Losantiville Mining Co.

There is rumor from Tower Topics that the long-term plan (as of 2023) was to put the 2026 attraction in that building. A lot has changed in the world since then. I won't swear by it being true, but the signs point to something going in there. We'll probably see permits soon-ish for whatever happens. This is one thing I won't get my hopes up for today. I'll also reiterate my point that I hope Kings Island does something special for the 25th year of Haunt this Fall. I'm not the most convinced about it happening, but it's an awesome opportunity to bring the event back up to par with its former self.

I'm holding out hope that more anniversary decorations will be put up as the official celebration starts. Some stuff was already brought over from Kings Island's celebration and rebranded, so hopefully more is on its way. Big plus if they can put the huge medallion on the front of their Eiffel Tower!

This is awful news, especially for those who were part of the team. I can understand that it's probably due to the corporate restructuring, but having those teams at each park is an invaluable resource. Hopefully those teams can be brought back after the dust settles and the company is more stable as a whole. It's hard enough as it is to find good design work right now, especially something on this scale. Seeing more AI in the parks would also decrease my experience as a regular guest. I can mostly understand badly produced ride anniversary signs, but anything more gives off the impression that the park/chain doesn't care as much as they should. I already have enough negative emotions about AI.

Best wishes to Elizabeth!

I would think it could be a week-long celebration at least. If anyone knows what amusement parks did for the bicentennial in 1976, that might give some kind of indication from what's happened in the past. It's a massive milestone so I just keep assuming the parks will look to do something a little bigger than normal. This could also be a fun opportunity to get a big americana show in one of the theaters. The big box section appears to be 90' x 90' based on measurements from Google Maps. It's not the biggest indoor ride space (the whole Boo Blasters building is about 175' x 160'), but that's still enough to house something sizeable. The largest constraint will probably be getting parts into the building. I believe I heard that the building was built around the ride for TR:TR if that means anything. Whatever it is, I just hope it is thrilling, has good and cohesive theming, and is not just a ride brought in from a park that is closing. Send those rides to parks that wouldn't have otherwise gotten something; don't interrupt what was already planned.

I definitely think we need to see more investment into the adult thrill side of things at Kings Island. Yes, the park received major coasters from 2009-2020 in an effort to catch-up from the Paramount years, but I think it's time for the new clock to strike. A new major coaster every 6-7 years is much more sustainable than a new one every 3 years. I'm really hoping that 2027 is the year for Vortex II because that plot is very noticeably empty and I don't think it can be justifiably left empty for much longer. One issue that I can see with filling it is because of its use for the drone show, however I don't think those are worth more than the value of a new coaster (even though they are definitely cheaper to run). The big open plot of land is probably why they fly over there in case one falls out of the sky, otherwise the park could have found another pad to land them on. I love having the fireworks and the drones, but I'd rather have fireworks and a thrilling roller coaster. I think we might see all 4 Boo Blasters attractions replaced at the same time, but it is possible that Kings Island could get a special treatment due to the size of that specific building. Right now it definitely looks like Madame Fatale's is being moved out of The Crypt's building so something can go in there. There is also a rumor that the old Club Blood/Blackout building is receiving some work to re-open as a new Haunt maze: which would make up for the loss of MFCoT if a new ride was being installed in there. My preferred timeline is as follows (subject to rapidly change): 2026 — Family thrill attraction to replace The Crypt / big USA Quarter-Millennial celebration (seen across the Six Flags parks) 2027 — Vortex II: plot filled, riders thrilled 2028 — fun stuff! 2029 — Camp Snoopy Expansion (River Raft Blast replaces Surf Dog / area eats into Camp Snoopy) 2030 — Action Zone retheme

I'll say, the entrance to the Six Flags America parking lot does look quite beautiful on Google StreetView. It by far blows Kings Island's entry driveway out of the water between the amount of foliage and landscaping. The gates and fences also look much better than the ones at KI. I can imagine that Kings Island's driveway looks like that because of the view of Great Wolf Lodge, I just wish it wasn't just a planter surrounded by tons of grass. It'd also be nice to have some acknowledgement of the Dog Street Cemetery with a sign and a small path leading to it from that intersection, although that is probably more of a pain than the park might think it is worth. The SFA property listing shows a large clearing to the west (left) of the left-most parking lot. Does anyone know what that is? It looks like a bunch of footers, shipping containers, and piles of aggregate, but I can't tell and am super curious.

I think Rapterra may be one of the only new attractions to have opened with its park this year across the Six Flags chain. Between the bigger parks east of the Mississippi, AlpenFury (CW), Siren's Curse (CP), both attractions at Carowinds, Wrath of Rakshasa (SF Great America), and Quantum Accelerator (SF New England): all have yet to open. I'm not counting River Racers since it's opening with Soak City, nor am I counting TT2, The Flash (Great Adventure) or Georgia Goldrusher (SF Over Georgia) since I think (?) those were all originally 2024 additions. Someone please add context if I'm wrong (which I probably am). Either way, I'm very happy for and proud of Kings Dominion this year. Congratulations on 50 years of fun!

That would certainly be one good way to bring the water back to Rivertown. I'd be curious to find out how usable that parcel of land is though. I'd much rather see a small expansion go in the open area between The Crypt and the Slaughterhouse building with a super small amphitheater/stage, a small food stand (like Wishbone Grill), and maybe a small classic flat ride put in. If I were to choose something water-related to install in the dry park, I'd like to see Snoopy's River Raft Blast (currently under construction at Carowinds) come to Camp Snoopy. It would fit somewhat well in that "island" plot where Surf Dog's station is, with Surf Dog being sent to a park that needs something. Camp Snoopy is also in its own little corner, so this would probably help to expand the area into something more cohesive.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2025/january/soak-city-expansion-construction-updates Two new construction updates have been posted to the Kings Island Blog! The area is looking really good and the photos seem promising. I'm excited to see what the finished product will look like.

I don't know the logistics of it, but I think it would be nice for Kings Island to commission/offer Nanocoasters for all of their current coasters. Some of them might not be super popular. It would still be cool to see. Bonus points if they make a model of the park to display them in (once they get their merch stores separated and finally holding unique merch).

I think they serve the same purpose as those old reel-style ad displays that used to be around the park. It's just a new way to display something that's been in the park for years.

Rivertown is by far my favorite area of Kings Island. I'm a big sucker for antique/rustic themes and Rivertown very much does it for me. The area could stand to gain better/more cohesive theming in some places, especially anything that brings back the pre-Diamondback and TR:TR charm. It's great as it is, although there are a few changes that could take it to the next level! It'd be really nice to have a small amphitheater or showplace in Rivertown. I've seen a lot of calls for a saloon, but anything that can fit in the area would be great. The old Rivertown Mining Company building that sat where Diamondback's cattle-pen queue is now will always intrigue me. If Kings Island is ever looking for some easy theming and brownie points, enclose the upper queue and build something that looks similar to that old building on the part facing the path. The facade and porch space could be used for extra covered seating space, while the queue area inside would remain largely the same with the addition of queue line benches and theming.

Great Adventure is almost certainly a trial park for what's to come. They lost a lot of stuff over the off-season, so I think they have a little extra money to "fix" more things. It also helps show more investment in the park so guests don't immediately think the park is on its way out. Magic Mountain also got a fresh marquee sign refurbishment this year and put up an old logo. "Six Flags" is on that sign, but is secondary to "Magic Mountain" and less visible than the park name. 2025's FrightFest/Haunt and Holiday in the Park/Winterfest will be a good way to gauge how quickly things will move over the next few years. The initial growing pains might be done by then and corporate can move forward with their future plans. Those parks are also one of the reasons why I think "Six Flags" will be dropped from some of the park names. If the Legacy Cedar Fair method sticks then I think we'll see "A Six Flags Park" stick at only a few of the Legacy Six Flags park logos and not come to any Legacy Cedar Fair park logos. SF Over Texas, SF Over Georgia, SF St. Louis, and SF New England aren't going to get rid of it unless they change their names (unlikely). I also think they only went with the Six Flags name for corporate purposes Most of these parks can speak for themselves, especially once the Legacy Six Flags parks are brought up to the higher standards. I could be completely wrong. That's the fun part about all of this. Nobody knows what may happen next. I think the Funsultant character is supposed to say We're serious about FUN — although I don't know that it's working. That line might have been a direct quote. The only ads I've seen with her (and the Funtern) have been the first ad where they didn't show her face and the ones that I looked up online. None of the actual Funsultant ads have naturally popped up on my no-ad-blocker and higher-than-most YouTube/social media screen time. Bringing back Mr. Six would be great as long as he isn't held back and is not used to directly sell Silver Passes. I think it'd be a better way to re-introduce people to Six Flags. So many things could be done. Send out a fleet of new Six Flags busses on a US tour. Those things are like the Weiner Mobile in how recognizable they are. Advertise all of the investment being put into each park. Post those to the big corporate social media account. Get the word out that Six Flags is back, new and improved (whether we on here think so or not).

Congratulations! I did a little snooping around on Kings Island's website and found the following in their Guest Accessibility Guide (pregnancy section is at the top of page 10). It wasn't terribly easy to find, but I hope it helps. I've included the second paragraph listing the rides as a quote below. Best of luck to you, your wife, and your new little one!!! Kings Island Accessibility Homepage: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/accessibility Guest Accessibility Guide PDF: https://qr1.be/W5QK

How about something conceived by their insider FUNsultant The coaster in the picture is almost definitely a stock photo from one of the parks galleries. Putting together one ad campaign and changing the park name is certainly cheaper than spending money on 20+ campaigns. Hopefully we'll see better once the merger has calmed down and some parks have dropped the "Six Flags" from their name. Great Adventure, Great America, Fiesta Texas, Discovery Kingdom, and a few others would be good contenders for that. Bonus points if Fiesta Texas gets its fun logo back. I think the Silver Pass is there so the parks can have a "budget option". That being said, it's still good to have it available! If someone just goes to the park occasionally or doesn't have the money for a Gold or Prestige Pass, they can get the Silver Pass now and go do all of the rides and shows from mid-April to Labor Day. Add in the Pass Perks program and that's enough for a family who only goes for a few days each year. On a different note: did anyone get to see what kind of pavement will be used under the new festival structure? All of the pictures make it look like the edges have been prepped with asphalt. I haven't seen anything that would indicate concrete going down, so my guess would either be pavers or asphalt (the latter of which would be a big mistake for a park that normally prides itself for its beauty). There needs to at least be a little planter on the corner nearest the Eiffel Tower and maybe another one near the lamps by the carousel. Looking back at a recent image it looks like it'll be asphalt around the edges. There is space for at least another tree or two and some pretty flower beds! (Unless that's actually very dark mulch I see, but I doubt it.)

Thank you! I must've read an outdated article.

Do you mean the double-sided standing signs? I believe those are meant to replace/supplement the old interactive map kiosks. I've only ever seen them while they're on (except after they were first installed). It would be awesome if they showed wait times and weather info. Some of the other Legacy Cedar Fair parks have been installing these as well. I hate being on my phone in the parks, but unfortunately it seems Six Flags would rather save the (relatively minimal) amount of money that printing maps and physical pass cards would cost. Six Flags, please stop forcing guests to use their phones! Now it seems the only way to get a physical pass card is to go to Guest Services and plead your case. If you're talking about the small Wait Times signs or Fast Lane kiosks, I've got no clue. Those were good additions though.

Holiday World's free soft drinks program is certified Super Nice tradition that is a definite selling point for those who come to the park. In a world where everything costs too much, I wish more parks would adopt a small complimentary item program. Things like sunscreen, printed park maps, water, or even a $0.51 souvenir pressed penny program would be awesome to see! Good on you, Holiday World, and here's to 25 more years of included soft drinks!

I think I read that the City of Santa Clara would like to keep California's Great America running even if they have to find a buyer or run it themselves. The land is owned and leased by the tech company (Prologis?), but the city has no intention to rezone the land. Six Flags could probably take a good number of rides out while they still own them. It may not be a great economic decision for the city to have the park, but I do hope it survives the purge. The possibility of selling the parks to other management also exists. I don't know how it'd work out, but I could even imagine a spin-off company taking on some of the smaller/worse parks. At least that way Six Flags can say that they didn't close them. The former Six Flags/Premier Parks got themselves into a lot of trouble when they went on their spending spree from around 1995-2004, and I think they've been dealing with the consequences ever since.

I don't think the planters or kiosks would need to be too big, probably 8'-10' across at most for planters w/ seats. For context, the space from the entrance building to the front of the I.D. sign picture area is 60' while the distance from the entrance building to the edge of the parade route is 35'. Putting one on either side of the street would leave about 20' between the edge of a planter and its nearest obstacle (the parade route, the entrance building, KI Trading Co., and the FunPix building). Even something like this tower kiosk at Epic Universe (screenshot from a TheTimTracker video on YouTube) would work and serve as an elegant wayfinding method at the entrance to the park. I'd prefer something a little better looking and with an overhanging roof for Kings Island, but it'd add visual interest either way, especially if done well. A planter could have a small tree or large/tall vase full of flowers (like the fountain in Adventure Port) in it to accomplish the same. Canada's Wonderland — which has one of the best park entrances that I've seen — used to have small trees in this area that accomplished this very well. I believe Kings Dominion still has some of these near their entrance, although their entrance is much denser overall. A legacy walk full of personalized bricks right there would also be cool. Cedar Point installed one on their Main Midway for their 150th anniversary. Either way, something definitely needs to be done to take Kings Island's International Street just a little further to cross the finish line.

Is this (and Shake, Rattle & Roll's) birthday sign made with AI? This may be the only appropriate use of it in the park I can think of, but it still feels off. I can't control what other people do; however I can be upset about it. Maybe a better way of putting it would be that it feels a little disingenuous. No special merch, no other decorations, barely any social media posts about it, just an AI birthday cake on a cardboard sign that some will need their glasses to read. Something tells me this was not made or commissioned by Kings Island's sign shop...

It'd be nice if they got the rides done for Opening Day like they used to. I understand if the attendance needle doesn't move until after Memorial Day, but in that case the attraction opening date should still be set and advertised. The trend of "It'll open when it opens with little to no notice" has been super frustrating. Will there be backlash if it's not done on time? Yes, but at least guests will know when it'll be open instead of guessing and hoping about when they schedule their vacations. I have the same gripe with when festivals and shows dates are announced, but attraction opening dates are what I'm complaining about at the moment.

You make a lot of good points! Although I think most of what was done in 2019 had good reasoning behind it. I don't think I can forgive removing the fountain pedestals and not replacing them with wide-spray versions like Kings Dominion has, but I've written about that elsewhere on here. The park did somewhat create visual curbs using the pavers, they just didn't revert the layout back to the original 1972 version. There is a separation of zones with the black strips of pavers dividing the paths and seating areas, which took the place of the planters that were there before.. When both Kings Island and Kings Dominion completed their first International Street renovations in 1982(?) they both swapped the walking and seating areas for the reason stated above. I'd have to go look, but I don't remember exactly how Canada's Wonderland had their International Street configured when they opened in 1981. I think if Kings Island decides to replace the pavers between the entrance and the fountain, they should either add two small-ish planters or screen-based information kiosks in that area. It would bring some visual interest to the area and break up the vast expanse of nothingness. While they're at it I'd love to see the wood planter carts come back to flank the main sign again. They were there in 2019, but have been absent in recent years. Around the Eiffel Tower should be brushed concrete instead of asphalt. Pavers would be too visually busy in this case, as would paver bricks, whereas concrete/asphalt don't distract the eye and encourage guests to look up at the magnificence of the tower. The reverse is true for the paver bricks in Tower Gardens: the History Walk stones are each a clean square in the middle of a sea of busy bricks. Anything larger than the bricks would make the stones stand out less, and may not stand up as well to the rapidly varying elevation within Tower Gardens. Replica gas-style lamps would be nice, although I can't imagine good places to put them along the length of the street. More flowers and more landscaping would probably hinder some of the work areas needed to set up for Winterfest. I think it would've been beautiful to bring the decorative white rocks and green hedges back around the fountain, but those may have gotten in the way of building the railings and taken up staging space. Two sections would also probably need to be taken out each year in order to put the ramps in. Having a ton of landscaping around the base of the tower might also get in the way of stringing up the lights. Finally, I don't know that adding more statues is necessary. The Don Quixote statue is rather nice because it's unique. I'd be all for more topiaries though. Whatever future additions and renovations may bring, I hope they improve the character of the street to be even better than before! I'm interested to see how large the current trees grow to be. They're planted pretty close to each other, but without knowing what kind of tree they are I don't think it's possible to know. Can anyone tell what this is? I can't see if it's the Carousel structure or if the new festival structure is already up and covered.

More indoor eating areas would also be really helpful for Winterfest. The park already seems to want its new rides to be able to run for Winterfest, so why not convert some restaurants for that as well?