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I thought I mentioned that I understood that, but yes. I figured they might mention fireworks being nearby as part of flying conditions. Most of my worries stem from the lack of announced entertainment offerings. We've been close to losing the fireworks before so it's not entirely out of the question, especially as Six Flags continues to cut costs.

Rozzi Fireworks is looking for a local drone pilot to help with the nightly drone show at Kings Island beginning May 22nd. The post didn't mention anything about fireworks, but it's entirely possible for that to be a result of the job not requiring interactions with any fireworks rather than it being a sign that the fireworks have been cut for 2026. The starting date lines up with the beginning of 10PM closures. I'm a little worried that this will be the year we lose the fireworks, especially since there's not much official information available from the park on entertainment offerings. Most of the stuff we know about is either from Brad Ross' posts and signage around the park that only says show names and start dates. Source: Jonas Jakeway on Facebook.

There were a ton of $50+ hoodies in every store I looked in last weekend. I really want to get one of the nice button down shirts that they keep adding, but there's no way I'm going to pay more than $60 for a shirt like that. I'd love to know what the markup is on those compared to the production cost. They seem like a nice quality, but I simply can't justify that high cost. My thought process on upping the drink plan cup size is that it would lower some costs while lowering the amount of possible redemptions per day. I'm fine with the current model though. I'd be open to seeing a higher cost for the all-season drink bottle if they switched that one over to a "mug" like Dollywood has. Theirs at least look like they're higher quality. Something that keeps drinks colder for longer and is generally sturdier would be good if Six Flags wants to increase the quality for that. I hope they do keep the meal plan around as-is. What they could do is bring the 1-meal dining plan to more parks, but that might result in even more people purchasing them overall. Upping the price (maybe to $200/per all season meal plan) would definitely generate more money for Six Flags and could help them move toward slightly higher quality food items. IMO there's not a ton they can do about the Sysco food products since the commercial food supplier game seems to have less players every few months. Maybe they could get higher quality Sysco food, but from what I've heard that's about it unless they want to change suppliers entirely.

How would you feel about Larry saying it instead of Maestro (since his animatronic is already there)? I'd love to see that thread happen and input some thoughts of my own after you start it! The changes between seasons would probably need to be quick/easy (I'm talking a one-day turnover per season), so new voicelines and maybe some new movements might be easiest. If it was possible I'd leave the ride experience as-is for Tricks and Treats, then play the re-recorded original voicelines and the original soundtrack for Haunt. Some Christmas trees and Santa hats would be good for Winterfest since it's (likely) going to very popular for the heating. One of my only gripes about this new ride is that I never seem to hear the original main theme, just the new version that's a different arrangement.

I don't think building a Grand Pavilion-esque restaurant would necessarily push a potential coaster back to 2030, but I could see someone at SF corporate making the case for that. Generally, I think Kings Island getting anything like the GP would be smaller in footprint and have a much simpler roofline. The simplified architecture would drop the cost. I haven't been able to find a cost for that building though. There's also a chance that Kings Island builds a second Coney Bar-B-Que with a different facade design. We saw this with The Farmhouse (Cedar Point), Crystal Rock Cafe (Cedar Point), and the Pier 76 Cafe (California's Great America). Worlds of Fun got a near-exact Coney Bar-B-Que clone in the River City Grill. It's entirely possible that if we do get a new restaurant it will be a recreation of one that the company already built around 2018. This could also coincide with some of the legacy Six Flags parks getting new restaurants as part of the ongoing projects to improve dining experiences across the chain.

I just watched it and thought it would be an amazing Halloween overlay! He lined all of the audio up pretty well with the new scenes and overlaid some of the new audio onto the old to make it more immersive! Imagine this ride experience in addition to a re-recording of the original queue soundtrack. That would be a fantastic seasonal throwback to the original while still allowing the new version to keep its spotlight during the rest of the year. Great job @BryanJay! I hope the park takes this into consideration for some special event/festival rides!!

That accidental plurality on "trains" was a typo, but oh well 😆 Onboard audio could be really nice and would add more to the experience. If a new inverted boomerang was cheap enough I think it would work out well for Vekoma, much like how the family boomerangs are. A set layout that fits on a flat, somewhat compact space might be what parks look for as the prices of other, longer coasters go up. The giant inverted boomerang is another story since it's a higher thrill model, but I think the issues of the original could be somewhat easily resolved with a fresh look at it. Standard 4-across seating (rectifying a major issue with the original), a stronger structure, and a slightly different layout would be a good start. Implementing a turntable station would also be helpful for adding capacity.

We got our second ride in yesterday morning after waiting 120 minutes. The queue seemed to flow a lot faster than it did during the passholder preview. I really wish the queue line loop was a little longer than the 20-30 minutes it has now, though. All three queue line animatronics were louder and worked nicely. The portrait hall characters and Rick (the queue instructions presenter) were also louder and easier to hear. The lights during the ride were dimmer than before but I think they could be even darker. I deliberately noticed some of the behind the scenes stuff in the dark and enjoyed seeing that. We were in the front car for this ride (we were in the back car on Preview Day) and I didn't notice the repeated lines as much, but it's still very noticeable on most of the POVs I've seen. Hilda really needs at least one more line that isn't just her screaming the singular note. I think I'd prefer something more like Madam Leota's loop during the Haunted Mansion where you can't really tell where the loop begins and ends because it's constantly running and has dialogue that doesn't repeat the same thing for each car. Houdelini is also a good candidate for receiving more voice lines since his can easily be heard from both Garbonzo and Hilda's dressing rooms. Anything that sounds like a spell or magic trick could work. I'm a little fine with some of the effects not working for now since this is only the second weekend of the ride getting full-time use, but I do hope they can fix everything in a relatively short time period. The popcorn and boiler smells weren't working during our visit, nor were the screen in the first boiler or the blast of hot air. We smelled the roses at the very end, though. I've come to some more conclusions after thinking some more about doing up the ride for Haunt/Winterfest. I still think they should record a more antagonistic queue loop (closer to the original ride) for Haunt, but for Winterfest I think they should at least put up some Christmas trees and lights. Maybe change out the popcorn smell with a pine needle smell.

This is definitely a hole that the new Six Flags (and Cedar Fair) have dug themselves into by not limiting the Dining Plan usage from the start. That said, I don't think Six Flags should limit or outright eliminate the dining plan. Legacy Six Flags attempted to do that around 2022 as part of their Season Pass structure shakeup and it didn't go well for them at all. We saw a similar backlash when the Diamond Elite VIP members' meal plans were standardized to the Cedar Fair model after years of being some form of the Premium All Day Dining Plan. If they're looking for a solution, I think the only "easy" way to lower food prices would be to raise prices elsewhere. Enchanted Parks saw the price per meal issues with their acquisition and it seems to be working because this kind of change could be expected with a new company managing the parks. The other option would be to reduce the amount of Meal Plan vs non-Meal Plan options throughout the parks over the course of a few years. That would make the plans less valuable or desirable and provide an incentive for guests to either purchase food or bring their own and eat in the car. Another question I've been thinking about is this: Would you rather have the Drink Plans stay as they currently exist (16 ounce cup every 15 min) or trade that to a new plan with less frequency (20+ ounce cup every 30 minutes)? That would remove the need for the drink plan cups and theoretically save the parks some money if guests redeem less drinks.

If Invertigo did get a retheme and new trains would you like to see the loop and/or lift hills painted with the red/orange/yellow color scheme while the rest becomes shades of black and gray? That would make it like The Bat in terms of how it got rethemed, but I'd love to see it. On another note: if Vekoma was crazy enough to design/make a new version of the Inverted Boomerang and/or the Giant Inverted Boomerang, would you want to see one come to Kings Island? Assuming this would be some time after Invertigo was removed. We've seen this with the new generations of the Tilt Coaster and the Flying Coaster, so I think it's more likely than S&S bringing back the 4D Coaster model.

The legacy version of the Six Flags mobile app had menus built into it, but I don't think any of them were nicely formatted or included prices. I suspect that the park(s) expects you to visit the Dining Plan Menu(s) through their website(s) so they don't have to go update more than one document if anything changes. It doesn't look like the Mobile Ordering feature works yet either, so it may be a while before we see a "finished" version of this app.

Kings Island has now added a "Places to Stay" tab to their website that links to a Six Flags partner hotels portal. It also has one vacation package available that looks like it includes the room rate and a park ticket.

If the park still had it in storage and it was in good enough condition, then I think it was definitely reused (as opposed to SDR making a new one). We've talked on here about a potential Christmas overlay for PT:ON, but I recently had a thought about an easy Halloween overlay. I think it would be really cool if KI and SDR adjusted the queue line experience by having the characters do a new recording of the original Phantom Theater queue audio. It would require some new animatronic programming alongside the new voice line recordings, but I think it would be worth it. I could see the antagonism being a slight issue for the family-friendly nature of the attraction. That said, it'd be for Halloween. Things can be a little scary around Halloween. Bonus points if they keep it open/open it with the antagonistic tones during Haunt since that's a more adult-oriented event. Imagine Maestro repeating some of his iconic lines from the original while the now-unseen organ plays its tunes via Maestro's ghastly presence. Larry and Archie can also be a little more antagonistic — I'll admit I haven't thought through their parts too much yet.

Are the behavior warning stickers in the Queue line their final form or do we think they will be replaced with more permanent signage later on? Some of them looked like they were already peeling off of the wall and, frankly, for a ride that has so much detail in it I feel like the stickers are one of the only parts of the experience that feel cheap.

It would be sad to see, but I think if Six Flags is going to continue to make the Prestige Pass the only way to have access to every park in the chain and have the Gold Pass limited to each Region then the company needs to remove some benefits from Prestige. Maybe they could make it free Preferred Parking only at your home park and free General Parking everywhere else, or remove the free Single-Use Fast Lane each visit. As it stands the Prestige Pass is in a weird limbo of serving both the functions of a Platinum Pass and those of a Prestige Pass when it can't handle both. Obviously the correct answer is to expand the Prestige resources at each park to meet the demand (while raising the price just a little). I don't know that Six Flags is willing to do that yet though. Kings Island just expanded their Preferred Parking lot, but still have the issues of having small VIP Lounges and reduced offerings within it. I personally think the "free" offerings should have always been this small, but that's just me. The biggest reservation I have about passes is the removal of the All Park Passport. I think it should be available as an additional purchase for the Gold Pass and "included" for the Prestige Pass. We've been able to purchase it for Gold Passes since it was introduced and I think we'll see even more people buying Prestige Passes (and contributing to the prestige crowds) without it.

The new area for the Living Liberty Bell has been spruced up for 2026! Kings Island has planted some trees and plants around the outside of the planter and has repainted the rim of said planter to a dark blue color. I guess they must've agreed that the Eiffel Tower Green color was not a good fit for the old LLB. Hopefully we can see some more little things like this added around the park in the near future! It looks to be fully raised on its pillar today, so I'm right there with you on the speculation.

I didn't see the Rivertown Freestyle location open during my visits this past weekend, but that's not surprising. There were a bunch of strollers parked in front of it as well to double down on it being closed.

If the park really wants to improve that little area I think a Grand Pavilion-style restaurant would be the best option. Tear down the KillMart building and replace it while realigning the path for an added bonus. Whatever happens, I just hope we get some new paint that isn't all one color in Coney Mall! On the other hand, if any year is an "off-year" for Kings Island then I'd love to see a renewed focus on events and entertainment. Adding to Haunt and Winterfest, bringing in a new festival to replace Grand Carnivale, and adding new entertainment options/venues around the park would be amazing.

I could see this being the case, but it does make me wonder what part is in bad condition. The roof and the flooring would be my guesses for what might be unsalvageable. I don't think the track and wood supports are integral to the structure though.

I saw that as well. The most it looks like has been done is that the items from the Haunt lantern activation point have been taken out. I think there's still some track in there so that might be good for an "authentic SoB track piece" and/or other parts sale. They could use some of that money to pay off debts and such. If we see more items removed then I would like to know what plans they have for the structure. Assuming it's still usable I'd appreciate a new Haunt maze in there and/or to see it used for a coaster pass through like with the Yeti on Expedition Everest.

I think the park would need to completely demolish Coaster Connections and rebuild if they wanted to put a restaurant there. The building as it currently stands is smaller than Chicken Shack's kitchen and indoor line. Ideally I would like to see CC demolished and some of the paths extended that way to reorient the area (green outline, dashed line shows Bat's entrance). A flat ride/restaurant/store can still go on the Skyflyer plot, but the goal is to make it feel less like giant swaths of path and more like a cohesive area. The red shapes would get almost completely redeveloped — while keeping every mature tree they feasibly can — aside from Drop Tower which would stay and be repainted. Timberwolf and other parts in red would be used for a new major coaster.

I think 2027 would be a great year for the park to do a small retheme of Action Zone, even if it doesn't come with any new rides. It would be similar to 2018 where the big new addition was Coney Bar-B-Que and upgraded dining options, but with more focus on the entire area. Start repainting projects for Banshee and The Bat (possibly even making the light gray supports a darker gray to closer resemble the original) and introduce some small theming elements around the land. I wouldn't be upset to see a new store and restaurant replacing Coaster Connection either. Does anyone remember why the Banshee store got replaced by an arcade? I think that would be a good place for some small in-queue lockers while the ride photo counter gets moved to a new shop next door. As always I'm going to advocate for Action Zone to become the new Oktoberfest (while Banshee and The Bat stay the same) complete with touches of the original version of the area. If it really truly needs a new ride then I'd replace Congo Falls with a MACK Water Battle that reuses the basin and station. If we see a new coaster by 2030 I think it'll be in 2028. Let the small and cheaper Action Zone retheme come in 2027, open The Vortex successor in 2028, and replace the TR:TR building with a Rivertown expansion in 2029 as part of a 50th anniversary celebration for The Beast. I've been seeing some people speculate that Canada's Wonderland is going to get a new thrill coaster in 2028, but I don't think they need it yet. Maybe 2029 for them, but not 2028.

Maybe sometime in the next 10 years we can get more pieces of the park's "soul" restored! A boat ride, a Vortex successor, an Action Zone replacement, and a return to character for Rivertown would be nice to have. As for the Pepper's Ghost effects, I agree that it could have just been fun to have again even if it didn't make sense within the "story".

In reality I think they reused the turntable and the library scene room because it was easier and cheaper. That's not to say that this version is bad at all, I simply think whatever could have been done to bring the large theater back would have required KI and SDR to stretch their budget further while butting up against the constraints of the game mechanics. The smaller animatronics alone might've posed an issue since they would've required each character body to be re-scaled and the mechanics changed. I'm not entirely sure how far down beneath the scene the ride floor level went, but that might've posed an issue in itself depending on what Paramount and SDR did during the conversion to SDatHC.

After my most recent visit to Kings Dominion I was thinking about how nice it would be to have some more variation in the outer wall so it isn't just rectangles inside of rectangles. One more set of "balconies" (where the seating extends into the grass) would be nice, especially where the paths to Oktoberfest and Planet Snoopy meet International Street. That could open up space for some sections of the black pavers to be replaced with short or ground-level planters. That's part of what gave the old I-Street some of it's shape and I think it would help. The current setup is nice for having the tables spaced out like they are, but I think adding two more balconies and making some planters would help bring back some charm. Adding some lights along the edges of the fountain might be nice, but I'm curious what they would be lighting up?