Losantiville Mining Co.

100% agree on using actual bluegrass music in Rivertown, although I think they could also have some of the covers still in there. I wonder if there's a rule about using license music in a park or if they just choose to go with the covers. Having some more limited-run events return would be fun and could encourage attendance. My personal choices would be for the Food Truck Festival and Grad Nite to come back. The former would work similarly to the Food & Wine Festival and the latter would work like the other Grad Nite events at Six Flags parks. Island Nights would be a good Grand Carnivale replacement. KidZFest on the other hand might push the limit as it seems Kings Island only does 2 big Summer festivals alongside Star Spangled Nights. As small as the Food & Wine Festival is compared to an event like Tricks & Treats, I'd hate to lose it. Speaking of longer events, I think it would be nice to see a little longer run for Star Spangled Nights this year for the special anniversary. maybe running it for 5 days instead of 2 or adding some specialty menu items would make it seem more special. As for this point, I think they should construct a new building for an indoor VIP lounge instead of shoving it into one. I'd place it in a new section of Rivertown as part of The Beast's 50th anniversary Rivertown expansion that I've posted elsewhere on this website. A new building would allow them to also make it two floors like the one at Kings Dominion. My issue with the places you've listed is that putting it in the International Restaurant would effectively cancel out its ability to be used for private events and for public events like the Winterfest Wonderland Buffet. It's also far too close to the park entrance to be used as a non-Special Events space IMO. The Antique Photos building in Rivertown might be a little too small for an indoor VIP lounge. I think a VIP lounge being indoors would attract more Prestige Passholders to it, meaning the space might be filled before too long anyways. Graeter's is probably the one that I could get behind, I just also think that it would be unfortunate to lose the ice cream parlor space.

I was thinking it would be better to wait so they could get a new photo (especially with the new paint on the ground) and to let the foliage grow back in for the season. I think it could also be part of a post advertising that "Monster has reopened for the 2026 season", in which case some nice, green foliage would help to show off some of the beauty Kings Island is known for. As little credit the current social media team might get/deserve I do believe they can make some nice posts from time to time.

The main Winterfest sign at the front of the park. The other part of the post was to jab at the doomers on the Facebook groups who always speak ill of the park or say that Six Flags will ruin it.

This one will have a lot of pictures, so prepare your scrolling fingers. As much as it might make it harder to manage, I think a new, more substantial front gate sign would be nice. The 50th anniversary sign was really cool and I enjoyed how it stretched across the front of the fountains. The Haunt sign does more with its height in addition to having the flames and lighting effects. The Winterfest and Grand Carnivale signs are at the bottom of my list since they're just backlit panels, but I appreciate the decorations that the park puts around them. One aspect I'd love to see the park improve about it would be to cover the two stand poles. In my opinion, Dollywood's front gate sign is presented better overall when there are no decorations around it. It has a good festival modifier scheme and is more visible when people stand in front of it. Kings Island's sign still looks good, but after over 15 years, it might be time for a little change. Fun fact: KI's current logo might soon be the one it's had the longest (original 1972-1992, 20 years; PKI 1993-2006, 13 years between 2 logos; Cedar Fair/Six Flags 2007-2026, 19 years). Kings Island's front gate sign circa 2021 (Cincinnati Enquirer). The flagpoles are now gone — they didn't last long — but the rest of the view is largely the same. You can see how the park name floats a little too high above the flowers and could get lost in the wrong light. Cedar Point's front gate sign, without the lightbulbs (Cedar Point on Twitter); Cedar Point's marina gate entrance sign (https://bradysigns.com/work/cedar-point-marina-park-entrance/). The first sign certainly takes the cake for size, but the tagline would not be as good on a new sign for Kings Island. The second sign certainly follows Cedar Point's design language. It is more like the sign out in front of the gate, but what it lacks in height or background it makes up for in presence. Dollywood's front gate sign (https://pensacolamom.com/travel/top-10-reasons-to-plan-a-family-vacation-to-dollywood/). It has a good background with the Showstreet Palace Theater, but the height helps to draw eyes up more than the Kings Island sign does. Dollywood's front gate sign decorated for the I Will Always Love You Music Festival (https://diservations.com/dollywood-a-vip-tour/). You can see how simple the setup is with the decorative backing board and a sign in front of it. I would personally prefer something like this for the Spring/Summer festivals instead of a full replacement for Grand Carnivale and no special sign for the Food & Wine Festival. Grand Carnivale front gate sign at Kings Island (https://adventuremomblog.com/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-grand-carnivale-experience-at-kings-island/). Don't get me wrong, I like having these special signs, but making it easier to change out during the main season might help to bridge the gap between a dedicated sign for Grand Carnivale and nothing for Food & Wine and Star Spangled Nights. Kings Island's 50th Anniversary front gate sign (Exhibit 3 Fabrications on Facebook). I really like the verticality in the center of this sign and how it pairs with the horizontality coming from the gold ribbons on each side. You can clearly see where the fountain jets would fill either side of the "50" while the

Does anybody remember how soon the Winterfest sign came down in previous years? I noticed that most of the front decorations were taken down shortly after the new year and thought they kept it up a little longer in previous years. If this is sooner than before it will be good fuel for the doomers who think we'll be seeing "Six Flags Kings Island" (or even just a new sign or logo) this year.

Either adding a few inversions or some on ride audio/lighting during the design process would've been my pick. Having the first inverting giga coaster might've also helped quell to some of the disappointment brought on by the minimum height and length. Painting a red stripe on the bottom of the track like Fury 325 would be fun as well. I like the idea of the immelman going there too. I'd also see about doing a little more with Firehawk's little pre-station turnaround bay. Just something to play into those giant "doors" that go "under" the Area 72 plaza. Maybe a truck with crates in the back.

I feel like the coverings wouldn't do much to help aside from maybe some shade from the sun. Any kind of new ride covering is also very likely to look more like Carowinds' cover for their Grand Carousel than anything like Kings Island's Grand Carousel cover. It'd be plain and made of powder-coated metal. I think if the park could've put covers on each Cargo Loco barrel (like existed on Der Spinnen Keggers) it would've accomplished the desired "covered" effect. Something that really needs a cover in the park is Sol Spin's queue line. Removing WindSeeker and putting a dark ride in Action Theater would get my vote! I haven't figured out a good way to differentiate the ride experience from Phantom Theater, but it would be a better use for the building than being an abandoned 4D theater and a haunt maze. Move the maze into a new building and bring in a new dark ride. The park definitely needs more indoor spaces that guests can stay in. Indoor food lines are good, but they could definitely use another indoor restaurant and another indoor theater in addition to a second dark ride. Monster would not be a good candidate for receiving a covering IMO. The view showcased in the images above is really nice to have because it showcases three different eras of Kings Island history (Coney Island, the original Kings Island, and the modern Kings Island) within one vantage point. (That could be a nice social media post once Spring comes around!)

I'd rather they keep Soak City included for Gold and Prestige passes and bring back the Silver Pass with a different set of limitations. Make it separate admission for day tickets and Silver Passes while increasing the price of Gold and Prestige. An all-season Silver Pass with blackout dates (instead of ending after Labor Day) would probably also get more people to buy it. Having one of the only large-ish waterparks in the area should be a bigger selling point, but it's probably not as marketable as I think. Kings Island used to advertise itself as the largest amusement and water park in the Midwest but now where other Six Flags parks have something like "The Carolinas' Premier Entertainment Destination" Kings Island's website simply says "Kings Island".

It's a little hard to see anything from the webcams, but the fence is still up and it looks like the central rotor is the only part back on the pad. I did just notice that the path between Coney Bar-B-Que and the Scrambler does line up nicely with the Monster. There is, of course, the planter separating that path from the ride, but it's nice to notice something like this in a park I already know so well!

If the company does it right, I think they could pair raising season pass prices with a rebrand away from the Six Flags name. That would at least give them a visible excuse as to why they're doing it as a "new company". It will be interesting to see how soon any immediate changes come to Kings Island from having the new CEO and Chairman.

I believe some of that pink slime is some kind of soap residue, unless we've been experiencing a Ghostbusters II scenario without me noticing.

If I recall correctly the name comes from Enchanted Forest Water Safari. The park names themselves may be something else (these trademarks feel like a way to get their foot in the door) and could each end up being a secondary name (aside from St. Louis). I would imagine any new names might follow the existing scheme and come out to Enchanted Michigan's Adventure and Enchanted Worlds of Fun (assuming they also purchase WoF). It is interesting that these trademark applications were filed for the IC 025 class for clothing and merchandise instead of the IC 041 class for Amusement Park Services like park names are. This could be to get a little bit of a head start on making merch. I think the IC 041 trademark application will come closer to when any actual sale is announced. There's been a little speculation online about this potentially being an owner-manager situation where Enchanted Parks simply takes over the management of these parks — especially since most of them are water parks — however I don't see that happening. I think it's possible that these parks could be spun off into their own company if they get flipped. There could be enough traction for them to operated independently. The operating budgets of larger prospective buyers would be about where they are now under Six Flags IMO. Most of the larger operators (Herschend, Merlin Entertainment, Six Flags, and United Parks) either just bought up a bunch of properties or are not doing too well financially. This is another reason why I feel like they could be spun off into their own company. This one is hard for me to find a good answer for. These parks are good enough as small to mid-size regional parks and any downsizing could work against them. I don't think it would be a good idea to make the water parks be owned independently from the dry parks in these particular situations, but it's clear that this area of guest experience is not particularly Six Flags' forte.

I'd love to see Kings Island get an Island Nights event, though I don't entirely know how they would make it different from the Boardwalk Nights (CePo), KC Nights (WoF), Great American Nights (SFGAm), Knott's Summer Nights (KBF), Summer Nights (DP) etc. events. The park also presumably still has all of the items for Grand Carnivale, so if they can't get another event it would probably be cheapest to stick with GC for another year. Of course, the cheapest option would be to not hold any festivals, but I think Six Flags would remove festivals from all of the non-core parks before touching KI's. Something I'm a little saddened by is the fact that it looks like California's Great America may not get to have a 50th Anniversary event this year. Both Valleyfair and Chicago's (SF) Great America have talked about their 50th anniversary and have also put out anniversary logos. California's Great America hasn't released anything. Could this be a result of them being late to the party or is Six Flags really just not going to let them celebrate like everyone else has been able to? They already didn't host any festivals in 2025, so it's easier for me to believe they'll do worse than the bare minimum for that park. At least Kings Dominion got to have a little bit of hope for their 50th anniversary this year.

That one would be so easy to expand within the current footprint as well. I think there's enough space to add at least 4 more stalls while putting the sinks in the middle of the room. Only having one stall in your front restroom is criminal.

I've mentioned it elsewhere, but I really want to see more 4D coasters overall. The 4D Freespins look interesting, but they feel more like the newest version of a Wild Mouse rather than something that could be special like X2 is. I'd also love to see more innovation in terms of a new suspended coaster (complete with swinging cars). It feels like any issues with the track strain were written off as unsolvable. Manufacturers and parks going with "safe" designs is good for the status quo, but I really want to see some more innovation — even if it's just new takes on old models. As for a Flight of Fear overhaul, I wonder what kind of theming could be added inside of the bowl beyond uplights and maybe a soundtrack. One of the easier options could probably be a light ring "tunnel" on the MCBR and some pinpoint star lights. Something to make it a little more than just a coaster in a relatively dark box. How snappy would the launch out of the station be with a launch conversion? I know it would probably keep the speed and snappiness, but for some reason I have the idea in the back of my mind that it would be weaker. The launch is perhaps the biggest "wow" factor of the ride experience for me and I hope any conversion would be able to maintain that.

I have to agree with you on this (although from the perspective of someone much younger). It's much more difficult for parks to design and build anything "new" these days without breaking the bank or being gimmicky. We're still dealing with the results from the Coaster Wars as well, so a lot of enthusiasts still have expectations that can never feasibly be met. I think Kings Island in particular could innovate more by adding advanced theming to their new rides until they are back in a position to install another "first of its kind" or similar.

Can you expand more on how changing the hours helps to define a park more as a "family theme park" as opposed to an "amusement/thrill park"? Is it in the fact that families might leave earlier in the night compared to those who go to an amusement park? The line between "amusement park" and "theme park" is very blurry at this scale of company. The new Six Flags lists all of their parks as "theme parks", despite only having a few that could actually qualify with Canada's Wonderland, Fiesta Texas, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island. A few other SF parks could probably also qualify for the title (maybe CePo and Caro) but the Six Flags brand is pretty much "generic amusement park". Other regional parks like Dollywood and other pre-Palace Herschend parks definitely qualify because of their abundant theming, but they also have similar lineups to the Busch parks in terms of balancing theming with thrills.

This is one of the reasons why I'm glad Kings Island has (so far) opted to keep their 10AM-10PM operating schedule for most of the summer. It's a rough time for the amusement industry right now so any changes like this have started to worry me. Hopefully Herschend — seemingly the strongest regional operator in North America — just made this decision because they think it will work better for the park and not because they needed to cut hours.

I feel like turning this area into a "second gate" for Soak City wouldn't be too hard if Six Flags willed it. They would need to relocate the bathhouse and lockers, but the area is big enough for turnstiles and a new waiting area for the train. It solves the issue of managing the different routes as well. A lot of the legacy Six Flags parks already have a similar setup where you enter the separately-ticketed waterpark through the dry park. It would receive a lot of backlash, but so did the upcharge for mazes. This could at least stay as being included for season passholders which would reduce the total amount of backlash. Maybe some if there's any additional profit then it could go toward expanding the waterpark quicker. I bet paying for a relatively cheaper Soak City-only ticket might entice some of the Coney Island folks to at least check out Soak City. Realistically I think SC could also just use more expansion in general with how packed I've heard it's been in recent years. A full retheme would also be up there on my list of wants for the waterpark.

Reply in the spoiler box to separate my thoughts. I'd love to see if the park has anything new planned for 2026 besides the debut of Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare. This year will be the reset of some Live Entertainment 2-year contracts (at least 2 years is the show turnover pattern), so any changes to that lineup would be nice to see. I don't really think we'll see a Phantom Theater Encore 2 show to go with the new ride, but I wouldn't be upset to find out something like that was in the works. More restroom renovations and Soak City upgrades would also be very good. Beyond 2026 I still think the park could find a good way to capitalize on the fact that Soak City still has room to expand its capacity. They might even be able to work on trying to attract some of the crowd that went to Coney Island every summer. Do you think we'll see Soak City be moved to a separate ticket in 2026 or 2027? I feel like the renovations required for this change would not be as hard to complete as others think. Most of it could probably be contained to the Soak City station area as well.

Winterfest has been one of the best holiday events in the US and delightfully maintained that status this year. I'd like to point out that there was another show that only ran in 2017 called "Twas the Plight Before Christmas". It was housed in the Skyline Pavilion and had a cast of at least 4-6. That structure feels like it might be an easy option to add the temporary walls and heaters to, especially if they can find an easy way to hang the walls and heaters during the quick transition. More indoor spaces would be very welcome at the park in general. If the Action Theater was ever brought back (either as two theaters or a new dark ride entirely) they could use it again — although I'd advocate for WindSeeker's removal first to bring back the plaza. My current idea is for a dark ride themed to a runaway trolley to pay homage to the historical Trolley Parks that led the way for modern amusement parks. Rivertown could also use an indoor/covered theater. It'd be nice if they could find a spot for an extra indoor warming station like Canada's Wonderland has for their Winterfest. The only idea I won't entertain is that Krampus-themed Winterfest haunt maze people keep suggesting in the Facebook groups. I particularly enjoyed the shows this year. Tinker's Jingle Bell Ball was simply amazing and brought us a new story. What the Dickens returned even better than ever! Despite my questions about the odd change with the costumes, Swingin' Into Christmas remained in my top 3 shows. Jingle Jazz definitely needs either a new setup in that area of Rivertown or to be turned 90 degrees counterclockwise so the audience isn't all in the pathway. The other shows (being Songs of the Nativity, Yuletide Follies, and It's Christmas, Charlie Brown) were all good from what I was able to see. They do need to turn the string lights on in the Carousel Pavilion, though. It was so dark and cold under that canopy throughout the entire event. I feel like the Holly Jolly Trolley would do better if they could have ensured that it would be at certain spots at certain times. I really just wish it would be used during the regular season for scheduled roaming shows (like happened with the Clown Band, except on a trolley). Most of my visits this Winterfest season turned out really well. I think the only bad things I experienced were a couple of bad/ugly dining experiences. I was able to dine at the Brewhouse, enjoy shows with my food at the Festhaus, and have some really good fries at Rivertown Potato Works. I love that both Tricks and Treats and Winterfest have specialty food items available throughout the park. If I had to pick something to change about the event, it would be to update the experience on the K.I & M.V. Railroad and take it away from being primarily based on light displays. Even adding some lights into the trees around the track would be an improvement. I'd also try to see if there were an easier way to switch between using the organ and the track with a button on the Grand Carousel, but I'm just glad they were manually going in and switching between the two during the Fall season. Overall I had a really good time at Winterfest this year. It sounds like it was much better than what Carowinds experienced with all of their changes. I'm also glad Kings Island was able to keep it after Kings Dominion, Great Adventure, and Six Flags Over Georgia lost their winter holiday events. Here's to the return of Winterfest in 2026 and its continued success in a time when we all need more light in our lives!

I think it's entirely possible that they just change the turrets instead of building a whole new facade onto the existing structure. Those look like they might be as easy to change as the top of the big Kings Island sign (like happened after Cedar Fair took over). That would at least make it look less castle-y. Above anything I hope they let it have a good color palette. The original looked nice but I don't know if beige and brown would work as well on the castle without something else being added. I do want the "Featuring" marquee overhang to return though.

The 4D/5D theater looks to be about 16,000 square feet in total, which would be plenty of space to convert the building into an omnimover dark ride (some of the smaller dark rides only need about 6,000 sqft). More indoor attractions could help with attendance for the Christmas event as well. I don't really see a good way to bring more people over to Kentucky Flyer without either moving the wave pool, moving KF itself (very unlikely), or just removing it altogether. They might be able to add another crossing over near the picnic pavilions and turn that into a new area, but either way I have a feeling that we will see even more major relocations and renovations within the next 5-10 years. The "rogue" placement is definitely a consequence of the Premier Parks-era Six Flags expansion of the park when Chang, T3, and the go karts were added in 1998. As nice as it probably was for all of those parks to receive such rapid growth at the time, it has only caused issue after issue after issue for Six Flags and almost every park that they owned.

There do not appear to be connections for the FunTV screens listed in the plans so I think it's safe to say they will be removed. I'd really like to see some of the lines from the original return to the ride, especially in the queue room. The dialogue we saw at IAAPA is probably what will all go in there, but a little antagonism sprinkled in here and there might help with any guests who are so far wary of PT:ON because of its "goofy" nature. The electrician is still named Gus in these plans, though I assume it would be easy enough to sew a new name tag onto any of the animatronics costumes.

I hope Herschend can continue to steadily "fix" the other parts of Kentucky Kingdom after they're done with the additions of Discovery Meadow and Flying Fox. At some point I'm sure they will renovate the front half of the park to be more up to their standards as well. One thing I'd really like to see is if they could do anything to switch around the layout of Hurricane Bay to make the back half of the park less puzzle piece-y whenever HB is closed for the season. I can believe they handle it fine enough, but I also feel like HFE is the type of company that would take on this type of project. I think it's certainly more feasible than my Soak City rearrangement plan