cdubbs727

I've lived in the Detroit area all my life, but Kings Island has always been our go-to park. Growing up, we went there because of the kids' area. In my teens and twenties, I was more of a Cedar Point fan because of the roller coasters, and I'd head down to KI ever few years for a concert or a weekend getaway. When our son was old enough in 2015, we started making Kings Island our annual family vacation because, again, the kids' area is so good, and it was a better-paced park for our family (nostalgia didn't hurt). The last time I had went to Cedar Point was back in 2012 to celebrate my wife's 31st birthday. I didn't intend to take a long break, but I also didn't mind because as fun as the coasters are, CP was always the lesser park in my opinion. The food options weren't nearly as good, the park wasn't as nice, and there was a trashiness to it that I didn't pick up from Kings Island. But last year, we got Gold Passes, figuring that our family is old enough (son's 14, daughter's 10) for us to enjoy Kings Island but also start giving Cedar Point another try. So, this past weekend we drove on down for two days. We knew it would be busy, so we splurged and got Fast Lane Plus for Friday. Throughout the weekend, we were able to get on all the big rides and do a few, like Steel Vengeance, twice. In the 14 years I'd been away, Cedar Point has really upped its game. I love the new boardwalk area. Last time I was there, they were just tearing down Disaster Transport and the Space Spiral, and the addition of GateKeeper, Wild Mouse and the Grand Pavilion really make that area special. I especially loved the food options at the Grand Pavilion and the chance to enjoy a meal overlooking Lake Erie (the weather was sunny and 75 all weekend; perfect). I also think their Frontiertown reminds me of what Rivertown at Kings Island used to be. I would never wish to get rid of Mystic Timbers or Diamondback, but I feel like Rivertown is a bit smaller than it used to be. It feels like a quick jaunt from Camp Snoopy to the White Water Canyon station, where the theming starts to peter out. But Cedar Point's Frontierland stretches for so long. I love that they have the shaded stretch with the forts and shops (and live music) still maintained without big rides cutting in. Then you get to the more Western-themed section and you get the two best rides in the park. I loved Cedar Farms as a dining option, and Backbeat BBQ looked like a lot of fun, too. Just such a nice section, especially on our second day, when we wanted to slow the pace down and take it easy. The coaster lineup is second to none, of course. Steel Vengeance is possibly the best coaster I've ever ridden -- Maverick is pretty great as well. The Raptor still holds up, and Siren's Curse has the single most terrifying element I've experienced on a coaster with that tilt, followed by a ride that is just so much fun. I think Valravyn and GateKeeper kind of struggle to be more than their gimmicks, but they're fun. The kids rode everything they were tall enough for -- Raptor and Rougarou's restraints meant they were the only things my daughter couldn't ride. She was a little daredevil; Siren's Curse was her favorite. We closed out with a ride on TT2, which might have been her limit ... she was in tears when it ended. I'll admit that while I had no problem with the original Dragster, that spike element might have been a bit much for me. I still think there are some things Kings Island does better than CP. The people ops at Kings Island are so much better; all the Cedar Point ops seemed stressed out, and in some cases were yelling at people to get on rides more quickly in a way that felt very rude. Kings Island seems to have loading and unloading down to a science, where it seemed the Cedar Point teams were struggling a bit. And all the big rides went down at least once over our time there -- Maverick, Steel Vengeance and Millennium Force were closed for several hours. And while I think Cedar Point has a much better Frontierland/Rivertown area, Kings Island is still the cleaner and better-designed park...that circular structure really makes it easy to navigate from one area to the next. We met up with our church youth group the second day and trying to check in was a chore because there's not really an easy way to get from one end of the park to the next. Also, I'm not sure if this is a Six Flags-wide change this year or specific to CP only, but the meal plans were wonky. The entrees and sides were self-explanatory, but the included snacks were pretty much non-existent. You could get Dippin' Dots and...that was about it. I seem to remember at KI last year being able to get the Oreo churros, Aunt Annie's, and a few other snack items throughout the park, but none of that was included in our meal plan. But still, a great trip. We'll be back!

I haven't seen one -- seeing the videos, they all appear to have similar edits and camera placement, so I'm wondering if KI provided some footage and also gave guidance as to what could be shown.

I watched the POV because I'm not sure when/if we're making it down to KI this year (think we're trying Dollywood instead). I won't spoil anything. But I'm beyond impressed. When this was announced, I really thought it was going to be a cheap Boo Blasters overlay or very screen-based. But the use of animatronics is great, and they've really put a lot of work into using projections, physical effects and new sets to make the ride look new and fresh. And I love that they've found ways to incorporate things from the old ride alongside new surprises. I think this is going to be a huge hit. Kudos to KI on this one; it looks like they pulled off something special.

Haven't seen anything posted in this forum yet, so thought I'd share. This article from Attractions Magazine -- and other posts I've seen on FB -- show a first-look at the lobby for Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare. And I gotta say: my excitement level just went up. I love the animatronics in the queue....not just Maestro back home where he belongs, but also a No-Legs Larry animatronic. So much better than the TVs!! https://attractionsmagazine.com/construction-update-inside-the-phantom-theater-at-kings-island/?utm_content=buffer0269c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer&fbclid=IwY2xjawQhUitleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFwTDM5QmdESlhPdzVXdWl6c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvwzFaB4xip-EW4XxxdU-pA6rH1BKyvz4y2hXKW85sDbMG3_Mvqk3keoAC7o_aem_thC19aDTEP3W5oOii5N_1A

Yeah, I don't think "I got so wasted at the regional amusement park's haunted house that they kicked me out" is the flex he thinks it is.

Cool story, bro.

I'm really excited. I was in my teens when Phantom Theater opened, and had just gone to Walt Disney World, so I thought it was great that the park we went to every year had something that resembled Haunted Mansion (although even at my age, I understood it was a budget version of Haunted Mansion). By the time it was closed, I was an adult without kids, so it didn't really bother me. By the time my kids were ready for Kings Island, it was Boo Blasters...and they loved "the spooky house," but I was always so disappointed that instead of an inventive attraction that made an attempt to capture the feel of Disney, they got a lame shooter with ugly blacklights and cheap sets and blasters that rarely worked. I'm not sure we'll get to KI this year; we're in Detroit and are choosing to try Dollywood this summer. but we have Gold Passes, so we can get to Cedar Point a few times. But if money and timing allow, I'd like to take a trip and see how it all turned out. I love the idea of honoring the past, and it sounds like they're really trying hard to make this a memorable attraction.

I agree. I'm not a Haunt person, so I guess YMMV, but I hate the amount of room they take up for mazes that are used for about a month. But while I prefer they use backstage areas, I would rather see them use one of the ugly boxes than have haunts standing around with signage but not operating in the summer -- I tend to think having stuff like Slaughterhouse or whatever is by The Bat just hanging around all summer looks trashy.

I haven't ridden Drop Tower because that's the one that's a bit too much for me. I also haven't ridden KI's WindSeeker, but I have ridden CP's....it was also a bit too high up and stomach-churning for my likes, so I won't be trying KI's anytime soon. And in terms of past rides, I was never able to ride the OG Bat, Demon, Rotor, or Bavarian Beetle. Just a bit before my time (but I did ride King Cobra several times).

I doubt they'd bring back the water feature. It would probably require updates to the infrastructure (the water's been gone for 40 years), people don't have a history of treating stuff like that well, and I wonder if it would also cause the area to get a bit mosquito-y in the humid months. I also don't think we need to talk about changing the roller coaster's layout. It's not broke, doesn't need fixed. But I like the idea of removing the TR:TR building to expand Rivertown. It definitely needs something fresh there; I feel like there's just one small stretch between the train station and the log ride that feels like RiverTown. A nice restaurant out there (BBQ would make sense, but Coney Mall has one) perhaps with outdoor seating and entertainment, would work.

I feel like you could probably lose Action Zone, as I'm not sure there's anything too memorable there that you couldn't just move elsewhere. Losing Antique Autos would take a really great, Christmas-y attraction. It's fun to drive through there with all the lights ... would definitely be missed. And if they ever had to close the train, I feel like that would be the final nail in the coffin for Winterfest. I think it's personally a bit too short of a train ride, but it's probably the most traditional Christmas attraction you can have an amusement park. Feels like it's essential. I wonder if they're actually losing money on the Winterfest buffet on International Street. I'm sure they sell out, but I'm also sure it's a lot of money to make all that food. I wonder if they'd be better to make it a drink-and-dessert place. Stop in, do hot cocoa with a toppings bar. Some deserts. Maybe open up the bar. Limit people to 30 minutes in there to warm up, enjoy their drinks and enjoy the view, and then keep people moving through and spending money.

Glad to see this. I like Looney Tunes, but the innocence of Peanuts has always been a nice fit with the kids' area. And honestly, anything to keep the legacy CF parks from having to appear any more like a Six Flags.

Concept art definitely seems like "Maestro Babies". But like you said, I think that's probably better for the kids.

Based on the concept art, I think you're going to be disappointed in that. But it makes sense -- this is a kids' ride. It always has been. It's probably going to be spooky, but not scary, with some humorous moment scattered throughout.

I think there's probably a lot of elasticity in what's meant by "family thrill attraction." They can say this is spooky and "thrilling" and bases are covered.