TombRaiderFTW

It depends on your definition of "better," in my opinion. The quality of the scenery at CP is significantly better. They're very intricately themed, for the most part. I honestly can't think of a specific house at KI that comes close. Maybe CarnEvil or Board 2 Death? For comparison, here's a picture inside G.A. Boeckling's Eerie Estate, which is, in essence, CP's version of our former Massacre Manor: Source: CP Guide That's probably below average on the theming scale for CP, particularly inside that house. Generally, all of CP's houses are that quality. Coincidentally, most (if not all) of them are in buildings that are specifically devoted to the houses and aren't used for anything else throughout the year. Unlike Kings Island, the buildings used strictly for Halloweekends are located off the beaten path, in buildings that ordinarily wouldn't be noticed in the regular season. Ahem. Talent-wise, Cedar Point's scareactors are okay, but seem to be generally more focused on the theme of the house than on actually, y'know, scaring you. If you're looking to have the pants scared off of you, I can't say I'd suggest Halloweekends as a rule. There ARE houses that tend to be focused on scares (Zombie High and Eden Musee have always been good for that) but other ones, like Hexed, aren't, in my experience. The scareactors in their Scare Zones actually have done a better job of surprising me in the past than most scareactors in the houses. You may have a different experience, though--I've always gone one of the first two weekends of the year, when the scareactors are all still settling into their roles. Also--and this may be important information to know if you're wanting scares--Cedar Point does not have scareactors or fog machines outside of the Scare Zones. Creatures do not roam the park, and the pathways are clear as long as you're not in a Scare Zone. CP's Halloweekends is not KI's Halloween Haunt, for better or for worse. The only exception I've ever seen of this is a lone scareactor that was roaming the annual "dead" ride graveyard at the front of the park, and it was clear that she was directed not to scare anyone. In addition, Halloweekends Friday nights have limited ride lineups--typically the big stuff is open, but smaller rides like some of the flat rides will not be open. If your kids aren't into big scares but want to try something, Halloweekends may be a good way to get them started. I recommend Hexed. Now, for the good stuff: if you want to get lots of night rides without too much waiting, Halloweekends Fridays have always been great when I have experienced them. And all of the houses really are fun, as long as you aren't looking to be scared out of your pants in every one. A scareactor focusing on theme is still a better experience than no scareactors at all, and they do add a fun experience that you can't get elsewhere. Not to mention that Cedar Point has, since 2012, had a show called Skeleton Crew by Les Productions Haut-Vol, the same company that put together Cirque Imagine and Origins. It's been pretty great every time I've seen it. I've heard good about the rest of the Halloween-specific live E, but I've never seen it myself. Spoiler-y stuff for the Skeleton Key rooms behind the tag: In the daytime, they do have some kid-specific activities, but I don't know the fine details of it. I know there is at least one kid-oriented "haunted" house that I think might have trick-or-treating opportunities inside? As a non-kid, I haven't experienced much of it, so I don't know much. Altogether, Halloweekends is pretty good. It really just depends on what you're after. For me, it's enough for me to want to head up that way and pay for a hotel once a year.

Wait a sec--I think jdf21972 misread your post. His/her information is valid for Halloween Haunt at Kings Island. For Halloweekends at Cedar Point, the info is still mostly correct, but Halloweekends starts September 16. Cedar Point will be open at 10am on September 17 (unless I'm forgetting something or misread something on their website.) EDIT: Also, I recommend going to the park on Friday and seeing what the lines are like BEFORE purchasing Fright Lane or Fast Lane. Halloweekends Friday nights are notoriously dead, although I've never visited that close to Halloween. Halloweekends Saturdays are notoriously busy, so it's pretty safe to assume you'll need both if you want to do everything (although I'm still the type of person to see what lines are actually like before purchasing front-of-the-line passes for anything, so I can't not recommend that for Saturday, too.)

It should be noted that Kennywood's Volcano was very recently (as in: during the 2015-2016 off-season) replaced with Lake Compounce's Enterprise. I haven't heard how well it's been operating, but the old one was down all the time. It's still named Volcano, but the actual ride itself is different from previous years. I don't know that I've heard what they're doing with Kennywood's old Enterprise... Spare parts, perhaps? I wonder who makes spare parts for Schwarzkopf rides. Maybe Intamin? It's my understanding that they own the designs for Schwarzkopf rides.

"Field of dreams" was also used on KI's social media to tease Banshee's location. I think it's just one of the things that Don/the PR department uses to get people's attention.

I would put money on GCI giving it the GhostRider treatment, except with possibly more layout changes than what was done for GR. I say that because this announcement seems very much in line with the Mantis closure announcement, and that says to me that they're planning on re-branding the ride. And it they re-brand it, I'd imagine there will be a significant change to the ride involved. Cedar Fair seems to be making a pretty pointed commitment to GCI, so I don't look for this to be an RMC.

It should also be mentioned that: 1. GCI actually has built rides with banked brake runs. I know White Lightning has one. I want to say that American Thunder does, too? I bet it's intentional. 2. GCI has their field of view set weird in that video, and it really distorts the view. I doubt the actual lift radius is that large, both in NoLimits and in their design plans.

(bolded for emphasis) Hoo boy! My curiosity is officially piqued. I was 99.999% sure it was going to be a GCI. Now, it's not going to be a GCI, RMC or Gravity Group ride. Unless they're going with someone obscure, like Vekoma, that pretty much takes out the idea of a wooden coaster. ...Or, on second thought, maybe Don's being very specific. "No one one KIC has got it right yet" could mean that no one has guessed the exact stats of the ride. Or maybe no one has guessed the correct theme. I see your game, Helbig. Very sneaky.

Gwazi was an exceptionally rough example of how well the GCIs with PTCs run. Wildcat at Hersheypark isn't much better, but it is a little better (and it now runs Millennium Flyers, too.) I think Roar at SFA ran the best out of the three PTC GCIs I've ridden. Ironically, it still has PTCs. There must be something about switching from one to the other...

Once again, the building and queue for Tomb Raider: The Ride are being used for things that aren't Tomb Raider: The Ride. I know I shouldn't be bothered by that, but I still am. Sigh. On a more positive note, I really am excited for this announcement. I also really like the trend of new ride announcements being big in-park events for all guests. It's just a neat thing to experience. There's a type of excitement there that just can't be found elsewhere. I hope it continues. I'm sure this one will be great!

The irony, too, is that Marvel Land and a Guardians of the Galaxy retheme of Tower of Terror seem like they would fit much better in Hollywood Studios, now that that park is getting Toy Story Land and a general refocus towards WWoHP-style lands. (I should add, though, that that thought is only based on secondhand information--I haven't been there before. But that does seem to be the direction that Disney is taking it in...) It is unfortunate that Disney is taking an "all new IP, all the time" approach to their parks at the moment. I can't help but feel like this is a (from an enthusiast's perspective) negative side effect of Potterland's success at USO/IOA. I liked GotG (and, heck, even Frozen.) I wouldn't even mind if Frozen and GotG would get their own NEW rides. Or, like bkroz said, at least put the rethemes in appropriate areas! GotG in Tomorrowland is a no-brainer! Frozen is a no-brainer for Fantasyland! I don't know the extent of how landlocked Disneyland and California Adventure are, but it sure seems like Star Wars would be a better fit in an Islands of Adventure-type park, rather than awkwardly fitting it in the non-IP lands of Disneyland. ("Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, fantasy... and Jar Jar Binks.") This feels like Disney is cannibalizing themselves to become Universal. In the meantime, they're reminding me a whole lot of Paramount (or, at least, how several people who knew KECO's KI describe Paramount's IP-related additions.) I'm not sure how much I like that. I'm not happy that California Adventure's themes are getting obscured before I can get there...

Are they, though? Really, they just put posters up in the park and made a couple of ominous posts on social media about Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown. The park didn't really get hypey at all until the last week or so--namely, right after that "field of dreams" tweet. Literally every other bit of hype has been enthusiast-driven. Which is fine! It's great to have fun getting excited together about what the park might have up its sleeve. That's, like, one of the bigger things that brings this community together. I'm just trying to offer some help in preventing anticipointment. There were people around here who were disappointed that WindSeeker was not a gigacoaster in Coney Mall--and there were literally zero hints that anything was coming until the park said they would be announcing something that week. Banshee had a specific number of owls hidden in trees, scarecrows hiding behind holes in the fence, multiple "field of dreams" tweets/other posts on social media, and so on. As I see it, this teaser campaign has been somewhat less energetic. Like you said, Beast Gal, a huge hint-dropping to-do would be disappointing if it just ended in a 100' tall coaster... But has this campaign actually been about dropping hints around every turn? And if the answer to that is "no," is a GCI really out of the question? I'd also like to submit, having ridden several GCI's, that GCI can do more with 100 feet of height than some other companies can do with 306*. If you haven't ridden a GCI, I wouldn't be so quick to be disappointed if that's what our coaster turns out to be. Thunderhead tends to be pretty well liked around these parts by those who have ridden it, and, in my opinion, it's not even GCI's best coaster. *Not a typo.

I wish I could say "Durga," but... TRFTW, always happy to be the guy to make TRTR references.

I'll give you the "hurting people" part, but when did anyone pull pieces off without equipment?

"Sir, the last time you refilled your 2016 souvenir cup was August 23, 1992..." (I realize what you meant... I just had to make the joke.)

Now seems like a good time to plug TombraiderTy's AWESOME "History of the Haunt" thread from 2011. The images have, unfortunately, since gone missing, but the content is still not to be missed. It's got a LOT of really good information about the history of Kings Island's Halloween events. Here's a link!

I305 no longer has the trims that were added to the first drop in 2010. It does, however, have the stretch of trims over the second-to-last bunny hop that it has always had.

Park says that a guest turned in a suspicious backpack. Link: Indiana state police are reporting that the scene is now all clear. Link: There's an important message here about how invaluable it is that park security is what it is these days. I absolutely agree with Thrill_Biscuit that it is sad that an unattended backpack is a cause for alarm, but it also makes me appreciative that parks have responses prepared for these situations, including bag checks and metal detectors. Stuff like this has the potential to be a lot worse without the security that parks put in place.

Holiday World (@holidayworld) is reporting on Twitter that the park is being evacuated due to a "threat." "All are safe." Link to tweet: If you are at Holiday World, stay safe. Follow all instruction from Holiday World and the Indiana state police. Comments on Facebook are suggesting that there was a bomb threat. Holiday World replied to another Twitter user and said that there was an "unsecured backpack." EDIT: The park has posted on Facebook:

I'm sure the mention of the Antique Cars is coincidental, but it made me think: wouldn't the woods around this potential new coaster be a cool location for some new Antique Cars? It brings to mind Blue Ridge Tollway at Kings Dominion--a nice, relaxing drive through the woods. Kings Island, make it happen, please!

*deep sigh* I really did like how many trees were around that part of the path. I really did. I'm excited for this new ride. I was just really hopeful that a new ride in that area wouldn't result in a Diamondback-like clear-cutting of trees in one of the few locations inside the park that still has lots of trees. Oh well!

Cool video! Quick question, though: when did CF ever state an intent to replace Son of Beast?

I think fryoj has hit the nail on the head--that image matches up to the existing clearings and the flags that can be seen from the train. That does beg the question of why the trees between the train and the reservoir are being cleared... Is it just for the aesthetics of being able to see the coaster from the train?

I was going to say "Diamondback on opening day 2009," but then I reread the original post. Hm... I know I've seen the Backlot Stunt Coaster queue filled before. I don't know what that would translate to in hours, but I'm sure it's no fun. I've also waited in either a completely filled or nearly completely filled Firehawk queue before (in 2008, I want to say), but I've repressed the memories of how long it took to get through that. The first time I rode Tomb Raider: The Ride, I was in line for probably two hours or more, including some downtime. That was in 2004 or 2005. I remember that specifically because I was sure it wasn't going to be worth it, but it so was.

Wow. Thank you so much for uploading those and posting about them here! Those are really great pictures! Kings Island of the 70's really had a charm unlike any other. It's truly a shame that changes in focus of leadership over the years caused the park to lose sight of the original theme. Also, did the train run the opposite direction back then of the way it goes now? That's kinda what the train pictures look like.

Great TR! Your pictures are incredible, as always!