cdubbs727

Tossing in my $0.02: International Street: Re-open the International Restaurant. Make it a nice sit-down restaurant with a great view. Also, give some TLC to Tower Gardens. Plant some flowers. Put in some more seating. Maybe put in a rolling coffee/iced tea vendor. Make it a great place for parents to get away and relax for a bit. Start an ongoing partnership with the entertainment department at a local college to create musical productions that play for two years before rotating out (that Phantom Theater show was a fantastic hint of what could be done). Planet Snoopy: I know that Boo Blasters is technically International Street, but we'll just treat it as Planet Snoopy because it's a kids' ride. I'd completely overhaul it into a Peanuts dark ride. Make it an indoor boat ride or something a bit cheerier, and overhaul the ride system. Boo Blasters is pretty janky. Rivertown: Tear down the Crypt Building. Put back in another water ride -- maybe a top-of-the-line log flume (yes, there's still the one in Camp Snoopy, but I'd love to see something along the lines of Kenton's Cove brought back). Coney Mall: Get rid of Action Theater; it's just taking up space. I know that most people lean toward a coaster in The Vortex plot. I'd be down for that, but would almost rather see that as a mini-land similar to Adventure Port. Put in a dark ride (maybe this is where you could do the reimagined Phantom Theater), some shops and maybe a good restaurant -- maybe something also set off the ground to give a similar view to International Restaurant, just from the other side of the park. Or maybe it's a raised outdoor food court with a lot of outdoor eating. Area 72: I would overhaul Flight of Fear. Keep the same ride layout, but do whatever needs to be done to keep it working smoothly for the next 20 years or so. But overhauls the theming in the queue and the ride itself. Make it a high-quality, immersive ride experience. Call it Flight of Fear: The Next Generation. Oktoberfest: Overhaul Festhaus. Update the stage and equipment so they can put on some really solid productions. Clear out Panda Express and the crappy pizza stand. Make it an international-themed eatery, food from all around the country, but made in the park from a chef-prepared menu (bump out the franchises). Treat it like an attraction in itself, the park's premiere family dining experience. Adventure Port: It's new enough that I don't think a ton of updates are needed. One more flat might be good. Action Zone: Get rid of Congo Falls and Vertigo. Put in a world-class coaster that serves as the welcome to the park. Re-theme the entire section (I like the idea of a haunted section to pull together Banshee and The Bat; if so, that could be an alternate space for a revived Phantom Theater concept). Put a good restaurant in this section -- something fun, maybe a bar. Lose EXtreme Skyflyer, which just looks like a junky carnival ride. Also, repaint the Drop Tower to fit the theme of the land; it's a really garish, cheap-looking eyesore, especially when it's not working. I could go either way on Timberwolf. If it's only going to be good for 1-2 shows, scrap it and use the land either to extend the park or for something else. But if they plan to get more shoes, add in some nice seats overlooking the venue where people can pay a bit extra for comfortable seating, dinner service, beer, etc. Really, I think Kings Island is pretty good as it is. But theme parks tend to devolve into redneck-iness if there isn't some love and care given to them. I'd love to see it really nurtured and turned into something that puts just as much thought into the guest experience as possible.

The campground was great, and a nice, low-cost alternative to staying in a hotel. Stayed there several times. It was nice, clean and a short walk or tram ride to the park. I wish it was still there. The Cedars campground is too expensive (and stabby) for my tastes. We've stayed at a nearby campground/canoe place, but it's a bit rustic (but you do get to camp right next to the river).

It's so sad, because he's a human being who I hope makes a full recovery. It's also senseless and stupid, because any rational human would know to stay out of those areas where a high-speed roller coaster is passing. My only thought must be that he underestimated how much time he would have to run and grab his keys before the next train came. When I go to the park, I always have my glasses strapped on tight. Even so, I keep a spare pair in the car. Keys always go in a cargo pocket or my wife's purse (which is then usually in a locker). One way the parks could avoid this is to find a way to implement free lockers while people are on the rides, like they do at Universal. I don't know how it would work at Kings Island (Universal, you use your express pass/park ticket) because the system would require a timer with the various rides to sync up with wait times. But honestly, at Universal, knowing we have those lockers and that they're required (some IOA lines have metal detectors) is a good thing. And because it's so standard on every ride, we get into the rhythm. KI would need more lockers and more room...but since my thought is people don't mess with lockers because they don't want do deal with the cost/trek from the lockers to the ride, installing closer free lockers by these rides would be a help. But they didn't want to do free lockers with TT2 at Cedar Point, so my guess is it won't happen.

Kids love Charlie Brown and Peanuts. My kids instantly know who Snoopy is; there's a built-in audience that watches Peanuts each Christmas. There have been several Peanuts movies and TV shows, and an ongoing Apple+ TV series. I loved the Looney Tunes as a kid, but WB has been burying them lately. They pulled a bunch of classic cartoons from Max; their new series (which was good!) hasn't made much of a dent. And the only thing they've had is Space Jam 2, which is awful. I'm sure eventually we'll get DC and Looney Tunes IP in the parks as this CF parks make their horrible transition to Six Flags (god, I hate this). I don't really mind the DC stuff in Action Zone...at least it would be a theme. But Peanuts is a charming area; I'd hate to lose that.

I feel like Tower Gardens would be a great, unique way to do a museum if they put some real TLC into it. In the Paramount Days, it was basically a Paramount museum, with props and posters. No reason that couldn't be done with Kings Island and provide a nice walk-through. The last two years, they've had the 50th anniversary Eiffel Towers in there (assuming they're still there this year). No reason why they couldn't put the time and money in to make that a really nice walkthrough that honors KI's history and allows people a place to cool down; but they probably don't want to spend the money. Back when the International Restaurant was still open, the waiting room walls had old brochures, photos and press clippings. In the days before the internet, this was how I learned about KI's history -- the first time I heard about The Bat, it was from a news article on the wall about how it wouldn't be reopening.

I really liked this and am happy it's returning! I was disappointed they didn't have it last year, and I was not a fan of the funnel cake beer that they replaced it with. Not sure you can get it in the KI area, but up in Michigan Cheboygan Brewing Company sells a Blueberry Cream Ale that reminds me of it (the Cheboygan one is slightly better).

The old generation of Kings Island kids are now adults with kids themselves. And as a parent who takes his young kids to Kings Island, I must say that options to keep the alcohol flowing make my trip much more enjoyable.

Kids still enjoy Boo Blasters. For my kids, I think it's reached the place where the Smurfs Enchanted Voyage was when I was their age -- it's probably a bit too much of a kiddie ride for them, but they've been riding it since their first trips to the park and it's got a nostalgic appeal (even if the guns hardly work and the animatronics are hit and miss).

The International Restaurant. It was such a nice break on a hot day to go inside, get a genuinely good meal (from what I remember at age 12 -- I do remember it was steak, though), and enjoy a great view. I'm really bummed they haven't figured out how to do anything other than special events at this. I also wish they would focus on the food quality and experience inside Festhaus. The pizza is usually not nearly as good as you can get at other locations, and the way it's either pizza/burgers or Panda Express just feels like a food court in a dead mall (the bar is fine, though). Bring back the German food, as others have said, and also put another show in there so there's usually one playing every two hours or so (several times we've gone and there's no show that day). It used to feel like an event to go in there and see an ice show or something truly good. Also, I feel like KI needs a fun family restaurant in Planet Snoopy. Somewhere where you can take the kids if it's raining or get them food in an air-conditioned location without having to leave the area. You could have all the kids' staples -- chicken fingers, pizza, burgers. But the selections now over there are all hot or insanely packed.

Yeah, it seemed a bit inconceivable at the time that SOB could go anywhere. They poured a ton of money into that and hyped the heck out of it. It's interesting to wonder if it would still be around had it not had those accidents...I'm guessing yes, although the loop was probably always going to cause problems. But I do think it if was still around, it would not be one of the park's big attractions...I talked to many people back in the day who were one and done on it. Had they kept SOB, would we have eventually gotten Banshee in another location? Maybe they would have tore down The Bat or it could have hastened the demise of Vortex and been put in that spot. Perhaps we would have never gotten Firehawk and Banshee would have been put in there...which might mean never getting Orion. As someone who felt SOB quickly wore out its welcome, I'm not upset it's gone. We have a much better coaster in its place, and KI has recovered nicely. And totally agree about TR:TR. It really was about as close as KI got to a Universal-style attraction. I never really understood why all the theming had to go after it lost the Tomb Raider license. Sure, you had to lose Lara Croft, which meant you had to lose the narration. But you could have probably kept the goddess, the stalactites and the lava instead of turning it into a big carnival ride in the dark. But none of that would have solved the problem of the ride shaking itself apart. I just remember going from riding TR:TR with all its theming in place one year and thinking it was the most amazing attraction at the park, and going back to the park several years later to ride The Crypt in its tamest mode and leaving so depressed.

I 100% agree on your statement about the Pepper's Ghost illusion in the big theater scene. No, PT didn't reinvent the wheel. And, let's be honest, in terms of animatronics, much of it was typical dark ride stuff. But that theater scene was impressive for a regional park; I went to Disney World for my first time right around the time PT opened, and I was really impressed that the ride pulled off a Disney-caliber effect in that sequence. It's something that seemed a bit more ambitious than what they've done since, since Boo Blasters is largely just some shoddy animatronics and cardboard set pieces. But I also think PT was a much more imaginative ride than people gave it credit for. The fact that someone cared enough to write a whole show about it almost 30 years later speaks to the fact that it had some real nostalgic appeal. And there were characters that people remembered...as opposed to Boo Blasters, which is just...Boocifer?

I'll be honest, there was a part of me that wondered if the two years of the Phantom Theater show would culminate in an announcement about the ride returning in some form. Boo Blasters getting old and could use some TLC. And with KI really leaning into nostalgia in recent years, it didn't seem too far fetched. My fear is if they did it, it would just be a reskin of Boo Blasters, using similar animatronics and reusing as much of the sets as possible (maybe calling it Phantom Manor instead of Phantom Theatre). And I don't like BB, so I wouldn't want to see that. I think that location is the most obvious place, but it's not where I'd like to see them put it. I'd rather they take the existing Tomb Raider building (or tear it down) and build a stately old, frontier-themed theater in Rivertown and install a completely new dark ride. Give it some real attention, use animatronics and some decent effects, and treat it as a big deal (maybe even call it Phantom Theatre: Encore, in an nod to the show). KI could use a really good dark ride instead of the one that's just kind of languishing.

I wouldn't be opposed to a city/state tasting lineup, so that us Detroiters can come down to Cincinnati and show you how to do chili dogs AND pizza the right way!

That seems to be a pretty anemic lineup. The bubble show is not even getting a month; there's a country show (I presume at Festhaus) and another "Rad! 80s sports" type thing I pass by at International Showplace. And fireworks. I assume new shows can be added throughout the year, but as of now there's no kids' show in Planet Snoopy, no Bandstand show, nothing with good music (sorry, country fans), and the Kings Island Theater will be empty for 2/3 of the summer. I don't like to complain -- I assume getting casts and productions together for this isn't too easy in a post-COVID world. But, ugh. A big step down from the days when I was a kid and made it a point to see all the shows.

I'm old enough to have already been of drinking age when SOB opened, and I rode it a few times. It was a cool novelty at first. It was definitely extreme -- it was fast, the loop was cool, and it was genuinely scary. But oof, even in my 20s, it was a back-breaker. I went through so much Tylenol riding that ride. I'm glad to have ridden it; I was not sad to see it go.