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King's Island needs to keep this classic around! I know you could build a new ride but something is lost when these older rides disappear. I mean this is one of 5 left in the entire world and the last ever built of the model so it deserves to live on. We already lost Vortex and Firehawk. Let's not lose The Bat or Top Gun as the true fans know it. If the people of Chicago can save the Whizzer who knows, Cincy might be able to save The Bat if we really tried..... However I do hope the damage is minimal and the ride reopens as quickly as possible. I remember when The Vortex chain broke and they had to get a new one...that repair took a couple months but they got it running again before the end of the season.

It's bad that an accident of this magnitude happened. Park & guests are lucky that it was not worse. I wonder if the recent track replacement have anything to do with the wheel failure (possible alignment issues??) or was it failed tubular track that caused the accident? Failed tubular track on older Arrows is not exactly uncommon- Magnum had a decent amount of track replaced in-season recently. Vortex reached end of service life- track fatigue likely played a large factor into that decision. When BBW was closed the reasons were very similar to that of Vortex.

John Materese did a report...I am sure someone will make the joke... https://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/kings-islands-the-bat-closed-after-a-wheel-came-loose-while-in-motion-ride-formerly-known-as-top-gun

I am sad to say it but it is looking very likely. If it does go, I will miss it very very much.

That project is going to require lots of glue & duct tape.

Just cought the last half of the preview show. It was absolutely fantastic! Can't wait to see the full show tomorrow. Nice mix of story and tricks. Must have had 25 or so people involved. KI has definetly upped the show game this year!!!!!! Thought I would add a bit more now that I'm home on my keyboard Like I said I got there about halfway through the show and they had the dancers, drummers, BMX, Roller Baldes, Scooters, Trampolines and a slackliner all at the same time, Too much to take in completely in one sitting but very impressive. I would guess it would be one to re-watch over and over considering it looks like the slackliner was pretty much vamping as well as the other artists. The show also had 2 hosts/singers (one boy, one girl) and a child was the star of the show who was very talented and I can't wait to see him get more comfortable in his role. Very upbeat music, nice story, plenty of action. Can't wait to see the full show tomorrow. If I had to guess the showtimes I would say 1, 2, 3, 4:30 and 5:30. If they do 5 shows a day. Again, that is a guess, we will find out tomorrow! Great Job to the cast and crew shows are back and better than ever at KI this year. Here's to hoping they keep the bar high now that they've raised it!

You bring up a few good points here. I hope they do single visitors as well. There are a pleather of people (even married people with kids) who will do a solo day at the park that they are missing as well. I was there two days solo just this week. Having an extra experience available might be enticing that you would not spend the money on for the full family. Example: My wife and I have all season fast lane. Did we make that purchase for our kids we well? Nope.

Whaat? Dude, whoever is in charge of this, open it up to single rider folks. Wink, wink... come on - some real fireworks could happen amongst these people! Especially amongst folks who would rather mingle & mix at a civil place like KI instead of at a sleazy bar All kidding aside...us singletons are a real source of cash... seriously... Don't miss out on the money we have to spend. Those of us who are SINKS (single income, no kids) might surprise you with how much cash we have to drop - lol - And whoever is making these decisions needs to understand that a large portion of millennials are either delaying the choice to have kids, or they are not having kids at all... .and what does that have to do with this? It means that you need to keep this demographic of people in mind as you plan activities... adults without children are becoming a larger demographic that actually has the ability to pay for higher-priced things... if you include them... and don't put restrictions in place, like requiring them to bring a guest TXdrummer, have a great time whatever you're doing

Does anyone know the show times of Off The Rails? It starts tomorrow and they are not on the site and we were there earlier this week and did not see in person.

There were some ideas in the initial concept art that probably never made it past that phase. I shouldn’t have said “cut” as they were never there. Just some nutty “blue sky” ideas that were probably cut to keep things simpler or on budget. If you look closely you can see a few of the unrealized ideas.

That’s my worry-I know a lot of this was budgeted for the 50th, but man, it’s gonna be hard to go back to dog shows and 4 guys banging on car parts next year (nothing against the guys with the car parts-we should have those mini shows as well-great to tie into theme) I hope they are getting serious praise and call outs (I know I have) at guest services about the entertainment this year.

And searching in a landfill.

they finally posted the times on the website: Showtimes* 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:30

They could very easily expand the park into that land without something that rivals Orion in magnitude. What would really be interesting is if they could create a pathway going from Banshee directly to Area 72.

As much as I hate to admit it, not only these factors present an argument to demolish the ride, but also the premium real estate that The Bat sits upon. The Lion Country Safari land out there would all be opened up for a brand new large attraction or perhaps even an expansion to the park entirely if it is removed. I don't like to see any Arrow rides go away at this point, but the current events along with the real estate it occupies must at the very least entice CF executives. It's not likely we are going to see another giant coaster within the next couple years, but I could easily see large expansion taking place to decongest paths in the park.

I first rode The Beast in 1981, after waiting to meet height requirement. Before yesterday (5/23/22) the last time I rode it was in 2021. The Beast feels like it has one foot in 1981 and one foot in 2021. The refurbished portions of the track takes me back to 1980's while the non-refurbuished portions are in the 2020's. I thought the only hope for The Beast was making it a hybrid but now I'm hopeful K.I. will continue refurbishing it and return it to its glory days. THANK YOU K.I.!!

WIsh that skyline chili bowl man, racer guy and the stilt people as Eiffel Towers hadn’t been cut. Would’ve been fun to have had a few more “KI specific” wacky costumes. Especially the tower stilt person. That seems like a no brainer to have kept. Love that the original song incorporated the opening year slogan “cmon get happy” and that they changed a few lyrics in the existing songs they used. Overall fell it was a cute “extra” but AGAIN they really need to end these on IS at the other “parade gate” and return the units to the tent at close or the next day (or park them at the tower for “dance party” decor) Last night there were floats driving one way, push units going another and random cast just strolling different ways backstage. Seems like a sloppy, unprofessional way to end these things, like when the town 4th of July parade wraps at the high school parking lot LOL

Check it out of your-self! Awesome new series from Airtime Thrills.

I've watched it from start to finish, and while it's not the most comprehensive ride through KI history, it is an excellent five part series. I am glad he was able to put the project together, it seemed like it would be a daunting task...glad he was able to finish it.

This is actually a great 5 part documentary series. I enjoyed watching. He released part 5, the final part, yesterday. I’d recommend watching.

The sign was not updated this past Wednesday. I did get some photos of them practicing. https://kicentral.com/photos/off-the-rails

yeah and especially at the park. Has no hours listed from what we saw a few days ago.

They’ve not been posting until the show goes “live” so I would expect tonight it would show up. It’s kind of annoying since each show has a dark day. Would help to know when it is when planning.

Cool video

I'm very happy with it! Looked great....now if they could somehow figure out how to make the blue one go backwards again it would be a perfect ride...

So I would love to see a new flat ride in 2023. Especially in Octoberfest. There's so many great flat rides out there but here's my top picks - 3 retro and 3 new flats. Retro 1. Der Spinnen Keggers or Intamin Drunken Barrels (these looked like fun and would fit the beergarten theme nicely) 2. Bayne Kurve (I always thought these rides looked really cool and unfortunately they aren't very common anymore. I think CA Great America And Knoebels are the only parks that have one in the U.S.) 3. Ferris Wheel (I prefer the smaller Eli Wheel models as compared to the giant wheel like CP has. The big wheels are so slow and take forever to load that they are more of an observation tower than anything else) New 1. Gerstlauer Sky Roller (idk how this fits the theme? Maybe some WWII European flag markings on the planes? However this looks amazing and hey....pay homage to flight commander) 2. Zamperla Endeavor (pay homage to Skylab with this near version. I loved the enterprise ride design and these are still really fun.) 3. Huss Condor (nothing like this ride! One at Six Flags Great America is awesome on a hot day. I think Kansas City worlds of fun actually got one of these in 2017, maybe?)

Which coaster is the Junkyard Coaster?

Lol. I never thought about combining them. But at that point-why not do this CRAZY thing and sell individually. Maybe even give a discount of 6 or more.

I'm not going to declare that it's inconceivable that the park would get rid of The Bat after this, but I think some posters in this thread should be made aware of Arrow Suspended coasters reopening after worse incidents within the last decade: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-six-flags-roller-coaster-inspection-car-derails-20140708-story.html

Saw pictures. They’ll definitely need to replace a section of track.

There’s a Reddit post with photos out and about. Dents in the track, wheel missing. Thankfully nobody was hurt but this could easily spell the end of Bat. 30 years in 2023.

Here is a look at the 50 Years of Fun Street Party!

Availability of parts is not the issue. Steel can only go through so many stress cycles before it is to the point of reaching its design and useful life. Welds suffer from fatigue of thousands of train cycles over the years. The cost to start replacing worn out steel and fatigued welds is usually more than the cost of a new coaster. Doesn't mean a park won't go to the expense of doing extensive repairs, but most see the coaster end when that time comes. Wood coasters are constantly having maintenance done and it is a lot easier to replace wood sections than it is sections of a steel coaster. A stretch of the tubular track was replaced a couple of weeks ago. There are still replacement sections left. The damaged section of tubular track done by this can certainly be replaced, but an investigation needs to be done to see if any other damage was done other than the visible damage one can see of the track. @CorkscrewMcPuke it was a light day after the park and weather had ran people out, so there just were not a lot guests back there at the time. And if those there are not on social media, it won't get out online like it can on a busy Saturday...but I am positive it is out there if you look hard enough....

I hope this doesn’t spell the end for Bat!

Bat is down down. Lost a wheel and damaged the track. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Looks very nice and would make that area look great. I doubt they would do this though because I think part of the reason they have these concerts is to bring people into the park. Drives more money spent in the park. Still, really cool concept!

I was messing around on YouTube, and I came across a few videos I made from the summer of 2011. I had forgotten all about them. Amazing how much Kings Island has changed since then. I even made a short one from the Kings Island Inn. And, yes, I was a little new to editing/making videos. LOL!

For being a light crowd today, we had lots of inconsiderate guests. Guests vaping while on rides and in no-wait queue lines and vaping/smoking in other areas of the park. Seemed higher than normal for a light Tuesday. A guest exited the Congo boat and proceeded to walk along the concrete channel despite repeated loud announcements by the ride op to get back in the boat. Finally got back in where the fence is at going back into the station. Usually the Saturday stuff, not a random low crowd Tuesday. Fortunately no reports of Snoopy being left locked in a car in the parking lot. But yes, as others reported, most rides were fairly short waits today.

Yes she does, but so do Eli and Dewey in the segment! Maybe they are silent members here?

She represents the park well!

Well I just saw it for the first time (30+ visits this season) and wanted to give her a shoutout

I saw her Sunday on Fun TV.

Anyone else notice @VortexBFForever on the Tv’s in the queue’s? I did. And I stopped to watch the whole dang segment. Awesome job Carolyn! (I think I spelled it right?). Thank you for giving us a behind the scenes look.

^Thank you for sharing those, @KIfan73! Very enjoyable and yes, the park has changed quite a bit. My favorite thing with your editing was the comment: "A pond" LOL

I hear ya, but I think they’ve been pretty clear setting the low expectations for this. I think calling it a “street party” not a parade, and not hyping it too much has been smart. I think it’s just a nice “add”. And yes, a ton of money went into the infrastructure and actual nightly run cost of FFF. I think they decided to put the bulk of 50th money on something that caps the night, and acts as a driver to keep people in the park as long as possible. There was always a mass exodus after Winterfest and Carnivale parades. I see a good number of people heading out of the park around 7 or so, but way less than before with a real reason to stay till the end that a dance party and 3 min of fireworks set to the hit Rihanna song never did.

The Royal Coasters at Club KI saw a few small changes Monday evening that improved the flow of their entire set. The cast seemed to be more energized as well. It was a good night!

The ride carriage was repainted. I think there was every intention of it operating this year.

To me they found an issue or needed a new part that is hard to get for this older SlingShot ride. Also, with all national attention to FunTime rides, they decided it was in the best interest of the park to retire the ride. Even the newscast posted above had this underlining hint it was unsafe. No mention it had operated safely for 20 years. So I don't blame the park because if anything would happen to a rider, the news media and public would have blamed Kings Island. I just want to say I believe the park holds itself to a higher standard for rider safety and I always appreciated it. I think that is true across all Cedar Fair parks.

The Racer at Kings Island. Red White and Blue like it was in 1972

Diamondback: tan supports and a red track. That’s different than what it is now because it’s so faded you almost can’t tell what color it is. [emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]