2018: Kings Island Year in Review

 Originally published 12-31-2018

2018 may not have been a major, record-breaking year for Kings Island. Yet it was still full of interesting moments and good memories for the several million guests that passed through the gates this season. The park saw the opening of a major new restaurant, the continued success of Mystic Timbers, and expanded offerings for Winterfest and Halloween Haunt.

The 2017 "announcement season" came and went, with no word from Kings Island. This came as no surprise for the year following the opening of a major new roller coaster. Many did not think Kings Island would add anything for 2018, despite persistent rumors of a new barbecue restaurant. The first official news of the 2018 season came on January 25 on the official Kings Island blog, which confirmed that Diamondback would be getting brand new black seats and clamshell restraints for the 2018 season. The old seats and restraints were getting dirty and worn-down and the sleek, new black seats are a welcome change.

On March 27, a press release was sent out announcing two of the biggest changes to the park for 2018. Kings Island had hired a new executive chef, James Major. In addition, a new restaurant would be added: Coney Bar B Que, replacing both the Attitudes gift shop and Coney Potato Works food stand, which were both demolished in the fall of 2017.

Kings Island opened to the public on Saturday, April 14. Personally, I think Coney Bar B Que is a very good addition to the park. I think the food is very tasty and the porch and back patio are two of the nicest places to eat in the park. The building also fits in perfectly to its surroundings on Coney Mall.

In addition to Coney Bar B Que, other small changes were made around the park: Rivertown Potato Works got a new sign, the Coney Mall Subway was repainted, Rivertown got a new soundtrack consisting of country/bluegrass covers of popular songs, and some landscaping toward the back of Coney Mall was redone. Many of the restaurants throughout the park got new menu items. One change that I was extremely happy to see was with Tower Gardens, which is no longer a smoking area! It also saw some refreshed landscaping. Overall, I think the park looked the best that it has in my 11 years of visiting.

One of the largest changes was to the firework show. Now the International Street Light and Firework Spectacular, the firework show now involved new lights along the buildings on International Street, lights on the Eiffel Tower, and the lights in the Royal Fountain all set to the song "The Greatest Show" from the 2017 film The Greatest Showman.

Always something there to remind me. Photo by the blog administrator.

The entrance to Dinosaurs Alive!, which closed the previous October, had been converted into a smoking area. The path through the woods was gated off.

International Street saw some rearranging in the shops. What used to be the Peanuts room in Emporium was repainted and restocked with Ohio and Cincinnati merchandise. The Peanuts merchandise was moved down to the green-colored room selling bulk candy. Both the '80's and '90's shops were condensed into one pop-culture shop, with Build-a-Bear Workshop going in the place of the '80's shop.

New shows for the 2018 season included the Cirque du Soleil "Gravity" in the Kings Island Theater and "Forever Country" in the Festhaus. The International Showplace was once again home to a dog show, "Jump!," the bandstand was home to both "Off the Charts" and "Peanuts Party in the Park," and "Lunch With the Peanuts Gang" was in the Festhaus.

On May 5 and 6, the Harlem Globetrotters paid a visit to Kings Island, where they performed on the International Street bandstand.

The annual Coasterstock event was held on May 18 and 19. I attended the event for my first time. I think that this is a great event if you live far away from the park and don't have the chance to come often. But as someone who lives in the area and can come almost any time they would like, I didn't think it was worth it.

From June 1-17, Kings Island hosted the Peanuts Celebration. There were new food items, photo ops, and a reopened Enchanted Theater hosting a Peanuts drawing school and Charles Schulz exhibit.

On July 1, Kings Island celebrated "National Blue Ice Cream Day." There were many blueberry and blue-themed foods and new photo ops celebrating Kings Island's most iconic treat. To top it off, a blue ice cream-eating contest was held at the bandstand on International Street. 

The 4th of July was celebrated at the park with much fanfare, including a 20-minute long firework show.

Kings Island closed early July 10--not from weather or from low attendance, but because of a suspicious object. The park was evacuated and the Mason Police were called, but the object ended up being a firecracker from the 4th of July.

Summer evenings at Kings Island. Photo by the blog administrator

Banshee's gift shop was never very profitable. In 2018, the Merchandise Department finally decided to get rid of it. In July, the shop was gutted and converted to an arcade.

The Ultimate Stunt Show was very popular in 2017 and so it was brought back from July 30-August 19. Unlike 2017, the show was held toward the back of International Street, centered on the bandstand.

On August 15, the park's Twitter account cryptically posted, "Something old will be new again. Find out what’s returning to Kings Island tomorrow, Thursday, August 16, at 2 p.m." To further tease what was coming, the park sent "vintage" scrapbooks to news sources in the area. Mike Koontz, the park's general manager, had confirmed during Coasterstock that "a ride" would be coming in 2019. What would it be?


The next day, it was revealed that the antique cars would be coming back, reborn as the Kings Mills Antique Autos. They would be moving in to the back of Coney Mall, necessitating the removal of Coney Drinks, the Peach Basket game stand, the Flight Commander queue and hill, half of the former Dinosaurs Alive! entrance, and half the midway.

Kings Island closed the summer season on September 3. Demolition work for the antique cars commenced the next day on September 4. While sad to lose features that have been at the park for 43 years, it was an area of the park that was mostly abandoned and due for an overhaul. You can see photos of the area as it was here. Demolition work was completed October 12.

The annual Golden Ticket Awards, often referred to as the Oscars of the amusement industry, were held September 8. Kings Island took home the Golden Ticket for Best Kids Area for the 18th time. Kings Island was also ranked as having the fourth-best Halloween event and tied for the fourth-best Christmas event of any park in the world. The Beast was ranked as the fifth best wooden coaster and Mystic Timbers was ranked as the 11th best wooden coaster in the world. Kings Island's steel coasters were also recognized, with Diamondback ranking #10 and Banshee ranking #29 on the list of steel coasters.

September 21 was the first night of Halloween Haunt. This was only my second year attending Haunt, so I really don't have much to compare it to. However, I did think that 2018's Haunt was better than Haunt 2017. Both CarnEvil and Board to Death were retired, but a new maze and two new Scare Zones made up for it. The former location of Board to Death was the new maze C.H.A.O.S. and Coney Mall was transformed into the nightmarish Coney Maul. The pathway that runs from Coney Mall to Rivertown was changed into Pumpkin Eater. Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror received a new twist this year; it was in the dark with each guest given a flashlight to find their way. The new Haunted Homecoming show in the International Showplace was okay; it was a little better than Hot Blooded. Monster Rock returned to the Festhaus and Blood Drums returned to the International Street bandstand. USA Today ranked Haunt the #1 theme park Halloween event in the country.

What got most people's attention on the opening night of Haunt was not the new maze, Scare Zones, or show, but rather a mock funeral set up in the graveyard of defunct rides.

It's big, it's gone. Photo by the blog administrator

Social media was sent into a frenzy. What ride would be leaving? What could it mean for the future of the park? A few days later on the 24th, the ride was confirmed to be a roller coaster. On September 27, Kings Island confirmed it would be removing Firehawk. The ride was low-capacity and a maintenance nightmare. It surprised very few people when it was officially announced that it would be leaving. Firehawk closed October 28. You can read my report on the last rides here.

Winterfest opened November 23 even bigger and better than 2017. Both Shake, Rattle & Roll and Flight of Fear were added to the ride roster for Winterfest, upping the total count of rides to 19. The path between Rivertown and Coney Mall was opened and decorated along with the back of Coney Mall, renamed Tinsel Town. The Mistletones show was relocated from the porch of the Rivertown LaRosa's to a game stand in Tinsel Town. Carriage rides, a tradition from the original Winterfest, also returned. Reds Hall of Fame Grille hosted a holiday buffet. The Artisan Village was relocated to the outer base of the Eiffel Tower and the inner base hosted rentable Igloos. A spectacular New Year's Eve party closed out a memorable season.