Tweeted by the park:

http://twitpic.com/368zj6/full

A little bird told me!

Its going to be nice with less trees, you'll actually be able to see across with midway. Hope they keep the classic coney lamp posts.

Wow I guess with WindSeeker coming, Coney Mall is finally getting it's much needed facelift. I guess pavers will be coming as well.

Thank you! Coney Mall has long been my favorite part of the park, and I have really been wanting to see some well needed pavers and landscaping around the area. I do hope they don't strip it of the beautiful trees permanently though, that's one thing I did not like with the Rivertown overhaul.

Finally Coney Mall is getting some nice improvements that it much deserves!

I guess shade was overrated. Pavers will be nice, but the sun beating down on the entire midway won't.

At least the Blacktop is gone. Hope they will replace it with something nicer.

I like the small (new) trees better.

And I don't. I miss the Push-Up shaped gingko trees, which are still at Kings Dominion...

I kinda like shade. And trees. And not being in the sun when it's over 100 degrees there.

Maybe they could have used the money to repaint The Racer instead of bulldozing Coney Mall.

Maybe they could have used the money to repaint The Racer instead of bulldozing Coney Mall.

How do you know that is not also on the list of To Do's?

And remember that those "new" trees in Coney mall were not actually new. They relocated many of them from Coney Island. And in fact, when Coney Mall was redone in 1986, several of the ginko trees made their way BACK to Coney. (They are no longer trimmed in the push up pop manner anymore, though. If you want to see them, they are located behind the Famous Fairways Miniature Golf).

And to the right side of that picture, you can tell there is some shade from some trees, so it does not look like they have removed all the trees. The bigger question is it looks like they have removed the brick wall that lined the center islands in that midway, effectively removing lots of seating space. So they better replace it with lots of benches, or something similar. People would sit on those walls all the time in the shade eating Skyline, or waiting for family members who were on the Monster or Scrambler or Zephy.

deleted

1st it is awesome to see Coney Mall getting the work it has needed. 2nd, they aren't anywhere NEAR finished, why are people *****ing about trees when they have yet to see the finished product? Have you been told that no trees will be replanted? I feel like I am reading comments on the KI Facebook page.

Looking at those two pics TopGun1993 posted, anyone have any idea why they rerouted The Racer exit?

I'm going to guess and say, to make a less steep ramp for wheelchairs.

Only reason I can think of is the slope of the new ramp is less than the original ramp. Likely a response to make the ramp comply with the 1:12 slope requirements of the ADA. The original ramp had less space to run out compared to the current ramp, meaning it likely had a steeper slope. Some of the old footings for the old exit can still be seen if you look closely enough.

Awesome I love it!

Wow I guess with WindSeeker coming, Coney Mall is finally getting it's much needed facelift. I guess pavers will be coming as well.

Wait pavers for Kings Island or Kings Dominion .

Looking at those two pics TopGun1993 posted, anyone have any idea why they rerouted The Racer exit?

The queue house was much smaller too it seems.

My Dream Off- Season To-Do List For Kings Island:

1. Redo Coney Mall

2. Paint The Racer

3. Get the black gunk off the orange lap bars on The Beast at least, if not replace the orange covers!

4. Paint FD

5. Smooth Out Vortex

6. Fix The Crypt for whatever reason it was down all October, and bring back the theming.

7. Reduce FOF's down time (every time I came to the park this year it was down for at least 45 minutes each day, mid-day)

8. Find a way to Increase FH's ride capacity

9. A New Action Theather Show

And Last But Not Least...

10. Do something to SOB before SOB turns to POS!

Only reason I can think of is the slope of the new ramp is less than the original ramp. Likely a response to make the ramp comply with the 1:12 slope requirements of the ADA. The original ramp had less space to run out compared to the current ramp, meaning it likely had a steeper slope. Some of the old footings for the old exit can still be seen if you look closely enough.

Almost certainly correct. And that ain't all they rerouted when they did that. The entrance queues used to come in from the outside edges of the station, rather than next to the center like now. See, for instance, Carowinds and Thunder Road....yep, like that....

Since Kings Island's was built first, my guess is that the entrance queues were also too narrow, and there was very little room for the public in the station itself as it was originally configured.

How do you guys even know they removed the trees right there? In the construction pic, it is taken at a slight angle looking toward subway. Look at the overhead shot that TG1993 posted. Those trees near the lamp posts in that particular midway center "island" are a few feet away from the lamp posts. They might just be out of the picture!

Gosh, I would pay admission to be able to go and watch them work on the park during the winter. All of this construction/rehab stuff drives me nuts (in a good way) during the offseason!

My Dream Off- Season To-Do List For Kings Island:

1. Redo Coney Mall

2. Paint The Racer

3. Get the black gunk off the orange lap bars on The Beast at least, if not replace the orange covers!

4. Paint FD

5. Smooth Out Vortex

6. Fix The Crypt for whatever reason it was down all October, and bring back the theming.

7. Reduce FOF's down time (every time I came to the park this year it was down for at least 45 minutes each day, mid-day)

8. Find a way to Increase FH's ride capacity

9. A New Action Theather Show

And Last But Not Least...

10. Do something to SOB before SOB turns to POS!

I am confident that four items that are not checked off your list will happen before the season starts.

I like the small (new) trees better.

Bring back the Tumblebug!

Almost certainly correct. And that ain't all they rerouted when they did that. The entrance queues used to come in from the outside edges of the station, rather than next to the center like now.

Terpy - while I trust you that the queues used to come in from the outside, I don't believe it was changed at the same time as the exit ramp relocation. I believe I remember (enough disclaimer) going up through the center but still exiting between the entrance and what is now subway (I'll still remember it as an ice cream stand) during my mid 80's heavy season pass years. I'm on mobile, so can't see the first picture well, but believe it shows that also (do we know when this was taken?).

I guess shade was overrated. Pavers will be nice, but the sun beating down on the entire midway won't.

Cedar Fair don't like trees anyway. They prefer pavement over shade. They've proven that many a time. The only good news, however is, Mason Is a Tree City USA town, which means

any construction done anywhere in the city limits requires that trees be re-planted or planted as part of any construction job!

Same pics just cropped exact, its neat to flip between them.