Markers Placed by Old Columbia Rd.

[PKIDelirium]

The photo booth, except for maybe the foundation slab is gone. The only related structure left is the shelter like structure that used to have vending machines in it facing the midway, it was painted to match The Vortex station so it does look kind of like the photo booth from certain angles. 

[gforce1994]

1 hour ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

I do agree that keeping the old Son of Beast station opens up possibilities, but considering how high it is off the ground and just how weird it looks with all of its ramps, I think the park would likely opt to demolish it and build a new station for a future rollercoaster like they did with Firehawk’s station and that is also likely why they demolished Vortex’s station. It is a lot easier to start from scratch then try to fit a new ride into an old station that would need to be re-engineered.

Speaking of Vortex, when I saw its former site a few weeks ago, I noticed that maybe the photo booth remained. Can anyone confirm this?

The photo booth still remains. The building served as a roof for the photo booth and benches nearby. 
 

[TombraiderTy]

2 hours ago, gforce1994 said:

The photo booth still remains. The building served as a roof for the photo booth and benches nearby. 
 

No it does not. The former Vortex Photo booth is gone. @PKIDelirium is correct that the shelter-like structure that remains only looked like the photo booth, and was actually a different structure. You can see it behind the photo booth (and with a different roof) in this photo.

[gforce1994]

So apparently there are more markers. The road looks like it will be removed.

[FUN&ONLY!]

1 hour ago, gforce1994 said:

So apparently there are more markers. The road looks like it will be removed.

Do you have pictures of these markers?

[gforce1994]

10 minutes ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

Do you have pictures of these markers?

It was too dark to take photos, but they’re in the area of road we already saw marked.

[ldhudsonjr]

A lot of people are expressing doubt about CF doing anything significant here and I definitely tend to agree, but the one thing that has me wondering is the idea of the entrance plaza. Timing doesn't seem great but at the same time, is it really all that crazy to think they'd want to have this done ahead of the 2022 season? (if they have interest in doing it at all that is.)

[FUN&ONLY!]

13 hours ago, ldhudsonjr said:

A lot of people are expressing doubt about CF doing anything significant here and I definitely tend to agree, but the one thing that has me wondering is the idea of the entrance plaza. Timing doesn't seem great but at the same time, is it really all that crazy to think they'd want to have this done ahead of the 2022 season? (if they have interest in doing it at all that is.)

A new entrance plaza would be a great addition in my opinion, and it would be great for Kings Island to do ahead of its 50th anniversary.

[gforce1994]

11 hours ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

A new entrance plaza would be a great addition in my opinion, and it would be great for Kings Island to do it ahead of its 50th anniversary.

It seems that with each passing day, the project has to do less with the main gate and more with the area north of the entrance. The road is being removed, and they’re apparently surveying that plot of land.

[SonofBaconator]

Gotta survey early for that brand new coaster I suppose

[Maddog]

1 hour ago, gforce1994 said:

It seems that with each passing day, the project has to do less with the main gate and more with the area north of the entrance. The road is being removed, and they’re apparently surveying that plot of land.

Perhaps I missed it, how do we know the road is being removed?

[gforce1994]

7 minutes ago, Maddog said:

Perhaps I missed it, how do we know the road is being removed?

White markers sprayed on the road indicate it will be removed. Portions of the preferred parking lot is also spray painted.

[Maddog]

Hmm, I don't dispute the markers and some survey activity. But it does seem like a bit of a leap that these indicate a road getting "removed".

Maybe keep the definitive statements to those things that are fully known.

[gforce1994]

A white spraying indicates an excavation. One can’t excavate beneath a road without removing it. I’ve done surveying and marking of sites in the past. Any surface with a white marker means it will be removed for excavation.

Furthermore, since it’s a dead end road, there’s little use for the park to keep it.

[ldhudsonjr]

3 hours ago, gforce1994 said:

A white spraying indicates an excavation. One can’t excavate beneath a road without removing it. I’ve done surveying and marking of sites in the past. Any surface with a white marker means it will be removed for excavation.

Furthermore, since it’s a dead end road, there’s little use for the park to keep it.

So whats your take on this then? Why would they remove the road? What possibilities do we see here?

[gforce1994]

They would remove the road to install something. Could it be a series of flat rides or a coaster, I do not know. But something definitely is going on.

[Rivertown Rider]

As much as I think nothing major is happening I have been thinking about some possibilities for this area.

First the reasons against anything major happening: COVID-19, we just got a brand new coaster, the chain is trying to preserve cash as much as possible.

The reasons for something happening:

1. Most of the other parks park in the chain are holding over their 2020 additions into 2021.  CGA, Carowinds, Dorney, Worlds of Fun all are holding over their 2020 additions until next year.  A lot of this money has already been spent.  Wonderland at a minimum probably won't get to open their water park this year with their new addition.  The only chain in the park that has seen something show up (not publicly announced but spotted is KD with their rumored Free Fly.  It is unknown whether Dorney will get their rumored Wooden Shuttle coaster.  Prior to the pandemic Cedar Fair had mentioned that each park in the chain would get something new every year.  That has probably gone out the window for now but it is something to think about.  There have been markers spotted at CP and KI.  With the importance of the two Ohio parks to the chain it is quite possible we get something even if it is not going to break the bank.

2. First of all, I don't think we are getting a coaster.  I think most of us would agree that when we get a coaster 3-5 years from now that it will be at least in part of the old Vortex plot.  So if we think about a 5 year plan for the park, probably at least one of those years will be a new coaster in The Vortex plot, one of those years will probably be something new in the water park, one of those years I could see a Planet Snoopy revamp to Camp Snoopy.  With three out of five years spoken for, I think Action Zone could easily get something.  When we look back since Banshee was installed here have been the additions/improvements:

2015: Two new Planet Snoopy attractions

2016: Tropical Plunge and new funnel cake stand in Rivertown along with the new entrance to White Water Canyon

2017: Mystic Timbers and Island Smokehouse

2018: Coney BBQ

2019: Antique Autos, International Street refresh, and the return of the Glockenspiel, and Miami River Brewhouse

2020: Orion, various Area 72 improvements, Scrambler refreshed, Dodgem sign updated, and Viking Fury painted

3. The closest park to us (Kentucky Kingdom) is highly rumored to get their biggest addition to the park since they re-opened (RMC Raptor).

3. Action Zone needs a refresh.  Since 2014, Action Zone hasn't really had any noticeable improvements.  It is an area of the park that in some respects feels dated.  In my opinion Action Zone has always been the area of the park that didn't really feel like it flowed well.  Of the dry side areas, all of the other areas for the most part flow well together.  Yes there are opportunities some places (as much I love you, looking at you BLSC) but in recent times the park has done a good job adding character when they have made improvements.  Action Zone still has the weird Frankenstein feel to it.  Originally it was a small Jungle themed area (the Taft/KECO/Linder years) that was a gateway to a Safari ride (Amazon/Congo Falls), a once promising Amphitheater that gets used a handful a times a year (Timberwolf), and the world's first stand up (RIP KC) among other things.  Then we go into the early Paramount years with Top Gun (yes I know it was planned before they bought the park), Skyflyer, and the old go-karts.  As some point Paramount decided to adopt the old 90's Studios (see at that time Disney/MGM and Universal Studios) theme where anything fits in an area of the park and it doesn't have to have a theme.  Action Zone got so many additions during that time: Skyflyer (1995), XS Raceway/Days of Thunder/Thunder Alley (1996), Drop Zone/Drop Tower and Face-Off/Invertigo (1999) and of course Son of Beast in 2000.  Delirium was added in 2003 (replacing KC) but other than Banshee replacing SOB and the Raceway in 2014, the area has really only had one year of major additions other than paint jobs since 2003.

 

This Google Earth image is from April 2017 but I think it is easier to see the road than some of the other images I have seen.  So what I think might be happening is a couple things: 

1. I wouldn't be surprised to be Timberwolf getting torn down.  It is only used primarily for SpiritSong and they could easily go the Cedar Point route and put up a temporary stage/seating elsewhere.  As massive as KI's parking lot is they have plenty of options for that.  I could easily see them doing it down towards the Soak City entrance.

2. With that being said, the portion of Columbia Road that dead ends close to the park entrance along with the road that goes up to Timberwolf would be torn up.  This allows them to add additional concrete pathways that go up toward the park entrance.

3. With removing Timberwolf it allows the park to add some additional flats (I could see a family flat along with a thrilling flat being added there).  Other than Congo Falls and The Bat there are no truly family rides in that area of the park.

4. If they are really removing the Son of Beast building, I could see them putting more of a straight pathway from the bulldozed Timberwolf/new flats area to The Bat.  This would significantly shorten the walk to/from that area and would probably increase its popularity.  With that they would close off the old The Bat pathway at the bathrooms/Blackout building.

Again this could all be nothing, but speculation is always fun.  In the below, the gray would be the new pathways to the entrance, the black would be excavated road, and the orange would be the new pathway to The Bat.

  

[gforce1994]

It would be nice to see some flats. It doesn’t explain the markers at SOB and the old road.

[Rivertown Rider]

^ If they add a new path to The Bat, they will probably demolish the current path including the ramp going to the SOB station.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

I think people are looking a little too much into this. I'm thinking it's probably a new road leading back to the dorms and at most some upgrades to the front gate plaza and maybe parking lot. However, I think a fully repaved parking lot would be a multi year project and would be done in phases. 

[FUN&ONLY!]

A coaster going from the Son of Beast station to the front entrance actually seems like a really good idea. They could renovate Action Zone and redo the front gate with the addition of a new coaster. That would really breathe new life into the back portion of Action Zone and rides like Drop Tower and The Bat would get longer lines. This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I would rather them focus their attention on Action Zone rather than on the old Vortex plot of land right now. Vortex’s plot of land is situated between the two busiest areas of the park (Coney Mall and Rivertown) with popular ride consistently getting long wait times. Every ride in Action Zone, even Banshee, rarely has more than a 20 minute wait. In my opinion, Action Zone needs more love than Coney Mall or Rivertown, especially considering the last two major additions were in those two areas of the park.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

9 minutes ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

A coaster going from the Son of Beast station to the front entrance actually seems like a really good idea. They could renovate Action Zone and redo the front gate with the addition of a new coaster. That would really breathe new life into the back portion of Action Zone and rides like Drop Tower and The Bat would get longer lines. This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I would rather them focus their attention on Action Zone rather than on the old Vortex plot of land right now. Vortex’s plot of land is situated between the two busiest areas of the park (Coney Mall and Rivertown) with popular ride consistently getting long wait times. Every ride in Action Zone, even Banshee, rarely has more than a 20 minute wait. In my opinion, Action Zone needs more love than Coney Mall or Rivertown, especially considering the last two major additions were in those two areas of the park.

What coaster would work in Action Zone? 

[gforce1994]

1 hour ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

What coaster would work in Action Zone? 

Wing, Dive, or Floorless.

 

1 hour ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

I think people are looking a little too much into this. I'm thinking it's probably a new road leading back to the dorms and at most some upgrades to the front gate plaza and maybe parking lot. However, I think a fully repaved parking lot would be a multi year project and would be done in phases. 

Why would they rebuild a dead end road that has seen limited use? For an entertainment company coming out of this pandemic, a project like that would be a waste of money.

[ldhudsonjr]

@IndyGuy4KI Are the photos on the first page of this thread yours? If so, may I use one or two of them in a video? Credited to you obviously.

[SonofBaconator]

9 hours ago, gforce1994 said:

For an entertainment company coming out of this pandemic, a project like that would be a waste of money.

What if this project was already scheduled prior to the 2020 pandemic? Also the company isn't coming out of the pandemic, they're very much still engulfed in it. A dead end road might not make the park money but it might help transport dorm employees like @Hawaiian Coasters 325 said. Employees could get to work quicker, less tardiness excuses, less of a distance to walk overall, etc.

[PKIDelirium]

Since gforce keeps refusing to identify all the various markings, I found a standard legend.

[FUN&ONLY!]

1 hour ago, PKIDelirium said:

Since gforce keeps refusing to identify all the various markings, I found a standard legend.

From the markers we have seen:

The marker near the Son of Beast station is for communication lines.

The survey flags near the from entrance are just temporary survey markings.

The markers in the preferred parking lot are for proposed excavation.

[super7]

Cedar Fair is in a cash situation.    Most of their parks are closed and they need their current cash just to make the company survive through the end of the year. After the end of the year they are going to pull on the line of credit. I highly doubt if they do any major investment for several years. This is most likely necessary infrastructure if anything Most of their parks are closed and they need their current cash just to make the company survive through the end of the year. After the end of the year they are going to pull on a line of credit. I highly doubt if they do any major investment for several years. This is most likely necessary infrastructure if anything  

[gforce1994]

41 minutes ago, super7 said:

Cedar Fair is in a cash situation.    Most of their parks are closed and they need their current cash just to make the company survive through the end of the year. After the end of the year they are going to pull on the line of credit. I highly doubt if they do any major investment for several years. This is most likely necessary infrastructure if anything Most of their parks are closed and they need their current cash just to make the company survive through the end of the year. After the end of the year they are going to pull on a line of credit. I highly doubt if they do any major investment for several years. This is most likely necessary infrastructure if anything  

This could have been bought before the onset of the pandemic. The chain said they had enough money for next year as well in the investor calls. That being said, even with the financial situation, why would they be working on infrastructure?

[super7]

40 minutes ago, gforce1994 said:

This could have been bought before the onset of the pandemic. The chain said they had enough money for next year as well in the investor calls. That being said, even with the financial situation, why would they be working on infrastructure?

The money they have for next year is a line of credit.   Cash runs out in December 2020 with current cash flow and expenditures.    It’s in their conference call notes.  
 

they have also given away a full year of season pass and add on revenue. Their cash situation is not going to be good for a while even after they start operating normally. 
 

It would be an absolutely unwise business decision to add another major ride before they can fully market Orion to the public under normal circumstances.   

The park is currently operating in less than half crowds.  Measuring by the cars in the lot.   It’s questionable if current crowds are even turning a profit given the season pass extension.