MDMC01

I'm not sure why, but all I can say is that I was told they were working on it last night and hoping to get it running today (Source: I had a cool conversation with a ride op who was "guarding" Diamondback's entrance telling guests that it was closed for the rest of the night; we talked about Diamondback and Haunt! ).

In honor of National Roller Coaster Day, I made it up to the park for a few hours and managed to ride every coaster, minus Red Racer and Diamondback (the former because to me, Blue counted as "riding The Racer" and Diamondback was down, which I was totally ok with!*). Though a few of the rides were bumpy/jerky, I'd have to say the highlights were Invertigo (had NO WAIT and the ride experience was pretty decent), Adventure Express (jerky, but that's to be expected; also there was this kid who had pretty much memorized the AE spiel and was doing it continually, which was cool- he wasn't making fun of the ride ops, he was 100% legit!), Mystic Timbers (very crazy/fast and fun) and The Bat (first ride was intense, second ride was nice). The lines weren't terrible with the worst probably being Mystic Timbers (probably 30 minutes-ish). Also, got to see a piece of Orion track from Blue Racer, so that was awesome. Speaking of Area 72 (gonna have to get used to calling X-Base that now lol), Chaos's sign was up and I couldn't be happier! Also, I loved seeing the giant Orion posters cover the fence and the ride itself being advertised (with Gold Passes) everywhere I looked! On the flip side, Flight of Fear was pretty harrowing; I was in Row 2 and it was a very rough ride! Overall, it was a good time and I'm glad I got that many coasters in in such a short amount of time. I'll be back in the park Sunday for two showings of Gravity and it'll likely be the last time I make it to KI before Haunt. *Though I am bummed for the people who want to see it running as I know a lot of people (enthusiasts and GP alike) love Diamondback. But also Rivertown was a lot quieter, so there's that. EDIT: Also ran into @VortexBFForever and Brenden (the guy who loves Banshee) during my trip. Also-also, I feel like somehow the park (or some entity) should keep track of people who are "superfans" of a ride and have ridden a particular coaster an insane amount of times (like on a leaderboard or something...)- for example, we have Carl Eichmann for Beast, Brendan for Banshee, me for The Bat, Gary Coleman for Diamonback and Carolyn for Vortex (let me know if there are others I'm missing).

What happened with WindSeeker?

Interesting that the shirt says Orion: The Ride... is there another Orion? Also, Tomb Raider: The Ride...

Guys I just realized the station matches the repaint of Chaos’s building (or vice versa).

Thanks for posting the link, @FUN&ONLY!! I saw all the videos on the site, and while it could be a bit longer, oh my gosh does it look amazing! That turnaround looks like a non-inverted dive loop and that first hill after the drop takes you sideways! That’s like a Steel Vengeance move! I think Orion is going to be a big hit and I like the theme/backstory as well. I wonder if any of this will be incorporated into Chaos?

And we have a winner!!! Orion for 2020!!! Also, Carnivale is coming back!!!

Wasn’t there someone else in the background as well? And that’s dedication for John Mattereese (spelling?) to go all the way up to CP for the story.

Yes, putting the pass in your phone/mobile device is definitely a thing! You can register the pass(es) on the Kings Island app. IIRC, it was mentioned to me over the phone when I lost my pass during Winterfest (saw a movie before going to the park and probably left the pass at the theater lol). Also, it automatically updates if/when you renew!

I assume so. I remember buying the skeleton selfie shirt during Haunt, so I’d guess all the normal stuff will be available as well. Do note that they do have seasonal items like ornaments or the shirt I just mentioned.

I also think he’s the same DJ from Island Nights (and maybe from the Passholder Party? hmmm). I also remember there being a DJ named Adam that only showed up for the first night of Carnivale (when the dance party lasted without interruption due to the rain) and then I never saw him again... There is also a DJ in Grand Rapids, MI named DJ Kermit! Back on topic, about an hour till the party starts! I’ll either be in bed or following along online; this is exciting!!!

So, question... can we leave gifts in the box tomorrow or would that be frowned upon? Also, as for our next coaster after this awesomeness (with 4-across seating!), I'm on Team Floorless! Finally, though I was originally a fan of the name Orion, Polaris has grown on me. Shooting Star would be a good name as well- a throwback to Coney Island/Coney Mall as well as something that could potentially leave an impact (because the craters... my science is fuzzy lol). EDIT: I may be correct, even though I was just guessing on the whole shooting star/crater thing... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_Star

Nice! I remember doing a high dive at The Beach Waterpark when I was younger (on the opposite side of the rope swing into a pool) and that was crazy! The drop was really far down, but IIRC, the platform wasn’t terribly tall. Speaking of iffy things at The Beach Waterpark, they had these climbing net walkways that you had to use to get to some of the slides... that really scared me as I thought the ropes would break.

Good stuff. As for skipping Wildcat, it’s an ok coaster, but LR was much better (IMO). Did you like Thunder (Left side) or Lightning (Right side) better?

My bad! Can’t forget our spy plane captains! Yes, thank you gentlemen for getting aerial shots. And my apologies if I missed anyone else; a lot of us contributed in valuable ways!

Well, guys and gals, this. is. IT! 1 more day until we know everything (well, at least the main details). It's been a crazy fun ride, even with the bumps in the road. I'd like to give a shoutout to @collin.klopfsteinand @Hawaiian Coasters 325 for keeping us engaged with CSF track photos and renderings/mockups of the new ride (also @DustinTheNow and @Magenta Lizard for their contributions ). As I said before, I'm really excited about this thing and I think it'll be really, really cool. For those who attend the announcement, have a blast and drink plenty of water (I heard it's supposed to be humid tomorrow); I'll hear about it in the morning on the interwebs. Finally, I leave you with some hype music:

Even so, imagine would could be done with that money; I could get a lot of Pokémon cards (heck, I could buy all the items on my Wish List and still have tons left over... come to think of it, finishing the remaining 2nd gen sets would be a drop in the bucket)! Back on topic, 1 more day until the big reveal! While I'm super excited for our Giga (especially the 4 across trains- no, I'm not kidding!), that would be cool if we did get a cool flat ride and some bathrooms near the coaster.

Great backstory, but I love how they keep saying that “record” lol. As far as that picture, it looks like Snake River Falls (or Congo Falls) but as a rapids ride and with an elevator lift... or is there more to the ride’s layout that we are not seeing?

Interesting times, guys and gals! It's cool that they are doing a very involved setup for this announcement. Reading one of the posts, I was reminded of when I waited for the news of Banshee to come online at 10 PM (as that's when the announcement was and IIRC, I thought at the time that the webpage would be live as soon as the announcement started)… and the Panera WiFi cut out... so I had to find out at home... Also, thanks @Magenta Lizard for your work in helping us with the lockbox and lock. Finally, I wouldn it be crazy if the guy who did play Mr. Christopher in the FOF videos show up to reprise his role at the announcement?

We're famous... sorta... I found an article about Project X that mentioned KIC; here's the digital version (I originally found the article on the front page of the Pulse Journal (a local newspaper for the area)): https://www.journal-news.com/news/kings-island-announce-major-new-addition-next-week-this-the-new-ride/HK3HeKo9pN6WT422ggxX0N/

Wonder if Meteor at Dorney Park (or Aero 360 at Kennywood) would scare her?

Wow, lots to catch up on here since the new teasers got out! First, the teasers look interesting… maybe the whole crater thing is saying that the drop will be longer than the lift height is tall. Also, I’m thinking this will be a heck of a night ride! Second re: the whole “there’s more to this…” talk going on, even though it would be insanely awesome if there is something they are not telling us and this ride blows us all away with something unexpected (like the first time I saw the Storm Runner POV as a kid or when Steel Vengeance was announced) I’m keeping an open mind and waiting for Thursday. Also, Polorion actually sounds like a really cool name. And why would anyone want one of those unibrow disguises? Third, speaking of Y2K, I plan on wearing my “Y2K Survivor” shirt on Thursday in honor of the announcement. Fourth, @Jallie79 your comment makes me think of how IGN rated ORAS (Pokemon game) when it game out… 8/10 for having too much water! Finally, let’s just enjoy the ride- we’ve got three more days until the announcement and then National Roller Coaster Day is the very next day! It’s like a mini-holiday weekend [insert Kermit yay meme]

I've actually done CP without FLP (in fact, I don't think I've ever utilized a "jump the line" system there, with the exception being when I got a handstamp for Dragster (when it first opened) and then chickened out) and still got a decent amount of rides in (spread over two days, but still); to each their own.

Also forgot to note that when I rode Bat today, I noticed a group of pavers by the greenhouse/dorms area and this leads me to believe we may see some updating (at least in the way of new pavers) of that side of Coney Mall. Secondly, I did see something construction-ish inside Field of Screams (as in, stuff that would seem to obstruct the path of the maze), but that may be what they use to "grow" the corn to prep the maze for Haunt.

Yeet! @collin.klopfstein I will not be attending, but ya'll already know I'll be on KI's site (or here?) first thing Friday morning to see what we're officially getting for 2020! And as promised, the pics... So, it may be hard to see, but in the above picture, it looks like we have a group of footers for the station as well as what looks to be a possible turn out of the station before ascending the lift (or a turn into the station from the brake run like Diamondback?). The second picture shows a little more of the construction site...