Phantom Theater

I had one ride yesterday and I loved it!! I would have loved to have done it more but the line was long. We waited about 2.5 hrs. It was so surreal seeing these characters that have lived in my mind since I was 7 years old get a second life. The queue was awesome and I am so happy to see Maestro back where he belongs, even though I'd love to have seen him back at a piano up there. As noted, the audio for Larry was too low. I was ecstatic when they gave out the Inaugural Performance keychain before boarding. The ride itself was awesome. I really like that energy that is around every corner, there are few parts that are still walls. My biggest dislike was the show. While cool to see all the characters performing, that scene is way too crammed. Getting rid of the turntable and opening that area up to the size of the original stage would have really helped that part out. I am very happy to see the reception this ride is receiving and I am glad kids today will experience something with so much soul at KI.

Username Pass preview Opening Day IndyGuy4KI Yes Yes Mythic Rider Yes Yes or No (Cedar Fair FanBoy) WoodVengeance No Yes silver2005 Yes (6-ish) Yes kylewestreviews Yes Yes Diamondback_Is_King No Yes Phantom Theater No Yes Super stoked!! As evidenced by my username, Phantom Theater has been an absolute fascination of mine and the source of my dark ride interest. If it wasn't for PT, I likely wouldn't be living in Orlando near Disney!

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

Looking at the electrical receptables schedule: - 7 Bat Sconces (in queue I assume) - Stained Glass illuminated arch sounds cool - Box office! - 3 Larry's (one in queue, 2 in ride?) - Larry confirmed to be on the turntable which is named "Last Minute Dash" - All original characters named I was hoping the turntable thing would be removed and the massive staged brought back. I hope what they've done with Larry is done well. Exciting stuff!! Thanks so much CoasterJack for making this known!

It wild. Everywhere you go, broken concrete. I went this past Sunday and those walls are literally everywhere. I noticed how bad it was in October, they were filling the spots in.

IT IS POSTED Can't wait to actually see some BTS in future episodes

I have checked over and over a billion times today. I hope they post whatever it is soon!!

Awesomeeee. I'm curious how the flashlights will work. I hear the OG soundtrack in the background at a slower pace!!!

Leaning too much into making it cartoony and adding a lot of comedic scenes. From what we've seen so far, the characters are cartoon like. I don't mind that too much, but I loved Phantom Theater for being a haunted house. It feels like they're going with an almost comic book look with bright colors.

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.

Did not expect this!! I really thought it would be down for a couple months at least. I'll be there 10/8!

I am SO HAPPY. I never thought I'd see the day they bring Phantom Theater back in any way. I always looked at it as a dead idea. The stage show was great, but I didn't think it would lead to this. I definitely do not expect the animatronics to return in the same way they were, but I'm sure what Sally comes up with will be great. I'm just glad to see it back in the park.

One thing Kings Island can consider doing, and maybe all Cedar Fair parks, is offering free locker use. I spend a lot of time at Universal Studios now, and rides like Hulk and Velocicoaster are very strict on items being brought onto the ride, so much you have to pass metal detection before boarding. At KI, A lot of people may just take the risk of item loss to avoid dealing with paying for a locker. Being able to scan your pass or even just having a printed ticket you hang onto could potentially help with incidents like this.

I don't see Cedar Fair ever installing something like Phantom Theater at KI or any of their parks. I would love to see some kind of haunted attraction return to that building, but there would most likely be no kind of animatronics like seen on PT. Let's hope they see the absolute state of disrepair Boo Blasters is in and renovate sometime soon.

This sounds great and I hope more parks adopt this! I couldn't tell you the last time I used cash. Working in food and retail for 6 years, dealing with cash was annoying. People standing there, scrounging for change in their pockets/purse, handing me change after I've entered it into the register, making sure I have enough change before a shift, counting the drawer multiple times throughout a shift. I'm sure it will help with the flow of lines, although I'm not so sure how many people still use cash.

Yes I certainly did! (JoshuaEric is me, I didn't realize I had another account using my main email). I never even knew those existed. It was awesome to see everything working and I was in awe seeing all the guys arms working in the final tunnel with proper lighting. I can' tell you the last time I saw every one of them working, if ever.

I definitely think the entrance building needs some kind of overhaul. This website has been posted a ton but the concept art is awesome - http://matthunterross.com/kings-island. It's not a new building, just an addition of dormers and a large centerpiece. The idea of a legacy walk in Tower Gardens sounds great! I would hope to see lots of colorful banners around the park, maybe signs at the entrance of rides explaining their installation and any records they might have broken, & specialty food booths in different parts of the park. Definitely need to sell some kind of birthday cake lol

That is so exciting! Thanks @gforce1994. I hope someone can get some pics somehow. I hope to see that last tunnel fixed up, it is appalling how it looks now.

Yeah, I am looking forward to the new Marvel stuff they use at WDW -- they just can't use the properties Universal uses or the Marvel name. DL can use those properties, just not the Marvel name. I don't think Universal will ever give those properties up for the reasons in my original post.

I meant just the name Marvel. Disney can't use the Marvel name at WDW or Disneyland, that's why the new Marvel complex at California Adventure is called Avengers Campus.

I highly doubt Universal will EVER give up their Marvel properties, no matter how big the check is. WDW cannot use any of the properties that Universal uses. Those properties are Spider-man, Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four, and the Marvel name (which can't be used in any attraction name, WDW or Disneyland). Disney is free to use any other Marvel properties, such as Guardians of the Galaxy, which I believe they are installing at one of the WDW parks. Losing Marvel Super Hero Island at Islands of Adventure would be a huge blow for Universal Orlando, especially since Spider-man is probably one of Universal greatest rides and would make the transition to Toon Lagoon awkward. Unless they have an IP as strong as Marvel to fill it with (Lord of the Rings??), I think Universal will hold that contract very close to them for a long time.

This was a fantastic read -- thank you! I can't believe I missed it in March. I definitely agree that PT was one of the boldest and most unique rides KI ever had. Haunted attractions are a dying breed, and even though I was very young when PT was removed, I still knew that KI had lost something very cool and unique. I hope to see a haunted attraction go back into that building sometime, but I don't believe that will ever happen. The omnimover system is definitely not made with shooting style dark rides in mind. It is very slow and the cars are so close together, its obvious it is meant for a dark ride with sets and characters with a story.

Sadly, I only go to experience HB Land in it's form between 2000-2005 when it was mixed with Nickelodeon Central. I barely remember it, mostly just Boulder Bumpers & the Jetson's ride. Nick U was okay IMO, much like most of Paramount's themes, it seemed very just slapped on and not really "themed". All of the rides from Nick U exist today in the exact same form, no difference in the ride experience, just a different name. The only ride to suffer from de-theming was Scooby's haunted castle, which isn't even Nick. Planet Snoopy seems very bright and well taken care of, and being themed around a classic comic strip and movies gives it longevity. From pictures I've seen, HB land looked to be the best. My vote went to Snoopy since I've experienced Nick U and can compare the two.

Not washing your hands does increase the chance of spreading the virus to yourself, not so much to others as long as everyone washes their hands and uses sanitizer. I think you have a misunderstanding of what the mask is intended to do. It is to decrease the chance of spreading the virus from your mouth or nose. To have some people wearing masks and some not completely negates the point of the mask mandate. The park already cleans the trains, just not every time they empty. I'm not sure how often you touch the back of your clothing or hair and then put your fingers anywhere on your face or into your mouth, but it would be wise not do so. Wear your mask to help slow the spread to others, wash your hands to decrease the chance of contracting it yourself.

Not wearing a mask increases your chance of transmitting the virus to someone who cannot protect themselves from that. You can wash and sanitize your hands after touching surfaces, and you yourself would be responsible for getting yourself sick if you don't. They do sanitize the seats and lap bars, but not after every train empties. If the park wanted to protect everyone from everybody, they'd be closed.