BB1

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.

Ahh Kings Island, home of the classic Blue Ice Cream and Larosa's Pizza, what more could you ask for, right? Kings Island always has room to grow especially in the food department as they have over the past few years. We got some great new products at the Island Smokehouse like the shrimp and bbq, and some great mac n cheese at the foodbar over the Winterfest season. However, if you look at Kings Island proper, the food selection needs improvement for an ever growing hungry crowd of guests. So the basis of the latest and last 2018 Off Season Poll Series discussion is what food item do you want Kings Island to bring next to the park's food venue?

They never got rid of Boomerang Bay. Just changed the name due to licensing reasons. It was part of Paramount's branding for the movie Crocodile Dundee. Trying to find old content of mine, eh? Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay was the licensed name by Paramount Parks that branded the waterpark in an Australian overlay of the names and scenery. Boomerang Bay itself was a good name (from my recollection of the branding) by dropping the Paramount property of Crocodile Dundee for the Cedar Fair park as I do not believe that Boomerang Bay was a copyrighted property that was a mandated change. (I could be wrong I am going off of information I had from years ago the topic really hasn't came up that often) The point of the post is that Boomerang Bay was removed, not in terms of the waterpark slides and attractions, with exception to one, but the name branding and scenery theming. It was the intricate and immersive theming of the gift shop, and the various small nods to Australian wildlife on small cut outs or fence paintings that were cast aside for the now Soak City decor. One attraction by technicality did bite the dust, the original Crocodile Run aka Splash River. Splash River runs virtually the same course with diversions in the enterance and exits being on opposite sides of the river and the new zero depth entry that demolished one of the most secluded parts of the river. The point of the post was that I think that the Boomerang Bay waterpark branding being removed was a mistake as it had character that was beyond the generic tropical theming found at most waterparks.

While a Giga coaster would be a KI die-hard enthusiast's dream, I do not believe that the park needs it quite yet. Kings Island still has open vacant lots to add in flat rides to add to their attraction line up and has a big box o'FUN (Is that slogan still being used?) to deal with in RiverTown. Kings Island, in my opinion, needs to diversify in their portfolio of attractions before getting a record breaking Giga. Now, if a Giga were to come to Kings Island here is my main speculative prediction. Station would be either in the fields near Action Zone or back near X-base with the main course running past the river and the fields in the back of the property. 310-350 ft would probably be the range with a length similar to that of Fury 325 if not the slightest bit longer. Theme would probably be a main key to the station/queue area but no further than that.

A. Understaffing B. Low crowds Usually either one, or it could be both from what I could gather. It is an easy area to block off and is usually less frequented than other attractions in the park.

For the past season and last season there has been a block of the parking lot, next to the KI sign, separated off with barriers and barrels. I personally do not know what it could be, (probably that rumored parking lot Giga people have been talking about ) but I know there are others who don't know and would like to know. Anyone have any ideas or has the purpose been stated elsewhere?

-end hiatus-The front of the coaster car itself feels like you are in an old Chevy going through the first couple of dips and up the lift hill. This plays out through the rest of the coaster, however, this is the least forceful seat on the whole attraction. The back, row 12 left seat is by far the sweet spot of the attraction as you feel the most g's and intensity on the first drop and throughout the attraction. You feel as if you are in the truck bed going over hills and embankments through the woods with stellar airtime. Overall 10/10 would ride again, as I have over and over again, and it is the best wooden coaster at the park.-continue hiatus-

The interesting thing about this new restaurant is the bottle neck. That area next to the Breaker's sign is congested, so much as for the fact that it is a main thoroughfare for waterpark guests. It will be interesting to see how far it pertrudes out into the walkway, but I am sure they already have that covered. Overall, is this a great addition? Yes, this is one of those seldom additions that I think the park actually needed above and beyond all else. It looks as if it might have a patio from what I have seen, so if I have a patio, waterslides, and a nice lineup of food, I am set. On terms of theming, I am actually quite surprised. Ouimet is putting touches into Cedar Fair theming and this looks like something straight out of Bris.....erm... I mean Carribean region that is definitely not Australian. (No but seriously this looks as if you had an extended Outback a la Mason.) Ontop of that, seasonal operation would be brilliant. Nice summer flare during the waterpark season, some autumnal food during the kid's Halloween event, and some southern Christmas food during the WinterFest would be incredible. Time will tell on the load out of the restaurant, but either way I am happy.

I'm curious as to how you think this would develop into a system where you must buy a meal to get a drink. I can't envision any scenario at any establishment where they would say, "Oh, you just want to buy a drink? Buy some food first." Seems like it'd be illegal to me. So, how do you think that would happen? Ok, let me revise my statement. You must​ buy a dining plan to get the drink plan under this new stage. Now, that basically implies somewhat part of the hypothetical given. I only got a season long dining plan because of the few times I eat at a Cedar Fair park and to save money, but I might not want it anymore after this year if something bad happens. Effectively, in 2018, I would be left out of the drink plan given in the past few years if it were to be enacted, that is if I do not like the service given. I personally believe that the system they have now works, and saves a lot of time and not to mention money. In contrast to plastic to paper cups, I would see the constant use of a paper cups more costly than using just one plastic cup for every some odd family or individual. Now I gather that as the topic poster stated that you would have two beverages, with implications of both being paper. In response to legality, it is perfectly legal to state for a certain plan you must follow guidelines. It would be under contract as the outlines of your purchase, if you buy it, you adhere to the policy. If a system works, let it be, that's my motto and has been for years, I am happy with what I have and I don't want to see it changed.