International Street Future Update

[Imperial79]

I was thinking with the new Food and Wine Festival area going in over near the Grand Carousel, it would be nice to see Intenational Street get some updates again, making it an even more grand area than it already is. This idea shows that the area behind the Eiffel Tower on the left that's empty can be used for 2 new International Street buildings, they would represent either Poland, Sweden or the UK. Kings Island would also update the path under and around the Eiffel Tower with new pavers, getting rid of the blacktop.  I'm sure they already have plans for the next few years, so this could be done for the parks 60th anniversary in 2032, if it is too big a project to do in one year, they could do one for the 2031 season, and the other in 2032. 

1. Yellow shows the new area for the buildings to be built. One of them can be a new restaurant, the other can be a new gift shop.

2. Purple shows the new Food and Wine Festival area that is being worked on now. 

 

[BlondyRidesOn]

In my free time, I had dreamed up a revamped International Street food line up, removing the corporate franchise foods and embracing more unique food items. I like the idea of adding new pavilions on International Street for an enhancement of the food offerings at the park. I am of the opinion that the new pavilions should be closer in proximity to the original Bruce Bushman designed buildings.

Two countries that I have in mind for architectural representation on International Street is England/ Great Britain and China.

The English building would be tucked next to Wishbone Grill at the Swiss building, utilizing and old English style facade which matches the Alpine lodge design of Wishbone and Starbucks while standing out on its own.

This location would sell fish and chips as well as comfort foods like chicken tenders and fries for those with more limited options. With its location being in close proximity to Grain & Grill, families looking for healthy options can eat together without having to travel far for food items that some of the youngest members of the family can enjoy. By moving the chicken tenders out to a new location, G&G can focus on its original purpose to be more in line with its original Kings Dominion counterpart; being a healthy worldly international kitchen.

The Chinese building would be located near the base of the Eiffel Tower next to the French building. Currently the site of a floral bed and a backstage entrance gate leading to the Park Services "cage" in the Boo Blasters building, the backstage entrance would be reworked and the area relandscaped to make way for the Chinese pagoda style building. This would be home to Mandarin Cuisine, a throwback name to the Chinese restaurant briefly located in the Swiss building where G&G currently resides in 2003. Authentic Chinese food would be sold here. However, knowing how popular Panda Express is at the park, an alternative idea would be to put Panda in this new pagoda structure and open a much needed second Skyline Chili location in the Festhaus. 

Below I have the basic rendering if what it would look like: 

Interestingly, on the topic of International Street's worldly theming, I'm surprised the pastry items at Sweet Spot aren't talked about in that regard as some of the items produced by the park's pastry team have very international inspirations; the banana biscoff pudding shared on KICentral's socials originates from Belgium and the trifles originate from Britain. Though minor, that would be a fantastic story telling opportunity; sweet treats from around the world.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I'd love to see a new flat ride come to the old Saltwater Circus site in between your yellow marking and Diamondback's train shed. It could be like Cedar Downs at Cedar Point (although that ride model is no longer in production), and a beautiful pavilion could be constructed for it like the Grand Carousel has. That pathway is one of the least dense areas in Kings Island and could use something. Alternatively, I think an indoor sit-down restaurant (a la Brewhouse) could go here as long as most of the big trees are kept in place. 

I also really like y'all's ideas for improvements! I think the English building could probably still go next to Wishbone Grill (that space was once a wood carving shop until it was converted to be more seating space), but I would imagine it more as just extra covered seating. The Chinese/Asian-inspired building could probably fit nicely in the space I wanted to see a ride in, and become a fully indoor restaurant. The space next to I-Street Treats is an important entry point to get behind the French/Spanish buildings. This secondary location — while away from the main part of the street — would give it more room to be a bigger building as well. 

One space that could be used after some additional work would be the small parking lot just beyond the front restrooms. This space does back up onto the park administration buildings, but, as I said, additional work could be done. I think that would be a great spot for some Colonial America buildings, and could be a way to help celebrate the USA quarter-millennial next summer. Earn some brownie points with crowds that like that kind of stuff (I'd like to at least see the buildings). Call it Columbia Market. That references both the Columbia Road that the park sits on and Columbia, the classic personification of the United States. 

[Imperial79]

Oh yes, adding a flat ride to that area that would be perfect as well! The more to do and see on International Street, then the more money the park makes, I'm sure. From the map it looks like there is plenty of room for the new buildings, while keeping the trees next to International Showplace, and that area would be nice to sit back and enjoy the view of the Eiffel Tower, and it would be great during the fireworks show as well.  I don't know about a restaurant as large as the Brewhouse, that would take up a lot of the space for that area. 

[BlondyRidesOn]

I think it was a missed opportunity when planning Kings Mills Antique Autos to not place it in the Saltwater Circus lawn area and revive the Les Taxis name matching with International Street. Although it did bring a fresh feeling to the back of Coney Mall when it opened in 2019. The Tower Topics episode about Marathon/ Sunshine Turnpike and Don's comments about how the Turnpike and Antique cars both provided unique experiences from one another opens up the possibility of reviving the Turnpike. Maybe call it Der Autobahn to tie in the International Street theme.

[jzarley]

Somewhat unrelated to this discussion, but still something about International Street I’ve been thinking about lately…I had always heard that the curbs/sidewalks were removed due to ADA compliance, but ADA applies nationwide and there are other parks (much busier, more attended parks) who still have the traditional street/curb/sidewalk design—Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios & Universal Studios come to mind. Was this removal of curbs in theme parks a more strict Ohio interpretation/application of ADA? (And, if so—what about the curbs/sidewalks on normal city streets?)

Random I realize, but something I think about every time I’m walking around one of those other “curbed” parks 

[KIghostguy]

9 minutes ago, jzarley said:

Somewhat unrelated to this discussion, but still something about International Street I’ve been thinking about lately…I had always heard that the curbs/sidewalks were removed due to ADA compliance, but ADA applies nationwide and there are other parks (much busier, more attended parks) who still have the traditional street/curb/sidewalk design—Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios & Universal Studios come to mind. Was this removal of curbs in theme parks a more strict Ohio interpretation/application of ADA? (And, if so—what about the curbs/sidewalks on normal city streets?)

Random I realize, but something I think about every time I’m walking around one of those other “curbed” parks 

They were removed because it was felt that the curbs created a psychological barrier that prevented people from going in and spending money in the shops and restaurants.

[OverlandTaxis30]

18 hours ago, BlondyRidesOn said:

I think it was a missed opportunity when planning Kings Mills Antique Autos to not place it in the Saltwater Circus lawn area and revive the Les Taxis name matching with International Street. Although it did bring a fresh feeling to the back of Coney Mall when it opened in 2019. The Tower Topics episode about Marathon/ Sunshine Turnpike and Don's comments about how the Turnpike and Antique cars both provided unique experiences from one another opens up the possibility of reviving the Turnpike. Maybe call it Der Autobahn to tie in the International Street theme.

That sounds almost similar to how I would’ve brought back the drive-it-yourself car ride to KI. Albeit my idea involved removing the stunt coaster altogether and bringing back two car tracks. One with modern cars in Coney Mall and the other with Antique Cars in Rivertown.

All that aside, I don’t know how much space the old circus area would have had for a drive-it-yourself ride.

[BeeastFarmer]

38 minutes ago, KIghostguy said:

They were removed because it was felt that the curbs created a psychological barrier that prevented people from going in and spending money in the shops and restaurants.

Huge missed opportunity in the 2019 renovation.  While the renovation is much better than the previous version (with notable exceptions), had they done some relatively simple things, the area would be much more cohesive. 

They could have used pavers to create visual curbs, like what Dominion has. 

They should have redone the pavers between the turnstyle building and the fountain.  What is there looks busy and dated.

They should have replaced the asphalt around the Eifel Tower and the arteries around it.  Pavers would have been a better choice than concrete that they put around the grand merry go round that they placed last year.  Tower Gardens should have been renovated with pavers.

They should have added the gas lamps, or gas style lamps back in.

They need more flowers.  Those could have been hanging baskets on the lamp posts, the mulch areas inside the fence of the fountain.

They need more lush landscape at the base of the tower.  See KD.

They should incorporate more country-specific items--for example,  at the Spanish Building, they have the statuary.  They should have Roman statuary near the Italian Building.

Hopefully the 2039 renovation will address some of these issues.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

You make a lot of good points! Although I think most of what was done in 2019 had good reasoning behind it. I don't think I can forgive removing the fountain pedestals and not replacing them with wide-spray versions like Kings Dominion has, but I've written about that elsewhere on here.

The park did somewhat create visual curbs using the pavers, they just didn't revert the layout back to the original 1972 version. There is a separation of zones with the black strips of pavers dividing the paths and seating areas, which took the place of the planters that were there before.. When both Kings Island and Kings Dominion completed their first International Street renovations in 1982(?) they both swapped the walking and seating areas for the reason stated above. I'd have to go look, but I don't remember exactly how Canada's Wonderland had their International Street configured when they opened in 1981. I think if Kings Island decides to replace the pavers between the entrance and the fountain, they should either add two small-ish planters or screen-based information kiosks in that area. It would bring some visual interest to the area and break up the vast expanse of nothingness. While they're at it I'd love to see the wood planter carts come back to flank the main sign again. They were there in 2019, but have been absent in recent years. Around the Eiffel Tower should be brushed concrete instead of asphalt. Pavers would be too visually busy in this case, as would paver bricks, whereas concrete/asphalt don't distract the eye and encourage guests to look up at the magnificence of the tower. The reverse is true for the paver bricks in Tower Gardens: the History Walk stones are each a clean square in the middle of a sea of busy bricks. Anything larger than the bricks would make the stones stand out less, and may not stand up as well to the rapidly varying elevation within Tower Gardens.

Replica gas-style lamps would be nice, although I can't imagine good places to put them along the length of the street. More flowers and more landscaping would probably hinder some of the work areas needed to set up for Winterfest. I think it would've been beautiful to bring the decorative white rocks and green hedges back around the fountain, but those may have gotten in the way of building the railings and taken up staging space. Two sections would also probably need to be taken out each year in order to put the ramps in. Having a ton of landscaping around the base of the tower might also get in the way of stringing up the lights. Finally, I don't know that adding more statues is necessary. The Don Quixote statue is rather nice because it's unique. I'd be all for more topiaries though. 

Whatever future additions and renovations may bring, I hope they improve the character of the street to be even better than before! I'm interested to see how large the current trees grow to be. They're planted pretty close to each other, but without knowing what kind of tree they are I don't think it's possible to know. 

Can anyone tell what this is? I can't see if it's the Carousel structure or if the new festival structure is already up and covered. 

[Diamondback_Is_King]

1 hour ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Can anyone tell what this is? I can't see if it's the Carousel structure or if the new festival structure is already up and covered. 

It definitely looks like the new structure/covering that they've been working on. Glad to see it! I may be going this Saturday, so I will check it out when I go next!

[BlondyRidesOn]

When the International Street renovation was announced and presented, I was most excited for the stenciling and emphasis on the International Street buildings being themed again. At one point I was extremely against a major change to the Royal Fountain, but I was more open to it when it meant that it would be *International* Street again. I actually welcomed the reimagined and more animated fountain with the LEDs. However, as time passes, I do miss old aspects of the original fountain and its grandeur. 

The pedestals added a unique character compared to the fountains at Kings Dominion and Canada's Wonderland as those two fountains had a more natural looking appearance coming straight from the pools from their initial introductions. That said, it was apparent that they were difficult to maintain as the rust streaks had to be repainted each year and marred their regal appearance in a way. For that, the water curtain that replaced them actually looks a little nicer. What I do think is missing is the grandiose appearance that came with the thicker cascade jets that ran along the sides coupled with the morning glory jets; 13 of each on both sides. The small vertical jets and finger nozzles add height and make the show dynamic possible, but they do look pretty dinky in comparison to what had been there for years. I don't know if it would be possible to have the nighttime and even daytime display setting with the old jets that were there though, but I miss that aspect the most.

[BeeastFarmer]

15 hours ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

You make a lot of good points! Although I think most of what was done in 2019 had good reasoning behind it. I don't think I can forgive removing the fountain pedestals and not replacing them with wide-spray versions like Kings Dominion has, but I've written about that elsewhere on here.

The park did somewhat create visual curbs using the pavers, they just didn't revert the layout back to the original 1972 version. There is a separation of zones with the black strips of pavers dividing the paths and seating areas, which took the place of the planters that were there before.. When both Kings Island and Kings Dominion completed their first International Street renovations in 1982(?) they both swapped the walking and seating areas for the reason stated above. I'd have to go look, but I don't remember exactly how Canada's Wonderland had their International Street configured when they opened in 1981. I think if Kings Island decides to replace the pavers between the entrance and the fountain, they should either add two small-ish planters or screen-based information kiosks in that area. It would bring some visual interest to the area and break up the vast expanse of nothingness. While they're at it I'd love to see the wood planter carts come back to flank the main sign again. They were there in 2019, but have been absent in recent years. Around the Eiffel Tower should be brushed concrete instead of asphalt. Pavers would be too visually busy in this case, as would paver bricks, whereas concrete/asphalt don't distract the eye and encourage guests to look up at the magnificence of the tower. The reverse is true for the paver bricks in Tower Gardens: the History Walk stones are each a clean square in the middle of a sea of busy bricks. Anything larger than the bricks would make the stones stand out less, and may not stand up as well to the rapidly varying elevation within Tower Gardens.

Replica gas-style lamps would be nice, although I can't imagine good places to put them along the length of the street. More flowers and more landscaping would probably hinder some of the work areas needed to set up for Winterfest. I think it would've been beautiful to bring the decorative white rocks and green hedges back around the fountain, but those may have gotten in the way of building the railings and taken up staging space. Two sections would also probably need to be taken out each year in order to put the ramps in. Having a ton of landscaping around the base of the tower might also get in the way of stringing up the lights. Finally, I don't know that adding more statues is necessary. The Don Quixote statue is rather nice because it's unique. I'd be all for more topiaries though. 

Whatever future additions and renovations may bring, I hope they improve the character of the street to be even better than before! I'm interested to see how large the current trees grow to be. They're planted pretty close to each other, but without knowing what kind of tree they are I don't think it's possible to know. 

Can anyone tell what this is? I can't see if it's the Carousel structure or if the new festival structure is already up and covered. 

RE: Royal Fountain:  I understand the rationale for the "dynamic" setup.  We were told in social media that this set up would allow for daytime and night time shows.  It does look great for the Royal Finale, but I have yet to see any "show" any other time of day.  At a minimum, they should have set the layout of the nozzles so they could emulate the original plumage.  They should have tech, however, to work with what they have to incorporate "dancing waters" with the flow of IS music, day or night.

Curbing simulation: I see your point.  

Space between turnsyle building and fountain:  should be cohesive with the rest of the area.  With the nighttime spectacular, I don't know if the area would support planters or video screens; but I like that idea.  It has to accomodate crowds, but is a giant empty place other wise.  It's horrible that the wooden flower carts were removed.  Did they turn them into portable bars?

I don't know if I agree about the hardscape and landscape around the tower.  Kings Dominion has both and it looks spectacular.  However, I see your brushed concrete and raise you to stamped concrete.  Not with a paver stamp, but a "natural stamp" that has a deep earth tone color with a sheen.  Light colors show dirt, see adventure port.  

Landscape:  They could easily put seasonal color in the mulched areas and add color beds between the current mulched beds with shrubs (this is a nice nod to the original shrub design) This would allow for Snowflake Lake conversion and beautify the area in the other three seasons of fun.  It would also be a nice contrast with the patio seating concrete and grass.  Around the base of the tower:  Kings Dominion does (did) not have a problem with incorporating the anchors for the lights in spite of the blue spruce and other trees. Appropriate choices can amplify the grandness of the tower. I love your idea of topiaries vs statues.  

Gas style lamps:  these could be placed either close to the buildings or in the seating areas.  

As you can tell, I really like International Street and the discourse surrounding it.  Thank you for the engagement!

[calakapepe]

11 hours ago, BlondyRidesOn said:

I do miss old aspects of the original fountain and its grandeur.

Agree 100%. Pedestals got a lot of attention.. but for me its simple. The current fountains arent girthy enough.

Thicker, equally as tall fountains are really impressive looking, sounding,  and feeling. The fountains are simply fine.  But not great. Not worth it to change it now though

[Orion-XL200]

1 hour ago, calakapepe said:

Agree 100%. Pedestals got a lot of attention.. but for me its simple. The current fountains arent girthy enough.

Thicker, equally as tall fountains are really impressive looking, sounding,  and feeling. The fountains are simply fine.  But not great. Not worth it to change it now though

Aren't girthy enough just made me lose my mind lol. 

But yes....the Island in Pigeon Forge has a mix of size with streams....could definitely benefit from a similar set up. 

Either way, there's not enough water moving as there was previously.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

13 hours ago, BeeastFarmer said:

I don't know if the area would support planters or video screens; but I like that idea. 

I don't think the planters or kiosks would need to be too big, probably 8'-10' across at most for planters w/ seats. For context, the space from the entrance building to the front of the I.D. sign picture area is 60' while the distance from the entrance building to the edge of the parade route is 35'. Putting one on either side of the street would leave about 20' between the edge of a planter and its nearest obstacle (the parade route, the entrance building, KI Trading Co., and the FunPix building). Even something like this tower kiosk at Epic Universe (screenshot from a TheTimTracker video on YouTube) would work and serve as an elegant wayfinding method at the entrance to the park. I'd prefer something a little better looking and with an overhanging roof for Kings Island, but it'd add visual interest either way, especially if done well. A planter could have a small tree or large/tall vase full of flowers (like the fountain in Adventure Port) in it to accomplish the same. 

Canada's Wonderland — which has one of the best park entrances that I've seen — used to have small trees in this area that accomplished this very well. I believe Kings Dominion still has some of these near their entrance, although their entrance is much denser overall. A legacy walk full of personalized bricks right there would also be cool. Cedar Point installed one on their Main Midway for their 150th anniversary. Either way, something definitely needs to be done to take Kings Island's International Street just a little further to cross the finish line. 

[Orion-XL200]

Speaking of video screens....there have been several that have popped up all over the park including at Cedar Point....not quite sure their actual purpose.