BlondyRidesOn

Losing Sunlite Pool was a major blow because it was something my parents and grandparents (great-grandparents even) got to experience. It was from a time when classic amusement parks had jumbo pools for summertime cooling. It's unlikely that something so impressive like that would be built again- and I'm aware of the push for Sunlite 2.0. With that in mind, it was a simple shape and could, theoretically, be recreated elsewhere (but again, not likely). The same can't be said about the charming buildings on the rides side, which are relics of an era where amusement parks were interested in detail and beauty. Some parks still do pay mind to those things, but it's becoming more and more rare. Here's to a positive future for Moonlite Gardens and the other Mall buildings.

It would be a really nice thing to see a little park again, but unfortunately MEMI isn't in the ride and attractions business. But with a lot of the pre-Kings Island buildings still there, it will be as if Coney Island never closed (minus Sunlite Pool obviously). I think MEMI started calling the site Riverbend Park a while back after the sale. With both entrances still marked with the Coney name, I would love to see them retain the name for the new development. A YouTuber flew over the site a few weeks ago also. On the topic of Moonlite Gardens, the video shows some work had been done on the north wing of the building closer to Lake Como. It looks like two new electrical boxes/ panels were added, which would not make sense if they're set on demolishing the structure. As mundane as it sounds, it is a positive sign and suggests a longterm goal.

Riverbend Music Center and Farmer Music Center shared aerial photos of the construction site of the new amphitheatre on their Facebook page. The Farmer Music Center at Coney Island is currently being built on the site of Coney's west parking lot, formerly the location of Coney's old athletic field. Here are some things to note. -Lake Como was dredged and drained temporarily and the lakebed was dug out to elevate the land for the new amphitheatre. This was done to help protect the new Farmer Music Center from the flood waters of the Ohio River in the event the river rises (as it always has and will). Lake Como will be deeper than before once it is filled with water once again. -Moonlite Gardens is still standing. The Cincinnati Symphony had discussed the restoration of Coney's old dance hall, which was condemned around 2019 due to the deterioration of the flooring inside the building. While attending Summerfair 2025, I had a conversation with a Riverbend/MEMI employee about the plans for the property and she confirmed that Moonlite Gardens is here to stay. -The Picnic Grove, which is where Coney Island got its start in the summer of 1870 when James Parker rented out his apple orchard to a church picnic, still stands. The Symphony plans to keep the grove and picnic shelters in place for yearly events such as Summerfair, which will return to the Coney Island site from May 29 - 31, 2026. -The auto gate on Kellogg Avenue and the river gate and lighthouse, both built in 1924 and 1925 respectively at the beginning of the Schott/Wachs era of Coney, will remain. -Hampton Court, the skill games building built in 1966 along the shore of Lake Como with its French Normandy inspired brick architecture and clock tower, will remain, now housing the offices for MEMI. -Sunlite Pool, built in 1925 as the world's largest recirculating swimming pool, was demolished starting in March of 2024, just shy of 100 years old. The old pool site will more than likely be used for parking to make up for what was lost where the Farmer Music Center is being constructed. The full post can be viewed below: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17guHrqVET/

To me, from Racer all the way to WindSeeker is all Coney Mall. The area between Shake Rattle & Roll all the way to Rivertown, the serpentine walkway, can be looked at as a mini land.

With the structural and track modifications, what is the possibility that the park brings Baynum out to paint/ stain the wood again for the 50th anniversary? I would love to see it get the same cosmetic love The Racer got in 2022. Image from WCPO-9 (1980)

I love this idea so much! I especially love the other extra details outside of the kids area, like the enclosed queue structure for Diamondback for the extra pre ride story telling and the relocated Carousel Pavillion structure to the Salt Water Circus lawn. Although, I had always envisioned Action Zone rethemed to a Medieval/old Britian theme to tie in with Banshee's Irish roots and Celtic tones. As much as I love Peanuts and Looney Tunes, I honestly think having a kids area without IP would be a great change and allow for a blank canvas of creative ideas.

I like the idea of the Monster cars being a different color, so long as the "tentacles" and ride body retain their menacing jet black color. Monster was one of my Aunt's favorite rides at Old Coney and in Kings Island6 early years. She passed away in 2020, but luckily I got to ride it once with her that summer season. With what seems like a major overhaul of the ride, I'm hopeful that the ride will be back next season since the ride holds a special place. When Shake Rattle & Roll was refurbished 2014 - 2015, it was taken off site. Was the refurbishment done in house at the park or was it shipped off to Germany to HUSS? How extensive is the overhaul of Monster? Will all six arms be strong enough to carry the weight, or will they still only load four? My prediction back in April was that Premier Rides may have won a bid to refurbish the ride with their background in this style of work (think Kangaroo at Kennywood) and Six Flags' partnership with them on AlpenFury at Canada's Wonderland. I guess time will tell to see what happens with this beloved flat ride.

I loved this segment and the idea, but I kind of have mixed feelings about this. The Racer without a theme or a story is ironically a theme itself part of Coney Mall; it was meant to pay homage to and sort of be the replacement for the Shooting Star at Coney Island. The whole Coney Mall midway is meant to be an homage to classic traditional amusement parks, specifically Old Coney. The concept is really cool, but when sticking with the theme of Coney Mall, a classic wooden coaster themed to something other than a classic wooden coaster would feel out of place, even if "The Racer" name remains. In my opinion, The Beast and Diamondback would benefit greatly from a story telling standpoint. The Beast had a theme to an old mining company, but Diamondback could be themed to an old farm being terrorized by a large oversized Diamondback rattlesnake that's taking over Rivertown. They could enclose the queue and make it look like a wood barn with tools and other props lining the walls.

Actually... Wilbur the Pig and Templeton the Rat greeting guests in a parade on International Street in 1973: (Not my photo. Found off of Google)

I mean, the official Looney Tunes Facebook page made a reference not too long ago, so it's canon:

From what I have heard, the brats and mettwursts that they introduced in 2013 with Christian Morlein Biergarten (Now the Mercado) did not sell well (They were very delicious in my opinion though). At the very least, I'd be 100% in favor of Gliers Goetta being sold at the park. At several German festivals I've seen vendors serving Goetta Cheese Fries. They could sell something like that or a Goetta burger on a pretzel bun with traditional burger toppings (but with Swiss cheese instead of American cheese). Just an idea I had.

It looks like they took out the manmade island in the middle of the lake which was originally occupied by the circle swing attraction in the early years. Later the occupied by the famous "Coney Countdown" billboard from the 1971 season. If they're sticking to their word and the Lake is being filled with water again, even as a land mass it is tough to lose it.

I think Lake Como has been dredged in the past and deepened. At least according to the Tim Young documentary from 1993/2005 "Greetings From Coney Island." Perhaps it's to perform maintenance of some sort. Lake Como is in the plans to keep from what I understand.

I know I brought it up in a separate thread, but creating a Rivertown centric storyline to the coaster along with this would be pretty amazing. It's a common consensus among Kings Island fans that Diamondback, while a smashing success and great coaster, took a lot of the vibes away from Rivertown as many trees had to be leveled throughout the surrounding area. An indoor themed queue, set up like either a farm house or an old town shop, can help bring back a little of what was lost.

Growing up, I and my siblings were always Gold Pass holders to Kings Island, but a trip to Coney was always special because it was different. My mother loved it because it reminded her of her childhood before Taft moved the park to Kings Island in 1972. I loved it because of its connection to Kings Island. But the thing was for us, we only went to Coney for the rides during the "modern era." Having a local YMCA and Soak City/Boomerang Bay/Water Works a short distance from our house, my parents never saw the need to take us as we grew up. I did not get to step into Sunlite Pool until 2020; I had just barely finished college. My mom had not been in years by that time and my father rarely went when he was a kid because my grandparents had their own pool at their house. So most of our Coney memories were made on the Mall. To us, Coney was Moonlite Gardens, the Python, the Flying Bobs and early rides from my parents generation like the Tumble Bug the Whip and the Shooting Star; Sunlite Pool, at least to us, was just Sunlite Pool. The pool didn't deserve the ending it got, with all that said. It was from an era where nobody had air conditioning, so large pools like that were an attractive investment for parks. I believe it was the last classic amusement park "mega pool" I guess you could say. In the early development of Kings Island, there were apparently discussions about reproducing Sunlite Pool in Mason. It was ultimately shot down because of the expense that would need to be paid. After all, it cost the Royal Fountain, which is a fraction of the size of Sunlite, $500,000 to complete on a $250,000 budget. The pool stayed open down on Kellogg Avenue and helped keep the park afloat when Taft couldn't sell the property. I often wonder how things would have been different if they had been successful in finding a buyer for the property back then? On one hand, Coney would have been lost a lot earlier than it had been. On the other hand, Taft probably could would have found the budget after Kings Island's 1972 inaugural season to move forward with moving the pool north as a "Phase 2" of the Kings Island Resort complex (WaterWorks would have come 16 years earlier than it did in real life). As for the site today, it would be cool to see it transition into a community/city park in conjunction with the new Farmer's Music Center, something similar to Flushing Meadows Park in Queens after the 1964 World's Fair; the old buildings and park pavilions are reutilized and preserved for the next chapter. With the old park buildings getting a new lease on life, it would almost be as if Coney Island never actually closed.