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Let's give the KI landscape team a shout out! From the webcam, the bed in front of The Royal Fountain has looked great all season. The elephant ears they recently put out look awesome in my opinion.

Families have comprised the majority of the park’s annual attendance since 1972.

Decisions, decisions. My thoughts on the Six Flags MVP offer. https://themeparksbydon.com/renew-upgrade-or-wait-weighing-2026-six-flags-mvp-choices/

if it’s cheap and it’s dirty people will feel even less likely to take care of it. It’s a self fulfilling cycle.

Someone on a podcast about Kings Island said after the merger was completed last summer this was one of the things guests would see coming to Kings Island and the legacy Cedar Fair parks.

Frankly I'm amazed ours has lasted as long as it has given the fate of other inverted Boomerangs.

The new Haunted Attraction Pass and Haunted Attraction Express Pass have been returned to the Kings Island ticket purchasing website with dates lining up for each night Halloween Haunt is open. Prices are currently set to (HAP/HAEP) $10/$29 for Fridays in September and Thursdays in October, $15/$34 for Fridays and Sundays in October, and varying prices on Saturdays throughout the event. The first Saturday of Haunt is listed as costing $20/$39, while the next Saturday is listed at $30/$54, and the following and subsequent Saturdays listed at $30/$59. November 1st is listed as $30/$54 as well. So it is all but confirmed that Kings Island's mazes will be upcharge attractions this Halloween Season, and that the new HAP/HAEP will not include admission to The Conjuring: Beyond Fear. This information is currently only available by going directly to the website and cannot be found on Kings Island's Halloween Haunt webpage or on the normal ticket purchasing portal. Are you excited? Does this throw a wrench in your plans? I remain hopeful that the mazes will be upgraded this year, at least in terms of staffing. I will have a second post about tickets for The Conjuring: Beyond Fear. Kings Island's ticket purchasing website where this information can be found: https://cf-ki.store.cffunki.com/fastlanewizardstatic/HauntedAttractionsPass?_cid=1750345194.1744563098

Photos have popped up on social media showing crews removing items from Invertigo's station with what looks to be a dumpster on or near a path in front of the coaster. Is Invertigo the next ride on the chopping block? I'll admit the photos appear to be from a known poster (I saw them second-hand in a cropped screenshot), but I would not put it past this company to remove a coaster mid-season with no warning. The temporary fence could itself soon be replaced by a more permanent fence if this turns out to be more than just some temporary movement. Do you think this movement around Invertigo is a sign of it's imminent removal, or is it simply a mid-season temporary closure like we've seen for White Water Canyon and Snoopy's Space Buggies?

I would say to go with Door #1, renew and get a $99 Kings Island Gold Pass for the rest of 2025 and all of 2026 included. This is a low enough price point where two visits to any park would make the price worth it, and it allows you the choice of going/not going to Six Flags parks on your own terms. With an all-parks meal plan and standard drink plan that price goes up to about $300 total (after taxes and fees). Even that is a good deal considering the fact that Dollywood and other chains passes are up around $250-$300 without the dining plans. I wouldn't get Prestige unless you plan to go on days where crowds are normally lower because otherwise you'll be contending with all of the other new Prestige guests for access to Preferred Parking, the VIP lounges, and the Fast Lane lines. Buying now for 2025/2026 would let you visit any parks that might soon be sold/closed by Six Flags. It might even make for a good series of on-site blog posts for you to write for themeparksbydon. If Six Flags ends up declaring bankruptcy or selling assets sooner than expected then you would also be able to document that. You could wait until 2026 to see if (and when) this offer comes back out for 2026/2027, but then you would lose out on the pre-paid pass access to all of the Six Flags parks and not be able to go as spontaneously as you might want to. If you'd like to continue the course you're currently on in regards to access to parks, dining plans, and other benefits: renew now. If you're fine with going to the parks less and paying for access each time, wait until 2026.

I think all the bathrooms need an overhaul, especially the AC units.

I’m split on this. The KI haunts and mazes were great for the kids because they were not the scariest and because of the large crowd the kids saw the scares coming. if they don’t upgrade the way they do it, it’s going to be a hard pass for me on paying to walk through a cattle call maze.

Who knows, it might be a great place to install the new* Riddler's Revenge! *Actually about 50 years old and relocated from Six Flags America, America's most recently closed amusement park. It would also be unfortunate because Kings Island was already lacking a little on the other end in terms of things that non-riders can do. If the chain wants to keep it as strictly a family park, why aren't they installing more family attractions that the whole family (including grandparents) can enjoy at once? The KI & MV RR, the Grand Carousel, KMAA, and Boo Blasters are pretty much the only four attractions at the park that I would feel good taking my grandparents on. Add the five shows (with some that don't even run most of the normal season) and that's only nine things for older/non-rider family members to do. That's a market Kings Island could play into more that they aren't. There's also the argument that the park needs 1-2 more super thrilling, stand-out coasters in its lineup beyond the imperceivable Vortex replacement. Families can come to the park all they'd like, but when those kids get to the age where they are looking for a place to go, they won't find as high intensity coasters as they'd like at Kings Island.

I’ve heard somewhere that the lift cable for the first lift was completely cut/snapped during an evacuation. I don’t know how true this is, but explains the extended downtime and makes sense for the park to remove it instead of fixing it considering it’s low capacity and downtime (I would suspect if they chose to quietly remove a ride, this would probably be one of their top 3 that fit the criteria they seem to have). But hopefully it doesn’t close, especially if it’s unexpectedly, because that means people would be complaining about “the Invertigo plot” for the next 10+ years. Invertigo? Yeah, I hope it invertistays!

I saw that. Hopefully it’s not what it looks like, but i wouldn’t be surprised. Since 2018. That would be a net negative 2 rollercoasters for Kings Island (not counting SSBR). Not a good look. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Beast+ night+ full moon+ no lights after the first lift= Chef's kiss. Also, after riding Diamondback and Orion for the first time since my SFGAm trip, I do think I will be putting Raging Bull above both, and possibly even Millennium Force.

Thats exactly what I was thinking. That wooden fence is usually closed but is very near the entrance for slaughter house. Im *hoping* the fences with the banners are there because this will be an active construction zone during haunt... since its a backstage area and thats the only time guests would be remotely near there!

White Water Canyon has served its time and is now open!

A new purchasing website for Kings Island's new The Conjuring: Beyond Fear experience has been found. Ticket prices range from $15-$25 based on date of admission and do not include admission to the event or to other attractions. I'm going to withhold from posting a screenshot and from giving out the link out of respect for the park, but I have seen it with my own eyes. I'd like to allow them to provide more information and to release that specific ticket link on their own terms.

Also, smoked weed. Especially Kentons Cove Keelboat Canal!

Too bad you can't bring a deck of cards into some lines at these parks anymore At this point they could just show TikToks that the park has made. They already have some with the AI voiceover trend in it. (also, I would like to see less AI in the parks. It is part of what makes places look trashy and low-budget)

My question would be why would they be putting those walls up in a backstage area this late in the season. If it is for Halloween Haunt, shouldn't those walls have gone up when they started the project months ago? Even if the maze/experience was a late decision I'd think it would have already been in the construction stage before now. Adventure Port was a late decision, Camp Snoopy opened late, and I'm certain River Racers would have opened late if it had been something in the dry park. If there is indeed no 2026 attraction coming to Kings Island then I would still wonder why they put the walls up in a backstage area. I'd like to believe that the fences (specifically with the banners) were put up so that they could block that space off while using the area around it for the Slaughterhouse queue. It could entirely be a case where they just keep the banners on the fences, but having them up now just to take them down in a month feels odd.

Im like 99% sure the crypt building is for a new Haunt either the conjuring or something else. Im not saying 100% as the park hasn't announced it yet. I think it's very likely what was originally eyed for KI back in November when that press release came out got shifted and something else is planned instead or nothing at all. (think Adventure Port where that wasn't the original plan for 2023 as was decided on later in the 2022 season).

It's hilarious because it only would have benefited the shareholders, and it turns out it's not even benefiting them. Oops! I really would like to see more shows on the scale of Phantom Theater Encore, especially if it means the park's main theater is occupied for more than a month. I think the problem with outside shows like the Cirque shows and Gazillion Bubbles is that they eat up a good chunk of the year's entertainment budget, so while those shows are great, it means we're missing out on, say, a daytime bandstand show or a kids' show. KI is a lot better off with entertainment than, say, KD, but it's also extremely important when the park doesn't have anything else exciting and new to offer its guests.

Well, I like it because it's never busy. Guess I could have worked on the phrasing on that one! I think the big issue with cleanliness this year is that I don't think they powerwash the walkways at night anymore (which I think started last year), or at least not as often as they used to. Combined with how Park Services seems to be scaled back significantly this year, it means everything feels much grungier than previous years. It's one of those things that people won't necessarily go to GR and complain about, but it sticks in their mind when it's time to renew their pass or choose between KI and other entertainment options.

I agree. I wasn't a fan of this merger when it was first announced and I'm still not convinced it was a good idea. Cedar Fair would've been just fine without Six Flags. And I think our own dear park would've been far better off without being sucked into the corporate conglomerate nightmare. It's basically catching strays from someone else's mistakes and choices...

I mean, the official Looney Tunes Facebook page made a reference not too long ago, so it's canon:

I really hope KI doesn't get Looney Toons. That IP is so outdated. This isn't the 1980s. If Peanuts isn't an option, I'd be all for rebranding Planet Snoopy into DC Universe. Now that would be better as most kids know who Superman or Batman is.

I have to say I do enjoy that they switch out the sign for most festivals. The sign they put up Halloween Haunt is my favorite because its design was clearly thought out and made it through the design process. Kings Dominion's sign for Halloween Haunt is just a printout on a sign frame, which KI's Haunt sign blows entirely out of the water. The Grand Carnivale and Winterfest signs are similar to KD's Haunt sign, which I feel is a little sad. Some people have expressed that they wish the main Kings Island sign would just stay up during the events, but I think it would need to be beefed up for that to happen. It currently doesn't have the presence I feel it should. It's also interesting that they removed the three flag poles behind the sign at some point in the last few years. Those at least helped to give the sign a vertical presence. The 50th anniversary sign also helped since it had more of a horizontal presence.

I'd love to see if Kings Island could incorporate a replica of the Moonlite Gardens building from Coney Island somewhere in the park. My first thought is that it could be a big new indoor dining location, called the "Moonlite Gardens Dining Hall". It could have an indoor VIP lounge on the second floor (accessible via stairs and an elevator via an outside entrance) and a lot of tables inside and outside the building. Maybe it could have either a cafeteria line service like Hugo's at Cedar Point or a better version of the table service-ish experience found at the Miami River Brewhouse. It could be a nice addition for the Saltwater Circus plot or a somewhat extensive project to take over the KillMart building in Coney Mall. Kings Island desperately needs another indoor dining location and this would bring one more thing from Cincinnati's Coney Island into the park that it inspired.

It is well known that ancient cats need more time to sleep. Especially after all those years of tireless driving for NASCAR!

So Pantherian did reopen, but according to a few KD fan pages on Facebook, allegedly, its shredding the new Intamin wheels and the water system may be failing.

I wonder if this is how Kings Island would announce it...

I was impressed too. Seems it took them longer in previous years. Since this is probably the last Grande Carnival, I wonder if they just brought in dumpsters and threw it all away?