Kings Island 50th Anniversary Ideas

[Kodistict]

They should add a new Dippin' dots stand, honestly, I think this will draw in the crowd a lot for their 50th anniversary. 

[Vortex]

I hope Kings Island can bring back those fruit drinks they used to have. I know Cedar Point was going bring them back for this year. Not sure if they did do to Covid.

[KIBeast]

16 hours ago, Kodistict said:

They should add a new Dippin' dots stand, honestly, I think this will draw in the crowd a lot for their 50th anniversary. 

That and you would have one more Dippin' Dots guy who can let us know future ride installments at KI. 

[super7]

Celebrate Racers 50 years by giving it a synchronized lift hill, paint, and add back the final drop with a tunnel 

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

1 hour ago, super7 said:

Celebrate Racers 50 years by giving it a synchronized lift hill, paint, and add back the final drop with a tunnel 

The final drop was taken out to allow for a path to Flight of Fear and eventually Orion to be added. 

[BoddaH1994]

53 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

The final drop was taken out to allow for a path to Flight of Fear and eventually Orion to be added. 

My understanding is that they quickly determined that they didn’t really have to remove that last drop after they did it, so it’s possible. Unlikely, but possible. 

[KIghostguy]

1 hour ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

The final drop was taken out to allow for a path to Flight of Fear and eventually Orion to be added. 

No, that path already existed (albeit used for maintenance and not guest access). They removed the two hills to increase the height clearance on that path.

[TombraiderTy]

56 minutes ago, KIghostguy said:

No, that path already existed (albeit used for maintenance and not guest access). They removed the two hills to increase the height clearance on that path.

Maybe that's the official reason cited somewhere or by someone, but I have hesitations on believing that. You can see that the opening under The Racer remained unchanged before/after conversion (match-up the structure between photos to see it's at the same height). The fact that the conversion wasn't in a single off-season, but spanned between two, is also interesting.

(Photo one source, photo two from Google Maps)

[KIghostguy]

1 hour ago, TombraiderTy said:

Maybe that's the official reason cited somewhere or by someone, but I have hesitations on believing that. You can see that the opening under The Racer remained unchanged before/after conversion (match-up the structure between photos to see it's at the same height). The fact that the conversion wasn't in a single off-season, but spanned between two, is also interesting.

(Photo one source, photo two from Google Maps)

That’s the reason given by one of the people behind the change. The modification was done in-house by Kings Island staff, which forced the change to span two off-seasons.

[TombraiderTy]

6 minutes ago, KIghostguy said:

That’s the reason given by one of the people behind the change. The modification was done in-house by Kings Island staff, which forced the change to span two off-seasons.

I don't question that that was the reason given by someone involved with the changes, but if their goal was to make the opening higher then it doesn't seem like they succeeded 

[CoastersRZ]

I would love to get a 50th anniversary logo with some 50th anniversary merchandise. 

I think Planet Snoopy could use some love in the form of a couple of new attractions.  I mean, the last two new attractions added were in 2015.  And prior to that the 2006 renovation removed several rides (hand cars anyone?  Those were my favorite).  There are just some areas that have a lot of open space that could use a new ride for the kids.  Having a kid that is 40.5" (and just rode Viking Fury over the weekend), there definitely could be a few more things for him to do in Planet Snoopy.  Carowinds has done a good job with their Camp Snoopy theme and adding in some newer rides.  I would love to see KI do the same.

I also wouldn`t mind seeing a ride like Music Express come to KI.  

[standbyme]

9 hours ago, TombraiderTy said:

I don't question that that was the reason given by someone involved with the changes, but if their goal was to make the opening higher then it doesn't seem like they succeeded 

Maybe it’s a work in progress. 

[KIjames]

This will never happen, but let's bring back buzz bar restraints on The Beast and racer.

[Oldschool75]

I don't question that that was the reason given by someone involved with the changes, but if their goal was to make the opening higher then it doesn't seem like they succeeded 

One of the reasons was due to the braking system used at the time. They were still using friction brakes and the brake run was shorter with the last dip. When it would rain there were times that the train had the potential to slide into the other train in the station. Imagine Orion’s leap into the brake run but on Racer and with only a buzz bar. Those were fun times.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Toonamp]

I can see them doing a couple of things, considering Cedar Fair's recent trends at other parks.

1. Return of the Phantom Theatre.  Unfortunately it will consist of screens to shoot at with minimum animatronics, like Knott's new Berry Tales.

2. Returning the scenery to the railroad and possibly have live action actors like they are doing with the boat ride at Cedar Point.

3. A museum.  Action Theater is a good spot.  The Enchanted Theater might be better.

4. Retheme Action Zone to Jungle theme like they did with King's Dominion.  Action Zones theming wasn't that great to begin with.

5.  Maybe add a few rides to Oktoberfest.  Viking Fury has been holding down the fort for almost 30 years while Adventure Express just seems lost.

 

[silver2005]

I think the best place for a museum would be Tower Gardens TBH, kind of like they did when they had Paramount Story there.  Maybe include the area around Grand Carousel.  

[Oldschool75]

On 9/16/2020 at 6:17 PM, Oldschool75 said:

One of the reasons was due to the braking system used at the time. They were still using friction brakes and the brake run was shorter with the last dip. When it would rain there were times that the train had the potential to slide into the other train in the station. Imagine Orion’s leap into the brake run but on Racer and with only a buzz bar. Those were fun times.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here is a clip of how quick Racer used to enter the very short brake run. 

[BoddaH1994]

On 9/18/2020 at 3:34 PM, Toonamp said:

I can see them doing a couple of things, considering Cedar Fair's recent trends at other parks.

1. Return of the Phantom Theatre.  Unfortunately it will consist of screens to shoot at with minimum animatronics, like Knott's new Berry Tales.

2. Returning the scenery to the railroad and possibly have live action actors like they are doing with the boat ride at Cedar Point.

3. A museum.  Action Theater is a good spot.  The Enchanted Theater might be better.

4. Retheme Action Zone to Jungle theme like they did with King's Dominion.  Action Zones theming wasn't that great to begin with.

5.  Maybe add a few rides to Oktoberfest.  Viking Fury has been holding down the fort for almost 30 years while Adventure Express just seems lost.

 

Of all the ideas you listed I think the train thing is the most likely. In fact, I wouldn’t be shocked if that’s what they do. 

[Vortex]

I hope the park will renamed The Beastie and pant it yellow like it used to be. Also repaint the lift hill of The Racers Red, White, and Blue again. Bring back the old Adventure Express soundtrack in the station. 

[cdubbs727]

Changing the name of Woodstock Express back to The Beastie would be wonderful (I still call it The Beastie, and my kids call it that too; they haven't even tried to correct me). It just plays into the heritage so much more -- I'd also love to see it re-painted yellow (not sure why a Woodstock Roller Coaster is blue anyway) and maybe even add back in its tunnel. But the return of the name and the old signage would be enough. 

Bring back dining throughout the day in the International Restaurant. The park needs some sort of sit-down, nice eating experience and you can't beat that view. Maybe it's a traditional service restaurant during the day and then a nice bar/lounge in the evening for worn out adults :-). Would be nice to take in the fireworks from there with a nice, cold drink. 

I really like the way the park leaned into International Street's heritage in the 2019 season and would love to see something like that done in areas throughout the park; just little reminders of its history. Maybe little plaques with pictures of the park throughout the years. Create some sort of exhibit (maybe in Tower Gardens) that includes signage, photos and other memorabilia from old rides and other attractions. Given Coney Mall an overhaul to bring it back to looking like an old theme park. Find some sort of coherent them for Action Zone; if they have big money to spend (which, after this summer, they very well may not), pull out Invertigo and Congo Falls and put some new attraction in there to go with that new theme. 

At the end of it all, announce whatever is coming in 2023. But make it a game throughout the season, similar to the way they had clues for the last few rides. But don't treat it like a secret. Make it hard, make it a game, and have some way to reward the people who guess it. 

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

2 hours ago, cdubbs727 said:

Changing the name of Woodstock Express back to The Beastie would be wonderful (I still call it The Beastie, and my kids call it that too; they haven't even tried to correct me). It just plays into the heritage so much more -- I'd also love to see it re-painted yellow (not sure why a Woodstock Roller Coaster is blue anyway) and maybe even add back in its tunnel. But the return of the name and the old signage would be enough. 

Bring back dining throughout the day in the International Restaurant. The park needs some sort of sit-down, nice eating experience and you can't beat that view. Maybe it's a traditional service restaurant during the day and then a nice bar/lounge in the evening for worn out adults :-). Would be nice to take in the fireworks from there with a nice, cold drink. 

I really like the way the park leaned into International Street's heritage in the 2019 season and would love to see something like that done in areas throughout the park; just little reminders of its history. Maybe little plaques with pictures of the park throughout the years. Create some sort of exhibit (maybe in Tower Gardens) that includes signage, photos and other memorabilia from old rides and other attractions. Given Coney Mall an overhaul to bring it back to looking like an old theme park. Find some sort of coherent them for Action Zone; if they have big money to spend (which, after this summer, they very well may not), pull out Invertigo and Congo Falls and put some new attraction in there to go with that new theme. 

At the end of it all, announce whatever is coming in 2023. But make it a game throughout the season, similar to the way they had clues for the last few rides. But don't treat it like a secret. Make it hard, make it a game, and have some way to reward the people who guess it. 

I agree with the International Restaurant thing. Ik this sounds like a stretch, but I would like to see them try and build a patio from the restaurant to overlook international street and the fireworks. Now for your 2023 thing, I believe they could do that if a coaster is coming in 2023. Hyping up a flat ride or kiddy ride all season just doesn't feel right imo. 

[gforce1994]

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

48 minutes ago, gforce1994 said:

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[flightoffear1996]

I wouldn't mind a transport ride for to be installed. One for the dry side of the park. 

[cdubbs727]

14 hours ago, flightoffear1996 said:

I wouldn't mind a transport ride for to be installed. One for the dry side of the park. 

Cedar Fair doesn't like transport rides. They're usually a disaster. 

[Cordell75]

I heard that the plan for the highway SR 129 was supposed to end at I 71 near Kings Island. It would be cool if for their 50th anniversary if they could extend the highway to Kings Island having it end right at the gate entrance. A way they can make money to do that is to do a fundraiser for Mason and cities that would get good access to the park from the highway. 

[KIghostguy]

Bring back the waterfall in Tower Gardens!

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

17 minutes ago, KIghostguy said:

Bring back the waterfall in Tower Gardens!

Where would they do it? I don't think there is a good enough topography there for that

[Skyrider]

I think the should have The Sons of The Beast roller coasters for the 50th.  A dualing racing steel coaster that would have huge hills and multiple loops in honor of the former Son of Beast coaster and the fact that part of the ride would be in the former Vortex location (loops located in that spot) as well as the ride being near The Beast and go along side of Orion and taking the entire length of Coney Mall. They could use the Action Theatre as part of the loading area with a highly themed indoor multimedia sensory experience explaining the rise and return of the reborn and improved Son of Beast (thought you could get rid of me attitude) dueling in speed to a newly born Son of The Beast.  It would be cool to add tunnels to the ride as well with special light effects inside the tunnels.  They are mad with sibling rivalry and dueling for Daddy’s (The Beast) attention!

[BeeastFarmer]

28 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Where would they do it? I don't think there is a good enough topography there for that

They could put it where it was before they removed it.