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Kings Island 2015 Discussion Thread


Nick_Plummer

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Docile-looking skunk running around between Bat entrance and exit queues, we went into gift shop and told an associate about it, and he's channeling it up.

:lol: Potential coaster renaming event averted...

Said skunk was being looked for with a flashlight by Adventure Express crew on Friday night as it had the whole ride area stinkin'.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I think there used to be fog as a thematic element, but I will wait for another more expereienced and knowledgable member to answer for sure!  :)

 

I'm gonna page TombRaiderTy on Twitter and get him in here to answer this, because he's the AUTHORITY on that ride, but I can tell you this from personal experience as a guest and not as a guest: 

Fog was once heavily used on AE. In the mid 90's you'd exit the station and there'd be fog on the winding course before you hit the first tunnel. I believe you can still see some of the lights beneath the track that gave the fog a green and red hue at night. 

You'd hit that first tunnel where a railroad bell was ringing (complete with flashing lights) and that tunnel was illuminated to show all the fake snakes hanging on the wall. 

You'd continue the course, hitting the first lift and that's where those awesome spears were. Believe it or not kids, before there were a million excuses as to why they couldn't be fixed - those spears used to move in and out of the wall like booby traps seen in a popular movie franchise. 

You'd ascend the lift and hear the "creaking" and "whooshing" sounds then hit the hill, do some turns and then you're in another tunnel. That's the "lava" tunnel. It used to have red lights underneath the track kind of like in that scene from Temple of Doom. Huh, that's weird. 

Then there's the end, with the drummers and the "now you will pay" guy. 

TL:DR - You can theme a ride to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom without saying the words Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. 

Oh, and as for that smell  - I always heard it was raccoons. They'd try to nest in that tunnel. Your home has a bathroom, why not theirs? 

Fun Fact: In 2010/11 fog was returned to that ride (and several others) by someone with a creative vision on a shoestring budget. He was a helluvaguy to work for and is still doing awesome things for amusement parks today. 

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And people thought Paramount Parks opted for "cheap and cheerful."

 

In a way, I'd say they did. 

Paramount always had a habit of installing attractions with awesome effects. Providing a budget and resources to maintain those effects however...

 

Boddah1994 and I used to know a guy who kind of worked in the department responsible for maintaining some of those effects. He always had an elaborate story as to why it couldn't be done. He had a good nickname for Technifex, a longtime provider of Paramount Park's special effects. Use your imagination, he called them Technif....

Truth be told, Technifex makes some incredible stuff all around the world. I don't think it was always their fault. Boddah and I have heard it all. We'll often joke that if you want to change a lightbulb at KI, someone will tell you about how the electrical wiring is strung through cement and a den of scorpions. 

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I remember riding AE with all the effects and it was amazing. In addition tot eh fog at the start the statue on the final lift that said "Now you will pay" would tip the bowl and pour fog out over the train as well.

 

And I agree, it would be nice if there was something else after that lift than just returning to the station, especially with the set up from the lift hill and audio. Even if it was something as simple as dipping down into a helix that returned you to the station, just add something so you actually have some little element after being told you will pay instead of just turning into the station.

 

I know it's most likely just a pipe dream but I'd love to see the ride refurbished and effects added back into it (and maybe that additional ending track, but would settle for updated effects). It's still one of the best mine train coasters outside of a Disney park and can be even more amazing. Heck I'd settle for just some more trees planted around the one helix by Banshee with all the arches you go under. 

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I had heard- no doubt now it sounds like Dip Dottin- that the smell of AE came from the drainage ditch of a concession that sold ice cream: that the melted goo leftovers would swamp in the drain nearby and spoil.

I don't know if that's necessarily the sole reason for why AE's first tunnel smells so bad, but there is in fact some drainage behind the ice cream stand in Action Zone that flares up with the stench of rancid dairy on hot summer days. The back road to Delirium was always an adventure.

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