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Here is the Little Miami side of the park (really of the whole park, lol) for speculation reasons. Sorry for the horrible quality, but it was hazy out. And the dorms are hidden behind the wing support. My picture.

Here is a picture from Warren County's website. It show the property owned by Kings Island in the blue outline.

I hope that they are going to expand that whole area and connect it to the Oktoberfest portion of the park.. not only would that get rid of some of the congestion at the Oktoberfest/coney mall intersection but that would give plenty of room for a que for an opening day line for a major attraction in that area (fingers crossed) plus they could add some food stands and restrooms.. just my thoughts. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I guess they don't own the old wave pool anymore

ACE Coaster Landmark is not to be confused with an ACE Coaster Classic. A Coaster Landmark is a coaster that has had a significant contribution to the history of coasters. Upgrades and/or extensive maintenance do not jeopardize that. The Beast is also considered an ACE Coaster Landmark. Woodstock Express at Kings Island used to be an ACE Coaster Classic. Cincinnati area coaster enthusiasts can still experience an ACE Coaster Classic at Stricker`s Grove on the Teddy Bear, which was based on the coaster of the same name from Coney Island. From the ACE website (ACE Coaster Classic) An ACE coaster classic is defined as follows: An ACE Coaster Classic is about a traditional experience. One that has been shared by generations of thrill seekers since the golden age of the 1920s when the wild, uninhibited, free wheeling thrills of the wooden coaster established it as the premier thrill ride and an icon of popular culture. The concept of ACE Coaster Classics was developed during a period when changes in the design, equipping, and operation of wood coasters threatened to erase these time-honored experiences and rituals. ACE awards ACE Coaster Classic status to coasters that still adhere to these principles that allow riders to safely experience the thrill of the classic wooden roller coaster ride. To be eligible for ACE Coaster Classic status, the coaster must meet the following criteria: The coaster must use traditional lap bars that allow riders to experience so-called airtime, or negative G's (that sensation of floating above the seat!). Individual, ratcheting lap bars do not meet this requirement. ACE Coaster Classics allow riders to slide from side-to-side. A coaster with any restraint or device that restricts this freedom is not eligible for ACE Coaster Classic status. ACE Coaster Classics allow riders to view the upcoming drops and thrills. Coasters with headrests on every seat, or the majority of seats, restrict this view and are not eligible for ACE Coaster Classic status. On ACE Coaster Classics, riders are free to choose where they sit. Some parks' operating procedures assign seating; these coasters are not eligible for ACE Coaster Classic status.

This isn't average nerdness... ...this is, advanced nerdness

So my friends and I have been having so much fun at Winterfest this year that we just had to learn more. What better way to figure out the way things work that to recreate the most iconic part of Winterfest: the world’s largest Christmas tree. Step one: make an Eiffel Tower Step 2: Make it realistic Step 3: Make it a tree Step 4: Program the lights As you can see this is a work in progress, but it was fun to learn how all this stuff works.

So much for any chance of it going elsewhere. Trackhoe means demolition. I suspect they are cutting track pieces from the manlift and pulling it down. Here comes scrap metal...

This removal also begs the question of how much time Nighthawk and Batwing have left.

Heres a little bit of a closer view. Trains are still there!

I had no idea you had a jetpack.

This IS kind of odd. It’s zoned separately. Maybe with the addition of boomerang bay? Shows a picture of a house. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not sure its needed, but I managed to get a picture of the dorms from above.

It looks like there may be caissons in the image.

It may be just me, but I don't think KI (in this case) would tease something huge just to give us something smaller. They're evil, but not THAT evil!

That means they have plenty of space. I think that we could easily see a giga here. I just hope it is a giga. I would be willing to wait until 2021 or even 2022 for this but I don’t want them to give us a wing or dive because although they are great rides, they are not the stand out ride that we wanted. Kings Island has gained a reputation for trolling the enthusiasts with the way that they drop clues and lead us in certain directions that will not end up happening. All I’m saying is that they might be tricking us with all of the leaks and “clues”. I just hope the clues are true and that they give us the giga that KI fans have been speculating since before Mystic Timbers. It would really suck if they just announced a wing coaster in my opinion. Whatever. This is all speculation. We’ll see what happens.

Thank you for this. I am not sure how much of this Kings Island owns, but I think they could fit a good out and back layout of a giga coaster in there. It could have some airtime and possibly a small twister section such as I305. But once again, I don’t know how much of this Kings Island owns.

We just moved but I have a box of the park maps back to 2002 I think. I just need to find that box.

"Original" PTC trains is a relative term.... those trains have been re-built so many times over the years that I'd expect there's not one original thing left on any of them. Heck even the various front panels are owned by different KI collectors.

Here is an update: Remade the tower and went a little different with the lights.

I could see an Enchanted Voyage that takes you through the various Peanut specials.

It would be cool to see a Peanuts themed version of the Enchanted Voyage in that building. It would be cool to see an animatronic snail at the beginning greeting guests when the ride begins. Unless, of course, the rights to the snail belong to Hanna-Barbera. "Have a huh-huh-huh-happy day!"

I thought it would be a good idea to put together a collection of park maps on KIC. Right now on the KI site there is just the 2018 Winterfest map. Does anyone have a collection of the maps over the years in PDF or image files? Please send me a PM if you have any of these files. Thanks! paging @Shaggy

Well, I thought this up, and figured it would make a great poll. So I made it. I would imagine most of us here like Kings Island, but a random thought popped up in my head: but which part of the Kings Island "Season" is the favorite? I have decided to break the operating season down into 4 sections... Early Season (April-May) Basically, this is from passholder preview night to around Memorial Day Weekend. The park has re-opened after being closed for months, yay! Time for first rides on the brand-new attractions! Crowds have not peaked due to most schools still being in session, but the employees also generally have yet to get into the swing of things. Only a few shows are playing at this point usually, and the waterpark and some water rides remain closed. Main Season (June-August) Summer is here, and the park has been open a few months now. The waterpark is open now, and most if not all of the live shows should be playing, and the employees should be getting used to their jobs at this point. However, the summer crowds generally begin to kick in around this time (until the end of August or so when school goes back), and it can get very, very hot. Haunt Season (September-October) Well, Waterpark is closed again. But now it is time for...Halloween Haunt! There are horror props all over the park, and the park is now open on Fridays and Saturdays until 1am- great for night rides. But, when the Sun goes down, the monsters come out. And so do the insane crowds on Saturdays. Winterfest (November-December) Most rides are closed, but in the past we couldn't even ride roller coasters in winter anyway. The horror props give way to beautiful Christmas Lights, and the park ups its show offerings with special holiday shows. It is also usually very cold. BRR!!! And well, that is my new poll: which of these 4 parts of the Kings Island season do you enjoy the most?

Sea World San Diego announced that they'll receive a B&M Dive Machine in 2020 named "Mako" along with other additions. https://behindthethrills.com/2019/01/seaworld-san-diego-announces-new-coaster-and-plans-for-2020-and-beyond/ I like how Sea World themes their rides to animals but Mako? I get that trademarks aren't cheap but it seems kinda lazy to name the ride after the hyper in Orlando. I think the name "Hammerhead" would have been a better choice but that's just me. All in all it looks like a cool addition to the park. Too bad they have a height guideline to follow

Not sure what the long terms plans are but it has already been booked for a wedding in the spring.

I assume it must have some parts in common though.

^Nighthawk has different trains than Firehawk since it was the prototype. Also, SFA can't keep Batwing open. I imagine they won't last the next 5 years, and that's probably being generous.

I use it during the winter when my fuel runs out to simulate Drop Tower.

I tried that on Son of Beast (I rode it a ton in its original form between 2000 and 2006, with the Premier trains and loop) and it wasn't true in the slightest. Other than testing that theory a handful of times, the only 2 'comfortable' seats, and the only rows I chose to ride it, were 1-1 and 1-2. EDIT: BTW, even then, I could only tolerate riding it once, maybe twice, a visit, and that was in my teenage years and as healthy as ever.

Don made a blog post about the Racer track work. It seems pretty cut and dry that the majority of the track work is just on the blue side turn around. Don't set your expectations to seeing much more that that being retracked. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2019/january/new-track-part-of-racer-roller-coasters-annual-winter-work

If memory serves me right, they own almost right up to the Little Miami River.

X-Base is going to be barren this season. I'm still curious if anything will become of that land between Racer and Flight of Fear

Here ya guys go. Proof that Firehawk is being torn down for those who said the pics were fake.

A few more lights:

I like all four seasons for their own reasons, but I'm going to have to give it to the spring/early season. I love seeing the park come back to life (and getting retrained at my rides!) and not worrying about how much of the season remains when it has only started! And of course the long-anticipated first rides of the season are definitely something worth waiting the whole winter. The fall season is definitely my close second. I love the fall colors, not sweating my head off, and getting some rather chilly rides on my favorites before they close for the season; also, Haunt has started to grow on me!

Can't go wrong ever during this time of year. I will say I do enjoy the early part of main season. I really enjoy May and June when right at park close storms start to roll in. Seeing lightning in the far far distance with coaster hills in sight is amazing. Last season we were in line for MT at like 9:45 and I looked at the radar. Huge severe storms were about to roll in. I remember fast walking / jogging to the car. In the parking lot there was a fight between a group of teens and a grandma in a jazzy scooter and her family. Hilarious. Storms and Coasters are my favorite things.

I like that idea, I think they should get rid of the game aspect of the ride and go back being just a dark ride but not with cheap cutouts but with actual animatronics like the Phantom Theater had.

As much as we can collect.

Just a bit of revisionist history here, and I'm probably wrong to some extent. I recall back in the mid 2000's they had a FastPass system for some of their bigger rides, Millennium Force, Dragster, etc. It was a hand stamp and they would tell you what time to come back. I definitely remember those two specific rides had the merge near the base of the ramp that goes up to the station.

On the subject that Millennium Force "made" Cedar Point what it is today: Cedar Point has always been popular for its location: people love that Beach, and it is between Cleveland and Detroit, 2 good-sized cities. They got a million visitors in 1960, and they didn't even have Blue Streak at that point. And they were famous for roller coasters well before Millennium Force was a thing. Gemini was beloved and crazy popular in the late 70's and 80's, and Magnum XL-200 shocked the world with its sheer size and lack of inversions (debunking the notion that steel coasters needed them to be good). By the time Raptor was added in 1994, their attendance had basically already reached current levels, and it along with Magnum XL-200 were frequently listed among the world's greatest roller coasters at the time (Magnum XL-200 won the Golden Ticket Awards Steel Poll from 1998-2000). Cedar Point was ALREADY a destination park for beach lovers and coaster lovers alike. Millennium Force was a great addition, and made Cedar Point even more popular, but it didn't put them on the map: They were already on it and tons of people were already making long trips there, coaster nuts included.

I'm sure it will remain the original PTC trains. With Wildcat at Lake Compounce, they had to rebuild large sections of structure for that coaster to accommodate the Millennium Flyer trains. Racer is simply receiving new track in some areas rather than a full overhaul. Millennium Flyer trains would be very nice on Racer, though.

I would love for Racer and Beast to receive Millennium Flyers but I doubt that would ever happen

Job well done - if KI would only install some sets of RGB that way on the tower just think of the endless summertime night fireworks shows they could have!

I don't think Racer is going anywhere anytime soon. As far as I am aware, it doesn't have structural problems. But what it does have is historical significance. While the article I read plays it up like no one wants to ride The Racer any more because it's bumpy, it does still seem to have a healthy amount of riders. At least from what I've seen. Unless it's to the point where the ride becomes unsafe or unmanageable, I think Kings Island would be making one of its worst decisions in removing this ride.

If Kentucky Kingdom is still getting it, they must be turning some of the scrap metal into a nice art display on the new Kentucky Flyer path.

This makes me very happy. Love that ride, it deserves re-tracking and hopefully a nice new paint job at some point. I think the part is really valuing the importance and selling power of nostalgia by really spending some time and effort into revamping Coney Mall the past 2 years.

This makes me happy as an enthusiast, especially since its GCI working on it

We are waiting for more lights to get shipped in so we can do the full way around the tower.