Oktoberfest Refocussing

[brenthodge]

another LONNNG post, but all my ideas distilled here - some new intros, some vintage returns, MAINLY aesthetic improvements that add to the overall experience of the area and opportunities for in-park spending on enhanced food and beverage:

New entry archways off of International Street by the KI Theatre, Festhaus, Bier Garden

Redress backside of Festhaus to continue front architectural detailing - Add waterfall feature into the landscaping and enlarge the outdoor seating on the backside of Festhaus

New fountain at entrance to Festhaus - “Village Style”

Festhaus becomes “International Food Hall” with better dining options and clearer separate stands for different types of food - Hanks concept moves in here along with Italian, Chinese, Rotating other international options. “American” (chicken, burger)

Banners inside return for more color and “festival” atmosphere

Rework queue of Viking fury to open up path behind IS block again - Vine tunnel here to hide back of buildings - entrance to Viking Fury come off of this new path with signage for it at both ends of the vine tunnel. Exit to Viking Fury is by funnel cake building.

Seating area by viking fury is better laid out with paving change to delineate seating/bar area. Bar opened as a seasonal beverage location - possible “Beers of the World” to tie into “international Food Hall” retime of FestHaus

Der Spinning Keggers returns to original layout and design with banners - Airbrush shop removed - possible relocate product to area in former ActionZone? Move “coaster Connection”  ride specific product to Banshee Shop - Airbrush goes into Coaster Connection as part of an overall apparel shop “FestBest”

Adventure Express - no major changes. Lighting in first tunnel and refurbish snakes - add projection mapping or fire effect lights in “lava” tunnel, refresh temple tunnel. In queue - add framed photos of German explorers to justify a jungle trick in Oktoberfest. Tell the story of Humbolts Latin American expedition - add additional travel props etc to the station. Overall refresh on a budget.

Hanks food concept has moved into FestHaus or Food Factory - this area is returns to full BierGarden with German cuisine and beer options

Bridge is re-established to connect more directly to FestHaus area.

Larger Flat ride is added to area where SlingShot was - themed to spirits, ghosts, cemetery etc to tie into Banshee right behind it. Possible Zamperla Gryphon - Can be programed for different ride sequences for re-ridability.

Beer Stein Topiary moves to former ActionZone round seating area - becomes "SteinPlatz"

All flats/coasters of ActionZone are incorporated into Oktoberfest. Possible name tweaking to bring German influence (DropTower -> Falltrum, Chicken Shack -> Hähnchen Haus, CongoFalls -> Rheinfalls, IceCream -> das Eis, Invertigo -> Achterbahn

Pole mounted banners and pennants are reintroduced throughout the entire area to bring additional life and color. Possibly even incorporate lighting for evening excitement (see EPCOT lighting banner pole)

Small stages added in BierGarden and SteinPlatzor mini performances to add to the festival atmosphere

Possibly add 2-3 additional flats with lower (36-48 max) heights to give younger rider options throughout the park. Possible by KI theatre or in former Action Zone

Redo all paving to introduce different materials and colors to better define seating areas, traffic flow and provide visual breakup. Bring more mid-level landscaping to former ActionZone, but most of she comes from overhead banners and sunshades to Bring more color to the area. Midways are lined with “streamer ceilings”.

[SonofBaconator]

I like the idea of German explorers tying into Adventure Express. It’s a shame the Skywarp model never really took off, you could’ve put one in the former Slingshot location and name it the Bavarian Pretzel.

[rotag]

3 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

I like the idea of German explorers tying into Adventure Express. It’s a shame the Skywarp model never really took off, you could’ve put one in the former Slingshot location and name it the Bavarian Pretzel.

I heard the biggest complaint when the one that did get built for six flags would run was loud noise.

[beastfan11]

Love all of these ideas!

[BB1]

If you told me 10 years ago that I would expect CF to theme their properties very well, I would have laughed. Now we live in a very theme heavy park chain that focuses on creating stories within their parks. No doubt in my mind that we couldn't get a major Oktoberfest made by some made up character (Herr Konig (King in German) comes to mind). Easily plop down 2-3 new flats in the area, redux the Festhaus and the "Hanks" offerings (Come on just make it a quick service sausage hut a la Schmidt's or something), take out the biergarten next to Festhaus and maybe re-arrange the food arrangements in the area. For as much as I love Auntie Ann's, I think for us to have a fully stocked pretzel stand with custom pretzels/spreads would be an amazing addition. We have a lot of potential with that side of the park we just need a full year of expansions for the park to actually get it. 

[brenthodge]

13 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

I like the idea of German explorers tying into Adventure Express. It’s a shame the Skywarp model never really took off, you could’ve put one in the former Slingshot location and name it the Bavarian Pretzel.

LOVE IT!!!

 

[SonofBaconator]

I’m not opposed to coasters that double as flat rides: 4d freespins, and Skywarps. I’m not sure what happened to the skywarps to get them disliked from the community. On paper it looks like a fun ride

[BlondyRidesOn]

The thing I'd like to see if Action Zone were to be annexed into Oktoberfest would be to removed the large concrete pathways and plant more trees and landscaping.

The Festhaus idea, with the "international foods" is an interesting one. However, in my honest opinion, it should remain the Festhaus as that's the more iconic and recognizable name, especially with the glockenspiel being restored on the front recently.

I like the idea of the Zamperla Gryphon on the old SlingShot site. It would be cool to see it have a maypole theme, decked out to look like ribbons.

As someone who would love to see the arbor tunnel return to the park, it would be cool to see it next to Viking Fury. However, it would require moving both the entrance and exit of the ride to be moved near the International Street Funnel Cakes and Emporium and the removal of some nicely grown in trees. I still think the arbor tunnel should be placed near Rivertown, such as the pathway near the Island Paradise stand near the floral clock, cleaning up the transition into Rivertown. Although, the tunnel would provide the shade lost, but it'll take a while for the vines to grow in.

Overall, this is a great concept. Oktoberfest is an area in need of restoration and work. Absolutely love this!

[KI Guy]

On 9/2/2022 at 10:10 AM, BB1 said:

If you told me 10 years ago that I would expect CF to theme their properties very well, I would have laughed. Now we live in a very theme heavy park chain that focuses on creating stories within their parks.

I see this sentiment tossed around here often and I just don't see it.

Where is the heavy theming over the last 10 years? Take Kings Island which has received more additions than any CF park in those years. Banshee is lightly themed coaster in an un-themed park area. Mystic Timbers has some themed props and a themed brake run that correspond to a story. Orion is themed marginally more than Diamondback with the few props and hangar in the queue.

This is not a criticism. In my opinion the current level of theming is well suited for a regional, seasonal park. Kings Island hasn't been themed like a Busch Gardens or Dollywood level since just about the beginning. There's nothing wrong with this, it's  just a different approach for a slightly different customer. 

I think that a good portion of the theming is to allow for marketing campaigns. Some people get more excited by a story, others think it's interesting the first time they see it and move on, others still only care about the ride itself. I'd say the latter two groups together are the vast majority of guests, but I could be wrong.

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

15 hours ago, KI Guy said:

Where is the heavy theming over the last 10 years? Take Kings Island which has received more additions than any CF park in those years. Banshee is lightly themed coaster in an un-themed park area. Mystic Timbers has some themed props and a themed brake run that correspond to a story. Orion is themed marginally more than Diamondback with the few props and hangar in the queue.

Rome was not built in a day. Revamping the generic landscape instituted by Paramount is no easy task. Almost any theming PKI had was based upon copyrighted IPs.

[brenthodge]

On 9/3/2022 at 12:21 AM, BlondyRidesOn said:

The Festhaus idea, with the "international foods" is an interesting one. However, in my honest opinion, it should remain the Festhaus as that's the more iconic and recognizable name, especially with the glockenspiel being restored on the front recently.

I like the idea of the Zamperla Gryphon on the old SlingShot site. It would be cool to see it have a maypole theme, decked out to look like ribbons.

 

The name would stay the same with the tag Festhaus - International Food Hall. The name literally means Festival House, and there’s nothing more festive than an international food festival (like Carnivale). There’s NOTHING German about it now - no German food, not entertainment (most of the times it is country), no banners, no decor. I'd say lean more into the INTERNATIONAL idea with flags of the world, bring back the banners and streamers. Maybe even do a cool "globe light" for the center ring. Really bring back color and fun to the space. I'd LOVE it if they would make the first 1/4 of the main floor closest to the stage bench seating with no tables if you are there to only see the show/ I think it would cut down on the "chow hall" feel, or if the show itself was "international" in feel and make more of a "full immersive" experience. I've often wondered if they could add a small (like the back 1/3) balcony above the main floor with  more tables to make up for the loss of seating below. It would also be cool if there was some type of entertainment even when the live shows weren't on - like a large screen comes down and something is shown on it. 

[brenthodge]

16 hours ago, KI Guy said:

I see this sentiment tossed around here often and I just don't see it.

Where is the heavy theming over the last 10 years? Take Kings Island which has received more additions than any CF park in those years. Banshee is lightly themed coaster in an un-themed park area. Mystic Timbers has some themed props and a themed brake run that correspond to a story. Orion is themed marginally more than Diamondback with the few props and hangar in the queue.

This is not a criticism. In my opinion the current level of theming is well suited for a regional, seasonal park. Kings Island hasn't been themed like at a Busch Gardens or Dollywood level since just about the beginning. There's nothing wrong with this, it's  just a different approach for a slightly different customer. 

I think that a good portion of the theming is to allow for marketing campaigns. Some people get more excited by a story, others think it's interesting the first time they see it and move on, others only care about the ride itself. I'd say the latter two groups together are the vast majority of guests, but I could be wrong.

I wouldn't say "heavily themed" per se. Heck - even when the park opened you could call most of the "theming" decor since it had little to do with the actual rides. It was more just area theming. I think what CF has done had been a step over what EARLY CF did when they first bought the parks. I see their sweet spot as a more "stylized" theming. Its like "modern farmhouse country design". It's minimal, yet clear what the inspiration is. Its not fussy and its easier to maintain, and it fits with current design treads. Heck, even DISNEY is moving away from such lavishly "themed" interiors with their hotels, retain and food locations. Its like what Dollywood is doing with the Emporium or some of their new restaurants. Its a lot fresher, but it still has clear DNA in a mountain/country vibe. 

[westcoaster]

Oktoberfest revamp n incorporation of Action Zone would be great. 

[Stoan]

On 9/3/2022 at 5:29 PM, brenthodge said:

The name would stay the same with the tag Festhaus - International Food Hall. The name literally means Festival Hall 

Just to be pedantic, Haus means home or house. But that's not overly important, i agree with everything else. I was so excited when they did the German food in the German house in the German area with Carnivale. Annnd then it went back to burgers and pizza 2 months later.

 

They have room in there for 3 different restaurants, why is the German spot American and Chinese, heck there isn't even a hot dog to vaguely relate to ein Wurst hier. Take one side of the half used cafeteria line and make it into at least a German restaurant or at least an international rotating menu. Würste, Schnitzel and Kartoffelpuffer isn't a very difficult menu to keep up, heck they make half of that at Coney BBQ already.

[Driver8rws]

https://KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/45121-kings-island-announces-adventure-port-for-2023/&do=findComment&comment=911495