IndyGuy4KI

With the changes to Sweet Spot this year, and other anniversary food items, the 2022 season is sure to be a great year in the foods department. at Kings Island. We will use this thread to discuss and review food and beverage for 2022 season. KIC looks forward to seeing your food pics and reviews in this thread! Sweet Spot details on the KIBlog: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2022/march/kings-island-foodie-news-sweet-surprises-coming-to-sweet-spot-this-year

Sometimes a surprise, when you walk into the park, is nice. That might be why the webcams are not active on the KI website yet. I know we are all chomping at the bit, but let's save some mystery for opening day!

Unless there is land clearing and is blatantly obvious, I would assume anything new would not be teased until passes start going on sale for 2023. I don't think they will want to take away from the 50th-anniversary celebration.

@malemis very excited about the weather. I bet he has his shorts and KIC Tshirt ready.

I actually love the banner. I hope they do full banners in the future instead of multiple smaller ones. It gives the entrance a lot more sleeker look in my opinion.

That is with fast lane!

Please use this thread to update wait times for the 2022 season! Please remember a ride going down is normal and it's okay to report, but please don't post "Riders are stuck on the lift hill of DB." A vague statement like that is not helpful and that is when the media starts calling the park. We can not wait to get the 50th Anniversary season underway in 2022! The KIC Admin looks forward to seeing everyone at the park on Season Pass holder day and opening day next week. The KIC Admin Team

I agree. That is a gorgeous picture.

They are replacing the skeletons FD with real people? In all seriousness, the train needs its own firefighters?

I wonder how that will work as a show? Sounds like a lot of costuming for it!

2nd drop paint job was posted on KI FB page found here: https://www.facebook.com/visitkingsisland/photos/a.226729858367/10161524564638368/ This looks nothing short of amazing. Credit: KingsIslandPR

I am very interested to see what they have planned for the sign! Keep us posted @BoddaH1994!

Good lord, if they got the same release as KIC, I am not sure how they could mess that up?

We do know for certain now that The Beast will not be open until May.

You are correct along with CF wanted all their racing coaster running the same way, forward. The park could run Racer backwards again if they wanted. I look at it as the same as Winterfest. They held off many years until they felt the time was right to bring it back. I think we will will eventually see the same thing happen to The Racer, some day.

Kings Island’s world-famous roller coaster, The Beast, will break its own World Record in 2022. The coaster, which opened in 1979 as the World’s Longest Wooden Roller Coaster, has held that distinction ever since. When it opens for the season in May it will beat its own record by two feet, from 7,359 ft. to 7,361 ft. due to offseason retracking and reprofiling work, that also includes a steeper first drop. “When you look at roller coaster records, they’re being beat all the time,” said Kings Island Vice President and General Manager Mike Koontz. “But there’s one record that no park in the world has been able to beat for more than 40 years, until now, and that’s the record for the longest wooden roller coaster.” It’s no wonder that guests from all over the world travel to Kings Island to ride The Beast. Its record-breaking features include a 7,361-foot-long track (1.4 miles) and ride time of four minutes, 10 seconds; vertical drops of 137 feet (now at a 53-degree angle) and 141 feet (at an 18-degree angle); a 125-foot-long underground tunnel at the bottom of the 137-foot drop; eight banked turns, some to 45 degrees; a massive, 540-degree helix tunnel near the end and speeds up to 64.77 miles per hour. Last November crews began the massive project of refurbishing 2,000 feet of the coaster’s track. In addition, the first drop has been re-profiled from 45 degrees to 53 degrees so that it can come into the tunnel lower and deliver a buttery-smooth transition through the first tunnel and onto the second drop. The project is expected to be completed in May. Cool info about The Beast! By the time workmen had completed the massive Beast construction in March of 1979, they had used 650,000 board feet of southern pine lumber; 37,500 pounds of nails; 82,480 bolts and washers and 2,432 square yards of concrete. The Beast has given more than 56 million rides since its debut in 1979 – third most in park history behind the Racer and K.I. & Miami Valley Railroad. Each of The Beast trains have traveled more than 1,000,000 miles. Record-breaking features include a 7,361-foot long track (1.4 miles) and ride time of four minutes, 10 seconds; vertical drops of 137 feet (now at a 53-degree angle) and 141 feet (at an 18-degree angle); a 125-foot long underground tunnel at the bottom of the 137-foot drop; eight banked turns, some to 45 degrees; a massive, 540-degree helix tunnel near the end and speeds up to 64.77 miles per hour. Members of the Kings Island maintenance department walk every inch of The Beast track every morning before the park opens. It’s a nearly four-hour trip they start at 5 a.m. The Beast has three tunnels: The first is 125 feet; the second is 269 feet and the third is 628 feet, for a total of 1,022 feet of darkness. It cost $3.5 million to build The Beast from 1977 to 1979. It would cost over $20 million to re-create it today. At 7,361 feet – The Beast is the longest wooden roller coaster in the world The Beast was constructed in less than a year, after two years of research and design – all by Kings Island personnel. Al Collins and Jeff Gramke were the chief designers of the ride. The original design was modified multiple times, so many times in fact that the finished product looked nothing like the one envisioned when the project began in 1976. Coaster enthusiasts consider The Beast a “terrain coaster.” That refers to the way it follows the contours of the land, using the hills and gulleys to add height to the ride.

I had been wondering if we would see recaR make a comeback for this year, but judging by that picture it does not look like it.

Love it! Can't wait to see it in person.

Awesome PTR BFF, thanks for sharing!

What Carowinds needs is a few water rides for the dry park. The most southern park on the east coast and warmest climate and no relief in the dry park.

As much as I love all they are doing for the 50th, I sure hope DB and Banshee are slatted for paint next year.

My heart goes out to everyone involved. Is that a Intamin ride?

Kings Island's 50th anniversary is less than 30 days away. Let's celebrate our excitement with a new photo contest by submitting pictures of original rides still there today. "Kings Island Original Rides Photo Contest" Rules: Only 1 picture per post. (If there is more than one, the whole post will be removed.) The picture should be of original rides still at the park for the 50th only. (Carousel, Monster, Scrambler, Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad, Kings Mill Log Flume "RFYLCB" and The Racer) A max of 4 submissions. (Any additional submissions will be removed.) All photos must be your own. (No pictures from websites or any other sources.) All photos must abide by the Terms of Service and all park rules (for example, any pictures taken as a result of trespassing or any that are taken on rides that prohibit photography/loose articles will not be acceptable and will be removed and possible loss of posting privileges.) To make it more fair, please do not post pictures from areas that only employees can get too. (Tour locations like from Coasterstock are fine.) Small edits on pictures are fine, but not over the top please. Double posting will be excused in this thread. Only Likes will be counted, not any other emotion. The most important rule: HAVE FUN! The contest will be judged by the members. So if you love a submission, vote for it with a like. You can vote on as many as you want. This will run until March 15th at Midnight. The winner will get to order a free KIC shirt as their prize along with bragging rights! Good luck!

Kings Island announced today it will kick off its 50th Anniversary season on Saturday, April 16. Several other special events will take place throughout the season including a daylong celebration on April 29, Kings Island’s birthday. The Golden Celebration, a summer-long event beginning Memorial Day weekend, will feature brand new entertainment highlighting special moments from the amusement park’s first 50 years. 2022 Kings Island Special Events - (View the full events line-up on Kings Island’s website, www.visitkingsisland.com/events.) Passholder Preview (Friday, April 15) Gold and Platinum passholders will be the first to experience Kings Island in 2022. The park will be open from noon – 7:00 p.m. Opening Day (Saturday, April 16) Kings Island officially opens to everyone for its 50th Anniversary season. Kings Island’s Birthday (Friday, April 29) Don’t miss this historic, daylong anniversary celebration that will pay tribute to the park's first 50 years. The Golden Celebration (Begins Saturday, May 28) Don't miss the kickoff of our summer-long Golden Celebration featuring brand new entertainment highlighting Kings Island's history. Soak City Water Park Opening Weekend (May 28-29) Soak City Water Park opens for Kings Island’s 2022 season on Memorial Day weekend and will be open daily through Aug. 21 and weekends Aug. 27-28 and Sept. 3-5. Independence Day Fireworks (Sunday, July 3) In honor of Independence Day, Kings Island will light up the sky with one of the largest and most impressive fireworks displays in the Cincinnati area. Fall and Winter Events (September – December) The 2022 season also will feature the return of Kings Island’s popular fall events, Halloween Haunt and Tricks And Treats Fall Fest, in September and October, and WinterFest in November and December. Guests can experience all of the fun and thrills this season, including unlimited visits to enjoy the 50th Anniversary season, Halloween Haunt and WinterFest, with a 2022 Platinum or Gold Season Pass. What are you looking forward to the most for the 50th Anniversary season?

That in itself would make a good documentary!