Losantiville Mining Co.

The ones just outside the entrance are indeed nicely decent, albeit a little cramped. I'd think those might be a candidate for relocation if a Front Gate renovation ever occurred. The restrooms in the Festhaus are also somewhat decent in terms of size and efficiency, they just need a deep scrub and/or a modernization that includes urinal dividers. Overall, Kings Island needs both more single-stall Family Restrooms and more/better full sets of restrooms, especially on International Street. (and a sign outside all of them instructing families to leave their strollers outside. It's not very fun when you realize you can't leave the restroom because there's a big stroller in the way.)

I have to wonder if there's ever been a plan to expand Area 72 with a third ride and some actual restrooms. Most of the issue with the two family ones attached to Meteor Canteen (I assume) is the fact that they're such a confined space compared to the other restroom blocks. Moving the WindSeeker restrooms to be between the Coney Treats and Jukebox Diner would probably also help since guests would have a closer option to visit. If there are any restrooms in the park that I think definitely need an upgrade, it's the Front Gate restrooms and the Area 72 restrooms. Only having 1 stall with an actual toilet at the front of your giant park is diabolical work. I bet they could move the sinks to a floating wall in the center of the room (like in a Buc-ee's) and fill the current sink wall with more stalls to make it better. Why this wasn't addressed alongside any of the recent renovations in International Street, I don't think we'll ever know.

I have my thoughts about how much corporate wants to fix things vs. how much they want to declare bankruptcy at the first moment it's possible. If the ride was fixed but is being forced into SBNO status, I'd be torn on whether it could be sold and go live out a few more years at another park, or whether this was another bad decision from corporate. Why spend the money to fix it if you knew there was a big chance it wouldn't reopen? Six Flags probably doesn't want to spend the money to let any part of this park have a big last hurrah so I'm not counting on anything. No matter what the "right" thing to do is, I think SFEC is posed to do the opposite.

I should've been more specific: I'd like to see an updated design for the look of the restrooms. The ones by Invertigo still have the 2000s Action Zone look, while the ones by Banshee were not looking great the last time I was in them this year. If they close one of them, I'd hope it is for an eventual renovation.

Maybe that could go in the south end of Sweet Spot where they currently have all of the plushes.

Batwing, the 2001 Vekoma Flying Dutchman roller coaster at Six Flags America, has taken its final flight. The park put out a sign earlier today announcing the ride's permanent closure.

The last Boocifer never really worked at Kings Island like it does in the other Boo Blasters IMO. The others have targets all around him so you could blast and defeat him, but he just made the movements at KI.

Yes, absolutely, 100% and rising, yes. Carowinds' new 2025 SCarowinds map PDF has me hopeful because it's formatted as if it were printable, instead of being the long vertical format the parks have been recently putting out. Paper maps are one of the easiest souvenirs a park can make for guests. Depending on specifics they're cheaper to produce than the drink cups and are already formatted for the PDF version available online. Most guests will also not forgo buying a souvenir just because they have a paper map to remember their trip. I've considered looking into how much it would cost to order a plastic card with my pass information on it since they no longer have any physical pass cards. One upside with that is that I'd be able to customize it myself and make it look more unique to Kings Island. That being said, I could see totally Six Flags find a way to mess up pass QR codes and only allow them to be scanned from inside the park app or mobile wallet; therefore rendering any physical pass cards inoperable. If Six Flags would like another suggestion for a cheap way to improve guest experience, start printing GOOD and PRE-FOLDED paper maps again.

I hope any Action Zone renovation includes a complete restructuring of the area (like Aeronautica Landing got) and new restrooms. A new Scream n' Swing could be nice if they make it go over water. That way it's not just a giant grass patch or concrete pad. If Invertigo has given its last rides, I still hope an announcement is made.

Part of the reason why I think any company with the Six Flags name keeps failing (or getting close to it) may be because the company has never fully cleaned house or fully remade their image beyond being the cheapest parks with the most thrills. Through the different expansions and bankruptcies and financial struggles, it seems that they've never been able to shake off the consequences of rapid expansion from the Premier Parks/Six Flags of the '90s/'00s. I appreciate the fact that both Six Flags and Cedar Fair have tried to keep ticket costs down while others continually skyrocket, but it simply is not a winning strategy for a company that has been circling the drain for years. Legacy Six Flags tried to reimagine their pass system but failed by trying to do it all at once instead of gradually raising prices. Now, the people who tried that are heading the new Six Flags and are probably scared of repeating their past mistakes. I'm hoping the Six Flags execs choose a candidate for CEO who will be able to at least provide and execute a clear vision to downsize the current company by selling parks to potential competitors (instead of selling them for their potential land value).

As promised, here is my take on what I think Six Flags should have done for their MVP Sale. It is based off of the current Kings Island pass comparison page, and should have everything on it. Read through everything and let me know what you think! If this isn't your thing, then feel free to scroll on by. Please ignore the double X on the third benefit, it doesn't mean anything special and I'm not going to take another screenshot right now. "Renewal Benefits" should actually say "MVP Sale Benefits", ditto about the screenshot. Some things to note: The lowest tier now includes admission past Labor Day, but comes with the addition of Blackout Dates. These would include Passholder Previews, a few days each month during the Summer season, and Thursdays/Fridays after Labor Day (to manage crowds during Haunt and Winterfest). It's no longer 40+ Six Flags parks for the price of 1, but instead 3 during this sale only. The passholder can choose which parks or Six Flags could make groupings. This makes it so it's not giving away the gate as much. A "park" in this sense includes both the dry park and waterpark(s), meaning KI/SC, CP/CPS, and SFGA/HHC/HHR could potentially all be included on one pass. Prestige BAF tickets are limited to the following year. Renewal gets you the FUN Jumper pass (already in use at some parks in 2025), a free BAF ticket, 2 Single-Use Fast Lane passes, and a free HAP to show guests why they should have to pay for mazes. Renewal benefits are listed as being part of the sale and are not available to those buying a new pass, partially restricting the Home Park loophole. Preferred Parking is wholly replaced with limited availability Prestige Pass Parking. AVAILABLE ADD-ONS: Dining Plan / Dining Plan Plus Regular: 2 meals per visit // Plus: 2 meals per visit w/ 1 snack FUN Jumper and All-Park versions also available Drink Plan / Drink Plan Plus Regular: Coca-Cola fountain drinks and water // Plus: Coca-Cola fountain drinks, water, ICEEs, Coffee, and Hot Chocolate All-Season Fast Lane 10 uses per visit OR remains unlimited All-Season FunPix stays the same Haunted Attractions Pass Allows access to mazes during Halloween Haunt/Fright Fest FUN Jumper and All-Park versions also available SALE PRICE / HIGHEST PRICE: Here are the sale prices w/ the FUN Jumper and the highest price w/out the FUN Jumper. Reasonings include the FUN Jumper benefits, but not All-Park Passport benefits. Thrill Pass: $99 / $120 A reasonable price for a bare-bones season pass. The sale gets you basic benefits at 3 parks. Nobody who currently has a pass is really "priced out" of buying a new one in this model. Pays for itself in 2 visits. Gold Pass: $150 / $200 Cheaper than a Dollywood pass, but high enough to make people pause and think before purchasing. Mid-tier benefits at 3 parks. Available for those who want to go to the park year-round, but don't need the Prestige benefits. Pays for itself in 4-ish visits. Prestige Pass: $250 / $400 A price that reflects the added benefits without being outrageously expensive. Premium benefits at 3 parks. The high price pays for upgraded experiences. Removes the pay-to-play nickel-and-diming from part of the experience. That's my take on things as of right now. I might make a new topic for if I think anything else up. Thank you for reading!

I've heard that one reason why B&M is able to do so well in the US is because of their manufacturing plant and offices here. It makes me wonder if the other manufacturers have similar issues to Intamin, or if this is really only an issue for them.

If any of these are indeed animatronics, I think their faces will look a lot better than the originals because of how their mouths would move. I seem to remember an early video with one of the Maestro's jaws looking like it was completely separated from his skull due to just how gaunt his face design was.

Unfortunately, an added $40 cost to the passes might not have helped much when the company is giving away 40 parks for the price of one. Maybe it'd work better if they had made it 3 parks for the price of 1 (like Cedar Point/CPS, Kings Island/SC, and Michigan's Adventure/WWA), with the All-Park Passport available for an additional $50. I think I'm going to try to come up with a better pass system to better prove my point and post it here on KIC when I'm done.

Six Flags Over Texas has announced their first 2026 event with grad nite 2026, scheduled to take place on Friday, May 8, 2026 from 6PM - 12AM. Magic Mountain will also be hosting a Jr. Grad Nite and the regular Grad Nite, with each event having 2 separate nights (4 total) to experience it. I think it would be nice to see this event come to Kings Island as well. It could be a nice reintroduction for after hours events at KI while providing another safe event for high school seniors to attend with their friends. Event Details: https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/events/grad-nite

Putting this here because it could be foreshadowing for how Kings Island's Haunt map will look. Carowinds released their SCarowinds event map earlier today, and it looks good! To me, it's a mix between the Fright Fest maps that Six Flags has put out over the last few years and what I've previously seen of the Knott's Scary Farm map. I do really miss the old style of the Haunt/FearFest maps, but I'm happy that this one actually looks good. The fact that the skulls that marked the maze entrances were the same design as the ones that marked them on the map was always so cool to me. Some things to notice: Lots of alcohol available. So much that bars make up 9 of the 13 specialty food & drink locations. This map actually has trees! One reason why the regular season maps looked so bad was because it was severely bare bones. They're also using the nighttime version of the map that we briefly saw on the Carowinds app earlier this year. The gray ground they use for the Haunt events is also very good for making the map look better. Something subtle, but interesting, some of the words/dates have stamp lines like the Fright Fest logo has. I'm glad all of the "presented by" marks are not emphasized too much. The interactive lantern is referred to as the "Conductor's Lantern" much like it is at Knott's, though I don't really understand what the relevance of The Conductor is here. Maybe it's just consequence of Six Flags' typical lack of quality control, or maybe it's just what it's always been thought of as being. I hope we can see similar things with the Kings Island Haunt map. The trend of putting Tricks and Treats and Haunt on one map has irked me a lot ever since they started to do it. Link to the SCarowinds 2025 Event Map PDF: https://qr1.be/94L4

@IndyGuy4KI can this thread be pinned to replace the Soak City 2025 Construction Progress thread? The one in the KIC Newsroom might work for general discussion, but I'm wondering if this one would still be good to pin. It was really nice to see the park post the picture of the heads today because I think it shows that there may be a higher willingness to share updates for this than there has been for the past few years' additions. I'll be very curious to see how everything looks as people get back into the park during the park buyouts and when 9/19 rolls around. Will the castle be gone yet? Will we see nothing yet? Who knows

Add to that the fact that some of the heads are still missing their hair, hats, and some of the facial hair. I think this new art style is a better way to differentiate between the two versions and prove that this is indeed a new ride. Either way, I think the new heads look a lot better than the older ones and look like they could potentially hold up a lot better as well. The only one I'm on the fence with right now is the rabbit since it looks like the little rabbit villain from Hoodwinked. Their design also makes me wonder if they're being made to work under black light — and I don't think they are. I wonder if any of their eyes or mouths will be able to move... I personally am hoping they mix it up a little while sticking to the same overall sequence of big scenes. I'll have to finish my little prediction map soon and post it to show more of what I'm thinking.

I think they misjudged something important about Great Adventure was in the rankings when they closed Kingda Ka. They're clearly trying to make up for the fact that they made a series of massive mistakes at Great Adventure and it isn't happening fast enough.

I don't think it would matter to the park how much money those food trucks make during the event as long as they don't have to refund the vendor fees. I'd bet the old popcorn wagons were sold or destroyed and replaced with the small snack stands we see today.

One of the goals for the merger was to get to a place where they could buy back the land from the holding companies for Over Texas and Over Georgia IIRC. I thought they were already able to buy back the land for one of their parks (maybe SFOG?) and were working on the next one. Part of me wonders how much money Six Flags gets from managing parks like Frontier City and La Ronde (and soon SFQ). A lot of people have commented that those would be easy to cut from the lineup, but if they're easy money I don't see why they'd get cut first.

A food truck festival seems like it would be a great way to bring in some extra cash with just the tiniest bit of investment into getting it started again. I believe the artisan vendors they have during Winterfest are easy enough money for the park since they all have to pay a vendor fee. I'd suppose it'd be the same for food trucks.

I do think there is a line that was crossed with how many questions were asked and the manner by which they were asked. Let's not forget that this was the same individual who impersonated the park (via modified email) and tried to pass it off as real.

Not that I know of, I just have really strong opinions on them and how they look

I think calling Pantherian an MVP was simply a way to get the acronym into the post more than once. It could be considered a "player" in a metaphorical sense. Either way, I think they should've at least used the words "Most Valuable Pass Sale" in that second sentence so anyone (somehow) learning about this for the first time would at least know what it meant. If the park removes Invertigo and/or Congo Falls, I hope they do something to make the fence look nicer than just a plain fence. Vortex's fence is fine because it has all of that nature behind it and you can see The Beast from different parts of it. I would not like to see something like they currently at Great Adventure and their Great Wall of Vacant Space, where it's just one long gigantic fence with no permanent trees or foliage along it. At least dress it up a little and keep some of the splash down pond for added decoration. If they also go at the same time, I don't see the Invertigo restrooms staying open either. Banshee's restrooms are there and it'd be one less set to keep clean.