed. Maybe they'll be renamed, but who knows. Off-season is quite exciting this time around! April can't seem to come fast enough!

Update: I've been doing some more work on my KECO park design, including seasonal events! Right now I'm working on FearFest (and a rebrand of Halloween Haunt) and getting some ideas out as a branding exercise. For those wondering, the font is CCPrimalScream (from AdobeFonts), it comes in red and in green, and it looks like the original FearFest logo without being a direct copy. I'd like to add some blood drops or textures to it so it can be its own thing, but that can be done later. The current Halloween Haunt logo uses Gill Sans Ultra Bold with modified kerning and a rough texture applied. I was directly inspired by Billie Haas' rebranding exercise of Six Flags FrightFest (https://www.billiehaas.com/six-flags-fright-fest). She has more awesome work all over her website, so be sure to check it out! The new FearFest logo in red and in green. The new logo with a (fake) sponsor. (FYI: FrightFest is sponsored by Snickers and Haunt was once sponsored by SafeAuto) And finally, the new logo in monochrome — you can't always rely on colors in your logo! Let me know your thoughts! I also have a summertime haunt event idea in the works that I may share soon.

If Kings Island put you (yes you, dear reader) in charge of one non-ride/non-coaster last minute addition to the park for the 2025 season, what would it be? Assume all of the permitting/ordering/installation is taken care of and goes smoothly. I would put some money and effort into upping the amount of trees, shade, and dedicated cooling stations around the park. That way guests who would like a cup of cold water can get one without needing to go to a bee-covered soda dispenser or spend $4 per bottle. It would also help the park in their hypothetical quest to remove water dispensers from soda machines. Maybe put one in that Rivertown refresh stand by the arcade that is always closed.

Maybe it will be the fourth coaster to be added to Cedar Point in four years (I kid, I kid — I hope they don't get another major coaster before Kings Island does)

I thought Georgia Surfer just got renamed/rethemed to Georgia Goldrusher? It would be a fun thing to see either way!