Kings Island General Discussion 2025

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

38 minutes ago, Orion-XL200 said:

No permits have been filed for new construction. Honestly, I'd bet it's a new haunt. Cedar Flags probably won't spend the money to do anything major to that building. 

Camp Snoopy i don't think plans were filed until later same with Adventure Port. I could honestly see after the whole leak thing last year with Soak City that the park would want to keep this under wraps as much as possible. Its also still May and the Soak City attractions weren't filed until like mid June i think. 

I could see it being a Haunt though worst case scenario, but would they really be cleaning it out/doing all this drilling work now for Haunt? Correct me if im wrong but i don't remember seeing this much action this early for Hotel St Michelle when that was new. 

[Orion-XL200]

Just now, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Camp Snoopy i don't think plans were filed until later same with Adventure Port. I could honestly see after the whole leak thing last year with Soak City that the park would want to keep this under wraps. 

I could see it being a Haunt though worst case scenario, but would they really be cleaning it out/doing all this drilling work now for Haunt? Correct me if im wrong but i don't remember seeing this much action this early for Hotel St Michelle when that was new. 

The difference is work wasn't really started for Camp Snoopy before permits were filed. For Adventure Port....the removal of Slingshot was on a separate permit. 

The person who would care about leaks is gone.

They cannot do major construction without permit. They can be fined if so. Speculation is out there for drilling...but there's no actual confirmation. Cleaning out and removal of temporary walls would not need a permit. 

Most of the work for Hotel St. Michelle was inside at this point of the season. Haunt stuff can begin as early as April/May. Knotts is currently building haunt things. 

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

There is rumor from Tower Topics that the long-term plan (as of 2023) was to put the 2026 attraction in that building. A lot has changed in the world since then. I won't swear by it being true, but the signs point to something going in there. We'll probably see permits soon-ish for whatever happens. This is one thing I won't get my hopes up for today. 

I'll also reiterate my point that I hope Kings Island does something special for the 25th year of Haunt this Fall. I'm not the most convinced about it happening, but it's an awesome opportunity to bring the event back up to par with its former self.

[brenthodge]

Notice anything missing?? This coupled with the animated snoopy on the “signature attraction” that lost his flag a week after opening, along with the major cuts to theming in this new area is disappointing. The decision to not include a ride already themed to a tree in an area themed to nature still baffles me. On that whole island that could serve as a perfect entry into camp Snoopy, they chose to only retheme one of the three rides? Oh well… flags are flying. 

[brenthodge]

Well. They always say “wait to you see it in person before you pass judgement” I have. It’s bad. They are too similar in scale and mass, yet too dissimilar in style. Whoever “planned” this should’ve been let go in the purge. Oh, and the ENTIRE area is now synthetic turf. All of it curb to curb. 

[Timchat2]

The new Kings Island’s Nighttime Spectacular debuted Friday evening. It continues the trend that began with the Golden Celebration to have an original soundtrack, drones, and lasers along with the traditional fireworks.

[brenthodge]

5 hours ago, Timchat2 said:

The new Kings Island’s Nighttime Spectacular debuted Friday evening. It continues the trend that began with the Golden Celebration to have an original soundtrack, drones, and lasers along with the traditional fireworks.

And the trend of a schmaltzy attempt at an emotional “Disney” ending of the day. It really only worked for the 50th. At this point, just make them fun again! This new show is recycled drone images of ride logos from last year, barely any use of the side lasers other than to make sparkles, a “new” song that wasn’t necessary since it basically sounds like the last two. Couple that with the loss of a grand fountain for water that pointlessly squirts up and down at full force the whole time. 

[Cedar Fair Fanboy]

I'm the first to step foot in the new dining area. Are you happy with this change?

[BeeastFarmer]

It's.... something. I understand the need for artificial turf, but it looks so saccharine and sterile. 

Who knows what the future holds under this new direction, but things like this make me concerned for WinterFest. If they really want to ramp up attendance, they need to invest in more climate controlled structures. I could see the event being tossed around to reach the ~10m mark they are aiming for, but they would need to invest. If they aren't going to invest, the event could be on the chopping block.  If history repeats itself, it could return in 10-15 years after being cancelled. 

[disco2000]

Next will be a bar in one of the grassy areas across the pathway 

Certainly there is something else food/beverage coming because with the added seating put in Tower Gardens, most would probably go to that area first than this.  And what food is close to this already has its own covered seating.

[Imperial79]

I guess it's alright, but what is it for, I thought it was going to be used for the Food & Wine Festival.  The closest restaurant is Coney BBQ and that already has seating and the patio with shade is behind Scrambler, so that's close by as well.  They took out some green space to add this, when they could have planted more flowers and greenery, would have added to the area's feel and look.  I’ll wait till I visit in person to really decide how I feel about it, just saw some pictures and video of some of it on Facebook. 

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I do somewhat like how it looks in everyone's pictures. Was it the best look? No, but at least it looks nice. The view of it in front of the Grand Carousel is a little sad though. The park is not likely to invest in something as grand as that at the moment. Look to Cedar Point, Dorney Park, and Carowinds if you'd like to see what Legacy Cedar Fair liked to build for their new carousel structures. I have a feeling that the turf areas not under the tent may be used for something like cornhole or other lawn games. It looks better than asphalt would have. Depending on the underlayment, additional tents/items could be staked into the ground as well. I would have preferred those areas be filled by plants and a tree, but I don't know what the plans are for this structure. It may see more use during Grand Carnivale, especially since that event is supposed to be bigger than F&W and has been even in its reduced state. (Is the seating in Tower Gardens still there? Or has it all been moved under the canopy?)

It's possible that the area is still missing one or two things that will make it look better. If anyone has seen the new Communicore Hall at Epcot, you'll know how bad it looked when it opened. I won't swear by it, but I do think this may follow suit and look better as it comes into use during festivals. Also, if Kings Island's Winterfest gets anywhere near the full-on chopping block, I think that would say that Six Flags is doing a lot worse than anyone could have thought. 

I do think they should've put up a little fence near the curbs though. Just something to separate the canopy area from the pathways. 

 

2025 has been and will continue to be rough for everyone. Don't be shocked if cuts continue and additions are less exciting than in the 2010s. Just like how Cedar Fair had to bring the Paramount parks up to standard, now they have to do that with the Legacy Six Flags parks. That being said, Six Flags corporate still has a lot to figure out before I can fully trust them to do right by all of their parks. I'm a little too doom and gloom with everything else in the world right now, so I think I'll at least try to get some happiness from my favorite parks.  

[Cedar Fair Fanboy]

This is interesting. The new haunt maze is going to be themed to medieval torture or another from of Gothic vampires. What do you think the theme is gonna be?

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

6 minutes ago, Cedar Fair Fanboy said:

This is interesting. The new haunt maze is going to be themed to medieval torture or another from of Gothic vampires. What do you think the theme is gonna be?

Is this the blackout building?

[Cedar Fair Fanboy]

9 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Is this the blackout building?

Yes it is

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I wonder how similar this set is to Cedar Point's Blood Bath maze (AKA Club Orpheus). Kings Island definitely needed a new maze, and if it means the return of vampires to the event then I'll be super happy. Medieval/gothic are also themes that I don't remember seeing at Haunt in recent years. This could be a re-skin of Madame Fatales in a new location, but those sets do look more gothic than MFCoT. Now to just get a good Hot Blooded replacement show and some special stuff for Haunt's 25th season at Kings Island!

[brenthodge]

9 hours ago, Cedar Fair Fanboy said:

I'm the first to step foot in the new dining area. Are you happy with this change?

It’s ok for WHAT it is…horrible for WHERE it is. It would look fine on the other side, tucked back behind Shiwpjace- then demo the winterfest leftover food stand and build 4-6 permanent swing food stalls that can be redressed and reset depending on the event. This is just ugly where it is. 

[brenthodge]

8 hours ago, Imperial79 said:

I guess it's alright, but what is it for, I thought it was going to be used for the Food & Wine Festival.  The closest restaurant is Coney BBQ and that already has seating and the patio with shade is behind Scrambler, so that's close by as well.  They took out some green space to add this, when they could have planted more flowers and greenery, would have added to the area's feel and look.  I’ll wait till I visit in person to really decide how I feel about it, just saw some pictures and video of some of it on Facebook. 

If you see it in person… it’s worse. 

[CedarPointer]

The unasked-for circus tent certainly exceeds my expectations. It looks even worse than I thought it would.