Diamondback_Is_King

Ok this is getting annoying to have to squint to see the drop-down menu options. This isn't just something on my end right? It's like impossible to see the drop-down options because there is no background to it. And you can't even see the promotion at the bottom left either. Not really a fan of how the website looks thus far...

Even without those walls, it was super bottlenecked in that area

Looks like Wild Waves is closing for good next year... https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/wild-waves-shut-down-2026 Sad to see any amusement park close (although this was a water park too), but in the Northwest, you don't have very many options. I used to live in Oregon and this park has a little sentimental feeling to me, because Wild Thing was my very first upside down roller coaster. It wasn't THE coaster that got me into roller coasters, but it had a huge impact on me. I remember after the water park closed, my family went over to the super small amusement park side and I decided I would try Timberhawk, their S&S woodie. I was scared, but had a fun time. So I was feeling pretty confident in myself after that ride, and decided I might try and conquer the Wild Thing (simple Arrow looper). I had never done an upside down roller coaster before, and was super sacred of the idea of going upside down, as I'm sure many of you guys experienced when you were younger. But I got the courage to get in line, and in the ride vehicle. I was super scared on the lift, but it was over before I knew it. I wasn't really sure how I liked it at first. At first, I wasn't sure if I liked roller coasters anymore. When we got back into the station, the ride operator then asked everyone if they wanted to go again, and if they didn't they could raise their hand and get their restraint released. I of course raised my hand but my dad put it back down and said "let's go again". So, as we left the station I held the restraint tight and braced myself for the upcoming loops. By the time I got off the ride, I had completely changed my mind and absolutely loved it! Thus began my love for roller coasters. Anyway, just thought I'd share an experience I remember quite vividly about this park.

I personally would love to see this implemented at the Six Flags parks, but I don't think it would be useful for all of them. They could do just the larger parks instead, but even then it may not work. But the microchip refillable bottles are really easy to use! The Coke machines actually tell you how many minutes you have left until the time expires, which is a huge help. The idea is great, but the execution is what determines how well it does in the park. I think Dollywood can do this well, but not sure about Six Flags.

I hope they don't rework the tunnels. That drop off of the second lift hill is the best part because of that scare factor....I still don't put my hands up because I'm afraid I might lose them! Also, random question: Do you think that they will reprofile the drop off the second lift and maybe make it not banked like it was before or do something else to it? I hope they don't, but wasn't sure if that was a possibility.

Thanks for the pictures @IndyGuy4KI! Those are cool shots without the leaves in the trees! I'm curious how much track will actually be retracted this offseason. That double helix definitely needs a reatrack though, so I'm glad they are doing that. Last year's retrack was amazing and if they keep it up in rough spots this ride will be much better. So happy that KI is doing something to make this ride even better than it currently is!

That's a really cool concept! I really like the lockers you made and the metal detectors! There is a lot of potential with a Big Bear Mountain type ride in The Bat area, because there is so much space, elevation, and trees. Especially if you start up on top of the hill, you can just keep gaining speed on the way down (but then I guess you have to come back up the hill so maybe not).

It looks as though the string lights are not up in Coney Mall. Don't they normally have them up for opening night?

Glad to see more retracking on The Beast!

Here's the ride vehicle reveal at IAAPA. Hopefully it isn't as shaky as the other B&Ms that have come out recently, but I have my doubts. I'm going to try and be optimistic though, so maybe they changed something in their manufacturing to get rid of the rattle/shake.

Here's the reveal of the ride vehicle for NightFlight Expedition. It looks REALLY cool, and I cannot wait to ride this new ride whenever I end up back at Dollywood! I see multiple speakers inside the boat, which is really cool to see as well! Super excited for this new addition! Also @IndyGuy4KI-Are we able to rename this thread to be a NightFlight Expedition thread in general? I wasn't sure whether to put this in this thread, or make an entirely new one. Please move this to another thread if it needs to be moved. Thanks!

Yes I agree with what everyone has said! Looks very cool and am super excited to see all this come together in the spring! Here's the video on YouTube if you care to watch it there:

Nobody inside...maybe that's why it is closed all the time!

What do we think this "special surprise is"? Maybe an IAAPA-related surprise?

I don't know if I would say it feels like Dollywood... But I really do hope Herschend is somehow able to help with making operations faster, especially on the two woodens. Timber Terror and Tremors can take forever even with a short line because ops aren't great. And faster ops would also be good on Aftershock as well. Stunt Pilot has great ops, mainly because of the continuous loading station. But increased ops would be a great benefit for that park! The park is growing rapidly, good move on Herschend imo as long as they can avoid becoming like Six Flags

Honestly, the sounds for me that makes me remember Kings Island most is the music that plays on I Street. I can hear them in my head right now, and could hum them to you any time of day. Here are some other ones that are classics for me at KI: Sol Spin squeaking (not sure if they fixed this?) Mystic Timbers siren-thingy at the top of the lift Trim Brakes Banshee Scream Diamondback rattle sounds after the first drop If I rode it more times, then probably, "and the winner is....YOU!" Flight of Fear launch humming/screams During the Haunt, the sounds for me are the slider guys that make sparks and stuff when they slide through crowds of people...that's definitely one for me. Or the pyros.

Very excited to see what they decide to do with the park! Silverwood without Herschend was able to buy Eagle Hunt and Stunt Pilot (which both are really fun rides!). Just imagine what they could do with Herschend!

I think if we lost the trims on that drop, it might become THE SCARIEST ride ever created. It has enough speed as it is, I can't imagine what it would be like without those trims. Now if we lost the trims at the beginning in the long straightaway, that would be sick! The pacing on that ride would be amazing!

Beast 2.0! Very interesting! Is it normal for them to be doing this? I thought they would just do some pre-cut track if they were going to do some referb, not necessarily take off a whole section of track. Anyway, thanks for the update and picture!

Nice that The Racer and SSBR are running again this year! Although, everything is always subject to change

No I ever thought of it like that...I suppose I could see it, but I don't think that was where the inspiration came from for the name. Here's a Tower Topics video made a while back that talks about it. The history behind the name starts around 5:55.

It's cool to see the difference in the park back when the old picture was taken to the present day picture! For some reason, I forgot how cool the Winterfest lights look until I saw that picture. Very excited to return this year, I just hope it won't be as cold as it was last year!

Villian Con Minion Blast uses blaster type guns. The thing was actually kind of heavy. But it looks like the flashlights will be much smaller and lighter, with a light attached. Seems like you'll be pressing in a button for the flashlights? We may learn more on how this works at IAPPA. Photo credit: Universal Orlando and Kings Island

Nice trip review! How does Iron Gwazi rank with the rest of the coasters you have ridden? For me, it's #1 even better than SteVe. BGT is home to my favorite ride of 3 different types. Sheikra is my favorite dive, Montu is my favorite invert, and Iron Gwazi is my favorite hybrid. I absolutely love that park!

12th now! I did vote for KI, but I have to say Dollywood's Christmas event is really fun! One of my favorites, if not my #1 favorite Christmas event at a theme park!