Spectrum91

I believe some "flash powder" barrels from the ride were/are in Tombstone Terror-tory. I haven't had the chance to check that one out yet this year though, so I don't know if they're still around.

^The car was also used for Urgent Scare for a few year.

There's still footings across from Banshee's drop though, between our new inverted roller coaster and Adventure Express. They're remnants from the turn-around at the top of the lift hill. Regarding track, it used to be stored out in the field past Flight of Fear. Here's a photo from then, courtesy RCDB.com:

^As much as I'd love to see Radiator Springs at DHS, I highly doubt it'll get the green light with current management and their penny-pinching methods.

^^Although there is a nearly-identical area at Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris. Interesting to note, Walt Disney Studios Park is the closest park to Florida's Disney's Hollywood Studios. It has many of the same attractions (Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, etc.) and has a very similar movie studios theme. It also has multiple Pixar themed rides, something I could easily see DHS expanding with in the near future: Crush's Coaster (Finding Nemo) Cars Quatre Roues Rallye (Cars) Toy Soldier Parachute Drop (Toy Story) Slinky Dog Zig Zag Spin (Toy Story) RC Racer (Toy Story) Ratatouille: L'Aventura Totalemente Toquee de Remy (Ratatouille)

I'm willing to bet money that it'll be this... Photo courtesy Pixar-Planet.fr Why? It's a small, cheap addition that can be constructed relatively quick and is easily marketable. Plus it'd fit well, branching off from Toy Story Midway Mania.

^The cars are from Jetson's Jet Orbiters, which originally opened at Cincinnati's Coney Island in 1960. It underwent a few different names while at Kings Island, although I'm not fully certain on the dates: Kikky Kangaroo 1972 - 1975 (?) Wilma's Whirlybirds 1976 (?) - 1981 (?) Flintstone's Flyboys 1982 - 1991 Jetson's Space Port 1992 - 1997 Jetson's Jet Orbiters 1998 - 2005 After the ride was removed for Nickelodeon Universe, the park put it up for sale. I don't believe there was ever a buyer, hence the cars being used as props right now.

Of course they can, but I imagine the park wants to avoid it whenever possible. Because for each additional haunted house that has to be rebuilt every year, it's more labor that they have to pay for. Those things generally don't go up with props and effects and all over night, but if you can stick something in a building and keep it there year-round - Club Blood, Urgent Scare, etc. - you save a lot of time and money.

Yep. I think the best way to have accurate wait time estimates would be to stop "eyeballing" the queue and guesstimating, but instead keeping count of how many people are in line at any given moment and dividing by expected hourly capacity. This would be far more accurate and could easily be kept updated on a screen, but would require additional technology or additional staffing.

It's not the first time something like this has happened with a Halloween event. Far from it, actually. A few notable examples of recent events or public outcry changing a theme park's Halloween event: In 2001, Kings Island's new The Morgue haunted house was renamed Maze of Madness following sensitivity concerns. Also in 2001, following 9/11, Universal Orlando axed most guts and gore, as well as replaced all blood with green slime. The original mascot of the event, a demented chainsaw-wielding maniac, was also quietly replaced. In 2002, the same event planned to have a creepy girl, Cindy, as its mascot. This was changed following a series of child abductions in the Orlando area. In 2009, Kings Island did away with a display that featured late celebrities posed in the manner of their death, including murdered football star Steve McNair. There was immense public outcry, including a tweet from Billy Mays' son, that led to the display's removal. In 2011, a year after the National Alliance of Mental Illness approached Cedar Point about renaming two of their haunted attractions that showed insensitivity towards people with mental illnesses (Dr. D. Mented's Asylum for the Criminally Insane and The Edge of Madness: Still Crazy), the park renamed both attractions (to Eternity Infirmary and The Edge of Madness: Six Feet Under, respectively) In 2013, Kings Dominion discontinued its Miner's Revenge after members of the public found it distasteful to those killed in mining accidents Also in 2013, Universal Studios Hollywood cancelled its Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure midway through the event after a Vice article criticized the show's portrayal of homosexuals. The show will not return this season, although it continues to run at Universal Studios Florida. There's obviously a very fine, difficult line to walk for any theme park with a Halloween event. You want to host an event based on horror, but you have to be considerate of real-life horror.

^If anyone wants to read the inside: http://www.kiextreme.com/historyphotos/thumbnails.php?album=27

Can I just take a moment and comment on the fact that the park practically ignored having a Ferris Wheel for the entirety of the ride's thirteen/fourteen year existence. A few examples how: I have never found a single news article or press release mentioning the ride's addition The ride wasn't always given an "official" name, but was referred to as "a ferris wheel" or similar (reference first picture in my original post) It was misplaced on at least one map (I cannot recall the exact year, but it was placed on the wrong side of Oktoberfest's pond on a 1980s poster map) The year it opened (1978) it wasn't even part of the "fun guide" (the map). To be fair, Bavarian Beetle (which I'm 95% sure was removed after 1977) was on the 1978 map, so it may have been a case of a last minute, unplanned removal of the coaster and addition of the wheel. Regardless, I think a Ferris Wheel would make an excellent addition to the park today. There is a lack of family rides outside of Planet Snoopy, and a Wheel in Coney Mall would look and fit wonderfully. It could either be an Eli Bridge model (similar to the ones at Cincinnati's Coney Island or Stricker's Grove) or a larger one. Personally, I'd adore an eccentric wheel, like at Disney California Adventure or New York's Coney Island.

To re-install a lower deck for Bat's queue and an accompanying elevator? I highly doubt that. Assuming it's a Banshee style elevator, I doubt the project would top $2 million, if that.

^No problem, glad I could help. Just a friendly tip though, no need to quote the pictures too - you can delete them in the quoted post, and that way the page will load faster and be less cluttered for other readers. The blogger who posted the photo, Dan Alexander Dizmentia, is apparently really concerned with concealing the identity of him and his cousins... in pictures from 26-years-ago. Here's what he specifically said in the post: And here's the post, for the curious: http://danalexanderdizmentia.blogspot.com/2011/10/scooby-doo-where-were-you-kings-island.html

The park has had two Hampton rides, one which I believe was removed in the 1980s, the other which remains today. The picture is one of these two: -Autocat, which underwent a couple name changes. Titles included Huck's Hot Rods, Go Diego Go, and Peanuts' Off-Road Rally. It was relocated within the area in 2006. -Motor Mouse, which *may* have also been Boo Boo's Buggies and Peeway Raceway (if not, then Autocat went by those names for a while). I'm fairly confident it was removed in the mid-1980s. Here's a couple I've spotted over the years. None are mine. Notice how it was repainted a darker brown at some point. The Ferris Wheel opened in 1978 and last operated in 1990 or 1991 (I'm learning towards 1990). Despite being at the park for well over a decade, there is very little information on it. It was manufactured by Eli Bridge though, who also manufactured Scrambler.

On the other side of the spectrum, it's incredibly irritating to have my experience ruined because the monsters are being tame and caring, all because some parents brought their too-young child into the maze.

I am trying to figure out certain dates and details regarding past Kings Island attractions. Any help answering the below questions would be immensely appreciated. What year did Ferris Wheel open and close? The first mention I can find is the 1979 poster map, the last the 1990 media kit. Was Shake, Rattle, and Roll ever officially called 'Troika'? The 1975 poster map lists it as "Troika", but the same map also calls Zodiac 'Giant Double Wheel'. What year was Zodiac removed? I know that Flight Commander took that spot in 1990, but it was off maps and the like by 1988. What year was The Bat's final year of operation? According to an April 2012 Facebook post from Kings Island, the ride closed for good in May 1982. A newspaper article from summer 1982 says that the ride had closed indefinitely, but I've heard/read numerous reports of it operating in 1983. I've also heard that it was planned to operate in 1984, and a crew was even hired to operate it, but it instead sat motionless that full summer before being removed. Finding answers on this stuff has proven a tad tricky. If anyone can help, I'd be eternally grateful

If the Arcade became the permanent, year-round home to Kill Mart, it'd be the fifth such structure to do that. 1. Enchanted Theater 2. Son of Beast Station 3. The Crypt Building 4. Action Theater (Side B )

This. It's the easiest place to queue up guests for Kill Mart without flooding the midway. And it's a stone's throw away from the Arcade, so the queue could be wrapped behind the ICEE stand and into the building.

^The lower station was removed the end of last year.

This sounds great! It's an awesome way to refresh an outdated, dull area with an exciting, marketable attraction. And while the foaming fanboys are obviously in a tizzy over it, I'm positive the majority of the spending, general public will adore it.

I hope people don't mind if I post the entry for 2014, as TombraiderTy is still gone. I'll add pictures and expand on the descriptions once the event actually starts. 2014: Two new mazes and a new show were added, as was an addition to the Fright Lane program. Kill Mart: (Coney Mall Arcade): The event's largest maze ever, themed to a zombie-infested department store. Slaughterhouse Reloaded: (Building Behind Beast Station): A relocation and refurbishment of the former Slaughterhouse. Skeleton Crew: (International Showplace): An acrobatic performance that showcased balance, strength, and athleticism. Fright Lane was expanded with Skeleton Key, a new feature that gave paying guests access to additional rooms in Slaughterhouse Reloaded, Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror, Delta Delta Die, Urgent Scare, and Kill Mart. Returning Attractions: Wolf Pack, Club Blood, Urgent Scare, Delta Delta Die, Board to Death, CornSTALKERS, Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror, Tombstone Terror-Tory, CarnEVIL, Freak Street, Cemetery Drive, Nightmare Alley, Backwoods Bayou, and Blood Drums. Holiday Horror, Hot Blooded, and Ed Alonzo's Psycho Circus of Magic and Mayhem did not return.

How about taking a ride on one of the carousels, or Boo Blasters?

Regarding the keeping secrets blog post, kudos to the enthusiast that found the trademark and kept it a secret, letting the park - and all the park fans - have their fun.

From the article... Wait... they're letting park guests bring their pets into the park? That seems like a small liability. Plus, guests with pets will then find themselves restricted to this sole area and can't visit (or spend) elsewhere at Kings Island... unless they paid the $20 for the Pet Care Center outside the main gate.