Kings Island new Coaster 2014

Considering the number of nearby trees, I'd say Alpengeist beats Great Bear on charm alone.

I dare say I like it even more than many Schwartzkopf loopers with green track.

Yeah, the elements on Alpengeist are so large that it does kind of lose something, but I don't think any of the inverted B&M's are bad rides.

Bone-chilling screams and an evil phenomenon? Sounds like a Banshee to me.

Carrie J. said:
I don't think Great Bear is wander-y, but it does peter out at the end. Right down to the on-ride photo taken during the final brake run straightaway. That irritates me almost every time. :-)

Great Bear has one of the best starts for a suspended coaster with that mini-helix into the drop, it looks cool woven into and near SDL and the log flume, and it is fantastic for three-quarters of the ride, and then there's that stupid straightaway for what seems like eternity. Then that photo placement?! Who wants their picture taken during the brake run grimace?

I know I'm reiterating a little, but a little question? WHY would they put the camera there? Because GB is so crunched in with other coasters, so they couldn't fit it? That doesn't seem right...could it just be that Hershey spent all their money on the ride itself and then didn't have extra for an expensive high speed quality camera? Also, why the lengthy straightaway? I think they could have fit one more element in there. Do you think it was the space? The cost to put in a little zigzag was too much? Yes, zigzag is a technical term (laugh).

Back on topic, if they built an invert, the use of what appears to be very nice real estate could definitely be a plus. However, if Alpengeist isn't all that great because of what sounds like a supreme lack of zing (I can't say for myself because I haven't ridden it yet), do you guys think Cedar Fair will resist the temptation to build an "-est" invert and go instead with a terrain-hugging, smaller, snappy ride? Both Cedar Fair and Six Flags like to have the "biggest", "tallest", "fastest" so much (Gatekeeper being the tallest wing rider, the battle over Ka and TTD, etc). With Alpengeist being the biggest invert in the country, AND that title not belonging to either SF or CF, I'm kind of surprised they have just let that one go.

I dig the straight section. Straight track is underrated.

^^ But... But... But Alpengeist is NOT the tallest or fastest inverted coaster... Wouldn't that be Wicked Twister?!? (I get your point, just busting your chops...)

Um...tallest invert with loops and a full circuit and stuff?

Honestly I thought WT and Alpie were both 200 feet, but not even close on further checks at RCDB.

I need my chops busted sometimes. No worries. :) And hey, I learned a new factoid. Always a good thing!

I was planning to do a first-ever trip to Kings Island this season, but if they do get a new ride for 2014, I'll 1) hope it's a B&M Invert, and 2) save that trip for next year. I think a B&M Wingrider may be a bit too predicatble. But Kings Island being a pretty major park, it's defintitely possible. kYou never know...

Jeff said:

Yeah, the elements on Alpengeist are so large that it does kind of lose something, but I don't think any of the inverted B&M's are bad rides.

Not a bad ride, but kinda shaky.

bunky666 said: and then there's that stupid straightaway for what seems like eternity. Then that photo placement?! Who wants their picture taken during the brake run grimace?

I figure it's all about personal taste. As a kid, in addition to being a coaster nerd, I was a train nerd. That's where my like of "meandering" or mine-train-like coaster track comes from. Great Bear is one of my favorite coasters! It has great variety; a little intense, great views, very unique and a little meandering. Plus, it's at Hersheypark :)

In addition to the Son of Beast land, the fenced-in area includes the Thunder Alley Go Karts, where the footers are starting to be laid out:

(Image credit to Jayblazer at Kings Island Central)

Lots of smaller footers....could that be the station? Like Sirloin, I was hoping for a coaster with some great KI terrain. But that massive chunk of land appears pretty flat, barren, and void of charm.

I like GB more than I don't. It has an awesome first drop that kind of swoops, and that is after the surprisingly forceful helix off of the lift. After the drop, we get two really great inversions.

That's where the ride fizzles out for me though. After that there are two lackluster inversions and some meandering as it chugs back to the station. The last half is fun, I suppose, but it doesn't match up with the greatness of the first half.

(Way off topic, I feel that Hersheypark lacks creative ride planning. They mess up a lot of their new coasters by not allowing the right amount of space in their designs. They just squeeze them in and plop them on top of each other like a 12-year-old playing RCT. -end rant)

If KI builds an inverted ride, it will probably be the "-est" something. I just hope it is as fun as Great Bear's first half.

Krause, I'm certainly not going to start another layout war with you; however, respectfully, I don't quite share your creative planning (or lack thereof) view....

With the exception of GB and Skyrush, I don't really see rides being "plopped" down on top of one another at all (you need not get much further than Comet Hollow and Minetown to discover this). According to HP's marketing department, the two coasters in question here were designed and strategically placed for purposes of crowd flow and balancing out the rest of their attractions. I don't think they just hastily threw them in their spot with no thought process or reasoning behind it. Now granted, that area might seem cluttered to some, and a little of that definitely goes a long way in any park. But all things considered, I'll take how that skyline looks any day of the week - especially taking into account the alternative of those rides have never been being built in the first place.

As far as GB fizzling out ... I think it keeps pretty good intensity right up and through the last element. After the barrel roll it does die down for sure as that's pretty much the end of the ride and heading back into the station. I think part of the reason it loses a lot of momentum quickly is because it's going uphill after the valley behind SDL. Of course not all coasters are going to have a 65 mph finish ala Millennium Force.

No plans to get into a layout war with you either. lol And I will agree with you about this not being the case outside of the older sections of the park. It's just one goofball's opinion contrasting with another goofball's opinion. Yes, I just called you a goofball, but in a friendly way. :)

I hope that we can talk about KI's new coaster here, or at least the various coasters in the world that this coaster might resemble. Maybe I should not have did the bit about Hersheypark's layout. lol

Back to KI, the truth is, none outside of park management knows exactly what kind of coaster they are going to get next year. They don't have a few different kinds of coasters that I would consider to be something that they could use. What about something that launches, but much larger than Stunt Track? Or what about a dive coaster?

Jeph said:

The hints begin at KI:

Sign reads: "Due to the increasing occurance of mysterious and bone-chilling screams, it has become necessary to close this section of the park until the cause of this evil phenomenon can be identified."

(Image credit to Brandon Winkle via Twitter)

Kings Island is a Merlin property?

Krause, you nailed it ! And when it comes to goofballs, I've no doubt cornered the market. lol

I know it probably seems like I have a hard on for HP, but I promise .. I love to discuss them all ;)

I've always been big on KI, and in particular, the wooden father and son combo. I hated to see SOB bite the dust; it just seemed like such a waste. If I had my way, my next coaster there would be a reboot - so to speak. I'd call it Son Of Beast: Reborn. And naturally the thing would be built right this time with maybe a tweak or two here or there to the layout (LOL there's that word again).

B&M invert would be nice but they're not the fad right now.

I'm going with either a Wing Rider or an Iron Horse wooden coaster called "Ghost of the Beast." Also, intamin giga could be in the cards as well.

They're not the fad because everyone but kings island has one.

I would actually be shocked if it is a Wing Coaster! Being that KI and CP are owned by Cedar Fair, i dont think they would want to take away any of the fire from GateKeeper opening the previous season.

A B&M Inverted coaster would be nice, it would be 20yrs since Raptor opened at CP next year...Wow!
A dueling woody would be great!
KI needs an Intamin coaster....Maverick, Skyrush, Giga etc...... with lap bars!

KI already has a dueling wooden coaster.