SonofBaconator Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 What happens when a regional giant starts to slow down? For years, Kings Island has been a dominant amusement park in the Midwest, drawing millions from Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Columbus, Louisville, and beyond. But since the debut of Orion and the pandemic in 2020, the park’s strategy has noticeably shifted. Instead of major thrill investments, we’ve seen smaller additions like Adventure Port, Snoopy’s Soap Box Racers, and RiverRacers. At the same time, prime areas like The Vortex plot and Crypt building remain unused. Could the park’s focus on family offerings—and the merger signal a pause in high-thrill investment? And if so, what does that mean for the rest of the region? Could Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom step in to fill that gap? Both parks are strategically located and serve overlapping markets with Kings Island—especially in Southern Indiana and Kentucky. If either park were to invest more aggressively in their lineups, would it be enough to shift public attention? Could increased competition begin pulling guests from markets that have historically defaulted to Kings Island? If Kings Island continues to slow-roll major thrill ride development, guests may start to ask themselves: why wait for something big when another park is already stepping up? So the real question becomes: who will seize this moment? Kings Island isn’t going away, but if it goes eight years without a major thrill ride, its grip on the region could loosen. Will Holiday World or Kentucky Kingdom use this time to reposition themselves as more than just local alternatives? Could one bold investment change the way thrill-seekers see the region? In a market driven by momentum and excitement, now might be the perfect time for smaller parks to step into the spotlight. Is this the time to strike? Absolutely. The only question left is: who will do it first? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeastFarmer Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 Both KI, KK and HW are targeting the same audience: family. Who executes better? Currently, in my opinion, not KI. Look at Good Gravy vs Soapbox Racer. Look at Discovery Meadow vs Adventure Port. ( AP was very well done, mind you, it's just tiny compared to DM) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver2005 Posted June 30 Share Posted June 30 Both KK and HW have sizeable and newly cleared areas as well, the later we know is getting something in 2027. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodVengeance Posted June 30 Share Posted June 30 I'm just going to be blunt. It would be a true embarrassment for Kings Island if they had to delay the 2026 family thrill attraction while Kentucky Kingdom opens their Vekoma SFC no problem. I could see that scenario swaying a lot of families in the KY/IN demographic to buy season passes for Kentucky Kingdom instead if Herschend does their marketing right. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI Guy Posted June 30 Share Posted June 30 Inter-park competition is a favorite topic for enthusiasts, but it's just not that important for a park like KI. The siphoning off of a few thousand people in Louisville and maybe Indianapolis is not that important on the grand scale. Even at the height of the coaster wars, PKI and CP were competing for thrill seekers in the Columbus market and maybe some double visitors from outside the typical market who might like to go see both. It's not KI vs. the other parks; it's KI vs. any other form of entertainment. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbeast Posted June 30 Share Posted June 30 With KI being my second home, I still visit Kentucky Kingdom, Cedar Point and Holiday World every summer. And try to get to further away parks as much as possible...especially for Fury! KI has such an outstanding line up now. I am beyond happy it's my home park. Lightning Run at KK is one of my all-time favorite rides. It was a pleasant surprise the first time there. Love Storm Chaser (or whatever it is named now) too. RMC's are just so much fun. Voyage at Holiday World is probably my favorite coaster EVER next to The Beast at night. Rode Voyage 30 times one day last summer. Just love that coaster! And Maverick alone is worth going to Cedar Point each year. Love Steel Vengeance and looking forward to Siren's Curse and Top Thrill 2 in August also! So, each has something to offer and there have been times when I had Holiday World season passes, KK passes as well as KI passes just for those reasons. Just the KI all park passes now with weekday vacation visits to the others. Also, not likely ever, but I'd love to see KI get a ground up RMC so I could experience that locally instead of having to travel a few hours to enjoy that type of coaster. One can wish! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losantiville Mining Co. Posted June 30 Share Posted June 30 6 hours ago, jbeast said: Also, not likely ever, but I'd love to see KI get a ground up RMC so I could experience that locally instead of having to travel a few hours to enjoy that type of coaster. One can wish! Funny you mention that! I've been thinking about this specific topic and thought it would be super cool for KI to get a ground-up RMC in the Timberwolf/Skyflyer/Bat plots with the lift hill rising above the back seats of Timberwolf and turning then dropping into the valley where the stage is for an incredible drop. Depending on how it was done you might even be able to get a pretty tall drop without needing such a high lift hill, similar to Orion's situation. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofBaconator Posted July 1 Author Share Posted July 1 I’m honestly surprised KK, or even HW, hasn’t gotten a 4D freespin yet to make either standout further. It would be a hit with either park and not as expensive since it’s cloned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar92 Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 KK is definitely planning something for 2026 (there are teasers for it that specifically say Spring of 2026 on them). And my hunch is, it'll be something big. Either a coaster or another significant themed area, because the thing about Discovery Meadow is that most of its attractions are rides that were moved from the front of the park to the back. But the byproduct of that is the front feels barren. Everything from the main gate to the Lightning Run queue has been absolutely GUTTED. Lots of real estate for either one big attraction or several small ones. The park has a lot of room for growth. There's all that newly-empty space in the front of the park, plus the old T3/Raging Rapids area which isn't even accessible anymore. At this point the most difficult problem to solve seems to be that Kentucky Flyer and SkyCatcher are just in a super awkward location. I don't know how you solve that problem without taking some real estate away from the water park or relocating the picnic grove and building that plot out into a proper midway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodVengeance Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 9 minutes ago, homestar92 said: KK is definitely planning something for 2026 (there are teasers for it that specifically say Spring of 2026 on them). And my hunch is, it'll be something big. Either a coaster or another significant themed area, because the thing about Discovery Meadow is that most of its attractions are rides that were moved from the front of the park to the back. But the byproduct of that is the front feels barren. Everything from the main gate to the Lightning Run queue has been absolutely GUTTED. Lots of real estate for either one big attraction or several small ones. The park has a lot of room for growth. There's all that newly-empty space in the front of the park, plus the old T3/Raging Rapids area which isn't even accessible anymore. At this point the most difficult problem to solve seems to be that Kentucky Flyer and SkyCatcher are just in a super awkward location. I don't know how you solve that problem without taking some real estate away from the water park or relocating the picnic grove and building that plot out into a proper midway. Kentucky Kingdom's 2026 attraction has already been "revealed" online from shipping documents. I will post it in the spoiler below for those who don't want to be spoiled. Spoiler The project name according to the shipping documents is "KENTUCKY KINGDOM - CD SFC VEKOMA", so that indicates a Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster similar to Dragonflier at Dollywood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodVengeance Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 Also, for the Kentucky Flyer / SkyCatcher thing, I think the best course of action for those attractions would probably have them rethemed to fit in with the water park. Give SkyCatcher a parasailing theme and Kentucky Flyer a surfing or hurricane theme. Yes, I know it sounds weird to have two dry-park attractions themed to fit in a water park. Yes, I know SkyCatcher could probably be relocated quite easily to have it placed somewhere more logical in the park. However, I don't think Herschend is going to want to invest in relocating Kentucky Flyer. Coasters, especially wooden coasters, aren't as easy to relocate as something like a flat ride. It's definitely not impossible, given that Kentucky Flyer is a smaller-scale wooden coaster, but I'm not sure if the park really wants to go through the trouble of doing that just to make the water park more cohesive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofBaconator Posted July 9 Author Share Posted July 9 It’s interesting how often Kentucky Kingdom is overlooked when discussing regional theme park influence. When you look at a map, Louisville and Lexington are only about an hour apart, making Kentucky Kingdom the most accessible park for a huge chunk of Kentucky’s population. Compare that to Kings Island, which is closer to a two-hour drive from Lexington - not exactly ideal for a casual day trip with kids. There’s no denying Kings Island has the edge in ride variety and overall scale, but for the average family of four, Kentucky Kingdom might be the better value. Season passes are usually more affordable, parking is simpler, and you can go multiple times without it becoming a major logistical effort. For many Kentuckians, Kings Island becomes more of a “special occasion” or once-a-summer visit, while Kentucky Kingdom is the go-to for more frequent outings. It may not grab headlines the same way, but Kentucky Kingdom probably holds a larger share of the Kentucky market than people realize — especially in that Louisville-Lexington corridor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodVengeance Posted July 9 Share Posted July 9 2 hours ago, SonofBaconator said: It’s interesting how often Kentucky Kingdom is overlooked when discussing regional theme park influence. When you look at a map, Louisville and Lexington are only about an hour apart, making Kentucky Kingdom the most accessible park for a huge chunk of Kentucky’s population. Compare that to Kings Island, which is closer to a two-hour drive from Lexington - not exactly ideal for a casual day trip with kids. There’s no denying Kings Island has the edge in ride variety and overall scale, but for the average family of four, Kentucky Kingdom might be the better value. Season passes are usually more affordable, parking is simpler, and you can go multiple times without it becoming a major logistical effort. For many Kentuckians, Kings Island becomes more of a “special occasion” or once-a-summer visit, while Kentucky Kingdom is the go-to for more frequent outings. It may not grab headlines the same way, but Kentucky Kingdom probably holds a larger share of the Kentucky market than people realize — especially in that Louisville-Lexington corridor. Another thing I wanted to add to this is that I feel Kentucky Kingdom might be a "safer" park for families compared to Kings Island. Even with the chaperone policy in place, it's not uncommon to see young, unruly guests causing problems for people visiting Kings Island. I know it's difficult for parks to control what types of people visit their parks, but it doesn't really seem like there's enough security to help enforce the chaperone policy. I've visited Kentucky Kingdom multiple times a year and for my recent visits, you can find security stationed all throughout the park, even on days where crowds are light. In addition to that, the type of troublemakers you would typically see at Kings Island aren't nearly as prevalent at Kentucky Kingdom. Personally speaking if I was a parent, I would probably feel a lot comfortable taking my kids to Kentucky Kingdom over Kings Island unless the latter could better enforce their security measures. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofBaconator Posted July 9 Author Share Posted July 9 31 minutes ago, WoodVengeance said: Another thing I wanted to add to this is that I feel Kentucky Kingdom might be a "safer" park for families compared to Kings Island. Even with the chaperone policy in place, it's not uncommon to see young, unruly guests causing problems for people visiting Kings Island. I know it's difficult for parks to control what types of people visit their parks, but it doesn't really seem like there's enough security to help enforce the chaperone policy. I've visited Kentucky Kingdom multiple times a year and for my recent visits, you can find security stationed all throughout the park, even on days where crowds are light. In addition to that, the type of troublemakers you would typically see at Kings Island aren't nearly as prevalent at Kentucky Kingdom. Personally speaking if I was a parent, I would probably feel a lot comfortable taking my kids to Kentucky Kingdom over Kings Island unless the latter could better enforce their security measures. I would agree and honestly, it’s all about what you get out of it. I were a parent living either in Louisville or Lexington, I wouldn’t want to drive two hours and risk having to endure those issues. Though these incidents have been somewhat taken care of, it still might be enough to have some families reconsider where they go. Herschend has always been about family entertainment, heck it’s in their name, so it doesn’t surprise me that they’ve made safety a top priority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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