SonofBaconator

I think that would be nice, and maybe rope off certain areas until it becomes night time. Has KI ever done live Reindeer? I think that would be a cool thing for guests to see and a lot of holiday events incorporate them in.

It would be cool if it was tied into Philadelphia a little bit. Would painting it dark green and calling it “Eagle” violate any trademarks by the Philadelphia Eagles?

I wonder if they’re going for a 200fter like Griffon: 1-2 inversions or something under 200ft that features more inversions like Emperor.

I always felt like the Plus system devalued some of KI’s rides. Of course newer rides are more popular out the gate so it makes sense that they’re on the plus system, but I always felt like coasters that aren’t on the plus (like Banshee and Diamondback) were deemed “not worthy” and therefore indirectly devalued them.

I think we’ll see Phantom Theater return in 2024 and see construction that year for 2025 but that’s just me

From KD’s Facebook page

If you get a building the size of Festhaus (maybe even smaller) you could pull off a dark ride of a similar quality to the Winnie the Pooh ride I showed earlier. That stage/barnyard could fit a building of a similar square footage. Whether that would generate a good ROI or not, I’m not sure.

Double Post. If you look at some Disney dark rides, you’ll notice that most of the figures are static or have very few moving parts- allowing imagineers to use music and lighting to tell the story. Granted this is established IP, I argue a concept like this would be easy to replicate..and I’m not just talking about Phantom Theater but dark rides in general.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy going to Winterfest but it has indeed been getting stale. For example, while the train is super popular during Winterfest, I think the half “Twelve Days of Christmas” half “Christmas carols” seems to have run its course and the whole ride could do with a new overlay. I’m sure the new flat rides in AP will help add something to the event, but I feel like after 5 years, some things need to be retired, some things need to be refreshed, and some things need to be introduced.

@CoastersRZ I think starting Winterfest before Thanksgiving would be helpful. It could combat any potential weather related incidents like the park had last season with early winter freezes. I want more attractions open but at the same time, I want the holidays incorporated more into them.Seeing the Boo Blasters done up for Winterfest was a great touch. Adding an overlay to Mystic Timbers would be easy enough to do, in my opinion, I just don’t understand why it hasn’t been done yet. Just adding holiday lights in the shed and maybe plays 80s Christmas hits (not sure if they’d need to get the rights to use them) would be enough for me. Also, with the work being done on Racer, it would be nice to see it run during Winterfest as well. I love going to Winterfest every season but for some reason, something was off about this year. I’m not sure if I had personally expected more or what but I didn’t get the same feelings that I did in years past and I know I’m not alone on that.

When wooden roller coaster track gets replaced over the years, that reminds me of the ”Ship of Theseus” thought experiment

Does anyone know photoshop? It would be cool to see what it will look like!

From what I gather, Cedar Fair isn’t super interested in operating resorts in the southwestern Ohio region. KI benefits from the hotels in the area because they get the potential revenue from hotel guests who chose to go to the park. In addition, KI/CF doesn’t have to invest any money into the neighboring hotels since they are all owned by different companies: no spending on construction, utilities, staff, etc. I’m assuming the chain would rather spend their money elsewhere and continue to indirectly make money on neighboring hotels as opposed to putting money into a property that might or might not have turned them a profit. If anything the park benefits from not having anything to do with the campground in my opinion- they minimize the risk and still reap the reward from travelers who travel to the area.

If you go to “Places to stay”, Camp Cedar is gone. Additionally, Kings Island is gone from Camp Cedar’s website when you go to “area attractions”. Was there a break up that we missed?

Not to say we don’t necessarily need scare actors but… scares don’t always need to come from people. I’ve been places where a well timed valve going off or the sudden loud noise while no monsters are present can be just as terrifying because it lets the imagination run wild. Jump scares are fine, but they’re quick and don’t seem to last as long.

Weather is a touchy subject. There are people who are disappointed when the park closes at unscheduled times- which could affect their plans. On the other hand, there’s people who are upset if the park stays open because they feel for the employees who have to work the event. Kings Island has to do what they think is best for their guests and employees. Cold weather is different from rain. Storms can be here and gone in a few hours…the same can’t be said for freezing weather. If the park had the mindset of “these people paid, so we should stay open.” they could face potential lawsuits if they can’t ensure safe conditions for their guests and associates. I’m sure they’d rather refund for freezing weather and have their associates stay home over risking their guest’s/employees’ safety. Even though people are spending the money, the park has the final say in how they chose to operate. Foresight needs to be put into play at times as well: if the temperature is in, or around, the single digits, it’s probably not a wise decision to make plans to go to an outdoor event in the first place.

To the people who are online complaining: It cold. Stay home.

I couldn’t imagine our Eiffel Tower being anything other than the green it’s been. Did they want gold for the Golden Celebration?

Not to sound negative but I felt like there was something missing from this year’s Winterfest when I went. I had a great time but there was something missing from years past that I can’t really put my finger on.

I’m just curious. Each year there’s something new/different.

I’ve spoken about underutilized plots of land on here before. In general, I think the park had does a really good job of placing it’s attractions within the past decade. while on the subject of utilizing underutilize plots of land. I think that the Backlot Stunt Coaster land is prime real estate that I think the park will eventually capitalize on in the coming years. I think that whole Vortex back area will be re-organized to allow for traffic to follow a little better. While the antique autos are great, I am not entirely a fan of how it jets out into the midway, which I argue a re-organized area would fix this. I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to relocate Shake Rattle and roll to the green space that surrounds Backlot Stunt Coaster. This would open up the back pathway up a little bit and would allow for the park to have a little more wiggle room. I relocated SRR in my sky ride concept where I brought back the sky right ahead and run along the coney mall Midway:

Thought about the pond in the concept art vs what the pond currently looks like:

Every time I come on here, or other KI related platforms, it’s always the same thing: “Action Zone needs expansion. Rivertown needs expansion. Etc.” Let’s look at the past 5 years: In 2017, about 95% of Mystic Timbers was built inside the railroad. Fast forward to 2019, when the Antique Autos were built in a small footprint of land. Fast forward a year to 2020 when Orion was built hugging The Racer as opposed to going in another direction, which would’ve ultimately left plenty of room for expansion. Now fast forward 3 years when we’re about to get Adventure Port where two new flat rides are being placed in a rather tight space. I think that what we’re seeing is an attempt to keep everything within developed land as opposed to pushing into undeveloped parts of the property. This attempt, at least in my humble opinion, keeps people in close quarters to other assets. Look at Area 72- you have Flight of Fear and Orion next to each other, but not too far away you also have dining options and a sitting area. Now look at Adventure Port, you have two new rides right across from other dining options and sitting areas. By putting more rides closer to one another near these areas, people tend to stay longer. After riding Sol Spin, people might choose to sit down and buy a beverage at Mercado before going to Adventure Express or the Cargo Loco. These “micro sections” encourage people linger and spend more money, as opposed to being a place to pass through. I argue we could see more of these micro sections emerge. Look at the space between Coney Mall and Rivertown- they could turn that into its own micro section with a dining area and places for people to sit while maybe adding a flat or two similar to Adventure Port. The longer people stay in these sections, the longer their day becomes and I argue the likeliness of them spending money increases. Maybe I’m totally wrong, but I don’t think expanding outward is the answer- developing inward is.

Whatever the next coaster is for us, I hope that Winterfest was considered when the park/chain was making their selection. Moving forward, if they’re not already, I think all new rides should be installed with Winterfest and even haunt in mind-whether it’s an indoor attraction, a flat ride, or a coaster with more ride trains that can operate in cooler temperatures ,etc.

At this point, just tear it down and use the land for more flat rides. If they were daring, they could go further and relocate or replicate Congo Falls in Rivertown and use that strip of grass to the left of Diamondback. According to Google Earth, Congo Falls takes up about 420ft of linear space which is about the size of that plot of land in Rivertown: