SonofBaconator

Why not string up the Winterfest tower lights early and change them to Halloween colors?

Yeah that would be the only loss. Maybe they could still sell them as accessories, like they do at the end of the night during the summer, but be very clear that they do not work as a monster deterrent.

I think it’s useful to look at all of these and apply it to where we can assume the park will be for the rest of the decade. Tower coaster (shuttle Mack Xtreme spinner)- this seems too experimental for a park like KI- who never fared well in the experimental rides category to begin with. I feel like incorporating the spinning aspect on a large scale ride would limit it’s appeal- compare this to Wild Mouse at CP that’s on a smaller scale.) Giga dive coaster- this would be a move they’d make if they’re trying to get into the National/global spotlight by having a record breaking coaster. It seems like every larger coaster since Diamondback has broken some type of significant record. Would certainly put the park on a global stage, but would a 300ft drop affect the rest of the ride?: (If you have two dive coasters, both at 3,500ft in length, you might get more out of a 200ft tall coaster than you would a 300ft tall one) Family Thrill Coaster- it seems like we already have this with Adventure Express, Backlot, and Bat. While family thrill coasters are easy to market given their broad appeal, I feel like it’s easier to ask corporate for a family ride down the road after a large investment like an invert/dive/ hyper/giga/ etc. Indoor/Outdoor Coaster- this seems like a Dollywood/BGW type of attraction that would need decent theming. Would have to be on par with Verbolten or Mystery Mine but the indoor aspect might devalue existing rides like Flight of Fear and Backlot. Beast 2.0-this seems like an extreme ask. I’m not sure what the benefit of this would be over just building a new coaster. It seems like it would take a toll on maintenance staff and carpenters. I think it would be more trouble than it’s worth and people might feel cheated out of a new coaster. Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster- the capacity of these rides aren’t really on par with what Kings Island has been churning out since 2009. Currently the highest capacity Infinity train is Gold Rush at 20 people per train which is less than that of Mystic Timbers. Might be too small of a ride for KI- unless they made it a similar capacity to Vortex. Peanuts Dark Ride: This an interesting concept be based off the sheer fact that the new Six Flags chain has access to both Warner Brothers/DC IP as well as Peanuts IP. One would assume that if this concept was implemented, we would be continuing with the Peanuts brand. People might feel cheated out of a more thrilling addition considering we haven’t gotten a large coaster since 2020

I know a lot of people complain about the event being “watered down” and was wondering if this be worth the experiment or would it be more trouble than it’s worth?: I’ve stated for a while that they should move all scareactors into the mazes. I have no clue what the ratio of characters assigned to mazes is to those that aren’t. We know the park won’t turn away kids if they’re with their family, because if they did that would be potential $$ lost- so why don’t they make up for that by intensifying the Haunt aspect? In theory if you had all your characters in buildings, you could add more haunted houses/mazes.

Why did certain Haunt buildings never reopen for the fall? I’m looking at Blackout, Wolfpack, and CarnEvil. Staffing?

I always wondered if KI never did an Oktoberfest celebration out of fear that it wouldn’t perform to the standards of the one downtown. Personally, I wouldn’t mind if German food options are offered during that time for park guests.

Whether those numbers are accurate or not, I’m personally not surprised 2021 wasn’t over 3.3 mil. There were still people choosing to social distance, despite restrictions being lifted.

I think to qualify as a dive in the enthusiast world, it needs a holding break and less than 4 coaches a train

You’re a quasi coaster You’re the margarine of a coaster You’re the Diet Coke of coasters -Dr. Evil probably

If we got a dive, I don’t think it would be a clone. Terrain is a big factor at our park and assuming it would go where Vortex, I’d like to think it would be terrain. We’re missing a traditional looper from our lineup and I think a mini dive would be a good replacement. I’m not super stoked about a launch coaster next, even if it has a traditional looping layout, because I just think of maintenance and downtime cs a traditional lift. A KI mini dive in Vortex’s spot could easily feature 6 inversions and a decent drop. 90+ degree drops are a great thing to market. GP would eat it up. Also if you think about it, it’s a lot harder to clone a terrain coaster which is what makes most of KI’s rides unique.

A few things: Track width: 8 and 10 seater trains require a wider track width in order to accommodate wider trains- mini dives use track that’s closer to the standard B&M gauge. At minimum an 8 seater standard dive train can hold 24 riders- a mini dive can hold a max of 21 riders with a smaller track. That’s gotta save money somewhere. Closer to a traditional looper: a lot of the larger dives feature large drawn out elements to burn off the speed of a 200ft+ drop. Not only that but the point of your standard dive is to be large and intimidating. A mini dive isn’t as tall but it can make up for that elsewhere. Track that isn’t being used for the lift hill or drop can be used to create more elements. Basically, a mini dive is somewhat of a hybrid between your standard B&M dive and a traditional looper: you get the holding break, train style, and 90+ degree drop of a dive but you get the layout of a traditional looper. TL;DR: Less is more.

It looks like a solid addition. I have a soft spot for mini dives- it seems like they can accomplish things that your 8/10 seaters cannot.

I flipped Wrath of Rakshasa and it looks like it would be a perfect fit for The Vortex land. Yes I enhanced the color of the supports to reflect Vortex orange.

Not to toot my own but it’s cool to look back on all the stories I created just for this one thread. I used to write down ride concepts in a journal somewhere during college in between classes as somewhat of a hobby- I wish I had the influence to see some of this stuff go through at different parks

Despite how people felt about the ride itself, marketing wasn’t stellar compared to previous additions.

I would agree, when compared to earlier installations- the hype wasn’t there; especially when one remembers that it was the park’s largest ride investment.

Going off property for this one: Give a coaster the reverse train gimmick. I remember reading that recaR was created for guest satisfaction after the original Bat failed. In a sense, this could be a temporary solution to remedy something like TT2’s downtime if CP temporarily flipped Rougarou’s trains.

@DonHelbig what were your thoughts on the Orion project from it’s conception to its announcement?

I always had this wish that they did add some bunny hills at the end of Orion which would’ve extended the break run further back and would cost them more $$ than it’s worth to appease us enthusiasts.

I would want a custom building for it so it fits the ride size better and doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb link a certain box in Rivertown.

I like the giga dive because it’s just aggressive enough to work. Beast 2.0 is too aggressive in my opinion.

Considering the rocky relationship Cedar Fair has with Intamin, I’m not sure they’d go with them on a big project like this- they’d probably reintroduce them in a small way down the road if they wanted- think something like DarKoaster. As for Vekoma and Mack, it’s possible that other parks in the chain might receive something from them. If I were to guess, Cedar Fair is courting other manufacturers to see what they have to offer.

Hear me out. Recently there was a survey about Beast 2.0 where they pitched the idea making the total length of track 10,000ft. Why don’t they look into Adventure Express 2.0? Adventure Express is unique amongst mine train coasters in that it came much later in the game. Now you have this wave of “next generation mine trains” like Expedition Everest, Grizzly Mountain Mine Cars, and Seven Dwarfs. Why not give it a modern twist? Cedar Fair started working with Vekoma, who has produced the previously mentioned coasters, and has gotten better at their craft over the years; and has arguably perfected the mine train. Vekoma could retrack the whole thing and add new trains. There’s also over an acre of clear land between the current ride and FoF that they could play with. Imagine you board the train and you go through the original course of the ride on smooth Vekoma track. Then, like on Expedition Everest or Grizzly Mountain, as you’re going up AE’s final lift hill, right as you hear “Now you will pay”, your train goes backwards onto a new section of track. This wouldn’t be cheap but it would extend the ride’s life and would be a much better “2.0” than their idea for The Beast.

I really don’t want this to happen. It would basically give The Beast 10,000 ft of track by basically building a new coaster and attaching it to the current ride. I’d prefer a whole new ride entirely.

I’m very curious as to why KI didn’t get a clone of the Racing Railway that Canada’s Wonderland has. This makes me wonder if the park might work with Vekoma on a “bigger” project down the road in a similar vein to what CP did when they decided to work with Zamperla for their two most recent coaster projects.