TheCrypt

I personally wish the park meaningfully engaged with its audience way more. The promo for Phantom Theater has been so stale that I feel like having a brand new ride hasn't even made waves within the park. Given that that ride hasn't changed the landscape of the park, they should be way louder and way more creative about its presence so more guests ride it and are excited for it. I fear the depths of this issue go so deep. Has anyone seen the sign by the highway? It cycles through the same ~3 images all day, and some of the images have been the same for years. It's almost like they go out of their way not to make an effort with any community engagement.

Ironically, they are dancing to some programmed light and fountain show right now. Looks like it's in prep for the 4th of July. Edit: After watching a few minutes of the varying sequences, it made me really wish I saw it in person. I'm left thinking about how I would actively go out of my way to visit IS during my park visits to see a fountain and light show, much like what I did for Haunt. I can't help but feel that the lack of a show makes for a missed opportunity on the daily for both the guest experience and the ability to draw people to a central shopping and dining location in the park. The Royal Fountains certainly need a more regal treatment.

^Not to beat a dead horse, but that is totally another example that boils down to details...

Six Flags or not, seasonal park or not, realism or not: Nemo is correct that a ride of this caliber requires significant maintenance and attention to detail day by day. A story-based attraction has to tell the same story at the same high level no matter what time of day or season, and anything less will not tell the right story. The park has already learned the impact of poor (and positive) SFX investment over the years. Adventure Express, Flight of Fear, Tomb Raider, The Crypt, Phantom Theater, and of course Boo Blasters have all taught valuable lessons for what theming can do to an attraction. The park chose to add this type of ride for this year knowing what it would take to put it at the top. What is conceivable to me is that they may not have the right people caring that those details are missed, or those people are limited by higher ups on what they can and can't do. While not a 1:1 example, I do think it represents the issue well. Take a look at how many burned out lightbulbs are around the park. Nearly every attraction, shop, menu, or roofline has something simple like this burned out, and they will go months at a time without fixing them. There's a park-wide permissiveness to let some things go. I think that's more of what we're seeing here.

I believe I read something awhile ago stating that Ohio's Department of Agriculture requires that operators comply with all manufacturers' recommendations, which, if accurate, could make that a viable theory. That would then leave the possibility open of other states not having to make the same changes if their laws are more relaxed.

It does look pretty fun for a kids ride. I do think, however, that it wouldn't be as good of a fit at Kings Island... maybe not even at Holiday World. The three that have been installed seem to fit each park's needs very well. Glad KK got another solid addition, and glad to see new age Vekomas keep cropping up.

Could this have been a manufacturer's change that they had to comply with?

The multiple voice lines in the previous Phantom Theater was absolutely a strength of that version. I was hoping for that to show up in this version so the story would feel less canned and more robust. That repetition ended up being a huge detriment to Boo Blasters because the audio was a) poorly timed and b) well heard throughout the ride, so you never really felt like the show was tailored to you. They definitely fixed the timing on this go around, but I do yearn for some variety.

Seems like a good spot for a bar.

I don't know about you guys, but I feel like I've literally been waiting to ride it for more than a year. It's been crazy.

It doesn't seem unreasonable to share information with the public before, as, or shortly after it's decided. It's not like these decisions come lightly or too fast for an Instagram post.

The way that this title made my heart race...

Some exciting updates from the webcams: in the last couple days, Adventure Express and Queen City both have gotten their trains on the tracks! I'm assuming they'll start cycling soon if they haven't already. Orion looks prepped for the same. There are also people and a crane working around Monster today.

I'm not sure Kings Island's coaster collection feels like it lacks something that a wild mouse would fill. Plenty of parks don't have the supporting family coaster lineup we do, so I'm perfectly fine with not scoring this one. (And even if we were going to get one, I'd much rather a ground up, modern version than an off-the-shelf, 3x relocated model.)

It's an allusion to the famous line in Shakespeare's As You Like It. The actual monologue is much brighter as it comes from a comedy.