Losantiville Mining Co.

Something to note: Kings Island will not offer the Winter Wonderland Dinner in the International Restaurant for Winterfest 2025. The park confirmed this change in a comment on their Facebook page.

Did I hear correctly that he was also SeaWorld Parks CEO after the release of the Blackfish documentary? If he does an awful job right out of the gate then at least the Board is still there and functioning. It's entirely possible that he was chosen in case the company is led into bankruptcy. A smaller name who could help bring the company up from the edge or guide it through Chapter 11 proceedings. I'm am personally convinced that his resemblance to Mr. Six also factored into his selection

I think we might see references to it (see photo #3 on my last post), though any "ghosts" of that sort would probably be on the screens now. Does anyone else think that might look like the Pepper's Ghost wall or is it just my imagination?

Okay I know how I normally write so I've compiled my thoughts using these photos. Garbonzo gets some more dynamite I think this is the clay casting model for No Legs Larry. If you look at how it is being formed, there are plastic shells where his eyes go and the artist is either sculpting or applying a coat of something (possibly to release the mold) This wall is very intriguing to me. While it looks like it might just be a backstage wall, I kind of thought it also looked like the Pepper's Ghost glass wall covered in dust and grime and cracked in places. Could this be a reference to what was? Arpeggio, my beloved <3 He looks so good! Look at this view of a dressing room (?) door! The green above it in the transom also makes me think they could've installed a Green Room during their renovations This lower shot shows the wreath and some of the nice blue wallpaper. I hope we can see lots of color like this throughout the rest of the ride! It seems our resident electrician is still dealing with mechanical knobs and levers We've seen the boiler prop itself, but check out this nice drawing of it (Just go along with it) As the adage to new beginnings goes: "Something Borrowed..." The vulture has found his way over to the Phantom Theater to leer over guests young and old. "Something Blue..." This glowing blue cabinet is indecipherable — perhaps it contains some Ghost Notes "Something Old..." It's a little dusty, but we call it home! This outer molding for the gargoyle does make it look a little dusty... "Something New..." Look at these three characters in their newer, more corruptible state Did somebody call for a sarcophagus? Oh, it seems Willard (or Lionel, I can never remember which is which) seems to be wrapped up with the sarcophagus This movement test has me very curious. Is Maestro rehearsing his greetings or his final bows? Or is he rehearsing both? Much to think about! I believe the reference to chewing gum is from when guests would get it stuck on the glass during the Pepper's Ghost scene. All of the characters look so much better now that they're not withering away like they were all those years ago. They have something to work towards instead of just reliving the glory days of the Phantom Theater! Thank you for the video and photos @KIghostguy!!!

I think if they put up a marquee I'd rather see one like the original had, but there's a chance they could make this kind look good too. My other hope would be that they keep the pieces on top of the gates. Those add a little flair to the structure. What program did you use to make these?

The price of $130 for an addition to the (largely free) event is cheaper than the price of 1 ticket to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, which starts at $169 and reaches a whopping $229 cost per person, not including tax. While the price is high, it seems to include an indoor VIP Lounge experience ($40 for one day at the outdoor lounge), unlimited drinks ($20 for the Single Day Drinks wristband), a special holiday dinner (around $50 at a restaurant outside the park), a midnight champagne toast, and views of International Street. That's at least a $110 value for an event that most will get into for free. If you add the $37 NYE online park ticket price on top of that, you get everything for less than the cost of one MVMCP ticket. Everyone can debate whether you actually get similar value out of each event elsewhere. I won't defend the park's pricing structure too much, but I feel like you can get your money's worth out of this limited seating special occasion Dinner Party. https://www.wdwmagic.com/events/mickeys-very-merry-christmas-party/news/16jul2025-2025-mickeys-very-merry-christmas-party-ticket-prices-full-breakdown-by-date.htm

I think if they can change these three elements (the mouth, the "BH" medallions, and the tops of the towers) it will help a lot. It would definitely help everyone feel like PT:ON is not just a re-skin of SDatHC and BBoBH. Changing the colors of the castle should be on the list of changes as well. They should definitely try to find a way to add a marquee and change the castle turrets to be less castle-y.

A full re-route and separation would probably be the best option for it. Widening the path would still require a new bridge and might not solve the separation issue. I'm hoping the parks can take some time over the next few years to build dedicated Fast Lane paths for any ride that's still missing one. The Beast is the first that comes to mind, but I think there are a few other rides (especially at other parks) that still have Fast Lane going up the Exit path (which should be exclusively reserved for Accessibility and exiting purposes).

I really hope they're taking down the Boo Blasters signage. I think for any other ride at any other major park it would've been taken down almost immediately. The castle modifications might be done closer to the start of the season so they could use the entire pathway while they work. I'd like to see them remove the turrets and add a marquee board, but I guess only time will tell what's in store. Did there used to be another turret cap on the right side of the castle (looking from this direction)? It'd be right below where the black pickup truck's door is. I could also just be seeing something on the Eiffel Tower's star wire, but that bulb does not appear to be oriented in that direction.

2 more group events have been added to the 2026 calendar, bringing the total 2026 event count to 4 so far. Music in the Park — April 24, May 1, May 8, & May 15, 2026 Physics, Science, and Math Days — April 24 & May 1, 8, 14, 15, & 22, 2026 Performance in the Park — Any Public Operating Day During the 2026 Season STEM Days — May 8 & 15, 2026 Unless something changes — which there is a chance that it might — we now know that the season will start by Friday, April 24th, 2026. I'm still holding out for the official release of the 2026 operating calendar and the Festival Events schedule, but as I said before, this is more than we knew about by this time last year.

Here's my concept for a Rivertown expansion. It isn't as pretty as any of my other maps, but it gets the point across well enough. There is: a new indoor VIP Lounge like at Kings Dominion a new lake much smaller than Swan Lake, but more water in Rivertown nonetheless hopefully the new trees and foliage could grow in nice and tall any new trees would also be placed far enough away from Diamondback's helix the water finally returned under The Beast's pre-lift section this would presumably come alongside a Gravity Group rebuild of the pre-lift the ride exit and Fast Lane lines would be relocated/reworked to be separated a new Refresh Station, bar, or gift shop in the former Beast Canyon Cold Drinks area housed in an addition/new construction to the right of the queue entrance this is where the exit would empty into, with the Fast Lane line entering nearby a new outdoor amphitheater spiritual successor to the Rivertown Reel and the Back Porch Stage perfect for smaller shows a new family-friendly flat ride I have no opinions on what it could be, but the ride pad is a similar size to Shake, Rattle & Roll All of this would replace the Tomb Raider building and provide new things to do in this recreation of early Cincinnati that celebrates its roots as a river town. I think the outdoor amphitheater could instead be an indoor venue like the Red Garter Saloon — though I hesitate to use the word "saloon" because of its Frontier/Western theme area connotations. The last new building on this expansion map could be anything, although I wouldn't be opposed to having it be a new quick-service restaurant. The service road that is behind TR:TR's building would be relocated further behind the new construction. The removal of the Tomb Raider building would likely mean that we also lose the foliage growing on top of it, but I think it might be worth it for this kind of expansion. The size of the new lake is another pain point for this idea. I would love to see something closer to the size and feel of the original Swan Lake return, but I think this is more realistic in the short term. One thing I'd like to see that isn't in this map is some theming or foliage near the railroad tracks. The area as it stands is very barren and lifeless. This might even offer up a new opportunity to reuse some of the old nature trail path for a new Trail Haunt.

Double posting to share this video Orlando Experience took at IAAPA. You can see the screen on the left side as well as a less crowded view of the display at the end of the video.

At least they also get to show off that pretty orange tree in the background! I'm excited to see how this part of the retracking turns out after a year of not being able to ride some of my favorites.

Ghost Blasters and Ghost Blasters II are the base models of the Boo Blasters on Boo Hill property from Sally Dark Rides. The ride that Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island received is specifically the Ghost Blasters II model, which was also installed at Elitch Gardens in 2008. The new animatronics, new screens, and new flashlights will definitely help to differentiate it from SDatHC and BBoBH. I don't know if Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare is an exclusive partnership between Kings Island/Six Flags and SDR or if other parks will eventually have the option to purchase it, but I think the most we'll see in the short term would be to replace the CW, CAR, and KD versions of Boo Blasters.

As hesitant as I was for the new style of the ride, it's growing on me. I think the new style will definitely make it more palatable for younger audiences while doing a good job of retaining their images. The largest difference (to me) is the fact that they look less gaunt and more hauntingly lively. (Also, it's almost opening night for the new theater, of course Maestro is going to make sure his hair is done and his face looks good!) Those photos being over 20 years old and using full flash definitely doesn't help the case for them. I think the weirdest part of this reveal is the fact that they decided to use the red Kings Island logo with the blue flag on both the top sign and the screen. You'd think they could have used the white logo with the red flag instead. The last time we really saw the red logo used was earlier on in the Cedar Fair era. On the flip side, I really enjoyed that they used a red curtain-like drape with gold tie backs for the cover and that they chose to put the two "curtain pullers" in full costume instead of just having them wear slacks and a polo. I also noticed that they did the same for the reveal of the Tormenta car. If this is the length that the company is willing to go then I think this might be a sign as to how much theming we might continue to see in the future. The flashlights look like they might be a little weird to use. I'm wondering if that is the same model found on other rides that use the flashlight system and how it has worked out for those attractions. It might have a learning curve for Kings Island guests who are so used to using the Ghost Blaster guns. This version of Maestro definitely sounds a lot like Richard Doyle. If it somehow isn't his voice then major props to whoever it is. No Legs Larry kind of sounds like one of the actors who portrayed him in Phantom Theater Encore. I was watching through the 50th Anniversary Archives POV earlier and noticed some parts of the original ride that each felt like they were missing something. The hallway of doors definitely felt empty from when you saw Houdelini, Garbonzo, and Bosco until the electric panel scene. I think the interactive elements would help to fill those "empty" spots in the ride that might've harmed the pacing in the original. We also have a new name I think we should call the Phantom Theater soundtrack: "Terror Toccata".

I visited Dollywood on a special trip last week: here's how it went! There will be some comparisons to Kings Island and Six Flags parks in general, so be warned if you wanted to read an uninterrupted review of Dollywood. Between the time our tickets were purchased and the lead-up to our trip, the weather forecast went from 60 degrees and sunny to a dreary cold 30 degrees. Some of the plans we made went right out the window as we packed our coats and layers as we rapidly made new plans to do as much as we could with the things that might be open. We arrived at Dollywood, paid the $25 general parking fee and made our way over to Section C (Cotton Candy). I really liked that they gave the pneumonic for each parking lot section and that everyone working the parking lot knew them. Even in the snow flurries we were able to see the lines in the parking lot and knew that the tram shelters were where we wanted to be around. The tram was phenomenal, even in the cold! It made me realize what we're missing out on at the Six Flags parks. The driver and wrangler (the guy at the back of the tram) were both charming in their speech and made light of the cold weather on our way to and from the front gate. Their covered tram shelters and butterfly standing points were a nice touch. The wrangler asked a few questions to the few of us riding and let us know that "First Visit" and "Special Occasion/Birthday" buttons would be available at the ticket windows. We ended up having to visit the ticket window and the guest services window before finally finding someone with the buttons at the turnstile. I made sure to pick up the free "First Visit" and "Special Occasion" ones since they were free souvenirs to celebrate my first time at Dollywood. I was also very pleased to learn that they offered paper map booklets throughout the park and accepted cash at almost every register. As always my first stop was at the restrooms. The front gate facilities were nice, clean, and warm with hot water, paper towels, and multiple stalls in addition to the urinals. Kings Island should really take some notes on this matter (having only one stall available in the Men's room on I-Street is abysmal). We took some photos with the butterflies and made our way over to the Dolly Parton Experience, Dollywood's museum and exhibit area of the park. The big museum reminded me a lot of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (where I saw another Dolly Parton exhibit) and was really well thought out and super cool to see. The dedicated outfit and wig exhibit building was a much smaller, but still well-made museum. Our time in that area came to a close after climbing aboard Dolly's Tour Bus and checking out all of the items within. There were Hosts (Dollywood's title for Employees/Associates) stationed outside each door waiting to let us in. I can almost guarantee that not only would those positions not exist in a Six Flags park, they would be the first staff to be cut on a cold day with such low attendance. Our entertainment journey for the day began in the Pines Theater with a nice show themed to "The Night Before Christmas". This show ran for about 40 minutes and had a custom storyline. I'd compare it closest to Tinker's Toy Factory in terms of the basic song + story design and rate it just a bit above Tinker's in my overall show rankings. There was a moment during the show when someone spilled their drink — another guest later told us that this isn't uncommon with those cups — and a host immediately came and cleaned the spill. On our way out I also noticed a full concessions stand that was closed for the day. The Pines Theater is a nice indoor venue like the Kings Island Theater, though I think I prefer the KIT overall. The second show we saw was "Christmas in the Smokies" in the Celebrity Theater. Getting up to the theater was a little treacherous with the snow making the asphalt paths a little slick, but we made it in alright. Since it was a very low-crowd day we were told that we could sit up front in the dedicated Time Saver (Fast Lane/Fast Pass) seats. We ended up sitting pretty much center stage in the second row! The show itself was 50 minutes of song and dance with plenty of seamless costume and set changes throughout. It was full-on song and dance with story elements sprinkled in, but managed to confuse us a little when they started telling the story of the Nativity. I understood the lead into it more than the rest of my group and still managed to miss the part where they went back to the main storyline. The set was a beautiful mix of painted flats with exaggerated 3-D pieces that included a fold-out log cabin, all backed by a digital panel screen. The Celebrity Theater itself is a marvel and looked to be at least double the size of the Kings Island Theater and/or 1.5x the size of the International Showplace. Overall, both shows were a step above what Kings Island currently offers. With showtimes well over 30 minutes and casts at least 10-15 performers strong, I was thoroughly pleased with what I saw. Christmas in the Smokies also included a live band in the orchestra pit! I truly wish that Six Flags would focus even a little more on entertainment in their parks so that Kings Island guests could experience such magnificent delights. If you can't add new rides every year, why not give some attention to live entertainment? Maybe I'll go see about adding the Christmas in the Smokies soundtrack to my playlists. Since I have to get going, I will continue with the rest of my visit in a second post. Stay tuned!

I think this means that we will at least have parts of the original soundtrack in the new ride. It will likely be some of the original with the "newer" scenes getting new musical motifs. I'm hoping they will have some music backing the characters in the display. If the apparent screen proves to be such I could see some more promotional material being shown on it. The worst they can do (in my opinion) would be to say that there are "signature music themes" from the original only to put in recordings of Toccata and Fugue and other pieces like that. Someone posted a calendar screenshot that said the big presentation was specifically Sally Dark Rides and Six Flags. I've found the page and posted a screenshot below. It runs from about 2:10-2:30 and looks like it might just be them showing off the display. I can't tell if the booth number (#2267) is simply included for convenience and this will be an on-stage conference, or if this will simply be a 20 minute segment where they pull the sheet away from the display. I'm super excited to see what they do!

Maybe Kings Island should look into expanding Soak City with an indoor waterpark section

I think there's a good chance that those came from Kings Island, but I also remember there being a NASCAR themed restaurant somewhere in the US that they could have come from. The name of that restaurant continues to evade me though. It had a few cars in this exact setup and might've closed around the same time Jungle Jim's (in Fairfield) added their cars. Can anyone help to find what that restaurant was? There might be an Expedition Theme Park video on it as well.

The Texas parks are in a similar situation to the Ohio parks and the Southern California parks. Fiesta Texas and Six Flags Over Texas are far enough apart and are separated enough in focus as to not interfere with each other. The Missouri situation is also similar to the one the 3 Ohio parks were in circa 2006/2007, although there's no way for Six Flags to get SDC in the way Cedar Fair got Cedar Point, Geauga Lake, and Kings Island.

Yes, Kingswood survives at Kings Dominion, though I don't know the last time it would have been used outside of any Music in the Park or other group sales event. Theirs is also on the way to the picnic pavilions, is set nicely back behind trees, and appears to have much better seating and stage arrangements than Timberwolf does. I believe Canada's Wonderland had the nicest out of the three Taft/KECO amphitheaters in their Kingswood, but they appear to have done everything besides demolish it. Carowinds Palladium seems to be here to stay since it was included in recent service road relocations. I think any potential future events would find another venue anyway. One that has covered seating, better backstage facilities, and an actual entrance as well — not just a gap in a fence where you have to go backstage to get to the venue. I think if KI needs a space for the events they currently host in Timberwolf then they should reduce the seating by 50% and build a new stage closer to the top of the hill. Let the rest of the space be used for a coaster or something. Yes please. Or "build" a new one in the old Saltwater Circus plot before that time comes. (I might like that more than putting a new restaurant or flat ride there.) I think there are definitely some ways that the park can make the remnants of Swan Lake look better and more like it used to as well, but that's for another thread. I'm hoping we can see a manufacturer make a new version of the Arrow Mega Looper in the near future. The standard looper is a classic amusement park ride and would be amazing to see brought back. I think Vortex at Carowinds might get Firebird's trains as part of a floorless conversion so they can get at least a few more years out of it. I could see Corkscrew at Cedar Point getting the axe (or maybe the reciprocating saw instead) and leaving the corkscrews standing over the midway. Magnum XL-200 could almost definitely get an easy enough retrack if the park wanted. I would've loved to ride Tennessee Tornado if everything hadn't been closed due to weather on my visit to Dollywood. Hopefully I can get back there on a warmer day.

I went back through that SDR interview video to see if I could get a better view of the concept art and came out with the following. There are 30 pictures on the grid with 6 obscured by a head, but I got what I could from when the camera moved around his head. I've put it behind a spoiler in case anyone doesn't want to see it. Does anyone else have ideas on what these could be? I can update the view and maybe even put them on my ride blueprints file if we figure out likely placements.

I don't recall there ever being any other endings besides the tree, snake, and bat. Having some additional endings would be really cool to see — though it might be more work than the park would like to pay for. If they were to add another ending, I'd vote for a ghost ending to reflect Banshee (since they have MT, DB, and The Bat already).

Using some Illustrator features I just realized could be used like this, I made the following. Here's some improvements that I think would help to improve the often-forgotten back area of I-Street (and a little bit of Rivertown). You can read my thoughts, but some highlights are: New Restaurant Moonlite Gardens new indoor/outdoor seating restaurant maybe close to being like the Grand Pavilion Floral Clock area improvement new fences more shrubs and vertical props International Showplace Theatre steps replace ramps no more stunt show stage (so we can finally return to musical shows) New Trees!!! a new stand of trees in that giant hill area where it wouldn't make sense to put a ride or building bonus: more natural areas in the park

I hope if they ever fix the floral clock it can be returned to look like this. The simple but beautiful hedge work and original logo look much better than what is there now. The trees behind it are nice in that they cover the Stunt Coaster, but they are a little overbearing — especially compared to this view and how it looked on the 2011 Street View capture. Anything the park can do to make that whole pathway less barren and dead would be good. As for going back to the front gate: renovating the main building and the side buildings would do so much to help guest perception as they enter the park. Kings Island is often lauded as one of the best parks in the country, but does the current entrance portray the fact that greatness awaits guests who pass through it? Heck no! Even the experience of getting through the parking lot up to the security area does not live up to the rest of the Kings Island experience. I personally believe that — even if the project didn't include repaving — adding trees/shrubbery, raised concrete pathways, and line re-striping would help improve the experience. Of course trams would help as well, but I don't see KI getting any without them coming from another park. (Maybe one of the tram companies will be at IAAPA to convince some Six Flags officials .) After the next major thrill coaster is when I think the park should embark on some of these renovations. With PT:ON projected to cost at least $1 million (possibly more with the design costs) and a new thrill coaster having the possibility to cost anywhere from $20-$30+ million, I think a good amount of guests might accept a multi-million dollar park improvement project instead of a new ride like in 2018. There might need to be some other improvements within the park, but the precedent is there.