Losantiville Mining Co.

My pass scanned pretty quickly when I went through. That said, I'm curious why they've switched to the phones instead of using the QR code scanners that have worked well enough for years. All of the Micros POS terminals were still set up and I think the QR code scanners may have even been sitting on the stand as well. Maybe this is a test to see which system works better at each park? The phones look less professional to me, but honestly the entire system needs an overhaul. Does anyone know more about how other chains handle their pass/ticket scanning these days and care to provide some insight? Another update regarding using my new Prestige Membership vs my 2026 Gold Pass: I haven't gotten a response from Guest Services yet for my most recent message trying to sort things out, but I was able to get through the parking tolls, get into the Preferred Parking lot, get into the park, and use my add-ons all without fail. There were some things that I would've liked to see more of and other things I'd like to see done better. I still think none of the next year add-ons should work until the next year regardless of pass type, but it was nice to be able to use my new stuff tonight.

It indeed seems to be for those who have purchased a 2027 Dining Plan while still having a 2026 Dining Plan. Mine was marked "Ready to Use" since it is tied to my new membership, which for all intents and purposes seems to be a new pass. Tonight I was able to start using my 2027 Dining Plan Unlimited with the new 2 hour limit between meals. I decided to start out easy for my most expensive meal(s) of the season, so first I got some pizza from the Festhaus and then got a Classic Chee. Both meals were good and hot, and there were associates actively filling the soda fountain ice compartments (where applicable) while I was there getting my food. A pretty good start to the Fall season at Kings Island!

I took that to mean whether or not your 2026 versus your 2027 dining plan was ready to use, though I'm waiting for a response from Guest Services to know for certain. It has been said that they are adding a way for guests to see how many meals they have left for 2027.

Brief update on my pass situation now that we're closer to Haunt beginning. I hadn't heard anything new from Guest Services since our last correspondence, but more questions have come up. We aren't entirely convinced that my 2026 Gold Pass will still work, so a family member decided to buy a Haunted Attractions Express Pass for my new Prestige Membership (could be a stupid decision, I know, but it's done now). I've sent a new message to Guest Services asking for an update and will await a response tomorrow. In the best case scenario, since I wasn't able to use the HAP tied to my Gold Pass they will allow me to transfer it to another pass/membership. That probably won't happen. In that case I will have only lost $30 that I would've wasted elsewhere. We are also trying to figure out if I will be able to use my 2027 Dining Plan or if there's some shenanigans where it won't work despite being connected to a different pass number. I have a fear that someone might get strict and/or power happy and claim that I violated TOS and attempted to have two passes at once — in which case I will show them the email from Guest Services that implied this was a special situation as both were active. Hopefully my anxiety will not be justified. I would really like for all of this to work out without any major bumps in the road, but my anxiety will keep my on my toes until I get a response.

I think adding the minimal upcharge with the Haunted Attractions Pass is doing wonders. Some folks will continue to refuse to pay for something that they used to get for free, but I can't imagine Haunt would be doing any better continuing down the path it had been on.

I wouldn't call Wild Mouse a major addition by itself, but as part of the broader Boardwalk renovation I think it was a major enough investment to justify the saltiness from fans of other parks. There isn't really anything pointing to Cedar Point receiving something new in 2027, though I do think they could add a flat ride in 2028 to appease some of their rowdier guests. Kings Island is a park that definitely deserves something custom that fits better as well. Arieforce One would fit better at Carowinds or even a smaller Six Flags park. Carowinds especially since enthusiasts already flock there for Fury 325. The coaster seems to be getting dismantled now, so I guess we'll see where it ends up soon enough.

I've been wondering what JANA's specific issue has been with her since they seemingly also forced her out of the chair position. It would be foolish of them to push out John Reilly unless there is someone else in mind who will somehow change things even faster. I'd like to think they've seen what private equity ownership has done to United Parks & Resorts, but then again I think the debt could still be there either way even after a sale. This could be a nice opportunity for Six Flags to start spinning some parks off into a new corporation(s) if they really care about the parks. That might at least save a few parks from the immediate wrath of private equity while netting some quick money for Six Flags (depending on the method of spinning-off/sale).

Apologies for the Facebook screenshot clutter, but kudos to Kings Island and Six Flags for finally snagging the kingsisland.com URL. It redirects to the sixflags.com/kingsisland website, but the thought is there. The visitkingsisland.com URL also still works/redirects in case you're wondering. I remember typing that into the address bar when I was a kid and it coming up as either a tourism website for somewhere in Australia or a domain for sale. (It entirely could've been registered before the merger, but I would've thought they'd used it on ads and such if that was the case.)

I think we should also consider the events that are/aren't happening at other Six Flags parks this year. Carowinds, for one, held a ton of one-off events earlier in the season for things like meteorology. Canada's Wonderland held a whole host of events that included park-sponsored leadership conferences. I agree with Tr0y to an extent because Cedar Point was at least planning to have some kind of event, whereas Kings Island got nothing. It might be easier for the parks to put the park event organization responsibility on enthusiast clubs, but I think that really only works to satisfy the enthusiast crowd. Events like the Mother's Day Brunch could spur more in-park guest spending each season depending on how well they are put on. One of John Reilly's goals for the company was to improve guest experience, wasn't it? Short one-off events feel like a good way to do that. I think it would be nice to make Coastermania/Coasterstock each a bi-annual event that switch off between even and odd years (like D23 and whatever it's alternate was), but that would require communication between the parks as well as communication between the parks and their guests. In other news, does anyone know if/when the Six Flags America land deal is supposed to go through? There are still a ton of (seemingly) salvageable rides there that Six Flags would be a fool to leave behind — especially if the park's land is going to be almost completely redeveloped. I've heard that the county/buyer does not want another amusement park there so I'd assume they wouldn't keep all of the rides.

I think I'd support this layout even more if the park were able to either keep some of the structures from the old South Carolina entrance, or use some of the space under the lifthill for a new SC entrance/exit. That gate isn't really used much at all anymore, but I think it added a unique feature to the park. If anything, it might just be good to have something there as a way of future-proofing in case they ever decided to bring the south gate back online for any reason. I could see AFO taking the place of whatever ride these parks were supposed to receive next, just as I'm sure Orion took the place of whatever might've theoretically been planned. In reality, I don't think most of the parks that really need something new and exciting will really have the chance to get anything since it seems that the totem pole has only been slightly reorganized. A lot of flat rides and such might still be coming out of Six Flags America, but that remains to be seen. The next few months will probably be very crucial for Six Flags in terms of attendance, appearance, and overall sales; so I hope the company will be doing all that it can to be positive in that time.

Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri has announced their 2027 Season Passport Pre-Sale with lower prices across all three tiers! Guests who renew/buy new will receive benefits such as free Bring-A-Friend tickets, discounts on food and beverage items, and additional resort discounts alongside unlimited visits to SDC in 2027. Gold Season Passport holders will also receive a Souvenir Cup with discounted refills, while Diamond Season Passport holders will get all of that plus unlimited access to SDC's White Water waterpark. Lastly, a 2027 Season Passport provides guests unlimited opportunities to ride the all-new Miner's Mountain Express, dubbed by the park as "America's most legendary family coaster". The new Silver Dollar City 2027 Season Passport Pre-Sale runs from now until Monday, November 2nd, 2026. Link to Silver Dollar City's 2027 Season Passport Pre-Sale: https://www.silverdollarcity.com/tickets/season-passes Silver $11.99/month for 10 months $119.99 one-time payment (down from $174.99) Gold $19.99/month for 10 months $199.99 one-time payment (down from $234.99) Diamond $25.99/month for 10 months $259.99 one-time payment (down from $294.99) Similar passes for Missouri's other two major parks will set guests back either $75.99 for an Enchanted Hero Pass or $130.99 for an Enchanted Legend Pass. Similar passes from Kings Island cost $99 for Silver (down from $140), $125 for regional Gold (down from $175), and $289 for all-park Prestige (down from $350). The inclusion of access to other parks in the Six Flags chain definitely makes these passes a better value for families, but the sheer quality of experience that Silver Dollar City offers may entice some guests to spring the extra money for this award-winning theme park in the Ozarks.

The new 2026 Halloween Haunt map has been posted! I'm happy to see that it finally only includes Haunt stuff again. From what I can see there is only one issue on it where the icon for Outpost Frozen Cocktails is in the wrong spot, but other than that it's just the gray vs green grass areas that look weird. It's too bad that Phantom Theater will be closed during Haunt and won't have an overlay. Kudos to the KI team for posting it more than 36 hours before the start of the event! Link to the map: https://qr1.be/AS58UZ

I could see the smaller Drop Tower happening as a way to further cater to KI's family audience, but then again I also think it should instead be a space shot tower that shoots you up instead of dropping you down. It would probably be less intimidating for younger riders than the 300ft tall one as well while being more able to hold adults than the froghopper tower. Switchback is an interesting case right now. I saw some planning diagrams from Valleyfair that made it look like they were going to prepare a SB-sized plot for construction, meaning Enchanted would've bought it. Then again this could help with Six Flags' "head turning" announcements.

Arieforce One could to Carowinds' DA! plot or elsewhere in Aeronautica Landing. I feel like that could mean the loss of their Crossroads area, but to me it's a better option than sending it to GAd, KI, or CW. Has anyone done the size calculation for that $15 million Intamin launch coaster? Also I thought it was $15M for all four rides. I'd still prefer something custom, but it would be cool to see the larger coaster and the 157ft tilting Drop Tower come to KI. The smaller coaster's description made it sound like it has a lower capacity, so I'd send that to one of the small parks.

Well said! John Reilly was able to make some good improvements after the legacy CF/SF execs left. I hope whoever has/will take over Tony Clark's position is able to do better than he did these last few years — especially with his apparent bias toward Cedar Point. Even Bob Iger seemed to stop doing good innovations at the end of his tenure as Disney's CEO, which is why we're seeing some nice changes in the parks with Josh D'Amaro in the CEO position. Overall, I really hope we see folks who are comfortable changing the company in positions at all levels.

My mom recently got a survey from Kings Island where some of the questions were about our thoughts on Phantom Theater and the future of attractions at the park. After writing about how much we love PT:ON and otherwise want to see a big thrill coaster come to KI in the next few years, we wrote about how we'd love to see a second dark ride installed. I have my personal wishes for the location and potential theme(s) for another new KI dark ride, but in general I think it would do really well and give families more to do overall. If we see a slowing down of major investments for the park then I'd really like to see more area refreshes in addition to general infrastructure upgrades around the park. Guests might not mind the lack of a new ride every year if they see more trees/shade, benches, and better staffing strategies. That said, I would still like to see a second dark ride, Rivertown expansion/upgrades, an Action Zone retheme, and a Soak City retheme in the near future. I bet at least some of those upgrades could help Kings Island climb the rankings in each year's Golden Ticket Awards.

I like to rank coaster names based on how cool they sound and how they relate to the story of the roller coaster's theme. Some names get lowered by the addition of unnecessary taglines (Ruined by TradeMark). Other names have been ruined for other reasons. I don't hold steady to these rules, but they generally guide my opinions. All-Time Greats: The Bat, The Beast, The Boss, The Legend, The Racer, Thunder Road, GhostRider, Gemini, Grizzly, Vortex, Loch Ness Monster, Colossus / Twisted Colossus, Raging Bull Good: Apollo's Chariot, Banshee, Big Bad Wolf, Diamondback, Rebel Yell / Racer 75, Screamin' Demon, Steel Vengeance, Thunderbird, Phoenix, Sooper Dooper Looper, Shooting Star, Raven, Wildcat, Wilde Beast, Dragon Fyre, Drachen Fire, Beastie, El Toro OK: Mystic Timbers, Twisted Timbers, Shivering Timbers, Millennium Force, Adventure Express, Firehawk, Nighthawk, Orion, Wild Eagle, Roller Coaster (bonus points for being a classic), The Bush Beast, GateKeeper, Thunder Striker, Copperhead Strike Ruined: Pantherian (should've gone with Panthera), Bakunawa Serpent's Wrath (RbTM), Tormenta Rampaging Run (RbTM), Maxx Force, X-Flight, Goliath (overused), Ninja (overused) Bad/Ugly: Valravn, Flight Deck, Thrill Glider, Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge, Scream!, Blue Hawk, Woodstock Express (only bad for the KECO wood coasters), Red Force

I think there's some truth to what you said, but I also think the issue is big enough to warrant some introspection. There are probably a ton of legacy Six Flags guests who can just go enjoy the parks as they have for years. Where it matters is with the sizeable chunk of guests who had not previously bought into the Six Flags brand (cough, legacy Cedar Fair fans, cough) and who saw it as the biggest value brand of amusement parks. One big reason why I'd like to see them shift to a new branding strategy is because it would show that the current Six Flags is not the same one that has consistently made bad decisions since being acquired by Premier Parks in the 90s. I wouldn't necessarily hate seeing Six Flags cease to exist in its current form, but I also don't want to see Kings Island get trudged through years of a Six Flags bankruptcy declaration. Split the company up? Yes. Let the company get to a point where it goes bankrupt? Please no. Some of these scenarios are what lead to a private equity takeover, and I definitely don't want to see that.

I'd take the step to also say that their seeming refusal to step away from most of the legacy Six Flags branding is contributing to the harm/dissatisfaction that it has been causing for nearly 20 years. At the very least they need to strip it from their corporate social media accounts and all three HQ locations. If I had the chance to sit down with John Reilly that would probably be the first thing I'd tell him. People will see the accounts posting about all of the fun stuff going on, but their brains have been trained to see that logo and associate it with something of low quality. (They should also start rebranding some of the legacy SF parks to remove the SF name, but that could take a few years depending on the park. There's no reason for Darien Lake or Frontier City to retain their legacy Six Flags branding IMO, especially when Frontier City has an entire unique logo.) I see it as a hand-me-down mostly because it was built for a different size of park and will require a lot of effort from Six Flags to fit into one of their existing parks. For it to fit anywhere at Kings Island would require either a ton of new supports or the loss of another roller coaster. If it does land at KI then I just hope it doesn't make us wait another 4-8 years for a Vortex replacement.

Congratulations to Kings Island, Sally Dark Rides, and Plague Productions for their parts in bringing this dark ride back to life so wonderfully! It's very well deserving of the Best New Family Attraction award in my eyes, and I hope we can see Kings Island bring some more Golden Tickets home in the near future.

We swapped from season passes to memberships in 2027 to avoid the credit-based payment plan (good for the chain because it gets that off their hands, bad for consumers) and I just wanted to share some of our experience. Prior to purchasing the memberships, I contacted the park to ask what I should do about purchasing an All-Season Haunted Attractions Pass. Guest Services responded saying that I would be able to add the HAP to my 2026 pass and that it would be fine even if I switched to a membership. When we began our new memberships during Labor Day weekend I noticed that it gave us new pass numbers. Seeing this, I again contacted the park to make sure that I would be able to use my HAP without any big issues. This time I was told that both my 2026 pass and my new membership are currently active, and that I would need to scan into the park using my 2026 Gold Pass on nights when I go through the mazes. I purchased my 2027 dining plan separately (ouchie!) as well. We'll see where I land when I get to the park for Haunt, but I'm going to trust those Guest Services emails for now. The bigger question will probably be whether I can use my new 2027 Dining Plan Unlimited now in 2026 when I scan in using my new membership. Both passes and both dining plans say that they're ready to use and are active in my Six Flags app.

Those trees are my #1 reason for not wanting a front gate coaster, however I think a tilt coaster could look really good if they managed to only have the tilt tower occupy Invertigo's land. The park has already taken out enough foliage over the years. I'm not a fan of the front gate coaster idea for other reasons, so it's a no from me. It seems that survey with the same 15-20 options went out to most of the larger parks, so I wouldn't be so set on the idea of KI getting its own record-breaking tilt coaster anytime soon. I think that would be a really good location for it if the park wasn't already building some new water treatment stuff next to the tank located near the brake run on your layout. If they do put it right there for some reason, I'd demolish the Alien Abyss building and either rebuild it to be parallel with the lift hill or replace it entirely. My guess is that the spot where it might actually fit best at KI is down the hill from Orion where Firehawk's final turnaround and helix were. The ramp and service road right there could be reconfigured to fit the new queue near Orion's entrance and queue. That also puts the coaster on flat(ter) ground than the top of the hill provides.

That's also a possibility! The new Six Flags doesn't want to reuse coaster names between their parks, therefore the Quantum Accelerator name went to the coaster that opened with it first.

My theory is that they had a name, either "rethemed" the ride or found out that it was already in use, and then changed it to the easiest possible name. This isn't the first time we've seen Cedar Fair Six Flags use a model name for a thrill coaster: see Invertigo at Kings Island. This could've always been the name they had in mind as well.

I'm sure there is also some excitement among the passholders related to being part of a new chain. We don't know where Michigan's Adventure will place among the 8 parks of the Enchanted Parks chain, but now they at least have some hope for continued investment. I'd really like to see Enchanted put in at least one brand new major coaster at each of their parks by 2036. Hopefully they can have similar successes in their other new parks as well. Six Flags currently has about 19 parks in North America (not including stand-alone waterparks) and has been very slowly working toward improving some of them. Bowing out of the contracts for Darien Lake and Frontier City would bring them down to 17. After that, they could either split the company in half or continue to sell/spin off parks until they're down to a more manageable number. I don't personally feel it is wise to have a chain consisting only of major parks, but I do agree that Six Flags has a few too many parks in general. Then again I also think Herschend has too many parks. They seem to be proud of their "Largest Theme Park Operator in North America" title so we'll just have to see how the next few years go in terms of park sales.