BB1

Alright kiddies, onto the main showdown. Orion, what many Kings Island enthusiasts have been wishing for since 2015; Diamondback, the coaster that put Kings Island back on the map for thrills. When we first heard of Orion, I saw everything from excitement, to disappointment as many wanted a Fury 2.0. When we finally rode Orion, I still saw everything from it's the best coaster in the park, to some saying it still missed the bar of what the park needed. Only one coaster can truly be the King of the Island, the true Khan of the coaster line up, is it Diamondback or Orion? What do you guys think? (Ps, why can't we have both isn't an option. Both cannot be equally good)

Maybe you guys are all wrong, it's the world's longest extended disco, Son of Surf Dog! (I kid, I kid) All joking aside though, from what I know of the area and the markers thereof, I think we're looking at utility work. Now, personally speaking I'd love to see a major investment into a repaving of the parking lot as honestly it's becoming more of an issue by the day. However, knowing how the park works and operates, I would think this might just be some electrical project or maybe even a small extension to the walkway. I wouldn't invest too much time personally into the matter as 2021 is going to be a dry year for KI in my opinion, maybe some touch ups and upgrades but I wouldn't go after a mountain when there's only a mole hill.

In all honesty, I wish Coney had some more water slides to actually stand up more to the local fan fare. I don't think it's too far fetched for us to see a standalone waterpark that isn't super close to KI. (Looking at you now defunct for the umpteenth time Beach Waterpark) Currently, for a family, there's enough to draw them in for a Sunday afternoon, maybe even a season pass if you're close enough and don't want to drive to Mason. However, for Coney to actually hold up and run with the business model they have, I think they seriously need to invest in some new, fresh waterslides that are contemporary with other waterparks. Heck, even just buy some slides from The Beach waterpark, there are several very nice waterslides just sitting dormant. With everything said and done, no one could have expected COVID, no one could have expected the shallow season we are getting. I think Coney should have had a dual announcement, that yes they were selling off attractions but were expanding their waterpark with some new slides to give some fresh life to a new era of the park.

Honorary membership of the Unofficial Boomerang Bay Fan Club, duh. But seriously though that song almost describes to a t what CF did to that waterpark.

^That's kind of my point. I get if like the item is a big ticket deal, but stuff like brats and hot dogs aren't really *big* for me. I think this is one of two things: A. The park needs cash due to covid or B. A massive oversight that the park didn't examine and think through. I can tell you that I personally witnessed a few people upset over the fact that they didn't have any dining plan options.

So I guess I'll post this here as I think this vibes better around this topic. I am honestly kind of disappointed that the park didn't add any dining plan options for Meteor Canteen. I think they had a great thing going with adding a bathroom, and a restaurant, yet they didn't give us any new food items for the dining plan. Which don't get me wrong, I understand that not every location can have a dining plan option. However, considering their recent track record with adding dining plan options at recent additions like Miami Brewhouse, Coney Island BBQ and even Island Smokehouse, I would have thought an item or two would have been on the dining plan. (Preferably the brats as I can vibe with some brats and sauerkraut)

This is exactly what I have been talking about with this waterpark since SC was installed. You used to have some serious foliage at the park, then they ripped it out and put in a parking lot (Bonus points to you if you got that reference). The waterpark needs a lot of things, critically. A decent water coaster, a new set of speed slides, a new water slide complex, heck even a new kiddie area would be an upgrade to what we got. Even just some TLC in adding some new theming would do wonders for the park. I have said it once, and I'll say it again the waterpark gets attention ever so often and it is honestly upsetting as it deserves more and better options. It is what most season pass holders tend to go to and it honestly needs work to compete with local waterparks. As for @coaster sally no we don't need an Intamin Aquatrax and no we don't need a shoot the chutes either. BB1, one of the few who actually knows that waterpark like the back of his hand.

Scroll from the right hand of your screen to the left hand of your screen for the full list of symptoms. If that doesn't work then I'd restart the application and see if that works.

^That comment reminded me of something else the waterpark needs to fix: the smoking section. So we could have a pretty decent water attraction as an entry welcome but we just have a smoking section that fills the entire midway and entrance. Please for the love of everything good just keep the smoking section in a more discreet area, same for the walkway back to the hard park. I don't think they can 100% immerse people into the world of the waterpark just due to spacing and the way the road system operates. You could definitely argue for some more trees around the park as we have the space, but to be 100% immersed without being able to see out would be a difficult task. I personally say if you want to do that, just invest more with the lazy river, make it more immersive and tropical instead of being rock city USA.

Certain slides you can have your shoes thrown down behind you, others you just can't. I personally wouldn't suggest leaving your flip flops at the entrance just because someone might pick them up. There are a lot of glaring issues with Soak City, not just the branding, not just the slides, but the conceptual layout and the haphazardness of the whole park. First off, like mentioned, there is barely any shade at Soak City. When they redid the entry to the lazy river, they ripped out what could have been called the best shaded water park lazy river in the nation. The bushes hanging above, the trees, it was cool and nice on a hot summers day. Now, it's a hot mess with the water features going all over the place. Speaking of, personally speaking, the water guns and features have to go. They are a nuisance to both guests and lifeguards. Sometimes half of them don't even work, other times kids will spray people in the face for no reason. Buckets will be held, spray the lifeguards, and would take them off beat. Don't believe me? I've seen it. Lazy rivers are supposed to be "Lazy", give people like my father who is obese a place to relax and unwind because for him going to the lazy river back in BB era was much more enjoyable with the stairs and messed up queue. On the topic of the layout, the back stretch from Pine to the tube shed being blocked just doesn't make sense to me. The shed can be roped off, and that stretch is a nice way for guests who don't want to go in the river to walk around with their loved ones. Also, for the love of everything good, just add some trees. Seriously, just add some maples or some pine trees, shade up the park and make it easier for people to walk around. The slides themselves are dated, however if you want one slide to hit the can, it's Zoom Flume. It's old, it is rough, the wood is pushing the fiberglass up and needs either repair or demo. Everything else is fine in my opinion, when it comes to the slide colors I honestly believed they should have kept the colors they had in 2011 as I thought Twist and Pine's aqua colors were amazing, the new colors look dated. For what we honestly need at the waterpark, we need a water coaster yeah, but we also need a decent PROSlide tube complex. You could definitely squeeze a decent water coaster back near Pineapple and or maybe have it stretch around the Zoom Flume area. For a PROSlide complex, just place it where Zoom Flume is currently, there is a lot of topography to work with and I think they should use the valley it sits in to it's full potential. As to theming, I loved Boomerang Bay, I saw Soak City as a generic brand with no true flavor. It still honestly doesn't have a decent beach feel in all honesty. I don't want a water country usa esque country bumpkin water park, but I really don't want a generic bland waterpark like we have now. I think having a decent, different brand is essential as I personally believe that Kings Island's direct competitor is Holiday World in terms of being world class. They have a very unique theme, contrary to what we have at Kings Island. Sure, one could argue that it is X amount of hours away and they have a lot more to offer, but I think if Kings Island went for the wood record, they should also try to nab the waterpark record in some form. So, should they go back to Boomerang Bay? Why not? They have the IP, it is different and I think would work to make themselves distinct in the brand again. If not, something like The Rhine Waterpark would work well, with a German/OTR theme that ties in with Cincinnati's German heritage. Which would also tie into the International Street theme that we have in the hard park and Oktoberfest. When it comes down to it, the waterpark gets forgotten about more often than you think. We have a few repaints, maybe a new restaurant, but it was four years between major additions. Technically 12 years from the last major water slide addition to Tropical Plunge. So hopefully management can change things up and improve on what we have.

(I honestly do not know which thread is the main topic for discussion on construction updates so I'm just going to post here and see what happens.) Overall I'm pretty impressed with what they have done already, I wouldn't be surprised if by Winterfest we see a lot more of the lift tapered off. I would like to see some teasers of the queue the closer to opening day we get but I'll be happy just to see some actual theming for the first time in a long time.

(end hiatus)So just as a FYI, Hofbräuhaus has franchising opportunities that would be right up Kings Island's alley. Hofbräu Express is their quick service venue similar to what Panda Express is in the FestHaus. If Kings Island were to go with the Small Restaurant model they could just demo Hanks and rebuild it as a smaller Hofbräuhaus to fit the area and remodel the whole area to be more Germanic. (Link for those who are wondering: http://www.hofbrauhaus.us/franchise/ ) Definitely would not be opposed to loosing the Panda for the Hofbräu, just saying. (resume hiatus)

Paramount had it's ups and downs. I thoroughly enjoyed the additions like Boomerang Bay (duh), Top Gun & Flight of Fear. However other additions like Italian Stunt Job, Son of Beast's lack of competent construction & the odd implementation of Nick in HB Land just didn't sit right with me. Paramount was a great chain to see theming and quality in the first few years of an attraction, after that it turned sour quickly. Heck Top Gun's lower queue was rarely used and it had a ton of theming. I would say the Paramount era basically gave us the good, the bad, and the ugly in theme park industry.

Barrels have been there for awhile with the SOB symbols, usually added during the Haunt season mind you. The Mystic Timbers SOB symbols have been added during the opening season and latter parts of the season. I believe that CF has gotten the output they wanted from the coaster community. To create buzz on RMCesque words and symbols is probably driving some enthusiasts to these parks and to spend more time within. Not to mention the fact that people are starting to catch on that SOB nods have been all over. (Not alot of people even spoke about the wood popping up at Banshee mind you.) After watching several people try to make The Beast station into the CW dive station, and now this, I believe that CF has created a proverbial gold mine in a shared universe for this year's teasers. Remember too that these teasers could also be for 2020, as I wouldn't be surprised if we get some teasers for the big years coming up (20, & 21 respectively).

Mind you i went both times and never got any Szechuan Sauce. The BaB situation was a fiasco and I am kind of surprised that the KI location actually participated in the event itself.

Back in 2004, I would have agreed with that statement! Now in 2018, I say forget Outback and give me another Cheese Burger in Paradise (I miss that place so much).The International Street Restaurant has been the white elephant of I-Street for years now. I love the fact that they could use it for the Winterfest meals, but I hate that it goes dormant with the few meals that get served in the restaurant during the operating season. I personally believe that a restaurant that has different foods from around the world would be perfect for the location. Sit down, wait for your server, the whole nine yards. However, I don't know how well it would fly. Let's be honest folks, KI Food ops have been half staff for most of the season. However, the food quality has been rising (at least in my opinion) in what we see with Coney BBQ. I think that Chef Major could definitely whip up some dishes for the restaurant to serve that could be at theme park capacity. I just do not know whether or not that is on the immediate to do list.

Weekends can vary depending on when you go. Usually, Saturdays are far more crowded than Sundays. However, it all depends on the groups at the park. Definitely try to arrive on a Sunday, less crowds and more opportunities for re rides. Banshee usually is dead with a 5-10 minute wait during the day and could deliver more re rides out of the whole park. If you are looking for maximizing thrills definitely try to hit up the Dback-Mystic-Beast corridor before the crowds bunch in because once it hits 11-12 they will have long lines for the rest of the day. I always say this to people, check out the waterpark. Seriously the lines back there are usually small in comparison to what you have at the park. What could be an hour wait for Diamondback could be 5-10 rides on Pineapple Plunge and several on the drop boxes at Tropical Plunge. OH and don't forget about lunch, the Coney Island BBQ is amazing. Definitely try to go around 1:30-2 pm after the lunch rush pours out and don't forget to try the collard greens. But don't forget that weekdays are usually far less crowded than weekends and could deliver more in park experiences than the latter. Lines are usually half or maybe 3/4 gone on weekdays and usually could call for some great re rides on some fine attractions. Hope you have fun when you go!

Eat-Mor-Ribs (Hopefully Montgomery Inn Style, and the cow will be proud)

Christmas decor has been up for awhile now. It wasn't until mid January that the wreath was taken down and the Christmas Tree was still up last weekend in the front with the WF sign on the entry way. (This was from me driving on the road next to KI, not going on property because that is trespassing which is wrong)

The Island Smokehouse took over the location of the original Dive Snack Shack (Boomerang Bay era) which was a Graeter's before demolition. Again, I still believe that this is just a restaurant to be announced with their food offerings during the off season like they have before.

The front seat is the best seat for any kind of jerkiness or roughness. More explicitly front left for the intensity of the helix is my go to seat on Beast anyways not to mention the several turns are great in that seat.

Now to be honest that would be better because Panda would actually be an international food in the area themed to different cultures in one street. The mac n cheese bar was amazing and a better addition than Hanks is in my opinion. Smoke house, eh, I am actually leaning towards the hope of a build your own coney line in Coney Mall. You already have one Taco Bell outside the park, you don't need another inside the park! (Unless if it were to be KFC, which I would actually approve of)

One thing I will have to admit is the severe lack of German food in the Oktoberfest section of the park. I would be happy if Hanks or some line in the Festhaus turned into a german food line. Some old world classics like sauerbraten, bratwurst, sauerkraut, and some new world classics like Goetta. I will admit I would go to that more than I would for Hanks. Now I know what you are thinking, where could a Hanks shop go? Send it to I-Street, a part of the park that is supposed to be about cultures from around the world. The same could be said about Panda Express if done right could become a park staple in entry to the park.

In all honesty even though an indoor attraction would be amusing, I just do not see the building as a good for the park. It is a big box in the middle of two world class coasters and to be honest if opened up could make way for a beautiful flat ride location like a sky swing. In the long run the Haunt use is good use during the fall, however it just feels like a blank spot of the park during the spring/summer months that should just be taken out and revitalized.