Losantiville Mining Co.

I'm almost certain that KI could've had some of those landscape islands and the parade route if the table area was extended further toward the fountain. That's what Kings Dominion has in addition to the islands that make their I-Street too narrow for a parade float to pass through. Their path is also much less uniform with a ton of different paver designs and (for lack of a better word) undulations. It looked like they simply placed pavers over the old asphalt when they completed their International Street renovation in the 1980s. I believe another big difference between KI's and KD's street design is that KD has trees and foliage on the fountain side of the tables. If KI didn't have the lighting towers then I'd advocate for more trees. They could do more foliage on the ground either way. If all of the jets are functional then it's not been when I've looked; although, I also only ever see one or two that appear to be broken. Now that I'm thinking about it, how much are the lighting towers used for besides the banners and lighting up the ground below them? Do they help light up the fountains at all? I only remember the lasers being projected from them in 2022. If they're not being used for anything besides ambient lighting and banners then I'd prefer they just get replaced with [electric] gas lamps that banners and medallions can be attached to.

I don't think the park needs to stay true to the ride theme (it's already so loose as it exists right now), they need to bring back some variation of the Rivertown Mining Co. building and give it some good and powerful fans. Copy the structure concept over from Beast's queue if it needs a reference. Diamondback can keep its snake name, but KI should make the queue look more "Rivertown" themed when viewing it from the pathway.

I really wish they could just move one associate from one of the five alcohol stands in Rivertown over to the Coke Freestyle. The bar by Diamondback already needs to go back to being a food stand, so maybe that one? I think they should put a new grill location there since they removed the hot dog from Jukebox Diner and the Brewhouse. Speaking of Rivertown, is there anything y'all think the park could do to improve the ambiance of the area that won't cost a million dollars? My vote would be a queue building for Diamondback and more trees/natural foliage. I feel like there has to be something they could do beyond that, though. I'd love to see more river-related theming as well.

The worst part is that cleaning like this is a simple training issue that can be solved with a bucket, a rag, and a command to wipe the trash from the table/counter into the bucket. Sweeping is a little harder since you can't carry around a broom/dustpan as easily. It would be best if the park hired more dedicated custodial staff (dedicated as in specific, not dedicated as in better). That might actually be coming sooner than you think as (from what I've heard) Six Flags just increased their capex budget specifically for maintenance and park services. John Reilly really wants to improve the guest experience beyond what it has been for the last few years — I hope we can see some good benefits from that at Kings Island.

I'm hoping that food lines will be less extreme as more associates come in after schools let out. A lot of people said that yesterday was a wash for Cedar Point because their operations were insanely bad, but I feel like they really just experienced a slightly worse Opening Day than normal. Should they be able to get everything done during the off season and have it all running in May? Yes, but I also don't think that would necessarily improve the food lines or the nightmare that was the VIP lounge. (At this point I really think the park should consider rebuilding the DA! bridge and turning the Forbidden Frontier space into a giant outdoor VIP Lounge.) I think it's good that the All-Season Fast Lane is starting to sell out at each park. Leaving it up and available all season isn't great IMO. Hopefully we will also see the total number of daily Fast Lane pass sales reduced.

The associate at the register told us to put it on the sticker when he handed it to us. I think your experience might've just been someone forgetting to say it since those are new.

Double posting because I'm full of ideas I'll just put this out there: assuming there won't be a major attraction next year, 2027 would be a great year for Kings Island to finally receive a non-coaster focused front gate renovation! It could also be a good year to update some more signage around the park and/or to bring back some unique looking signage to the park. I'd love to see the old height signs and some of the green text on a cream background signs make a return. A new event would also be nice. Will any of this happen? Probably not. All of the Opening Day footage I've seen so far from Cedar Point makes it look like they really only got a renovated restroom in Frontier Trail and a new pass-through between the Pagoda Gift Shop/Sweet Spot/Peanuts at The Point (oh, and some new anti-Vortex shearing stuff on TT2). I hope Kings Island would advocate for a larger renovation or a new restaurant if it's set to be an off-year, but who knows what will happen at this point.

Yesterday I had my eighth meal of the season at the Miami River Brewhouse. I got a Pub Burger and a Coca-Cola (with ice) using my meal/drink plan. It was a decent meal, though I rated it as being on the lower end of "good" (4/5 stars on my meal plan scale). The tater tots could've been cooked a little better. I think they might've also changed the bun? It was hard to tell, but it didn't look like the same flavor/brand of bun as I've had previously. The service was very good and they had the associates calling out the order puck number when they brought each tray of food out. I didn't pay too close of attention to it but I did also think the metal tray looked/felt different. Something interesting we saw was that the Brewhouse has new order locator pucks! The old ones had the sticker with a number on top and just buzzed when your order was ready. The new ones have a digital number display on one side and there is now a sticker on each table that you're supposed to put the locator on. It seems to be nicer than the old system, but we'll have to see how it works out over time. I did my daily check of whether or not mobile ordering is available and it was for Rivertown Potato Works and at least one more dining location. We didn't get too far into that menu since we'd already gotten in line for the Brewhouse, but I'd be curious to know how well it works and if you can order your drink in the same transaction. Kings Island definitely still needs to implement the order number system and install order number screens outside of each location though.

A funny glitch on Carowinds' website. The "Rides & Experiences" tab has been relabeled as "Fast Lane". It still contains all of the normal content, only the tab name at the top of the page changed for some reason. Also peep the new park logo 👀

Is the curtain drawn in that image or is it more or less ripped? One thing I'd have liked to see come back is either the Shakespearean statue or the Centurion. I think the "static figure" mentioned alongside the 33 animatronics was the gargoyle, whose eyes seem to switch between a static color light and multicolored lights. If either statue were to come back I think they could go great on either side of that "audience seating" screen where there are currently just curtains. There's not a ton of room between the set and the wall, but there's probably enough space for a statue.

I think the air blast is supposed to rustle the curtain to add to the idea that there's someone behind it. If we're looking for who it could be then I'd try to look at everyone's shoes to see whose match best. More effects breaking each week feels like something that is expected for the first few months of a new dark ride like this. From what I've seen, some things have been fixed while others were left as-is over the past few weeks. The smells in particular have been the biggest on or off things for me. The boiler screen might be an issue of it (theoretically) not being easily accessible. I think it's just a standard commercial TV, though, so I don't actually know what its issue might be.

I do think they will need to find a way to change it up a little, but the storyline is fine as is IMO. They really need to add a few more voicelines/line variations for each character and change up the queue audio as well. It would also be really good to implement a "B Mode". I've noticed that the first furnace screen doesn't work in about 1/4 of the POVs I've seen from throughout the time it's been open. If anything is going to be changed for a potential Halloween/holiday overlay, you can add me to the list of people begging for Kings Island to use some of the original dialogue for it. Even if it's just an overlay during Haunt (keep the new stuff playing during Tricks & Treats) that would give the adults another fun thing to do if they don't want to pay to go through the mazes.

I think I saw someone say the park is shooting for a Memorial Day weekend opening. That would be a nice goal if they're still working on it. It could also open this weekend or next weekend if the lineup was to get Monster open, then Adventure Express, then Invertigo. Zephyr might open before Invertigo, but that would still line up with the "one ride a week" theory.

This all makes me really want to see an alternate reality version of the park with the alternate names/themes in place.

This is really good for those parks, though I have to wonder what it means that Kings Dominion didn't get Winterfest back. I feel like these two will be scaled-down events as they get rebuilt into a more Winterfest-like product. The KD locals would have probably loved to have a scaled down Winterfest compared to nothing at all. Could BGW's ChristmasTown have played into it or is this all just more fuel for the theory that Kings Dominion is going to get sold very soon?

I've had the original Phantom Theater queue audio playing basically on repeat these last few weeks and I think I see — or rather hear — what you're hearing. The biggest similarity that I can tell is that both actors are portraying characters that have gone mad and are reflecting that in their voices. I don't know if there's a specific reference or not, but it does feel like there could be. The connection of both Maestro and the Joker being theatrical individuals is a nice catch!

Unfortunately I saw someone wearing a hoodie with the Mystic Timbers design (second photo) on either Opening Weekend or the weekend after. I could be convinced that the fifth shirt (The Beast with the claw coming down through the letters) was made by an artist, and that the only AI on the following shirt is in the coaster, but the rest are indisputably AI slop. There has been some debate where an artist claimed to have done design work for 2026 KI merch, but I believe that was cleared up to be a different set of designs. Some of the PT:ON merch also looks like it got ran through the slop machine to recolor it, but at least the art was made by a human being. I'm still baffled by the fact that they didn't even come up with a third design or anything to market Phantom Theater with (the first two being the main advertising artwork and the ride logo). I'm sure something with Archie would sell really well (as long as it isn't ai slop) and that they could have made one of those Jack Sage button up shirts for Phantom Theater like they have the other rides.

I think my Top 5 non-ride additions would be (in no particular order): More theming in general across the entire park. Coney Mall backside rework + Grand Pavilion-esque restaurant addition to replace KillMart. Rivertown expansion to replace the TR:TR building. A complete rework of Action Zone to at least make the path shapes less awkward. A conversion of Soak City into a new waterpark with great theming. See my Wildwater Junction concept for more on that. As for things to bring back (again in no particular order): Short events during the summer such as the Food Truck Festival, Run & Ride/Color Run, and the summer BBQ event(s). I think they could host both the Food & Wine Festival and a smaller BBQ "festival" later in the summer. Something easy that fills out the parts of Summer that don't have the big festivals going on. Worlds of Fun just announced a new nighttime passholder ERT event, but it only runs from 8-10PM on certain nights. If KI did something similar I'd want it to go until at least 11PM. The forgotten theming items on International Street (mentioned by others in above posts). I'd be fine with a setup more like at Canada's Wonderland for a "standby" mode, but keep some of the fancy elements so we can continue to have fountain shows. Bring back the gas lamp-looking fixtures and add some new landscaping around the Eiffel Tower. If they take out that asphalt under the tower I'd much rather see it replaced with concrete since the rest of the street already has pavers. More entertainment that lasts all season. They can have a few weeks between seasons where some theaters are dark, but allowing most of the stages to be dark for half of the season is not great. A revitalized Halloween Haunt. Go back to the FearFest name while we're at it. This would've been a good excuse for adding the maze upcharge and making the event more scary/adult oriented. Lastly, and this goes for more than just KI, bring back the classic park logos and use them more around each park.

I wonder if this would be a lot more popular than the airbrush tees, or if it could be a good addition to it.

Double posting because it could be relevant to the entertainment lineup stuff: A few people have been posting this on the Facebook groups. Could we see more entertainment coming to the parks? Is it possible that KI is one of the parks that will be affected by whatever will be in this press release? The wording is weird, so it really could just be a big press release about new entertainment coming to 2 parks, but it's fun to speculate.

I see this as an improvement for KD considering they had very few regular season shows, and will now have roughly the same amount as Kings Island when you include the Grand Carnivale entertainment. What KI needs is more shows with longer runs overall. An entertainment lineup that runs for most of the summer season (at least from Memorial Day to mid-August) and has additional opportunities for performances around the park. Some of those additional performances are already in motion with high school marching band parades going throughout the park, band/orchestra/choir performances on the bandstand, and the occasional youth dance group also on the bandstand. This all ties into something I've been talking about for a while: people want Kings Island to be a regional theme park despite it currently acting more like a regional amusement park. More shows, more theming, and more comprehensive areas. I don't think KI needs to immediately become a Midwestern Dollywood, but something closer to Busch Gardens Williamsburg would be much better. Speaking of KI entertainment, it looks like the lighting trusses are going up on the Bandstand right now. I'd much rather see The Vortex plot filled before anything major gets done in Action Zone. KI can start the Action Zone redevelopment now, but I think they need to fill the hole they have before patching an area that isn't yet letting in water (if that makes sense). Timberwolf and the KI Theater get used for Music in the Parks/Festival of Music in the beginning of the season as well.

I think the main issue here is that Cedar Flags doesn't know how to treat this kind of area in terms of stores. Most of the other parks have 1, maybe 2 merchandise shops in their entrance areas — Kings Island has 4, with one of them being the size of two shops at other parks. There's 5 shops if you count Sweet Spot. Kings Dominion and Canada's Wonderland's shops feel more spread out due to how their entrance areas differ from KI's I-Street, so even if you go to all of them they still seem different enough. Part of that is also probably how few times I've been there, but my point still stands. Cedar Point has (I believe) 4-5 shops along the main stretch of the Main Midway, but one of those is completely dedicated to Peanuts merch while the rest are more varied overall between the Pagoda Gift Shop being the most like Emporium, the Button Stop shop selling buttons and pins (and being a stand more than a shop), and the Point Plaza shop being like KI Collections. The small CP Ride Shop has historically sold the same items as the other big shops, but seemed very focused on nano-coasters and ride plushies. Hopefully the merch situation will improve as the company's financials improve and as Tony Carovillano gets more comfortable in his new position as Park President. My biggest wants are for KI Essentials to continue having items that guests might've forgotten at home (medicine and cheap shirts/shorts/hoodies/pants) and for KI Trading Company to have merch from around the park (items from each area of the park collected there because it's a trading depot). Would the situation also improve by Herschend buying KI? Probably, but they just bought a ton of properties and don't need to expand again just yet. Imagine how this would feel if Starbucks' dining room was still a store too... (That space needs to be used for a different restaurant as well. Put Starbucks somewhere else that doesn't have a giant indoor dining room attached.) A lot of the issues I've seen/heard/read about in the park feel like things that have been happening for years now, and are only compounded by the poor financial situation Six Flags is in. The merchandise issues have only been worsened by the inclusion of the AI shirts and magnets. The F&B issues have been the same since 2023, though I will give the park credit because they've changed up the menus a little and have consistently had stocked fountain drinks.

Dreaming of what can happen with the structure was exactly what I was getting at I don't think they're really doing anything yet, I just thought it was a fun thing to analyze! I'd enjoy seeing it become a Haunt again simply so I can get up there at least one more time. Storage would also make sense if the park is trying to move stuff around or replace an existing storage building.

They're in a state of mismatching right now since they've been trying to combine the legacy Cedar Fair pass format with the legacy Six Flags pass format. Having each tier vary in park access is really good for simplicity, but when you combine it with all of the Prestige perks it loses some of that goodness. I really think the company just needs to bring back the All-Park Passport for the Gold Pass (include it with Prestige) and not change any of the other benefits right now. As you said, Six Flags can't figure out whether they want a Platinum Pass or a MAXX Pass or a Diamond Pass or a Prestige Pass. I'm making another list of what pass changes I'd like to see and I might post it here. The reality is that if the company starts raising prices and/or removing benefits then we'll just get to see more people complaining about how they can't afford a pass anymore (buy a Silver Pass) or how the Prestige Pass is a bait and switch again (even if the switch wasn't a surprise).

Most of my meals at the park this season have been really good quality and were received by me (where applicable) in a reasonable amount of time. I got two hot slices of pepperoni pizza and two breadsticks from LaRosa's in Rivertown yesterday morning around 10:45 and marked the meal quality as "great" on my dining plan tracker. The longest I've had to wait for a meal was at the Brewhouse on Passholder Preview Day, and the worst meal of the season so far was Bacon Cheese Fries at Rivertown Potato Works last weekend. That meal was bad because they changed the cheese sauce and the fries tasted off compared to what I expected. A complaint I had on my visit yesterday was that, since they opened French Corner for breakfast, none of the other dining locations opened until 10:30AM or 11:00AM. That's probably part of the reason why so many flock to the French Corner beyond them having the breakfast items. Other locations not opening until 10:30/11 is fine in my book since I feel like only dedicated passholders are the ones who immediately go to eat something using their dining plan. The members of my group who got the breakfast items yesterday morning were happy with their meals. The biggest issues in the current KI breakfast setup (that I've seen) are that it is only available at one small location and that there is not a dedicated order pickup location within the building. I'd turn Grain & Grill into a second breakfast location and move the French Corner's breakfast pickup over to the bar. The setup in FC is so crowded no matter what so hopefully a second breakfast location would help. As much as I think the whole park should be ready and accepting customers from open to close, this adjusted dining location schedule is A-OK. I'd much rather have everything open later than have them all close an hour before the park closes for the night. (That might still happen this season though.)