Coney Mall redesign??

[Dj325]

After having visited Kings Dominion last month and seeing the Candy Apple Grove area (the equivalent of Coney Mall at Kings Island), I really loved the charm it was giving and how, for the most part, it felt like a little carnival-ish/midway themed area. When coming back to Kings Island a few days after being at KD, I couldn't help but admit that I preferred Candy Apple Grove over Coney Mall. There are some parts of CM that feel like a classic theme park midway, specifically Coney Island. However, at CAG they have these giant candy apples with the land's logo printed on them sticking out of the ground up and down the midway. Plus you also have the singing mushrooms in that land, which just adds this level of quirkiness and charm that you can't help but respond to with a big smile on your face. You don't really see that level of charm while in CM, or at least I don't. I'm not saying that they should copy KD, but they should at least do something on a similar level. Here are some of my ideas.

Posters: Something that the park could possibly do would be putting vintage style posters around the CM that would advertise the different rides food options in that land. They could even be made by Made To Thrill. They already have a poster for The Racer, one for the Blue Ice Cream, and one for the Coney Mall area.

Color scheme: Another thing the park should do is give some of the buildings in CM a new color scheme. The one I think would look really cool would be a red and white (and maybe a little bit of blue) theme. They could paint red and white stripes on the top of the Dodgem building. The big letters on the arcade building that are currently white could be colored red, with the blue walls changed to white and would have a red outline.Think of something like in the image above, but recolor the blue parts to red and put lights around the edges. They could also WindSeeker a red and white theme, and maybe redo the ride's logo to give a more carnival/midway feel to it.

Bring back the old entrance sign: For those who don't remember, there used to be a cool entrance gate that separated CM from Oktoberfest (now known as Adventure Port).I really can't think of any logical reason why the park even removed it in the first place. It looked so charming. During the Haunt season the park would even change the sign to read "Coney Maul."It was so unique and charming. However, for some reason the park felt like they didn't need it anymore . I honestly think they should bring it back. Please tell me your thoughts on this part.

Vortex replacement: I'm gonna try to make this as short and as simple as I possibly can, since this subject has definitely been discussed a million times on this site. I honestly think the park should go with a Gerstlauer infinity coaster, like a miniature version of Hangtime at Knott's Berry Farm. Nothing too extreme, but not too tame either. Maybe a few inversions. If possible, a height requirement of 48 inches, since the park is missing a family coaster with inversions due to Vortex no longer being there. They could give it a cool light package to make it look very photogenic at night.

Backlot Stunt Coaster retheme: This idea is more of a maybe. If the park were to retheme BSC, I think they should make the ride vehicles look like vintage hot rods. Maybe the police cars that you pass by after the helix could be replaced with vintage cars with possible fake spectators standing on top of or peeking out from inside, watching and cheering you on. They could also repaint the helicopter to look like a news chopper that is trying to capture the race live, or a police chopper telling you that you've entered a dangerous restricted area and that you need to leave immediately, only to get interrupted by some explosions, resulting in your vehicle making an escape into the sewers. You would still come out of the giant billboard, but now there would be a camera on the que line bridge that would take a picture of you as you're busting out of the billboard. Depending on why they removed it, they could bring back the splashdown effect that the ride used to have during the first few years it was open. However, I currently don't think it's mandatory to make BSC fit with the style/theme of CM.

That's all the ideas I currently have in terms of a retheme of CM. Please let me know what you think of all of this and if you have any suggestions.span widgetspan widget

[ShedTreeBoi1]

I had the same thought. But it's not just little details at CAG, it's across the whole park. Both parks in many ways are very similar or identical, so much so that a couple of times I zoned out and thought I was at KI. But the main difference, other than rides, is the details. KD is a much more detailed park. More trees, more water, more theming, more charm. I'm not saying KD is a better park, I'm saying it's a more immersive experience. All thanks to minor details. Though I went on two absolutely dead days, so maybe I just had more time to take everything in.

[KIghostguy]

Nice thread idea and conversation starter!

Kings Dominion has done a much better job of retaining their original identities and lands than Kings Island. The park still feels like a Taft Broadcasting park in a lot of ways, which is a very good thing. Best of all, they still play the appropriately-themed music in each land! It continues to baffle me why Kings Island does not...

[johnjniehaus]

29 minutes ago, KIghostguy said:

Nice thread idea and conversation starter!

Kings Dominion has done a much better job of retaining their original identities and lands than Kings Island. The park still feels like a Taft Broadcasting park in a lot of ways, which is a very good thing. Best of all, they still play the appropriately-themed music in each land! It continues to baffle me why Kings Island does not...

I was blown away at how much Kings Dominion looked and felt like what I imagine a taft park experience to have been. I of course only have archival photos and footage to go off of as I was born near the end of the paramount era but it is true that Kings Dominion has a vibe that is unlike any other parks I've been to. Kings Island has a very good vibe of a hometown crowd that loves the park. You don't get that everywhere. Even people from out of town recognize that Kings Island has a unique fan vibe. But getting back to Kings Dominion, the vibe I felt was one of age and royalty. The international Street felt as if it hadn't changed in 50 years as the massive trees branch out over the shops and fountain. The park looked amazing and felt very special to me for some reason but maybe it's just my imagination. Regardless I love that park and can't wait to get back there next year to ride rapterra 

[Orion742]

1 hour ago, Dj325 said:

After having visited Kings Dominion last month and seeing the Candy Apple Grove area (the equivalent of Coney Mall at Kings Island), I really loved the charm it was giving and how, for the most part, it felt like a little carnival-ish/midway themed area. When coming back to Kings Island a few days after being at KD, I couldn't help but admit that I preferred Candy Apple Grove over Coney Mall. There are some parts of CM that feel like a classic theme park midway, specifically Coney Island. However, at CAG they have these giant candy apples with the land's logo printed on them sticking out of the ground up and down the midway. Plus you also have the singing mushrooms in that land, which just adds this level of quirkiness and charm that you can't help but respond to with a big smile on your face. You don't really see that level of charm while in CM, or at least I don't. I'm not saying that they should copy KD, but they should at least do something on a similar level. Here are some of my ideas.

Posters: Something that the park could possibly do would be putting vintage style posters around the CM that would advertise the different rides food options in that land. They could even be made by Made To Thrill. They already have a poster for The Racer, one for the Blue Ice Cream, and one for the Coney Mall area.

Color scheme: Another thing the park should do is give some of the buildings in CM a new color scheme. The one I think would look really cool would be a red and white (and maybe a little bit of blue) theme. They could paint red and white stripes on the top of the Dodgem building. The big letters on the arcade building that are currently white could be colored red, with the blue walls changed to white and would have a red outline.Think of something like in the image above, but recolor the blue parts to red and put lights around the edges. They could also WindSeeker a red and white theme, and maybe redo the ride's logo to give a more carnival/midway feel to it.

Bring back the old entrance sign: For those who don't remember, there used to be a cool entrance gate that separated CM from Oktoberfest (now known as Adventure Port).I really can't think of any logical reason why the park even removed it in the first place. It looked so charming. During the Haunt season the park would even change the sign to read "Coney Maul."It was so unique and charming. However, for some reason the park felt like they didn't need it anymore . I honestly think they should bring it back. Please tell me your thoughts on this part.

Vortex replacement: I'm gonna try to make this as short and as simple as I possibly can, since this subject has definitely been discussed a million times on this site. I honestly think the park should go with a Gerstlauer infinity coaster, like a miniature version of Hangtime at Knott's Berry Farm. Nothing too extreme, but not too tame either. Maybe a few inversions. If possible, a height requirement of 48 inches, since the park is missing a family coaster with inversions due to Vortex no longer being there. They could give it a cool light package to make it look very photogenic at night.

Backlot Stunt Coaster retheme: This idea is more of a maybe. If the park were to retheme BSC, I think they should make the ride vehicles look like vintage hot rods. Maybe the police cars that you pass by after the helix could be replaced with vintage cars with possible fake spectators standing on top of or peeking out from inside, watching and cheering you on. They could also repaint the helicopter to look like a news chopper that is trying to capture the race live, or a police chopper telling you that you've entered a dangerous restricted area and that you need to leave immediately, only to get interrupted by some explosions, resulting in your vehicle making an escape into the sewers. You would still come out of the giant billboard, but now there would be a camera on the que line bridge that would take a picture of you as you're busting out of the billboard. Depending on why they removed it, they could bring back the splashdown effect that the ride used to have during the first few years it was open. However, I currently don't think it's mandatory to make BSC fit with the style/theme of CM.

That's all the ideas I currently have in terms of a retheme of CM. Please let me know what you think of all of this and if you have any suggestions.span widgetspan widget

I really like your ideas and I do agree the area could use a bit of a refresh. I’d really like to see the top half of Coney Mall back by WindSeeker split into new section of the park with The Vortex replacement. Personally I’d like to see either a Mack Xtreme spinner or Mack Stryker coaster and not another family coaster because I feel we have quite a bit already but that might just be me. I don’t have a specific idea for a new area theme but I would like to see BLSC rethemed to that back section as part of the new area. Along with the new section in the back half I’d like to see some work done on touching up Coney Mall to freshen it up as well.

[Dj325]

9 minutes ago, Orion742 said:

I really like your ideas and I do agree the area could use a bit of a refresh. I’d really like to see the top half of Coney Mall back by WindSeeker split into new section of the park with The Vortex replacement. Personally I’d like to see either a Mack Xtreme spinner or Mack Stryker coaster and not another family coaster because I feel we have quite a bit already but that might just be me. I don’t have a specific idea for a new area theme but I would like to see BLSC rethemed to that back section as part of the new area. Along with the new section in the back half I’d like to see some work done on touching up Coney Mall to freshen it up as well.

It probably wouldn't be a "family" coaster, but I think it should at least have some inversions and a 48 inch height requirement. Vortex was a lot of kids' first coaster with inversions, myself included. Now kids have to wait until they're 52 inches to ride Banshee. Does that make sense?

[Dj325]

1 hour ago, KIghostguy said:

Nice thread idea and conversation starter!

Kings Dominion has done a much better job of retaining their original identities and lands than Kings Island. The park still feels like a Taft Broadcasting park in a lot of ways, which is a very good thing. Best of all, they still play the appropriately-themed music in each land! It continues to baffle me why Kings Island does not...

Now that you mentioned the Taft Broadcasting part, I can kinda see that now! I also very much agree with the music detail! I think I even remember hearing "A Whole New World" playing in the Planet Snoopy area.

[WoodVengeance]

1 hour ago, Dj325 said:

It probably wouldn't be a "family" coaster, but I think it should at least have some inversions and a 48 inch height requirement. Vortex was a lot of kids' first coaster with inversions, myself included. Now kids have to wait until they're 52 inches to ride Banshee. Does that make sense?

Most, if not all of the thrilling new-gen Vekomas have a 48" requirement, so that would be a good fit.

[Dj325]

34 minutes ago, WoodVengeance said:

Most, if not all of the thrilling new-gen Vekomas have a 48" requirement, so that would be a good fit.

Ironically, that was actually another idea I thought of. I imagined it having a name that sounded like one that would be given to a classic steel roller coaster, ie. Screamin' Demon, King Cobra, and more. Coney Mall would then have both a classic wooden roller coaster (The Racer) and a classic steel roller coaster.

[brenthodge]

I think KI had the blessing AND the curse of being a flagship park of the Paramount era. YES, we got a lot more investment, but Paramount was not always (almost never) good about respecting the past of the park as they moved forward. In fact they almost WANTED to obliterate the past and make the parks their own. KD wasnt a top tier park so in many ways they were spared some of the butchering (same w the first few years of Cedar Fair)

 

[OverlandTaxis30]

4 minutes ago, brenthodge said:

KD wasnt a top tier park so in many ways they were spared some of the butchering (same w the first few years of Cedar Fair)

 

The removal of the Old Dominion Line not withstanding, Paramount at least had the sense to build their Italian Job somewhere else in that park and not remove their original antique cars for it. 

[Dj325]

28 minutes ago, OverlandTaxis30 said:

The removal of the Old Dominion Line not withstanding, Paramount at least had the sense to build their Italian Job somewhere else in that park and not remove their original antique cars for it. 

But because they put it by the Safari Village area (now known as Jungle X-pedition), now they have to retheme it to a jungle theme lol.