KIghostguy

Totally agree! Plus the white bottom was done years before 2019. I’ve worked on the banks of the Royal Fountain since October 2017 and I think the current fountain is great. Even Gary Wachs thinks that the current fountain is an improvement! But I still don't know why the park didn't bring back the landscaped shrubbery.

A lot sure has changed in 50 years. Dennis Speigel has one of the groundbreaking shovels hanging on his office wall.

You can find a list on their website: http://www.interthemepark.com/theme-park-projects.html To dismiss someone completely just because they’ve gotten predictions wrong is extremely close-minded. Dennis Speigel still has a significant influence in the amusement industry.

It won’t. The park confirmed on May 8 it will open with the rest of the park: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/park-update Plus the First Rider Auction is on July 1. It’s opening with the park.

Tron at Shanghai Disneyland is being cloned for the Magic Kingdom.

I really am delighted they are bringing back the red, white and blue color scheme that was original to the area, but not to that building. Is this the first time the current Dodgem building has been repainted since it was built?

Flight of Fear, I assume it’s supposed to belong to the news crew we see in the queue video.

Both are themed coasters built under Cedar Fair’s ownership. I felt that the marketing of Banshee and Mystic Timbers were similar in terms of updates. Plus, we actually got plaza/queue/theming development updates with both. Why are you so against constructive criticism of the park? Kings Island has done many things right the past few years and they deserve to be applauded when they do things right. I think that overall, Kings Island is being operated at the highest quality it has been in decades. However, I feel that this is one aspect that can easily be improved upon. As a fan of the park’s history, I want to see every step of the way in the construction process.

There were lots of updates on the construction for the plaza of Mystic Timbers, as well as some of the theming work. There was no reason the park couldn't have done the same for Orion before coronavirus. Instead, we got the same POV and off-ride footage posted and reposted instead of the frequent and unique update strategy that they used when they were building and finishing Mystic Timbers. Look at Meteor Canteen. I love the park's history, I love seeing every step of the way on construction. Instead of posting photos of it being built, it just suddenly appeared in one of the drone photos. Why did the park not want to post any photos of it being built? Hopefully, with the full-time staff back at the park, we'll be back to getting more frequent updates.

As others have said, there was barely anything even before the shutdowns. What was preventing them from posting an update of Area 72 construction in January or February?

Totally agree. I know people will swoop in and say “It will ruin the surprise!” Absolutely not. They tried a similar strategy last year with International Street. As an employee, I saw the refurbished International Street three different times before opening day, and there were still surprises on opening day and over the next few weeks as everything in the project was completed. This “surprise” strategy would have worked in probably 1986, but with the park’s social media so popular, there is no good reason for them to just be so quiet on updates with the largest investment in the park’s history. They were super quiet on updates even before coronavirus. It costs literally nothing to post new pictures to Instagram, and it comes with lots of benefits to the park—you get more positive coverage, you get a wider audience, you can get more people interested in the project. Like you said, Mystic Timbers was nowhere near this quiet. I mean, that photo from a few weeks ago of Orion the dog in front of Orion’s entrance was the first official photo from the park of Area 72 since December. Unbelievable! It’s nice to see the park take a lot of pride in what they add. Unfortunately, that pride and enthusiasm from the park’s side has not really translated into their infrequent updates. It almost makes Orion seem like an afterthought to the park.

Yes, but I believe that was done from the park’s end and not part of the original plan. I’m not 100% on that, though.

They were still working on specific plans for the theming in January. Unfortunately, I think it would be one of the easier things to cut. I sure hope I’m wrong, but I’m not that optimistic with so much capital getting eliminated in both 2020 and 2021. Even if it wasn’t cut, I seriously doubt it will be fully installed by whenever opening day is. The Notice of Commencement from 2018 listed Daniels Wood Land, and they’re based out of California. It took me almost a month to get a single book from Amazon; who knows how long it would take to ship potential props or other elements from California?

"A few years ago" would have been--supposedly--around 2015 or so when the figures were actually destroyed.

The train figures were kept in one of the maintenance “graveyards” and allegedly, they were melted down a few years ago.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the station’s already been demolished.

Orion was testing this morning. I could see it from my backyard.

I work at Emporium.

No need for personal attacks today!

Someone posted the physical map a month or so ago:

He’s not going to be any more specific; it’s like pulling teeth.

No, the seating has been there for a while. You can see the umbrellas in the left hand side of this photo I took. I’m sure someone has a closer photo of the whole seating area.

Like Newspapers.com? Or did you actually take the time to go to a historical society/library/etc.?

I watched the Kings Island part of that livestream. Mike Koontz said that he rode Orion twice in early March before everything shut down. He said the view was “spectacular” and that it’s now his favorite ride in the park.

You’ll enter through Firehawk’s photo booth (it won’t be a photo booth anymore) and walk down stairs into the queue. The “prop building” is in the queue right before the stairs up to the station. The exit of the station connects to the main Area 72 midway and takes you past Orion’s photo booth, which is a new structure.