Shaggy Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 There's a TON of myths, questions, rumors and mis-information about Kings Island's most notorious ride "The Bat." In honor of the 37th anniversary (to the day) of it's announcement, my latest blog is live on Kings Island's website. A true labor of love for me to write, click here if you'd like to read the true, fascinating story of the legendary, original suspended coaster... "The Bat." Happy Halloween! https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2017/october/the-sporadic-erratic-flight-of-the-bat 21 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JubJester Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Always enjoy reading these, very well done. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex lover Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Thanks for writing this. I really enjoyed it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creed Bratton Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Great blog! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIBeast Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 You always do a great job with your blog. I knew some of the history of The Bat, but there were some things that I was unaware of. I got the chance to ride this legendary coaster and it was really cool. Funny how years later, I had heard some of those rumors concerning deaths on The Bat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whengodsaysgo Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Great blog! I can't help but wonder if KIC was around during the OG Bat's building, malfunction and eventual demise what the forums would have looked like! We lose it over a building going down over in Coney Mall, but if something started going up in plain sight without announcement - this place would be a madhouse. And quite fun to watch. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted October 30, 2017 Author Share Posted October 30, 2017 LOL! Yes, 37 years ago, people had to suffer the painstaking process of "patience." In today's world of instant news demand, can you imagine the furor? I remember hearing that people speculated that the entire ride was upside down - since the track was inverted. They didn't comprehend the hanging concept until it was announced. Looking at the track, it appeared back then that the trains would ride upside down the whole time! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryoj Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Could you imagine the meltdowns online today when people didn't get to ride...... And I wonder how badly @DonHelbig regrets letting those girls in front of him now. Being on the last ride ever would have been a heck of a bragging right. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivertown Rider Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 Great blog. I have always been interested in learning more about the original Bat. Great job @Shaggy. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbeast Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 I love reading about all these past rides. Great job Shaggy! I was fortunate to get quite a few rides on the original Bat. It's too bad the initial design was so flawed, but I got lucky I suppose with the rides I had during the first year or so. It wasn't the fastest thing around, but it was a wild ride in it's inception. The descent off the second lift flying through the trees was my favorite part. Just watching the train swing through along the track was mind blowing as a 12-13 year old kid. It was such a new concept at the time. And I loved all the commercials for it and The Beast on TV back in the day. I still have a pennant the the original Bat, Beast and Screamin Demon logos together...it's one of my most loved souvenirs! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted November 2, 2017 Author Share Posted November 2, 2017 I truly appreciate the encouragement. Frankly - that blog was waaaay too long. But how do you tell the story of the most infamous coaster in KI history in 4 sentences? LOL! I'll let you all in on a little secret. I had to shake off a lot of the responses on FB, because even so, some went on and on in their comments about how it killed people, fell of the tracks etc. Hoo boy ;-) LOL! 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voicetek Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 Just finished reading. Fantastic post! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 On 10/30/2017 at 2:11 PM, whengodsaysgo said: Great blog! I can't help but wonder if KIC was around during the OG Bat's building, malfunction and eventual demise what the forums would have looked like! We lose it over a building going down over in Coney Mall, but if something started going up in plain sight without announcement - this place would be a madhouse. And quite fun to watch. See 2009-2012 Son of Beast. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver2005 Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 ^So every thread would turn into a Bat thread? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 ^ Except much worse. At least with SOB we knew that it was not going to open any time soon. That lended itself to a certain degree of speculation. However, open for 3 days, closed for a month, opened for a day, etc. would be a much sweeter subject of conversation. Just think, though - had KIC been around it would have been Bill Mefford reciting to me, "No decision has been made about the future of The Bat." instead of Don. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honorarius Posted November 2, 2017 Share Posted November 2, 2017 Very interesting, thanks for sharing!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaestroJr Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Great as always Shaggy, I always learn new facts from your post. Keep up the good work sir! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoaster Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Incredible Blog...cannot wait for next one... I think dark ride Kings Island next .. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMC01 Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Echoing everyone else, great read! Also, as for what's next, I'm thinking either the history of the current Bat (the coaster formally known as "Top Gun") or King Cobra. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 I have always loved that spooktacular commercial for The Bat. It had always given me a Scooby Doo vibe, but I had no idea Hanna-Barbera actually produced it. That's amazing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KImom Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 This was a really cool article - thanks for sharing! I've always been a bit curious as to the history of that ride, especially when they renamed the old Top Gun ride in homage to the original Bat. I've always been interested in the old Tomb Raider ride as well - I never had a chance to ride it, but always wondered why it failed. I read an article that told some of the story but I feel like it is missing some important details. And why don't they do something with it other than for the haunt? Surely the inside of it is in decent shape... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 5 hours ago, KImom said: I've always been interested in the old Tomb Raider ride as well - I never had a chance to ride it, but always wondered why it failed. I read an article that told some of the story but I feel like it is missing some important details. And why don't they do something with it other than for the haunt? Surely the inside of it is in decent shape... I never rode it as Tomb Raider, but I did on its final summer as The Crypt. They used bits of Hans Zimmer's score from Inception, which added a little bit to the experience for me. It was fun, but I miss the flume they tore down to build it. I do kinda wish something would go in its place. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TombRaiderFTW Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 This article does a decent job of chronicling Tomb Raider's life and includes video: https://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20160207/31467/tomb-raider-how-one-americas-best-ever-themed-rides-was-buried-good And no, I didn't write it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 42 minutes ago, TombRaiderFTW said: This article does a decent job of chronicling Tomb Raider's life and includes video: https://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20160207/31467/tomb-raider-how-one-americas-best-ever-themed-rides-was-buried-good And no, I didn't write it. Great article! I wish I got to ride it in its original form. It sounded great. Also, I never knew that Paramount Parks was linked to Blockbuster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KImom Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 17 hours ago, TombRaiderFTW said: This article does a decent job of chronicling Tomb Raider's life and includes video: https://www.themeparktourist.com/features/20160207/31467/tomb-raider-how-one-americas-best-ever-themed-rides-was-buried-good And no, I didn't write it. That's a great read! I'm trying to imagine the disappointment of it going from an amazing ride to the hokey version with the screeching bat. It's astonishing to me that CF couldn't have found a way to make it work in a way that would live up to the original ride (while I never rode it, this article makes it sound like it was something I would have loved...much like the old Questor ride at Busch Gardens Williamsburg...the queue was just as awesome as the ride part--funny, I think I was only about 10 when I rode that ride and still remember it vividly). Anyway, with all of the artistic talent that can be found around Cincinnati, you'd think they'd have given this more of a fair shot. Thanks for sharing!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIghostguy Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 While the official announcement wasn’t until October 1980, the public had known since May of that year that it would be a suspended coaster. Interestingly, the original plan for The Bat called for two inversions. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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