19 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said:

They wanted it to be prominently in the "middle" of the park. Turned out to be a GREAT decision. 

I mean, even if it had EVERYTHING promised in the promotional artwork and video, it still would’ve been a mid tier short ride for that regime. How they didn’t place an action movie themed ride in the area of the park known as “Action Zone” (who’s loose theme was action movies and sets), will always boggle my mind. 

Also, reading back a few pages, CBS gets a lot of flack for that ride being “budget cut,” but I believe CBS wasn’t fully in charge until early 2006. And IJ:ST would’ve been in planning stages a bit before its 2005 debut. I think Paramount/Viacom was just always cheap. 

3 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

They wanted it to be prominently in the "middle" of the park. Turned out to be a GREAT decision. 

It makes me wonder. What would KI replace BLSC with? It's right in the center of the park and will (in a way) be a second centerpiece.

 

I still have hope for a giant Eccentric wheels! 

4 hours ago, Captain Nemo said:

It makes me wonder. What would KI replace BLSC with?

A relocated TOGO from Vegas.

Our old Flying Eagles! I sooo miss that ride everytime I go to the park. I cringe at that basketball game everytime I walk by it knowing my favorite flat ride ever once resided there. I feel the need to go back to Carowinds or Knoebels suddenly...ha!

3 hours ago, jbeast said:

Our old Flying Eagles! I sooo miss that ride everytime I go to the park. I cringe at that basketball game everytime I walk by it knowing my favorite flat ride ever once resided there. I feel the need to go back to Carowinds or Knoebels suddenly...ha!

Admittedly, Woodstock Gliders didn't fill the void of the OG Flying Eagles.

A few other Italian Job/Backlot things came to mind that I need to put out into the world. 

1) The weird “fence thing” atop the station roof.  (@CoastersRZ, looking at you here for your architectural expertise)

(P)KI and (P)CW’s versions of the “Italian Job: Stunt Track” debuted in the same year, 2005. They were so similar that even their budget cuts were identical. Both feature this weird, steel structure that looks similar to a fence atop their stations. 

(P)KI:

 

(P)CW:

I’m not sure what purpose this part of the station serves or if it was meant for something else. If anyone does know, though, I’d love to find out.
 

Interestingly enough, when (P)KD got their version of the ride the next year…the weird, fence thing wasn’t built:

WHAT IS IT!!!!

And hey, while we’re talking about the Kings Dominion version…

2) Remember when Paramount announced it as “Italian Job: Turbo Coaster” but later changed the name to “Italian Job: Stunt Track?”

Event after they changed the name on the billboard, turbo coaster was still mentioned…

And ultimately it was just the same ride anyways. 

It was also supposed to be yellow  track instead of black according to the teaser footage.

 

It was also supposed to have a bunch of nice landscaping instead of concrete and gravel, but we all know how that worked out.

On 2/25/2023 at 4:01 PM, silver2005 said:

It was also supposed to be yellow  track instead of black according to the teaser footage.

 

Interesting how it was supposed to have a splashdown after the indoor section. That would've been cool.

3 hours ago, zac2211 said:

Interesting how it was supposed to have a splashdown after the indoor section. That would've been cool.

I did ride it a couple of times under the Italian Job name.  It wasnt really a splash down.  It was like yard sprinklers that sent multiple strong streams of water outwards as the train passed over the track.

The water effects can be seen in that video. There's a real-life POV after the animation.

58 minutes ago, TombRaiderFTW said:

The water effects can be seen in that video. There's a real-life POV after the animation.

I think the video I posted was them making it for the history with the 50th anniversary last year. 

Is the water effect at the end something they could possibly bring back? Doesn’t look like the track gets wet from the pov they posted. 

51 minutes ago, Imperial79 said:

Is the water effect at the end something they could possibly bring back? Doesn’t look like the track gets wet from the pov they posted. 

They didn't, Speaking about water, I can see replacing the water in the Helicopter scene with air blasters. And maybe get new lighting effects.

KI got lucky as it seems their version of the ride aged the best out of all three. 
 

Also, @CoastersRZ, where you at! What’s up with that weird structure on the roof???

Does it still play "flight of the Valkyries" up there??

5 hours ago, Imperial79 said:

Is the water effect at the end something they could possibly bring back? Doesn’t look like the track gets wet from the pov they posted. 

My guess would be yes.

1 hour ago, Captain Nemo said:

Does it still play "flight of the Valkyries" up there??

As of Haunt this year yes