Kings Island Area Themes

[WhatTheBlazes]

15 hours ago, SixString2001 said:

It may seem silly of me to bring it up, but a rumor that I heard floating around elsewhere on the web are that an attraction similar to Cedar Point's interactive attraction--Forbidden Frontier--could be coming to a park such as Kings Island. I do think that this could be one such way to bring some new life to areas like Rivertown, reinvigorating the theme of an Old West frontier town.

I do have to digress: an ideal way to place such a thing in the park would be to utilize some land where Vortex once stood, redrawing the boundaries of Rivertown to encompass such an attraction. Of course, KI has no plans in the works as far as we know; who knows what they'll do with it in the future?

I think it would be cool if instead of using The Vortex plot for this, they put it in the woods where the picnic area currently is.  The picnic area can then be moved to what is now Timberwolf.

The reason I say this is, they could build another station platform for the train and guests could get off on either side.  For the waterpark as it is currently used, OR on the other side, in this forbidden frontier zone.  Not utilizing the train for this area would be a waste of a great opportunity. Making it more interactive and taking the train to get there would be awesome.  They could also open up the old walking path that lets out by RFYLCB for access there as well.  Put the flume back as part of Rivertown, now you have great seamless theming for the whole thing.

Or keeping with the spooky re-theme, it would be neat to do a Forbidden Frontier type of thing, but make it more of a spooky "Scooby Doo" type of experience.  This could also go where Timberwolf is and fit the re-theming of the entire area.  Making The Bat, Banshee, Adventure Express (Dark Forest Express), Drop Tower (no ideas on rethemed name), Delirium (The Pit and the Pendulum), and all the other attractions in that area interactive with the new LARP area.

[Klabergian Empire]

They could use the third train station and use that as a landing to an extension of Rivertown...

[SixString2001]

7 hours ago, WhatTheBlazes said:

I think it would be cool if instead of using The Vortex plot for this, they put it in the woods where the picnic area currently is.  The picnic area can then be moved to what is now Timberwolf.

The reason I say this is, they could build another station platform for the train and guests could get off on either side.  For the waterpark as it is currently used, OR on the other side, in this forbidden frontier zone.  Not utilizing the train for this area would be a waste of a great opportunity. Making it more interactive and taking the train to get there would be awesome.  They could also open up the old walking path that lets out by RFYLCB for access there as well.  Put the flume back as part of Rivertown, now you have great seamless theming for the whole thing.

Or keeping with the spooky re-theme, it would be neat to do a Forbidden Frontier type of thing, but make it more of a spooky "Scooby Doo" type of experience.  This could also go where Timberwolf is and fit the re-theming of the entire area.  Making The Bat, Banshee, Adventure Express (Dark Forest Express), Drop Tower (no ideas on rethemed name), Delirium (The Pit and the Pendulum), and all the other attractions in that area interactive with the new LARP area.

All of those ideas are spectacular, probably the best ideas I've heard for KI area theming in a long time. Love the new name idea for Delirium. Not to get hopes too high, but maybe they could do two interactives in the future: one in Rivertown for more of a family-oriented experience (appropriate for older kids under 13, along with their families) and another in a rethemed Action Zone for something more for something a little more mature (if you've ever heard of the now long-defunct "Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour" attraction at Tokyo Disneyland, it would be something along those lines).

In regard of retheming Action Zone, I think they may as well join it with Oktoberfest. Folklore and the supernatural have always been tied to European cultures for centuries, and the area itself only has two or three attractions right now. Banshee: a female apparition of Irish folklore. The Bat: look at the depiction of Vampires, many being portrayed as European in origin. The proposed rename, Dark Forest Express: to me, that just screams "werewolf" all over it for some reason (not to rip off any other parks, namely Busch Gardens Williamsburg with Verbolten).

[purdude86]

Would love to see Adventure Express get a Black Forest re-theme to fit in better with Oktoberfest. Like the name Dark Forest Express but would recommend just changing it to Black Forest. Prefer the name Expedition but Express could pay homage to AE Mostly I'd keep it as is just plant more trees and theme the tunnels a bit with German related stuff and expedition supplies. Can add some sort of legend that could be told through signs in the queue to theme the final lift hill tunnel to. I'd build out the theming of Oktoberfest more too. Change Hanks Burrito Shack back into a more Bavarian look, )same with any other building around the pond there). Even if they kept the food the same have it's aesthetic fit the area. I'd also remove/relocate Slingshot and put a new flat ride in it's spot. And probably not feasible but ideally remove the ladder game and Coke stand int hat spot and add a second flat to the area. The two I would add would be a tilt-a-whirl or tea cups ride themed to wooden kegs and bring back the Der Spinning Keggers name. The second would be a musik express type ride like Hurricanw Cove at Marineland themed to the Flying Dutchman.

I would kind of connect the area into Action Zone as well and give it a dark forest theme as people have suggested. but keep them separated to a degree. I would take the pathway running alongside Delirium's queue and put an arbor tunnel there like used to be over on the Rivertown Hanna Barbara border. It would fit both areas but keep them separated a bit too. Maybe add one along the path behind Festhaus leading from the Kings Island Theatre to the main entry area too so to get into the forest area you have to o through a wooded tunnel. Just have to rename and do some new paint for some areas and ideally plant more trees. If they kept Invertigo it could be renamed Spectre but I would remove it and Congo Falls to add in a new coaster. and ideally remover Timberwolf too for expansion. If Timberwolf left especially I would add a custom RMC there. It would have the intensity to match the thrill level of the area and keep inversion with the removal of Invertigo, plus the wood structure would help maintain the theme of the area. This would also allow room likely for another flat ride too.

The rest of the areas I think have decent theming, just feel the park as a whole could use some more flat rides. Some other small changes would be to gut Boo Blasters and theme it to Peanuts to fit in with Planet Snoopy and give it something fresh. It could be themed to holidays and take scenes from the specials (or pick on like Great Pumpkin. With it being in the kids area I'd keep it as an interactive ride too. Then I would put a return of the Phantom Theater where the old Action Theater is now. Make it look like a big rundown concert hall with the grass area in front looking rundown and unkempt too to build the atmosphere. Think this could fit Coney Mall area while keeping it hidden a bit to not look bad for the rest of the area with it being hidden within Racer's turnaround. This would be more of a traditional dark ride where you just go past scenes like the original PT.

 

[SonofBaconator]

13 hours ago, Klabergian Empire said:

They could use the third train station and use that as a landing to an extension of Rivertown...

Are you referring to the platform by Mystic Timbers that they used for haunt?

Unfortunately that platform can only accommodate 3 coaches and expanding it would block the maintenance road. If they ever decided to expand that platform to accommodate all 6 coaches the trains wouldn't be able to move. That section of track leads to a .5% grade which is very difficult for a locomotive to do without any momentum. It worked for 3 coaches because half the weight was gone so they could power through the hill. If you ever ride the train pay attention to its acceleration once you pass Mystic Timbers' tunnel. There are times during Winterfest when the engines actually have to reverse back to the station so they can build up enough momentum to make it over the grade

Wow I need to get back to the Railroad thread

[westcoaster]

I say a 2nd f as mily section high themed year round rides

[dbackdreams]

On 6/18/2020 at 3:12 PM, westcoaster said:

I say a 2nd f as mily section high themed year round rides

They need more stuffed for winter festival at Christmas.

[Klabergian Empire]

On 6/20/2020 at 5:50 AM, dbackdreams said:

They need more stuffed for winter festival at Christmas.

I think WinterFest is fine as is. The reason I go is to get some winter rides on the rides that are open and to take in Kings Island as a winter wonderland. Something you can't get the rest of the year. The sights and sounds alone are superb.

On a separate note, going along with what @SonofBaconator has said in another thread, I really do hope that the park gives Oktoberfest more love. And thankfully over the last two seasons it has. We got the glockenspiel back in 2019 and Viking Fury got a repaint for 2020. I hope to see more done with Okoberfest and see it return to something unique in the park. 

 

*plays with the idea of a AE re-theme*