Mystic Timbers Media Day (19 photos) 4/13/17

Joncars05 · April 14, 2017

The time has come to find out what is in the shed! I'm not going to spoil it for anyone so don't worry you can read along. There are some theming elements relating to the lift hill and right before you enter the shed that are described. If you don't want that spoiled please don't read this.

My first two rides for Mystic Timbers was in the back row and at night. I can tell you right now this ride is going to be a can't miss at night! It was dark in the woods even with an almost full moon. I was able to take the second train out for media day. The theming began with small sound bites while waiting in line that we found an abandoned truck and we are going to use it to leave the area. The line and station were both filled with eerie "Stranger Things-Esque" music. We exited the station to the sounds of a revving truck. Once past the small pre-lift section we were on the lift hill. The hill theming began with a security guard speaking over the intercom about us not being on the property and we should turn back and head home to play videogames! The nice little theming addition was that the train slowed down at the top of the lift hill and gave a final warning of us not going into the shed. Once cresting the hill we start the ride.

The first drop is your classic curved drop found on other GCI coasters. After that the curve ascends to crest over the lift hill where you turn into the woods and begin your dash to the shed. The transitions are very fast. The POV doesn't really give you an example of how fast the elements actually come at you. Once over the WWC my favorite part of the ride happens. The double s turn trick track element right before the shed is an amazing mix of lateral and negative g's. The tunnel is a great addition as well signalling the "halfway point" of the ride. Outside of the tunnel you head back with more sharp curves and small airtime hill that provide a great amount of really good airtime. You cross WWC again and hit a small mini airtime hill that leads into the final curve and into the dreaded shed!

Like I said before I will not spoil what is in the shed on this TR. I will however discuss one thing that I really did like in the last bit before entering the shed. There is a voice recording warning us to not go into the shed. It repeats it multiple times and as we get the closer we get to the shed the message starts to break up and become staggered. Right as we are entering the shed we hear the tape recording dying out and saying "go into the shed." I thought this was very fitting especially after witnessing what was in it. That last sentence right before going in is setting it up as we are the ones being lured into the shed by whatever is in it! That plus the warnings in general on the lift hill and theming in the station all fit together to make one solid story. I know there are some people that have said that what is in the shed doesn't make any sense but if you look up a video (I'm sure KICentral has a video on Facebook) about the backstory everything all comes together as one cohesive story!

Kings Island has knocked this addition out of the park! The theming is so solid and if taken as a whole makes complete sense and elevates the story of the ride itself. This is a coaster that fills the gap between smaller coasters and the bigger ones at KI. In my opinion, this ride should cater to enthusiasts as well as the beginner coaster rider that wants to have the feel of a "big" coaster on a ride that is "only" 109 feet tall. The way the ride uses its terrain and elements gives the ride a feeling of quickness as well as feeling a bit out of control. The pacing is fantastic as well the ride itself feels as fast at the end of the ride as it did at the beginning.

As for the rest of Media Day the 20 minute presentation of the ride was fantastic as well. We were able to hear from Kings Island new Vice President and General Manager Mike Koontz, Great Coasters International Senior Engineer Adam House about what this addition has meant to Kings Island and GCI. The background story of the ride and information about the special effects used on the ride was provided by Amy Steele of Holovis. Overall, I would say that Media Day was very succesful for Kings Island, Great Coasters International, and Cedar Fair. I want to thank Don Helbig for the invitation to Media Day as a member of the media as I definitely enjoyed the opportunity to experience this attraction first hand. I hope that you all get to find out what is in the shed in person very soon! Attached are 19 photos from Media Day. I am truly sorry for the large amount of photos (especially if you are using a bunch of mobile data to see them) but I wanted to share them all with you. As always thanks for reading my report!

First Drop!