Kings Island opens Saturday; new attractions to come this summer

MASON — It’s starting to feel like summer as Kings Island opens its doors to all visitors Saturday.

The park will only be open on weekends until mid-May.

While new attractions are planned to open this summer, Chad Showalter, director of communications for the park, said the park still holds on to that nostalgic feeling.

“There are a lot of things in the park including international street that our guests have seen since day one and that view has remained relatively unchanged,” Showalter said.

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In October, Kings Island announced its building a new themed area that will feature new family rides, food options and an enhanced crowd favorite.

The new “Adventure Port” will be located between Coney Mall and Action Zone. It will feature two new family rides and enhanced theming for Adventure Express, the park’s mine train family roller coaster.

The area will be inspired by the “myths of ancient civilization” and will take parkgoers into a “mighty city carved out of stone”, according to a release.

It will feature two new rides: “Sol Spin” a Ferris-wheel-like ride and “Cargo Loco” where riders will board “shipping barrels” manually controlling the speed of their spin with a wheel in the middle of the barrel, similar to the Teacups at Disney parks.

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Additional improvements include a refresh of Hank’s Mexican Grill which will be renamed to “Enrique’s”.

The current Bier Garten will also be transformed into a portside “Mercado”, a favorite watering hole for tourists and explorers.

An exact date for when the construction of Adventure Port is expected to be complete has not been released, but the park hopes to have it open by this summer.

Tickets can be purchased online on Kings Island’s website.

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