Losantiville Mining Co.

The website has been published, featuring the two new Halloween Haunt experiences for 2026! New this year are Jason: Blood Reign and Metal Massacre. These mazes are included with the purchase of a Haunted Attractions Pass or a Haunted Attractions Express Pass. All-Season HAP/HAEP are available for purchase online and are only valid for admission to mazes within a guest's home park. Note: The Conjuring: Beyond Fear is a separate charge attraction and is not included with either Haunted Attractions Pass option. Official website: https://www.sixflags.com/kingsisland/events/halloween-haunt While I'm still a little upset at the lack of a new show and the retention of the game show on the bandstand, I think the two new mazes will be great and worth the money that the park is spending on them.

I'll share a little something in the spoiler...

I guess that depends on what you mean by "major investment". If Six Flags is on a new timeline where each region gets one major investment per year then I think we'll be waiting until 2030, but if they can improve the financial situation then we may see something around 2028 or 2029. Some of this will be dependent on 2027 pass sales. The company knows that guests are not satisfied with the current state of things and I bet John Reilly is going to do his best to keep the ship upright and sailing forward. I can see more parks being sold off sooner rather than later — I just hope we don't see another sale to EPR and/or Enchanted Parks. The amusement/theme park field needs some new competition. This is a really nice thing to read after a period of a lot of folks being upset (and maybe antagonistic) with the park! There's still a good enough product at the base, it just needs some more thoughtful TLC (and money) to get it up to a more enjoyable state.

I feel like the United parks aren't doing too hot either, especially with the Sesame Workshop issues and the degraded quality of experience. Herschend and a lot of the independent parks do seem to be doing very well though. I'm glad Holiday World is continuing to spice up their offerings! They seem like a real gem of a park!!

I believe that is Sir Pretzel, the newest addition to the cast of phantoms.

Tip Top is possibly my favorite ride in the park, so I'm glad you enjoyed it! The world needs more of that ride type and I wish a manufacturer would start producing them again.

After doing some sleuthing on the park's website, I believe we will be seeing a second new maze with this one replacing Cornered. I won't spoil the name or theme here. While there is still reference to The Conjuring, it appears that this might no longer be a separately-ticketed attraction. I'd understand if that's the case but it was really cool having that experience. That said, this is not yet a finished webpage. International Street Fear has also been removed from the lineup of Scare Zones. For anyone counting, that's seven mazes (one might be a separate upcharge), four scare zones, and three shows. Last year's Haunt was very nice to see since they added the two new experiences. It's clear to me that the park is still trying to improve the event. Two new mazes and only one lost scare zone? That doesn't sound too bad for a company that's bleeding money like Six Flags is. Six Flags has some fun IP maze themes coming to their parks, including: Jason, The Conjuring, Blair Witch, The Strangers, Final Destination, and Diablo. I will express my dissatisfaction with the current lineup of shows, however this lineup plays into the current cycle of each show having a 2-year contract. Nytewalkers (also coming to Magic Mountain this Fall) is beginning their third cycle, Ghouls Gone Wild is on year 2 or 3, and I believe the game show is on year 3. You can't ask for the world from a company that is still nearly $5 billion in debt. I'd love to have seen Wake the Dead come to Kings Island this year since it doesn't require as big of a cast or crew as something like Nytewalkers. Again, what I saw was not the finished webpage.

The current stage scene is smaller than the original, and is also smaller than the library scene that existed in SDatHC and BBoBH. I wish they could've scaled down the animatronics and made the room feel bigger.

So I know we were discussing Tony Clark and his Regional PR duties in another thread, but this might fit better here. Someone posted a fun little I-Spy a Gold Pass game to the Cedar Point page on Facebook that included the following image that I will let you all guess about before you read on. This photo, again posted a little over an hour ago, is from 2008. In it you can see Son of Beast still standing and operating with a sizeable queue line (no loop though), Firehawk and Vortex are still standing, Nickelodeon orange and green are splattered across what is now Planet Snoopy and Camp Snoopy, and Diamondback has just barely begun to take over the former Swan Lake. I personally find this photo to be really cool, but it is very much a bad photo to have used due to its age. Nobody could find an aerial photo of the park from after 2020? A lot has been added to and removed from the park in those eighteen years. I brought up Tony Clark because I have to wonder how someone (presumably) under his department could have let a photo this old get through to being posted as if it was representative of the current park. (Here's one of the jokes I've been thinking after I saw this photo: "Haha look! I can see a whole lot more trees and no overflowing trash cans". I never claimed it'd be a good joke.)

I'm looking into purchasing an All-Season Haunted Attractions Pass for myself this year. The timing of my purchase will depend on whether we buy it with my pass/membership or not. Guest Services told me that I can add it to my 2026 pass without worrying how it will transfer/not transfer to my 2027 pass/membership. If I end up having an issue then I'll just go to GS and politely ask how I can fix it there. I have a feeling that some section of the park-going population will still boycott the mazes since they're an upcharge. There's a chance that the lines will all be longer this year due to the early-bird price as well, but with the amount I go I think it'll pay for itself. Side note: I am going to try to make a comprehensive post sharing the pass changes between parks now that most parks have released them (I believe Six Flags Mexico is the only park left who hasn't put 2027 passes on sale). It will include the changes to the Dining Plan(s), Fast Lane, park lineups, and which parks look like they will use FunPix vs other systems.

My recent visits to the park have been a mixed bag in terms of drink stands being open, but I will say that they've been open a lot more than I would've thought. This particular Coke Freestyle in Rivertown has been open during at least 4 out of my 5 most recent visits to the park, all at different times of day and different days of the week. Tower Drinks has been closed a lot, but I suspect that is due to that location's bee problem. Being able to get ice for my drink has also been an issue here and there, though it's nowhere near the issue it was in 2024. See my numerous simultaneous complaints and praises of the park as well as my 30-ish KI visits this season if anyone needs to see my qualifications for answering. Speaking of Tower Drinks, do you all think it would look better with a more substantial roof over top instead of an uncovered (except by the Eiffel Tower) queue? This might be a good location to turn back into a snack stand. A differently-painted copy of the new drink stand in Action Zone would look very nice here. It would all depend on how it looks on busy days. Kings Dominion uses this area for their Bandstand show booth and then has their International Street refresh station over where Graeter's is at Kings Island.

I'm a firm believer in the idea that 2027 add-ons should not work until 2027 (and so on in the future). Being able to get into the park(s) during 2026 with your new 2027 pass is admittedly a good perk to have, but, for example, guests should not be able to use their limited-meal dining plans until the year they were bought for. The company would then be able to avoid the confusion as to whether or not a 2026 pass is still used alongside a 2027 pass. As for the politeness of employees and quality of service I think most of Kings Island's issues could be resolved with a different management style. Maybe it will be better in 2027, but we won't know until then. One comparison I can make is between the perceived cultures of food service team members at Kings Island, Dollywood, and Chik-Fil-A. A common sentiment made online by Kings Island guests is that the dining staff is neither friendly nor unfriendly: that they're just going through the motions of the job. Dollywood famously has friendly staff that will interact with you during your visit, without feeling forced. Chik-Fil-A, on the other hand, also has famously friendly staff, but the interaction is mostly famous for the term "my pleasure" and feels a little plastic every time I hear it/about it. All three businesses pay about the same starting wages for food service (KI $15.50; DW $16.50; CFA $12-$17), but one doesn't emphasize friendliness in their training while the other two have made it part of their brand connotation. All of this to say that I think Kings Island's management and training teams could easily focus more on employee friendliness as long as they create a good work environment. I can't remember if someone said it on here or another forum, but Herschend also does not take as good care of the parks not named Dollywood or Silver Dollar City. They've certainly been sprucing those parks up, though I'm not sure that we'll ever see Kennywood surpass Kentucky Kingdom in terms of quality. A fear of mine for Kings Island under an HFE ownership is that they would not put it on the same level as DW and SDC. If our beloved park leaves the Six Flags chain then I'd much prefer to see it start its own company with a few other parks. That might also help with the folks who think Six Flags/Cedar Fair should "de-merge" (as if that's a real option at this point). The company has not spent all of this time integrating itself just to say "oopsie" and split without a very good reason. The merger's "calm" year was originally predicted as being 2028 and I'd like to hope that everything will be a lot better by then.

I think it's generally an unwise business practice, though I also have a feeling that the company does not lose out on that much money all things considered. The type of people who are likely to visit parks in more than two regions are also probably the type who are willing to spend more in the parks. As with the rest of the season pass/membership sales I think seeing the numbers would help us understand a lot. The current leadership team probably does see the looming hand of bankruptcy coming down at some point and could be working to lead the company away from it. John Reilly especially is trying to at least improve the guest experience with what he has. If that leads to Six Flags declaring bankruptcy even after the quality upgrades then that's what will happen. We'll see corporate reorganization, parks sold off, and maybe even some parks closed. In that case I just hope Kings Island can be part of a new company instead of being handed over to Herschend. They're too big for what they need to be IMO. Their hands are in too many pots for them to hold any more big ones. If Six Flags ends up selling more parks, I don't think it would be until 2028. Unless they want a repeat of 2026 with the sale of 7 parks it just doesn't seem like a good idea if they can help it. All of this said, my field is creative arts and planning so I'm also not the most in-the-know about good business practices. I just call it as I see it.

I meant to post it here right after I saw it, but sometime last week the Fast Lane line was chained off with a sign directing guests to go through the exit for FL. Once I got inside I was able to see that there were multiple ceiling tiles missing in the corner closest to the entrance. There were a few buckets and some water barriers around the area directly under that in front of the queue's western emergency exit door. It was back open both times I went this week. From what I can remember all of the animatronics and effects were working well. The music was missing, but I'd rather the rest of the ride stay in working order before they worry about that. I'll be interested to see whether or not the ride ends up operating or not during Haunt as well. I think it could go either way.

I'd like to clarify that I wasn't trying to push back on the new pass prices. It's been a while since I last said it, but I do still think that a lot of people might need to rethink their habit of purchasing a season pass if this higher price is too high for them. It's okay to opt for a few daily tickets instead of a season pass with all of the bells and whistles. There are a lot of passholders that at least make themselves sound like entitled brats — not you, RollerColt, you sound reasonable — and who say they won't renew because of the dining plans and Fast Lane changes. The upped prices might be good for the company in the long run. Maybe if Kings Island's season pass/membership rates fall for 2027 then Six Flags can look closer at The Vortex replacement. It's been clear to me that John Reilly and his team have been trying to play very carefully with the cards they were given. That $4.9 billion in debt is not going to disappear anytime soon. Three tiers of dining plans and Cedar Point's Fast Lane situation will force guests to be more careful about selecting their home park. Losing money on meal plans? Add options that don't price out the majority of buyers. Cedar Point has extremely high wait times, especially for Fast Lane? Exclude it from other parks All-Season Fast Lane programs and raise the price at Cedar Point (it's a luxury product anyhow). Some of the legacy Six Flags parks still have Gold Passes for under $90. Commenters call it greed without looking at the larger picture. The two decisions that I really disagree with are the lack of payment plans for the add-ons and the fact that 2027 add-ons work in 2026. You have to lose a few passholders to get back to a good balance as well I'm glad we can at least see the problem here. Almost any seat on the right side of the train, though toward the front is always better. Anything that lets me see the switch track at the beginning!

What price range would you put them in? Dollywood's two lower tier passes go for about $135-$170 right now and only include the dry park. Kentucky Kingdom's two lower tier passes go for $100-$120. Kings Island's 2027 Gold Passes are currently set at $115 outright or $160 for the first year of a membership ($120 every year after that). I think Six Flags is working to raise their prices to a manageable level, but as was said above they are going to feel some major pains in doing so.

Something I haven't seen much talk about is the fact that Valleyfair's new website isn't showing any information about ValleyScare. I'd hate to see the event go away again, especially after some good money was invested in mazes like Cryptidland (made by Plague Productions). Michigan's Adventure also doesn't have any information about a 2026 Fall event, but I could see a scenario where Six Flags moved all of the decorations to a different park before they moved out of the state. Worlds of Fun, Mid-America, and Great Escape all have Haunt / Fright Fest and Tricks & Treats / Boo Fest so I'm a little curious as to why the other two don't have anything for the Fall season. Maybe I'll go watch through some recent vlogs to see if I can find anything. Enchanted Parks seems to be trudging along this season, so it will be very interesting to watch them move forward with the park rebranding(s) and all of the new event names. It's nice to see that they now have the "Enchanted Experiences" passholder events as well.

I've been seeing a lot of people talk about how Six Flags is nickel-and-diming guests, but I'd like to see some examples of what you mean (if you don't mind). Beyond the high prices for food and the new (year-old) upcharge for Haunt mazes, I don't think I can recall anything else that isn't reasonably priced for the product it provides. The new dining plans might be an example, but $400 isn't a crazy price for the folks who already use that much worth anyway (which is who it is for).

This is also the exact logo Universal used last year — albeit with the "Blood Reign" tagline replacing the "UN1V3RSE" tagline. I'm excited for this maze, though I wasn't able to see much of it from the top of the Eiffel Tower today. Any guesses as to how the maze renovation could've cost $600,000? I don't think that number included the licensing fees, even though those are quite high. It's a little funny because I believe this will be at least the second (and third and fourth) Friday the 13th/Jason Universe/Camp Crystal Lake experience that Plague Productions has produced. They put up a small CCL experience/photo op for Paramount Scares at Midsummer Scream in 2024.

I'm not entirely sure that he's what Cedar Point needs right now either. Even solely on the social media side of the Midwest Region's PR, I haven't seen much of anything special from these five parks beyond the trendy nothing-burger videos that Six Flags corporate keep putting out. Most of those seem to have been filmed in Texas anyway. Something else that I can't get my head past is the fact that they are still using AI for things that there should already be media for. Cedar Point used a real photo in their Christmas in July sale (possibly even one taken by TC himself), but it was too hard to find a warm-looking photo from Winterfest for Kings Island? The lack of ticketed events doesn't phase me much, but I do think it's a shame that none are happening at KI this year. The whole Morning Rush/Coastermania fiasco probably didn't help. I won't say that Tony should move on from his current position, but Kings Island needs someone who will visibly do the PR job. Also (again), what's up with the special events no longer showing the Kings Island logo on them in the website? Like HawaiianCoasters325 said, I'd love to see Paul Bonifield come on as the new PR guy. I'm not entirely certain what his focus area was as I thought he was entirely on the Creative Development side of things instead of the PR/marketing. It would be great to have better teasers than singular pieces of media that get posted 10 times throughout the "campaign". (I'm looking at you, PT:ON teaser art.) The other special events around the park this year have been interesting to see so far. Food & Wine was a little better than last year, Grand Carnivale was fun for its (almost definite) last season, and there was a barely-advertised Reds Day that had to be rescheduled. Halloween Haunt is getting a new maze (which might add some good value and scares to the event). Tricks and Treats might be mostly the same this year, but I think it's a nice event as-is. We will have to see what happens with Winterfest now that Great Adventure and SFOG are getting their Holiday in the Park events back. I don't think we'll see anything public happen in the International Restaurant if they can keep getting private companies to host their dinners up there. I hope Six Flags sends a lot of the Carnivale stuff to a legacy SF park so they can have a "new" event. Heck, send all of it (minus the parade stuff) to Darien Lake so they can add a very easy event to their lineup. It might make the locals happy and sell a few more passes.

I think parks like Michigan's Adventure and Darien Lake could each use a brand new coaster, but not something on the scale of Arieforce One. Something that will draw a relatively larger number of guests to the park without expecting to change the fact that it's a small/mid-size amusement park. As much as I think Kings Island needs a thrilling RMC hybrid, I don't think AFO is the correct answer. All of the people saying "It would fit! It would fit! Kings Island has so much open land!!" aren't looking at the bigger picture of what the park needs IMO. What the park needs (in terms of roller coasters) is a thrilling coaster that you can't find at any of the other parks in the region. Theming can offset the need for thrills, but we haven't had much evidence to how much theming the new Six Flags is willing to put into their parks beyond concept art.

We are at the end of July, and with the new announcement today I think it's time to start the discussion thread for the 2026 Halloween Haunt season. Kings Island will receive at least one new haunt maze in the building formerly occupied by Urgent Scare and Hotel St. Michelle. The new maze, named "Jason: Blood Reign", is also being constructed at Carowinds and Great Adventure. 2025 brought some improvements to the event with the addition of "Order of the Dragon" in the Action Zone maze barn alongside "The Conjuring: Beyond Fear" in the former home of Madam Fatale's. 2024 saw the addition of the new "Hooked" scare zone between Viking Fury and Adventure Port, as well as a new unnamed themed area along the path between the Rivertown LaRosa's and Jukebox Diner. The park has not yet confirmed that J:BR will be housed in Action Theater, but that location is still the most likely for it. The Haunted Attractions Pass and Haunted Attractions Express Pass will once again have guests paying for access to the mazes. I believe the continuation of the upcharge mazes is helping to bring some calm to the crowd levels and has allowed Kings Island to continue receiving some well-needed upgrades to their Halloween Haunt event. All-Season Haunted Attractions passes may go on sale shortly after the Christmas In July sale ends on 8/3. These passes are expected to (again) only work at your home park. Looking at the add-ons for Canada's Wonderland lead me to believe that the 2026 All-Season Haunted Attractions Express passes will not include 1 free entry to The Conjuring: Beyond Fear each visit as they did in 2025. I welcome that change since it means the wait time will likely go down more. What do you think Halloween Haunt will look like in 2026? Will you be attending? Halloween Haunt at Kings Island will be held select nights from September 25th - October 31st. This event is intended for mature audiences and is not recommended for children under 13. Kings Island has not posted its no re-entry after 6:00 PM during Halloween Haunt, so we do not yet know whether it will be sticking around for 2026 or not. It's time to get excited! Event Website: https://www.sixflags.com/kingsisland/events/halloween-haunt

The phrase "that we are ready to announce" made me think that there could be something coming there sooner than we thought, or it could be that whoever made the statement knows that Son of Beast fanboys would go crazy over it. I hope The Bat stays around a lot longer either way.

Six Flags Mexico is included with the West Coast Gold Pass and the Prestige Pass. I made the point because I thought someone said SFM should be a separate ticket and not included in the pass programs.

That's what I meant about the wood burning, sorry about the confusion LOL. I should also have put my customary spaces between "wood / structure" to make it clearer that the structure itself is mostly steel and concrete. Do y'all think any of the lamps still have lightbulbs in them? I don't know why they would or wouldn't, but the thought intrigued me.