Phantom Theater

One thing Kings Island can consider doing, and maybe all Cedar Fair parks, is offering free locker use. I spend a lot of time at Universal Studios now, and rides like Hulk and Velocicoaster are very strict on items being brought onto the ride, so much you have to pass metal detection before boarding. At KI, A lot of people may just take the risk of item loss to avoid dealing with paying for a locker. Being able to scan your pass or even just having a printed ticket you hang onto could potentially help with incidents like this.

I don't see Cedar Fair ever installing something like Phantom Theater at KI or any of their parks. I would love to see some kind of haunted attraction return to that building, but there would most likely be no kind of animatronics like seen on PT. Let's hope they see the absolute state of disrepair Boo Blasters is in and renovate sometime soon.

This sounds great and I hope more parks adopt this! I couldn't tell you the last time I used cash. Working in food and retail for 6 years, dealing with cash was annoying. People standing there, scrounging for change in their pockets/purse, handing me change after I've entered it into the register, making sure I have enough change before a shift, counting the drawer multiple times throughout a shift. I'm sure it will help with the flow of lines, although I'm not so sure how many people still use cash.

Yes I certainly did! (JoshuaEric is me, I didn't realize I had another account using my main email). I never even knew those existed. It was awesome to see everything working and I was in awe seeing all the guys arms working in the final tunnel with proper lighting. I can' tell you the last time I saw every one of them working, if ever.

I definitely think the entrance building needs some kind of overhaul. This website has been posted a ton but the concept art is awesome - http://matthunterross.com/kings-island. It's not a new building, just an addition of dormers and a large centerpiece. The idea of a legacy walk in Tower Gardens sounds great! I would hope to see lots of colorful banners around the park, maybe signs at the entrance of rides explaining their installation and any records they might have broken, & specialty food booths in different parts of the park. Definitely need to sell some kind of birthday cake lol

That is so exciting! Thanks @gforce1994. I hope someone can get some pics somehow. I hope to see that last tunnel fixed up, it is appalling how it looks now.

Yeah, I am looking forward to the new Marvel stuff they use at WDW -- they just can't use the properties Universal uses or the Marvel name. DL can use those properties, just not the Marvel name. I don't think Universal will ever give those properties up for the reasons in my original post.

I meant just the name Marvel. Disney can't use the Marvel name at WDW or Disneyland, that's why the new Marvel complex at California Adventure is called Avengers Campus.

I highly doubt Universal will EVER give up their Marvel properties, no matter how big the check is. WDW cannot use any of the properties that Universal uses. Those properties are Spider-man, Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four, and the Marvel name (which can't be used in any attraction name, WDW or Disneyland). Disney is free to use any other Marvel properties, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, which I believe they are installing at one of the WDW parks. Losing Marvel Super Hero Island at Islands of Adventure would be a huge blow for Universal Orlando, especially since Spider-man is probably one of Universal greatest rides and would make the transition to Toon Lagoon awkward. Unless they have an IP as strong as Marvel to fill it with (Lord of the Rings??), I think Universal will hold that contract very close to them for a long time.

This was a fantastic read -- thank you! I can't believe I missed it in March. I definitely agree that PT was one of the boldest and most unique rides KI ever had. Haunted attractions are a dying breed, and even though I was very young when PT was removed, I still knew that KI had lost something very cool and unique. I hope to see a haunted attraction go back into that building sometime, but I don't believe that will ever happen. The omnimover system is definitely not made with shooting style dark rides in mind. It is very slow and the cars are so close together, its obvious it is meant for a dark ride with sets and characters with a story.

Sadly, I only go to experience HB Land in it's form between 2000-2005 when it was mixed with Nickelodeon Central. I barely remember it, mostly just Boulder Bumpers & the Jetson's ride. Nick U was okay IMO, much like most of Paramount's themes, it seemed very just slapped on and not really "themed". All of the rides from Nick U exist today in the exact same form, no difference in the ride experience, just a different name. The only ride to suffer from de-theming was Scooby's haunted castle, which isn't even Nick. Planet Snoopy seems very bright and well taken care of, and being themed around a classic comic strip and movies gives it longevity. From pictures I've seen, HB land looked to be the best. My vote went to Snoopy since I've experienced Nick U and can compare the two.

Not washing your hands does increase the chance of spreading the virus to yourself, not so much to others as long as everyone washes their hands and uses sanitizer. I think you have a misunderstanding of what the mask is intended to do. It is to decrease the chance of spreading the virus from your mouth or nose. To have some people wearing masks and some not completely negates the point of the mask mandate. The park already cleans the trains, just not every time they empty. I'm not sure how often you touch the back of your clothing or hair and then put your fingers anywhere on your face or into your mouth, but it would be wise not do so. Wear your mask to help slow the spread to others, wash your hands to decrease the chance of contracting it yourself.

Not wearing a mask increases your chance of transmitting the virus to someone who cannot protect themselves from that. You can wash and sanitize your hands after touching surfaces, and you yourself would be responsible for getting yourself sick if you don't. They do sanitize the seats and lap bars, but not after every train empties. If the park wanted to protect everyone from everybody, they'd be closed.

I agree, but the park can't hold your hand (no pun intended!), it is your responsibility to be cautious and not touch your face and wash/sanitize your hands after touching surfaces.

It's just fun speculation I just think it's odd that that area is being worked in and there are markers on Columbia. If they removed The Bat, thats a lottttt of space for a new coaster. The start of the demolition could be SOB station coming down., not reusing it lol.

These developments are definitely making me want to get more rides in on The Bat.... Seems a little sus seeing all of this work near it and the park keeps posting the same video of it on its social sites.

If I get back there this year I would love to try this! I love weird foods like this.

The Coney Sky Ride idea seems way more feasible now that Vortex is gone. Unlikely, but it would fit better! I would love to see a top spin return to the park, but overall I would like to see two thrilling flats and two or three mild flats. I def think they should try and fit something into the Oktoberfest area (like spinning keggers) and bring some more attention there.

I spent 6 hours there this past Saturday. Majority of people were wearing their masks properly and keeping distance. In line for AE, there were three teens that would not keep away from me, but other than that, everyone used the markers. I watched an employee tell a girl that her mask had to be over her nose about three times on one occasion, so they do seem to betaking it seriously. One thing I did find kind of weird was the spacing in the lines. All the rows are open with markers, so you are 6 feet away from the person in front of you, but standing right next to people on your left or right. Seems like they should have closed every other row and used the extended queues and set up temp queues if necessary. Edit: Wanted to add that they did shut down AE while I was in line to sanitize the trains. They sprayed them down, wiped down all the touchpoints, and then sent them empty to dry off. Took about 10-15 minutes, but necessary.

Saturday I was able to ride Orion! Thankfully, I was able to get in just as they opened. I was allowed to get in line without a time ticket, and after the ride I got a return time of 11-12 and rode again. The theme of the ride is my favorite thing. I love that they tied so many rides in KI's history into a great story and themed area, and I particularly like that they continued with FoF's theme, despite it being over 24 years old. As for the ride itself, it was a blast. I think this is the first coaster that ever made me blackout at the bottom of the first drop. The speed and force of the ride is awesome. My only issue is the length, it is incredibly short. I overheard many people saying the same thing while exiting, but were also praising the ride at the same time. Overall, this has been an excellent addition to the park. Banshee is still my #1 at KI though. Hopefully the next coaster is not another B&M.

I tend to try to leave by 4 since I have a 2.5 hour drive home. Thank you though! I'm not making it hard at all, I'm actually trying to make it pretty simple for myself so I don't drive all the way there to be told the tickets are out. I tend to base my decisions off of what the park tells me they will do, which is "You will NOT be able to enter the park before your selected time, however, you may arrive anytime after." I'm not making a 12:30 reservation and showing up at 10 and being told to go somewhere for two hours lol. And my point still stands, if the cards are out by 1 or 1:30, and I have a 12:30 time, that's cutting it pretty close. Thanks for the tip though, wasn't very helpful.

I think I figured out a good way to ensure I get on Orion when I go, but it means I won't buy a pass The day tickets have time slots as early as 10:30 on Saturday. The earliest passholder slot is for noon. I guess I'm just going to buy a single day ticket and go Saturday and hope for the best. Sadly, I think this will be the only time I will go this season, since I don't want to buy a single day ticket and then a pass on top of that just to ensure that I will get a ticket to ride Orion this Saturday.

Yeah, that's exactly my concern. I don't live that far away, just two and a half hours. If I drove all the way there and didn't get to ride it, I'd be very upset and not want to do anything else.

Yeah, I've been kind of down about this whole thing personally. I still haven't purchased a pass, and neither has my mom for herself and my younger brothers. It just seems like such a bad time to go anywhere. I cannot bring myself to go to KI with the chance that I won't be riding Orion lingering over my head. It's completely stopped me from making any plans to go at all this season. I am really bummed out. Hopefully the ticket thing for Orion ends, otherwise I probably won't go this year

This is a great video -- thank you for sharing! I don't think very many people believe the mask will prevent them from GETTING the virus, and if they do, they are incorrect. The idea is to help limit the amount of particles coming from you mouth/nose, helping to slow the SPREAD of the virus. If a mask only keeps 10% less stuff from ejecting into the air onto people or touchpoints, that's a good thing. It is a small part of a web of things to help slow the spread.