According to KI's response to my FB question last week the park map will be avalible this year in April and is being redesigned.

Then KI posted this today: http://twitpic.com/478yz2

They Have part of the map folded over where SOB would lay, hmmm...

Looks like we're getting the tree-less, compact, color-less map that KD and other parks got last year.

Well, it's just a map, I guess.....

Have you noticed that it looks like the other Cedar Fair park maps too? I could be wrong though.

Edit: Dang! Beast1979 beat me to it. lol!

Seems intresting . Im curious on how KI will look on this style map. Odd thing was I was having a converesation about the map earlier today.

Interesting....

I bet he's making one of those fold-ins like in the back cover of MAD magazine. Regularly it looks like a KI park map, but if you fold it in, the loop on Invertigo Goes over SOB!!

Problem solved, SOB can reopen now.

I spy with my little eye WindSeeker and no Action Theatre behind it?

They have fun messing with us! Not only do they have the old SOB spot folded over, but his hand is over it.

And who is to say that they are trying to cover up Son of Beast? Maybe they are trying to cover up something else?

Many would be quick to point to Son of Beast, because they desperately want some indication on its status. I think it is a foregone conclusion that the ride will NOT operate this year. Otherwise, we would have heard or seen something about the ride by now.

And who is to say that they are trying to cover up Son of Beast? Maybe they are trying to cover up something else?

Or maybe he just has the map folded over because it's easier to move it around on the desk that way. But hey, what do I know?

As it's been said before, these pictures are almost always staged. Not only is it folded up, his hand is over it.

Edit: Yeah CoastersRZ I agree that SOB will not be operating this year, and if it won't be it will not be on the park map. I think it's just something to make people wonder.

well, no new (or old) show in f/x theater. i wonder if this also means goodbye for urgent scare as well?

I think I see Action Theater, behind about halfway up WindSeeker's tower. There's something that looks like it has an Action Theater shaped roof. WindSeeker's circle of swings is at the top of the tower, so that's not what that is.

Interesting....

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Stupid Posed pictures. They work exactly as intended...

Or perhaps he is covering something else up in that vicinity?

I believe the area from the photo labeled "planning" is also covered up... Just a random thought. I know maps sometimes have "coming soon" or "New Attraction in [insert year here]" over the area a future attraction, so who knows...

The map looks to be folded in half and 2/3 of the map are exposed, the other 1/3 looks to be covered by another map. Are they just trying to hide the new Coney Mall on the map or lite the fire of SOB. Is SOB really there, or are we SOL.

Well, from the "far" distance, this new park map actually looks pretty good. Though they have seemed to carry-over the Eiffel Tower tower from the old map...it looks almost exactly the same from this picture. And as a side-note, the old map ran from 1999 to 2010...unless it was introduced earlier. But even if that's true, 11 years...perhaps it was time for a change.

As for what he is covering up- I am pretty confident that is on purpose...

If he is covering something up it should also be noted that he would be pointing towards something with the pen.

Oh look, The Beast is sitting in an open field. And there are no trees at Kings Island Amusement Park.

The plusses? There is no solid tan fence around the perimeter of the park, and there are no three-pronged pointy bushes (I'd rather have the park sitting in a pastel-green open field than have those darned three-pronged pointy bushes).

Never once have I understood the appeal of these maps. I can't argue that it was likely time for a change in the map style. Perhaps to view the park from a different angle so that International Street points towards the top left instead of the top right. Maybe something that looked more artistic and photorealistic, like the Disney maps. But these "Cedar Fair style" maps hold no appeal for me. Based on Kings Dominions and the other parks that have them, they make the parks look awkwardly laid out with incredibly compact regions and big, open, wasted-space areas. The rides are so simplified, cartoon-ified, and exaggerated, they appear abstract (see Kings Dominion's Backlot Stunt Coaster), and the tiny, cartoon pathways are so convoluted and so covered by the exaggerated rides, the last thing the map is good for is navigation.

I'll reserve my final judgement until I see the finished product. But I have never seen the appeal. I think anyone with half a brain towards design or urban planning or even illustration would look at these maps and scoff (or vomit), and personally I'm surprised they ever made it to the public eye at any park, much less chain-wide. Perhaps I most dislike it because, like Cedar Fair parks in general, every ride seems to be competing for attention.

^I agree completely!

If you can't use a map to accurately navigate the best paths to get to a ride... What's the point of a map?

Folks. It's a park map, not an atlas.

Oh look, The Beast is sitting in an open field. And there are no trees at Kings Island Amusement Park.

I don't think people need a map to be able to see that there are tress around nor are the trees such a significant attraction that they needed to be highlighted on a map.

The plusses? There is no solid tan fence around the perimeter of the park, and there are no three-pronged pointy bushes (I'd rather have the park sitting in a pastel-green open field than have those darned three-pronged pointy bushes).

Never once have I understood the appeal of these maps. I can't argue that it was likely time for a change in the map style. Perhaps to view the park from a different angle so that International Street points towards the top left instead of the top right. Maybe something that looked more artistic and photorealistic, like the Disney maps. But these "Cedar Fair style" maps hold no appeal for me. Based on Kings Dominions and the other parks that have them, they make the parks look awkwardly laid out with incredibly compact regions and big, open, wasted-space areas. The rides are so simplified, cartoon-ified, and exaggerated, they appear abstract (see Kings Dominion's Backlot Stunt Coaster), and the tiny, cartoon pathways are so convoluted and so covered by the exaggerated rides, the last thing the map is good for is navigation.

What does it matter if the rides are "simplified, cartoonified and exaggerated?" The point of the map is to tell you the general area of where the attraction is located. If you want to know the specifics of the ride, its dynamics or its features read the fun and safety guides posted at the entrance and exit of each ride. The paramount versions were simplified, cartoonified and exaggerated as well, just in a different style. The point of the map is not so that you can look at it and determine "oh hey, I'm .4 nautical miles from the entrance to The Crypt which doesn't have theming I like." It's to point out key visual landmarks and where you generally are in relation to them. You're navigating an amusement park, not the globe.

I'll reserve my final judgement until I see the finished product. But I have never seen the appeal. I think anyone with half a brain towards design or urban planning or even illustration would look at these maps and scoff (or vomit),

I have half a brain towards design and can tell you that really the map isn't that poorly designed. It's intention is to help you navigate a theme park, not the downtown blocks of a city. It's fun, colorful and something cool to take home at the end of the day.

personally I'm surprised they ever made it to the public eye at any park, much less chain-wide.

Because in all reality, who cares? If you don't like it, don't look at it. If the general public felt it was as bad as you think it is, it be gone at the other chains that have that style. And as someone with experience at a professional level in graphic design and photography, the maps aren't poorly done at all - they effectively communicate their message and serve their purpose.

You're being way too over-critical of something as simple as a park map.

Time for my two cents. Maybe it is folded like that because it's more compact and doesn't take up as much desk space? Just because pictures like these are almost always staged, doesn't mean this one is. Also, what's with all this complaining? It's a map. Nothing more, nothing less.

Well, from the "far" distance, this new park map actually looks pretty good. Though they have seemed to carry-over the Eiffel Tower tower from the old map...it looks almost exactly the same from this picture. And as a side-note, the old map ran from 1999 to 2010...unless it was introduced earlier. But even if that's true, 11 years...perhaps it was time for a change.

As for what he is covering up- I am pretty confident that is on purpose...

From 1999 to 2010 would be twelve years...as the first, 1999, is the first, not the zeroeth, 2000 would be the second and so on, making 2010 the twelfth year...

Terp, repeating a lesson he has often recited here...

^{Maybe they are covering Flight Deck's new paint job}

^{It was the only thing in that corner last year.}

Well here is what I think....

1.) They are going to add a new section or ride over in that area.

2.) They are going to open the Son of The Beast back up.

3.) Sadly dismatle the son of The Beast. ( doubt it actually )

4.) They are going to put a TBA or Coming soon to that area.

5.) Or this is a prototype of the map and havent finished it. ( maybe thats why we are lacking trees!)

6. They're trying to mess with enthusiasts who like to start rumors.

7. They're showing a picture of the new map.

Seriously, guys?

6. They're trying to mess with enthusiasts who like to start rumors.

Hahaha Yeah, Probably just happened had is folded.....