The Original Bat

[IndyGuy4KI]

I have been starting to go through our galleries and sort pictures and such. I thought it would be cool to bring up some of those pictures and allow others to tell stories and share memories that these pictures bring up for KIC members.

This is a few of our pictures of the original Bat in Coney Mall that Vortex now occupies.  A prototype suspended coaster made by Arrow Dynamics which opened in 1981 closed in 1983. Feel free to post more details if anyone has them. I have added the fully gallery of pictures of the original Bat on the now Bat's page at the bottom.  https://kicentral.com/the-bat/

 

 

 

[Klabergian Empire]

Didn't they have to replace parts on the trains daily because of the stress on the car's?

[Benjamin22]

The front car looks so cool with how detailed it is.

[IndyGuy4KI]

I find it interesting that the brakes are under the trains in the station, not in the tracks above.

[sikkinixx99]

An amazing ride I wish when they had built Top Gun they would have used this layout. 2 lift hills it would have been amazing!! I wonder if anyone has any of the front cars they looked so awesome!!

[Alex103]

Had this shirt for 36 years now.  It doesn’t fit like it did when I was 5 but I can’t bring myself to throw it out. The cape was a great marketing idea!

[TombraiderTy]

^Very cool! I've never seen that Bat souvenir before. Please don't ever throw that away - I guarantee plenty of Kings Island fans will be more than happy to take it off your hands once you decide to part with it 

[Tom H]

Way before my time, born in 86, but I love reading up on it and seeing photos so please bring em on!

[standbyme]

^^ I agree...that shirt is great! 

[flightoffear1996]

Shall we start the bidding now. How high can ya go!!  Awesome shirt man and very crew who ever designed it. 

[HandsUp]

I was only 5 or 6 when it went in but I remember all the hype, and seeing the track-looked amazing. I remember thinking how cool it was that each car was its own little pod. Unfortunately earned the label as unsafe due to being closed all the time. 

[Enchanted Voyage Lover]

I loved the ride, hated when it closed. I enjoyed it so much more than Top Gun. At one point I think I remember of talk that they were going to replace it with an underground roller coaster...then boom...there was Vortex.

[Oldschool75]

5 hours ago, Alex103 said:

Had this shirt for 36 years now.  It doesn’t fit like it did when I was 5 but I can’t bring myself to throw it out. The cape was a great marketing idea!

 

I'm sure the park would love the donation if you decided to part with it. You never know, it could end up in a museum some day. 

[Joshua]

I have no stories to tell as I wasn't alive when The Bat existed, but I love this animated promo. I keep hearing that Hanna-Barbara produced it, but I can never find a proper citation for that. Anyone know if that is actually true? 

 

[Alex103]

2 hours ago, Oldschool75 said:

 

I'm sure the park would love the donation if you decided to part with it. You never know, it could end up in a museum some day. 

That’s a good idea!  Be better with them then in a box in my laundry room.  Thanks!

[KI Guy]

4 hours ago, Alex103 said:

That’s a good idea!  Be better with them then in a box in my laundry room.  Thanks!

I'd hang onto it! Thanks for sharing!

[brent]

Odd detail that (of course) I caught. Check out that awesome trash can with the lattice sides. I love when parks care enough to theme something as “mundane” as trash cans. Remember the “house” ones on I Street? 

[SixCoasterers]

A very close friend of mine was head of steel coasters at the time and was known as "The Man Who Killed The Bat". The above post from IndyGuy4KI points out one of the two main reasons the ride was beyond repair. The brakes should have been placed with the wheel carriages rather than at the bottom of the cars. The other issue - lack of track banking - is commonly known but could have been resolved. The daily repairs mentioned above mostly involved replacement of the shocks on the cars to control swinging. They were lucky to make it a full day depending on position in the train.

Many people are aware that The Bat was intended to have a corkscrew type inversion. There are photos on-line somewhere of it at the Arrow plant.

When my friend passed, I as given one of the few remaining Bat Heads from the train or the entrance sign. We are unable to determine where it was originally placed. If anyone is interested in photos, please let me know.

 

 

[Benjamin22]

Any photos you have would be very cool to see @SixCoasterers, thanks for the insight you’ve provided.

[KIghostguy]

19 minutes ago, SixCoasterers said:

I understand Kings Island does have an Archive for such items as the shirt shown above. I bet they would be very interested to have it back home. Very little was retained from The Bat. Us older folks who were around for it all will remember the fiasco and I'm sure KI was eager to erase it from memory as fast as possible.

 

Kings Island does not have a designated archive. I’ve checked and unfortunately, they do not. There is some historical materials the park has, but they are just scattered around in offices, etc. They also do not have much materials on The Bat, or really anything on that era, because most of it was thrown out in the late ‘90’s by some stupid marketing intern. Very unfortunate!

[SixCoasterers]

1 minute ago, KIghostguy said:

Kings Island does not have a designated archive. I’ve checked and unfortunately, they do not. There is some historical materials the park has, but they are just scattered around in offices, etc. They also do not have much materials on The Bat, or really anything on that era, because most of it was thrown out in the late ‘90’s by some stupid marketing intern.

That is a real shame. I spoke to Don Helbig a few years back about The Bat Head and he informed me otherwise. But it was a very brief encounter and I probably misunderstood.  Glad I didn't send it to him! I'm considering the RC Museum in Texas. I think would be a nice home.

[standbyme]

Not nearly as cool as Alex103’s shirt...but here is a mug that I own. 

[standbyme]

A couple of more items that I have...and STILL not as cool as Alex103’s shirt! 

[Joshua]

Were adult sizes made for that shirt? Asking for a friend.  

[TombraiderTy]

Bumping this a bit, but wanted to share my Bat souvenir alongside @Alex103 and @standbyme.

At work I have an original The Bat mug next to a new The Bat mug, both for holding pens and what-not. I don't remember where or how I got the original Bat piece, but I've had it for years now.

[SnakePlissken]

On 9/6/2019 at 11:24 AM, sikkinixx99 said:

An amazing ride I wish when they had built Top Gun they would have used this layout. 2 lift hills it would have been amazing!! I wonder if anyone has any of the front cars they looked so awesome!!

2 lift hills usually kills the pacing of a ride. I usually prefer one. It's ok on The Beast since it's such a long ride. Iron Dragon has 2 and I think Top Gun aka The Bat 2.0 is a better ride.

[jensenracing77]

I so badly wanted to ride it but I was not tall enough at the time. I was so sad when they took it out. I have one of the Frisbee's somewhere. 

 

[Bansheelover]

I never rode The Bat, but my grandmother did. She said they were at the park, and The Bat was down most of the day. They decided to see if it was running and it was. They got in line, and rode it. She said she enjoyed the ride and wanted to ride it again, but they had closed it. By the next year it was gone.

[Joshua]

I've always wondered, had The Bat not been so problematic, do you think it would still be here today? How long do you think it would have lasted?

[jensenracing77]

14 minutes ago, Joshua said:

I've always wondered, had The Bat not been so problematic, do you think it would still be here today? How long do you think it would have lasted?

Not likely since The Vortex is 33 years old and getting shut down