RollerColt

Rode it one time and that was enough for me. Such a strange ride experience, and definitely a let down. I'm glad the space is finally being put to good use again. It'll be awesome to see the new ride from Highway 162.

Definitely happens more at places like Disney since they operate year round. That’s a lot of wear on the machine over time! I actually can’t recall any breakdowns personally at Kings Island, but our trip to Disney last year we had the Three Caballeros ride and the Little Mermaid Ride break down while riding. Three Caballeros was pretty funny though. Even the music shut off, and the boat behind us had a big wedding party. They all started singing the song and getting everyone else in the section going. Staff was laughing as we all came into the station once the ride started up again.

“There’s one more angel in Heaven… there’s one more star in the sky…” 🎵 Surf Dog the things that ya stood fer…

So have I. I’ve also noticed some general work around the fountains. My guess is they’ll start filling the area with water in the coming weeks if not already.

Yep. I bought a pass for Holiday World… Despite the fact that Holiday World is 3 hours away while Kings Island is only 40 minutes away.

I'd think so too. Still plenty of time to get things done. Absolutely. I imagine the lights will be updated to help signify it's return. I'm happy to see the flat rides get some TLC. I'm not personally able to ride most of them (got vertigo from labyrinthitis years ago, now I get super dizzy on anything that spins) but my wife and kids absolutely love spinning rides. You can bet they'll be on monster a some point this season!

Same. Even Planet Coaster considers it a flat ride heh…

I hope Dollywood continues to be a beacon of light in a very dark corporate end game world... So many private equities and companies out there buying out beloved chains and local places just to shut them down...

I hate to say it... but with another major recession on the horizon I doubt we see any development for a while... I worry parks all across the country are going to see some rough decline in attendance.

So... we basically go back to what it was like before the merger happened in the first place? LOL... I'm with you though. It's a mess and probably shouldn't have happened... Also, I still find it interesting how Cedar Fair didn't learn from the sins and mistakes of Premier Parks during the first Six Flags acquisition process years ago. Newsflash to corporate executives, it's probably not a good idea to take the name of the struggling company you're buying out... Especially when that struggling company's name and brand is synonymous with "lower quality" to the general public...

Yeah, we were at Epic on July 3rd, super busy and packed naturally due to the holiday weekend. Stardust was consistently the fastest experience of the park by far. In fact, I don't think the ride wait time ever went over 25 minutes.

I agree. I took my family on a trip to Orlando last summer and spent 2 weeks between Disney and Universal. In addition to the premium ride experience (pretty much every ride is heavily themed and designed and is considered world class), the IP is really what sets them apart. I can admit we spent a lot of money in the shops for all of exclusive items. Harry Potter, Super Mario, How to Train Your Dragon… Star Wars, Stitch, Toy Story… It’s really hard to beat that. And then you toss in that these parks are in geographical locations that allow them to stay open year round…

I was only 12 at the time, but I really enjoyed Son of Beast’s campaign. The giant box violently shaking and growling was really cool and intimidating. Lot’s of mystery and speculation leading up to the announcement.

Vekoma has really upped their game. All of their recent designs and track layouts have been stunning.

Companies collect tons of data in relation to their product. For example Kroger keeps tabs on every interaction a customer has, tracks data on trends... follows what the customer is buying down to the microscopic level. They look at analytics in terms of attendance, and they also use surveys a lot. All companies do this. Is it really that much of a stretch to you that Kings Island would take a vetted interest in consumer data in relation to opinion on the biggest investment in the park's history?

I’m just glad it’s making way for Supercharged to be removed. That was one of the strangest and saddest experiences I’ve had at Universal. The story… the acting… the lack of… cars lol.

We do? As an enthusiast I’m pretty aware that my opinion on rides and parks will be vastly different compared to the GP. And I think we often sell the average guest short on their opinions and feelings.

Meanwhile Stardust Racers is/are small all things considered in height… but packs a ton of airtime throughout the entire duration of the experience. Definitely shows you don’t have to have a record breaker to draw crowds. I agree with you about Orion. It’s missing something, and for me personally it ends too quickly. It doesn’t have that “final act” moment.

Not a clone of the California version from what I can gather. Makes sense, since the Hollywood Studios coaster uses the terrain.

The Fast and Furious version at Hollywood confuses me. Is there no theming? I see a lot of videos being shared of the test runs and it seems very slow? And not drifting?Perhaps it’s not close to opening yet? I have so many questions…

I think it'd be cool if for one night they kept some of the pools open and had a movie playing for people to swim and watch. Similar to what Disney does at their resorts.

Same! They make more sense being out before the entrance gates.

Oh my God... I forgot about that survey... Touche. haha...

I am already wishing for warmer weather and longer evenings. These cold, dreary days damage my inner soul.

Exactly this. I mean it's fun to think about hypotheticals and all. But there's no way the park would spend extra money to improve Orion from a construction standpoint. I do wish the ride layout was more about speed and terrain and less with the air time and the similar Diamondback "out and back" format. It does indeed feel a little redundant to have a taller version in the same park.