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Its to see who can annoy the most park guests by bouncing bastketballs

That's a neat idea. I like it. Just don't get rid of the paper maps, okay, Kings Island?

I hope the lucky rider is allowed to take the giant sign to his/her car and then re-enter the park!

From Kings Island's official Twitter: @KingsIslandPR I think this is a great thing. It's probably more user friendly than a paper map, plus in and out of park advertising has fantastic opportunities with this. As you can see from the photo that Don Tweeted, it can be in cahoots with FUNtv, based on it showing the Instagram photos like FUNtv does.

Sorry to double post but.... I just got to play with an interactive map. Those things are awesome! Not only does it give you directions from your location to your destination, but it gives you approximate walking time. Not only that - the right side of the map, powered by FUNtv, gives you ride and Haunt wait times and features user-interactive images from Instagram and Twitter. Next time you're at the park, you gotta play with it!!! I did a quick walk through: http://youtu.be/2_IOfUtBQLQ"]http://youtu.be/2_IOfUtBQLQ

According to Kings Island via Twitter, the rider was Mark Specht from Berea, OH. He is evidently a roller coaster enthusiast, as he is wearing a CoasterMania shirt in the included photograph:

I was on the train! That was so cool! I know it's shocking that I never have before but I celebrated with my first hands up ride on any coaster! I already was excited just to see Don in the station, but to be on the 50-millionth ride train! We may not have all won the prize but we were all the 50 millionth riders

Maybe they're updating it to look like a modern day movie studio. Green screens everywhere! Then for only $79.99 you can buy a digital copy of your visit complete with CGI fun and excitement.

For now, they have a temporary North Gate entrance set up since the Plantation House and the surrounding buildings have been demolished. The South Gate wasn't open when I went last Sunday night for SCarowinds, so it might only be for Saturdays, when they're busier. Here's a map:

I believe, someone correct me if I'm wrong, that Boo Blasters actually follows the same exact track that Phantom Theater did, only difference is when the omnimovers turn to face different scenes. The area where CarnEvil resides is the former Enchanted Theater. I'm not positive but I think Enchanted Voyage (Original and Smurfs) occupied the whole building, including the CarnEvil/Enchanted Theatre area.

It's a good time to remember how much who has invested and committed for the future at Kentucky Kingdom. Just some perspective: http://insiderlouisville.com/business/ed-hart-and-co-we-have-the-financing-to-reopen-kentucky-kingdom/ And this was when the park was expected to meet its projections , which it hasn't. $7.5 million in investment for 2015 and 2016. Not each year. Total for the two years.

Better question: When was the last time Busch Gardens and the rest of the SEAS parks had good news?

The park's attorney? Ed Glasscock. One of Mr. Hart's investors? Ed Glasscock. Gee. http://www.frostbrowntodd.com/newsroom-243.html http://m.wlky.com/news/kentucky-kingdom-files-countersuit-against-couple-after-injury-claim/29282306 BINGO!

My own ideal buildout version of the park was renamed Disney's Hollywoodland Park to celebrate the Golden Age of cinema and the idea of stepping into the movies. Not saying that's the best, but I think a name change would be in order. (I also removed the Sorcerer Hat. Because... duh.) For what it's worth, back when Disney's Hollywood Studios was announced as the name, Universal Orlando was supposedly doing exit interviews asking, "Where would you expect Disney's Hollywood Studios to be? What would you expect Disney's Hollywood Studios to be?" Allegedly they were giddy with the results as folks assumed it was a California park at best, a gated movie studio at worst. Not sure if that's true or not, but could be!

Good - it obstructed the view of the rest of the area and it made the area too "small". The only question I have about the whole makeover of HS is, will the name ever be changed? A park with Star Wars land and no backlot tour or anything even show-related is hardly a "studio". Disney's Florida Adventure?

Rumors of a Disney California Adventure sized re-build are growing. On this (outdated) map, #9 (The Backlot Tram Tour) just closed. That clears up a whole lot of land. #11 (Toy Story Midway Mania!) is expected to expand into the empty soundstage (#11) to add a third track. (Sorely needed since the ride gets into the triple digits in terms of wait time most every single morning.) The small soundstage between #11 and #13 is currently the Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow walkthrough, which - it was announced today - will close forever on November 6, 2014. The Sorcerers Hat will disappear from the end of Hollywood Blvd., again creating a consistent 1930s Hollywood land. #7, The American Idol Experience, was supposed to close next year, but was rush-closed this fall to use the stage for a Frozen show, which is scheduled only through next spring. #5, #13, and #16 are theaters playing shows that started in the late 80s or early 90s. #8 is a desperately outdated playground. #1 and #6 are empty theaters. Yep, this park is ready for a full re-build, and things are looking good. Every week or two Disney announces another attraction that will close at Disney's Hollywood Studios. If it's not leading up to a whole bunch of openings, then they're crazy. EDITED for expansion

Part of Scooby's problem (which carried on to Boo Blasters) was having re-used the Phantom Theater Omnimover. Omnimover ride systems were revolutionary and - from an unnecessarily philosophical / storytelling way - allow guests to be immersed in a story where they can observe something unfolding around them. Haunted Mansion, Phantom Theater, Adventure Thru Inner Space, Spaceship Earth, etc. The Animatronics or animation can cycle continuously through their program as guests glide through scenes. The other kind of classic dark ride is cart-driven. Think Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Alice in Wonderland, even Indiana Jones Adventure. That also includes every Boo Blasters except ours. On those kinds of dark rides, a cart enters a room or scene and the environment reacts to that cart specifically. Once the cart passes through, the animatronics reset and wait for their sensor to be tripped again. One big complaint fans have about the new Little Mermaid ride at Disney Parks is that, in all other cases, dark rides that retell Disney's fairytales or stories are cart-based, and the characters appear to interact with you specifically. Little Mermaid uses an Omnimover, and you glide through scenes and see familiar sights and sounds, but it's not happening to you. You're just an observer. Again, maybe overly philosophical, but it matters. The two big selling point moments of Boo Blasters are invalidated by our Omnimover system. The first is the fog screen. On every other Boo Blasters, the screen remains unlit until the cart trips a sensor, which begins the projection. The Phantom's entire message is delivered and his eyes turn to flames just as you pass through the screen, then he's gone until that cart leaves the room and the next enters. The effect was lost by the constant stream of Omnimovers with no one getting the whole message and the darn thing repeating over and over and over as you approach it. The other big moment is the end, where your cart pulls into a garden with gnarled vines and skulls in the sky and thorns and prickers. The Phantom is under a stone arch covered in briars. "You'll never escape Bleakstone Manor, never!" If you shoot the targets around him, red fog blasts up from in front of him, he screams, the animatronic sinks into the ground, and then the blacklights hidden around the room go off and white lights turn on. When that happens, the briars become flowering vines, the sky turns blue and happy, and the curse is lifted. Ours doesn't have that capability since it's a continuous stream of Omnimovers, so he just continually screams and then laughs and then screams and then laughs. Which is fine, but the blacklight trick is a clever one. While it's not confirmed, I can only imagine that the Omnimover system has something to do with the invisible lasers (as opposed to the other ride's red targeting laser) and the inconsistent operation of the guns. That's just a guess though.

^Or at least have GR hold it for them to pick up on their way out. Too bad it won't be me... I'll be otherwise occupied right next door.

Getting admission to Carowinds with another park's Platinum Pass can certainly be....interesting.

And, instead of using an attorney who specializes in these types of cases, the park is letting one of its investors, a mostly retired white shoe lawyer from a big corporate firm (and golfing buddy?), dabble in representing it. Why isn't the park's insurance company counsel representing it? And, if the park loses this litigation, can the claimants now sue for libel and slander as well?

Now, even the park's attorney is discussing litigation strategy with the media: http://m.wlky.com/news/kentucky-kingdom-guest-who-claims-injury-says-he-just-wants-medical-bill-paid/29306072 Unbelievable.

Great picture to remember Diamondback Opening Day 2009! Sent from my iPhone using Taptalk

While the complexity of the figures inside Phantom Theater were part of its downfall, I think that the thing that would prevent it from being built today is the lack of "interactivity" (read: laser guns). It's simply more marketable to make a "blasting" dark ride than a classic one. It also takes pressure off the designers (and budget) when you can count on a guest's focus being in a particular place for only a fraction of a second before it's pulled elsewhere. A real shame, because it's difficult to tell a story when explosions surround you. And if you ask modern park goers, maybe they don't want a story. Maybe if guests could ride Boo Blasters and Phantom Theater back to back, they'd prefer the former in overwhelming numbers. Worth noting: technology is minimizing the big parks' reliance on Audio Animatronics, too. This year's two big ticket additions were both dark rides, and neither contains a single Audio Animatronic. That's a major shift from the past, where a ride's robotic figure count or robotic figure quality was proportional to its budget (and often to its esteem). Digital does it these days. Heck, Canada's Wonderland debuted a nifty "interactive" "dark ride" that required no Animatronics... or sets... or lights. A couple shameless plugs to share my opinions: TRULY Interactive Attractions That Don't Require Laser Guns (link) 12 Dark Rides You CAN'T Ride at Disney or Universal Parks (link) 20 Most Incredible Animatronics Countdown (link)

...armed with the backing of the taxpayers of Kentucky assuming virtually all the risk of failure, while virtually all upside potential accrues to Messrs Hart and Lunsford. Such a deal.

Wow...50 million riders. Hey wait...in 2014... Banshee opens and reaches the 1,000,000 rider milestone and might even hit 2M. Diamondback hits the 10,000,000 rider mark. Racer finallyhits the 100,000,000 rider mark. And now Beast is looking to hit 50,000,000. Wow. What a year for coaster milestones at Kings Island, eh?

Looks like 3 new trademarks have been made public. Wonder what they are for? Voyage to the Iron Reef http://www.trademarkia.com/voyage-to-the-iron-reef-86423002.html Run & Ride http://www.trademarkia.com/run--ride-86424523.html Backyard Ball http://www.trademarkia.com/backyard-ball-86425386.html Sent from a signal coming out of the Vega system.

I think, for me, one of the main reasons BB is a poor ride is that the old PT ride is still there is parts. The cars are still there just slightly repainted. Where the cars were removed sits plywood that makes it look like something broke. The busts are still there just nailed over. Heck the ride still travels the same track. Most things either don't work or never did. Plus a ride that the effects don't work unless you shoot them always bothers me. PT was a ride that felt like a show. BB is a ride that feels like a chore for my son to enjoy all of the moving objects.

At the VERY least, a blaster-free, charming, family dark ride themed to the Great Pumpkin would be incredible and appropriate. I don't even mind Sally's flat blacklight style and believe that it would lend itself just find to a Peanuts dark ride if it were done appropriately. See their Gobbler Getaway as a way to make a cute, autumn-colored dark ride in blacklight that's NOT glowing phosphorescent blue and green like Boo Blasters.

I just have a weird vibe about all this. It's almost like they are spouting all of this information and their intentions intentionally knowing that it's bad PR for the park.

I believe that it is common for those bringing a civil suit to wait as long as possible to allow for most expected and unexpected costs from the injury to appear so that the plaintiff can sue for the full amount of damage.

You walk in and a roof shingle hits you in the head, you ask for medical bills paid, you find yourself having to pay KK 300k for spreading bad rumors..... Man not sure how this could go any worse. So far we know that 2 people got hurt because they may have been given the wrong raft. One of those people states he just wants medical bills paid. But Ed Hart says he has an unmentioned friend who says they are just trying to make a quick buck. Also he said they weighed too much and should have known better.... Imagine if the Superman Tower incident would have happened on his watch.... We are saying it's not our fault because you kicked your legs out..... When the cable broke at CP who paid those medical bills?

I get the strategy. If we sue enough people and win, then we'll have some REAL operating cash. Hello new coaster.

^ Really seems like the only way to have a lifeguard do it. Thanks for the info.

Wow the version of BB you just described sounds so much better than ours....

I just looked at the new rides list for 2015. If that $7.5 million over 2015 and 2016 is correct, then it sure looks like they're dumping a lot of it just for 2015. I mean, you have a new train (trains?) for T3, 2 new fairly large flats which will cost lots of nickles, and the re-opening of 2 rides already on the property, plus I imagine some park improvements on top of that. They are decent additions for 2015, though how T3 turns out is up in the air. I would think that would eat up a large majority of that money figure right there. The question becomes if T3 is enough to bump attendance over 2 years, especially with what they have to put up with from the competition (FireChaser Express, Banshee and Thunderbird and then whatever, if anything, comes to those parks in 2016). If they don't meet their own expectations, what happens in 2016? Beyond? Hopefully, they've hired actual PR and law personnel by then as well. If they continue those fiascos long term, they'll be in a bigger mess.

One if the reasons I don't think it is a scam is because the one person in the suit has mentioned medical bills not pain and suffering

I think the best thing the park can do at this point is to drop their counter-suit, quietly settle the pending lawsuit and hire a new PR firm - preferably one that specializes in damage control and knows how to properly handle social media. Even if it was a scam, the actions from the park and those associated with them have only hurt the situation for KK. I'm sure the victims' lawyer is having a field day with this.

Im still hung up on the whole weight restriction issue and it being the riders responsibility to know their combined weight with their ride partner. I will be honest as someone who does not frequent seasonal water parks a great deal I can't remember seeing signs like this on multiple slide complexes. Now Im used to being weighed before hitting some of the huge slides like Tornado's and such, but other than that it has never been mentioned. But during this time of year we typically visit the indoor water parks like Great Wolf and such for weekend trips with another family. We have probably visited most of the Indoor Parks within a 6 hour drive of central Ohio. The other Dad and I always try rides out before getting on them with the kids and I am now realizing we have been destroying these weight limits. Neither one of us is obese by any means, but we are 2 stout guys and looking at us you wouldn't think we pass the 400lb max. Never once have we been questioned about our weight when pairing up. I would consider myself well versed in the industry, but this realization makes me feel quite dumb yet realize that if I am unaware of these limits there is a very strong chance Average Joe is even more so. If weight is such an important factor why are they not weighing folks just like they check height. Once again is it a reasonable expectation by a park to assume you know your own weight let along the weight of the person you are ridding with and that weight is an important factor just like height?

Run & Ride was an event held this year at many (all?) Cedar Fair parks. For Kings Island's event, see https://www.visitkingsisland.com/runandride/the-races "Voyage to the Iron Reef" sounds like it could be a Wonder Mountain's Guardian style dark ride/film. If successful at Canada's Wonderland, I believe that the intention was to buy more installations.

It's true to an extent about the intereactive rides being the bigger, more popular additions now but there have been rides that have shown that is not necessarily what people like best. Some fo the most popular dark rides are non-interactive ones. Transformers, Harry Potter, Spider-Man, Tower of Terror and Haunted Mansion are probably some of the most popular and well loved dark rides out there and non of them are interactive. The only really popular and loved interactive one I can think of is Toy Story midway mania. I will grant that many of them don't include animatronics anymore but they are done with a high quality still that they don't really feel lacking either.

I never got to ride Phantom Theater (it looked too scary when I'd walk by when I was little), but if it was around today, I'd probably give it a try. I enjoyed reading the articles, especially the scene-by-scene article that described the ride.

Generally, most amusement and theme parks prohibit running, for safety reasons. Yet by having employees chase guests with a fake chainsaw, they are encouraging running. She may have a valid claim in that the park created an unsafe situation. IANAL, of course.

I should of appreciated the Phantom Theater when it was still operating, if I knew it was getting removed, I would have at least ridden it 50 times in a row, I dont ever remember a line so I would get in line, ride, exit, repeat. The reason why I liked Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle so much was because it was themed and fit along great with Hanna Barbera Land. When Scooby Doo got replaced by Boo Blasters, I was totally unsatisfied, because at least with Scooby Doo, it told a story unlike Boo Blasters. By looking at the pictures above, you can really tell that the theming for the Phantom Theater was more creative than Boo Blasters. As with everybody else, I would love to see a return of the Phantom Theater.

looks a bit more intricate and complex than, say... The 1-dimensional characters that fill the space now. (ps- none of the images are mine. credit to ThemeParkReview and ThemePark University).

Kings Island on Facebook: "There was a time when Rivertown had no Beast." Photo : Don Helbig / Kings Island via Facebook

Also known as trying to prejudice a jury.... Should the park find out it isn't right, Mr. Blabbermouth just made any potential settlement much more expensive and also angered the plaintiffs and their attorney. Gee, dumb. Truly dumb.

Mr. Hart take note that is how you are supposed to handle things.

How has this man been successful in business? I expect to receive my notice of suit shortly because I am sure I have made what the park would consider disparaging remarks over the past 121 pages regarding their actions and stupidity. That to me is the most shocking thing about Mr. Harts comments, when he shouldn't make comments, is that the park will not stand for disparaging remarks about the park and if you do we are going to sue you. Also I like to see they are supporting their young employees now, unlike earlier when they sacrificed a young employee for approaching a breast feeding mom in the park. Should be pretty easy to show how incompetent this park is, starting with leadership. Oh wait my lawyer has advised me that I have No Comment regarding Mr. Hart, his leadership abilities or the future of this park. But this mans an idiot, I mean No Comment.

Would you prefer Gold Star?

Banshee should give its 2 millionth ride the last weekend of the season. It has been a great year for ride milestones and anniversaries.