A nice night at Kings Island 06/28/2026

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Despite the parking lot being absolutely packed with cars I was able to snag a good enough spot just north of the divider berm. I maintain my stance that KI needs to repaint the lines to be diagonal spaces but understand how that might affect the layout (it would be very worth it though). My walk into the park was smooth and uneventful. The crowd size didn't require more than one line to be open, but it would have been very nice to have a second line open on the north side. Every time I scan my pass it takes so long for the computer to process. It would be really nice if the park could do something to improve that. I don't know if the issue is internet connectivity (I'd hope the POS terminals are hardwired) or if it's an authentication issue with Six Flags' systems, but it slows the entry process down so much.

I saw an associate cleaning the windows in front of Grain & Grill. It wasn't clear if there was something on it or if they were just wiping condensation off, but I appreciated seeing it. Some doors were closed to keep cold air in while others were kept open, which has me wondering if the A/C in those buildings were off/broken. There are some KI-specific Food & Wine Festival metal cups on sale for $24.99 in the Emporium. The little Amusemints candy packages are actually M&M's in a special bag — I don't know why it's separately branded while still including the M&M's name. There is a shirt (selling for $19.99) that says "Kings Island Amusement Park" with a 3-color rainbow. 

The Celebrate America 250 event decorations are out all around International Street and are beginning to extend into Tower Gardens. The main "Where America Celebrates" sign is inside its own little planter, though it's very obvious that the KI logo was pasted onto it. (I'd say to just size it up a little, but I have a feeling that the "Welcomes you to" text was not able to be moved further down, meaning the spacing would be off.) The rest of the decorations look good as well. I didn't get to catch any of the special characters or performances. The fact that there are two very large washers holding the Carousel Pavilion show sign to its post looks bad. 

We got on the train right before Soak City closed for the night, where I saw a guy wearing a Sally Dark Rides shirt. I didn't get the opportunity to ask if he was an SDR employee or anything, but it was cool to see. The blue engine had just been retired for the night when we got to the station, so we rode the green train to go pick up the rest of the Soak City visitors. I'd really like to see more improvements come to the KI&MV RR experience since it looked so good in 2022. After riding the rails we stopped off at the restroom and backtracked a little to eat at LaRosa's in Rivertown. The restroom floors could've use a good dry mop every so often. My LaRosa's experience was good even with no ice in the drink machines. Kings Island has installed ice makers in some of the soda fountains so I hope they can continue that effort throughout the rest of the park. Walking toward WindSeeker made me realize that I could no longer see the holes in the pavers where Vortex's tiny queue fence extension lived. I wonder if those pavers got replaced in 2020? Walking back toward Jukebox let me see that they mostly had the red, white, and blue cars out for the Antique Autos, which was a nice touch for the week. 

Later on I ventured over to Area 72 and once again felt how much it needs a good flat ride. Continuing my walk took me into the Coney Arcade, which could use some permanent doors to keep cold air inside. Monster didn't have much of a wait but I decided to forego that opportunity since it was getting dark out. Could any of you tell me why Monster has two completely separate queue lines? I can't imagine they're worth keeping separate with the way the ride's load/unload procedure works. I was going to make a quick jaunt over to The Bat until I remembered that my gym shorts didn't have zipper pockets. I settled for a look at the Son of Beast station (no changes there). 

Phantom Theater had a sub-15 minute wait so I took the opportunity. Much better than the 45 minutes I would've waited an hour before that. Almost everything was working so I was happy. SweetSpot now has some Boysenberry products back in stock, including the Boysenberry Preserves and the Boysenberry Jam. I really want to try it and wish the park offered a small tasting like some ice cream shops have (but with the jam instead of ice cream). My last ride of the night was on the Grand Carousel. I saw the guy in the SDR shirt again, but I think he looked at the time and got off to go get in line for something else before 10PM. 

My night ended with a viewing of the nighttime spectacular. As much as I love the drones, I don't think the experience would be as good without the nightly fireworks. I've been trying to figure out where I recognize the Maestro design from and I think it's similar to BryanJay's art style with how the hair is portrayed. It would be amazing if the International Restaurant could be opened for an upcharge VIP fireworks viewing. I think that would be some easy money for the park, especially if it's like $30-$40 and includes dinner. Would it sell out every night? I don't think so, but I bet there are enough guests visiting each day that would pay for it. Getting out of the parking lot via the north exit was easy. One thing I like about some of the legacy Six Flags parks is that they have these Disney World-esque directional signage which would look so much better and more permanent at Kings Island than the cheap-looking vinyl(?) signs they have now.

Overall, I had a surprisingly good night at the park. The heat didn't hurt me too much, but it was close to being too much. It would be a very good idea for the park to put up some big water stations in each area with free cold water. The water fountains are useful, but guests might be better about staying hydrated if there were dedicated water stations all over the place.