cdubbs727

As someone who suffers from social anxiety, I understand that discomfort. But really, I've never minded. Most people, I've found, just keep to themselves. Those who are chatty usually have something fun to say; I've learned they're often the enthusiasts and they love to talk about the ride. I think being paired with kids is uncomfortable, mostly because it's like "am I responsible for this kid if his restraint breaks and he flies out?" But really, I've learned most the time the discomfort is my own and I just need to relax.

I echo the Backlot Stunt Coaster disappointment. Here was Paramount promising a unique roller coaster experience, but it just looks shoddy and fake, and in the years post-Paramount, it makes no sense to have a movie stunt roller coaster in the middle of the park? Why not just at least call it "The Heist" or "The Getaway" or something like that -- none of the theming has anything to do with making a movie anymore, why not just lean into the action? I like BLSC for what it is, but the ads promised so much more. But by and large, aside from the first few years of Tomb Raider, Paramount's hype never lived up to it. The cache of a movie studio brought to mind Universal or Disney, but really the theming wasn't anything special. Face/Off had no theming. FoF had a great queue, but there's no theme to the ride itself. Drop/Zone had no theming, and if you'd ridden "Back to the Future," I don't see how you could be anything but let down by "Days of Thunder." Top Gun had the aircraft carrier walkthrough, which was kind of cool, but it was still just average amusement park decor. The park did much better theming wise with Adventure Express way before Paramount took over. I don't really count the Mystic Timbers ad as bad hype. Sure, "What's in the Shed" was a bit of a letdown (how could it not be?). But the thing that counts -- the ride -- is one of my favorites in the park.

Do we know that they didn't have to do anything? It's quite possible (I have no information or plumbing knowledge) that the pedestals were a maintenance nightmare that would otherwise have to be fully overhauled. But I agree wholeheartedly with @Creed Bratton. And the fact is, even with the new fountains (whether you like them or not), Kings Island still has one of the most beautiful opening sections in any park. And they double-down on its look and feel. Living in Detroit, my home park is Cedar Point. And I love CP for what it is -- a thrill park. But I hate CP's main Midway. Kings Island's International Street sets a great tone and it's a great place to go when you're a bit tired of lines and rides. CP's midway is basically "You're here for the roller coasters. Just shut up and get going."

There's a sense in which KI can't win here with the fan community. The fountain is an iconic piece of King Island; that view upon walking in to the park is the first view we have, and it's what we identify with the park (the sound of the water, for instance, tweaks my nostalgia just as much as the site of it). And there's a sense in which nothing Kings Island could do would please fans because it's simply different from what we're used to. Something has changed. In time, that won't matter, but love for a park is rooted so heavily in nostalgia that even a small change to an iconic piece of park history is going to feel off. That said, I haven't been to the park this year (we'll be getting down there probably in late July). What I've seen, I like. The colors really pop on IS. Those pavers are beautiful. I love that the streets look wider and could be less congested. And even though I miss the pedestals, I like the cleaner look of a show fountain. It's a bit less regal (royal?) but I think it still fits. In a few years, it will feel just right -- and if they incorporate it into a great evening show, all the better.

@Pedro Cerrano and @Magenta Lizard -- Yes!!!! I was searching to remember what they looked like (I couldn't recall if I was thinking of the clear plastic juice barrels school sometimes gave) -- but that picture...yes!!!! Man, that take me back!

Yes, but are the concession wagons going to sell the little plastic barrels of juice? That would up the game from my childhood (I feel like that's what they sold; I could very well be misremembering). Also, it is truly remarkable how much care Kings Island is showing to the park. I've said it elsewhere, but it's so easy to toss in a new attraction to entice people. But to make an investment in nostalgia is truly special. I usually hate the way movies and TV exploit our love for childhood things, but I feel like a theme park is a different matter. You are going to recapture some portion of your childhood, and there are so many little things that have a precise chemical impact on people. A sign with a certain color paint. Music. Beast paw prints. Going to KI is going to bring a lot of people to tears this year.

The campground was great -- it was affordable and a great way to do a cheap trip to the park with friends (we went down to Spirit Song a few years in a row and would camp there). I'm bummed it's gone. We did stay a few years at Morgan's Canoe and Camping, which is about a 15-minute drive from the park. It's a beautiful site -- we camped right by the river. Only problem is it's a rustic site, and getting back to the campground stinky, sweaty and exhausted -- and in the dark -- isn't a ton of fun. In my twenties? Sign me up. Pushing 40? I'll just call a hotel, lol.

I love all the TLC that Cedar Fair is showing Kings Island this year. It's an easy solution to toss a new roller coaster in the park and bring in new people. It's a different beast (no pun intended) altogether to spend a year acknowledging the park's history and the role that nostalgia plays in bringing many back to the park. I get excited for a new coaster like anyone else. But to see a glockenspiel on the Festhaus, The Beast prints on the ground, the return of the Antiques...there's an almost chemical response that hits the same feelings I had when I was a kid in the '80s attending the park with my grandparents. This is what makes me want to come back year after year with my kids and why even though Cedar Point would technically be my "home park" (I live in the Detroit area), I go to Kings Island every year and haven't been to CP in about five.

Congrats! Third month, at least she probably won't be miserable walking around the park. But there's not a ton to do for pregnant women at Kings Island. A few years back, my wife was pregnant with our second child and we made the trip to KI from Detroit when she was eight months pregnant (we would have cancelled, but this was for my son). She could ride Boo Blasters, the carousel and the Eiffel Tower and...that's about it. We even tried to head to Water Works so she could do the lazy river; nope, she got kicked out of that, too. Add to the fact that it was hot and, oh yeah, she was eight months pregnant, at it was pretty miserable. But! At three months, the discomfort is usually not as high! And if your fiancee is okay sitting out rides, there's still so many shows to see, places to eat, things to do. Should still be a fun trip (just don't be the jerk that I was and run off to ride a few rides while she sits by the fountain eating LaRosa's.)

I like it. New pavers, new colors on the buildings, really classing the joint up. If they take the pedestals out of the fountain, I'll miss them, but I'm fine with them doing something new. Some things I'd love to see, some of which have been mentioned here: * Tables with umbrellas along the fountains * Some sort of show with the fountain * A new orchestral score (in recent years they've at least pulled back on the pop music) * There used to be European style kiosks around IS with announcements for new shoes and attractions. I guess in a day of digital signage, those are unnecessary, but it still leant to the feel. * I'd love see some of the IS shops/restaurants pulled back from being nostalgia stores/standard souvenir shops and sell something unique (I remember when they had a glass blower there). It won't happen, but it would be nice. * I doubt it will happen this year as we'd have heard by now, but I'd really love the International Restaurant to be re-opened. It was a great way to take a break and enjoy the view. That real estate just sits empty, a shame they're not using it. I used to love going up and looking at all the news clippings on the lobby wall (turning this into a Kings Island history-themed bar would be nice)

The building's Rivertown placement never bothers me, because I feel like it's in that transition area from Rivertown to Coney. What bothers me is seeing it on the skyline. That said, I don't know that the building bothers me as much as the old Crypt entrance, just sitting there dormant. The building could get lost in the background; the queue entrance to nowhere is distracting.

I never understood why Reds was in Rivertown; it never really fit the theme, whereas this looks like it could be more in line with it (at least the logo looks kind of country-ish). I'm from Detroit, so the Reds didn't mean much to me (aside from the plaque for Sparky Anderson) but I always liked going there, and the food was decent. I feel like it would be an ideal concept to try and port to Coney Mall, Action Zone, or International Street -- heck, maybe re-open the International Restaurant as Reds.

This is exciting! That location is always my favorite place to eat at Kings Island; it's air-conditioned, and the food is always pretty decent. I don't know that it will ever be as good as it was when it was a BBQ chicken place (I think even before it was Wings), but this sounds really promising. The menu sounds fun, and I love that there will be a place to go get some local brews (because after a few hours with the kids, I usually need a drink, lol). I love the new BBQ place in Coney Mall, and this sounds like another interesting addition. I feel like between this, the IS renovations and the re-installation of the Antiques, Kings Island is going all in on honoring the park's unique identity. I've always loved KI; I feel like we're seeing a shift to make it even more special.

Oh, I beg to differ. I'm 40, so probably too old to have an opinion on Boo Blasters (but I have one: I'm not a fan), but my 7-year-old son loves it. It's his favorite ride at the park. He rides it about five times each trip and talks about it all year (we live in Detroit, so Kings Island is a one year thing). He talks about it in the way I talked about Smurfs Enchanted Voyage when I was a kid or my brother talked about Phantom Theater. You eventually outgrow what's there and something else (sometimes inferior, in our eyes) takes its place, but those are the experiences that kids hold to and ultimately create lifelong fans. I'd say it's working pretty well.

I don't think it's unfeasible so much as it is unnecessary. Kings Island's an extremely walkable park. It's so easy to make that circuit starting with Planet Snoopy, through Rivertown, over to Coney and then ending in Action Zone, stopping off on International Street when you need to. It makes it easy to organize the day and I never feel like I'm walking too far without coming across something that I want to ride. But I could see them being helpful for those who might, say, want to head from Beast/Diamondback over to FoF or Racer without wasting too much time (although if the lines for the Skyride are long, it might be quicker just to make the walk). At Cedar Point, I'm often thankful for the Skyride because, unless I'm going to hit the Raptor or Wicked Twister, that main Midway is just a hassle. Easier to jump aboard and then when you get off you're closer to all the rides you want to hit.

If you want some unexpected Kings Island deja vu, the latest Defunctland episode is really fantastic. I didn't know about Australia's Wonderland at all, much less its history as a Taft Park. So I was surprised to see this episode open with a look at the construction of Kings Island. I was also unaware The Beast had a sister before it had a son, and that The Beastie was also present at another park (the entrance gates to The Beastie at AW is very similar from what I remember growing up). Also, The Zodiac! Defunctland always kills it, but this one is particularly special.

Smurfs Enchanted Voyage. It was the first ride I loved at Kings Island. It felt huge to a five-year-old, and almost Disney-like. I would have loved to show that to my kids. KCKC was great, too. Non-ride, there was a certain feeling to International Street that doesn't exist anymore. The shops weren't all selling novelty crap; you could get T-shirts and stuff, but I remember there also being more specialty shops, like fudge and a glass-blowing shop. The music was different -- I'm glad they've put some instrumental back on IS, but it feels too familiar. This was just a piece that felt specially orchestrated for the park (maybe it wasn't and I was just a kid). And before the digital signage came up everywhere, there were these European-style small towers that posted all the show information. It just lent a really cool feel to that main midway.

Yeah, I think that's the think. People are going to likely flood the polls for their home haunts. And really, is it fair to put HHN on the list? They have greater resources to pull off a professional, immersive haunt in a way regional parks can't. They literally have a film studio behind them. I'm glad they're low on the list because, honestly, I appreciate the do-it-yourself aesthetic of a regional haunt more than the "sure thing" that comes from a park with nearly unlimited resources and the assistance of Hollywood professionals.

Does Defunctland count? Kevin Perjurer's videos are some of the best put-together and most entertaining videos around (period, not just theme park-related), with great explanations of ride/theme park history.

Had Paramount really thrown money and creativity behind the concept, they could have really changed the park game. Rather than just slap some action movie theming on a coaster, I would have loved to see an Addams Family Dark Ride, a Star Trek simulator (that was more in line with something like BTTF than the Action Theater), a Mission: Impossible stunt show or thrill ride. I feel like they aimed too low -- but maybe the money wasn't worth throwing at seasonal parks. And all those would have likely been in big trouble once Paramount got out of the game.

On the one hand, this surprises me, because, as I've said before, Firehawk always felt like it didn't fit organically into Kings Island. . . but if it was originally going to go to KI and was designed to be build on the land owned by KC, would it have felt like a more organic fit to the park? Does it feel like an unnatural fit to its location because that location was never ideal in the first place? Interesting post.

Glad The Vortex is safe -- when we got down to KI this summer, it was the one coaster I didn't get a chance to ride, so I can get it next year. Firehawk was unique and I was glad to have ridden it, but I won't miss it. It was uncomfortable and, honestly, it was the one ride I never felt safe on. I always felt like I was going to fall out (I know I wasn't going to...it just felt that way). I also think it never truly felt like a part of KI, probably because it got its start elsewhere. It seemed just tossed into X-Base, and never had the character I feel from most other KI coasters (Invertigo feels the same way for me). The best Kings Island coasters feel organic to the park. This felt like an unnatural fit. Excited to see what comes next.

The original Vortex logo is so cool, but I kind of resent the fact that it made me think Vortex meant "giant robot" for so much of my life.

I feel like Vortex is a vital piece of Kings Island's identity. It's got a history stretching over 30 years, it's a major part of the park's skyline, it was a record-breaker, and it provides great visuals. After The Beast, it was probably the biggest deal in the park for many years. Not to say it won't ever be removed -- or that it won't be removed sooner rather than later -- but I feel like if it was a last year for The Vortex, KI would have given it a season-long send off, not one month when pretty much only locals are attending the park (at least that's the perspective of someone who lives four hours outside the park). True, there was similar notice when Cedar Point got rid of the Mean Streak -- but honestly, there was very little time where MS was seen as anything other than a headache-inducer. Few were sad to see it go (and it sorta never did). Firehawk has always felt like a minor addition to the park. It's tucked away in a low-traffic area. It came from another park and, honestly, doesn't seem to fit the character of other KI rides (similar to Invertigo). It seems to have countless maintenance problems, and IMO it's not a great ride (though, of course, my opinion has no bearing on this aside from my wishful thinking). It's too short, the harnesses are uncomfortable and I always feel like I'm going to fall out. Not saying it won't be Vortex (although I would prefer it to be Invertigo or The Bat), but I feel like Firehawk is the better candidate.

Thanks. That makes sense about the 2-Day/All-Day.