2027 speculation

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

Kings Island opened for the 2026 season last weekend and Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare gave its first rides and brought long lines all weekend with lines reaching up to 3 hours at one point. While the focus is clearly on that along with the other exciting improvements and events happening this season, it is never too early to start speculating for the future. This thread will be used to address any rumors or speculation about what may come to the park for the 2027 season. This will also be the place to share any potential hints or signs of work on a 2027 attraction if anything is coming. 

One thing we do know is 2027 will be the 55th anniversary of the park.

I'm going to start by saying I think a new major rollercoaster is all but off the table for a few reasons. 

1) There hasn't been any signs of work on any potential/rumored new coaster site whether it be The Vortex site, remainder of old SOB site (outside of the dirt pile in the junkyard which constantly fuels speculation this time every year but never becomes anything), or the front gate area. Unless they pull a Siren's Curse or Legacy Six Flags and start land prep/construction later in the season, I think we can rule out anything major. Under legacy CF, whenever KI added a major new coaster, land prep/clearing and/or teasing started or was underway on opening weekend.

2) Six Flags already has 3 major coaster projects under construction and/or being teased: 

*Project Purple at GAdv

*Magic Mountain's rumored thrill glider

*Whatever Fiesta Texas is building in CrackAxle Canyon

Also don't forget Carowinds is building a major record breaking water attraction for next year that is well under way that will likely be an expensive addition

3) Six Flags is in major debt so I doubt there is room in the 2027 budjet for a 15-30 million dollar rollercoaster at Kings Island

 

Since a coaster is likely out of question, that leads us to a couple of other options.

With the positive sentiment/debut of Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare, does the park decide to add another indoor attraction the following year? You have 2 buildings that can be used. Before Phantom Theater was announced, it was rumored the attraction for this year was going in the old Tomb Raider/The Crypt building. So do we see another heavily themed immersive ride go in there after all these years? The introduction of The Conjuring: Beyond Fear last Haunt likely throws doubts into that, but anything is possible. Then there is the old Days of Thunder/Spongebob 4D building that is currently used for Hotel St Michelle for Haunt which this Haunt would be its 5th season. Could we see the park decide to add an attraction of some type in there? We'll see.

Then that brings us to the flat ride department. You have 2 options you can go down. Do you go with a thrilling flat ride? The last thrilling flat ride added was Sol Spin in 2023 and before that WindSeeker in 2011 and before that Delirium in 2003. So the park doesn't add thrilling flat rides often. With the departure of Xtreme Skyflyer last year, that space is empty outside of being used as queue space for a Haunt. I personally think an S&S scream n swing would be a perfect fit there and you could have it tie in with the spooky theme of Banshee and Bat next door. I always thought "Phantom Flyer" would be a good name for it and would tie well with the park with Phantom Theater and would pay homage to the original name of Linus Launcher in Camp Snoopy as its original name was Danny Phantom's Flyers. There are other options as Zamperla has a major catelog of thrill rides to choose from. 

Then you have family flat rides which the park has leaned heavily into in recent years. The question is what would you do with it? Do you do another Camp/Planet Snoopy expansion? Do you add one or 2 in like Coney Mall or Action Zone or Rivertown? Or do you do a package with a thrilling flat ride which I think would be the most likely option.

Then finally we get to Soak City. The last expansion was last year and before that was 2016. With the mixed response to River Racers, do you even want to attempt another water coaster? WhiteWater West also has other slide options they could do. There's also the option of adding one of their even bigger play structures like what KD got back in 2021. 

There's also the very possible possibility the park just takes a year and focus on park improvements. After all, the company is in major debt so maybe they decide that KI has recieve enough new rides since 2023 that they give them the year to just focus on sprucing up the park and making it better. Banshee is due for a repaint and Bat too so if they decide to take an off year, that would be the year to do it as repainting rides does cost a pretty penny.

 

I would love to hear your thoughts on what the park could see in 2027 and why. Let's enjoy the 2026 season, but also have a little fun speculating! Speculate away!

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I think 2027 would be a great year for the park to do a small retheme of Action Zone, even if it doesn't come with any new rides. It would be similar to 2018 where the big new addition was Coney Bar-B-Que and upgraded dining options, but with more focus on the entire area. Start repainting projects for Banshee and The Bat (possibly even making the light gray supports a darker gray to closer resemble the original) and introduce some small theming elements around the land. I wouldn't be upset to see a new store and restaurant replacing Coaster Connection either. Does anyone remember why the Banshee store got replaced by an arcade? I think that would be a good place for some small in-queue lockers while the ride photo counter gets moved to a new shop next door. As always I'm going to advocate for Action Zone to become the new Oktoberfest (while Banshee and The Bat stay the same) complete with touches of the original version of the area. If it really truly needs a new ride then I'd replace Congo Falls with a MACK Water Battle that reuses the basin and station.

 

If we see a new coaster by 2030 I think it'll be in 2028. Let the small and cheaper Action Zone retheme come in 2027, open The Vortex successor in 2028, and replace the TR:TR building with a Rivertown expansion in 2029 as part of a 50th anniversary celebration for The Beast.

I've been seeing some people speculate that Canada's Wonderland is going to get a new thrill coaster in 2028, but I don't think they need it yet. Maybe 2029 for them, but not 2028.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

Or they could turn the old Banshee gift shop back into a gift shop and then turn Coaster Connection into a restaurant.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I think the park would need to completely demolish Coaster Connections and rebuild if they wanted to put a restaurant there. The building as it currently stands is smaller than Chicken Shack's kitchen and indoor line. 

Ideally I would like to see CC demolished and some of the paths extended that way to reorient the area (green outline, dashed line shows Bat's entrance). A flat ride/restaurant/store can still go on the Skyflyer plot, but the goal is to make it feel less like giant swaths of path and more like a cohesive area. The red shapes would get almost completely redeveloped — while keeping every mature tree they feasibly can — aside from Drop Tower which would stay and be repainted. Timberwolf and other parts in red would be used for a new major coaster. 

[WoodVengeance]

I wouldn't be surprised if 2027 ends up being an off-year for the park, or some very minor addition(s)/refurbishments. Kings Island has added new family attractions for the past four seasons in a row, plus Six Flags already has several 2027 projects in the works for other parks in the chain. I highly doubt we're going to see anything like a Vortex replacement or other significant coaster built for 2027. Although, I do have some ideas of what the park could add (if they decide to add anything at all)

• Begin a retheme of Action Zone: I imagine this would likely be a multi-year expansion project similar to Jungle Xpedition at Kings Dominion. The first phase would be rather minor, focusing on ride and restaurant rethemes. It's also possible we could see some sort of flat ride being added.
• Rivertown: To be specific, the pathway between the Eiffel Tower and Rivertown where the Shooting Star cafe is. I could see this being a good area to do another flat ride package similar to Adventure Port.
• Front gate: Refurbish the front gate plaza and the facade of the front gate to be more modern and welcoming to park guests.
• Soak City: Although Soak City has recently recieved new additions in 2025, they still have land to do some more expansion if they really wanted to.

[DJSkyFoxx]

In a perfect world, IF KI got a new coaster, how cool would it be for a Vortex rebirth seeing as that would have marked the 40th Anniversary for it next year. And it would be especially awesome if it were the Vekoma Ghost Rider model that was proposed in the surveys that were sent out throughout the chain. 

Really realistically not gonna happen, but that would be a rad way to enter both the park's 55th season as well as a nod to what would have been the 40th for Vortex. 

[beastfan11]

Spitballing some realistically unrealistic ideas…
 

Idea 1. Mack Rocking Boat attraction in Rivertown. In a perfect world, the TR:TR building would removed, but incorporating it into the the attraction could work well too. I think one of the surveys mentioned a dark ride/family coaster idea for that space, so maybe something similar in concept. It could be indoor/outdoor and the area around the building (like between the KIMVRR, Diamondback, and Mystic Timbers) could be revamped to include more water features, landscaping, etc. Need to bring more water features back to that area of the park. 
 

Idea 2. Flat Package for Coney Mall, plus an area refresh. A few classic or contemporary flats would do the area very well. Even with the Adventure Port additions, the park still lacks in the flat ride department. This would obviously include the return of the original Coney/KI Flying Eagles, which is definitely going to happen. Right? It’d also be cool to see a Ferris wheel with a show stopping lighting package. 

The arcade buildings are given a facelift to resemble the architectural style of Coney BBQ, while incorporating the current, classic lights and signage. 

This would prime the area for a knockout Vortex “replacement” in the few seasons ahead. Or even a junkyard coaster replacement since it’s getting up there in age like me. 
 

Idea 3. General park updates and improvements, plus a new dining experience. These are often the best types of seasons for the park. A new indoor dining location is needed, and I’d push for the International Restaurant to be used. Could be an opportunity to refresh the front gate area as well.

But the old arcade/Killmart building in Coney Mall could work for a new restaurant too. 

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

1 hour ago, beastfan11 said:

But the old arcade/Killmart building in Coney Mall could work for a new restaurant too. 

If the park really wants to improve that little area I think a Grand Pavilion-style restaurant would be the best option. Tear down the KillMart building and replace it while realigning the path for an added bonus. Whatever happens, I just hope we get some new paint that isn't all one color in Coney Mall!

 

On the other hand, if any year is an "off-year" for Kings Island then I'd love to see a renewed focus on events and entertainment. Adding to Haunt and Winterfest, bringing in a new festival to replace Grand Carnivale, and adding new entertainment options/venues around the park would be amazing.

[johnjniehaus]

I personally see it being an off year - as for upcoming projects in the next few years I'd say we should see a new coaster by 2030 (hopefully in The Vortex plot but if not I think it'll be Action Zone with congo, timber Wolf, and possibly Invertigo removals. If they opt not to replace Vortex with a new coaster, this might be controversial but perhaps they could create an extension of coney mall with more flats down at that end? Maybe something similar to Carowinds Aeronautic Landing. Just an idea. I think the park honestly should focus on some general improvements for the time being - renovation of restrooms, perhaps an upgraded entrance area, or repaint and repair rides.