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So, I do know John—I worked with him at SEA both when he was COO under Joel Manby and as acting CEO after Manby was forced out. He was not CEO when Blackfish came out (I believe he was still park president at San Diego when that occurred)—Jim Atchison & the remaining old guard at BEC were still in place when Blackfish dropped. Joel was brought in as CEO (from Herschend) to try to reverse the mistakes that had been made after Blackfish—if I recall correctly, he then promoted John to COO from the San Diego park. Personally, I like John—I thought he should have been named CEO after Joel and before they hired Gus from Carnival (who I was not a fan of). John started his career as a popcorn seller in college at BGW (he enjoyed telling that story ) so he grew up in park operations when SeaWorld/Busch were at their best. I’m a little biased probably, but I think this is a good choice.

I'm crying. We are so back.

Maestro cordially invites you to step inside the Phantom Theater on a stormy night for the grand (and ghostly) opening of a long-awaited performance at Kings Island! No Legs Larry, the Phantom Theater’s legendary usher, needs YOU to help seat the audience. But beware…just before the show, a lightning strike has released supernatural ghost notes from Maestro’s famed pipe organ and they’ve run amok throughout the theater. The entire cast is calling on you to return them back to the organ before the curtain can rise! Riding in enchanted opera boxes and armed with interactive spellbound flashlights, journey through haunted hallways, magical dressing rooms, and wild backstage chaos to capture the ghost notes before they ruin the show. Along the way, meet unforgettably familiar vaudeville stars, dodge a firing cannon, and witness operatic shrieks that shatter mirrors. Will you save Maestro’s masterpiece in time for the show? Only one thing's certain: in the Phantom Theater, all the world’s a stage, and ghosts love a good encore! https://www.visitkingsisland.com/new-in-2026

Mr. Six is that you?

Humor me as I trip down memory lane for a bit... Most know that the park gave behind the scenes tour to Acer's and members of Dafe when they were loading out PT late in the season after its closure... But in addition, I was fortunate enough to "play" (park personnel supervised - of course) throughout the building during conversion of PT to Scooby. Although it broke my heart to see things in shambles, junk piles, tossed into garbage cans etc (aside from the animatronics - which were all gathered into the maintenance bay in one big bunch.) it was pretty cool to actually handle the props & figures. When they cleared out PT - it was done in stages. They first removed all the figures. then removed all major props (like the cannon, gargoyle, furnace etc) Most of what remained were the wall props, signage, antiques, small chandeliers etc. Those all were literally thrown into garbage cans & dumpsters. I've got a slew of pics somewhere - but here's a handful I found on an old thumb drive. Bear in mind these were taken on a really bad digital camera - in very, very dim light. Not sure these add much to the topic - but figured some might enjoy. I think I shared some of these pics in the past - can't recall for certain. Some notes: The prop room "sword" I'm holding was very light-weight... like a blow-molded plastic or lightweight plywood. It was in a trash can and I pulled it out to fake a "chop" at a friend (whom I edited from the picture for privacy...) The other was still on the wall. If you look, you can see where the loose one had previously been bolted to the mechanical rod on the wall. The washers on the back of the handle were there to help counterweight the length of the sword as it rocked up and down. If you look closely, one of the handle "scrolls" was broken off - a testament as to how they just tossed it in the garbage during removal. As for the "electrical panel" it was all simple plywood panels with aluminum handles hinged and what equivalated to Christmas lights fed through the various holes. You could access the scene other side of it via a hidden passage... it basically masked the back of the figures in the dressing room doors on the other side of the wall. Of all the things in there - I wanted to take the "Schedule" sign home with me... Oh, I begged to no avail. I wonder if it somehow survived. But I doubt it, since most of the non-animatronic props & signage was being thrown away. Everything was filthy. Dust covered, spit on everything, gum blobs everywhere - and lots of real spiderwebs. There were hydraulic fluid stains and grease where the figures were located. So much so, I felt like I needed to shower when I came out after crawling around in there... You could tell precisely where every prop and figure had been - because when they first installed them they used black spray paint to "age" everything - they lightly sprayed all around every item to make it seem like it had been there for decades. By January, the full Scooby install was underway - and PT was a memory by then. The most shocking thing was how they just built a plywood platform over the big pit that housed the Peppers Ghost scene. Every single time I rode SDATHC as well as Boo Blasters, as I passed the fireplace scene I thought "The stage is still under here." When I first saw them building the platforms over the old stage I thought to myself "At least it makes it easy to convert back if they ever wanted to." I wonder if they will..... Most of the scenes were on platforms that were about a foot or so off the actual building floor and matched the level of the omnimover track. The height of the platforms increased as the scenes progressed in order to achieve the height needed for the Pepper's Ghost "performance" scene. There were trap doors in most where maintenance could crawl under to inspect/fix wires and electrical components that powered the figures. The figures were all on independent stands that bolted to the floor or scenic element. Their power cords then ran through holes in the floor to a cable system that ran from scene to scene. I suspect that, with today's technology and the "ghost light" added effect - they will avoid any authentic Peppers Ghost effect. More than likely they'll use large digital screens for those effects. The original was achieved (of course) by giant floor-to-ceiling panels of glass which were (from what I was told) lowered in through the roof for PT. Those large panes were used for the projection/mirror effects but there were separate windows between the guest vehicles and the reflection panels. (I was also told this was done to avoid what happened at Disneyland - where a guest shot a bb gun at the large glass panels in the Haunted Mansion and cracked one. DL later installed a second set of smaller glass panels between the vehicles and the large Pepper's Ghost ballroom panes.) When PT was removed - the large panels were literally shattered and removed. I cannot imagine they'd spare that expense, or go to the lengths required, to re-install them.

Why? Does it really make a difference that they aren't replacing the track? Personally, I'd rather them invest the bulk of capitol in the figures/scenery...

All I’m asking… please be phantom theater!!

I felt a great disturbance in the Son of Beast revival fanboy movement, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

I truly believe KI already has a HUGE hit on their hands. This has as much, if not more, buzz than virtually all new attractions in the past twenty years. If this succeeds, as I think it will, I expect it will set the trajectory for all future installs at KI.

Another "wish" I have which won't happen this season and likely won't happen in the future as the ROI likely isn't worth it to those in charge is to see popular rides with very little shade get a shaded structure. I mocked up some "queue house" ideas for Diamondback and Flight of Fear (the old Firehawk queue which is used more than the current indoor queue). Diamondback's is based on the old Rivertown Mining Company building that used to be there and FOF's is based on the theme of Area 72

Some things I expect to see happen with John Reilly as CEO are ticket and season pass prices being raised, a stronger focus on customer service, and less regionalization with departments. It will eventually get back to the way it was and should be with more boots on the ground at the park level.

All I want is them to have Maestro playing the organ in the queue again and PLEASE NO FUN TV'S IN THE QUEUE!!!!

I regularly check the permit reports for Mason and I’m skipping past the 600,000 dollar haunted house investment, but I had to post about the Son of Beast station being condemned. Happy reading! LINK: https://www.imaginemason.org/download/PDFs/monthly_permit_reports/2026/MONTHLY-ISSUED-PERMIT-REPORT-JUNE-2026.pdf

Wow, I can't believe Six Flags got the city of Mason to condemn the Son of Beast station as part of the elaborate teaser campaign for an RMC! They've outdone themselves! My hopes are UP, baby!

Biggest fanny pack measuring contest this forum has seen in a long time.

Love the new precedent of announcing Curtain Call episodes in advance so I don’t have to stress about a random drop on Thursdays. Starting the new year off right.

Calling out to all of the Monster lovers... WE HAVE PROGRESS!!! I spotted a notable change behind the fence this evening: the rotor (spinny middle thingy whatchamacallit) has been reinstalled in some manner! We didn't get to go over that way to peer over the fence, but this is an amazing change after nearly 8 months of nothing except a new fence and paint on the ride pad. I'd love to see it in the daylight if anyone can get a good photo in the park (without breaking rules or trespassing) or even on the webcam! I'm so excited to see this small bit of progress <3

I'm a couple days behind on posting this, but for anyone curious, here is the video that they were playing on the side panels. And the posters that were displayed on the monitor as well. There was more concept art displayed on the monitor during the press announcement, but I wasn't able to get good pictures of it from where I was standing. Sorry! IMG_6602.mov

They’re perfect. The music. The voices. The posters. The dialog. Thank you Kings Island. This is better than I expected.

A friend shared these with me. Taken near a work area with the door wide open that employees could see. If not allowed, sorry, please delete. Seeing the rid system is neat, it's so much simpler than I imagined it to be.

Yall realize that sign isn't new right? It was just finally fixed to work like it used to. Sent from my SM-S936U using Tapatalk

Kinda shocked that I didn’t get around to making this before, but here’s my first speculation map (to steal horror nights terminology) of what I think we could see in Opening Nightmare. I hope it’s clear which most of the scenes are but I’ll highlight my base thoughts before anything major is shared about the ride so that it’s impressive if I get anything right: - One of the areas that I’m 50/50 split about is if the Boo Blasters bridge entrance will be reused, or if a new short outdoor section will be built to enter the attraction. I’m not sure if this is feasible or a priority, but it would be cool to make the queue wheelchair accessible so that everyone can enjoy (what I’m very much assuming) will be theming in the queue. -I’m also pretty split on what the actual queue ‘preshow’ will look like. I’m really hoping there’s a Maestro animatronic on organ like the original. Only two maestro animatronics being on the sheet from the construction teaser worries me, but this could also be a more advanced figure so who knows. Also I’m assuming the lightning affects return to this space. -I think the statue busts are repainted and reused, but I also have a gut feeling there will be a tv screen placed at the end of the hallway to explain the game mechanics by Larry. - I’m fairly confident that the ride track won’t be changed in anyway, include the path the car’s face. I’m also reallly hoping at the first scene with Maestro holding the curtain stays with “So you wanted to see the theater did ya?” because that’s just one of those iconic scenes (even being featured on the made to thrill poster they put out). -I think either in the spot for Scooby Doo or the portrait hallway, there’s going to be a flash of lightning that disguises an onride photo. I don’t think it’ll be something they sell, but I think the scoreboard at the end will show photos of each guest and there score. -I don’t have many thoughts on the rest of the scenes individually because they’re hard to guess. I think where ever they put Garbonzo firing out of a canon, it’ll be in a spot where the cars make a 180 spin to see his feet dangling out of a wall or something. -I think Arpeggio (the cat character) could be a thing where he’s hidden in each scene somewhere. -I think the part where the original peppers ghost scene was is going to be the section with the most new scenes, and I’m very confident on the stage section being used in the final room. I think pepper’s ghost is going to be used in someway within the ride, either at the ending stage scene using screens, or with No Legs Larry at some point in the ride. Overall I’m very excited, I’m basically just using two photos and a press release to go off on, so if I got any of this correct I’ll be impressed lol.

The new character sculpts look fantastic, excited to see more!

I enjoyed your whole post, but wanted to highlight this specific sentence. It really, really was—but, having been able to see it from every angle as an employee: it was even more impressive from the other side. The loop itself was massive, but even that was dwarfed by the rest of the amazing (in-appearance) structure. I never understood (I mean, logistically, I get why) how the most impressive parts of that ride were faced in a direction no guest could see them even from the tower (outside of special access). Everything about that ride really was disappointing. - I get that there’s a ton of nostalgia for this ride now, but take it from someone who rode it in every iteration and version: it always sucked.

One thing fingers crossed is for the Maestro returns to booth! (I hope they don't leave it empty for the new attraction.)

For those of you speculating the ending with the Crypt meant in that teaser... I'm sorry to break the news to you but...

This was a prop in phantom theater, yes. And the furnace is in Slaughterhouse. (Me when my degree in phantom theaterology pays off)

When the merger was announced, I said on the Tower Topics podcast one of the things people would see is the mazes being an upcharge at Kings Island and legacy Cedar Fair parks. I was told by a lot of people that I was wrong, that wouldn’t happen. I haven’t heard from any of those people today.

I don't think they would need to close it before the end of the season if it were going to sit empty next year. I think it makes sense to close it at the beginning of september so they can start gutting it for construction to begin asap if the goal is to have whatever is next open by next spring. Ik we're still concerned about 2026 capital still happening based on the conference call, but from what I understand they mentioned parks that received major investements in 2025 (ie AlpenFury at Wonderland) helping carry attendance over to next year so I think parks that received major investments this year (ie Wonderland, Cedar Point, KD, SF Great America) won't see anything new in 26 bc they can keep marketing their new for 2025 coasters. KI on the other hand got a Soak City expansion this year so I think a 2026 new ride/attraction is still on the table.

The Kings Island website has been updated with a fresh new look. It’s easier to navigate and find exactly what you’re looking for. https://www.sixflags.com/kingsisland

Here just to post about my excitement!! I still struggle to grasp the idea that they brought Phantom Theater back. It is something I never thought would happen! I can't think of any theme park ride given a second life like this. I always thought it was dead and gone. I fly up there from Orlando on Friday, at the park on Saturday. Just, wow. I will be buying a lot of the merch!! My mind just wont give it a rest haha

Today (Dec. 13, 2025), entertainment icon Dick Van Dyke celebrates his 100th birthday. He’s a memorable part of Kings Island’s history. In 1977, Van Dyke became a key face of the park’s marketing, starring in TV commercials for Kings Island (and sister park Kings Dominion). That same year, he officially dedicated Kings Island’s outdoor International Showplace.

I don’t know where they get their data but mine comes from sentiment reports — the same kind of reports used by theme parks throughout the industry and decisions get made from. I’ve done several sentiment reports on Orion since it debuted in 2020. The sentiment is it’s a good ride, but not a ride that drives attendance. It hasn’t delivered the expected ROI. The Beast on the other hand continues to drive attendance going on 47 years since its 1979 debut.

Really, multiple holiday overlays could be beneficial to KI as a passholder park the same way Haunted Mansion Holiday draws big local crowds to Disneyland. Especially with the state of the chain and the canceling of seasonal events. Would be a great way to drive attendance with something “new.” Whether or not that attendance would affect revenue is another story. Would be cool to see!

Found these on Reddit thanks to /u/Mirahtrunks

Another set of interesting notes from today's video: Most of the black ceiling tiles in the queue room have been removed. The FunTV screen(s) are still up in the queue room alongside the hurricane-style lamps on the right hand balcony wall. The fake windows, queue railings, and center part of the linoleum tile floor have been removed. Some of these elements are leaned up against the front wall. The door nearest the photo room is painted white on the inside. Both the extended cover and the underside access panel for Maestro's queue room balcony have been removed. (This could be an awesome sign for what's to come!) Maestro's curved stage right after the loading station is still in place and looks like it is merely dirty and only received a little bit of paint. The door to the left of the photo room ("Not An Exit") leads to a backstage hallway that appears to either be painted to resemble a cave or to have a tarp over the wall. The wall to the left of this door is labeled as the "YARD" scene with "A-17 [up arrow]" (presumably denoting the scene and prop element that goes there. Scene #8 | Kitchen I think walls have been removed from the back of the BBoBH bedroom scene. A new pallet-looking item is leaned up against the wall where No Legs Larry once beckoned guests into the theater. The turntable and platform still exist, but there is a big cutout in the wall that leads to the former theater stage. The newer interior walls use metal framing, if anyone was curious. The only remnant of the large parlor scene appears to be the painted checkerboard floor. Everything else looks to have been replaced by new walls. Scene #13 | Pipe Organ Scene #15 | Dungeon Lab The ride operator's telephone and black curtain remain in the loading station for now. You can still see the old Phantom Theater wallpaper and paneling that has been painted over, especially now that the house lights have been turned on. The upper wallpaper will need to be replaced or removed if they hope to emulate the original station. (Which I very much hope they do!) The only look into the bust hallway shows that the floor and queue dividers have been removed. This final interior shot also shows that the wall formerly used for the camera has been replaced. Boocifer lives on in the spot where Boo Blasters defeated him, now removed from behind his stone arch. The green "grass" paint remains under his unmoving figure in another room that appears to have been given new drywall. Metal wire chasing boxes sit beside Boocifer. Some of those will presumably be used to send the scoring system data to new screens at the end of the ride, similar to the Justice League attractions at other Six Flags parks. No work has begun on the exterior facades. Even the Boo Blasters Safety Guides are still posted. Areas of the building that we didn't see include the bust hallway, the graveyard, the portrait hallway(s), the former PT electrical room, half of the now-former dungeon, both skeleton scenes, and Boocifer's last stand. Some parts of the track also look to have been pulled up, possibly to change which direction the opera boxes will face. The completion of the demolition phase and the beginning of "intricate" electrical work give some insights into the transformation process. The article (posted above) in Amusement Today states that there will be 26 interactive scenes with 1 static figure and 33 animatronics inside. The new character of Sir Pretzel joins the now-named Arpeggio (or Archie for short) and Rick the Electrician. The ride will end with "...a grand on-stage musical finale with all cast members" — I believe this might go in either the larger skeleton room or the leaderboard room. Lauren Wood Weaver, VP of marketing at SDR, also stated that the company was approached several years ago and that this project was approved in November 2024. This just goes to show how much time and planning goes into these attractions before they are even announced. Tuesday, November 18th can't seem to come soon enough! I think they might show off the first functional animatronics and maybe another little glimpse into the new attraction or two.

Now this is the type of leak I can get behind. Funny how history repeats itself

So this is my personal thoughts to start out with, I really don’t like that this got leaked. I know that the TikToker nor person who shared it on Facebook meant anything wrong by it, but personally it would’ve been cool to see these in action at IAAPA (With the stage setup I do think for sure we’ll be seeing them.) Below, even though its probably out there here’s my thoughts on these:

I have it on good authority that the facade will be an overlay of the existing exterior.

From the KI passholders group

When it comes to IP at Kings Island, many have come and gone. These characters on the other hand always belonged to Kings Island. So to see something so corporate like SIX on its first year green light a project like this brings me a lot of shock, yet optimism. The library of IPs they could have gone with. But some people at SIX who loved Phantom Theater are the reasons we likely saw projects like Encore and this. Seeing how far along Sally might be with this project gives me so much confidence in what will be the final product. Especially since the refit already takes place in a preexisting building. I also in general love seeing the media team at KI posting updates like this! They probably have a good idea of how beloved this IP is. Plus I love watching the process. Keep’em coming!

For those who were wondering like myself, I got confirmation that Rick Bastrup (one of the original creators of the original Phantom Theater) is working with Sally Dark Rides on Opening Nightmare, so I’m even more confident this ride will live up to the original.

THE OFFICIAL LOGO LOOKS SOOOOOO GOOD!!!

When it comes to dressing up the exterior of the building, I'd like to see them attempt to make it like this old original concept art

Was at the park last Wednesday. We stayed late for a beast night ride, Anyway, it was past 10 PM and as we were leaving, we cut through Rivertown and then through Planet Snoopy towards the exit. When we got to the Boo Blasters area, a security guard stopped us and said that we would have to go around because they were filming something at Boo Blasters. Now it is probably nothing, but with folks speculating about Boo Blaster's future, figured I'd see what you all thought.

Especially when one merges with the Temu of theme parks and then decides to start adopting their ways in what was a decent company.

But at the same time just about every new ride has the kinks to work out, it is just social media is capturing everything.