Decoding Episode II: Rivertown 2017 and the Falling Trees

[medford]

40 inches by 3? I'm jealous. My son is still waiting to crack the first magic mark. 40 inches will be next year when he's 4

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My son is a fast grower, and has ridden just about everything in the park save I think Firehawk.  We could pass the seasons knowing he would grow about 2-4" b/w birthdays.  his birthday is smack in the middle, so it was 40" shortly before his 3rd birthday, then 42" late that summer (shake, Rattle & Roll), 46" right shortly after his 5th birthday (and allowed me to realize the enjoyment that Congo Falls can be), 48" around his 5th, then finally hit 54" last fall when he was 7.

 

Our 4 year old daughter is similar a fast grow, not quite as fast, but more than most.  However, unlike her brother, she doesn't like rollercoasters much beyond The Pumpkin coaster.  She rode Woodstock express last year, and 1 this year, but won't ride it again, won't get on Viking Fury again, used to love The Monster when she was 2, but won't ride it now, etc...  Loves the Beetle Bugs and The Scrambler but not much else with any type of force on it.

[Magenta Lizard]

Can I just say how cool but scary the animation at the beginning of the announcement video was?

https://www.facebook.com/visitkingsisland/videos/10154981184613368/

Seeing Kings Island taken over by nature was simultaneously intriguing and horrifying. I've seen pictures of abandoned parks, and I never want that to happen to Kings Island.

[Existential]

Looks fantastic and expected.  Can't wait for the first ride.  The ending has me intrigued.  Did not expect something like that with this coaster.  Nods to the member who had the great interpretation in No Limits.  He hit it the best.

[Steph88]

Ok, so is the shed an entirely new stucture? I thought it was using the Crypt box? Now I'm thinking I just got confused.

-holds out hope for a Screamin Swing inside the Crypt box-

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[BruceWayneWins]

Ok, so is the shed an entirely new stucture? I thought it was using the Crypt box? Now I'm thinking I just got confused.

-holds out hope for a Screamin Swing inside the Crypt box-

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Entirely new.

[RailRider]

Mystic Timbers fills a perfect need for Kings Island.  Family Woody built by GCI, who build awesome rides.  I am glad this is not another gigantic steel multi looper.  KI has enough of those, instead this will fill another hole in the lineup and will give my family one more coaster to ride.  We love ThunderHead and honestly this coaster has more of a feel to something that DollyWood would get and not KI, so for that I am even more excited.

 

Also how Great was it to see KIC's very own PKI Punk last night talking about Mystic Timbers?  Now he will play a huge role in designing and building a coaster for his home park.  That is just awesome!  

 

Some of you fanboys would be wise to cut back on the verbal diarrhea and listen to some of the wisdom that is on this site daily.  You don't know, never knew, and very few care what you think because you never shut up.  Once again the old moniker of those who know don't talk and those that don't won't shut up.  Thank you for illustrating that point once again. 

 

Well done KI and GCI

[benny1388]

^ Red text hurts my eyes.

 

Nobody's opinion is invalid, though. You're happy this ride is what it is, others are not. Neither are wrong in wanting what they want.

[Paramount]

After thinking more about the "shed" element and the sharp L shape, it would be pretty cool if it was a super sharp over-banked turn. I kinda feel like it may be a point where things slow down a lot though and you see a lot of theming... much like the way Adventure Express teases you at the end. I hope the latter is not the case.

[benny1388]

After thinking more about the "shed" element and the sharp L shape, it would be pretty cool if it was a super sharp over-banked turn. I kinda feel like it may be a point where things slow down a lot though and you see a lot of theming... much like the way Adventure Express teases you at the end. I hope the latter is not the case.

 

If you watch the POV the shed is VERY near the station (on the right hand side as the POV leaves the station), almost right next to it. Not sure what kind of elements they could add that aren't like AE or maybe a mini dark ride...

[RingMaster]

I see a lot of mention/assumption that the comment last night about a different ride each time is referring to the shed. Am I the only one who assumed they were referring to how The Beast rides differently at night vs day, hot vs warm vs cold, post rain vs dry? Because to me The Beast's differences are far more noticeable than most coasters and far more discussed. I assumed that's what he meant.

In terms of different experiences with the shed, Verbolten's indoor portion features three separate visual gags involving their drop track element (howling wolves, a thunderstorm of sorts, and the Spirit of The Forest).

Hearing the audio being played before and after the announcement, I would assume part of Misty's "finale" would deal with possessed sawmill equipment providing headchopper effects.

As for other separate experiences, someone else mentioned an encounter with the Splintercat, and I'll throw out another assumption that we could possibly see a hybrid of a Medusa and Mother Nature creature.

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[BruceWayneWins]

That red text was murder on my eyes.

[BruceWayneWins]

 

After thinking more about the "shed" element and the sharp L shape, it would be pretty cool if it was a super sharp over-banked turn. I kinda feel like it may be a point where things slow down a lot though and you see a lot of theming... much like the way Adventure Express teases you at the end. I hope the latter is not the case.

 

If you watch the POV the shed is VERY near the station (on the right hand side as the POV leaves the station), almost right next to it. Not sure what kind of elements they could add that aren't like AE or maybe a mini dark ride...

 

Here is the video of that part of the ride.  It is backwards L shaped.

 

[benny1388]

^ i saw the video of the shed.

 

My point was that it probably isn't a typical coaster element given that (appearance of) space constraint and the proximity to the station and the speed the trains would liekly be traveling. 

[Beast Gal]

It stops right before the shed. So it will be less than 500' to the station. Not much you can do im that span.

[sixohdieselrage]

"Not much Beast Gal can do in that span, but alot GCI/KI could do."

Now that the announcement is over, I'm back! Congrats to those who were super close. It's amazing how well some of you can decode things.

I'm excited for the new ride! The name will probably grow on me.

Now, does anyone know how close to the water cannons on WWC you will be on MT?

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[Magenta Lizard]

The markers running through that area beside the cannons suggest the ride will run fairly close to the cannons. It appears that there will need to be some way for foot traffic to go beneath the track to get between the turntable and the cannons.

It doesn't appear to me that the train will be running close enough to be shot by the cannons if that was your question, though.

[gad198]

I've had a chance to sift through the videos and posts on this thread and get a good nights sleep.  My initial impressions:

 

Pros:

• GCI as the manufacturer.  Once the plans were made public it was pretty clear that it was a GCI coaster.  The other Cedar Fair GCI coasters are all very good to great coasters, and this one looks to be in the same class.
• An all-wooden support structure.  This will help make the ride much more tolerable to ride after the first couple seasons and will also make the ride much more picturesque in photos.
• Millennium Flyer trains.  The most comfortable and accommodating wooden coaster trains in the industry.  Guests of a larger size will be especially happy with these trains.
• 48 inch height requirement.  The first new coaster with this height requirement since Backlot Stunt Coaster.  Excellent move here.
• Minimal tree clearance = great night rides.  I don't know if the night rides on this will be quite as good as Prowler but they should be outstanding.
• Capacity.  1275 people an hour!  That is remarkable for a wooden coaster.  To put that in perspective - that's the same capacity that Diamondback has if they dispatch full trains every 90 seconds.  I'm really happy that they decided to add a third train, and it shows that Cedar Fair is really committed to adding meaningful capacity to their parks.
• High uptime.  Cedar Fair has consistently shown recently that their larger coaster installs are coming from manufacturers that build rides that have minimal downtime.  GCI coasters just work.

I agree with Shaggy that it's unlikely that we'll see a drop track.   A drop track would absolutely kill capacity, and there's no way that you could achieve a 1275 pph capacity with that element.  Drop track coasters also tend to have a lot more downtime.  A drop track IMO is definitely not worth the tradeoff that you'd have to sacrifice in capacity and uptime.

 

Cons:

• Uninspiring name.  It just doesn't roll off the tongue the same way that Diamondback or Banshee does.

That's really about it.  I think this is a really nice, solid addition to the park.  I do think that at some point that Kings Island would be wise to put an attraction (or two) for non-thrill seekers in that part of the park.  If you walk from Diamondback to either Backlot Stunt Coaster or back around the path to the Eiffel Tower there are literally no rides along either path for non-thrill seekers (I'm not counting the flume and White Water Canyon).  I do wonder if the additional upcoming announcement will address that area of need.      

[Alchemist]

They could probably excite everyone if the shed contained a launch so the coaster would exit out of the back of the red shed seen in the video, complete a loop of some sort, and then cross over or under the shed launch and back to the station. I'm a dreamer though ;o)

[medford]

^^^

 

not really.  Beastie is probably half that size both in length and height.  Though I do agree it will be a little bigger/longer than that

 

Height: 98 feet (if w/ traditional chain lift)

            64 feet (if launched)

Length: 3,214 feet

Speed: 52 MPH (if traditional chain lift)

             64 MPH (if launched)

Duration: 2:12

Fairly close guesses pulled out of places you don't want to see

[Jdm_4ever]

I for one am really excited about this coaster. I was hoping for an RMC but I've also never ridden a GCI but this one looks like it could be one of the best. It just looks fun from start to finish and the shed! All the theming that goes with this ride is going to be awesome as well and I actually don't mind the name i think this is a fantastic addition to Kings Island and should be enjoyed for many generations!

[THE_BEASTmaster]

Do you think the other announcement will be some upgrades to The Beast and Racer? Maybe GCI gave the park a good deal with having them do track work on both coasters mentioned and new Millennium Flyers. Kinda what they did for Ghost Rider at KBF.

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[Beast Gal]

I don't think many people would understand, "we are reprofiling racer and beast".

[EnterTheVortex]

I usually tend to agree with the crowd that is supporting Mystic Timbers, but one idea that people keep bringing up is somewhat mind boggling to me.

 

"This was needed to fill a void that Kings Island doesn't have, which is coasters between kiddie and extreme."

 

I just don't understand this whatsoever.

 

Then do you consider Bat, Racer, Adventure Express, BLSC all to be extreme???  I think there are plenty of good coasters for the 48" crowd.

 

I'm not trying to complain, I'm always glad to get a new coaster, but I just don't understand this line of thinking.

[IndyGuy4KI]

Even though all hints pointed to a woddie, I was really thinking it was going to be a giga the first few months. I think this is going to be a great addition to the park. Looking forward to having a GCI at KI!

[LovinMeSomeBanshee]

The Shed:  You pull into it slowly, stop, then you are launched backward for the entire span of track to the station.  

 

LOL

[BruceWayneWins]

I usually tend to agree with the crowd that is supporting Mystic Timbers, but one idea that people keep bringing up is somewhat mind boggling to me.

 

"This was needed to fill a void that Kings Island doesn't have, which is coasters between kiddie and extreme."

 

I just don't understand this whatsoever.

 

Then do you consider Bat, Racer, Adventure Express, BLSC all to be extreme???  I think there are plenty of good coasters for the 48" crowd.

 

I'm not trying to complain, I'm always glad to get a new coaster, but I just don't understand this line of thinking.

These are the same people who feel we have too many extreme rides.  They're wrong on both parts.

[JohnnyBeast]

With what Greg said at last years announcement is it completely out of question to get two coasters with the second being a giga behind Banshee? Call me crazy but maybe they could stretch capital for two years for a monumental season next year? Maybe even an announcement for 2018 that could be huge. Maybe I have lost it and that's unrealistic but what the heck why not. Some of these posts have been even crazier

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[WWC2003Amy]

I for 1 was not at the announcement last night but I was able to view it on the live stream.  Im excited that we are getting a new ride and congrats to Team GCI.  Does anyone know if they were going to make this to where larger people can fit in it?  That is one thing I wish they would start doing.

[KingsIsland1972]

40 inches by 3? I'm jealous. My son is still waiting to crack the first magic mark. 40 inches will be next year when he's 4

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My son Eli is 23 months old and is baaaarely less an inch away from 36 in which he can graduate to the next level of rides other than Train Junction and moon buggies. But hey, he still gets in for free and who's complaining. Right? It's funny other parents ask if he's 3. Haha.

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[Tchu]

The life-cycle of a new roller coaster announcement is fascinating, if not, ultimately, a little aggravating. I think most people would benefit from taking a deep breath and remembering three things.

 

1) Kings Island has a customer base slightly larger than just you that they need to appeal to and please.

 

2) A person's opinion on a newly announced amusement park ride cannot be wrong. It can jaded, it can be over-the-top. It can be lacking in quality supporting information... but it can't be wrong.

 

3) Zero. That's the number of people who have currently ridden this roller coaster. Zero "haters". Zero "fanboys". Zero enthusiasts. Zero members of the general public. Every time a new ride is announced, someone who is unhappy and states "this is lame" is inevitably chastised by a group of individuals who shout about not knowing that it sucks when you haven't even ridden it... all the while, they themselves shouting how the coaster is "awesome". Currently, Mystic Timbers is neither lame nor awesome. It's concept art.

 

Speaking of which, I'd caution everyone who's very excited about the concept art and the detail and theme to temper that enthusiasm a bit. A quick google search of Diamondback concept art will offer up some amazing drawings of the first ever B&M mega coaster with a splashdown finale. Compare that to the actual splashdown that sits in the middle of RT. Concept art is "concept" art for a reason.

 

With all that said, I'll be cautiously optimistic that the theme and detail will be there for this ride. It's a really cool, and rather different, theme. Kings Island has the opportunity to do some incredible stuff with Mystic Timbers. Really looking forward to what they've done with the shed/barn/mill at the end of the ride. I don't expect a drop-track, and certainly not a launch, but there could be some really cool little tricks and some great story-telling that gives a fun and fantastic finish to the ride.

 

Love that this thing looks like it will stay low to the ground and pack rather relentless speed. I wonder if there might be lights, sound effects etc added back in the woods. Random glows and "eyes" peering at you from the forest. Things to make it seem like the woods are alive.

 

Should be a very nice addition to the park!

 

Think I would have gone with something a little more intimidating for the name, though.