Kings Island Removing an Attraction?

[King Ding Dong]

1 hour ago, JubJester said:

If it was one of the wooden coasters, I'd think they would of tell us way ahead of time 

CP gave Mean Streak 6 weeks.  Just sayin.  

[JubJester]

17 minutes ago, King Ding Dong said:

CP gave Mean Streak 6 weeks.  Just sayin.  

That's a valid point. I just can't see Kings Island doing that. I'm guessing they won't say what's leaving til the 28th.

 

 I'm surprised Invertigo (doesnt match the clues) isnt being considered.

[homestar92]

16 hours ago, King Ding Dong said:

There is another way of looking at that.  The fact that it did need a couple of new footers is somewhat ominous.  Maybe they HAD to replace those this year just to keep it open but many of the others are starting to have issues as well (sinking jokes aside). Possibly the original concrete was not the best quality.  How many footers does that thing have?  Just a couple had issues and all the others are just fine?  Maybe, maybe not.

The fact that it needed new footers is not ominous at all. Diamondback had to close for a weekend a few years back because some footers needed replaced.

[purdude86]

35 minutes ago, King Ding Dong said:

CP gave Mean Streak 6 weeks.  Just sayin.  

But MS was very well liked and didn't disappear complete just reworked into something better. The only wooden coasters at KI are Beast (a legendary coaster that is the park's signature attraction), Racer (a historical coaster that could use some TLC but still well lover), Mystic Timbers (a new coaster), Woodstock express (kids/family coaster that wouldn't make much sense to really announce and doesn't open up land for a big addition).

So if one of the wooden coasters was being teased here it would likely be either Racer or Beast, neither of which seem likely, and both of which would be major changes that would deserve to have plenty of announcement to get another ride in. If it was The Beast I could see them promote an entire season for it's final one (unless it was because of unforeseen reason they'd have to shut it down in which case I'd imagine they would inform people as soon as they could.)

[silver2005]

I would completely rule out Invertigo with the now confirmed B&M for 2020.  It's gonna be something bigger to accommodate the bigger space needed for a B&M.  Vortex or Firehawk would be my first guesses (the fact the sign has you facing Vortex leads me to believe the former).  

[upstop]

Or that thing with the mini-coopers right behind it.

[starlitfire]

2 hours ago, JubJester said:

If it was one of the wooden coasters, I'd think they would of tell us way ahead of time 

Agreed. All of the woodens have their own place here and I doubt that KI would want to give the most wooden track record back to Holiday World given they just got it back with Mystic Timbers.

[silver2005]

Would there be any signs of said coaster being torn down (i.e. construction markers)?

[fyrfyter]

Would there be any signs of said coaster being torn down (i.e. construction markers)?

Not if the plans are for 2020. They have an entire year to do anything in regards to those items.

[coasterfanatic83]

If Firehawk is indeed the attraction being removed, we might be able to get some interesting views of the construction area during Winterfest since FoF will be open.

[King Ding Dong]

37 minutes ago, coasterfanatic2012 said:

If Firehawk is indeed the attraction being removed, we might be able to get some interesting views of the construction area during Winterfest since FoF will be open.

Agreed.  The view from FoF should be spectacular.  

[Turtlepower]

5 hours ago, KIfan73 said:

 

I don't even like to think about it, but how could all of those clues NOT point to The Beast?  SoB's tombstone behind it, claws on the urn...???

One of our own???

Not to mention all of this:  https://KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/33920-an-ill-fated-demise/&tab=comments#comment-803088

I've been thinking these same thoughts. One of our own because they built it. It's big it's gone, because what else is bigger? This could be a matter of KI throwing out red herrings though. Unless the ride went totally fubar in the last couple months, I can't imagine any way they wouldn't have announced this at the beginning of the year. Unless they're closing it to RMC it and that's part of the announcement, but there's still no reason to wait until the last day of the season to announce it. It and Firehawk were both closed all day when I last went on Labor Day. I assume they're both open at this point?

Also... what is the precedent for announcements like this? I'm no coaster super fan, but it seems weird to tease an announcement to close a ride on the last day of operation. Only reason I can think to do that might be because it really is something big, and announcing it early might cut into season pass sales.

 

 

[BoddaH1994]

35 minutes ago, Turtlepower said:

I've been thinking these same thoughts. One of our own because they built it. It's big it's gone, because what else is bigger? This could be a matter of KI throwing out red herrings though. Unless the ride went totally fubar in the last couple months, I can't imagine any way they wouldn't have announced this at the beginning of the year. Unless they're closing it to RMC it and that's part of the announcement, but there's still no reason to wait until the last day of the season to announce it. It and Firehawk were both closed all day when I last went on Labor Day. I assume they're both open at this point?

Also... what is the precedent for announcements like this? I'm no coaster super fan, but it seems weird to tease an announcement to close a ride on the last day of operation. Only reason I can think to do that might be because it really is something big, and announcing it early might cut into season pass sales.

 

 

They likely will add to the display or add more teasers to clue you in before an actual announcement. You’ll know the whole story before it’s last day.

[ohiocoasterfan]

I haven’t been to Haunt yet but does anyone know if the old Days of Thunder building is being used for haunt this year? If not maybe wind seeker goes to open up area for the new B&M where Days of Thunder is. Just a thought...


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[JudeHoward]

So claws, red yellow grey and black flowers, and eerily calm air. Also Kentucky Kingdom's new ride is called the Kentucky Flyer with the slogan "what's in the wind". Just makes you think... (side note): Just wanna add that there's 11 chairs and Firehawk has been there eleven years. Probably nothing tho.

[KIfan73]

I would like to say that I really don't think they are removing The Beast (it's really kind of unthinkable), but there were lots of rides being thrown around, and it seemed to me that the clues, if anything, were pointing more in that direction than anything else that had been mentioned.

If you really read the sign, it is worded (no doubt purposely) so carefully, it's really hard to tell what it's referring to.  No doubt everyone is supposed to read it and think something is being removed, but when I re-read the words a few times, I think it could be something else.

[Skibum]

Vortex:  Wouldn't mind this going away.  No lines and, for me, just not enjoyable.  Arrow coasters don't always age that well.

Firehawk:  Rode it but it was never anything special.  Wouldn't mind seeing it be taken out and to help with a giga's installation.

Adventure Express:  This is the only other ride I could think of but I would hate it if it was removed.  Tame but a lot of fun.  Plus, a great night ride.

[SonofBaconator]

I've thought about this for a while and to come to a conclusion- Firehawk being removed might actually benefit the park in a lot of ways.

Firehawk was a hand-me-down coaster from Geagua Lake so it never felt like a KI coaster to me as the others do. Its placed behind Racer and Flight of Fear so it always felt "hidden" to me, and not a good "hidden" like The Bat.

The ride, while visually pleasing, is in fact very outdated in numerous ways. For one, the chain is obnoxiously loud, especially when its inches away from your ears. Second, riders have to keep their eyes closed during the slow ascent up the hill since they're staring into the sun. Third, the capacity is horrific to the point where a dual loading station seems to slow the loading process down. Fourth, the ride is incredibly short for how long you have to wait in line. Even though B&M Flyers might have the same capacity issues, they are worth the wait because you actually get a lengthy ride on most of them and experience awesome elements. Firehawk always seemed like a circumstantial ride to me- if it was cloudy or overcast or the line was insanely short, I'd ride it- and I'm sure I'm not the only person who's done this. The park hasn't even made any attempt to repaint the coaster as its showing its old green livery from when it was X-Flight; painting a coaster doesn't always suggest that its going to stay, but not painting it at all says something. 

I feel like the ride is really starting to show its age. I can only imagine how much of a maintenance nightmare it is to keep running. Getting rid of it would ease some of the stress put on maintenance, funding, and resources which can be put into other rides that may need it. If the park replaced Firehawk with a B&M giga, they wouldn't be as many maintenance issues as they currently see with Firehawk and would be a good ROI in my opinion. I always thought that a giga would coexist in X-Base with Firehawk and Flight of Fear, but now I'm starting to think that it might not be the case. In addition, the last time KI removed an unreliable coaster, they replaced it with something that made up for it. If we have to sacrifice Firehawk to the coaster gods in order to get a giga, I'd be for it.

In addition, I honestly don't think Vortex or WindSeeker will bite the dust just because the park wouldn't really gain anything from doing so, especially when Firehawk frees up a lot of land for expansion. However, if WindSeeker does bite the dust, I wouldn't be surprised that they wouldn't announce it earlier so people could get their last rides since you could go to WoF, KD, CW, CWS, or CP to get your fix.

Addition. Also, Kentucky Kingdom announced their next attraction will be called "Kentucky Flyer." What's interesting about this is that if Firehawk is getting removed and going to another park, KI fans can always go to KK to ride it if they're feeling nostalgic. I think its a weird coincidence that there's rumors of us loosing something that flies and Kentucky Kingdom gaining something that flies. 

Just my two cents. I could be 100% wrong. 

 

Edited September 23, 2018 by SonofBaconator

[GigaLover]

These pictures I got from coaster crew on Facebook. The area is lit up tonight in red lights.. another tie to Firehawk in my opinion 

[TheRickster]

4 hours ago, silver2005 said:

I would completely rule out Invertigo with the now confirmed B&M for 2020.  It's gonna be something bigger to accommodate the bigger space needed for a B&M.  Vortex or Firehawk would be my first guesses (the fact the sign has you facing Vortex leads me to believe the former).  

they could just not use the space.... or use it with something else and the removal of timberwolf. I'm just saying it makes sense because of downtime, it's the least popular ride per capacity with the graphic someone else posted and they've removed from other CF parks.

[Rivertown Rider]

I would agree with most of you that the signs are pointing towards Firehawk.

The wreath colors: red, black, gray, and yellow all point towards Firehawk.  It has red and yellow cars, black on part of the restraints, reddish track (more a burgundy), and gray supports.

Firehawk has seemingly been down more this year compared to previous years.  When it is up it has longer wait times but it also has horrible capacity.  Invertigo probably has better capacity and it is running only one train.

The location of the ride would be a good area for a giga.  If you look at the other two gigas that Cedar Fair has installed semi-recently, Fury 325 and Intimidator 305, they are both off the main midways a bit.  Fury was located right next to Hurler, and Intimidator which is probably a good example for KI since we have a similar (not exact) layout to KD.  I305 is located right next to their Flight of Fear.  It makes sense to put a Giga entrance back in that area of the park because it helps more evenly disperse the crowds in the park.  You would have Banshee over in AZ, the big three in Rivertown, and this new coaster which would help bring crowds not only to FOF but also Racer, the flats in Coney, and probably would help Vortex a bit as well.  Locating the giga there would also allow the park to use some of the vacant land that SOB used to occupy. 

The park in the last five years has made several major/minor updates to the Coney Mall area.  These have included the re-paint of Shake, Rattle, and Roll; LED lights added to Dodgems, Shake Rattle, and Roll, and Zephyr; re-painting the Subway location; Coney Bar-B-Que; and next year's Kings Mills Antique Autos.  If you stand in front of Coney Bar-B-Que and look towards Firehawk you can easily visualize what a giga would add to that area.  The other benefits are we would probably get the bathrooms back in that area we have wanted for years and possibly even a new restaurant.

The only thing that doesn't point toward Firehawk is the "ItsBigItsGone", as Firehawk would never be classified as "big" by most people in the size-sense but maybe it is referring to the something "big" that is going to replace it.  I figure that the park will continue to tease a little while longer before the final announcement is made.  It is kind of funny that whatever attention Kentucky Kingdom hoped to get with their recent teasers has been overshadowed by a faux cemetery at a park two hours away.

[silver2005]

^^Realize this is the same park that didn't tear down Son of Beast until they were ready to make way for Banshee.  

[bjcolglazier]

Is Firehawk "one of our own"? To KI?

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

21 minutes ago, bjcolglazier said:

Is Firehawk "one of our own"? To KI?

I think "one of our own" means something that the park has in their lineup.

[JubJester]

Do you think they'll announce what it is before the last day?

[homestar92]

1 hour ago, bjcolglazier said:

Is Firehawk "one of our own"? To KI?

Greg Scheid used almost exactly those words in reference to Firehawk during the Banshee announcement. I knew my Sheldon Cooper-esque eidetic memory would come in handy one day! It's around a minute into this video:

I do believe the ride is Firehawk. That said, I don't believe that "one of our own" is meant to be a clue.

[WindingSon]

Scheid’s tombstone is just to the left of the funeral site...

[BeastForever]

On 9/22/2018 at 12:03 AM, GavPenn said:

My guess is the removal of eXtreme Skyflyer. They could be using this space for the B&M, if they use the old S.O.B. station. Kind of how millennium force does at the end. Or even a splashdown like Diamondback.

As long as Skyflyer is profitable (along with SlingShot), that thing isn't going anywhere...Relocated to somewhere else in the park if absolutely necessary, but certainly not removed..

11 hours ago, MaestroJr said:

Has anybody else thought of The Bat leaving? It just doesn't seem like it ever is busy and even with The Bat theme is in shambles compared to its 1990s Top Gun self. I feel like it takes up some nice space as well for something to be built back there in Action Zone. 

I can not stress this enough...

I do not care how many times you see any of the Arrow coasters being walk-ons, Vortex, AE, and The Bat, are among the best capacity attractions in the park.

[westcoaster]

Maybe not a Ride. 

[OTTER9919]

Another dumb thought,what are the chance that it’s not a coaster at all,what if it’s TR:TR building,think about it,they announce it near the closing date for haunt and that gives them time to take it down(including the haunt stuff inside of it