Kings Island to add “family thrill” attraction in 2026

[johnjniehaus]

1 minute ago, WoodVengeance said:

I don't get how anyone can look at a coaster with a 300ft drop, goes 91mph and a 54" height requirement, then consider it a "family coaster".

Because it's Mike Koontz and every single ride they build is marketed as a family attraction 

[marineman]

This news is absolutely beyond frustrating. Orion is largely viewed as a let-down. Pretty much everything since then has been utterly weak from a thrill-seeker standpoint. Next year is a water coaster, and not even a good looking one if we're being honest.

Now, 2026, the sixth year AFTER Orion, it sure sounds like a family-friendly flat ride. Really!?!?

I've tried to stay positive about this merger, but if this is true, I'm giving my passes a break after having them for 20+ years.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

4 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

It looks like KI will be the Kings Dominion of the chain for the next ten years, like KD was from '11 to '22.

Which tbh isn't necessarily a bad thing imo. I'm fine with going 7+ years in between major thrill coasters as long as the park is still adding something new almost every year. I would be upset if we went 7 years between major thrill coasters and only got one or two new rides in that time frame. 

[Orion-XL200]

In a way, the Adventure Port additions are’t really additions as they essentially brought back former rides that have just been updated. If they brought back the flying eagles, instead that would have been an acceptable addition lol. 

[CedarPointer]

15 minutes ago, johnjniehaus said:

Because it's Mike Koontz and every single ride they build is marketed as a family attraction 

Except his beloved bars! God knows there will probably be 20 more by the time KI gets an addition that actually gets the turnstiles turning.

[SmartCat7162]

I just think this probably pushes up back to probably 2028-2029 for a major thrill coaster. I think we will start to see additions to parks biannually possibly due to there being so many parks which really sucks due to the fact a lot of our rides are coming to a pretty old age. I think we really need a coaster to replace Vortex soon or else we will lose another major coaster like Vortex and not get a replacement for it. To clarify I mean The Vortex spot will be replaced but they will remove another coaster at the same time.

[Coasterteam]

Really sucks the fun out of announcements when they randomly drop what everyone is getting over a year beforehand.

[DoomPlague]

I recall some expressing that the park should focus on operating its existing rides before getting a big new coaster.

 

...someone should tell that to Magic Mountain.

[SmartCat7162]

1 minute ago, Coasterteam said:

Really sucks the fun out of announcements when they randomly drop what everyone is getting over a year beforehand.

At least it destroys all of our hopes and dreams now instead of being utterly destroyed after a year of anticipation.

7 minutes ago, CedarPointer said:

Except his beloved bars! God knows there will probably be 20 more by the time KI gets an addition that actually gets the turnstiles turning.

The bars are really a corporate thing not really his. I don’t think he necessarily wanted them but was more of told to put them there.

[Coasterteam]

Just now, SmartCat7162 said:

At least it destroys all of our hopes and dreams now instead of being utterly destroyed after a year of anticipation.

 I too am a fan of my hopes and dreams being crushed. If this isn't a roller coaster then maybe Soapbox Racers did reset our coaster clock and it'll be at least 2027 or 2028 before we see any possibilities.

[CedarPointer]

14 minutes ago, SmartCat7162 said:

The bars are really a corporate thing not really his. I don’t think he necessarily wanted them but was more of told to put them there.

Strange that it only seems to be KI wasting money on adding so many, then. The other parks maybe had a couple new ones, not one around every corner. Almost like that's where all the money went that was supposed to be for Icee machines. 

[WoodVengeance]

19 minutes ago, Coasterteam said:

 I too am a fan of my hopes and dreams being crushed. If this isn't a roller coaster then maybe Soapbox Racers did reset our coaster clock and it'll be at least 2027 or 2028 before we see any possibilities.

Yes, 

Spoiler

then the 2027/2028 coaster ends up being another family/kiddie coaster and the coaster clock gets reset again.

 

[SonofBaconator]

1 hour ago, Orion-XL200 said:

guess I don’t consider Orion having the thrill factor because of how Mr. Koontz talked it up for being something families can ride together.

Because Orion was never really marketed as a thrill ride. In the grand scheme of things, thrill rides aren’t as marketable if you’re a regional park. If you’re a park like Cedar Point, Magic Mountain, Great adventure, where people are driving, long distances or even flying in and staying days, you want to try and attract thrill seekers. With Kings Island being a regional park, you essentially limit your target audience if you market your attraction as just a thrill ride. At least when you use the hybrid term “family thrill ride“ you’re still indicating that the ride has some intensities in it, but it’s still something that families can ride together.

[MysticTimberwolf]

In recent years, corporate strategy has intentionally been driving KI and CP in two very different directions. Before Mike took the reins at KI, the push from corporate had been crystal clear: KI is for families; CP is for the thrill junkies.

The thinking at the top is that by polarizing the two parks, they maximize profits for each. They’re playing a different game now, one that isn’t necessarily about appeasing the hardcore fanbase but about securing long-term revenue.

If you're hoping for KI to get another groundbreaking giga coaster or something to rival Steel Vengeance, you’re not reading the room. That ship sailed before Mike was even hired. They know families with kids are more likely to spend on meals, games, merch, Fast Lane passes, you name it. CP, on the other hand, benefits from the traveling adrenaline-seeking crowd who come for the coasters, and are more likely to drop extra cash on a second or third day at the resort.

Sure, you might your buddies on YouTube talking about what's “missing” at the parks, but the real meetings behind closed doors? They're talking about the ROI of adding more Peanuts/DC theming or expanding Soak City. They know exactly whose wallet they're targeting with each investment.

I know that’s not the message some of you want to hear, but it’s been the reality of Cedar Fair for close to a decade now. If you’ve got kids, you’re going to love what’s coming to Kings Island. If you’re all about speed and inversions and airtime, your place is at Cedar Point. They’ve carved out the paths for these parks, and they’re sticking to it.

[johnjniehaus]

6 minutes ago, MysticTimberwolf said:

I know that’s not the message some of you want to hear, but it’s been the reality of Cedar Fair for close to a decade now. If you’ve got kids, you’re going to love what’s coming to Kings Island. If you’re all about speed and inversions and airtime, your place is at Cedar Point. They’ve carved out the paths for these parks, and they’re sticking to it.

Unfortunately you are 100% right about that. I don't love it but I have to remind myself that Kings Island is much much better than most of the other parks in the chain despite the obvious holes, shortcomings, and disappointments of not getting a Vortex replacement year after year after year. I can't believe that I wasn't even driving when Vortex closed...it seems like yesterday that it was there but the time that field has been empty feels like an eternity 

[jcoop22]

Just scanning the Six Flags earning calls transcript and this seemed an interesting question from a person at Citi Bank, "Obviously, if you look at sort of the performance of your stock since the merger closed, it seems like there's been somewhat of a shifting narrative. And in talking to investors, I think that narrative seems to be that you guys were surprised by, A, the lack of investments that had been being made at the Six Flags parks. And then B, that the level of investment that would be required to sort of begin that turnaround was much greater than you originally anticipated." Seems like the Cedar Fair people in charge now think they need to get the legacy Six Flags parks up to par first. Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (FUN) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript | Seeking Alpha

[BryanJay]

I unfortunately have a habit of only responding to what vaguely reminds me of this, but I will be happy if “Family Thrill attraction” could be referring to a dark ride/themed indoor Crypt replacement or a Phantom Theater reboot, especially considering the terminology “coaster” isn’t used. If this is a small flat ride on the line of Sol Spin, or that Peanuts shooter ride from the surveys, I will be disappointed. 

[SmartCat7162]

4 minutes ago, BryanJay said:

I unfortunately have a habit of only responding to what vaguely reminds me of this, but I will be happy if “Family Thrill attraction” could be referring to a dark ride/themed indoor Crypt replacement, especially considering the terminology “coaster” isn’t used. If this is a small flat ride on the line of Sol Spin, or that Peanuts shooter ride from the surveys, I will be disappointed. 

I feel like that can’t go in the area of major capital investment if it’s just one flat like sol spin. Delirium I feel like is massive if feels like a big investment from someone that isn’t too versed in the price of things. Adventure port also felt like a big investment due to the whole retheming and everything that took place over there. However if they are going to add some random flat ride I don’t know if they could necessarily put it on that list. It just wouldn’t live up to all the other stuff on that list.

[WoodVengeance]

35 minutes ago, jcoop22 said:

Just scanning the Six Flags earning calls transcript and this seemed an interesting question from a person at Citi Bank, "Obviously, if you look at sort of the performance of your stock since the merger closed, it seems like there's been somewhat of a shifting narrative. And in talking to investors, I think that narrative seems to be that you guys were surprised by, A, the lack of investments that had been being made at the Six Flags parks. And then B, that the level of investment that would be required to sort of begin that turnaround was much greater than you originally anticipated." Seems like the Cedar Fair people in charge now think they need to get the legacy Six Flags parks up to par first. Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (FUN) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript | Seeking Alpha

That seems to suggest we're going to be looking at another situation like when Cedar Fair acquired the Paramount Parks. Where the newly-acquired parks get the most investments (Canada's Wonderland, Kings Island, Carowinds), while less attention is spent on the older parks (Valleyfair, Dorney, Worlds of Fun)

[BeeastFarmer]

4 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Which tbh isn't necessarily a bad thing imo. I'm fine with going 7+ years in between major thrill coasters as long as the park is still adding something new almost every year. I would be upset if we went 7 years between major thrill coasters and only got one or two new rides in that time frame. 

What makes you think we will get a major thrill coaster in 2027?  After financing and additional 1.1 billion dollars in the next two years, they are going to be pretty judicious in where they spend money. Apparently, Cedar Fair may have failed in the due diligence of combing over the Six Flags portfolio and now are seeing that things were held together there with band aids and Great Value duct tape.  You will see investment in parks like Chicago, Jersey, both Texas parks ( and maybe Schlitterbahn if they don't sell it), magic mountain, Knott's and wonderland. Ki will get money to get it by, just no Alpen Fury type rides for a while. 

As long as passes, add ons, blue ice cream, funnel cakes and merch is sold, ki will remain a cash cow.

Or not.

[ShedTreeBoi1]

1 hour ago, WoodVengeance said:

That seems to suggest we're going to be looking at another situation like when Cedar Fair acquired the Paramount Parks. Where the newly-acquired parks get the most investments (Canada's Wonderland, Kings Island, Carowinds), while less attention is spent on the older parks (Valleyfair, Dorney, Worlds of Fun)

Hahahaha KI won't be treated like Valleyfair, Dorney, and WoF in terms of large investments! Right? Right....?

[marineman]

1 hour ago, BeeastFarmer said:

What makes you think we will get a major thrill coaster in 2027?  After financing and additional 1.1 billion dollars in the next two years, they are going to be pretty judicious in where they spend money. Apparently, Cedar Fair may have failed in the due diligence of combing over the Six Flags portfolio and now are seeing that things were held together there with band aids and Great Value duct tape.  You will see investment in parks like Chicago, Jersey, both Texas parks ( and maybe Schlitterbahn if they don't sell it), magic mountain, Knott's and wonderland. Ki will get money to get it by, just no Alpen Fury type rides for a while. 

As long as passes, add ons, blue ice cream, funnel cakes and merch is sold, ki will remain a cash cow.

Or not.

My family will be closely watching. If it's a disappointing announcement, we will discontinue our passes after over 20 years, and we'll take a trip or two to non Six Flags parks per year until and unless Kings Island improves. 

To us, the park is already starting to feel stale. Another 2 years of it, and we'll move on. 

[SonofBaconator]

3 hours ago, WoodVengeance said:

That seems to suggest we're going to be looking at another situation like when Cedar Fair acquired the Paramount Parks. Where the newly-acquired parks get the most investments (Canada's Wonderland, Kings Island, Carowinds), while less attention is spent on the older parks (Valleyfair, Dorney, Worlds of Fun)

Back then, CF was working to get the Paramount parks up to CF standards. Though the chain is called Six Flags, it’s very much CF influenced in its decision making- look how much has happened in the past few weeks alone. Though parks like Magic Mountain and Great Adventure have impressive ride collections, they’re still not up to CF standards in terms of maintenance, operations, and so on.
 

Now that all parks are under one umbrella, priorities are going to shift; why put a large coaster in the greater Cincinnati area when you can place something in LA? Does this mean that we’ll never see a sizable investment again?-no, but as @MysticTimberwolf stated, KI is continuing down the path of family friendly and will invest accordingly. We could see something sizable in ‘27 but I don’t think we should expect the 3-5 year mid-large coaster addition that we enjoyed during the late 2000s-2010s.

If anything, this should be a clear signal to parks like KK and HW to spend a little more $$ on one-of-a-kind attractions that could in theory compete with KI in the Indiana and Kentucky regions.

[WoodVengeance]

2 hours ago, ShedTreeBoi1 said:

Hahahaha KI won't be treated like Valleyfair, Dorney, and WoF in terms of large investments! Right? Right....?

That wouldn't be the worst thing. At least that would make a B&M Dive Coaster a realistic possibility unlike right now.

[FoF96"]

Vekoma madhouse is outdated at this point.  Give us one of those intamin dynamic motion stages.  It looks like the one that just opened is very neat and it would be a standout attraction while also being family thrill.