Beast1979

This is absolutely fantastic news in every way. Flight Deck's state of neglect over the past years had become downright depressing, and it's truly wonderful that Kings Island has decided to give the ride the love it very much deserves. That ride, whatever it is called, should always be considered one of the most treasured rides at Kings Island, and hopefully its rejuvenation as The Bat will help return it to that level of prestige and respect. I cannot wait to see how it turns out. As an aside, I have to say that the current management has done nothing but impress me over the past few years. Every investment seems to be made in the wisest way possible, and is clearly helping Kings Island to become the best possible park that it can be. I look forward to more good things to come and hopefully a very long period of good times ahead.

I dunno, considering it hasn't changed much since I started going to Kings Island, I've grown rather fond of its current faded blue. If I had to imagine another color, its original green or perhaps a rustic brown like the actual Eiffel Tower might look good. I can't imagine it being anything bright like red or orange.

It was darker, there was fog, and it was somehow even more awesome than during the daytime.

Okay, now that I've gathered my thoughts, I can articulate some of the things going through my head now. My first reaction is WOW. Wow across the board. Every aspect of this is stellar. The ride, the theme, the name, and especially the marketing department. They've absolutely hit it out of the park these last couple of weeks, and this announcement was nothing short of spectacular. We should all be grateful for the frankly incredible job done by our PR team here, it is clear that they take their job seriously and enjoy doing it. The teaser video was remarkable, and very appropriate. As for the ride itself, color me impressed. Looking at the blueprints I was wondering how they were going to achieve any kind of record with this, considering it looked to be an invert about on par with Patriot or Talon as far as size. After seeing the renderings, I can tell how it achieves the "longest invert" record. This ride looks MASSIVE. It's hard to tell looking at just the ride itself, but consider that lift hill is over 160 feet tall, compare it to Delirium sitting next to it...it seems like B&M took a mid-sized invert and just blew it up. Another thing that strikes me right off The Bat is the paint job. I love the colors, very unique and striking, and they fit the theme beautifully. The lift is super steep, and there's no pre-drop buzzkill like on most inverts. I'm a fan. The placement of the lift and dive loop is just brilliant, like putting Diamondback's drop and splashdown right near the midway. What a spectacle it will be! The vertical loop encircling the lift hill is wonderful, though it won't do much for the on ride experience it will be quite a sight off ride. The zero g roll is good, those just kick major ass on inverts, especially when handled at high speeds. Which this thing definitely will do. I'm shocked by how quick and fast this coaster is. 67 miles an hour! And it reaches that speed halfway through the ride! It will be handling these elements wicked fast, I can imagine this thing being extremely intense. A series of fast punches all in a row, and no mid course break either! That will certainly help the pacing. I'm also very impressed with the new restraints. Don made it sound like a lap bar only ordeal like Flight of Fear, but they do have OTSRs, if you look closely there are thin bands inside the metal arm rests. Still, they look much more comfortable and open than the huge padded OTSRs of before, I most certainly approve. On the whole, over 200 foot elevation change! 67 miles per hour! Seven inversions! New restraints! No midcourse! I'm blown away! And in the grand scheme of things, this just goes to show how lucky and thankful we should feel. Kings Island has dropped over $50 Million on new attractions in the past few years, and Banshee represents a continuing effort to grow. There are many, many parks that can't in their wildest dreams imagine getting a ride like this. B&M makes truly world class roller coasters, and they are almost guaranteed to be a hit. With Diamondback, Planet Snoopy, WindSeeker, Soak City, and now back full circle to Banshee, Kings Island and Cedar Fair have shown a commitment to appealing to guests of all ages and preferences, which is absolutely stellar. Cedar Fair has treated us extremely well so far and I see nothing but more good for us on the horizon. Cherish this roller coaster and the times that come with it, for this is a fantastic time for Kings Island. I am truly thrilled by all of this. Bravo, to all involved.

I'll post my full opinion once I gather my thoughts.

Please, for the love of God, shut up. You sound like Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I would put you on my ignore list but with quotes and responses that never works.

I don't know how you guys can go to the park with The Beast, the world's longest wooden coaster, and say that the world's longest inverted coaster is a bum record. More length = more coaster. Who doesn't want that?

I'll take a shot in the dark for the fun of it: B&M Invert 140 Feet Tall 60 Miles Per Hour 7 Inversions: Immelmann, Vertical Loop, Batwing, Vertical Loop and Inline Twist (In that order) 3,400 Feet Long World Record: Something Obscure

That's not purple, that's clearly TARDIS blue right there.

Please. Stop. Feeding. The Troll.

Guys just leave them (or him, singular) alone. We've all spent the last few months trying to wrestle with them (him) about ride experience versus ride reliability, park investments, general public perception, etc etc. It should be clear by now (or by a while ago) that they (he) is a troll, and there is no arguing with them (him). They (he) either refuse to understand or to accept reason on the subject of roller coasters in the amusement park industry, and trying to argue with them (him) would be like trying to play chess with a pigeon. It will simply knock over the pieces and fly back to claim victory. If you ignore them (him), they (he) will go away. They (he) are entitled to their (his) opinion that Intamins are the end all be all of roller coasters and nothing else will suffice. I'm entitled to the fact that B&M's are sensible investments for large amusement parks and my opinion that they are just as much fun as any other coaster. When Thursday comes and an Intamin is not announced, let them (him) cry in solitude. When April comes and an Intamin does not open, let them (him) boycott in solitude. I will happily advance past his empty place in line.

It's amazing how after seeing the blueprints, the layout becomes so clear. The immelmann, the loop, lift, etc. Also, I can't see it squeezing any more than 120-130 feet out of the lift hill in that small a space.

I hate to agree with YoungStud, but...this almost certainly looks like an invert. The layout looks like a miniature Montu, which I think is a VERY good thing. The blueprints have made me even more excited for the announcement on Thursday, not less. I'm eager to see the theme, name, specifications of this ride.

Mr. Spiegel also famously guessed that Diamondback's transfer track footings were indicative of a vertical loop, and that it would be a Dive coaster.

Diamondback's blueprints were leaked shortly before its announcement as well. I believe it was WLWT who broadcast them after obtaining them from the Warren County office. That said, if this is a fake, it's a very precise and detailed fake. Everything seems to be reasonably to scale, the footings match, the layout is realistic and the essential parts of a standard blueprint are there. It's not at all outside the realm of ability for someone to easily fake, but it seems fairly accurate to me. Assuming the blueprints are true, *spoilers ahead, highlight to read* this would be a fairly standard B&M Inverted coaster comparable in size to that of Talon or Patriot. It would start with the station facing Action Zone, immediately turn left and enter into a lift hill headed towards Adventure Express. The lift hill would take it up about 120 feet (rough guess judging from size of land there) and then the drop would turn right behind Slingshot. Curl over into a diving loop to the left and end going away from Action Zone, into a vertical loop encircling the lift hill. A zero g roll that then drops into the valley where Son of Beast stood. Next it looks like a peculiar batwing element similar to what could be found on Montu, exiting towards Flight Deck. Another vertical loop, then a swooping 270 degree turn taking it back towards the valley. A helix where Son of Beast's second helix was, then flying up into the brakes where Days of Thunder stood. A grand total of 6 inversions, ballpark guess of track length around 3,500 feet. I don't see how this in any way could be considered a record breaker. One thing that I don't understand is, why would they bother showing all of Son of Beast's supports if they were all removed? Again, assuming this is legit. I honestly have no idea if it is or not.

That was possibly the best Terp Pun I've ever read.

Yes. We know. Start preparing for disappointment.

There may not be a day this summer...announcement at 10pm...clever. I love it.

All of these posts suggesting that B&M inverts are antiquated technology and irrelevant in 2013 and "belong at KK" are really starting to annoy me. Allow me to explain why these arguments are bunk. Let's start with the argument that they are outdated and irrelevant. In that barring insane new advancements in technology (like anti-rollbacks or the like) that doesn't happen to coasters. The first sit down looping coasters were built by Arrow in the 1970's. Does that make Kumba any less significant in the 1990's, or the same Arrow coasters less significant now? Our Vortex is 26 years old, and still one of the most popular rides in the park. Heck, the first hyper coaster was built a full 20 years before Diamondback, B&M's first hypercoaster was built 10 years before Diamondback, but no one complained of the hypercoaster "gimmick" being outdated and irrelevant when it came to Kings Island. It was a hole in Kings Island's lineup that was filled with an excellent ride, regardless of the age of the model. Which leads me to my next point. Inverted coasters are not a gimmick. There are some elements of roller coasters that you can debate are gimmicky. 90 degree lifts, tunnels, backwards running trains, etc. But inverted coasters are an entire model of roller coaster, and designed to be just as expansive as the classical sit-down model. They offer their own unique ride experience not only for the invert model but for each individual ride. Saying that the inverted coaster design in and of itself is an inherent gimmick would be akin to saying that hyper coasters or looping coasters are inherently gimmicky. And lastly, I would like to point out that if Kings Island installed a B&M invert for 2014, you guys would be the only ones upset. B&M has been building inverts since the early 1990's, and continue to build them all around the world to a wide range of customers. Some point out that the last invert built in the United States was built in 2006, and I would like to point out that that is because nearly every park in the country that can afford an invert already has one. The Six Flags parks have their Batman: The Rides, the Busch parks have Montu and Alpengeist, the Cedar Fair parks have Raptor, Talon, Patriot, Afterburn, Flight Deck, etc. It seems that Kings Island has, like with the hyper model, been left out of the party. And, like with Diamondback, no one when it opens will say "don't ride this! It's decades old technology, it's so outdated!" Instead, people will come out to ride it in the millions, as with Diamondback. (In the 5 years it has been here, Diamondback has given enough rides to service the entire Greater Cincinnati area). A B&M invert would do the same. It would fill a much needed hole in Kings Island's lineup and would attract millions of riders, because a large majority of patrons care only about what they have ridden at their home park, not its context in the global coaster industry. And as for the enthusiast community, I feel like this B&M invert prejudice is being fostered by a small and vocal minority. I personally have very few rides that I dislike, and I can't think of an entire model of roller coaster that I don't like. That doesnt mean you cant dislike certain coasters, but generalizing an entire model of roller coaster is not a great idea. And most seasoned veterans will tell you that if you don't like a ride, then don't ride it. A truly bad roller coaster is any roller coaster that does its home park more harm than good, not whichever one you enjoyed or didn't enjoy. And a B&M invert would do Kings Island a lot of good. So if you don't like B&M inverts, don't ride the one Kings Island gets, if we do get one. Don't try and assert your opinion on them as a fact of the industry.

He was joking. There are no NDA's to go on the Eiffel Tower. I was there this morning. Are you guys seriously that gullible?

I can't remember off the top of my head, but the page count went into the thousands if I remember right.

I think this thread is only a couple hundred posts from being the largest thread on this site. I think the DB construction thread is still #1 but it's posts are also in the 7,000. We are close! The Rumor Coaster for 2009 thread was, by far, the largest.

I just got back from the park, I didn't take any pictures while I was there because honestly, there is nothing new there to see. The PVC pipe is just sitting there. The coned-off area of the park has nothing in it. There were no storage containers on site or in the typical holding area behind Firehawk. There was nothing but a lot of dirt and a lot of footers. To be honest, I'm pretty bummed I had to go to the park to confirm this. It doesn't surprise me that no one else was willing to, but I couldn't stand to watch everyone freak out like they were. If you guys were truly expecting track to be there and were truly disappointed when there wasn't any, then you proved HTCO's point. Not saying what he did was okay, because it wasn't, but everyone would benefit from chilling out a bit. Track will come eventually, it will go vertical eventually, just be patient. All I would really like right now is an announcement date, if that's too much to ask for.

Down in Action Zone right now, can confirm that those are tubes of PVC pipe, up close they in no way resemble supports. The only somewhat interesting thing going on is Don standing in the site talking with a bunch of people, and I don't really care to try to eavesdrop or anything, considering its probably irrelevant out of context.