2012 - 2016

From 2012 through 2016, Kings Island undertook major changes and additions across the park. In 2012, Boomerang Bay was transformed into the new Soak City, expanding the water park with sand volleyball courts, the 650,000-gallon Tidal Wave Bay, and the updated lazy river Splash River. At the end of that season, Son of Beast, which had last operated in 2009, was demolished, opening space for a new record-breaking roller coaster. In 2013, the Reds Hall of Fame Grille opened in Rivertown as a full-service restaurant featuring food and authentic Reds memorabilia, framed jerseys, and other historical items dating to the 1800s. In 2014, less than two years after Son of Beast's demolition, Banshee replaced it as the world's longest inverted roller coaster and the first roller coaster at Kings Island to invert riders seven times, including a zero-g roll, a dive loop, and a vertical loop around the lift hill. That year, Kings Island also continued supporting the community and charitable organizations through fundraisers, including Scream for a Kid Again in April, which raised $98,000 for A Kid Again, and Kings Island Kicks Cancer in the summer, which raised $186,000 for cancer-related charities and included a contest in which one participant won a car. In 2015, Planet Snoopy added the family rides Woodstock Gliders and Snoopy's Space Buggies, along with Snoopy's Barnyard Friends Petting Farm. In 2016, Soak City added the 65-foot-tall Tropical Plunge slide complex with six water slides, and in July Kings Island announced its first new wooden roller coaster in 17 years, teasing it with the hashtag #WhatsInTheShed.

Mason, Ohio · United States