BoddaH1994 Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Check out this POV of Phantom Theatre, which was the dark ride that resided where Boo Blasters is now. Truly a work of art. Please note that at the time, they didn't care if you filmed on this ride. It's against park policy to film on Boo Blasters. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Kinda Guy Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I really took this attraction for granted. Boo Blasters is just plain horrible when it comes to dark rides. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 Still a step up from Scooby... if you can believe that... Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jr for Birdy Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I agree, but my kids who hang in Planet Snoopy, they now love Boo Blasters. That would have been a bit to much for them, and all they care about is going to Boo Blasters now! Sometimes we have to grow up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 I wish they'd do a real dark ride for adults. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Kinda Guy Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Still a step up from Scooby... if you can believe that... Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 The only difference I noticed was the HB characters were gone inside and so were the scooby snacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 Still a step up from Scooby... if you can believe that... Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 The only difference I noticed was the HB characters were gone inside and so were the scooby snacks. They had a smoke screen effect that lasted a few weeks. It was pretty neat.Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Kinda Guy Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Are the snipers still on top of the building? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Nemo Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Still a step up from Scooby... if you can believe that... Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 No, I cant. What are you smoking? Boo Blasters may not be as bad as Garfield nightmare at Kennywood, but it wins second place. If the new dark ride at Wonderland is really as wonderful as it says it will be, I just hope no one from the technical services department here transfer there. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted September 14, 2013 Author Share Posted September 14, 2013 Still a step up from Scooby... if you can believe that... Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 No, I cant. What are you smoking? Boo Blasters may not be as bad as Garfield nightmare at Kennywood, but it wins second place. If the new dark ride at Wonderland is really as wonderful as it says it will be, I just hope no one from the technical services department here transfer there. The worst part of Garfield at Kennywood is the video of the awesome dark ride that used to be there that you watch in the queue that gets you pumped for a much better ride than you are about to experience.Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XjoshhyX Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 As you can see in my avatar, I do like Boo Blaster, mainly as a contest between friends than anything. I would've loved to see a more traditional dark ride, like Phantom Theater go in when the CF changeover occurred, but I could've taken it either way. Phantom Theater definitely had a certain charm to it that I really loved. I am happy to see that various props are used throughout the Haunt though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TombRaiderFTW Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I think Boo Blasters is a decent dark ride, but there's nothing particularly unique about it, much like with Scooby. They both were successful at appealing to the target audience, but both experiences feel sterile to me, if that makes sense. There's no story or pacing attached to either ride, so the entire ride feels pointless. "Shoot targets to defeat an ambiguous bad guy" is not a story, especially since you see neither bad guy until the very end of the ride. Why should I care about defeating Boocifer? What did he do to become so evil, and why does defeating him make everything bright and cheery and colorful? How does my shooting the targets affect him in any way? Why is he in control of skeletons and ghosts? Why does he evidently unleash hordes of skeletons on me after I pass by his extra evil washer and dryer? Yeah, the pacing picks up at that point, but what did I do to land myself in this themelessly black room with the skeletons? I could keep going on and on. We could do worse (Den of Lost Thieves at Indiana Beach, I'm sorry, is really unimpressive), but we could do better, too.Boo Blasters in particular feels like a compilation of props meant to hint at the idea of a theme just to maintain the status quo from Scooby, only without Scooby himself. Since it's from the Kinzel era, I'd expect nothing less, since that's pretty much a common theme with every themed anything from that era. The "theming" on Diamondback and Intimidator 305 says "We don't want to spend much money on anything besides the ride, but we'd feel kinda weird about building a plain gray building, so we'll just add some pieces of wood/checkered patterns everywhere. Y'know. Snakes/racecars and stuff." The end result is an experience that feels like it could exist at any other park ever. For me, apart from the splashdown, Diamondback and Nitro might as well be the same ride. Theming-wise, Millennium Force and I305 might as well be identical. (Yes, YoungStud, Intamin made the rides themselves unique compared to each other, unlike B&M. There, I saved you a post.)And up until around the time the shareholders staged their revolt, it worked for Cedar Fair. But for people who even remotely cared about the smaller details, myself included, the transition from the more detailed Paramount theming (yes, I know it didn't work for long) to vague Cedar Fair pseudo-themes was incredibly awkward. Without yapping on forever, this is why I'm excited for the Ouimet era. He's mentioned a commitment to giving each park its own identity, which is something they REALLY need. And, better yet, he seems to be acting on it, which is why I'm incredibly excited for Wonder Mountain's Guardian and the 40th anniversary celebration for Kings Dominion. Where else are you going to find those? They won't be Disney-level theming, but it's doing a lot to give people reasons to visit each individual park.Given that Boo Blasters was just created three years ago, I'd be very surprised to see it go anytime soon. However, if management wants to give KI an additional, distinctly Kings Islandy dark ride with the new ride technology, I'm not complaining... Stepping off my soapbox now. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB1 Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Now watching this POV, I see so many Disney style effects and ideas. Siding on what FTW said, I think this era could bring about our past Phantom Theater, in a sense. Could we see PT definitely coming back? No probably not, but we could see our much needed themes back to a few of our attractions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upstop Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I wish they'd do a real dark ride for adults. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 I could not agree more!!! I think something along the lines of "Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter" would be a simple and effective concept for a haunted house.....lights out, total darkness, whispers in your ears and warm breath on the back of your neck... For those not familiar, here is a two part video. Imagine a different theme....such as a séance... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Nemo Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I wish they'd do a real dark ride for adults. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2 They did, it was called Tomb Raider: The Ride, and it was amazing 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoaster Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 Such a great ride, so over the top over boo blasters: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanna Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 I agree, but my kids who hang in Planet Snoopy, they now love Boo Blasters. That would have been a bit to much for them, and all they care about is going to Boo Blasters now! Sometimes we have to grow up. I agree, Jr. My neice couldn't get past the main room when she was four. Phantom Theatre was great, but the patrons of that area might prefer something a little more lowkey and cartoony. I'd love another dark ride, don't get me wrong, but Planet Snoopy isn't the place for something genuinely scary. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted September 14, 2013 Share Posted September 14, 2013 And yet, for Phantom Theatre's last season, Paramount Parks put up a sign that said riders must be accompanied by a child to ride. This was only enforced about a week, though the sign remained. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoungStud Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 What's the use of a dark ride if the effects will quit working and not be fixed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoeter Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Talk about a blast from the past...thanks for posting Ryan, brings back memories! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle100991 Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I remember riding that as a kid. I wish it was still there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopan Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 phantom>Scooby>boo. phantom because not too freakish and fun for all(i may be biased as i loved it as a kid) then, scooby cause for a shooter ride great for kids and still something for adults to do, boo cause kind of neat but for something in the kids area and having a kid at age 7 she still insists on me covering her eyes and ears for the last part (skeletons) (and this is a kid who is begging me to ride DB but is 4 inches short and rides The Beast whole way with hands up) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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