Losantiville Mining Co.

I won't call it a good idea, but if the park is going to be this strict about guests having the ability to get pop with water cups, wouldn't it be better to just start putting a water dispenser with clear cups outside the fence of each drink stand? They already (supposedly) pay someone to go restock each soda fountain. Have that associate also "restock" or replace water kegs. They already paid someone to remove the water option from most soda fountains. The answer to the water/pop stealing problem is definitely not — as some have suggested on Facebook — installing the RFID cup chip system. The user Cafeen shared the following information during an October 2013 discussion on the DISboards forum (https://www.disboards.com/threads/rfid-chip-in-paper-cups.3183095/): I'm not sure about the cost of that today (at least $266.37/1,000 stickers in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator), but this would be another reason for the chain to increase the price of the meal/drink plans. The chips built into the cups may be cheaper, though I doubt it is by much. This would also require the installation/maintenance of the technology for soda fountains across all of the parks. Remember how it took a year to build one new Refresh Station at Kings Island? The fountains running out of ice and soda syrup almost daily is uniquely a Six Flags issue. I wonder how possible it would be to start selling bottles/cans instead when the drinks run out. (The issue with that would be keeping them all cold and stocked as well). Please share your thoughts and correct me if you are more knowledgeable on the subject. That promotion might have been spurred on by Coca-Cola (or was at least approved by someone in that company), but yes. Six Flags can apparently give their Executives high salaries, but apparently cannot afford to keep their parks running at a reasonable capacity. Reducing the top tier pay wouldn't solve much, but I'm sure it would help with something. Thank you, this caffeine-fueled rant has now concluded.

I'd vote against turning an existing Haunt maze into a Winterfest attraction. Maybe if the maze were moved elsewhere in the park, but Haunt cannot stand to lose another maze (and needs at least two more as it is). The lines are already far too long most nights with only six mazes and two shows. If we were to get a new Winterfest attraction like Entertrainment Junction had, I'd love to see it go either in the other side of Action Theater or take over another space whose occupants can be moved elsewhere.

Is that in the Disney World app? It sure would be nice to have the menus and prices available like that in the Kings Island app!

I think that little square is just listed as a separate parcel/plat (a piece of developable land)/area. The park does/did also own the land where the employee dorms sit, the areas of Soak City not in the outline, and the land between Western Row and Kings Island Drive. You can see the little box in the top left that encompasses the Dog Street Cemetery which is owned by a local historical society. These property line maps are consistently full of weird little odds and ends like that. Every municipality is different with how they divide their land, and nearly 55 years of development makes all the lines super wonky. I'm sure Carowinds has to deal with a lot worse by existing in two states simultaneously.

Cedar Point's anniversary would have looked a little worse, but I think Kings Island's would have been similar to what we see now at Kings Dominion. With nobody (with some power) to advocate at the park level, we would have definitely seen super generic offerings. I'd be curious to see what Kings Dominion's celebration would have looked like if it was on the same scale as KI's. What would their "Phantom Theater Encore" replacement show have looked like? Maybe it wouldn't be based on a ride at all. I didn't get to see what Carowinds 50th anniversary looked like from the ground. How did it compare to what came before and after it? I'm glad that Kings Island got to have an awesome 50th celebration and that KD is a true sister park to KI, because if those set pieces and ideas didn't already exist I doubt we'd be seeing much of the same. This makes me curious as to what next year will look like for both of the Great America 50th celebrations. Will CGA go out and close with a bang? Or will it see another year of barely having special events — barring it does not get Geauga Lake'd at the end of this season. Six Flags Great America may not look much better next year either, but they are supposed to get a new kids area which is at least something new in the park. This would also be a great time to remove the "Six Flags" from their name, but unfortunately I don't know if that would happen. IMO the old Six Flags branding needs to be completely removed and replaced. That would cost a lot of money though. In the highly unfortunate event that they do give CGA the Geauga Lake treatment at the end of this season, I vote to send the South Bay Shores theming to Knott's Soak City, and then send all of the Great America signage to SFGA (with the "California" part removed). The rides, coasters, and any other theming can then be redistributed among the rest of the parks in the chain with Cedar Point getting almost none of it.

Now that you mention it, I really do like the "hero" plantings. I'd completely forgotten about some of the better ones after my Cicada Mania experience during my last visit. I can handle most bugs, but those flying fiends are my #1 persona non grata whenever they emerge. I still think it would be wise to invest in ground cover that doesn't require as much maintenance as grass for some areas.

I still don't entirely see how The Conjuring fits in with the stuff in the limited view pictures we saw from the building. Then again, I haven't seen any of The Conjuring movies all the way through so I wouldn't know if they have something like that. I do know that those movies are based off of some cases by Ed and Lorraine Warren (believe what you will about those two), but I don't entirely recall any of them having something like that. I could be wrong. Maybe this is a Conjuring movie I haven't seen a part of? The stone archways and wood handles do not give me the strongest 1968-70 Connecticut haunted house vibes. Unless this is somehow leftover from something else, in which case, c'est la vie. A look back at the photos posted in the Kings Island General Discussion on May 24. (Images: @Cedar Fair Fanboy)

I have to agree that Kings Island is not (yet) a trashy Six Flags park. There has been a noticeable decrease in quality, but I don't think it's hit former Six Flags levels yet. Corporate is likely still looking for any costs they can feasibly cut. As Ryan and Don said in a previous episode (I think earlier this week), times will be tough at the parks until Six Flags can stabilize. Tower Topics said that might be around 2028, but I hope they stabilize much sooner and let 2028 be the year when big additions start coming back. Personally, I don't think promising any record-breaking roller coasters for 2026 was a smart move — they should've simply struck the "record-breaking" part from the announcements until they knew what could actually be delivered. If Six Flags is looking for a way to improve all of their parks without spending nearly $1 billion on roller coasters across the whole chain, to me, the solution seems very simple. Take some of the money that would have been put towards giant additions and invest it into park quality improvements. Things like fresh grass seedings, a new greenhouse and more landscaping/foliage for every park, tree planting galore, tremendous food & beverage improvements, and adding even more trash cans to every park would almost certainly make guests much happier. The planting of new trees (of different species and varieties and planted over the course of a few years) throughout each park would certainly make a good number of guests much happier. Something not often discussed is that the merger between Six Flags and Cedar Fair was also a merger between the most generic amusement park company and a slightly more elevated amusement/theme park company. It'll be curious to see which identity is the end goal here. I sure hope it is the latter.

A house based on The Conjuring would make sense if the new Six Flags is choosing to expand its IP-based mazes into the Legacy Cedar Fair parks for Halloween Haunt. Plague Productions has worked with both former companies, but I can't immediately tell if they've done any IP-based sets for companies outside of Lionsgate and Paramount (who owned the IP their sets were based on). How does The Conjuring fit into the props that were seen in the recent pictures posted from the Club Blood/Blackout building? I really liked the idea of it being a vampire maze or a gothic maze. Would this be the first IP maze at Kings Island? I could see Carowinds using their Aeronautica [Action] Theater for something like this, especially now that demolition permits have been filed for the inside. I'm absolutely dying to know what Haunt will look like this year. Hopefully we'll see some good stuff come in. Although, please, do not make me pay for a Haunted Maze Pass like the Legacy Six Flags did. Find another way to raise money that does not remove a benefit from pass holders. Go check out some of Plague Productions other work here: https://www.plagueproductions.com/

Wow! And here I thought Twisted Colossus was still over at Magic Mountain! Man, this new ride relocation program is wild. Going on the Wayback Machine for another project, I did notice there were a lot of stock images used during the Paramount era and in the first few years of the Cedar Fair era. While I also wish the festival structure would've been done (a lot) better, the final product looks fine to me. I just hope we can see some more improvements like myself and others have suggested to make the park look better in the coming years. I wonder who will get Six Flags America's smaller Liberty Bell after that park closes. It looks small enough to fit almost anywhere, and could be a nice addition to a park for next year's USA Quarter-Millennial.

I was looking back at my 2017 Winterfest map (I miss the paper maps) and think it would be awesome for the park to look into: Temporarily enclosing the Skyline Pavilion seating area, similar to what they do at Coney Bar-B-Que and Chicken Shack. Bringing back shows like "'Twas The Plight Before Christmas" and "What The Dickens?!" the former was in the aforementioned Skyline Pavilion while the latter was in the Peanuts Showplace Moving the Coca-Cola Polar Bear Plaza to Action Zone. Renaming Adventure Port for Winterfest so it fits better into the event. Adding a big tent or two (or building some buildings) for people to warm up inside. Canada's Wonderland has one of these and really needs more as well. Other Six Flags parks have some additional area names (RIP Kings Dominion's Winterfest) that I think Kings Island could pull from. Winterfest doesn't necessarily need to be revitalized, but something to shake it up a little could be fun and refreshing!

I've realized what is so off about this picture: the Liberty Bell and the tree slightly behind it are too close in color for me. They sort of blend together and make the topiary stand out less. I can't tell if the posts are new, but they are also too tall compared to the old ones. The patchy grass near the path also does not help the way it looks. A short fence/post & chain barrier near the path to keep guests out, more plants or ground cover around the bell, and something smaller on both sides to balance the view would make this marvelous Living Liberty Bell look 100x better. Oh, and a nice classic flat ride in the Saltwater Circus plot, complete with a covering structure worthy of the area Here's a photo of Kings Dominion's Liberty Bell. Notice that it is touching the ground within a raised planter bed. (Image: @DonHelbig on Instagram) Here is a photo of Kings Island's Living Liberty Bell in its old location. Note how it used to sit lower to the ground. (Image: Andrew from Park Rovers; https://www.parkrovers.com/home/2022/7/4/how-many-theme-parks-have-a-liberty-bell-replica)

Here we are, 15 years later with some form of the No-Boo Necklace likely to return for 2025. Those are better (in my mind) than the Ghoul Repellant whistles since they're less likely to be used as a toy and method to annoy other guests. The interactive lanterns also help the event a ton. I forget what 2011-2023 Six Flags used in as their version of the No-Boo Necklace. Last year's Fright Fest was also weird since it was the first full event since the merger went through. I personally think Haunt has been toned down to suit families a little too much, but there have been some things done in recent years that have brought life back to the event. Do I want to be scared to death like I would at Halloween Horror Nights? No, but I would probably enjoy the event more if it was not packed with strollers or young children. While the families probably bring in some good revenue, they seem to be one of the reasons why we don't see shows like Dead Awakening or Hot Blooded anymore. Scaredy cats (sorry for name calling) should be the exception, but it feels like they have been more catered to in recent years. The park seems to have overcorrected and I hope the pendulum swings back the other way so we can see awesome stuff come back to this great event. I developed a concept for a refresh of Halloween Haunt and posted it here on KIC back in October if anyone wants to check it out. It included a distinction between scary areas and non-scary areas like Cedar Point has, although mine took up more of the park than theirs does. If anyone here has more thoughts as to how this has worked out for the parks (good or bad), please by all means let it be known!

I prefer the Pub Burger because they are fresher (or feel fresher) than the ones at the Festhaus or Jukebox. Those two locations keep their burgers wrapped under a heat lamp, as opposed to coming out sooner after being cooked like I think is the case for the Brewhouse. Being able to sit inside and enjoy the air conditioning also helps my food rankings a lot.

I like me some theatricality, and some Kings Island food

If the park decides to bring this Rivertown Mining Company building back, maybe people will stop complaining about Kings Island needing an RMC

I believe one of his daughters said he has Alzheimer's (or some sort of mental disability) after he was mentioned in the Season Pass Holders group. Whether or not the person was telling the truth IDK, but it seemed to explain a lot. He doesn't seem to be hurting anyone, so he can have his shirt and his stories and keep riding on. I wouldn't like to pile on him either way. His love of The Beast shows with how many times he says he's ridden it. Maybe if we could get some of his boy math bumping up the numbers for the economy, we'd all be rich (and he'd still be Rick)!

I'm a big fan of the Big Dog from Miami River Brewhouse and the Bacon Cheese Fries from Rivertown Potato Works! My tastes may be picky, but these items have consistently been very good for me.

I could've sworn someone said there were structural issues with the building. It's a believable story, especially if it was a wood frame building. Hopefully the building does make a return as cover for Diamondback's queue. The facade would be great as either a covered porch to sit under or as a small pop-up shop location for festivals/events. For the pop-up shop, imagine the carts/sheds where the park sells No-Boo necklaces or bubble wands — except with the look of the souvenir alcoves on the side of either arcade building. I'd vote for some tables under there as an option if the Outpost Frozen Cocktails ever gets turned back into a food stand.

Double posting... Something fun to see is that Six Flags Over Georgia is directly hosting a Pride Month Celebration from 6/1-6/30, complete with Pride merchandise and proceeds donations to a local organization in Atlanta. The event is also highlighted as a big part of their Summerbration lineup. Magic Mountain is the only other Six Flags park that I've seen advertising a Pride event (in August) with their Out on the Mountain event, held in the park by a third-party organization. I know there has also been a Pride Night at Kings Island in September, but that event is not put on by or advertised by the park. Especially not like SFOG's event is. I haven't checked too many other Six Flags park websites, but this is the only event like this that I've seen anywhere across Six Flags this year. It's really nice to see this event happening and being readily shown on their website! This year has been quite scary for LGBTQ+ folks (for obvious reasons) and a Pride celebration would have been super easy for corporate to put their foot down on and cut out of the lineup. SFOG and Six Flags America will also be holding a Juneteenth Celebration event on 6/19 (aka Juneteenth). Happy Pride! Event Website: https://www.sixflags.com/overgeorgia/events/six-flags-pride-celebration Another thought while I'm here: A number of the Legacy Six Flags parks have begun to use a different logo than the one seen pre-merger. The words are more balanced and similarly sized (still using the Neue Kabel typeface) and there is no roller coaster outline in the background. The exclamation point holding the six flags is also sometimes missing (see the event logo above). Off the top of my head, I've seen Over Texas, Over Georgia, Magic Mountain, and Great Adventure use this new variation. The usage does depend on what you're looking at, but this is a new change.

I haven't looked too far into it, but is it safe to assume that the ticket/free drinks combo is just a free drink plan for the day/season? It looks like this might partially be a promotion through Coca-Cola. I don't know that they would be allowed to put "Presented by Coca-Cola" on the images if it was entirely from the chain. The whole thing is a disservice to the people who bought their season pass and drink plan back in August and are ending up with the higher total. It'd be better if the end total was higher now. The promotion is an awesome idea! I just wish the situation didn't make those who bought their passes 10 months ago feel like they've been cheated. This smells like desperation with hints of bad timing for a cool pass promo

I did some looking online and I think this rockwork from Camp Snoopy at Cedar Point may fit my idea for a pond a little better than the one at Carowinds. Cedar Point's Camp Snoopy waterfall (Image: Google Street View) Carowinds' Camp Snoopy pre-2017 waterfall (Image: Google Street View)

Let's hope it stays open! Like I said, Cedar Point does not need any more bad publicity from it.

You'd think the cicadas and the rain would have kept more people away. The cicadas definitely make the park more (un)comfortably crowded with how many there are.

I would assume the $35 million number is too expensive because that is more than was spent on Orion, and the park has been "on a budget" with their recent additions since 2020. If this ride were to cost similarly it would be the newest "biggest investment in park history" (at least I think that's what they said for Orion). No matter whether is it a dynamic motion stage or a madhouse or a top spin, the likelihood for that much money to be put into this and have a similar investment into a major coaster within the next 5 years is quite low. As always, I may be misremembering the facts, but I think I got them right. Simply, I think if we want a worthy Vortex replacement, we cannot expect this family thrill attraction to be another biggest investment in park history with that price tag.