2022 & 2023 Additions and Improvements Notice

[Old_Bearcat]

8 hours ago, KIghostguy said:

The Notice of Commencement for Orion was dated for 2018, 2019, and 2020 additions and modifications to the park. The NoC with Mystic Timbers was for 2016 and 2017. There's one for Tropical Plunge that's dated for 2015 and 2016. This document is for 2022 and 2023 changes to the park. I'm not well-versed in Notices of Commencement, but based on the past ones, it seems like we're looking at work that's starting in 2022 and finishing/opening in 2023. 

If its major, this work could be for something opening in 2024.   It stands to reason that some of the firms mentioned on the NOC could be already contracted for work that is ongoing or recently completed. 

[Rivertown Rider]

^ That would be my thoughts as well.

I could see the Zamperla flat rides installed  for next year and demolition during the offseason with cleared ground by Opening Day 2023.

[ThrillKingsFitzy]

Guys, you're all missing the obvious plan here.

They are building 2 dueling hyper Zamperla Volares. 

[Oldschool75]

I honestly thinking we are looking at
‘23
Flat package
Refresh on SC slides
Demo of some eyesores and prep for future projects.
Possible partial upgrade in PS.

‘24
Big project. Coaster? Whole area retheme?
Relocation of a ride to Kings Island?


With recent rumblings behind the scenes I see CGA shutting down asap with relocation of assets to other parks. I see Kings Island getting some of these assets to help fill some holes.
Berserker (return of Bayern Kurve)
Centrifuge
Orbit (return of Skylab)
Maybe Psycho Mouse


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[medford]

If a B&M is coming to KI, and would most likely be a replacement for Vortex then something with a lot of inversions would seem to make sense.  A wing coaster in that spot would also make sense.  I seem to recall there being some sort of agreement b/w Holiday World and B&M about the limits of building another winged coaster in their area, I'm not sure how long that agreement was for and what it excluded, but a launched wing coaster would be cool.  Thunderbird has an awesome launch.  No launch, how about a 200' tall winged coaster (I believe 197 ft is the tallest winged coaster that B&M has built to date).  Launch or no launch, 7 inversions would not only be a +1 gain to what was lost with Vortex but would also be a new record for most inversions on a winged coaster which would add to its marketability.

I always loved how The Bat wing at Vortex interacted with the walkway in that area, so having a coaster do that again in some fashion would be pretty cool.  at any rate, I'm sure there will be a rush to to the top of Eiffel Tower next spring (not to mention drone footage) to see what/if anything is going on in The Vortex plot.

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

On 10/1/2022 at 11:46 PM, SonofBaconator said:

I do wonder if the demolition company is related to the SOB station considering Wolf Pack didn’t reopen this year

This would, no joke, bum me out as much as The Vortex station. Although, it seems the most likely thing.

[Orion742]

1 hour ago, medford said:

If a B&M is coming to KI, and would most likely be a replacement for Vortex then something with a lot of inversions would seem to make sense.  A wing coaster in that spot would also make sense.  I seem to recall there being some sort of agreement b/w Holiday World and B&M about the limits of building another winged coaster in their area, I'm not sure how long that agreement was for and what it excluded, but a launched wing coaster would be cool.  Thunderbird has an awesome launch.  No launch, how about a 200' tall winged coaster (I believe 197 ft is the tallest winged coaster that B&M has built to date).  Launch or no launch, 7 inversions would not only be a +1 gain to what was lost with Vortex but would also be a new record for most inversions on a winged coaster which would add to its marketability.

I always loved how The Bat wing at Vortex interacted with the walkway in that area, so having a coaster do that again in some fashion would be pretty cool.  at any rate, I'm sure there will be a rush to to the top of Eiffel Tower next spring (not to mention drone footage) to see what/if anything is going on in The Vortex plot.

I would love to see some sort of signature element if it was a wing or dive that interacted with the path to Coney Mall from Rivertown that makes people scream at the top of their lungs like the Hive Dive on Fury at Carowinds or some version of a stall or hang time moment that makes people scream.

[MrSourNinja]

I still kind of doubt we are getting anything for 2023 besides general improvements. Maybe, maybe a single flat, but even then, I kind of doubt it. 
 

Expect an interesting 2024 though, that is for sure.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

1 hour ago, MrSourNinja said:

I still kind of doubt we are getting anything for 2023 besides general improvements. Maybe, maybe a single flat, but even then, I kind of doubt it. 
 

Expect an interesting 2024 though, that is for sure.

I'm thinking the same. The upside though, if there is a large coaster coming in 2024, next season would be a decoding year. Honestly those seasons are just as fun as the season a new coaster debuts. Honestly, I had a blast during the 2019 season with the decoding thread of Orion and the buildup to the announcement and the construction progressing throughout the season and off-season. I also remember the Mystic Timbers one pretty well even though I wasn't on here then. Looking forward to potentially a decoding season ahead. 

[PKIDelirium]

Diamondback paint, SoB station demolition, and some more parking lot repaving would satisfy me for 2023 projects.

[SonofBaconator]

On 10/4/2022 at 8:47 PM, CoastersRZ said:

They were hoping to focus on less capital intensive, limited time events, such as the 50th anniversary celebrations, that drive urgency and increased demand and repeat visits.

Entertainment plays a big role in this. When you add new shows every season, it gives people something different to do. I’m willing to bet money some fans paid the park a visit for the sole purpose of seeing Phantom Theater: Encore. The same can be said for Haunt and to an extent Winterfest- Haunt has something different nearly every season which keeps things fresh and Winterfest always seems to add something new into the mix as it ages.
 

I hope this becomes a trend in the rides department too. We already saw theming brought back to the train ride. Maybe we could see some thematic changes to rides like Backlot, and Adventure Express, and so on to encourage people to come back and check them out. I still think the alternate shed endings on Mystic Timbers was a genius move because it encourages re-rides so people can try and encounter every finale.

[Coasterteam]

1 hour ago, PKIDelirium said:

Diamondback paint, SoB station demolition, and some more parking lot repaving would satisfy me for 2023 projects.

SoB station demolition would be the final goodbye but could spark the beginning of a revamped Action Zone. 

A phase 2 of Beast trackwork... will be keeping an eye on Beast in the off-season/winterfest to see if anything starts up; if not then thats fine too

[PKIDelirium]

Having GravityKraft on the list certainly makes it possible. Racer's return run could be done in house or GCI using standard track.

[eadrewsKI]

20 hours ago, ThrillKingsFitzy said:

Guys, you're all missing the obvious plan here.

They are building 2 dueling hyper Zamperla Volares. 

That’s what i’m saying, but I think you are a little lost. Clearly the layout is going to contain the two Zamperla Volares racing around the giga bathroom…

[MDMC01]

7 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

Entertainment plays a big role in this. When you add new shows every season, it gives people something different to do. I’m willing to bet money some fans paid the park a visit for the sole purpose of seeing Phantom Theater: Encore. The same can be said for Haunt and to an extent Winterfest- Haunt has something different nearly every season which keeps things fresh and Winterfest always seems to add something new into the mix as it ages.
 

I hope this becomes a trend in the rides department too. We already saw theming brought back to the train ride. Maybe we could see some thematic changes to rides like Backlot, and Adventure Express, and so on to encourage people to come back and check them out. I still think the alternate shed endings on Mystic Timbers was a genius move because it encourages re-rides so people can try and encounter every finale.

Yes and yes. I know there have been some times where I've only visited the park for a show (the last showing of "The Boyz are Back", the waterpark event in 2019, seeing Skillet this year and Crowder in 2019, etc.).

Also, on ride theming, I'd like to think that if the next coaster were to go in Vortex's plot, that would be the time for Backlot to get a refresh. I would love to see the ride get spinning cars and a retheme - it would be like two *new* coasters.

Finally, there was a comment made above about Rougarou not being enough of a reason to go to Cedar Point... I'm one of those people that would go to CP just to ride Rougarou, thank you very much (especially now that Wicked Twister is gone)! I think Floorless coasters are really unique and would love to ride more (I've only ridden Hydra and Rougarou thus far). Also, I love Rougarou's intensity; it gives the ride character. When I ride Banshee in the back row, it feels like I'm on Rougarou (which is ironic because the original (planned) name for Mantis was Banshee).

[Orion742]

15 hours ago, PKIDelirium said:

Diamondback paint, SoB station demolition, and some more parking lot repaving would satisfy me for 2023 projects.

We have been thinking all this time that in 2024 if there is a new coaster that it would go in The Vortex plot if land but what If we have been looking in the wrong place? What if they will demolish Invertigo and the front entrance? Invertigo doesn’t have the greatest capacity and I have heard guests saying they don’t want to ride it anymore after coming off it and we saw those markings and tree clearing near the front gate. I know It’s probably a crazy idea.

[WoodVengeance]

3 hours ago, Orion742 said:

We have been thinking all this time that in 2024 if there is a new coaster that it would go in The Vortex plot if land but what If we have been looking in the wrong place? What if they will demolish Invertigo and the front entrance? Invertigo doesn’t have the greatest capacity and I have heard guests saying they don’t want to ride it anymore after coming off it and we saw those markings and tree clearing near the front gate. I know It’s probably a crazy idea.

I think if that were the case, Kings Island would've already announced Invertigo's closure by this point. I do agree that Invertigo is likely to be the next coaster to get axe'd from the park given its age, capacity and its location near the front entrance. Given that Firehawk and Vortex were removed back-to-back years and that Vortex doesn't even have a replacement yet, I think Kings Island doesn't want to gain a reputation for removing too many coasters.

[Coasterteam]

If you consider service life to be 30 years, then a few current coasters will be reaching that within 5-10 years. 

Estimated 30ish year service life 

Not including Racer/Beast, both have gotten a lot of track work recently and remain very popular. This is applying to steel coasters. 

 

Adventure Express - 2031 (not very intense might be a 40 year lifespan) (1991) <9 years

(The) Bat - 2023 (1993) <1 year - (hopefully it’ll be serviced longer!) 

FoF - 2026 (1996) <4 years 

Invertigo - 2029 (1999) <7 years

— not for a while haha — 

Backlot - 2005 (2035) >10 years

Diamondback - 2039 (2009) >10 years

etc 

 

these are not hard dates nor anything to really go by but it’s put into perspective what the park has to decide when it comes to a ride reaching its end of life and deciding whether to remove it or redo it. Bat still is pretty popular and they seem to have an interest in repairing it, unlikely it will be removed in the next 5 years. FoF/Invertigo are up for debate; still popular but low capacity. 

[kirbias1]

1 hour ago, WoodVengeance said:

I think if that were the case, Kings Island would've already announced Invertigo's closure by this point. I do agree that Invertigo is likely to be the next coaster to get axe'd from the park given its age, capacity and its location near the front entrance. Given that Firehawk and Vortex were removed back-to-back years and that Vortex doesn't even have a replacement yet, I think Kings Island doesn't want to gain a reputation for removing too many coasters.

True, but the fact that O'Rourke Wrecking Company is on the notice does not sit well with me. They removed SOB, Firehawk and Vortex. That implies Invertigo could go if it's a front of the park coaster. Also, Don did say it was going to be a long time before they put anything in Vortex's place. 

[MrSourNinja]

20 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

I'm thinking the same. The upside though, if there is a large coaster coming in 2024, next season would be a decoding year. Honestly those seasons are just as fun as the season a new coaster debuts. Honestly, I had a blast during the 2019 season with the decoding thread of Orion and the buildup to the announcement and the construction progressing throughout the season and off-season. I also remember the Mystic Timbers one pretty well even though I wasn't on here then. Looking forward to potentially a decoding season ahead. 

I agree. It was an insane feeling being the first person to post the initial K and I posters on here to start the official teasing. "Decoding" is easily my favorite activity on the forum.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

3 hours ago, WoodVengeance said:

I think if that were the case, Kings Island would've already announced Invertigo's closure by this point. I do agree that Invertigo is likely to be the next coaster to get axe'd from the park given its age, capacity and its location near the front entrance. Given that Firehawk and Vortex were removed back-to-back years and that Vortex doesn't even have a replacement yet, I think Kings Island doesn't want to gain a reputation for removing too many coasters.

Yeah I agree. However, I believe Stinger was removed without warning and they basically hid it in a blog post. However, I would rather them do a last rides event than just remove it over the off-season without warning. 

 

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

2 hours ago, kirbias1 said:

True, but the fact that O'Rourke Wrecking Company is on the notice does not sit well with me. They removed SOB, Firehawk and Vortex. That implies Invertigo could go if it's a front of the park coaster. Also, Don did say it was going to be a long time before they put anything in Vortex's place. 

I don't remember Don saying that. I do remember them saying there wasn't anything planned at the moment back when it was just removed. I feel as if they are having discussions at the moment. It takes several years to plan a coaster. 

[SonofBaconator]

We’ll get something when we get something

[Coasterteam]

2 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

I don't remember Don saying that. I do remember them saying there wasn't anything planned at the moment back when it was just removed. I feel as if they are having discussions at the moment. It takes several years to plan a coaster. 

They mentioned that often times when they remove a ride they have an idea what’s gonna go there next. 

With Vortex there was nothing on the table. Take that with the pandemic and an average length of 2 years from concept to open, it will be a while. 

[FUN&ONLY!]

This could be nothing, but does anyone remember all the markings around the Son of Beast station in 2020? Some of the markings outside of the park were tied to a water line, but we never figured out what those markings were for. In addition, this was briefly mentioned on this site earlier this season, but there was some work going on behind/underneath Banshee this year. I don’t think it out of the realm of possibility for the Son of Beast station to be demolished for a new coaster between The Bat and Banshee. Maybe GCI is even bringing back Son of Beast as a GCI Titan Track hybrid. That last part is a little far fetched, but there’s a chance.

[Oldschool75]

On 10/6/2022 at 8:38 PM, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

I don't remember Don saying that. I do remember them saying there wasn't anything planned at the moment back when it was just removed. I feel as if they are having discussions at the moment. It takes several years to plan a coaster. 

I do remember Don saying that. 

[FUN&ONLY!]

Does anyone know what company Kings Island hired to take down SlingShot?

Also, this Notice of Commencement is only for 2022 and 2023 additions and improvements to Kings Island. In such documents, Kings Island Lists all companies that have on contract, though. Obviously Kings Island has more companies on contract than for whatever they are doing for 2023 (even if Kings Island decides to add a flat ride and do re-tracking). However, many of these companies could be on the list as Kings Island has them currently contracted out for proposals and whatnot for a 2024 project.

[Orion742]

On 10/6/2022 at 10:55 PM, Coasterteam said:

They mentioned that often times when they remove a ride they have an idea what’s gonna go there next. 

With Vortex there was nothing on the table. Take that with the pandemic and an average length of 2 years from concept to open, it will be a while. 

I hope they plant some more trees around The Vortex plot, there used to be so many trees over there.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

Here's an idea I came up with. This is a B&M surf coaster with the sit down lapbar trains that I believe were filed last year. This could work with the stand up, but I believe it would be more comfortable with the sit down lapbar. It replaces Congo and Invertigo and reuses Congo's queue and station as the new coaster's queue kinda like how Maverick used WWL's station and queue. It also would result in an update to the front gate area and a rethemed Action Zone into something like Jungle X-pedition, but more dark foresty to fit Banshee and Bat. I give you Cobra Strike (a nod to King Cobra).

[Oldschool75]

3 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Here's an idea I came up with. This is a B&M surf coaster with the sit down lapbar trains that I believe were filed last year. This could work with the stand up, but I believe it would be more comfortable with the sit down lapbar. It replaces Congo and Invertigo and reuses Congo's queue and station as the new coaster's queue kinda like how Maverick used WWL's station and queue. It also would result in an update to the front gate area and a rethemed Action Zone into something like Jungle X-pedition, but more dark foresty to fit Banshee and Bat. I give you Cobra Strike (a nod to King Cobra).

I don't see any rides coming down to make room for any new ones for a long time. There are already a ton of places they can put new attractions throughout the park. Only exception would be Timberwolf. I could see a nice ground up RMC being installed there and extending into the SOB station area. I think that would make more sense. Great spot. Great curb appeal. Can be seen from the highway. I don't see The Vortex spot being used for a ride for a long long time.