SonofBaconator

I didn’t know where else to put this: go to 54:00 and watch for about a minute and you’ll see where the owner talks about parts of Phantom Theater being in the Dent Schoolhouse (also at the beginning I think an old spinning cauldron from KI though he says Coney Island).

A single rider line would help that but I know that’s been unpopular with people in years past during Winterfest.

This might get me tarred and feathered but I think Monster should be dismantled and stored in favor of something that offers better capacity. I know it would never happen but I wonder how long people spend on that ride from the que, to loading, to riding, to waiting to be unloaded.

Launched wood to launched hybrid to chainlift hybrid

Safety would be a concern but Torture Tower seemed super unique: (2:12)

I don’t personally mind, I just don’t agree with the overall concept

That’s not always the case. I’ve seen actors avoid certain groups altogether because one of the people was wearing a necklace. If there’s a group of say 5 people and one of them is wearing a “no-boo” necklace, I don’t know how an actor can do their job properly in scaring the other 4 without indirectly scaring the one with the necklace that they’ve been instructed to avoid.

Also more food for thought: If I’m part of the park’s front office, I’m looking at where the dollars are going. Look at ride ops: you know you need a certain amount of people to operate a ride and you know the operating cost to staff it. You can calculate ROI based off of the number of riders per hour. You can’t really calculate the ROI of a roaming scareactor. If I’m Dent Schoolhouse, I know I’m getting my money’s worth with my staff….if I’m employing roaming scareactors in an amusement park setting with “no boo necklaces”, I don’t know if I’m getting all that I can out of them. If you put them in a maze or scare zone, you know they’re being used as effectively as possible. The no-boo necklaces certainly invite a more family atmosphere that I don’t see going away. More and more parents are taking their kids to Haunt because they see it as a less scary alternative to Dent Schoolhouse, USS Nightmare, Land of Illusion, etc. Also, with Haunt being open for late hours, enthusiasts are able to catch night rides on their favorite coasters later than they would during the regular summer season. The event is certainly evolving but I personally don’t think they’re making as much money off of employing scareactors as they should be.

I decided to make this it’s own thread because I think is needs attention. I’ve shared this before but I’m not a huge fan of the idea of roaming scareactors. I think the practice is an inefficient use of labor and therefore should be eliminated from Halloween Haunt. It’s been stated on here that there will be less scareactors this season. This could lead to less immersive mazes/scare zones. Why not simply pull these employees from the pathways and put them in the mazes and scare zones where they could be better utilized? I argue there’d be more value for guests if the mazes and scare zones were more immersive as opposed to spreading the staffing so thin around the park. Regarding value, I think guests should be allowed to choose whether or not they want to get scared. If people want to get scared, then they should go to the mazes/scare zones. I don’t agree with the idea that you should have to pay more to not be scared via the “no boo” necklaces. It comes off as an unnecessary cash grab. I don’t think I’m alone in this but I’m not confident that this will ever become a reality unless attendance drops to the point where they would need to take action.

I think eliminating the roaming aspect and restructuring actors/actresses into the mazes would help with the staffing problems. On any given night, the pathways are jam packed with guests and it seems like scareactors can’t be as efficient at doing their jobs; I’ve heard from multiple people that they never needed to get “no-boo” necklaces because they were never approached by any monsters. TL;DR- eliminate the roaming effect and relocate all scareactors into the mazes

Ideally the ride would’ve been initially designed to where all arms could lower at once but they would require a lot of hydrologics which probably weren’t available decades ago- heck current models still resemble the old designs

Wait what?

Somewhere in Coney Mall

Not to sound like a critic but I personally wouldn’t mind if they closed the Action Zone portion of Winterfest and dispersed its activities around different parts of the park. I guess I say this because the 2005 Winterfest seemed a lot “tighter” where as the Cedar Fair version seems more spread out. The kids area has expanded since ‘05 as well as the addition of Coney Mall and Area 72. I think if they left out Action Zone, they could refocus their attention on other parts of the park.

Fireatone and Marathon used to sponsor the park https://www.themeparkbrochures.net/brochures/kings-island/

If companies want to give us money to slap their name on stuff, what’s the issue?

I’d be 2 for 2 then!

I still think they should rip out the Crypt building and build a new boat ride along the tree line next to Diamondback’s second hill:

The biggest missed opportunity with KI over its 50 year history?

I feel like Dorney won the best coaster in the northeast for 2024

A have a Haunt question- why did we never get a Phantom Theater Haunt? I’m not talking about recycling the props and figures for existing mazes that’s been going on for years, I’m talking about a concept that focuses on the original Phantom Theater IP.

That’s my view- like what you said, The Vortex plot has been vacant for a while so people are used to it. If they remove Invertigo and Congo Falls and replace Vortex, the front will look bare and uninviting. I think they should have something in the works for when Invertigo and Congo eventually leave. If those two get replaced in 2026 and Vortex gets replaced in 2030, I wouldn’t be upset.

It’s gets people into the park a second time which could mean increased sales in food and merchandise on make-up visits.