Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[jedimaster1227]

I see no scenario where Beast is at risk of being removed (anytime soon)... And if it was ever considered, I believe they'd utilize the structure for something more before simply removing it entirely.

 

I think Firehawk or Vortex are the likely candidates.

[grsupercity]

Does Vekoma still make the trains that they put on Vampire? I think those would work well on The Bat

[boldikus]

Calling it now... RMC BEAST.

 

[dmh1079]

Calling it now... RMC BEAST.

Not sure which would be more fun...the ride itself or watching the social media meltdown.

[boldikus]

I mean... I know people would lose their sh*t. And then they'd get over it when they realize its going to be the best coaster ever.

[PKI Jizzman]

I mean... I know people would lose their sh*t. And then they'd get over it when they realize its going to be the best coaster ever.

 

What's funny is I posted about that on Facebook and asked people to use their imagination as if the Beast was being removed/RMC'd and they won't even think about it, haha. I genuinely want to know what would happen.

 

It's just a lot of "Firehawk is getting kicked over to the Kentucky side" replies

 

I just saw Kentucky Kingdom's post. If KI is really selling Firehawk to KK that's going to be one of the most bizarre transactions.

[Ed Farmer]

If it's Firehawk (and if maintenance is a factor), I think it's more likely it ends up at Carowinds for parts than anywhere else to operate again. My other (hopefully wrong) guesses are The Bat or Vortex- mostly because of Old Arrow Syndrome, but at this point I'm leaning towards The Bat. I really still just hope Dorney is getting a shiny new-to-them Invertigo again, mostly for comedic purposes.

[SteveStL]

My money is on the Vortex.

[IntaminLove]

You've obviously never ridden NIghthawk at Carowinds and been stuck there on the holding brakes while it took 10 minutes (or more) to dispatch the train in the station. It's not comfortable. Add in the sun? worse. It has a "shade structure". but it's translucent so it still bakes you in the summer heat. There is nothing wrong with Firehawk having a dual load station with only 2 trains.

 

I haven't been on Nighthawk, but I've been stuck on Firehawk's lift hill and brake run. The sun was beating on me both times, but that didn't make me hate the ride. Everyone likes and dislikes rides for different reasons. Nothing wrong with that. The dual loading station is wasted on two trains. The slow dispatch doesn't help either. Agree to disagree.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

I mean... I know people would lose their sh*t. And then they'd get over it when they realize its going to be the best coaster ever.

 

What's funny is I posted about that on Facebook and asked people to use their imagination as if the Beast was being removed/RMC'd and they won't even think about it, haha. I genuinely want to know what would happen.

 

It's just a lot of "Firehawk is getting kicked over to the Kentucky side" replies

 

I just saw Kentucky Kingdom's post. If KI is really selling Firehawk to KK that's going to be one of the most bizarre transactions.

 

EDIT:

[SFOG1991]

You've obviously never ridden NIghthawk at Carowinds and been stuck there on the holding brakes while it took 10 minutes (or more) to dispatch the train in the station. It's not comfortable. Add in the sun? worse. It has a "shade structure". but it's translucent so it still bakes you in the summer heat. There is nothing wrong with Firehawk having a dual load station with only 2 trains.

 

I haven't been on Nighthawk, but I've been stuck on Firehawk's lift hill and brake run. The sun was beating on me both times, but that didn't make me hate the ride. Everyone likes and dislikes rides for different reasons. Nothing wrong with that. The dual loading station is wasted on two trains. The slow dispatch doesn't help either. Agree to disagree.

The dual station is actually very helpful so you aren’t wasting away on the brake run for 10 minutes. If two trains stack with one station, two stations isn’t a waste. Plus, when I was last at the park, one station was designated for Fast Lane which worked well I thought.

[prozach626]

I guess it's the new par for the course that every time a new coaster is mentioned there's talk of RMC converting a wooden coaster to a hybrid, even in this case where there's really no justification for it.

 

As much as I think this will be Firehawk first, with Vortex being my second guess, it's still in the back of my head that The Bat has a realistic chance of being on the chopping block. Although I don't think it's going to happen, it wouldn't be the shock of the century.

[coasterbill]

I'm still stuck between Vortex and Firehawk...

 

I think one thing that's being overlooked is that Firehawk just flat out looks like shit. It's pretty much unheard of for Cedar Fair to let rides get to the point where the old paint is showing through everywhere and actively giving rides like Superman at Great Adventure a run for their money when it comes to overwhelming ugliness.

 

It's got to be at the point where they need to spend the money to paint it and while that won't be the driving factor in the desire to remove it it could help give them an extra nudge in that direction if it was ever seriously discussed anyway. It's appearance is likely also an indication of how the park views the ride in general.

 

On the other hand; removing Vortex is also pretty sensible and the line about the air being eerily calm is pretty on the nose. You could make that apply to the Bat or Firehawk but it's quite a stretch to do so.

 

Another interesting thing to note is that the park has decided to open up the area by Vortex and Firehawk for Winterfest this year (for the first time) which seems weird if they're expecting them to be active construction sites right away so I feel like whatever they're doing is going to follow Cedar Fair's new trend of closing rides super early and taking their time with construction of a replacement so it sort of doubles as a convenient budget cut. Obviously I could be wrong, but a coaster that's being torn apart with heavy equipment and unsightly debris everywhere within plain sight of guest areas (especially in the case of Vortex) is probably not the festive atmosphere they're going for for Winterfest.

[vertigomkie]

My main counterpoint to removing Vortex for a new attraction is why put a new anchor attraction there?

Even if Vortex is expendable (which I am in the keep-your-hand-off-of-Vortex-camp), I'm presuming we're talking about taking out a coaster and using that real estate for a new anchor attraction.

 

Vortex is neighborhood by Beast and a straight walkway down to Diamondback. Does it make sense to put what will be the park's biggest draw right in the middle when there is so much space to build at Kings Island already? Park flow/traffic has to be a heavy consideration in planning (more than we think).

 

Kings Island would be foolish to gut the second biggest attraction in Coney Mall (Vortex), but I don't think they'd put the park's best attraction there as a replacement either. Doesn't make much sense.

Edited September 26, 2018 by vertigomike

[vertigomkie]

Oh yeah...

 

TARE FIREHAWK DOWNNNN

[Yubstep101]

I wouldn't be upset with Firehawk going, it's sort of in a dead-end of the park (just like its counterpart in Maryland) and doesn't draw too many crowds as far as I'm concerned.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

I could be wayyy off the mark here, but I might as well throw this in.

 

Do you think proximity to Beast might play into this? To me it would somewhat ruin the famous nighttime "Beast experience" if there was a huge giga towering overhead. Firehawk is definitely a lot more on its own.

 

With all the pros mentioned of Firehawk being the one to go, it definitely sounds the most plausible. I'll still miss it, but whatever new replacing it is bound to be 1000x better, so I won't cry too much.

 

Also, I remember reading somewhere that someone thought an amphitheater or warehouse that currently houses a Haunt maze was getting demolished too. Not sure if they meant the one near Racer that has Urgent Scare or the one near Beast that has Slaughterhouse. Anyone else hear anything about this?

[John Peck]

I wanted to finally chime in here. When a park removes a coaster or a ride, it's usually the last thing they want to do.... and sometimes there really is no choice. Whenever a ride is removed, we have to remember it is somebody's favorite, too and whatever the news is, somebody isn't going to be happy. I felt that before with Kings Island when they removed the Flying Eagles.

 

Vortex is my favorite coaster there, so I said to myself a few years ago that with its age, it could be at any time. I hope it's not this time. The calm wind hint has made me eerily uncomfortable. Vortex fits the bill as a ride that's a bit rough around the edges and though it's extremely popular, has only a matter of time. I think I would have felt better if they invested in new Vekoma trains, but that doesn't mean much.

 

I also love the Bat, but I think there is still some life in it.

 

Firehawk however I never really cared much for either here or up north, and would be sad to lose another large piece of Geauga Lake, but I ride it maybe once or twice a season due to the uncomfortable flying position, so out of everything there, it's the one I would rather lose... but we'll see.

[Angle O. Descent]

^^Proximity at theme parks does not appear to be an issue from what I can tell..........

[mikeykaise]

I think the only reason why I was thinking the Beast, The Racer, or The Vortex is because of #ItsBigItsGone. I was thinking of size wise and shock weight of the announcement. It's going to be interesting.

[JT325]

Invertigo or Backlot perhaps?

 

Also, Bat is stupidly out of the way...

[vertigomkie]

^^Proximity at theme parks does not appear to be an issue from what I can tell..........

 

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).

[Midgetman82]

I just saw Kentucky Kingdom's post. If KI is really selling Firehawk to KK that's going to be one of the most bizarre transactions.

 

EDIT:

lol no thanks, Cedar Fair can keep it.

 

I had already settled and convinced myself it's going to be Firehawk, and had those thoughts reaffirmed with so many plausible reasons by others on why it would be the best contender for leaving the park. But as mikeykaise pointed out the hashtag #ItsBigItsGone, I started realizing that Firehark isn't that big... Vortex, on the other hand...

[BoulderDash]

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but the wreath of flowers in the background has my attention. There are 4 different colored flowers and they are red, yellow, grey, and black. Those are the colors of the track, supports, and trains of Firehawk. That is what my money is on.

 

I went on it last year and I did not find it very enjoyable and I thought Batwing at SFA was much better. Second least favorite coaster there behind Invertigo.

[Wanleft]

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but the wreath of flowers in the background has my attention. There are 4 different colored flowers and they are red, yellow, grey, and black. Those are the colors of the track, supports, and trains of Firehawk. That is what my money is on.

 

I went on it last year and I did not find it very enjoyable and I thought Batwing at SFA was much better. Second least favorite coaster there behind Invertigo.

 

That yellow looks like orange. Been a while since I've been to KI, but if it's orange, wouldn't that represent the colors Top Gun (gray and red) and The Bat (black and orange)? It would also explain the fresh and dead flowers and wreaths. Dead flowers for the old Bat and fresh flowers for the current Bat.