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Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

p. 832: Camp Snoopy announced for 2024!

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If it is Vortex, there's still the land that was Dinosaurs Alive as well. IF they build a B&M Giga, I don't see reusing Vortex's station; saving some of that space for future flats. The could put the station on the other side of Racer where DA was. Yes the Antique Cars are going along side Racer on the Coney Mall midway side, but looks like the path will still be intact from what I've seen. It could then go around Racer, & between Beast (instead of going over/interfering with it) and use the area where Vortex's batwing is for the turn around. It would be a great tribute I suppose since that area is picturesque currently.

 

I used Google Maps to kind of map out such a layout. Of course, it's not perfect using a straight tool, but gives a visual at least of what I mentioned above. This comes to about 6200 feet long, but there is plenty of room for them to work with. They could do the reverse, but it looks like it would have to interact with Beast which some certainly would hate.

1065863896_KIGiga1.JPG.770327dbd8c4bcfdccc6ad8c9a36536f.JPG

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^^Proximity at theme parks does not appear to be an issue from what I can tell..........thumb_goliathflashback-800x1024.jpg

 

We're referring to how close anchor attractions are placed in proximity to each other given the park's space.

 

Six Flags New England there is actually a decent example in that, even for such a tightly packed park, they have placed the top four attractions at three corners of the park (Superman, Wicked Cyclone, and Batman) with the fourth (Goliath) in the center (yes it is comical that it is near another boomerang, Flashback)(for such a small, narrow park, Six Flags New England is laid out pretty well). Trust me, Six Flags may suck at a lot of things, but even they (as well as most all parks) think about park flow/traffic with each addition that they make (unless there is no space at all).

 

I really doubt that Kings Island would throw a brand spanking new mega coaster/giga right over the Beast and Diamondback (unless they needed too and Kings Island has no lack of space).

This. But also the fact that a huge part of the novelty of Beast is going out in the woods in the dark with no lights or interruptions from other rides. Once you get out past the lift, it's basically just you, Beast, and forest until you come back. I recognize I am by no means a park/ride designer and they still could find a way to replace Vortex with a Giga and not interrupt the flow of Beast, but it just seems like it would be easier if Firehawk was the one to go.

 

Also, on Screamscape it was mentioned that there are 11 chairs at the funeral and Firehawk is 11 years old (at KI).

 

Anyone know what the #ItsBigitsGone might be referring to? And anyone know if the Friday announcement will happen during Haunt time (i.e. anyone can attend, like they did with Antique Cars) or is it earlier in the day just for press?

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If it is Vortex, there's still the land that was Dinosaurs Alive as well. IF they build a B&M Giga, I don't see reusing Vortex's station; saving some of that space for future flats. The could put the station on the other side of Racer where DA was. Yes the Antique Cars are going along side Racer on the Coney Mall midway side, but looks like the path will still be intact from what I've seen. It could then go around Racer, & between Beast (instead of going over/interfering with it) and use the area where Vortex's batwing is for the turn around. It would be a great tribute I suppose since that area is picturesque currently.

 

I used Google Maps to kind of map out such a layout. Of course, it's not perfect using a straight tool, but gives a visual at least of what I mentioned above. This comes to about 6200 feet long, but there is plenty of room for them to work with. They could do the reverse, but it looks like it would have to interact with Beast which some certainly would hate.

[attachment=0]KI Giga 1.JPG[/attachment]

 

Very interesting concept with that space, I think that makes sense if Vortex is coming out.

 

But. The chairs + colors in the wreath are both very Kings Island-ish hints. I think those are the most convincing pieces so far.

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I stumbled upon this on Facebook this morning. It seems like the park is trying to keep everyone guessing by dropping hints for either Firehawk or Vortex being removed. I was convinced it would be Firehawk up until now, but I'm honestly stumped at this point.

Capture.thumb.PNG.cd3af0c2e98cf354a3d2cea950bae939.PNG

Plot twist: both Firehawk AND Vortex are being removed.

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To any concerned Arrow fans, (as well as any Arrow-haters), I'd be incredibily surprised to see any of their coasters leave KI either at the end of this season, or in the forseeable future, baring metal fatigue.

 

Their ridership remains way too high, and their operating costs remain way too low to justify their removal.

 

As Dick Kinzel states in his autobiography, amusement parks “break everything out by cost per rider.” Rides with the highest cost per rider operating cost may be first on the chopping block.

 

https://www.coaster101.com/2016/02/25/coasters-101-roller-coasters-removed/

 

Firehawk unfortunately fits the "high cost per rider" characteristic, so it probably is the one on the chopping block.

 

Sigh. I know everything happens for a reason, (or at least I would hope so in Cedar Fair management), but I always REALLY WISHED we could have been the one to get Dominator from GL.

 

By the time CF purchased (P)KI in mid-2006, we were in desparate need of more people-eaters, and the addition of FH certainly did not alleviate this problem. (Granted, if were just going solely off ride experience, I think that FH is superior to Dominator, but Dominator does better from the "overall experience" perspective

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Wait wait wait.....

 

Weren't there teasers about outpost 5, son of beast old station? Could it possibly be The Bat, and then reuse son of beast old station and all the land that the bat takes up for the new coaster?

 

How dare you suggest such heresy!

 

But yes, I could see it. Even with Banshee taking up a good chunk of SoB's land they might be able to squeeze something in if they took the Bat out. With all the teasers of Outpost 5, I wouldn't be so quick to say that it's not on the chopping block.

 

I just really don't want the Bat to go. It's one of my favorite rides at the park, and, like has been mentioned, one of a dying breed of Arrow suspended coasters. Not only is it surprisingly forceful and intense, it's part of the brilliant line up that makes KI a great park. There's something charming about non-marquee coasters in that way.

 

We'll find out tomorrow, I guess.

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I'd be disappointed if either of the Arrows ends up going away. I prefer Ninja over The Bat, but I really like The Bat's setting - way back in the trees, away from everything else.

 

And I'm one of the dozen people that enjoy Arrow loopers. As far as Arrows go, Vortex was pretty smooth when I rode it. Even the "wild mouse" turn into the MCBR didn't deliver the headbanging I expected it to.

 

Firehawk was fun, but I'd rather see it go than Vortex or The Bat.

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Many people are talking about Vortex or Firehawk, but Invertigo seems to make more sense. It always seemed odd for a park as large as Kings Island to have a cloned shuttle coaster in the corner. And I imagine more people are entering to ride Firehawk and Vortex than Invertigo. Plus, Dorney removes theirs too.

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Even the "wild mouse" turn into the MCBR

 

Very funny, I never heard that turn called that. We used to call it the curve from hell. When the ride was new, the rumor was it was supposed to wrap around to the other side of the lift thus making it a bit wider. In fact, I think several things were re-arranged before construction started. That ride was such a big deal! In 1987 (my first time to the park, my god the Beast was fast back then), the line for Vortex went the entire length of Coney Mall, then around the corner past King Kobra. Screamin' Demon was still way back there, too. They had Vortex logo's painted all along that path to direct the queue; The Beast also had Beast logos spilling outside of it's queue (which was like... 3 separate queue structures). The Vortex line was super huge, but went very fast: no more than 45 minutes at it's longest. This was a time when visual restraint checks were enough; people used common sense.

 

I love that "wild mouse" turn. After learning how to ride/brace for it, it's quite fun. I still have these super cheezy 1987 Vortex wrap-around foil shades. If I could only find them! Good memories.

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One thing to remember for everyone talking about the old "SOB" land, KI owns all the way to the river to the east of the park. They are not hurting for land at all. Yes, it may be undeveloped and tree covered, but they still have a ton of land to develop wherever they want, they aren't locked into just certain spots.

KIland2.JPG.a8d47bc0c43780145f68e4440b888307.JPG

A rough outline of what they own

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One thing to remember for everyone talking about the old "SOB" land, KI owns all the way to the river to the east of the park. They are not hurting for land at all. Yes, it may be undeveloped and tree covered, but they still have a ton of land to develop wherever they want, they aren't locked into just certain spots.

 

Yes! Thank you for pointing this out, because I was going to if you hadn't. I keep seeing people say things like "if you combine firehawk and dinos alive" on various sites. Not at all necessary to view it that way. KI has enough space for like 10 Banshee sized coasters without removing anything. I really hope whatever they build takes advantage of the expansive land available; one of the best things about KI is how the coasters seem so isolated.

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^That's very true. Kinda like you pointed out, though, most of it is tree covered. It would be a lot easier and cheaper for the park to use an old queue area or old coaster plot than it would be to clear out a bunch of foliage and flatten a fresh plot of ground. That wouldn't be a problem for the ride layout, of course; KI is no stranger to terrain coasters. But at least the queue and station area need to be in a good place.

 

We're probably over-analyzing the idea that the coaster is being removed to make way for a new ride, though. If that were the case it's almost certainly not Vortex. The park has to have several reasons for closing down the ride. A lot of KI's rides are aging and there are many problems with the rides that even we enthusiasts aren't aware of. Maintenance issues, low ridership, cost of running, and contribution to the overall park environment are all possible reasons for closure that have been mentioned here. The only other possible thing I can think of is an RMC conversion, but the only real candidates are Racer and Beast and we've pretty much concluded that they're not the ones.

 

Again, I vote Firehawk.

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