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Of the many things I love about The Beast which is my favorite coaster ever is the angled drop going into that impossibly small tunnel into the helix. The helix itself at night is a zen experience for me every time I have ridden it since its opening year. The crazy helix, feeling like almost going off the rails in pitch black...nothing else like it! Over the years, quite a few changes have happened with the ride and I am super happy they keep updating The Beast with new track...the little pop of air off the first tunnel going into the valley is amazing! But I hope they keep the wild and out of control feeling going into the helix and the helix itself. No other coaster has such an intense ending and that's why I love it so much...even if it does beat me up a bit.

I wonder with the new AP if the SixFlags GA Pass that I bought and was told I had to activate there will be active since its now showing as scannable in the ap and valid through 12/31/2026. Will try this weekend when back at park

I think of myself of patriotic but I'm not really digging the designs. Just not my style I guess

I sure hope they don't change too much about this second half (aside from the roughness). The banking and the closeness of the tunnels are indeed one of the best parts. In terms of adding anything I'm not entirely sold on the idea of Beast eyes in the woods/in a tunnel, but I'd love to see anything they can do to improve the entrance area. Fixing the exit/handicap access/Fast Lane areas would definitely be a good start.

Kings Island has put out its first round of America 250 merchandise in preparation for the national Quarter Millennium celebration coming in 2026. The new merchandise comes complete with the official logo (as seen in other park chains' celebrations) and a new park name/skyline design. Other patriotic apparel is available from previous releases. There are currently: a new America 250 t-shirt (big design on the front, logo on left sleeve) a new America 250 hoodie (big design on the back, logo on the breast) a new America 250 cross body bag (logo on front pocket, no KI logo) a new America 250 baseball cap (logo on front, no KI logo) an older patriotic Kings Island t-shirt (KI logo on the front, no America 250 logo) an older patriotic Kings Island baseball cap (KI logo on the front, no America 250 logo) I think the flag might be the only piece of AI art on the new merchandise (given it has 11 stripes at most and does not follow regular physical conventions between the obverse/reverse sides where visible) but overall looks very nice.

I think that's correct. A few years ago (first year for Swinging, I was sitting next to a lady who was telling her friend "thats the costume I sewed. I loved the way the bow looked etc" leading me to believe yes, they are made on-site

Meanwhile Netflix is out here like "we can't afford to let you share your account with your mom but we can absolutely afford a proposal to acquire Warner Bros"

I think if you included them on fastlane tickets, it would increase the value of the fastlane concept and be a decent upsell. Not every haunt would be converted, of course, but maybe one or two as a pilot.

With the structural and track modifications, what is the possibility that the park brings Baynum out to paint/ stain the wood again for the 50th anniversary? I would love to see it get the same cosmetic love The Racer got in 2022. Image from WCPO-9 (1980)

Current status of the demo.

A snippet of the new products for Winterfest in the North Pole Mercantile. The red and white hoodie definitely feels like a nod to Banshee merch in the lettering.

Love this new shirt art!!

Took a trip up to Cedar Point today and saw just how much HalloWeekends merch they have out right now. There are a ton of similar things to what was at Kings Island, and there were a lot of stuff I didn't see. They have a $100 leather jacket with bloody handprints and a big selection of different shirts. Some of them are the same art style as the ones at KI, but they also have a line of merch that seems to have been designed by an individual artist (whose signature appears on every piece they designed). They also have the Cinema Slasher merch, just like Fiesta Texas, Knott's Berry Farm, and Kings Island have. To my knowledge, Knott's and Fiesta Texas are the only two parks that have that maze, so the abundance of this merch has me even more curious about what became of Cedar Point and Kings Island's versions of these mazes. I personally prefer the spider design on 2024's interactive lanterns over the ghost design on 2025's lanterns. They're also referred to by different characters at each park. At Carowinds it's "The Conductor's Lantern" (despite Carowinds having lacked a train since 1976) and at Fiesta Texas it's "The Grave Digger's Lantern" (despite them having a whole opening show based on arrival by train). The No-Boo Necklaces are also spider-shaped (which has caused a stir among some parents with children who are scared of spiders). If your child is too scared of spiders to wear a fake one, don't even think about bringing them or their stroller to Haunt! At least the NBNs look better than the Deathly Afraid lanyards at Halloween Horror Nights.

I have lots of Made to Thrill posters and love them! They are a little different than the ones you have though...I have Mystic, Diamondback, Orion, Fury 325, TT2, Steel Vengeance, and Maverick for Made to Thrill posters.

I have the Made to Thrill posters for The Beast, Banshee, and Mystic Timbers hanging up in my home office. Last year, I got the wooden coordinate signs that they had in Emporium for The Beast and Banshee, but never could find one for Mystic Timbers. Looking in Emporium and the shop on my five visits so far this year, believe it's the Trading Company up near the gate, I don't think they carry these anymore? Last Sunday though when I visited, I did stack my Pass Perks for merchandise with my Prestige discount and ended up getting the three license plates for the price of two. I'm also curious if Cedar Point carries similar merchandise, as I have Made to Thrill posters hanging up in the office for Magnum XL-200, Maverick, Steel Vengeance, and the original Top Thrill Dragster - I am hoping to get back up there in the next couple of weeks and plan to check then.

I noticed a lot of classic logo merch in the stores today and thought it was interesting to see. There are still a ton of the different books throughout the stores as well. Goodbye, Coney Island, Goodbye still has about 10 copies available in KI Collections for about $7 each, but none of them have the cover sleeve on it. I'm glad I got mine when they still had their covers. The non-park consumer products are still weird to see in the Emporium. Those would be better served to be put together in a smaller and different shop. I think someone signed a deal to get those in the park because more Kings Island merch could not be made for some reason. I'd be curious to see if any new Six Flags merch comes to the Legacy Cedar Fair parks. We don't need any Six Flags Universe stores, but if the chain really does want to make the Six Flags brand be shown in all of their parks, that seems like an easy route.

Maybe they are running behind on the dividers. I’m sure they are coming if they are on the other side.

The Planet Snoopy side (closest to Snoopy Boutique) looks really nice....they include dividers between urinals. I actually like the sinks...bigger area to wash hands in (though water pressure could be better).

Look great (men’s Side) but a few things seem not quite done. No dividers between urinals (an odd choice given our current societal attitudes) and the trough style modern sinks don’t really drain well at all.

Two questions: 1. How are the renovated planet/camp Snoopy restrooms? ( I am assuming they did both ends of the building 2.Are the omnipresent chicken strips generic Sysco frozen strips, about the size of a golf pencil again this year? Or are they fresh, never frozen hand breaded meat? Ok, I asked three. Sorry.

This exactly. I’d love to see build a bear gone and that be plush/toys. No ride merch in trading co- only park themed product either a dedicated “the park at home” area and mini shops of individual concept groupings. Emporium a series of mini shops themed around areas/rides with a dedicated camp/ Planet Snoopy “shop” for on the way out kids purchases. there just needs to be a reason to go from shop to shop. Clearly they are afraid someone might decide not to buy if they have to walk 50’ back to where they saw it before. Based on that logic, every food place should just serve chicken strips… wait….

That picture could be in ANY of the shops. Im so tired of evry . SINGLE. store having the same stuff - there is no reason to "shop" the park any more. I really wish the KI COllection really FELT like a gallery with elevated product like art posters, ride models etc and that was the ONLY PLACE you could get them. Emporioum was a true "depatment store" that had a smaller edited selection of each ride or area themed product that was found in the ride or area specific stores throughout the park.

I really like this line of merch! I don't know what it would be considered besides varsity vintage, but the colors are really nice and go well together.

New merch! f3da16f37ddbac1f9ff203dea281f5ef.mp4

It could be released later in the season, but I’m honestly disappointed there wasn’t a series 3 of the trading cards available today.

The Emporium

Trading Company

75 Years of Peanuts at The Snoopy Boutique

So of course I had to swing by KI tonight as it’s been a pretty mild week for crowds. Just as an update for those who are shopping for their coaster enthusiasts: 1. There are a good portion of the summer spirit jerseys back in stock! Blue Ice cream has been a “must have” on a few lists I’ve seen and of course the day after I ordered it to be express mailed to my house it is in stock in the park. (Ironically enough the first day I wore my WDW Christmas spirit jersey to the park as well). 2. 2025 Snoopy merch is out and it actually looks a lot more vibrant/stunning this year than in years past. (Please pardon the glare I literally had to snap the picture to crop so that the worker who was standing next to it wouldn’t be in frame) 3. The Knott’s collection is still in stock, unfortunately this year they decided not to bring back the pancake mix and biscuit mix. However there is still a good hearty mix to bring a little bit of Buena Park to Cincinnati.

I've seen posts on social media for KD and CP. I guess I just don't get the impetus to buy SP merch. It's not exclusive and it's a product. I see it as the same thing as if Amazon sold merch for being a Prime member. I wouldn't buy that either. However, this could be a part of the integration process of the two companies. If we see the same design and information at the legacy SF parks, it would be a good unifying brand statement as well as an opportunity to buy low in bulk and sell high in retail. My lack of motivation to purchase and giving my viewpoint is not an attempt to downplay the significance of the merch to those who like it. Purchase and enjoy!

In the KI Collections store, there’s stickers, a button, two styles of hoodies and more! IMO it’s a step towards a pass holder culture we desperately need like what we have at USO. Hopefully we get something for the Haunt/WF season too! I wish the hat wasn’t distressed and was a mono color like the ride hats we got this year. Definitely snagging the grey hoodie!

Emporium products I took pics of today.

More anniversary products that look AWESOME. Unfortunately I only had the foresight to take a picture of one item.

I’ve seen some new anniversary items posted for The Beast, Diamondback & Banshee that is for sale at the park posted by people on FB…also the new “I Rode It” 2024 pin series…but so far none of those have been listed on the KIGear site…but these were put up recently. Is this the new style lately? Are they supposed to look retro? The designs look dated to me…but of course so am I.

i dont know what boysenberry is but that looks delicious!

Yuck.