Delirium13

A few things I'd like to see: - As others have said, I'd like to have the old majestic music return on International Street. This is something I've been wanting for a long time, I'm cautiously optimistic that with so much focus on improving that area (including the very nice facade on the new Starbucks location) that 2015 could be the year. Keeping my fingers crossed. - Get rid of the dinosaur in front of the Royal Fountains - Clean up the Tower Gardens, turn on the waterfall, and quit using it as a giant smoking area. Let it once again be a relaxing area for all guests where they can get some shade and have a snack at a table next to the waterfall, maybe even put a small flat ride there or make it a park history area. As it is now, it's the place to go if you want to see dead leaves from last fall sit where there used to be water flowing. - Fix up the theming on Adventure Express. I'd also say fix the theming on Boo Blasters, but I'd like to see that replaced with an all new dark ride... so until then I guess just get rid of the FUNtvs in the queue. - Racer back to its original color scheme. - I'd like to see the return of operation to the Glockenspiel on the Festhaus - In general, I'd like to see the different areas of the park treated as such again. I know they're not perfect, but it'd be nice to have area specific music and signs with the names of the area at the entrances. Just because there have decisions and ride additions in the past which have not made sense for the theme of the different "lands" or that it's not a Disney Park doesn't mean they have blast the same pop music throughout the whole park. I know a couple of the things I named are somewhat larger projects, but a lot that I listed are small things that, in my opinion, would make a big difference. All that being said, I'm really excited to see what they have in store this off-season. Years like this where the focus is on making general improvements around the park make me just as excited as getting a big roller coaster.

I voted Phantom Theater (other) as well, but would be happy to see any of those classic rides return.

I believe, someone correct me if I'm wrong, that Boo Blasters actually follows the same exact track that Phantom Theater did, only difference is when the omnimovers turn to face different scenes. The area where CarnEvil resides is the former Enchanted Theater. I'm not positive but I think Enchanted Voyage (Original and Smurfs) occupied the whole building, including the CarnEvil/Enchanted Theatre area.

Wow, thank you for posting this. What a nice look back at one of my favorite attractions ever at Kings Island. Great pictures and a great read. I really miss that ride, it probably wouldn't hurt as bad if it had been replaced with something... better or at least of the same caliber. I really hope that one day we'll see dark ride of that detail at the park again, or better yet, bring back Phantom Theater! I can dream, right? But seriously, compare this loading area: (Photo courtesy of the article, Copyright R&R Creative Amusement Design) To this one (to be fair, the lighting isn't right): (Photo Courtesy of Theme Park Review) Pretty much sums it up right there. I guess I should be happy we still have a dark ride though.

The park really just needs to keep their mouths shut (as is their policy, or so we're told) and be a little more professional about this. Mr. Hart's comments came off as abrasive and unprofessional to me, definitely not how the top park official should be speaking in my opinion. I'm guessing his attorney would rather he not be saying all this either. Kentucky Kingdom: "We don't comment on pending litigation... That being said, these two are lying. Their friend came forward and told us they planned the whole thing. We have safety signs and warnings posted all over our water park. The inner tubes were safe and the guests in question were over the weight limit. But like we said, we don't comment on pending litigation."

You are correct.

Ohhh, that's the new Rampage logo that'll be going on the front of the trains.

I think this place closing could be a blessing in disguise for Kings Island. Most of the reviews I read about it range from mediocre to terrible, and I think in many cases that can reflect poorly on Kings Island. I know that Kings Island/Cedar Fair does not own the Inn, but, as others have said, many in the general public think that they do. They share a name and have a shuttle service going to and from the park. I once came across a 1-star review on the park's Facebook page which, to paraphrase, said something along the lines of: "The park is great, but the Kings Island Inn is not etc. etc...." For that reason alone, I would think the park would be happy to see it go, getting bad publicity for another company's low standards is not something that the park would want I don't think. I'm also curious as to why the Inn was allowed to still use the Kings Island name after it was no longer owned by the park operators... I guess the golf course did too, but it also enjoys a better reputation...

This is awesome. I'm in. I'll be there tomorrow if the weather cooperates. I haven't tried the wings at the Reds Hall of Fame Grille, but I know those pulled-pork BBQ sandwiches are delicious... I'm sure the wings are too.

To clarify, I wasn't saying that certain rides never need to go, or that there isn't ever a good reason to remove a ride. There are reasons. In fact I could name a couple that I'd like to see go/be replaced in the near future. Wasn't saying that no rides should be removed. I thought removing Disaster Transport and Space Spiral was a good decision... (mostly Disaster Transport).

^^ What makes you say that? I think over the past few years of ownership under Cedar Fair, the park has moved from the "remove a ride, and replace it" method to "make use of the land we have and add a new a ride." I don't count removing Son of Beast for Banshee, because that is an extraordinary situation, that hopefully the park won't have to deal with again (and Days of Thunder/Thunder Alley was an extremely minor pay-to-play attraction). But since 2007, we've seen Firehawk go in on unused land, Diamondback, while I'm not a huge fan of the location of its station, extended into unused land behind TR:TR/The Crypt, Dinosaurs Alive extended unused land, and The Soak City renovation made use of even more. I think the park is expanding more in recent years, than it has since Action Zone in 1999/2000, they have been making great use of their land. And I think it will continue in that direction in the near future. Cedar Fair has been smart in realizing that a ride doesn't need to go in order to add a new one, that is one of my favorite things about the current management. It seemed in the later years of Paramount Parks that everytime something new was added, that something had to go: 2002: Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal for Tomb Raider 2003: King Cobra/Phantom Theater for Delirium/Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle 2005: Antique Cars/Flying Eagles for Italian Job I'm glad they've gotten away from that. As for Vortex and Adventure Express being retired, I'd be very sad to see either one go. Vortex was my first looping coaster and I've always had a soft spot for Adventure Express because I love themed rides. I'd love to see Adventure Express get a revamp in theming similar to the Calico Mine Ride and Timber Mountain log ride at Knott's, but I also know we don't have Disneyland right down the street so that is unlikely... Sorry for the rant, I may have gotten a little off-topic... Edit: Looks like Terp beat me to a response, he undoubtedly knows more about Kings Island's developable land than I do, but I still think the park has been expanding in recent years.

If I recall correctly, that police car was actually a race car originally used as theming for Days of Thunder, before being painted and reused as a police car for The Worksite scare zone during Haunt.

^ That picture is from Hong Kong Disneyland.

Very exciting, can't wait to get up there to ride! The logo somewhat reminds me of the old Son of Beast logo before the loop was removed, with the eyes.

I voted for the Paramount's Kings Island years of 1994-1999 (and into the early 2000s as well). Reason being, as others have said, that was during my childhood. It was before I had a season pass, my family would make 1 trip each summer and it was always my favorite day of the summer (or fall some years). I have fond memories of all the "eras" listed up there for different reasons though. I think the current era that we are in is shaping up to be a very good one for the park too! When I go to the park now, I get feelings of nostalgia for past memories and excitement for the memories to come. I just wish I could've experienced the park in the 70s and 80s...

Had a nice mini visit to the park today after work since I work nearby. Was sitting in rush hour traffic and decided I had enough of it, got off at the next exit and turned around for the 10-15 minute drive to the park. When I got to the park, I walked right to the Chicken Shack and put my Dining Plan to good use for dinner, still love the place! After Chicken Shack, I saw the wait for Banshee was just past the stairs so I got it line, had an awesome ride per usual and headed for the park exit. Gotta love having a Gold Pass and a Season Long Dining Plan. It was a great way to unwind from a long day's work and the traffic had cleared up quite a bit by the time I left. I can see myself making a few after work trips like this over the course of the summer.

^ Then you're missing out. I'm a big fan of The Scrambler, an extremely fun classic! Here's to many more seasons!

The line for Diamondback did seem to be moving slower than usual on Saturday, but the good news is that they don't seem to affect the ride (in my opinion). Still an absolutely amazing ride.

It appears I missed something.... Anyways, visited the park on Saturday for a couple of hours, headed straight to Action Zone to check out all the changes, and saw Banshee had a "short" wait so i got right in line. I honestly wasn't expecting to ride Banshee because I didn't have too much time at the park, but I'm glad I got there when I did, waited for just over an hour and I was on. Anyways, the ride exceeded my expectations, it's awesome, I loved it! It's my new favorite at the park. Other notes: - Action Zone updates look great and so did the rest of the park - Loved the Chicken Shack - Saw a band roaming around, also saw many characters out and about, hope this streetmosphere lasts into the regular season and wasn't just opening weekend stuff One negative from my visit...: Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. I honestly hope it will be replaced by a new, better dark ride in the near future. It is looking horribly rundown, lots of effects weren't working, wallpaper peeling, and the last half of my ride the music went off and it was just awkward silence with sound effects thrown in. I think the whole retheme in 2003 was done lazily (minus the front facade), and it would be nice to have another high quality dark ride occupy the building again soon, preferably a non-shooter. Also one last thing.......... While I think overall I like Fun TV, putting TVs inside Boo Blasters queue looks horribly out of place and just ruins the theme. I know this isn't Disney World, but the line was still fun and kind of set up the 'spooky' feel, with lightning and thunder, etc. Now there are TVs inside the "castle" and pop music being played in line. Honestly though, that was the only negative from my trip, I still had a great time and the rest of the park looks awesome. It's going to be a great season!

Ate there on Saturday and loved it. Definitely a step in the right direction with the food at the park.

I love Putz's.... but this is my Creamy Whip: http://www.zip-dip.com/ Zip Dip! Still glad this season is upon us.

Off topic, but a quick little story... This topic is actually how I found this site... A little over 10 years ago I was looking up ghost stories for places in this area and this thread came up in my Google search. Being a huge fan of Kings Island, I found this topic a fun read and started clicking through other topics, I read the forums and browsed the site as a guest for several months as a guest before registering as a user. The new attraction that year was Boomerang Bay, I remember coming home from school and being really excited to check out all the photos from its grand opening. I was just in 7th grade then, hard to believe it's been 10 years since I found this website!

^^ It was originally used for 2004's short-lived Xtended Play.

It got closed for a reason, and a good reason at that. I despised that decoding thing, and none of it shall I par take in any more, for that is just ridiculous. The way you talk is ridiculous

That's some great stock cam footage of WindSeeker, or should I say SteelHawk, in action... those riders were definitely in for a world of something that day... probably not a World of FUN though.