Kings Island to add Adventure Port to the park in 2023

This is welcome news. That area was cute as Octoberfest but over the years lost it’s way.
The flats are Zamperla’s Endeavor, and a themed tea cup ride also from Zamperla. I think it’s interesting that two similar rides are part of that area’s history- Skylab and Der Spinnen Keggers operated nearby years ago.
Adventure Express will receive “enhanced theming” and I’d welcome that. The new entrance looks great and ties the entire area together. We’ll see what else happens.
The restaurant and the beer garden should be a good upgrade.
What cracks me up is the story line they felt compelled to create. I mean, it’s already a given that when I visit that bar I feel like an adventurer celebrating just being alive, lol.
I guess we’ll continue to wait for development of the area where Vortex lived. Maybe ‘24 will bring exciting news.

RCMAC:

I guess we’ll continue to wait for development of the area where Vortex lived. Maybe ‘24 will bring exciting news.

That begs the question, will Action Zone see attention first? I can imagine Congo River Falls and Invertigo being removed/replaced with a retheme of that area.

Between Banshee and The Bat, I’ve always felt that whole area could be re-themed as a permanent haunted area. You could take that 5-mile hike of a queue for The Bat and do some fun things with it, since it’s so isolated from the rest of the park. Change the name of Delirium to The Pendulum, and you're done.

Eager to see the enhanced theming on Adventure Express. Haven't ridden it in years, but back in the day when it opened, it was pretty impressive for a non-Disney, non-Universal park. Night rides, with some fog and lights in the valley, were pretty cool. Then all the animatronics stopped working and it was just sad.

Looking forward to seeing what they do with it.

Cedar Fair has really risen tio the top in regional theme park theming. I’m very happy they have realized the Taft parks are gems and they are making the theming cohesive and detailed at all 4 of them.

I hate to see Oktoberfest go but it was totally neglected and incohesive due to previous ownership

They are really finishing up the neglected areas at the parks Carowinds Areonuatica Lsnding Area 72 at Kings Island They tried to tie Frontiet Canada together at CW

I agree Action Zine could easily become Transylvania like Australias Wonderland It’s really the last neglected area at KI

I think it's the perfect addition. The park needs more flat rides and it's a great nod in that direction. It's especially great that they're going from an upcharge to 2 enjoyable rides with decent capacity. And it desperately needed some cohesion from a theming perspective, with Hank's not really fitting in with Adventure Express. It just felt hodge podge thematically.

I'd lovd to see them lean into the haunted theme for Action Zone. Replace Invertigo and Congo Falls with a better capacity coaster (wing anybody?) and a couple of great flats and it's a winning formula up there.

Is that old amphitheater seeing much action these days? (Pun intended…) I think lately it’s been Christian concerts and cheer competitions if anything. I suppose an overhaul of Action Zone could be in order and there’s lots of room, especially if you consider that void on the way back to and all around the Bat. Maybe that other upcharge attraction could also get the boot. I always thought Skycoasters were an eyesore and not that great of a money maker. Maybe I’m wrong.

I think it’s interesting that they are effectively restoring Oktoberfest by bringing back Der Spinnen Keggers and something that looks kind of like Skylab. Blend that with the Festhaus, Oktoberfest Gardens, and bring bratwurst and pretzels back to that food joint, plus the pendulum boat is right there, and the only thing that really doesn’t fit is Adventure Express.

Solution? Re-theme the whole thing to go with Adventure Express. Then it’s the Festhaus that is out of place…but apart from the recently restored clock, there’s nothing Bavarian about that place anymore.

I also think it’s interesting that they’re doing a sort of double displacement on the names of the two rides. Wonderland’s Skylab was called Sol Loco; with that in mind I’m almost surprised it’s not Sol Loco and Cargo Spin.

Take THAT, people who complain about Cedar Fair re-using names even though they do it less than Six Flags does…

—Dave Althoff, Jr.

Festhaus makes sense when you learn Cincinnati had a large German immigrant population as I did last summer.

I’ve always felt the Festhaus belongs in I-Street as opposed to its own land, where it will obviously still fit, it also would make I-Street the entertainment center of KI with all main stages occurring in that themed area.

eightdotthree:

Festhaus makes sense when you learn Cincinnati had a large German immigrant population as I did last summer.

Pfft, learning sucks.

Octoberfest was built to exist around the corner from the German building on International Street. The circle of rides included Bavarian Beetle Galaxie, Rotor, an Eli Wheel, Bayern Kurve, and the north end of the Skyride with a Bavarian themed station. All of those things were transplanted from Coney. Further around we found the Beer Garden, a German walk-up restaurant featuring Kahn’s products, and Der Spinnen Keggers, which was a new ride. The old Coney rides were eventually retired to make way for Festhaus which was influenced by the success of the huge German halls at the Busch parks. Then the Skyride went away when King Cobra showed up over there, confusing matters with a snakey adventure theme visible from Oompahpah Land. The Flying Dutchman shoes were there, as well as Skylab which faced the near end of Coney Mall. The swinging ship went in across from Festhaus. Adventure Express is a great ride but it looked like an orphan left on the doorstep.
I’ve thought for a bit about whether they should have sent this Adventure Port all the way around to include Festhaus and the ship. The ship would be an easy conversion but Festhaus is another matter. It would be large, expensive, and for what really?
I think things will look fine with the “new” land starting at the corner and going to Hank’s. It’s small, but will be appropriate.

Skylab was always considered a Coney Mall ride. Adventure Express made sense when it opened because it was part of Wild Animal Habitat. Hence the jungle theme. It was regrouped into Oktoberfest when that area became Paramount Action Zone. I love Adventure Express and can't wait to see an entire land based off of its theming!

I've heard the rumor about Amazon Falls, Inverigo, and the Timberwolf Amphitheater being removed for a new coaster. This was probably the secret plan before they discovered Vortex unexpectedly needed to be removed. Doing this would allow a shorter path entrance to The Bat, as the entrance would be closer to the new coaster.

At least that's what the Dippin' Dots guy told me.

This new themed area is impressive. This proves that it doesn't have to be millions-of-dollars and a new coaster to be an addition that fans of the park can get excited about. From what I've been seeing, this announcement has been well-received.

I wonder what they expect the longevity of The Bat to be. If they only expect it to be around for, say, five more years, then I wouldn't see rearranging things to shorten the path. But maybe they expect to keep it longer.

I hope it lasts a long time yet. It's the one of the last great remaining suspended coasters, imo.

All this talk is exciting because as great as Kings Island is right now (it's basically replaced Cedar Point for my family even though it's further away by an hour plus), it still has heaps of potential with 2 areas at least that will probably see upgrades soon (Action Zone and the Vortex area).

To be clear, I agree - I'm just wondering if the folks at Cedar Fair do. (They might! Look at all the work they did on The Beast. They are obviously not above giving a ride some love when called for.)

What are the remaining suspended coasters? Iron Dragon. Ninja. Bat. Vortex. Is that it?

Vampire at Chessington in the UK.