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Thirty-three years to the day it was first introduced in 1980, The Bat will fly again at Kings Island. The park is changing the name and colors of Flight Deck to The Bat. The change will take effect for the 2014 season. The new color scheme for The Bat will feature orange track with two shades of charcoal for the columns and supports. Black will be the featured color of the trains.

We did not mention all the statistics during the announcement because statistics are not what make a roller coaster great; it's the ride experience it delivers that makes it great.

After a lengthy evaluation of all alternatives, the decision has been made to remove the Son of Beast roller coaster to make room for future park expansion. The dismantling of the ride, which last operated in 2009, will begin later this summer.

Stop it! Posting bogus information like this forces the park to field unnecessary calls, emails, Facebook and Twitter messages.

It's good to see me, isn't it? No need to respond! That was rhetorical. Under 30 days until Banshee makes its public debut! We can't wait for you to come out and experience this ride.

Hmmm. When I zoom in, all I can see is "Obi-Don!"

Eve's on it.

I chose today to announce the name change to coincide with the date the original Bat was announced in 1980.

Nothing to see here. Just some trees, and a few engineers and stone carvers working on an 80' statue... move along

Kings Island will live stream Thursday night's #KIProject2017 announcement. The announcement will begin immediately following the park's 10 p.m. fireworks show. WATCH LIVE

April 26, 1981 From Timothy Dagg *For immediate release in the next issue of COASTER WORLD. *Enclosed: 1 Bat article, photographs (with descriptions) and 1 reply card. *Allen, see you end of May at Great America! The Bat FLIES! By Tim Dagg Kings Island, Opening Day – A friend of mine and I ventured down to Kings Mills from Toledo to be a part of the park’s opening day activities and hopefully of the maiden run of The Bat, Kings Island’s newest roller coaster. Interstate seventy-five took us not only to our destination but also to better weather than what Toledo had. As we traveled, I became less skeptical of the weather and was glad to know that Ms. Ruth Voss, A.C.E.’s official Kings Island contact (sort-to-speak) and director of public relations, would have a nice day for the unveiling of her new “toy” The Bat. Opening day for Kings Island was Sunday, April 26th. We learned that on Saturday, April 25th, the park had been bought-out by three major firms. Also that day, according to Ruth Voss, the park’s phone system had been out of service for six hours that afternoon. Thus officials were in somewhat of a frenzy having to rely only on walkie-talkies for communication. What was funny was the fact that one of the companies in the park that day were Bell System employees! Nevertheless, Terry, my traveling cohort and I were at the front gate of Kings Island very early Sunday morning. Unfortunately for us, that night was the beginning of daylight-savings time. While we waited at the Guest Relations office for Ruth Voss to meet us and take us to The Bat, we were joined by other A.C.E. members from different parts of the country. Matter of fact, throughout the entire day, we probably saw close to thirty or forty A.C.E. member in the park wearing the logo. The Bat’s safety runs ended at about forty-five minutes after the park opened. The riders of the first train came off with different thoughts about the ride showing on their faces. Some definitely enjoyed the ride and ran to the back of the queue while others may have been thinking they ‘never want to go on it again’ but probably would. There were also some who may have thought The Bat was simply another gimmicky technological tool for some company to make money with. Terry and I personally thought The Bat was an excellent roller coaster. However, it cannot be fairly evaluated because there is nothing to compare it to. The Bat is the only suspended coaster built to date. General comments about The Bat among members of A.C.E. were varied. Many agreed that the color of the station, bright purple and white (or something like that) were a poor choice of colors. A positive item of thought was that we (A.C.E.) might actually have heavy influence on the roller coaster industry. I am referring to the change in the over-the-shoulder harness that Arrow developed for The Bat. Last summer at the Kennywood convention, one A.C.E. member made it quite clear to Arrow representative Larry Neuman how uncomfortable the harnesses were. Arrow’s original suspended test coaster constructed in their prototype field in Mountainview, California had the round harnesses similar to the type used on their corkscrews. The Bat’s harnesses, however, are flat at the top where they rest on the rider’s shoulders and round at the bottom near the rider’s stomach. After The Bat dropped us back at the Victorian mansion (style of station), we ventured deeper into the woods only to be captured by The Beast. Next to follow was The Racer and the SCREAMIN DEMON then back to The Bat and BEAST, circling around for the rest of the day! All in all, Kings Island’s opening day went well and fast – the park closes at 8:00 p.m. until their full schedule start on Memorial Day. We thank Ms. Voss for her hospitality, her enthusiasm in A.C.E., and of course, for her fine job she does at Kings Island. The Bat is out of the bag…and is a big success. Which park will be the next “victim” for a BAT or similar suspended coaster? ########### This is the unusual merchandising symbol for Kings Island's newest thrill ride, The Bat. The hanging coaster, the first of its kind in the world, will feature three 7-car trains, with each car custom-designed to resemble a bat in flight. The Bat is scheduled to open in April of 1981. Series of signs shows message that greeted guest to Kings Island on opening day in late April: A crowd of "Coastermaniacs" seeking truth behind gossip of a bat flying around at Kings Island patiently await the opening of the front gates. Ruth Voss (center) leads member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts to The Bat. Kings Island Maintenance workers check the wiring on one of the chain lifts of The Bat before its maiden run on opening day: A view from the front of one of the trains shows The Bat creature head detail and "round design" shoulder harnesses before they were changed: BAT riders in the front seat saw something like this as the coaster climbed the first chain lift... ...the coaster reaches the top of the 100 ft. high lift... ...at the top of the two lifts, just before the coaster is released from the chain, the catch-guard and cat walk end suddenly producing a feeling of psychological insecurity resulting from not having frame work beneath you! The countries only suspended coaster starts its descent far above the treetops at Kings Island. The Bat currently is running two trains on its layout. When Kings Island's full summer schedule begins and certain discrepancies get ironed out, three trains will run with a ride capacity of 2000 pph. This picture not only show how close The Bat comes from the ground and its support columns but also show the different swing-angles. At this particular S-curve toward the front of the ride, the coaster comes through at such a high speed that it appear the third car from the right swung even higher than 90 degrees as if it's trying to "dump" its passengers! Finally The Bat enters its Victorian mansion-styled station to drop off its white-faced victims and pickup a new batch of thrillseekers. The Bat roller coaster suspended from its track rolls smoothly and quietly into the station as Kings Island guest look on. A.C.E. members ride the front seat of The Bat to familiarize themselves with the layout and to compare front to back seats. A view from Kings Island's Eiffel Tower shows the track layout of The Bat and its location between The Racer (left) and The Beast (off picture, immediately to the right). Credits: All photos by Terry Fell Article by Tim Dagg Coaster World magazine American Coaster Enthusiasts Kings Island All documents and photographs were compiled by Josh Blake (from his personal collection) for historical purposes only.

Well its been a fun one.. So long Starting to Decode 2014!

Hi guys! Long time follower, first time poster. Just wanted to finally join in on the fun! This is the first season I've had a pass in probably more than a decade! I grew up in the area but I moved away for some time as I started my career. This is my first full year back in Ohio. My wife and I decided to get passes for the heck of it and I can say that it has been a blast! We've been about a dozen times so far this season and have enjoyed every bit of it! Hopping on KIC and following the KI community has been really fun and has added to the excitement for me! Sorry for the long winded intro I wanted to throw out a few observations about the rivertown construction. I am only going to give it my best guess based on my experience with Engineering/Construction. I have a bachelors degree in Construction Management with a focus in Civil Engineering Technology. I'm probably non the wiser than anybody else on here, but I work with Engineering/Construction drawings on a daily basis as well as the actual construction activities on various projects. Here are my thoughts of what I have seen so far: The land clearing for this project is shaping up quickly. I've seen a lot of development in the last few weeks from riding the train and WWC. A lot of folks have commented on the surveying stakes for this project. While they are a good indication of construction in the area, they may not always have direct correlation with the layout of the ride. For example, any time the shape of the land is altered in any significant way, there is usually a large undertaking in the grading and drainage efforts. A lot of those stakes could be limits of the grading and or clearing or even just mark a buffer zone between the actual area of work and the limits of the construction area. I think the best bet is going to be getting a hold of some more in depth drawings in order to map out the layout. I wanted to speak up a little bit earlier when there was a lot of talk around the North indication on the plans. I saw it stated a few times and I would agree with the folks who have said that this most likely represents a "Project North" as opposed to a true north direction indication. There are a few reasons this is done in construction depending on the project. I'm actually working on a project right now where the project north is closer to East than it is North. My guess is it is based around the orientation of a major part of construction other than the track itself. Most likely a station building, or something of that nature. Lastly, it looks to me like the steel in the pictures that is laying in the construction area is most likely for the civil work, and not the ride itself. I am making this assumption based on a few reasons. One is that I think it would be unlikely that anything touching the ride itself would come untreated or unpainted. Most steel for structural support comes from the shop either galvanized, painted, or at least primed. These do not appear to have anything on them. That leads me to believe they are for piling. The I shape is ideal for pile driving. If you look at retaining wall piles or even guardrails for that matter, you will most likely see something similar to those. Additionally, the lack of any pre-drilled beams also leads me to believe they are not intended for the ride structure itself. I would be highly surprised if anything steel arrived on site for the actual ride itself that wasn't pre-fabricated. It's a pretty typical practice in construction to do anything and everything you can in a shop setting to control cost and quality. You want to limit the amount of field welds or bolt up connections on the construction site in order to ensure a quicker build and less worries of and quality control issues. Anyways, sorry for the long winded post. I've been meaning to throw in my thoughts but haven't had an opportunity until now. Look forward to the discussion!

Hey everyone -- It always baffles me when I have to make posts like this because I assume that the vast majority of you are smarter than what I'm about to address, but none the less... Under no condition are you to enter the park illegally - whether you have "hot info" about any kind of delivery that may be coming there over the next few months... Unfortunately, I have to address because it has already happened. Being banned from the park, being arrested, and all sorts of bad things may happen to you if you choose to do this. It's simply not worth it. Also, those who choose to break park policy - and we hear about it - will be removed from the forums and will not be welcome at future events. On that same token, don't ever EVER enter the construction area. For the love of God. Not only is that stupid, but it's dangerous! By all means: peek through the cracks in the fence, check it out from the Tower, ride Drop Tower (no photos, please) but don't ever ever ever illegally enter the construction site. That is all.

On Tuesday I had the distinct honor and great pleasure of being filmed at KI for a news segments that aired today in Louisville. I can't tell you how excited I was to be asked to be the "enthusiast" perspective for these pieces. Many thanks to Don and KI for thinking of me!!! Its been about 12 years since I was last filmed riding a coaster and thechnology has completely changed. No longer are there huge camera mounts to worry about... or downtime while footage is monitored between takes. Not there's simply small little digital cams that suction cup to the trains. One take... simple and easy! The news reporter, Keith Kaiser is to be thanked as well, since he made a difficult task for me (being interviewed on camera - always daunting) easy and relaxed. We filmed the on-ride Diamondback take first, then the Diamondback interview off ride, then we moved to The Beast and were filmed riding, then finished up with the off-ride Beast interview. Following that, Don was interviewed on the Tower discussing Banshee. Here's a link to the segments in case you are interested in seeing them. There's 2 of them... one on DB and one on Beast. Please be kind... no nasty remarks. I'm no TV personality, I just love talking KI. http://www.wdrb.com/story/23142551/keith-kaiser-rides-the-roller-coasters-at-kings-island-in-anticiaption-of-their-newest-roller-coster

I have quite a “Firehawk” back-story many of you may be interested in hearing. Now that the ride is “gone” I feel its ok to share… I sat on this for 15 years now... LOL! In 2003, I was invited to go to Six Flags Worlds of Adventure with the Paramount’s Kings Island Marketing Team on a “field trip.” Jeff Siebert, David Mandt, Maureen (then) Kaiser (then the parks’ brand-new PR Director) and I spent some time taking in the park… it was a great day. Specifically we all were there to ride X-Flight (later to become Firehawk) and it was then that I learned its true story. Now, the KI Marketing Team was stellar - and never divulged any company information... However, after rides had opened, they would sometimes share the stories of how the ride came to be... Well, the rumors all about the "X-Flight/Firehawk" have persisted since, so here’s your official verification… As many as you may know already… Vekoma first partnered with Paramount Parks to develop “Stealth” at California’s Great America. Both KI and KD were already slated to get the 2nd & 3rd versions of the coaster in 2002. The issues Stealth faced in development, coupled with the fact that Kings Island was under great scrutiny with their own bevvy of Son of Beast issues, Paramount Parks (specifically the park’s GM - Tim Fisher) made the decision to pass on the exclusive rights to the coaster and not install. Vekoma, already in the manufacturing process, then offered the options to Six Flags who opted to quickly install the rides at Six Flags Worlds of Adventure and Six Flags America – respectively. (As I understood, the routing & delivery of the rides was already scheduled – so rather than further complicate matters, Six Flags simply added them to the 2 parks closest to KI & KD.) Paramount, who had funded Vekoma’s development of the ride, likely profited from the sale of the two coasters to Six Flags. If memory serves me, it wasn’t finalized, but the working “theme” of the Flyer for KI was to be “Mission Impossible.” After the coaster installs for KI & KD were cancelled in late 2000, Paramount Parks R&D in LA immediately switched gears to develop a ride for KI to take the spot vacated in 2002. Tim Fisher was behind much of the push to “modernize” Kings Island and removed what he considered “eyesore” and “dated” rides. That’s why KCKC was demolished and Tomb Raider came into origin – as a direct reaction to the cancellation of the flyer. Ironically, King Cobra at KI was originally going to be demolished in 1999 – and not open with Action Zone. But once the development of “Stealth” began – KI opted to hold on to KC for two more seasons in order to swap a coaster for coaster… The “new” “more vibrant” paint job that KC was given when Action Zone opened was a decision to mask what Tim Fisher considered an “eyesore” by that point in time. After Action Zone opened, King Cobra was again slated for removal in 2001 as preparation for the Vekoma Flyer to be added in its spot. Even after the flyer was cancelled, KC still met the fate of the wrecking ball after 2 years of the park attempting to sell it. It was on this day that I learned that Delirium & Scooby Doo’s installation in 2003 were a direct result of PKI passing of the Vekoma Flyer. This trip was also the first time I heard the name “Dave Cobb” mentioned… Mr Cobb (unknown to me at the time) was already developing “Italian Job: Stunt Track” for KI’s 2005 season. I met him later, when KI first installed the ride and learned that the removal of the Antiques and Flyers were a result of Tim Fisher's initiative to modernize the park. Maureen Kaiser (with whom I rode X-Flight at SFWOA that very day) stayed with KI into 2007, and oversaw the PR of the coaster's installation before passing the torch to Don Helbig. Tim Fisher (who by then had transitioned to Paramount's Carowinds) left the company in 2006 when Paramount Parks was sold to Cedar Fair. However - ironically - it was while he was at Carowinds that the park relocated "Stealth" from Paramount's Great America to become "Borg:Assimilator" at PCow. Mr Fisher joined Cedar Fair Parks as the COO in late 2017... So there you have it… a lot of the PKI rides installed in the early 2000’s were actually a domino-effect result of X Flight not going to Kings Island as intended.

Way back in April I teased that I had purchased a set of photos of the park from 1974. (Random Photo Thread) A lot of the photos are the “same old, same old”…it’s amusing to me that I have seen several different sets of photos that people have taken at the park over the years and it seems like you can count on quite a few people taking the same exact shots. (I wish I could run across someone who liked to take more pictures of the rides back then! ) Anyway, as I was scanning these photos and looking at them I kept thinking to myself just how much the park has changed. (duh) I was also just as amazed of how many of the things that existed all those years ago are still there. This got me thinking…what would these photos look like today if I were standing in the same spot as the person who took them 37 years ago. (Light bulb goes off in head!) I decided to see if I could recreate each of the photos that I had. I could tell that MOST of them would be easy…especially whenever I could use the Eiffel Tower in the background as a point of reference. There were 3 photos that I knew would be impossible for me to recreate…these were taken from The Lion Country Safari monorail. I shared those in TombraiderTy’s (excellent) “Lion Country Safari Spotlight” thread. Due to the fact that EVERYTHING has changed in some of the photos, it became a challenge to figure out exactly where the original photographer would have been standing. (Especially in the Lion Country Safari shots.) To figure this out I poured through old park photos that I have saved up over the years to try and pinpoint each location. As I stated, the Lion Country ones were the toughest…here is how I went about figuring out where to stand to take the new photo: If, after looking at the original photo there was no current visible landmark I would figure out from an old aerial photo of that area where the person was standing when they took the photo….then I would find an exact aerial of the photo of that area today. (Once again, it’s amazing how so many people take the same exact shots year after year.) I would then size match the 2 photos, then layer them, and then make the current photo almost invisible and mark where the person would have been standing and in what direction the camera would have been aimed. After making the top layer visible again I would then be able to see a current landmark to go by. Here is an example of my work in progress: After I had done all of my research, “all” I had to do was take the new photos when I went to the park. In order to do this I came armed with both the copies of my 1974 photos and also my “work” photos of where to stand to get the same shot. In the past I remember a park employee posting on here that security is watching guests a lot more than they think they are. If that truly is the case I would say that the park’s security was not on their toes the day I was taking these photos! I KNOW I had to have looked suspicious while I was completing my mission. I would stop in front of something, start looking at my photos, every now and then holding one up to make sure I was getting everything I needed in the shot. I would then take several shots at varying angles just in case. THEN, since I didn’t want to have to remember if I had or hadn’t taken a certain picture I would walk over to the nearest trash can and throw away any of the photos connected with the one that I had just taken. Tell me this whole scenario wouldn’t have seemed suspicious! I am very proud of how well some of these photos turned out…as you will see some of them are almost an exact match. There are 31 photos in the series. I would say that with the exception of maybe 1 or 2 I really am within’ 3 feet of where the original photo was taken. There is room for error on some of the shots…even though I could pinpoint where to stand…in some of the photos where there was no remaining landmark from 1974 I had to make my “best guess” on the direction of the photo…where even tilting the camera a few inches gives you a different photo altogether. (I will point out the couple of times when this came up.) I PLAN on posting one comparison shot set a day. (Not counting weekends.) BUT, there are 2 conditions! #1. If you feel that I have made an error by all means point it out. (Even though I THINK I have done my homework I do not for one second feel that I am infallible.) BUT if you do think/know that I have made a mistake…PLEASE point it out in a NICE way. And #2, which is a BIG condition! (And some may say selfish.) When I started this project I was excited about sharing these with this community…I must admit that that excitement level has dropped CONSIDERABLY since then…so much that I was REALLY close to bypassing posting them here and just sharing these photos directly to a select few. The reason I say this is because SO many of the viewer’s remind me of that old line from Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”…”Here we are now, entertain us”. Many members seem to have lost what made this site so special “back in the day”…courtesy to their fellow members. Over the last year I have seen a disgusting lack of consideration for the posters who have went to a lot of effort to put together either special features or trip reports. These posters spent quite a bit of time putting these together for our benefit and what do they usually get out of it, almost nothing. (I long ago gave up making trip reports.) Here are screen-grabs from the latest trip reports: Look at the difference between the views and the replies! Those numbers just scream inconsiderate…or lazy…take your pick. If a member has the time to punch on a topic, that member should also have enough time to post a simple “Thanks”…or at the VERY least hit the “Like” button to show that the author’s effort was appreciated. SO, here’s where I stand…after spending a nice sum of money to purchase these original photos, then spending time scanning them, digging up old research photos, using a few hours of my (limited) time at the park to take the new shots…and finally putting this whole thing together…J.D. (that’s me) is NOT playing the “Here we are now, entertain us” game. For all of the above reasons I feel like I should be able to rate a little consideration and know that my efforts were not in vain. I DEMAND interaction…and here is how it will work. I will keep posting a new set of photos each day as long as I get a certain amount of either comments OR “Likes” each day. (And just like the park won’t disclose the maximum amount of Fast Lane passes it will sell…I won’t say what my minimum is…but it’s not much.) I am NOT asking for, nor do I want any condescending “Oh this is just the greatest thing ever…” type comments. I am simply looking for a little proof that someone is out there enjoying my work…or else why do I need to bother to keep posting them? I would be happiest to see a little interaction with comments about how someone feels about the changes in the park…but I will settle for a simple click of the Like button. So…will all that said and done…here are today’s shots: 1974 I STILL miss the tunnel walkway…it is one of the few things that I can still remember from my first trip to the park way back in the 70’s. 2011 I thought it was amazing how many structures had survived after all these years. As I looked at each set of photos I would sit back and think…where would I rather be standing…back in 1974 or 2011. With this set of pictures it was pretty easy. 1974 wins easily, to me the area looks serene…and a more consistent theme throughout the area. I HOPE that everyone enjoys the (hopefully) upcoming photos…and just like the Son of Beast posts…I am going to beat this horse one last time: P.S. Looking at a lot of these photos as a "fade in, fade out" type of slide show was (in my opinion) neat...some of the photos are so close you can see key structures change before your eyes. I TRIED to come up with a way also throw on a slide show version but I couldn't figure that out...so if someone else knows how feel free. EDIT: Hendrick was nice enough to slideshow these photos for me/us! Thanks!!!

More details to come, but an exclusive opportunity for KIC members to enjoy a lights on tour of three of the park's Halloween Haunt mazes will be available Saturday, November 1.

Today, at approximately 2:40 p.m., the Flight of Fear roller coaster was shut down after smoke was detected inside the ride. Kings Island emergency personnel responded quickly and guests were safely evacuated from the ride and returned to the park. Initial investigations indicate the smoke was caused by an overheated motor. As always, the safety of our guests and associates remains our number one priority.

We have guests that are more excited about our live shows than our roller coasters, that visit the park specifically for the shows. For these guests, the Cirque Imagine announcement was as exciting as the news was to others that we were building Banshee.

Mr. Don Helbig rode Racer tonight. 12000 Wow. Incredible! And congratulations!

You know, I chuckle at this thread. The more I read it... which is pretty much daily now... the more I become amused. Why? It's a near carbon copy of about a dozen other threads related to KI through the years. The speculation runs absolutely rampant... and gets pretty wild. But let me point out some things I have learned after 35+ years of personal park speculation. 1. Not everything is a hint 2. Not every hint is related to the new attraction 3. Over-analyization only leads to frustration. 4. There is such a thing as a bad "hint." 5. Sometimes even the park doesn't know the details. Now let me explain... 1. Not everything is a hint. The PR Department could make a Facebook statement like "It's a great day for something new." Well, enthusiasts may immediately read that as some sort of a hint that a new attraction, or announcement may be made. When in reality, they may mean something like trying a new ride for the morning walk-back (if they still do it.) or a new flavor of Graeters Ice cream. 2. Not every hint is related to the new attraction. When the park "tweets" something like "How about a little fire scarecrow..." enthusiasts immediately believe it's a fire-themed scarecrow ride. When, quite possibly, the "fire" tweet has more to do with the fact that this week KI will host a large fireworks show. 3. Over-analyzation only leads to frustration. Although fun to guess, you can frustrate youself and lose focus on the obvious trying to figure out the "hints." Remember the hints/clues can be related or unrelated... and the realted ones are "leaked" because they WILL further confuse those trying so hard to figure things out. 4. There is such a thing as a bad "hint." Do people not remember the Diamondback thread? I sure do... "They've trademarked Mustang!", "Its not a snake theme because the logo shows a blinking eye... snakes dont blink!", "Ride, Sally, Ride" must mean it's a dark-ride being built by Sally Corp." Blah blah bah. In retrospect... I don't think (with all due respect) those were great hints. As a matter of fact, they were really not related to the final ride/theme of Diamondback IMO. The whole signage surrounding Diamondback's splashdown pre-announcement ultimately made little sense to me when the ride was announced. Western? I guess??? 5. Sometimes the park doesn't know the details. Having been in the entertainment industry for 25 years, I know how last-minute decisions can be. Sometimes a name or theme isn't chosen for a project until literally there's not time left. This changes up to the very last minute. Heck, KI has even (in the past) announced rides that never materialized. Although the general theme of a ride may be chosen, specifics such as the name or logo may not be decided until art becomes due for the media announce. Looking at this whole project through narrower eyes... my speculation leads me to believe that: 1. It's a coaster ;-) 2. It's a B&M (earlier I speculated a Giga - but I'm not positive on that.) Cedar Fair currently has a great relationship with the manufacturer which leads me to believe the relationship will continue to manifest itself at the various CF parks. 3. It will be announced at a time to help drive end of year sales/season passes. 4. It will have a "scary" theme. Monster, ghost, demon etc. 5. It will be announced at night, or with the haunt events. 6. An element will extend into or over the plaza of Action Zone. Why else would they remove the water tower? 7. It may have inversions (there's been a concentration on Vortex - a multi-looper.) 8. Because of how the footings are placed, it is NOT part of a new "land" or themed area. As a matter of fact, I think they are cementing the fact that Action Zone will not expand into the old SOB valley. 9. Other items around it... such as the bathrooms - may be removed, changed, altered or updated. 10. The transfer track is exactly where the speculation leads - it's acessible to the access road, and two coaster maintenance shops that are hidden/located in Action Zone. Historically when KI has installed a large coaster project, they have done so that maintenance vehicles can easily access the site both before, during and after construction. Really, other than very minute details, that's enough to satisfy me for now. I'll love hearing all the specifics when they are announced, but until then I'm not driving myself crazy. Heck all this broad, crazy speculation is fun enough! Shaggs

I was bored, so, here is my render.

Well, just in case, the amazing, imaginative minds at Thrillbisco Cosmetics bring you:

Ok. I like the idea of tall. Huge. A drop that defies all limits of thrill, and challenges the most primal fears of falling from the sky! Go BIG, KI! Let's knock every other amusement park's "records" back on to their collective tuchas! Yeah! (But whatever you do, I'll come to enjoy it, and love it like every new addition we've seen over the last many years!)

Once again, Don has asked us to only link to the official release, NOT embed the map in the forums. It's all good! This year's park guide and map is the best one that we've had since I've been with the park. A lot more useful information is called out. As for the former Crypt building, it is not being removed. It's not in use Opening Day through Labor Day so it was taken out. It will return on the Haunt map in the fall.

I feel bad for the park no matter whether it's real or fake. A lot of hard work and effort goes into planning such things. I think it stinks that someone -although incognito - who made NONE of the decisions is getting attention and glory. The Executive Team at a park works long hours to provide exciting things for their guests. In the Marketing world, this *could be* the equivelant of someone blowing out the candles on YOUR birthday. That having been said, if it turns out the plans are accurate, then I think the placement of the lift/1st element is perfection! It would appear the *possible* coaster *may* drop off the lift and turn right above where the entrance to Adventure Express is (directly across from the Beir Garden.) Imagine the visuals... both on and off. Great photo ops! But no matter if these are real or fake... I applaud KI for finally filling the eyesore void left from the vacated KC land. I've been annoyed by that blank spot between Slingshot/Delirium/Go Karts for years! As far as the naysayers. Be very careful about pre-passing judgement on anything in life... including coasters. I've learned the hard way that criticizing something of which I'm not intimately (Or INTAMINLY... as the case may be...) familiar just makes me look like a darn fool in the long run. Statements such as "It should have been this", "I wont ride it", "It's not what I wanted" or "this would have better if it were this type of coaster" simply demonstrates a lack of forsight, narrowmindedness and immaturity. Thank God we have people like the Cedar Fair execs that are continuing the long-standing tradition of making KI such a great park. In the past 5 years, I've gotten a tinge of "the old days." Many of you didn't get to experience the early days. In the first 20+ years, the installs fit KI to a "T". Unfortunately the park lost it's direction for a while (IMO) so I am ecstatic to see it returning to it's roots of providing thrills for seekers of all levels and rides of substance and worth.

For those waiting for when we'll announce what we're building for the future, you might want to grab yourself a Snickers bar. It's going to be awhile. We still have the majority of the 2013 season in front of us. Enjoy it before it passes you by!

So my buddy caught a glimpse of the crew testing the equipment again tonight and this popped up on the screen! Could it be?!? SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

Photo #19 - king cobra

Yes!

Coaster Story "Hey gang! Come see the new baby!"

In my day, it didn't matter who the manufacturer was, whether it was made of wood or steel, went 500 feet up or stayed low to the ground. We just wanted to have a day of fun and share some laughs with family and friends. Because that's the way it was, and we liked it like that!

Cedar Fair is to be applauded for all of the nods it's making to the past in the former KECO/Paramount Parks. We are seeing a flurry of terrific things, especially out of Kings Dominion, Much loved attractions and theming elements are being restored to the parks. The return of the name "The Bat", The Singing Mushrooms etc. I can't tell you how much these fantastic decisions mean to the fans of these parks. That having been said, I decided to start this official request to Cedar Fair: Please bring the Flying Eagles home. For many, the Eagles were a staple of Kings Island. They were an original attraction that made their debut at the Cincinnati Coney Island in the early 1940s, and then were re-located to Kings Island for it's grand opening in 1972. The Eagles thrilled and entertained guests at KI for 33 years (in two different locations in the park) until the shocking decision was made to remove and relocate them to Carowinds. According to the park (at the time) they were removed because the installation of Italian Job Stunt Track necessitated it. However, the truth is, a formal KD General Manager that had been transferred to Carowinds specifically pushed for the relocation. Bottom line, my wish is for those that are currently spearheading the Cedar Fair leadership to recognize the value this attraction had at KI and to bring them back to their home in Cincinnati - KI. This thread is meant for other fellow KI and Flying Eagle fans to chime in with their support. It's also meant for those that enjoyed the attraction to reminisce about experiences they may have had. Perhaps Cedar Fair may take note and recognize the opportunity to restore yet another piece of 70 year-old history to it's rightful place. Thanks! John K - aka Shaggy

Ok y’all! It’s time for a vote! Here is the final 4! Trophy for this one! Heart for This one! Laugh for This one! The 4th option is the above with Mako Purple instead of Red! Put confused for this one!

We can't wait for everyone to experience Mystic Timbers! Before your first visit of the season, please be advised loose articles are not able to be brought into the queue line area and stored on the ride platform area of Mystic Timbers. Riders will need to store loose articles such as cell phones, pagers, hats, cameras, stuffed animals, purses, backpacks, umbrellas, beverage containers, personal entertainment devices, etc. in a locker or leave them with a non-rider in your party.

TheCryptCrusader and I have been working on a drawing of the Kings Island map in chalk on a 9 ft wall! Here it is! Took about 2 hours, and a lot of hand cramps. We are now covered in chalk.

POV will be available ... to everyone that rides Banshee.

Don: Here eat a snickers bar. KIC: Why? Don: Because you turn into trolls when you're hungry.

Whoa! I was reloading the blog page due to all the supposed changes being made and found this??? I think I just found the name and logo for the new coaster? Uhhh..... SPOILER ALERT??

Save the real excitement for when the erecting starts.

How much worse than last year could it get? Diamondback gave 1,861,093 rides last year which represents the most rides given in one year on the tallest and fastest roller coaster at Kings Island.

I'll be streaming the event LIVE right here at 9:55 PM EST. I'll be at the park tomorrow testing this out, so I know what quality to set it at, etc. Live streaming video by Ustream

It has certainly been a interesting week here on KICentral. We are seeing a massive influx of new posters and traffic that is very exciting to us all. A few things that we must all certainly keep in mind as we are all in this journey together as to Whats in Store for "One Four." KICentral has been around for 10 years strong now and while we have had issues in the past, none of which have been as dumb as someone did this week. As we don't know if they were a member or not on this site, it still put a dark cloud over our close relationship with the park. A individual made an inappropriate post recommending to go to the park "ASAP" in which person did just that (after hours) was caught by K.I. Security and when questioned, referenced the post. We have assisted the park in their research in this matter by quarantining the thread in question. The park has completed their investigation and have dealt with the appropriate individuals. On to some good news. With KICentral getting larger and larger we have migrated to a new server that is cloud based. This means if one server gets too busy, we automatically load balance ourselves onto a new machine seamlessly. The DNS server changed this morning, while this change was instant for some users, others may have experienced delays. Any posts made by those users today will be stuck on the old server. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience as I have never seen a DNS server swap take this long before. In even better news, since the investigation is completed in the trespassing incident. I'd like to announce that we will be continuing on as planned celebrating our 10th birthday at the park on Sept. 8th. Lots of special activities planned for the day with more details to come. This event will be free with park admission.

Not everything is a hint. Sometimes a message is just a message. Or not.

The former SOB station will be used for a Haunt attraction this year and beyond.

This is a photo that was sent to me by a long-time Kings Island employee. It is a circa 1978 photo his mother standing in front of one of The Beast's tunnels. The Beast made its debut on a rainy Friday, the 13th in 1979 and still stands as the world's longest wooden roller coaster.

I think (although I ASSURE you that I don't know) that The Bat thing was put there on purpose. When it founds its way onto the Decoding thread, it served its purpose and was eliminated. Well played, KI.