Is a new attraction coming?

[Rivertown Rider]

I expect them to announce something.  I don't think it will be anything huge but something like a flat in the Slingshot space, a Camp Snoopy conversion, or something at Soak City.  With KI's season pass holder base being as large as it is I would think the chain realizes the importance of adding something.

I'll renew regardless, but I think they need a little hook for the larger population.  A Camp Snoopy conversion and a family or thrilling flat in Oktoberfest would be my preferred scenario.

[MrSourNinja]

I know it’s not “cheap” to repaint or retract rides. However, the cost of a new food item or show is pretty small. They need new rides to attract the GP, like my fiancé. If they don’t add anything then she won’t want to pay for a season pass. If she doesn’t want a season pass then I won’t get one either. 
 

New rides aren’t for the diehard fans. They are for the average person. I think not adding anything will hurt the park. If that is the route they take. 
 

We rarely even have years without additions. Let alone 2 / 3 in a row depending on how you count Covid. 

[Cedar Fair Fanboy]

Cedar Fair Announced today that all the Cedar Fair park will be announcing tomorrow online. It could be at noon in a live video on Twitter Facebook and YouTube and probably TikTok

[FUN&ONLY!]

2 minutes ago, Cedar Fair Fanboy said:

Cedar Fair Announced today that all the Cedar Fair park will be announcing tomorrow online. It could be at noon in a live video on Twitter Facebook and YouTube and probably TikTok

The thing is, Cedar Fair will say that all parks are adding something no matter how minor the additions are. Valleyfair could announce the return of Grand Carnivale. Michigan’s Adventure could announce the all-new Season Pass. Maybe Kings Island’s announcement will be the Prestige Passes. Cedar Fair has done stuff like this in the past. A park will market a new addition that really isn’t much.

[Orion742]

21 minutes ago, Cedar Fair Fanboy said:

Cedar Fair Announced today that all the Cedar Fair park will be announcing tomorrow online. It could be at noon in a live video on Twitter Facebook and YouTube and probably TikTok

Did they say noon?

[Browntggrr]

24 minutes ago, MrSourNinja said:

I know it’s not “cheap” to repaint or retract rides. However, the cost of a new food item or show is pretty small. They need new rides to attract the GP, like my fiancé. If they don’t add anything then she won’t want to pay for a season pass. If she doesn’t want a season pass then I won’t get one either. 
 

New rides aren’t for the diehard fans. They are for the average person. I think not adding anything will hurt the park. If that is the route they take. 
 

We rarely even have years without additions. Let alone 2 / 3 in a row depending on how you count Covid. 

Sorry, I'm a bit confused by your posts.

Did you not enjoy the new Phantom Theatre show?

If you did, then that would be a new addition to 2022.

[FUN&ONLY!]

As much as I enjoy park improvements like ride repaints, those are part of basic infrastructure upkeep. Park improvements are great, but they cannot replace a new attraction. Park improvements should be ongoing regardless of a new attraction opening. Also, I love that Kings Island introduced many great entertainment offerings for this year. This may be controversial, but in my opinion, new shows cannot replace new attractions. A new show just does not attract people like a new ride. Think about Kings Mills Antique Autos. The media ran multiple stories when Kings Island announced the new ride in 2019. I haven’t seen many new news stories about Phantom Theatre Encore, though. A new show simply cannot be marketed like a a new attraction.

[Maddog]

I agree with @FUN&ONLY!, so this may be somewhat redundant...

I get this is a fan site, which means people are going to nit-pick every expense the park has done justifying various improvements and additions.  But Kings Island is a amusement park, with rides being a main attraction for their audience.  Stage shows, parades, anniversary celebrations, chef specials, they are all timed events that can come and go.  Investment in this type of entertainment is important, but it pales in comparison to fixed rides.  Rides you can (mostly) rely on being around for years and operational all hours the park is open.

Ongoing maintenance to keep the park in shape (painting, parking log, infrastructure, ride repairs) should just be expected.  I very much appreciate The Beast project work, but this we needed to keep the ride for continued long-term use.  Maintenance is a significant expense, but should be built into the cost of operating the park.  Deferred maintenance is just the parent company taking profits at our expense. 

I'm looking for some additional ride options.  Something... doesn't have to be expensive, or flashy, but additions are needed.  As rides age, removals are always on the horizon, additions need to be as well.

Someone else mentioned above if a season pass was on the line based upon ride additions.  Personally for myself and a number of friends--yes.  We can take a year off and do other adventures, we've done it before and may do it again for 2023.  Kings Island isn't the only option around.  I like the shows and events, and use them to rest and recharge, but they alone don't justify my drive to the park.  

Bottom line, it is all about money, and how to get the most out of it.  Cedar Fair looks at their budget and determines how they allocate it based on ROI, everyone here should do the same with their amusement/entertainment budget to get the best bang for your buck (which is all personal preference) 

[KI Guy]

Marketing will always pitch something new, after all that is a large part of their job. I think only a diehard/blindly loyal (depending on your view ), fan would call maintenance/general improvements an addition, and I doubt most would specifically notice such things at all. A new food item is just a new product for sale. A new show is nice, but shows are everchanging and new shows are expected on a regular basis.

@BrowntggrrRegarding cost of the expenditures, I understand that in part. However, it doesn't hold up particularly well after a closer look. The closest parallel is probably after Diamondback in 2009 (most expensive investment in park history at time). Even in a terrible recession, Cedar Fair still invested in the park in two out of four years (2011 and 2012). After Banshee in 2014, (more expensive than Diamondback), there were additions in 2015, 2016, and a new coaster in Mystic Timbers in 2017. Only then was there a year off in 2018. Starting with 2018 there have been additions in 2 out of 6 years.

Over park history this was not done either. Paramount built 4 adult coasters and a family coaster and never took a year off.

Never before through any ownership were there consecutive years without additions and it appears we are about to hit three straight years. I know Kings Island gets more investment than most Cedar Fair parks, but there has been a good reason for that.

This very well may be a one-off strictly because of financial factors from the pandemic. I'd think though that the park would grow stale to more casual park-goers after consecutive years without additions. I hope this is just a deviation and not the new norm.

[Browntggrr]

34 minutes ago, KI Guy said:

@BrowntggrrRegarding cost of the expenditures, I understand that in part. However, it doesn't hold up particularly well after a closer look. The closest parallel is probably after Diamondback in 2009 (most expensive investment in park history at time). Even in a terrible recession, Cedar Fair still invested in the park in two out of four years (2011 and 2012). After Banshee in 2014, (more expensive than Diamondback), there were additions in 2015, 2016, and a new coaster in Mystic Timbers in 2017. Only then was there a year off in 2018. Starting with 2018 there have been additions in 2 out of 6 years.

Over park history this was not done either. Paramount built four adult coasters and one family coaster and never took a year off.

You bring up an interesting point- quality vs. quantity.  Which additions had the greater impact?

 

DB, FH, Banshee, MT & Orion.

Or

1993 Bat, FoF, SGC, Invertigo, SoB, Flying Ace Ariel Chase & BSC.

I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

 

[Maddog]

8 minutes ago, Browntggrr said:

quality vs. quantity

...

DB, FH, Banshee, MT & Orion.

Or

1993 Bat, FoF, SGC, Invertigo, SoB, Flying Ace Ariel Chase & BSC.

 

I'm not sure those two statements can even be correlated.  A well-rounded amusement park needs rides of all varieties to attract various spending groups.  Not everyone likes going upside down, or spinning in circles, or hanging out in the kid zone.  

Trying to categorize those as quality versus quantity seems like a pointless exercise.  Regardless, I'm concerned for KI if we are staring down a ride drought for the park.  

[KI Guy]

39 minutes ago, Browntggrr said:

You bring up an interesting point- quality vs. quantity.  Which additions had the greater impact?

 

DB, FH, Banshee, MT & Orion.

Or

1993 Bat, FoF, SGC, Invertigo, SoB, Flying Ace Ariel Chase & BSC.

Respectfully, I don't see this as a 1:1 comparison as I think the expense is what we've been talking about rather than quality (result). Any operator can have bad luck on additions that don't pan out Cedar Fair included (thankfully mostly not at KI).

Firehawk was a relocation from a closing park (use it or lose it).

Bat/Top Gun was impressive in its time like Banshee is now.

SOB cost more than Mystic Timbers, but definitely was a mistake in retrospect. 

FOF ended up being a quality addition and was very innovative in its time.

TR:TR was very ambitious and pretty expensive but also poorly executed.

Paramount also added Drop Tower and Delirium which is a bigger expense than WindSeeker.

I don't know how the expenditures would average out on an annual basis, but I think Paramount put in plenty of money to attempt to improve the park.

[BeeastFarmer]

1 hour ago, KI Guy said:

Respectfully, I don't see this as a 1:1 comparison as I think the expense is what we've been talking about rather than quality (result). Any operator can have bad luck on additions that don't pan out Cedar Fair included (thankfully mostly not at KI).

Firehawk was a relocation from a closing park (use it or lose it).

Bat/Top Gun was impressive in its time like Banshee is now.

SOB cost more than Mystic Timbers, but definitely was a mistake in retrospect. 

FOF ended up being a quality addition and was very innovative in its time.

TR:TR was very ambitious and pretty expensive but also poorly executed.

Paramount also added Drop Tower and Delirium which is a bigger expense than WindSeeker.

I don't know how the expenditures would average out on an annual basis, but I think Paramount put in plenty of money to attempt to improve the park.

But, Paramount mostly failed with their additions:

Top Gun-planned prior to their ownership as Swoops.  They just added Top Gun themeing.

SOB-massive failure in almost all things except looks and legacy.

FOF-win

TRTR:failure

DT/Delirium: Win, except for DT downtime

Add in the decay of the park under Viacom and CBS and you have what we had in 2008.  

[KI Guy]

1 hour ago, KI Guy said:

Respectfully, I don't see this as a 1:1 comparison as I think the expense is what we've been talking about rather than quality (result). Any operator can have bad luck on additions that don't pan out Cedar Fair included (thankfully mostly not at KI).

11 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

But, Paramount mostly failed with their additions:

Top Gun-planned prior to their ownership as Swoops.  They just added Top Gun themeing.

SOB-massive failure in almost all things except looks and legacy.

FOF-win

TRTR:failure

DT/Delirium: Win, except for DT downtime

Add in the decay of the park under Viacom and CBS and you have what we had in 2008.  

I don't disagree. Re-read my lines above. .

[Benjamin22]

Three years between rides is far too long. There’s no reason as to why basic maintenance and new attractions have to be mutually exclusive. I’m not expecting a major new ride but new flats would be enough to keep guest interested in the park. If they don’t add a new ride then to be honest I don’t see any reason to renew my pass especially with the price increase that’s certainly coming. 

[MrSourNinja]

22 hours ago, Browntggrr said:

Sorry, I'm a bit confused by your posts.

Did you not enjoy the new Phantom Theatre show?

If you did, then that would be a new addition to 2022.

Just because it’s a new addition does not mean it’s an important one. 
 

Personally, I don’t watch the shows so no I didn’t enjoy it. Also, that show is replacing a show that already ran. So at best, it’s a small net positive if the show is better. 
 

As other posters have mentioned, most people go for the rides. For the things they cannot do anywhere else. I can go to plays in any town. I cannot ride rollercoasters or large flats in any town. 
 

Only 2 out of the last 6 years having additions is concerning any way you paint it. And with nothing being announced today my season pass is seriously up for question. That’s 2 platinum season passes might I add. 
 

They had a chance to win my $600+ on passes alone and they are losing that chance. There is definitely other things I can do with that money. 

[Benjamin22]

6 minutes ago, MrSourNinja said:

Just because it’s a new addition does not mean it’s an important one. 
 

Personally, I don’t watch the shows so no I didn’t enjoy it. Also, that show is replacing a show that already ran. So at best, it’s a small net positive if the show is better. 
 

As other posters have mentioned, most people go for the rides. For the things they cannot do anywhere else. I can go to plays in any town. I cannot ride rollercoasters or large flats in any town. 
 

Only 2 out of the last 6 years having additions is concerning any way you paint it. And with nothing being announced today my season pass is seriously up for question. That’s 2 platinum season passes might I add. 
 

They had a chance to win my $600+ on passes alone and they are losing that chance. There is definitely other things I can do with that money. 

Yup, perfectly said. I’m not going to spend $1500 on my pass if the park isn’t doing anything besides basic maintenance to “improve the guest experience”. There’s just no excitement for me about next season. Small flat rides go along way when it comes to improving the guest experience, just look at the reception to antique autos. Disappointing that’s all I have to say.

[rlentless]

Getting no new attractions for a few seasons is the reason why I don't understand in other posts people say "It's time to get rid of Congo Falls, Invertigo, The Bat, AE, etc.".  We would just likely look at an empty spot for a few years like The Vortex area.  I know The Vortex was removed for some unexpected EOL reasons.

Since we are not getting new KI attractions, what are the 'improvements' you would like to see next season?

Diamondback repaint would be my #1.

[MrSourNinja]

26 minutes ago, rlentless said:

Getting no new attractions for a few seasons is the reason why I don't understand in other posts people say "It's time to get rid of Congo Falls, Invertigo, The Bat, AE, etc.".  We would just likely look at an empty spot for a few years like The Vortex area.  I know The Vortex was removed for some unexpected EOL reasons.

Since we are not getting new KI attractions, what are the 'improvements' you would like to see next season?

Diamondback repaint would be my #1.

Diamondback and Banshee both need a repaint if we are being honest. 
 

If we are getting no new additions they better continue to retrack The Racer and The Beast. Bring back missing/ broken theming all across the park. Fix/ remove the funTVs cause right now they are mostly all broken. And actually fix boo blasters. The guns don’t work properly literally any time I go on it. 

I would also like to see them use queues more efficiently. The one that gets on my nerves is FOF. Put the people inside the AC instead of making them wait outside in the heat. 

[Maddog]

Getting something new helps you overlook maintenance needs.  "Hey look over here at this new shiny thing!"  But your right @MrSourNinja people will start to nitpick more about anything lackluster, rough, or non-functional--even if it seems minor in the overall park.  Fingers crossed for a string of "non-announced" refreshes in the off-season.

[FUN&ONLY!]

 

[Orion742]

8 minutes ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

 

Wouldn’t have KI said something before the passes for 2023 went on sale?
 

Cedar Fair released their attraction list for 2023 and didn’t say anything about new attraction for KI.

[MrSourNinja]

9 minutes ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

 

According to what though. I don’t know anything about them, do they have insider sources?

[FUN&ONLY!]

I don’t know if we can trust them. I just posted the tweet, but I have absolutely no idea if it is accurate.

[MrSourNinja]

4 minutes ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

I don’t know if we can trust them. I just posted the tweet, but I have absolutely no idea if it is accurate.

Gotcha. Seems really unlikely at this point since announcements were all today. Especially considering they are promoting season passes for next year. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

7 hours ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

I don’t know if we can trust them. I just posted the tweet, but I have absolutely no idea if it is accurate.

The only press release from the park today I posted in the thread linked below. I would wager to guess any small changes (if any) will come in January.

 

[SonofBaconator]

There’s still a lot of season left, we might see some new attractions for Haunt and Winterfest 

[FUN&ONLY!]

Imagine the hype of Kings Island brought back Son of Beast as a Titan Track hybrid like with Worlds of Fun did with Zambezi Zinger. I know people will say that Son of Beast has a terrible reputation, but The Bat did too and ultimately came back. I bet almost everyone in the Cincinnati area has heard of Son of Beast, so there would definitely be a lot of buzz. Kings Island could also create a cool storyline about its reemergence and tie it to The Beast.

[purdude86]

37 minutes ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

Imagine the hype of Kings Island brought back Son of Beast as a Titan Track hybrid like with Worlds of Fun did with Zambezi Zinger. I know people will say that Son of Beast has a terrible reputation, but The Bat did too and ultimately came back. I bet almost everyone in the Cincinnati area has heard of Son of Beast, so there would definitely be a lot of buzz. Kings Island could also create a cool storyline about its reemergence and tie it to The Beast.

I agree that I don't think the name would hurt it that much, and would be grabbing. The ride had issues but it was always popular still, and people would know this is a new version of it. Personally though I'd rather have a brand new hybrid. I enjoyed Son of Beast mostly for the size and the loop but always felt the layout was a little lackluster.

[FUN&ONLY!]

42 minutes ago, purdude86 said:

I agree that I don't think the name would hurt it that much, and would be grabbing. The ride had issues but it was always popular still, and people would know this is a new version of it. Personally though I'd rather have a brand new hybrid. I enjoyed Son of Beast mostly for the size and the loop but always felt the layout was a little lackluster.

I agree with the bad layout of the original, but I highly doubt a new Son of Beast would have a similar layout to the original Son of Beast. Zambezi Zinger’s layout is not too similar honestly to the original, but it features the iconic lift “hill.” A new Son of Beast would probably be shorter in both height and length, but Kings Island could throw in more airtime and inversions. Kings Island could probably work in a cool helix or loop to pay homage to the original.