RingMaster

Dumb question: How did Trail of Terror hold up during the DA! construction (assuming it's still there)?

And it also seems like most kids would much rather watch Sponge Bob 3D instead of a documentary about dinosaurs. Especially without the upcharge. It just doesn't make sense to me! I dunno, man. A giant paddle-ball made from rubber and wood - ahem, and a staple - coming at you in 3D versus three giant dinosaurs coming at you in 3D? I know it's a CG sponge going up against a CG reptilian, but I think dinosaurs win this round. This is, of course, if DA3D wasn't an upcharge attraction and it still had the motion seats. Seriously, though. What six-year-old is going to look at the signage at the front of the park detailing an attraction involving being up close and personal with a giant animatronic creature (let alone 55 more) and NOT get absolutely giddy with ADHD-and-caffeine-fueled excitement? I guess, by replacing SpongeBob SquarePants with creatures irrelevant to today's youth, they're trying to make up for the colossal failure that was replacing Nickelodeon characters with outdated Peanuts characters, also irrelevant to today's youth. Oh, wait...

Well, here's the problem: Side B of Action Theater only has two actual rows of available seats (Rows 3 & 4). Two rows, as well as the wheelchair access row, were completely removed to make way for a Haunt attraction (Rows 1 & 2). Flip-flopping AT's orientation, by way of moving US to Side A and DA!3D to Side B, would mean ripping out the first three rows of seating in side A and reinstalling said same three rows in side B, and I doubt very seriously it would be easy to just use Side A's old rows. Not to mention Urgent Scare's layout would need be reversed as it would now on the left instead of the right, and an extension would need to be made to the section of the maze that is the exit hallway where you return your glasses (the long hallway after leaving the security room, for those who have been through the attraction). Too much hassle and extra work to be done when all that's needed is a batch of motionless seats to be installed. Also, unless I'm mistaken, hasn't the entrance to AT been re-routed to said attraction's exit? See here: Unless they re-routed both the queue line and exit of Side A to flow into DA!, then both sides are only accessible from one side. Also, that wouldn't work out as DA!3D is separately charged at $4.00, meaning that it's not mandatory for the rest of DA!.

Personally, I hope not. I'm by no means a fan of haunt, but I respect others who enjoy it. When I visit the park that time of the year, I'll admit, I'm there for the rides. However, I think having a "year round" haunt kind of kills the point of haunt being a special seasonal thing. Not to mention (and this is just my opinion) what is with the enthusiasm over things like Urgent Scare? Personally, to me, it seems like something you can experience at numerous other attractions in the region. And speaking as a guy who photographed over 20 different haunted houses for City Beat last October, i think if you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all. However, that's just my opinion and I think the same outlook can be applied to DA. As a passholder, Haunt does not interest me. So I don't usually go to the walkthrough attractions, I have a choice. I realize other people enjoy it, so to each their own. Same with DA. You don't like it, plenty of other things to do. The enthusiasm over things like Urgent Scare, and Halloween events in general, is due to the fact that it's another form of adrenaline rush for those looking to get a thrill. In the exact same vein that a vast majority of people here are coaster enthusiasts and find their muse through roller coasters, there are people here that are haunt enthusiasts and find their muse through haunted houses. And as a counter-argument to your, "if you've seen one, you've pretty much seen them all", comment, I can apply that to every single coaster in the park, at any park in the country. I've ridden The Beast, which is a wooden coaster. So that means I don't need to ride any other wooden coaster ever created simply because, if I've ridden one, I've pretty much ridden them all. Right? Yes and no. Yes because there are clones of coasters at sister parks with the exact same layout (Invertigo, BLSC, Flight of Fear), and there are coasters that share similar elements and ideas but have a different theme and layout (Griffon vs Sheikra or Alphengeist vs Montu). But also, no because it's an unfair assumption as The Beast gives off a different ride than, say, The Voyage at Holiday World. The Flying Ace is a much different experience for young ones than The Great Pumpkin Coaster. The exact same can be said for haunted houses. Yes, a vast majority of attractions share the exact same set of themes and ideas (haunted hospital, slaughterhouse, clown maze). But, that can also be considered an unfair assumption as they all have different layouts and different ways of handling scares, as Urgent Scare has a different theme and layout than Trail of Terror. The USS Nightmare takes place on a boat on the Ohio River, whereas The Dent Schoolhouse is in the confines of an old schoolhouse. Coaster enthusiasts will travel hundreds of miles to ride one coaster at one park. Haunt enthusiasts will travel hundreds of miles to walk through one house. ...anyway, now that that rant is over, I guess the only reason why the idea of AT holding a year-round attraction is out there is because AT is so far out of the way from the main park path that it wouldn't interfere with daily amusement park operations.

Why pretend it's not even there if it's hard to even SEE the building from the main Coney midway?* *And don't say that the sign for AT is visible from the midway, it is irrelevant to this particular discussion and you know it.

...if DA!3D bombs this year for whatever reason, can we finally have a "year-round" Haunt attraction in Action Theater next year? Perhaps even have two separate mazes to go in both sides (either two differently-themed attractions, or two different layouts under one specific theme). I call dibs on renaming it the Phantom Theater and having the mazes be plays or movies you go through (with cameos by the original PT cast in the queue lines before you enter the mazes themselves). Other than that....meh, probably won't be watching the film if it's only 10 minutes long and I can get it on DVD. I'll just stick to seeing their animatronic counterparts with my own eyes, thank you very much.

Well, if anything, should DA!3D ever be replaced, Side A can now be used as a 4D theater, much like what MuppetVision at Disney Hollywood Studios is like (stationary seats with special effects installed). Just throwing that out there.

Better to be safe than sorry, so I'd recommend the following items for your one-day trip to Kings Island: Rain Jacket / Umbrella - in case it rains Gloves / Hat / Heavy Coat - in case it begins snowing or the temperature drops to below freezing Shorts / Tank Top - in case, after the temperature drops to below freezing, the temperature goes well over 100 degrees Hiking Boots - for walking to rides with long queues such as Flight Deck and White Water Canyon Running Shoes - for "jogging" to attractions worth riding at the beginning or end of your day Other items - a riot shield for dealing with immense crowds - are also helpful, but may not be needed. Enjoy your trip to Kings Island!

......you do not know how happy this makes me. I honestly do not care if the ride itself still sucks if the soundtrack to Inception is blaring from all sides. Just the fact that everything's separated from each other (antechamber, preshow, ride chamber) again makes me more giddy than an 8-year-old locked in a Toys-R-Us overnight. But now that the soundtrack to The Crypt is from the movie INCEPTION.....I now know how a 14-year-old girl feels at a Justin Bieber concert.

Which one, there's like four of them on i-Street? Also, Flight of the Valkyries? On MY Backlot Stunt Coaster?! This sounds way too good to be true!

OK......this: makes me wonder if this will remain up the whole season, or it will go down after Labor Day to prepare for Massacre Manor, as it appears and sounds like said laser tag game room will be in its spot. Also, let me get this off my chest: ZOMG ^$%@^&*@ LASER TAG IS BACK!!!!11!!111!1!!! Okay, I'm good.

Wait, we're getting a Timmy? OMG, that's what's REALLY going in DA!'s spot, and the animatronic dinosaurs are just added theming to TERRORSAUR - Kings Island's tallest and fastest coaster ever!

It's too bad the ride carriage to The Windy Seeker isn't similar to Zephyr to where it bobs up and down and the swings ascend higher than when it's simply just spinning at a fixed angle (like it already is). It would essentially be a 301-foot-tall Zephyr, in layman's terms, or what most people (including me) had originally pegged The Windy Seeker to be when it was first announced. But it would be one wicked experience. Not to say that it won't be a wicked experience as it stands now. Just saying...

I see nothing complicated about your question and understand your frustrations following. To answer I would gladly pay a little extra for a Haunt maze with a few IF's attached. It would need to be considerably better and more interactive than the free with admission mazes. It would need need to have shorter waits than a free one. If it's on par with a maze like Urgent Scare or Wolf Pack in terms of aesthetics and atmosphere, then I'd be fine with paying extra for it. But if it resembles Slaughterhouse or, more closely, Tombstone Terrortory, then no, I wouldn't want to pay extra for said attraction. Also, I don't know about the rest of you, but when I think of an upcharge maze, I think more along the lines of what's called an "extreme" house, to where the attraction can be set up to only have a single person go through on their very own (look up Busch Gardens' ALONE house from last year's Howl-o-Scream event), and the park can get away with more than they're allowed to (touching guests, utilizing water gags, etc) and offer more interactivity if signing a waiver is involved (Dead Acres in Columbus is your best bet to fully grasp the idea of an "extreme" house). But to have an attraction like that (or just a haunted attraction in general) encompassing a 4,000 foot trail is a pretty daunting task. Urgent Scare is 3,000 feet long, and for those who went through it its debut season should remember how many people it took to staff THAT attraction. Also, look at both ToT and Tombstone to see how particularly barren they are when it comes to spooky scenery being added to outdoor paths. Now in terms of the length of wait for said upcharge attraction, it would have some length to it because it would be brand new, but it would be drastically shorter than a line for, say, Wolf Pack or Massacre Manor, simply due to that extra charge. Just some food for thought.

The only reason that assumption was (supposedly) made is because DA! takes up residence of the forest that ToT resides in, and it's the most popular Haunt attraction they have.

EDIT: ....Never mind. Not even going to go there. Anyway, I wonder if it's just going to be him or if another one will take the spot opposite the KI logo.

The hilariously sad part about that video is that he pretty much nailed several posters word for word on their anger for not just SOB, but the ERT on DB not making a return and their boycotting of riding The Windy Seeker because of it. Oh if only they would've gone further with the dinosaur bit by throwing DA! into the mix. But all jokes aside, yes, I am saddened by the fact that my dearly beloved SBNO will remain closed this season. This really does, though, make one wonder what it is they have in store for it in its future. I think I will side with those saying they would rather see it torn down as it's done more harm than good. As for erecting a new coaster in its place....slim chance it could be a 40th Anniversary present to the park, but then again the coaster would have had to be planned an extra year or two in advanced prior to SBNO's closure in 2009. Not to mention, SBNO would be well into demolition at this point if construction were to begin for Project 2012. ....of course, there WAS that GCI woodie that was supposed to go to California's Great America back in 2009 but is still stuck in limbo (and Invertigo leaving said park may possibly be the first sign of another Geauga Lake in the near future). But, one can merely dream...

People wondering how crowded the back of Coney will be come Haunt if Urgent Scare returns in its old spot (all four of you) need look no further than X-Base with Death Row, Trail of Terror, Flight of Fear, AND Firehawk. Even if somehow the old entrance remains and the layout remains almost the same (having US's queue in the grassy field right behind the Windy Seeker and next to AT's old entrance), you have to figure in the immense crowds that flock to the haunted attraction and the drastically reduced amount of queuing space now that a brand new flat ride has been erected right smack dab in front of said attraction. One with an enormous footprint. EDIT: This now begs the question of the future of two of the most popular Haunt attractions for the 2011 season - Trail of Terror and Urgent Scare. Dinosaurs Alive! sits in and crosses through the forest where the Trail resides, and I just talked about The Windy Seeker earlier in this post.

Given the fact that, instead of going for this: ...they went with this: ...with last year's Wolf Pack maze, I don't see anything good coming out if they do decide to utilize DA! as a Haunt attraction, even with LIFE-SIZED DINOSAURS STARING THEM RIGHT IN THE FACE. And considering said attraction is essentially taking the place of where Trail of Terror used to reside, I'm assuming they may have to use DA! to make up for the loss. To be honest, now that I think of it, with the way Wolf Pack turned out, I'm really not looking forward to seeing how they do whatever new maze they decide to install for this year, especially if it's to be the long-rumored and much-long-awaited Doll Factory maze.

@ahank's comment/picture: DUDE. That looks AWESOME. Obviously the two wooden doors are for the two rows of the ride itself. I wonder if they're simply swinging doors or maybe a smaller version the original TR:TR door that rolls up. EDIT: Just noticed that it only appears to be one layer to that "wall", so it may just be swinging doors. Still, freakin' SWEET.

Just so you guys know, the film was created and is owned by SimEx-Iwerks, the same folks behind films such as Smash Factory, Fun House Express, and the Dino Island series: http://www.simex-iwerks.com/Default.asp?id=4&l=1&mcat_rec=26&mcat_gid=3&mcat_pid=13&mcat_cid=0 They also have films based off of other properties like Speed Race, Dora the Explorer, Happy Feet, Polar Express, and more. Not to mention I believe they are the same company that actually installed the motion base system at the park.

Carowinds has their maps; they just haven't put the online version up on the website yet. Also, does no one else find it weird that Kings Island and Carowinds are the only parks with the newer Cedar Fair site design and not the old Paramount site design?

They already did. I say "did" because its been a few years since I watched it (Nicktoons network), so I don't know if they already replaced everything. They had Angry Beavers, AHh Real Monsters, Hey Arnold, Rocket Power, Doug, Ren & Stimpy and my favorite Rockos Modern Life. Unfortunately, now it's merely reverted to being a Nick 2 kind of like ESPN 2 and MTV 2. All the shows that are now on that channel are cartoons that failed on the main Nick channel (Mighty B, Danny Phantom, El Tigre, etc.), and the older shows that used to frequent said channel either very rarely play or are on at the absolute worst times of the day/night (4 or 5 in the morning).

Days of Thunder and 007: License To Thrill are the only two films that weren't in 3D that played in both sides during the regular season. It wasn't until 2001 with the opening of 7th Portal that Action Theater went with primarily 3D films (although there were a few films recently that were strictly 2D, such as Smash Factory and The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera).

You obviously never rode Dracula's Haunted Castle in 2004. Nothing will ever hold a candle to the sheer atrocity that was Dracula's Haunted Castle (although Meteor Attack comes in at a close second). Also, the first 3-D film in AT was 7th Portal in 2001, followed by SpongeBob 3D in 2003. Which needs to finally be put to rest.