Losantiville Mining Co.

Both sides of the entrance building need a lot of work IMO. The entry plaza side needs an entire facade put on it, but the front of International Street also needs something to make it more than just a vast expanse of pavers. Canada's Wonderland suffers from a similar issue, but their I-Street is also larger and doesn't have a side path at the front like KI's does. Kings Dominion has a way smaller plaza and therefore doesn't have that problem. A raised planter with a tree on either side of the plaza would do a lot to help break up the sight lines. I don't think the Cedar Point fanboys expected a coaster for 2026, but there are enough that seem upset over there not even being a new flat ride or something else that's "substantial".

If you're buying a pass now, yes. It's very similar to the Gold/Platinum pass system, except now the Gold Pass gets you into all Six Flags parks in whatever region you purchase it from.

I've been really enjoying the smaller additions and renovations during the off-years. Adding a new major coaster every 3 years is not at all sustainable, and these smaller additions and renovations are a good way to keep the park updated as needed. (That's something I think Cedar Point/CePo fans need to figure out as well, especially with how many I've seen upset that the park isn't adding a ride for 2026.) I just hope we do eventually get a good new major coaster in 2027/2028. Just today it looks like there have been people working on replacing the shingles on the I-Street side of the entrance building. Adventure Port and Camp Snoopy were good additions (although I hope they add more foliage to Camp Snoopy soon) and River Racers/Splash River Junction helped to revitalize that area of Soak City. I think Phantom Theater is more in the major investment category than not, but it's certainly not on the scale of a major coaster or full area revitalization.

You can only purchase add-ons from the park your pass is from. If you have yet to buy any Six Flags passes for 2026 and are fine with spending the extra money on Prestige to get All-Park access and the $500-ish on the All Season Fast Lane, then sure. If you've already bought a pass from another park and/or only want the Gold Pass benefits (a new Carowinds Gold Pass will not get you into KI) then you're out of luck.

I can see the new concrete so much more easily now. It's not as clear, but does the new concrete look any closer to the building than before? I'd say this new portion of concrete is going to help with the extended queue on busy days, it'll help make the entrance path in to the Showplace better, and it can serve as stroller parking.

I mean the pass prices from July still seems to be the lowest price for 2026 passes, and were the biggest bang for your buck. The bad thing is just that the benefits have changed at least three times. A $99 Gold Pass with access to 40 parks is a major bargain compared to paying $140 for access to 12 parks. As for the All Season Fast Lane add on, that needs to be fixed immediately. I'll maintain my point that every "All Park" option should be the same price no matter where you buy it from. Every "Regional" option should be the same price no matter where in the region you buy it from. The Silver Pass should be available at every park for people who only want access to their home park. Reilly looks to be using other methods to earn back the trust from guests and associates. It seems that there will be more consistency once he's been able to implement his overall changes. It just sucks that this is all happening over the course of 6+ months instead of all at once with plenty of forewarning. Something that Six Flags desperately needs to work on is making sure everything is clear, concise, and correct across all of their platforms. The terms and conditions for the All Season Fast Lane add-on purchase page on Kings Island's website talks about "Fast Lane Ultimate" — an item that does not and has never existed at this park. It's probably left over from the Legacy Six Flags parks Flash Pass Ultimate option. Hopefully this and the rest of the issues are resolved soon.

I wonder if we'll see anything else PT related in the park this season. We've talked about potential walk-around characters, but I also think it would be cool to see some special in-park announcements like they had with Phantom Theater Encore come back. Another PTE show is probably not in the cards (as much as I'd like it to be) unless KI is able to beef up their entertainment offerings.

There's also the question of if Coasterstock will be happening/how it will happen. If it does happen there's a lot of people wondering if it'll be 1 day vs. 2 days, if it will be open to non-coaster club members, and if the overall event quality will have gone down compared to the last two years. I think a more detailed list of what I'd like to see is Opening Day, Food & Wine, Grand Carnivale (honestly could be replaced by an Island Nights event atp), a 1 week America 250 event, Halloween Haunt, Tricks & Treats, and Winterfest. They should also do some short events like a Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare charity event, Run & Ride, Food Truck Festival, a second charity event, and some passholder nights/after hours events. For anyone else following the webcams: the white paneling (or whatever it is) has been taken back toward the turnstiles and there are no more enchanted opera box doom buggies sitting near the bandstand. The tree lights on the Eiffel Tower have been down for a little bit, but all of the artisan sheds are still out on the path. The park sign hasn't returned yet. The permanent lights have been on or off depending on the night. There was a night recently where one singular light tower was on, another where only the left side of the street's uplighting was on, and tonight is the first night I've seen both sides uplighting be on. The light that shines on the park sign spot was also recently turned on, though it looks a lot more square-ish than I remember.

It seems Carowinds has now removed whatever 2026 festivals they previously listed. If the calendar holds true from the last two years we will see Kings Island's festivals and events calendar released on March 4th (1 week away)! I'm hoping to see all of the festivals/events from 2025 return, though Grand Carnivale is so far up in the air right now in terms of will it/won't it. It'd be cheaper than changing but more expensive than doing nothing. The new leadership clearly understands why seasonal festivals are important after cancelling holiday events caused "self-imposed headwinds". I just hope they also understand that it's possible to do seasonal festivals and fun 1-2 day events.

Since following the complete revamp of Boo Blasters into Phantom Theater I've started to realize something. Much like how Boo Blasters on Boo Hill was a quick re-skin of Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle, Planet Snoopy — while far better executed — still has some obvious remnants of being re-skinned from Nickelodeon Universe. Outside of Snoopy's Space Buggies and Franklin's Flyers, there hasn't been too much done in Planet Snoopy since 2010. I'm not counting anything done with Camp Snoopy since that's now a separately-named area. Kings Island did remove those giant fins from the facade of the blue ice cream building, so I'll give them credit for that. What could the park do to help remove some of those remnants of Nickelodeon Universe and revitalize the area as a whole? I think new concrete and paint would do a lot. Some added theming around the area and new shells for the Woodstock's Whirlybirds vehicles could also be nice. The entrance sign near the International Showplace needs to ditch the Blue's Clues paw prints (yes they could be Snoopy's, but this is my opinion). They don't need to redo the entire area again in an attempt to catch up with Wildwood Grove, but I think a general refresh is more than needed. Some specifics: new entrance signage; new paint and a new name for Woodstock Express; new concrete throughout the land; new vehicles/wraps for Woodstock's Whirlybirds; major Surf Dog refresh (Cedar Point's looks so much better); and a new ride. Side note for anyone wondering: Planet Snoopy is about 5.48 acres in size, Camp Snoopy is roughly 3.79 acres, (9.27 acres for both). Camp Snoopy at Carowinds is about 6.11 acres (the other 3 acres got absorbed into their Thunder Road area in 2024). Wildwood Grove is 11.55 acres (9.02 without the NightFlight Expedition land). Cedar Point's Kiddie Kingdom is 1.24 acres; Planet Snoopy is 1.28 acres; and Camp Snoopy is 2.85 acres. Forbidden Frontier at Cedar Point was 3.93 acres. If, for some reason, Kings Island wanted to add yet another mini-land to triple down on the "family park" demographic, they could easily get 2 acres out of the Stunt Coaster plot and fit a lot of stuff in there with the right planning. I'd rather that than have the park attempt to squeeze too much more into Planet/Camp Snoopy or take over another area of the park for kids as I've seen some folks suggest.

IIRC that is near the pad that formerly housed the Mystery Machine and Snoopy's doghouse. If it's specifically where the gap in the trees is then it's right where the original Phantom Theater entrance was. It's entirely possible that this could be 1) an extended queue, 2) stroller parking, or 3) a path/curb replacement. I'd be happy to see some new concrete on the plaza. Any extended queue would need to find a good way to navigate the hill and get back to the facade, so I'm thinking it's either stroller parking or concrete replacement. For all we know there could already be facade work happening on the lower areas of the building. The only signs of painting we're likely to see is some scaffolding. The bridge, "gate", and giant mouth at the entrance could also be worked on without the webcam seeing due to how the top of the castle blocks them. For concrete work (seen from this distance/video quality) you will generally be able to observe three stages: Breaking up/removal of the existing concrete. (rough ground) Framing of the new concrete. (lumber boundaries) Pouring/finishing of the new concrete. (you'll see the truck/wheel barrows)

Can you point out the signs of concrete work for me? I've been watching the webcam as well but the video is a little too grainy for me to make much out. I see the black truck with a red front and some cars parked near it. An extended queue that runs around the path of the original queue would be really nice though! I haven't seen anything about Plague Productions in relation to this project, but I think they would be used sparingly since Sally Dark Rides is at the helm. How feasible do you think it would be to add a solar array on top of that roof? I'd really like to see the giant compass come back, but that feels even more unlikely.

My ride on Blazing fury was quite enjoyable, but I did get that sense of "what's going on" in the middle of it. Part of that could be attributed to my experience being a zen ride (where I was the only rider on my train) though I think there was more off than that. If they do anything else to it, I hope they find a way to stick with the current ride system instead of bringing RMC in to completely redo the track. The jankyness added to the experience for me. Besides that, Blazing Fury is less restrictive on guest size than something like Lightning Rod. That kind of thing is important to me as someone with larger family members. As Dollywood continues to expand I hope they can keep sight on the fact that rides like NightFlight Expedition and Blazing Fury can coexist in the same park. BF doesn't really need to be updated beyond adding a little more context (as Brent put it).

If I'm looking at the map right, I think this development is continuing Beach Boulevard up/over and stopping at the unpaved portion of the old parking lot. It mainly uses the lot to the west of Beach Boulevard toward the creek. There's almost no way for The Beach to come back, but these development plans make me wonder if it could survive as a smaller and cheaper (in ticket price) waterpark (especially now that Coney Island is closed and KI ticket prices might finally be going up).

I think the factor that brings in mosquitoes is if the water is stagnant/still, with not much constant movement. That seemed to be the issue with the pond(s) as it originally existed. It can be mitigated with a simple fountain system that keeps the water flowing inside of a concrete basin. Diamondback gets around needing a visible fountain by having a train dive through its trough every minute or so. For a new Beast water feature I think the fountain could be placed somewhere outside of the turnaround or near the "mine" entrance. The exit / Fast Lane bridge already needs to be completely reworked, so that could be rebuilt to hug the standby queue even more while allowing space for a fountain. Preventing items from being thrown in the pond could be accomplished by putting up chicken wire or some other metal net that you can't fit many things through. Is it foolproof? No, but the park seems to handle its other water features well enough to avoid this problem. This would be a large undertaking, but is one that I think the KI team might be willing to see through if they're looking for something to do. If the park did expand Rivertown (I posted an idea for how to do that in the Rivertown expansion concept topic in the Rumors forum), they could even reroute the exit toward where it originally was. The flat ride could probably be replaced by a new dining location. The former Beast Canyon Cold Drinks stand also looks like it's the perfect size for a Wishbone Grill-style stand. I'll include the main diagram below for reference. As for adding one singular helix to help with the brake shed slowdown, I really only offered it as a suggestion. The ride has indeed worked well enough for 46 years. I just thought it could be something new that might help a current issue. It would be a lot better than whatever Beast 2.0 looked to be attempting (no matter whether it was a hoax or not).

IMO dive coasters feel like they're becoming an overused model. The general public loves them, but I think Kings Island could do something more unique (and maybe even get something that Cedar Point doesn't have). I really like the idea of having a Big Red Machine coaster somewhere in the park though! As for this, I'd 100% support another small retheme for the Stunt Coaster, especially if it means covering the shipping containers with a better facade. Would the theme still work as well without the fire effect? I don't know, but I think it could work.

What are those cables specifically used for? I figured those might stay down until the park is closer to starting pre-season testing since they seemed to be down before work started on the lift chain.

I'm 100% (A.) Super excited and can't wait to ride it. Even if it's just above the level of Boo Blasters (a ride that I enjoyed), I think it could still be good ride. With this being a new + custom attraction from Sally Dark Rides there are so many ways for it to be a lot better than what we had. for 23ish years. The thing I'm most worried about is whether or not it will just have a ton of dry jokes that fall flat. That's an issue with a lot of modern media. I'm also a little worried that the tone will have shifted a little too much, but it will probably be fine. The original characters were very antagonistic toward the guests and this one will be more friendly. I think Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle was also more friendly toward riders, but we'll see where PT:ON lands once it opens!

It feels like this new leadership team might be recognizing the strengths of these parks instead of flatly looking at the cost of running everything. They also seem to finally recognize that the Six Flags of 2026 can be a different company from the two legacy corporations that formed it. Let's hope that they can continue whatever good momentum they're getting into. Attendance being down seems about right considering some parks cancelled their holiday events. Spending being up also sounds right with all of the fixes they're trying to accomplish. As for Reilly declining to comment on the Enchanted Parks filings, I'm not putting much stock into whatever that could mean. Is it a sign that there are active negotiations or that nothing is happening? Ask me again in July and maybe we'll have a better answer.

I don't think it's needed, I was just wondering if it would allow the train to not almost completely stop in the brake shed. Every time I read someone say "they should turn off the trim brakes on The Beast [because it slows down too much]" it makes me think about what would actually make that happen. It's also a fun little thought experiment considering it's probably easier to do for wood coasters than steel coasters.

It looks like the new leadership really wanted to get their pass revisions in before a majority of the parks open for the season. It would've been better if they created a sub-group pass type for the Gold+APP buyers that would end on 12/31 and then make the "new" regional Gold Pass the standard. That way the Gold+APP passholders wouldn't automatically gain all of the Prestige benefits while still maintaining what they paid for. Call it Gold+ and treat it like the Legacy Memberships for Diamond Elite and Diamond Elite VIP memberships. The current pass program is relatively simple, but the rollout is what has caused all of the pain. For all of us Legacy Cedar Fair folks it's gone from Gold/Platinum to Gold/Prestige both w/ the APP to Silver/Gold/Prestige to Regional Gold/All-Park Prestige. I really hope for 2027 passes they find a model and stick to it — though that is what I assume all of this trial and error is for. In reality this isn't even trial and error, this is just the process of switching to a new pass system without changing the pass names. Maybe for 2027 they should just change all of the pass names anyways since the passes are different from what they used to be, especially for the Legacy SF passholders whose pass names and benefits have all changed so much recently.

A slight correction: Six Flags used to operate a waterpark in Florida called Six Flags Atlantis. It was destroyed by a storm (if I had a nickel for every Six Flags park destroyed by a storm, I'd have two nickels) and never reopened. They had a pretty cool logo as well! As for whether or not the new chain could survive in Florida, I think they would be able to serve a role like FunSpot Orlando does. Could they compete with Busch Gardens Tampa or SeaWorld Orlando? I'm not certain on that one, but a small Six Flags park in the northern regions of the state might have more of a chance.

What do we think these white stacks of items are in the bottom right? They are being delivered by a forklift and look a little too big to be flooring tiles or ceiling tiles.

As we move ever closer to The Beast's 50th anniversary season, do you think adding the pond back under the turnaround would be a project that Kings Island (and Six Flags) would be willing to invest in? I really think it might be, especially if that section of track already needs rebuilt for any reason. They could get the mill effects back up and running while they're at it as well. What else could they invest in for the occasion? I think a new Rivertown expansion replacing the TR:TR building would be nice. These next few years might also be a good time to figure out how to improve the ride experience going through the first brake shed. I know it slows the train down to a near halt to reduce wear and tear on the track, but is there a better solution that could involve a new section of track layout right there? The easiest rebuild solution could be adding a counterclockwise helix coming out of the brake shed and going into the second tunnel. I don't know if it would wholly solve the issue, but it would at least allow the train to use some of its energy before continuing toward the second lift hill. It'd also add more track and ensure that the length record is kept.

There's a ton in Mystic Timbers' theming, but there's also some Calico (Knott's) references in Adventure Port and other park references elsewhere.