Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[eugenecd]

With the success of Fury, I wouldn't be surprised if KI gets a hyper eventually. However, they really don't need it right now with such a wide selection of decent roller coasters. Diamondback, Banshee, and Beast are the 'big 3' crowd favorites. Flight of Fear, Bat, Stunt Coaster, and Firehawk are great supporting coasters to the big three. Not only that, but their wooden racer still rides pretty well, their mine train is quirky as hell, but fun, and Vortex draws a decent 'love it or hate it' crowd. Now, they're adding another great, but smaller, attraction to round out their collection.

 

Compare this to Carowinds. Prior to Fury they had Afterburn and Intimidator combined with a Boomerang that still mostly sucked, and a bunch of other completely forgettable coasters. They also don't have a flume or a train in comparison to KI. Carowinds needed a well received giga coaster a lot more than KI does.

 

A giga at KI wouldn't nearly be as good of an investment at this point as it was at Carowinds. As far as CF worrying about KI competing with CP, I don't think that concerns them. Having two incredibly well rounded parks within close proximity will only give people living nearby and people traveling to the area more of an excuse to buy season passes to be able to hit both massive parks.

 

Agree with not competing with CP as a concern. If they were worried about overshadowing CP coaster of the same type they wouldn't have build Banshee, which is better invert than Raptor.

 

I disagree on KI getting a hyper next. They got a hyper in 2009 with Diamondback. Still think they need a Giga, as all of the other top CF parks have. Also, before a another hyper, a wing coaster would more useful to the KI coaster line up. Now with 3 woodies, could they RMC The Racer in the vane of Twisted Colossus.

[prozach626]

I meant to say giga, not hyper. I don't necessarily think it will be next, but I think it will happen eventually.

[Password121]

^It's the same thing and I think it was pretty apparent what prozach was referring to.

[coastermaniac]

A great day spent at Kings Island over the summer. I always enjoy visiting this park!

 

[CaptainUnknown]

Now will the giga be a B&M or Intamin? And where would it go? My hope is an Intamin replacing Dinos Alive.

[CP Maverick]

An Intamin between the likes of Millennium Force and Intimidator 305, with lap bars and low fast turns between a couple speed hills would be nice back there.

[KICoasterkev]

I think they are keeping it in their back pocket just incase they need it. It would be nice to see some of the rides they used to have make a return.

 

Anyone going to WinterFest next year?

[Ape]

I would eat at just about every other ice cream joint before Graeters.

This sounds like there in an unfortunate personal story behind it...

 

Nope the place is just mediocre and overpriced/overhyped

[defrocker]

Now will the giga be a B&M or Intamin? And where would it go? My hope is an Intamin replacing Dinos Alive.

 

B&M. It isn't even a question, IMO. If you compare the successes of Fury vs I305, it isn't a contest. Fury has received massive amounts of popularity, rave reviews, and was voted #1 steel in the world (I don't care about anyone here's opinions on the Golden Ticket awards, they are important to parks and the GP.) I305 didn't achieve all that Fury did. Also, with CF's current use of B&M, the writing is on the wall.

 

The real question should be, "Will B&M's next giga be able to top what they did with Fury?"

[coasterbill]

If you compare the successes of Fury vs I305, it isn't a contest. Fury has received massive amounts of popularity, rave reviews, and was voted #1 steel in the world (I don't care about anyone here's opinions on the Golden Ticket awards, they are important to parks and the GP.) I305 didn't achieve all that Fury did. Also, with CF's current use of B&M, the writing is on the wall.

 

Come on man, you usually make really good posts but none of us have any idea if any of this is actually true. A B&M seems totally plausible but we know nothing about ridership numbers, return on investment or anything like that. I don't know that I'd state any of this as fact.

[eugenecd]

Now will the giga be a B&M or Intamin? And where would it go? My hope is an Intamin replacing Dinos Alive.

 

B&M and they have a ton of land, 350 acres of land available for development.

[prozach626]

I'd put my money on B&M, if the park ever gets a Giga.

[defrocker]

If you compare the successes of Fury vs I305, it isn't a contest. Fury has received massive amounts of popularity, rave reviews, and was voted #1 steel in the world (I don't care about anyone here's opinions on the Golden Ticket awards, they are important to parks and the GP.) I305 didn't achieve all that Fury did. Also, with CF's current use of B&M, the writing is on the wall.

 

Come on man, you usually make really good posts but none of us have any idea if any of this is actually true. A B&M seems totally plausible but we know nothing about ridership numbers, return on investment or anything like that. I don't know that I'd state any of this as fact.

 

Sorry, I started off by saying "In my opinion," which is all I have to go on. Being relatively local to both parks, Fury just *felt* different for me, like it was more of a "big deal." Granted this could be the lapse in time between the two openings speaking here. I didn't mean to come across that way, like I quoting facts. My bad.

[Coasters & Lamps]

With the success of Fury, I wouldn't be surprised if KI gets a giga eventually. However, they really don't need it right now with such a wide selection of decent roller coasters. Diamondback, Banshee, and Beast are the 'big 3' crowd favorites. Flight of Fear, Bat, Stunt Coaster, and Firehawk are great supporting coasters to the big three. Not only that, but their wooden racer still rides pretty well, their mine train is quirky as hell, but fun, and Vortex draws a decent 'love it or hate it' crowd. Now, they're adding another great, but smaller, attraction to round out their collection.

 

Compare this to Carowinds. Prior to Fury they had Afterburn and Intimidator combined with a Boomerang that still mostly sucked, and a bunch of other completely forgettable coasters. They also don't have a flume or a train in comparison to KI. Carowinds needed a well received giga coaster a lot more than KI does.

 

A giga at KI wouldn't nearly be as good of an investment at this point as it was at Carowinds. As far as CF worrying about KI competing with CP, I don't think that concerns them. Having two incredibly well rounded parks within close proximity will only give people living nearby and people traveling to the area more of an excuse to buy season passes to be able to hit both massive parks.

 

I like your explanation much better than the one I tried to give. I was pressed for time and I got into a bit of a hurry, babbling as a result. I was purely speculating at best and I don't pretend to know the reasons why. My Ausperger's brain sees things differently than most people. I was able to memorize the majority of the parks and coasters that are out there from studying the RCDB and Ultimaterollercoaster databases. I remember populations of metro areas, as well as individual cities. But my knowledge on the economies of those cities is rather limited, which leads me to a question below.

 

I can understand why Cedar Point has such a high attendance record. They are a destination park on Lake Erie with lake front hotel complexes. But what makes King's Island draw so many visitors?

 

Is it because of their size and offerings? I've seen it posted where SFGA could never draw any more than 3 million, regardless of what they build. If that is true, than why doesn't it work in the Chicago metro, which is way bigger than Cincinnati?

 

It has been said that St. Louis area was too depressed to support any growth at SFSTL. I was under the impression that while the city itself has shrunk, there was still plenty of affluence in their suburbs. And I was under the impression that the economy in Cincinnati and it's suburbs were similar to that of St. Louis, though Cincinnati is even smaller. They have to be attracting many from beyond Cincinnati, but where exactly? I have speculated where they may all be coming from, but I'm not sure. And I'm sure KI draws plenty from Columbus, Dayton and Indianapolis. But to get their numbers, I would almost suspect they draw from all over the country, more than what SFSTL or SFGAM would. I'm sure the combo ticket (which we usually get) helps.

 

CF parks seem to be be bigger than SF parks, averaging 50-100 more acres per park. And they seem to offer more, especially in the coaster department. That can be gleaned simply by looking up stats on Wikipedia. I've read where KD draws the same amount of annual attendance as SFSTL. If this is true, look at the difference between both parks! I know SF has been coming back after bankruptcy, but CF also carries a heavy debt. They both have a budget that must be managed. People have posted about SF's cheap seasons passes being part of the problem. But SF's admission tickets and food prices seem to make up for it. Of course, we tend to limit our theme park meals to one per visit.

[theredskull84]

Progress!

[CP Maverick]

Looks like 5 more went up today. She has to be close to peak height now.

[eugenecd]

 

 

CF parks seem to be be bigger than SF parks, averaging 50-100 more acres per park. And they seem to offer more, especially in the coaster department. That can be gleaned simply by looking up stats on Wikipedia. I've read where KD draws the same amount of annual attendance as SFSTL. If this is true, look at the difference between both parks! I know SF has been coming back after bankruptcy, but CF also carries a heavy debt. They both have a budget that must be managed. People have posted about SF's cheap seasons passes being part of the problem. But SF's admission tickets and food prices seem to make up for it. Of course, we tend to limit our theme park meals to one per visit.

 

You need to go look at the annual reports of both chains and it will tell you how the parks make money differently. CF has lower attendance overall their parks, but the same revenue. CF capital investments per year have been much more than SF recently. SF debt has risen from 951M in 2011 to 1.5B in 2015 report. CF debt has been stable at 1.55B since 2011. SF has been touting their record revenue the last few years but their debt has been rising significantly. Btw, CF has had equal revenue to SF, stable debt, while making much larger capital investments. CF capital investments last 2 seasons were 170M and 150M and debt increased by 2M. SF capital investments were 108 and 114M, debt grew by 125M.

[DILinator]

Now will the giga be a B&M or Intamin? And where would it go? My hope is an Intamin replacing Dinos Alive.

 

I am almost certain it would be a B&M, given CF's recent focus on them. However, personally, I would love to see Intamin get another shot at a Giga, creating basically a 300+ foot sized version of Superman at SFNE, with airtime galore! Throw in a few fast turns along the ground at the end as well, a la I305. All of this back in the woods running behind the park (think Dinos Alive area, wrapping around interacting with The Beast, with the turnaround near Diamondback.) A B&M along those lines would be great as well (Fury obviously brings it), but I would like to see an Intamin like that, and I feel it would provide a little better variety of ride experience compared to Diamondback (yes, I know Carowinds and Canada's Wonderland say hi, but I actually feel like Carowinds actually proves my point!)

[drummermattk]

Honestly. Imo. I'd go with a B&M giga. One that will break furys heightbrecord. I'm pretty sure that we could see the station where Dino's is now, and work it's way over to the graveyard of son of beast.

 

 

 

 

But wait. We all know. RMC is going to be buidlihg a giga for the park. I wish.

[defrocker]

I don't know why I'm surprised to see how big Mystic Timbers is looking. It really is going to change the look of that area more than I originally thought.

[jynx242]

^ I was thinking the same thing. It looks much bigger than I thought it would!

 

I do love the sight of that swooping GCI first drop though

 

David

[prozach626]

Honestly. Imo. I'd go with a B&M giga. One that will break furys heightbrecord.

 

Hmmmm. Your comment made me think that Fury's height record is probably another one of the reasons that KI won't see a giga too soon. I would imagine that CF will want to let Carowinds hang on to that record for at least a little while before they try to trump it.

[JonnyRCT3]

^Or it could just be 300' tall, a fun layout and call it a day.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Honestly. Imo. I'd go with a B&M giga. One that will break furys heightbrecord.

 

Hmmmm. Your comment made me think that Fury's height record is probably another one of the reasons that KI won't see a giga too soon. I would imagine that CF will want to let Carowinds hang on to that record for at least a little while before they try to trump it.

 

Make Kings Island Great Again.

[PKI Jizzman]

Honestly I wrote this ride off as a basic b*tch but it looks to be pretty solid. Still gotta ride it next year to get a real idea but it looks better than protected