Joshua

Didn't Don recently say it was OK in another thread? Edit: Err, nevermind. Don posted that (here) on the 21st. My apologies.

When Scooby came to the park, he and the rest of Hanna-Barbera were owned by Taft Broadcasting. In the 90s, they were owned by Turner Broadcasting, and thus, currently, their characters are owned by AOL Time Warner. I'm not sure if anyone's noticed, but check out Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated on Netflix. For one thing, it's the best Scooby Doo! show since Scooby Doo! Where Are You?, but more importantly, you'll notice the opening logo, the Warner Bros. shield, not the Hanna-Barbara logo. That's because any and all contemporary incarnations of these characters are now handled by Warner Bros. Animation. So, you see, Scooby probably isn't coming back to Kings Island, and no amount of protesting or cynical jabs at other lovable characters who just happen to be there now will change a thing, because, in all likelihood, it's completely out of KI's hands.

The funny thing is that whenever I actually go to click Terms of Service (TOS), I, in turn, receive a disclaimer, saying "Oops! That page can't be found."

The Interpreter is a registered member of Kings Island Central Forums . As such, his name is always capitalized.

I believe the "dark music" is from Lost and prior to that, a cue from Independence Day, if I'm not mistaken.

I've made it off White Water Canyon almost completely dry, save for some water in my shoes. To which I was disappointed, because it was a billion-kazillion degrees, and I desperately wanted to be drenched in cold water.

I would love to see Phantom Theater make a triumphant return to Kings Island. That would be great for The Crypt's building, though I wonder if it would fit the Rivertown theming. (Then again, it's not as if Mayan ruins and archeology were indicative of river-themed entertainment!) I would love to see it in Action Zone, as well.

Waking the Fallen was a huge album for me growing up. And it hits me like a ton of bricks. Suddenly, I'm struck with the realization that the kids who were just hitting elementary school as I was graduating high school are now adults themselves. Now I feel old. But I digress. Graveyard ambience in the line queue would be perfect, as would spooky organ music. I love horror movies, particularly "castle thunder" classics. And, of course, I just dig Scooby Doo. So I naturally just love that kind of theming. But something tells me there are millions, billions, kazillions of KI patrons who would disagree with me, and by proxy of that, Cedar Fair. So I reckon we'll be getting the same kind of tunes we get on Diamondback.

But the viking tribes, themselves, were from Germany. Their namesake even comes from Old Norse, a North German dialect. The whole point of the Oktoberfest theming was to pay a wink-wink, nudge-nudge to German heritage as a whole, as Cincinnati has quite a German heritage. (This per the Kings Island History documentary, which can be found on You Tube, with interviews from Gary Wachs and Dennis Speigel.) While Viking Fury doesn't fit in perfectly with the Southern German atmosphere, it does fit better than Banshee, whose namesake derides from Irish lore. But isn't this all moot really, since 1) Viking Fury is already a part of Oktoberfest and 2) Action Zone probably won't be integrated into Oktoberfest?

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Johann Sebastian Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," often associated with Hammer's 1960s adaptation of Phantom of the Opera, along with a few of the lesser known Universal Monster movies starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-MMssvU36I

I'm not sure that would make sense with Congo Falls, The Bat, or even Banshee, whereas Festhaus and Viking Fury fit in line with the Oktoberfest theming. But I can't for the life of me imagine what a re-theming of Action Zone could be. With names like The Bat and Banshee, the only thing that comes to mind are the classic Vincent Price/Christopher Lee Hammer horror movies, folk lore, and urban legends, but how does that fit Congo Falls, Drop Tower, Delirium, and Invertigo? Of course, this is if there's going to be a re-theming at all this year.

The myst/fog is in the night version of the P.O.V. mock-up. I do hope that is part of the night riding experience. In a video interview with Don, he confirmed that there will, in deed, be keltic tombstones themed around the ride. He also mentioned that they're working on possibly incorporating the "Banshee Scream" sound effect somewhere on the ride.

In an interview with Don, he stated that there will be gravestones placed throughout the ride. here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSytUd1YyQs Thank you for that video. I hadn't seen that before.

I only vaguely remember Scooby's Ghoster Coaster. I remember seeing it in action a few times just from passing by it, but it was installed right around the time my knowledge of that area in the park became quite hazy. I honestly can't say I know anything about Planet Snoopy's layout anymore, about what's new, what's gone, and what's still there. It's by no miracle that I still know where the ice cream stand, er, stands. I have those nostalgics trips for "Smurf ice cream" to thank for that. But ask me anything else about Planet Snoopy, anything recent, anything not pertaining to The Beastie, Phantom Theater, and blue ice cream, and my hands will be cluelessly in the air. I just assume that almost all of my favorite rides as a kid have are now scrapheap.

The P.O.V. mock up didn't include one. If it was something that was planned for, wouldn't they've animated a ground tunnel in there, as well? Speaking of the P.O.V., I hadn't seen the night version until recently and I couldn't help but enjoy the foggy atmosphere. I really hope they do that at night for the real thing. But it also got me thinking of that initial teaser, with the graveyard. Wouldn't it be great if they themed the perimeter of the ride with tombstones?

A live grizzly bear!

In a way, it already is. Remember, it's got the whole white water rafting thing going for it? Which pretty much falls in line with the whole Rivertown theme. Plus, you have the bit where you can see the train, and that's on top of the natural theming, namely the woods itself, which just lends itself to the ride. Plus, it doesn't really need something new to shake it up and increase ridership, because, after all, the intense summer heat already does that.

The announcement when you get on the ride could be "WHA-WHAWHA-WHA."

I disagree. With as many comic strips, movies, televised specials, and a short-lived television series, there's certainly enough material to pull something off. After all, they've been around far longer than The Smurfs had been around when their ride opened. (That's even including the initial comic strip and long-forgotten movie, The Smurfs and the Magic Flute, both of which pre-date the Hanna-Barbera series.) They could almost mimic that ride, with the seasonal themes: Linus with the wheelbarrow full of Valentines. (A Charlie Brown Valentine) Charlie Brown, the pitcher, being knocked over by a baseball for Summer. (A Boy Named Charlie Brown) Linus waiting for The Great Pumpkin for Halloween. (It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown) The gang sitting at a table, outside, having celebrating Thanksgiving. (It's Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown) Charlie sulking by that twig he calls a Christmas tree, or even the gang standing around, singing, in front of the fully decorated tree. (A Charlie Brown Christmas) That's just a few examples. Lucy's therapist booth could be sitting in front of the entrance and the piano-based melody, officially known as "Linus and Lucy," but unofficially called "The Peanuts' Theme," could be played throughout the ride. This wouldn't be too dissimilar from The Smurfs' Enchanted Voyage.

He has a point. You would be absolutely shocked how many times myself or the park is contacted over a post on here. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk I can see that. Afterall, how many times has pure conjecture been twisted into "rumors" and hearsay disguised as "sources," all for the sake of a slow news day?

The webcam's uncovered again. I'm sure the only real cover up going on before us was just a literal one, perhaps even an unintentional one. Bigfoot's probably more likely to pass before that camera than some secretive thing we're not supposed to see yet. Because, honestly, there's nothing you can see with that angle beyond what you're supposed to see, which is what you're there to see, and that's the coaster being built. All that's behind it is grass, trees, and parts of the coaster that have yet to be installed. We already know what the coaster's going to look like. So there's no surprises there. In fact, there's not really a whole lot of surprises I can think of that could go in front of that camera without the powers that be going far out of their way to put it there, then hide it from us. No, the other angle would be the one hide secrets from, but that's just my two cents.

They're going to give 'em away free with entry. It'll sorta be like Free Bobblehead Day at Reds Stadium.

I like the idea of it being included in the cost. I rarely buy souvenirs because of the hassle of having to carry them around all day. So it's quite probable that I would then feel more free to buy the cups, glasses, shirts, what have you. The biggest setback I can see is that with them being built into the cost of a Season Pass and probably even standard, single day admission and therefore being free to the public (or even just Gold Pass members), is that it might be near impossible to find a locker when you need one. But I would gladly take the risk.

Thanks. Man, I can't wait to see what these changes are. Contrary to what it may seem, I really do enjoy the ride and I'm definitely excited about the changes, even if I do refer to it, from time to time, as "the faux return of The Bat." From your post, might I surmise that you work at the park?

Lovin' the new paint job. Can't wait to see wait to see what they do with the station, as well, even if it is ends up being just a subtle change. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the end result. I agree. Don't get me wrong. I like the new logo. But it reminds me of a hockey team, whereas the classic logo has more menace to it. It's got a bite to it. Plus, I love horror-themed stuff, and the classic logo sort of embodies that. Not that I actually think they should drop the new logo or anything. I just prefer the retro one, that's all. That'd be cool!