Losantiville Mining Co.

2 more group events have been added to the 2026 calendar, bringing the total 2026 event count to 4 so far. Music in the Park — April 24, May 1, May 8, & May 15, 2026 Physics, Science, and Math Days — April 24 & May 1, 8, 14, 15, & 22, 2026 Performance in the Park — Any Public Operating Day During the 2026 Season STEM Days — May 8 & 15, 2026 Unless something changes — which there is a chance that it might — we now know that the season will start by Friday, April 24th, 2026. I'm still holding out for the official release of the 2026 operating calendar and the Festival Events schedule, but as I said before, this is more than we knew about by this time last year.

Here's my concept for a Rivertown expansion. It isn't as pretty as any of my other maps, but it gets the point across well enough. There is: a new indoor VIP Lounge like at Kings Dominion a new lake much smaller than Swan Lake, but more water in Rivertown nonetheless hopefully the new trees and foliage could grow in nice and tall any new trees would also be placed far enough away from Diamondback's helix the water finally returned under The Beast's pre-lift section this would presumably come alongside a Gravity Group rebuild of the pre-lift the ride exit and Fast Lane lines would be relocated/reworked to be separated a new Refresh Station, bar, or gift shop in the former Beast Canyon Cold Drinks area housed in an addition/new construction to the right of the queue entrance this is where the exit would empty into, with the Fast Lane line entering nearby a new outdoor amphitheater spiritual successor to the Rivertown Reel and the Back Porch Stage perfect for smaller shows a new family-friendly flat ride I have no opinions on what it could be, but the ride pad is a similar size to Shake, Rattle & Roll All of this would replace the Tomb Raider building and provide new things to do in this recreation of early Cincinnati that celebrates its roots as a river town. I think the outdoor amphitheater could instead be an indoor venue like the Red Garter Saloon — though I hesitate to use the word "saloon" because of its Frontier/Western theme area connotations. The last new building on this expansion map could be anything, although I wouldn't be opposed to having it be a new quick-service restaurant. The service road that is behind TR:TR's building would be relocated further behind the new construction. The removal of the Tomb Raider building would likely mean that we also lose the foliage growing on top of it, but I think it might be worth it for this kind of expansion. The size of the new lake is another pain point for this idea. I would love to see something closer to the size and feel of the original Swan Lake return, but I think this is more realistic in the short term. One thing I'd like to see that isn't in this map is some theming or foliage near the railroad tracks. The area as it stands is very barren and lifeless. This might even offer up a new opportunity to reuse some of the old nature trail path for a new Trail Haunt.

Double posting to share this video Orlando Experience took at IAAPA. You can see the screen on the left side as well as a less crowded view of the display at the end of the video.

At least they also get to show off that pretty orange tree in the background! I'm excited to see how this part of the retracking turns out after a year of not being able to ride some of my favorites.

Ghost Blasters and Ghost Blasters II are the base models of the Boo Blasters on Boo Hill property from Sally Dark Rides. The ride that Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island received is specifically the Ghost Blasters II model, which was also installed at Elitch Gardens in 2008. The new animatronics, new screens, and new flashlights will definitely help to differentiate it from SDatHC and BBoBH. I don't know if Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare is an exclusive partnership between Kings Island/Six Flags and SDR or if other parks will eventually have the option to purchase it, but I think the most we'll see in the short term would be to replace the CW, CAR, and KD versions of Boo Blasters.

As hesitant as I was for the new style of the ride, it's growing on me. I think the new style will definitely make it more palatable for younger audiences while doing a good job of retaining their images. The largest difference (to me) is the fact that they look less gaunt and more hauntingly lively. (Also, it's almost opening night for the new theater, of course Maestro is going to make sure his hair is done and his face looks good!) Those photos being over 20 years old and using full flash definitely doesn't help the case for them. I think the weirdest part of this reveal is the fact that they decided to use the red Kings Island logo with the blue flag on both the top sign and the screen. You'd think they could have used the white logo with the red flag instead. The last time we really saw the red logo used was earlier on in the Cedar Fair era. On the flip side, I really enjoyed that they used a red curtain-like drape with gold tie backs for the cover and that they chose to put the two "curtain pullers" in full costume instead of just having them wear slacks and a polo. I also noticed that they did the same for the reveal of the Tormenta car. If this is the length that the company is willing to go then I think this might be a sign as to how much theming we might continue to see in the future. The flashlights look like they might be a little weird to use. I'm wondering if that is the same model found on other rides that use the flashlight system and how it has worked out for those attractions. It might have a learning curve for Kings Island guests who are so used to using the Ghost Blaster guns. This version of Maestro definitely sounds a lot like Richard Doyle. If it somehow isn't his voice then major props to whoever it is. No Legs Larry kind of sounds like one of the actors who portrayed him in Phantom Theater Encore. I was watching through the 50th Anniversary Archives POV earlier and noticed some parts of the original ride that each felt like they were missing something. The hallway of doors definitely felt empty from when you saw Houdelini, Garbonzo, and Bosco until the electric panel scene. I think the interactive elements would help to fill those "empty" spots in the ride that might've harmed the pacing in the original. We also have a new name I think we should call the Phantom Theater soundtrack: "Terror Toccata".

I visited Dollywood on a special trip last week: here's how it went! There will be some comparisons to Kings Island and Six Flags parks in general, so be warned if you wanted to read an uninterrupted review of Dollywood. Between the time our tickets were purchased and the lead-up to our trip, the weather forecast went from 60 degrees and sunny to a dreary cold 30 degrees. Some of the plans we made went right out the window as we packed our coats and layers as we rapidly made new plans to do as much as we could with the things that might be open. We arrived at Dollywood, paid the $25 general parking fee and made our way over to Section C (Cotton Candy). I really liked that they gave the pneumonic for each parking lot section and that everyone working the parking lot knew them. Even in the snow flurries we were able to see the lines in the parking lot and knew that the tram shelters were where we wanted to be around. The tram was phenomenal, even in the cold! It made me realize what we're missing out on at the Six Flags parks. The driver and wrangler (the guy at the back of the tram) were both charming in their speech and made light of the cold weather on our way to and from the front gate. Their covered tram shelters and butterfly standing points were a nice touch. The wrangler asked a few questions to the few of us riding and let us know that "First Visit" and "Special Occasion/Birthday" buttons would be available at the ticket windows. We ended up having to visit the ticket window and the guest services window before finally finding someone with the buttons at the turnstile. I made sure to pick up the free "First Visit" and "Special Occasion" ones since they were free souvenirs to celebrate my first time at Dollywood. I was also very pleased to learn that they offered paper map booklets throughout the park and accepted cash at almost every register. As always my first stop was at the restrooms. The front gate facilities were nice, clean, and warm with hot water, paper towels, and multiple stalls in addition to the urinals. Kings Island should really take some notes on this matter (having only one stall available in the Men's room on I-Street is abysmal). We took some photos with the butterflies and made our way over to the Dolly Parton Experience, Dollywood's museum and exhibit area of the park. The big museum reminded me a lot of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (where I saw another Dolly Parton exhibit) and was really well thought out and super cool to see. The dedicated outfit and wig exhibit building was a much smaller, but still well-made museum. Our time in that area came to a close after climbing aboard Dolly's Tour Bus and checking out all of the items within. There were Hosts (Dollywood's title for Employees/Associates) stationed outside each door waiting to let us in. I can almost guarantee that not only would those positions not exist in a Six Flags park, they would be the first staff to be cut on a cold day with such low attendance. Our entertainment journey for the day began in the Pines Theater with a nice show themed to "The Night Before Christmas". This show ran for about 40 minutes and had a custom storyline. I'd compare it closest to Tinker's Toy Factory in terms of the basic song + story design and rate it just a bit above Tinker's in my overall show rankings. There was a moment during the show when someone spilled their drink — another guest later told us that this isn't uncommon with those cups — and a host immediately came and cleaned the spill. On our way out I also noticed a full concessions stand that was closed for the day. The Pines Theater is a nice indoor venue like the Kings Island Theater, though I think I prefer the KIT overall. The second show we saw was "Christmas in the Smokies" in the Celebrity Theater. Getting up to the theater was a little treacherous with the snow making the asphalt paths a little slick, but we made it in alright. Since it was a very low-crowd day we were told that we could sit up front in the dedicated Time Saver (Fast Lane/Fast Pass) seats. We ended up sitting pretty much center stage in the second row! The show itself was 50 minutes of song and dance with plenty of seamless costume and set changes throughout. It was full-on song and dance with story elements sprinkled in, but managed to confuse us a little when they started telling the story of the Nativity. I understood the lead into it more than the rest of my group and still managed to miss the part where they went back to the main storyline. The set was a beautiful mix of painted flats with exaggerated 3-D pieces that included a fold-out log cabin, all backed by a digital panel screen. The Celebrity Theater itself is a marvel and looked to be at least double the size of the Kings Island Theater and/or 1.5x the size of the International Showplace. Overall, both shows were a step above what Kings Island currently offers. With showtimes well over 30 minutes and casts at least 10-15 performers strong, I was thoroughly pleased with what I saw. Christmas in the Smokies also included a live band in the orchestra pit! I truly wish that Six Flags would focus even a little more on entertainment in their parks so that Kings Island guests could experience such magnificent delights. If you can't add new rides every year, why not give some attention to live entertainment? Maybe I'll go see about adding the Christmas in the Smokies soundtrack to my playlists. Since I have to get going, I will continue with the rest of my visit in a second post. Stay tuned!

I think this means that we will at least have parts of the original soundtrack in the new ride. It will likely be some of the original with the "newer" scenes getting new musical motifs. I'm hoping they will have some music backing the characters in the display. If the apparent screen proves to be such I could see some more promotional material being shown on it. The worst they can do (in my opinion) would be to say that there are "signature music themes" from the original only to put in recordings of Toccata and Fugue and other pieces like that. Someone posted a calendar screenshot that said the big presentation was specifically Sally Dark Rides and Six Flags. I've found the page and posted a screenshot below. It runs from about 2:10-2:30 and looks like it might just be them showing off the display. I can't tell if the booth number (#2267) is simply included for convenience and this will be an on-stage conference, or if this will simply be a 20 minute segment where they pull the sheet away from the display. I'm super excited to see what they do!

Maybe Kings Island should look into expanding Soak City with an indoor waterpark section

I think there's a good chance that those came from Kings Island, but I also remember there being a NASCAR themed restaurant somewhere in the US that they could have come from. The name of that restaurant continues to evade me though. It had a few cars in this exact setup and might've closed around the same time Jungle Jim's (in Fairfield) added their cars. Can anyone help to find what that restaurant was? There might be an Expedition Theme Park video on it as well.

The Texas parks are in a similar situation to the Ohio parks and the Southern California parks. Fiesta Texas and Six Flags Over Texas are far enough apart and are separated enough in focus as to not interfere with each other. The Missouri situation is also similar to the one the 3 Ohio parks were in circa 2006/2007, although there's no way for Six Flags to get SDC in the way Cedar Fair got Cedar Point, Geauga Lake, and Kings Island.

Yes, Kingswood survives at Kings Dominion, though I don't know the last time it would have been used outside of any Music in the Park or other group sales event. Theirs is also on the way to the picnic pavilions, is set nicely back behind trees, and appears to have much better seating and stage arrangements than Timberwolf does. I believe Canada's Wonderland had the nicest out of the three Taft/KECO amphitheaters in their Kingswood, but they appear to have done everything besides demolish it. Carowinds Palladium seems to be here to stay since it was included in recent service road relocations. I think any potential future events would find another venue anyway. One that has covered seating, better backstage facilities, and an actual entrance as well — not just a gap in a fence where you have to go backstage to get to the venue. I think if KI needs a space for the events they currently host in Timberwolf then they should reduce the seating by 50% and build a new stage closer to the top of the hill. Let the rest of the space be used for a coaster or something. Yes please. Or "build" a new one in the old Saltwater Circus plot before that time comes. (I might like that more than putting a new restaurant or flat ride there.) I think there are definitely some ways that the park can make the remnants of Swan Lake look better and more like it used to as well, but that's for another thread. I'm hoping we can see a manufacturer make a new version of the Arrow Mega Looper in the near future. The standard looper is a classic amusement park ride and would be amazing to see brought back. I think Vortex at Carowinds might get Firebird's trains as part of a floorless conversion so they can get at least a few more years out of it. I could see Corkscrew at Cedar Point getting the axe (or maybe the reciprocating saw instead) and leaving the corkscrews standing over the midway. Magnum XL-200 could almost definitely get an easy enough retrack if the park wanted. I would've loved to ride Tennessee Tornado if everything hadn't been closed due to weather on my visit to Dollywood. Hopefully I can get back there on a warmer day.

I went back through that SDR interview video to see if I could get a better view of the concept art and came out with the following. There are 30 pictures on the grid with 6 obscured by a head, but I got what I could from when the camera moved around his head. I've put it behind a spoiler in case anyone doesn't want to see it. Does anyone else have ideas on what these could be? I can update the view and maybe even put them on my ride blueprints file if we figure out likely placements.

I don't recall there ever being any other endings besides the tree, snake, and bat. Having some additional endings would be really cool to see — though it might be more work than the park would like to pay for. If they were to add another ending, I'd vote for a ghost ending to reflect Banshee (since they have MT, DB, and The Bat already).

Using some Illustrator features I just realized could be used like this, I made the following. Here's some improvements that I think would help to improve the often-forgotten back area of I-Street (and a little bit of Rivertown). You can read my thoughts, but some highlights are: New Restaurant Moonlite Gardens new indoor/outdoor seating restaurant maybe close to being like the Grand Pavilion Floral Clock area improvement new fences more shrubs and vertical props International Showplace Theatre steps replace ramps no more stunt show stage (so we can finally return to musical shows) New Trees!!! a new stand of trees in that giant hill area where it wouldn't make sense to put a ride or building bonus: more natural areas in the park

I hope if they ever fix the floral clock it can be returned to look like this. The simple but beautiful hedge work and original logo look much better than what is there now. The trees behind it are nice in that they cover the Stunt Coaster, but they are a little overbearing — especially compared to this view and how it looked on the 2011 Street View capture. Anything the park can do to make that whole pathway less barren and dead would be good. As for going back to the front gate: renovating the main building and the side buildings would do so much to help guest perception as they enter the park. Kings Island is often lauded as one of the best parks in the country, but does the current entrance portray the fact that greatness awaits guests who pass through it? Heck no! Even the experience of getting through the parking lot up to the security area does not live up to the rest of the Kings Island experience. I personally believe that — even if the project didn't include repaving — adding trees/shrubbery, raised concrete pathways, and line re-striping would help improve the experience. Of course trams would help as well, but I don't see KI getting any without them coming from another park. (Maybe one of the tram companies will be at IAAPA to convince some Six Flags officials .) After the next major thrill coaster is when I think the park should embark on some of these renovations. With PT:ON projected to cost at least $1 million (possibly more with the design costs) and a new thrill coaster having the possibility to cost anywhere from $20-$30+ million, I think a good amount of guests might accept a multi-million dollar park improvement project instead of a new ride like in 2018. There might need to be some other improvements within the park, but the precedent is there.

I mean, we've seen what is presumably the display that will be at their booth this year. If it is that display we saw then it'll have two animatronics and a video (unless Maestro and Larry are static for that display). This project is also one of the more original (non-major IP) rides they are currently working on IIRC. This would be a good project to show off during that presentation if SDR wants to say "Hey, look at this! We can bring back an original dark ride and give it a new twist using our existing technology. Are you a park that wants to do that? Hire us!". Now while it is unlikely for us to see much more than the display from the illegal video, I think this is a special enough project for them to show off during their presentation. The ride vehicle might be a trickier thing to show off, but it'd also be a way for them to show off the fact that they offer retrofit options for existing ride vehicles.

So now we have unified map styles, new websites, a potential look into new apps via the Carowinds app, and more unified pass systems throughout the merged Six Flags company. I'm still looking for the following changes and if they will ever happen: The Six Flags social media accounts to advertise both Legacy Cedar Fair and Legacy Six Flags parks and events. They currently have mostly Holiday in the Park advertising instead of equal HitP and Winterfest advertising. Updated mobile apps across the chain. I'm greatly hoping for individual park apps instead of one giant Six Flags app. Expanded FunPix and FunTV across the chain. Even just having them in all of the top core parks would be more than nothing. New branding that utilizes the corporate logo over the Legacy Six Flags logo. Having that change might help move the needle of people's feelings about Six Flags. This change would also be a visual marker on the fact that this is not your parent's Six Flags.

The flashlights are another part I wanted to see out of the ride vehicles. I had a similar thought with how they're not directly involved with the vehicles, but I figure they might show something since they will be an integral part of their newest ride. I really hope we can hear a little bit of the soundtrack as well. Having at least part of the original soundtrack in there would help with bridging the gap between the original and this new version of the ride.

I think the Refresh Stations would all need new machines for them to have the auto-dispensers, but it might make more sense to do that if the park(s) switched to associates pouring the drinks. That way you could also have a steady flow since those drink machines sometimes work on a conveyer-type system. As for the mobile ordering, I believe Cedar Fair abandoned the effort soon after implementing it (rather poorly if you ask me). The new Carowinds app allegedly has a mobile ordering feature currently in it or coming soon, so I think that might be a priority for the large parks. The only issue I can see with the food lockers is that they might need a QR code to unlock them and I don't know if I trust a sizeable amount of guests to not lose their receipt to scan it. Also the fact that Carowinds got an update to their single-park app has me hoping we will continue to see separate park apps when the rest are updated/released. With trays, the park would only need to install separate tray returns in places where a trash can is not directly there. I believe the Festhaus trash cans all have tray return slots on top, so those would only need to have a label added and someone sent to collect them every so often.

I think it will be the first look at PT:ON animatronics at IAAPA. I'd love for it to also be a reveal of one of the Opera Boxes, but I don't know how realistic it would be to get one mostly done and shipped by the time the convention starts.

Most would likely revert to their pre-Six Flags name if sold. The only exceptions would be the original three Six Flags parks, but I believe Six Flags St. Louis is the only one that doesn't fit into the company's Core or Almost-Core park category. SF New England could revert to Riverside Park while most other parks might just drop the Six Flags brand as happened with Elitch Gardens and Kentucky Kingdom (notably a park that is in the precise situation you described). I am personally surprised by this decision because I was under the impression that they didn't have the immediate capital required to purchase more parks. If they're in the position to buy anything from Six Flags I would think the package might include a major park (Core/Almost Core) in an area they don't currently service.

I'd like to clarify — at least for my own peace of mind — that I don't enjoy having Fast Lane available at the rate it currently is. It's very good to have for those who don't visit the parks often and for those who want to have a hassle free day, but it has come to a point where I feel like it is oversold for what it offers. When the FL line gets to be 90 minutes (1.5 hours) long and the standby line is 180+ minutes (3+ hours), that "priority access" feels like it becomes another hassle. It functions better when the wait time is kept to 15-30 min Fast Lane / 60+ minute Standby. Is there a good way to make the system work better in both situations without fundamentally changing it like in the survey? I feel like the way that this product has been developed no longer functions as well as it did when it was first introduced at Kings Island in 2011. There is a point to be made about the fact that the program has a high ROI and that the park gains way more money than it spends on the materials/scanners/etc., but I keep coming back to the high wait time issue. Spending $100-$200 to wait in a 90 minute line instead of a 180+ minute line defeats the purpose for me. What I like about what the survey offered is that it would maintain a lower Fast Lane wait time for each ride while still allowing guests who purchase it to ride everything that it offers. I believe there is a way for the survey Fast Lane, Single-Use Fast Lane, Fast Lane Plus, and All-Season/All-Park Fast Lane to coexist, but something needs to be done about the implementation and functionality of the system as a whole. I will also put it out there that good and fast ride operations are not the only way to improve Standby/Fast Lane wait times at each ride. A park could provide good entertainment that draw families away from each queue line for about 30-45 minutes per show. Good, high quality food might occupy about 30-60 minutes of someone's time if they eat at a leisurely pace. Midway games and arcades won't take up as much time due to their shorter durations of play, but they offer another experience. The more good alternatives a park offers, the more they can spread out the guests between all of the attractions they offer without needing to spend the money to add a new roller coaster as often. If anything, I think the parks could look into a "Ticket Book" system for Fast Lane. For example, "A-Ticket" through "D-Ticket" attractions could be unlimited rides while "E-Ticket" attractions could be limited in how many entries they allow. There would need to be some more development in how it might work with wristbands and phones. I'd love to see a Single Rider line or option added to some rides as well. If it were implemented via a scannable wristband system like Fast Lane, a single rider could potentially wait in the dedicated line and scan their wristband at the station with no hassle. Groups would not be able to obtain a Single Rider wristband and would be removed from the line — with their wristbands removed/deactivated — by security if they tried to abuse the system. Maybe I need to watch the Defunctland FastPass video again to jog my memory and revisit this topic with refreshed thoughts.

Did the Phantom Theater line stop at the stairs so you wouldn't spend so much time in the hallway? The effect tends to do better when you're not right next to it for 3 minutes. I hope the park does something to cover the unsightly parts of the building better than they did for Boo Blasters. They don't need to entirely Disney-ify and make it so you never see an exit sign from the buggy, but there were a few spots in BBoBH where you could see orange cones, wet floor signs, and dark mystery door alcoves. The busts also might not have fit in very well with the new art style. As with the loading station, anything that was left over from PT got covered with paint or props. I'd be curious to know if the red eye lights that were installed in some of the busts were drilled through or mounted within. The station turntable room being absolutely coated in black paint will forever haunt my dreams. I really hope they can revive it to look like the original. I can't tell if it is covered in spray paint or wall paint either. You can kind of see the pattern still showing through. One of the largest hurdles might be adding the curtains back into the room, but I would hope the team understands that guests will be looking for a lot of old mixed in with the new. The chandeliers may be harder to bring back since they were sold to local schools and organizations (I know of at least one that's been used in two separate productions of Phantom of the Opera), but their construction is relatively simple if more need to be made. Photo: "Original Phantom Theater Concept Model" by BoddaH1994 Photo: Rick Bastrup https://roberthorsin.blogspot.com/2017/01/phantom-theater.html Photo: Rick Davis https://www.dafe.org/articles/darkrides/phantomTheater.html Photo: Kings Island

There's also the fact that Smoky Mountain Christmas also has 8-12 high-quality shows with two of them being nearly an hour long. Winterfest is a really good time for entertainment at Kings Island, but most of them are outdoors in small venues with little to no dedicated seating.