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This will happen during e-stops.

Speaking of songs and playlists, surprised nobody has mentioned an iconic CP ride song being played in the park....

Given how iconic the original music is to fans, the lack of a unifying soundtrack is odd, so hopefully it is a matter of fine-tuning that still needs to happen.

I will say, the use of the term ghost notes is a clever pun. Yes, ghost notes are a thing in music, particularly in jazz.

Wait times?

Your comment about the voice acting is interesting—Richard Doyle does reprise his role as Maestro in this ride. So I would say that’s as authentic as you can get. I think the music definitely needs more fine-tuning. They turned it off on Thursday so they could film on-rides for media day, but while they turned it back on in the queue, I don’t think they turned it on the ride as of yesterday.

Ok I just got off of it and I have to say, I'm surprised at all the praise here! Despite my profile name, I'm not just an old man clamoring that things aren't like they used to be, but this felt just familiar enough to really remind me how much better the original was. And I wasn't even a huge fan of it (I was a Smurf diehard) but the story was clear and the theming then was very high-quality, especially for a regional park. This feels strangely cartoony and cheap and not at all spooky, which is a shame, and there were just so many things that seem like obvious omissions: Maybe there just aren't the same kinds of attention-to-detail story people like there used to be, or maybe they are all just too expensive, but the original story was "you wanted to see the theater, did ya?" you see all the backstage ephemera and then see them all in their dressing rooms or warming up before the show, then the very eventful and large-scale pepper's ghost room for the "show," then the Maestro says "you thought I would let you leave after you heard my music? I don't think so" and you get shot down into the basement where it turns a little wonderland-y and bizarro, until the boiler room finale when you finally get out, followed by "you'll be baaaaack." So simple and clear and just spooky enough. I know they were reallyyyy reaching to try and jam a shooter game in here, but the ghost note story is so strange and silly and cheap-feeling and I know they don't care about this stuff and it's just a silly ride for kids, but that's what set the original apart. Those creatives did care about this stuff. I am also more confused about the ghost notes story after riding: There are a lot of great things to celebrate here. 1 is that they're bringing this IP back and doing an animatronics-based dark ride at all. I was delighted to hear that they were going in this direction, and I'm sure the next generation will find things they love about this one too, but one of the reasons the original made such an impact on people in its short tenure at the park was it's attention to detail and the kinds of high-quality decisions that this one just fundamentally lacks. I really wanted to be pleasantly surprised, but I think deep down I knew when I heard they were keeping the shooter aspect and saw the AI slop key art that this was what we would get. And while I'm not sure this will be the sort of lasting and iconic (and SPOOKY) ride it could have been, it is so cartoony and neutered that kids will absolutely love it.

So not only is it raining, but the temperature dropped significantly. Kind of an ugly, miserable rain. Phantom Theater is a HUGE improvement over Boo Blasters. I do prefer the original due to nostalgia, but the new one is good. Beast's retrack is solid. A bit more laterals starting the drop into the helix and the trim is smoother.

This is great! I actually came here specifically to post this video. Congrats on some great coverage, my friend!!

IAAPA News goes behind the curtain at Kings Island--and Sally Dark Rides--to discover how the newest incarnation came to be. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRflPyJjp50

There was a surprising amount of stuff closed yesterday. Adventure Express, Beast for most of the day, Zephyr, Bat on one train. But that being said, there’s a lot of new music in the park, as others have noted, including themed music back on International Street. The carousel got touched up for its 100th anniversary and looked great. I didn’t notice any burned out lightbulbs. It just felt like there was more attention to detail around the park than in the last few years. Despite the closed rides, Kings Island felt the most normal it has since the pandemic. Just my opinion.

Skyline was the same as ever but they gave my sibling so little cheese while on mine, I got a little extra. Instead of often giving guests 2 packs of crackers a whole bunch as they did last year, they only gave one. Thats not a big deal but worth mentioning. Other than that, O tried the neopolitan ice cream sandwich at Sweet Spot. They prepare it fresh for you, having the ice cream stored in their big walk in freezer and everything. It was really good, cookies were warm and everything. The staff at Sweet Spot were awesome and caring and attentive yesterday.

It sucks that it appears they used AI slop to generate recolored versions. (Its best to not say AI made this and that because AI slop doesnt make, making requires deliberate efforts by hands or keyboards/mouses. Something generate isnt made, its just generated. Its like how AI art doesnt exist. Something cannot be art if again, it wasnt made with any actual effort from a thinking mind put into it. They could have just hired someone to recolor it all for the merch. I went to a trade school for digital arts and became a digital arts whiz to an extent. Im sure I could have done it myself to be honest. I dabbled enough on like Adobe Illustrator over the years before graduating to know you can alter images and artworks in ways you can make them all black and white for example with just a few clicks of a mouse. But thats not all. Using the paint bucket tool would have also been a easy way to recolor. It wouldnt really take that long especially with the cartoon style of the promo art. Dang, KI/Six Flags management know nothing about digital art tools, do they? Thats actually a problem. Youd think they wouldnt need to know anything about them but if the last 4 years has proven anything, there is a societal lack of collective knowledge about art related processes. And that affects things in so many ways that I can only dream of fully understanding all of those things at the moment.

Not surprised it isnt as iconic. That said, iconic things dont become iconic overnight. It usually takes months or a handful of years for that to set in. Once its had time to really set in, we shall see. I will be sure to share my thoughts when I finally get to ride it myself. For now, I will remain patient.

Only did Diamondback and WindSeeker. Lines were pretty bad even with at least a quarter to a third of people there consistently being in line for Phantom Theater. I almost completely doubt anyone who came didnt come to at least try to ride it but I know better. Seeing a wide range of possibilities and all that. But yeah, it was still a good time overall. Line for Skyline moved fast despite only one register being open. Disappointed I didnt get to do PT last night but theres a reason my friends know me as being patient. I can wait. Ive been building my patience for well over half my life. Though I still dont like waiting 30 minutes or more for rides. Waiting on long lines when I was a teenager was not exactly enjoyable despite me being such a persistent thinker.

Fair enough. Im being a bit expansive, willing to consider all possibilities when it comes to my reaction to the ride. From what Ive pondered over the things that are my favorites of something, there are numerous variables that determine what one’s favorites are or arent. Ive had the same favorite pizzeria since I was little despite having some of the best deep dish pizza around which my favorite pizzeria does not offer, for example. I could go further. Miitopia, despite me since going on to play Baldurs Gate 3 and other amazing MMORPGs since I first played it in 2017 is still one of my favorite games. Associated sentiments and memories, enjoyment over a long period of time.. So many variables. Anyone liking Phantom Theater over Pirates isnt the most likely possibility but it still very much is a possibility. But in the end, it doesnt really matter that much. I dont really compare things I like that much anyway. I like what I like without thinking much on what I prefer. I have a hard time picking a top favorite in most categories so I just dont do that and choose to say my favorites. I’ll like Phantom Theater for what it is and compare it to Boo Blasters since it replaced it but other than that. Plenty of space for liking a large pallet of dark rides in my noggin. Plenty of space.

I guess I'm the lone dissenter...I really enjoyed the Pickin' On covers and listen to the Spotify playlist often.

Can we discuss Flight of Fear ? Tried riding it yesterday decided too give it another shot this year for 2026 and nope it’s the same 1 and done never again this year. I don’t see how so many people love this ride. It’s super rough throws you around not in a good way and has the most uncomfortable seating ever invented. I hear people complain about The Beasts roughness but in my opinion FOF is MUCH rougher than The Beast. Beasts roughness is fun but FOF roughness just hurts you. I love the theming of it but that’s about it. Wouldn’t mind at all too see this ride disappear but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

Ask and you shall receive! Phantom Theater Archives uploaded their Passholder Preview POV. (Also thank you @BryanJay for the archives channel!! I'm pretty sure you said it's yours . It's helped a ton with some of my research!)

The yapper is going to yap tonight, so buckle in! I mostly agree with what's been said and will be quoting to add on to y'all's comments. The funny thing is, I noticed a ton more Cedar Fair logos still present around the park (mostly on uniforms) than Six Flags logos (new and old). I understand that they don't want to buy new uniforms when they don't need to — and I know I'd be upset if my job forced me to buy a new uniform out of pocket — but it does make the park experience feel odd. I'm also peeved that they keep using the old SF logo in random places. If Six Flags really wants to look like one company then they desperately need to get their branding in order a whole lot better than it currently is. (OK rant over for now.) I did also notice that the crowds seemed to be lower than last year. We didn't go on any coasters, but there honestly seemed to be longer lines to get food than to get on some rides. Speaking of rides, the Grand Carousel got a really good repaint! And there's a 100th anniversary horse (two in front of the KI 50th anniversary horse)!!!! I think the new section of Prestige Preferred Parking was technically resealed, but that's basically the same as painting the whole thing black. It'll be nice to have more parking spaces over there, but some of them aren't much better than parking in the Banshee section. IMO the parks should just stop selling Preferred outside of being a benefit for Prestige Passes. It was very clear that the parking lot isn't finished, but I really wish the park would've sprung for more than just some new paint and fencing. It also smelled like some of the asphalt in the park was freshly paved as well. While I don't think any of the art within Phantom Theater was made with AI, it unfortunately does look like some of the merch was made with AI... The recolored promotional art in particular looked like someone plugged the original into AI and prompted it with "recolor this". In addition to that, did nobody make any new promo art ever since the one that came out with the ride announcement in August? All of the merch seems to either be the OG promo art in different colors or the ride logo in different colors. Maybe the jacket has something else on it? I really like that they changed the music on International Street. That said, the park does really need to learn how to make a playlist that lasts longer than 3-5 hours. I understand that there's a lot that goes into playing licensed music in the park, but there has to be a better way to do this. The crowds must've really come in after folks started to get out of work and school. I thought it was more comparable to a standard summer day, but we were done with the heat by the time we left so I was focused on getting back to the car. I wholeheartedly second the comment on bringing back the Knott's merch!!! I literally skipped getting the Boysenberry preserves at Kings Dominion because I was about to be at Kings Island! There were two (?) PT treats (the tart and a fudge) but I'd love to see a "Maestro's Crescendo Crunch" chocolate bar like they have in the candy case in the PT:ON queue. Either that or something else that I can feasibly take home or eat as a snack. The dining plan logos and symbols seem to have been mostly changed over to the new versions. There are a few stickers left over from previous years. I'm happy to hear that Hot Rhythm Nights is returning. I'll miss Country Crossroads, but I'm interested to know how Hollywood Hits will be. Unfortunately it looks like we'll be getting yet another two years of the stunt shows. Unless they take the set down and build a new one I'm curious to see what this stunt show will be. I really hope we can see a second show in the Kings Island Theater this summer. I don't think this season will be as bad as others I've seen online have said it'll be, but there are some easy things that I really wish the park would just do. I'm excited for this season to get into full swing! Here's a diagram for those wondering how the Preferred lot got expanded. The aisle in the middle is the new entrance, which has two entrance lanes (one of which is a self-service lane) and one exit lane. That little cut in at the bottom is a new lane going toward the exit of the parking lot directly from the Preferred lot. If you're in a bigger vehicle, watch out for the right turn into that lane though. Our regular-sized truck felt like it was tricky to navigate without hitting the new fence or any cones. The guard shack was moved further off of its pad, so I'm a little baffled as to why they didn't just completely redo the Preferred Parking entrance path. Wouldn't it have made more sense to realign the entrance and get rid of the curve for the service road entrance (that would still be kept)? The parking lot really needs some trees and bioswales, but this is a good start. A ton of the Bus & RV lot signage was bunched up in one parking space, so I have no clue where that is supposed to go. Kings Island's parking lot still needs a massive amount of work to make it even remotely tolerable, but the expansion for Preferred Parking helps a little.

If it hasn't been mentioned already, the start dates for several of the shows are posted around the park. Hot Rhythm Nights at the Bandstand and the new show Hollywood Hits at the Festhaus both open on May 23rd. International Showplace has a sign saying an unnamed show will open June 20th.

The line for the Brewhouse was out of the front door around 3 as we were walking toward Potato Works. Then, we decided to ride the train before getting our food. When we got off of the train around 3:20, Brewhouse didn't have a line so we went inside and only waited about 10 minutes in line due to some register issues (which I witnessed while getting a drink from LaRosa's on I-Street as well). What we actually waited for was our food. We snagged a booth and proceeded to wait 30 minutes for a plain Pub Burger, a Mac & Cheese Dog, and a Hail Caesar Salad. The receipts still say "King's Island" with the wrong spelling and all. I swear it should be as easy as editing the name in a Settings menu, but it's not been done. For those who keep track like I do, the meal plan "price" is $11.00 per meal and the drink plan "price" is $2.00 per SP paper cup. I'm glad that the Brewhouse does still allow guests to refill their cups, but I wish they could find a way to reconfigure the guest flow and partially separate the register exit from the soda fountains. Now for my actual food review: I ordered a plain Pub Burger (no L, T, or O) and a Coke from the Miami River Brewhouse around 3:30PM today. It took about 10 minutes to get to the register due to POS system issues in front of us and about 30 minutes to get our food after ordering. We've waited that long before, but it's not a great experience when we could've just gone over to the Rivertown Potato Works and had our food out quicker. When our food did come out my burger was absolutely steaming hot (mmm yes SuperNintendo Chalmers, those were indeed steamed hams 🍔) and my tater tots — uh, I mean potato barrels — were cooked to perfection. The member of my group who got the Mac Dog received it without the Grippos despite requesting everything stay on it. It sounded like the salad was good as well. I was really close to joining the clean plate club, but I started to feel full right before I could get there. Overall, it was a really good meal!

Why is the park being so secretive about the shows for this year? By now, they should have at least posted a few shows on their website other than the local bands that will be performing before Memorial Day. Like, what’s up with the random Kings Island logo on the International Showplace Theatre billboard with “Coming June 24” in the corner? Do they not have a plan for what’s being performed there? And the fact that Brad Ross had to announce his appearance at the park BEFORE the park did is pretty sad if you ask me. Randomly seeing Hot Rhythm Nights popping up on the digital billboards with zero context, a sign on the FestHaus for Hollywood Hits and the window displays on the Kings Island Theater for Brad Ross is terrible. MAKE IT OFFICIAL!

The yellow and green bulbs below the seats were transferred over from the Scrambler after it's refurbishment in 2016. The current lights look new and appear to be LEDs.

They were. The Eiffel Tower was originally floodlit with bright halogen lamps before switching to the colored LED lighting. The uplighting surrounding the Tower was removed prior to the 2017 season.