11 minutes ago, Imperial79 said:

  They already cut a lot of the branches off last year..  

Just noticed from the 3rd picture, it looks like one of the tree's is almost ready to be taken out, in front of the Sweet Spot.

 

Selective pruning is great for the long term survival of trees planted in a confined environment.  As it is currently, the trees can only use the small area of grass for water and nutrients, the pavement is not conducive to this.  Although, linden trees are fairly resilient trees.  

25 minutes ago, SonofBaconator said:

KI's Giga for 2022 is being built in the fountain! Named: "Mystic Mysts"

Hopefully this renovation include the planting of even more trees.  King's Dominion's version is absolutely gorgeous and its mainly because of the trees.

1 hour ago, super7 said:

Hopefully this renovation include the planting of even more trees.  King's Dominion's version is absolutely gorgeous and its mainly because of the trees.

I actually prefer KI's because you can actually see the Eiffel Tower. KD's Eiffel Tower seems obstructed due to the abundance of trees.

So to be clear, the large trees would not be in line with how I Street looked in the 1970’s. I know that one apprehension that the design company had with doing the “fountain” treatment years back was that the trees obstructed the view of the fountain. Most old schoolers don’t like the trees. My main concern is that they did some cool stuff with them during WF, so it’ll be interesting to see what, if anything, they do to replace that. Also, and this is a long shot, but removing the trees does make the possibility of projection mapping the IS buildings for Haunt a real possibility too.

Shocking how different IS looks right now compared to when I was there just 18 days ago!  This is extremely exciting news!

I hope this new international street will be nice as much as the last one. I expect new paint on the buildings possibly? And to which international street is better, I have to say King's Dominion's. The reason why I say this is because it is more vibrant and it has some more vibrant paint. Now if they could make that path way at KD which leads to Planet Snoopy at KI, that would be nice. I got a feeling the giga will come 2020. If not, 2022 for 50 years of KI.

With I-Street being re-done, I'm wondering if we'll see any additional food offerings, more "international?" Maybe we'll see some of the buildings that were inspired by certain countries/cultures be updated/more prominent? 

Bring back the bakeries!

A Twitter post from @KingsIslandPR.  Looks like Woodstock Express is having some work done as well.  

The park really stays busy in the off season!

 

After all of these years of being a Kings Island fan, the last few seasons have been like a dream come true.  It's as if Kings Island personally asked me what I'd like done with the park, and they did it.  

• First, it was Mystic Timbers.  
• Winterfest
• Antique Cars returning
• Remodel of IS.  Not that this was an area that I felt needed a remodel particularly, but after hearing about it, I am really, really excited.

I completely agree.  I think it is safe to assume that Cedar Fair has been very good owners for Kings Island. 

Yes, Diamondback did destroy some of the charm of Rivertown.  But all in all, they have been adding very nice attractions (and family friendly attractions).  I still am in awe at how amazing Winterfest has been the last two seasons.

Just a heads up- I heard on the local news that KI is cancelling the job fair at the park this weekend due to weather.  I believe there is still something going on online though.  I forgot what website was brought up. 

So everything changing in 2019

• Return of the Antique Cars
• Improvements on The Racer
• Removal of Firehawk/ Mystery B&M project
• Huge International Street renovations 

2019 seems like an awesome year to me

13 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

So everything changing in 2019

• Return of the Antique Cars
• Improvements on The Racer
• Removal of Firehawk/ Mystery B&M project
• Huge International Street renovations 

2019 seems like an awesome year to me 

And what I think is scary (in a good way): this is just what we know is coming. They still have not given us the 2019 Show Line-Up, or announced any special events like the Peanuts Celebration last year. And I fully expect special events in 2019, as Cedar Fair management did state they were popular and they wanted to do more to boost summer attendance.

Cedar Fair has given Kings Island a lot of love the last few years. The park overall has a much, much nicer feel now than it did even a few years ago- the replacing of asphalt with pavers in several sections, a new and much better parking toll booth, Banshee and Mystic Timbers refreshing and making their sections of the park look nicer in addition to being awesome roller coasters, and now the International Street overhaul and Antique Autos will make those sections (I-Street and the Back of Coney Mall) even nicer to look at.

I can't wait to check out all the new stuff (and overhauled old stuff) come passholder preview day in April!

I would also like to add that Coney BBQ was another fantastic addition.  It is a beautiful structure (inside and out), and the way its design makes it look like it's always been there was a nice touch.  Great how they added the rear seating area and tied it into Tower Gardens; it really spruced that area up nicely.  

Isn’t Festhouse on the map as a part of International Street? I wonder if the castle stone pavers will go that direction AND since they are updating IS facades, could it get a facade update and would a glockenspiel repair be far behind?

I checked out last year's map and they did have Festhaus listed as part of Oktoberfest. 

The other curiosity I have is with the IS improvement will they also improve the Showplace Theater and Chick-a-Fila as both of those are considered part of IS.

7 hours ago, Rivertown Rider said:

The other curiosity I have is with the IS improvement will they also improve the Showplace Theater and Chick-a-Fila as both of those are considered part of IS.

PLEASE remodel the Chick-Fil-A building. That's where the employee breakroom is. It would be nice to see a complete remodel there, even though it got one in 2016.

22 hours ago, mayaman2 said:

PLEASE remodel the Chick-Fil-A building. That's where the employee breakroom is. It would be nice to see a complete remodel there, even though it got one in 2016.

I would love for Chick-Fil-A to actually have a separate pickup area for orders so after you order you don't have to fight your way through other guests to a window to get your food.

3 minutes ago, chugh43 said:

I would love for Chick-Fil-A to actually have a separate pickup area for orders so after you order you don't have to fight your way through other guests to a window to get your food.

Side thought:

Don’t you think that it’s interesting that so many people opt for food that they can get “anywhere” instead of food unique to the park? I get Skyline and LaRosa’s since it might have an out of town appeal, but CFA is fast food. What would the line for CFA be like at Dollywood or Kennywood? Probably minimal.

Much progress has been made, but I feel like the reputation proceeded the food department. I have a feeling that we have more announcements ahead for 2019 - involving food options. It’s kind of exciting too.

1 hour ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Side thought:

Don’t you think that it’s interesting that so many people opt for food that they can get “anywhere” instead of food unique to the park? I get Skyline and LaRosa’s since it might have an out of town appeal, but CFA is fast food. What would the line for CFA be like at Dollywood or Kennywood? Probably minimal.

Much progress has been made, but I feel like the reputation proceeded the food department. I have a feeling that we have more announcements ahead for 2019 - involving food options. It’s kind of exciting too.

A lot of people at KI have all season dining plans which basically pays for your meals. What my family and I'm sure other families does is they go up for lunch and dinner multiple times throughout the summer and it basically makes it cheaper than going to the restaurants around town. Heck, some people (including me and my family) have gotten stuff to go before when it was time to leave.

Concerning food- I wish Kings Island had somewhere with an actual decent burger.  Juke Box's are really sub par, Reds HOFG aren't that much better.  

6 hours ago, silver2005 said:

Concerning food- I wish Kings Island had somewhere with an actual decent burger.  Juke Box's are really sub par, Reds HOFG aren't that much better.  

This is something I have been craving as well! 

10 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Side thought:

Don’t you think that it’s interesting that so many people opt for food that they can get “anywhere” instead of food unique to the park? I get Skyline and LaRosa’s since it might have an out of town appeal, but CFA is fast food. What would the line for CFA be like at Dollywood or Kennywood? Probably minimal.

Much progress has been made, but I feel like the reputation proceeded the food department. I have a feeling that we have more announcements ahead for 2019 - involving food options. It’s kind of exciting too.

I have wondered this also about CFA.  I usually get LaRosa's as we don't have it where I live.  Chic-Fil-A seems to be everywhere though.  And it is kind of expensive outside of the park for quick service as it is, let alone paying almost double for the same food while inside of the park.  Maybe it is, as you seem to suspect, about the food quality.  

Wish CFA would move to LaRosas in rivertown with a refreshed look. Fried chicken would fit Rivertown better than pizza theme-wise. Also wish they would move to all franchise food locations being named something else “presented by...” like “Front Porch Chicken-presented by ChickFil A” and don’t recreate the look of a chick fil a, larosas, skyline whatever. Serve the food in a unique looking location that ties into the park. 

All in all wish they thought more about using the type of food served to strengthen the “theme” of the area. 

12 hours ago, silver2005 said:

Concerning food- I wish Kings Island had somewhere with an actual decent burger.  Juke Box's are really sub par, Reds HOFG aren't that much better.  

Agree on this as well.  The Juke Box burgers were really good at the start of the season, but quickly went downhill.

3 hours ago, chad_1138 said:

Agree on this as well.  The Juke Box burgers were really good at the start of the season, but quickly went downhill.

 

I'd be really happy with plain smoked bacon, I do not like sugar cured/maple bacon on a burger.

3 hours ago, chad_1138 said:

Agree on this as well.  The Juke Box burgers were really good at the start of the season, but quickly went downhill.

Noticed that, too. They were extremely good at the beginning of last year. They will still alright, but wasn't quite the same.

1 hour ago, JubJester said:

Noticed that, too. They were extremely good at the beginning of last year. They will still alright, but wasn't quite the same.

I remember when the new chef came in that the new Juke Box burger was one his big things he promoted before the park opened.  It was really good early.  And later in the season it wasn’t bad, just nowhere near where it started.