Theming older coasters

[SonofBaconator]

Theming has been solid at KI for the past 10 years. It started with Banshee and only progressed with Mystic Timbers and Orion. If you could apply this new theming practice to older coasters, which one would you chose? I left out the Planet Snoopy coasters. I also didn't include Flight of Fear because they did a good job tying it in with Orion and I personally think its been perfect for 25 years.

[MDMC01]

It would be cool if Adventure Express got some love in the way of restoring all the effects. I know that over the years, more parts have been working (arrows in the second tunnel, "creaking" sound effects on the lift, etc.), but it would be cool to have all the old effects working.

[Sixflags82]

I would love if Diamondback got ANY theming because all it has now is the sign and the train front

[IndyGuy4KI]

I would love to see a muti colored LED light package added to Diamondback. I say multicolored, because I am hoping that would give it the effect of looking like snake skin on the tracks. I am not sure if that is possible, but I think that would be really cool.

[BeeastFarmer]

I chose Diamondback because it doesn't have much.  They did add a couple of things in the station recently, but the queue needs some work.  

[purdude86]

Would be happy to see any of these get some theming to them. Diamondback and Bat really don't have much of any.

However, I selected Adventure Express because the theming I think would have the most impact. Diamondback and Bat would mostly just be a themed station and queue like Banshee and Orion. Whereas Adventure Express has theming along the entire ride to really improve the ride experience from queue to exit. I'd be happy to just see all the original effects fixed and put back in and turned on. But I would love to see it get rethemed to fit better into Oktoberfest and theme it as a trip through the Black Forest. Be similar to Verbolten at Busch Gardens.

[MDMC01]

6 hours ago, purdude86 said:

Would be happy to see any of these get some theming to them. Diamondback and Bat really don't have much of any.

The rainforest (trees) that surround the ride says hello...

I know what you mean (a themed queue like Top Gun used to have), but the natural scenery (and my imagination) makes the ride themed enough for me!

On the other hand, yeah, Diamondback is kinda just out there in a cleared field... more theming would be nice (maybe a themed queue). I do like @IndyGuy4KI's idea of lights giving the appearance of snake skin on the track - this effect could be used every time a train pulls out of the station (on that pre-lift straight track directly following the station) as the train could be "shedding its skin", enabling it to move forward, ready to climb the lift.

[BB1]

Am I old now that I personally was at the openings of Dback and BLSC?

I kind of want to break down each of these coasters as I think you have a case for each but some just simply put don't need it. 

 

My vote went straight for Adventure Express. I am an Arrow Puritan, and I do want to preserve every Arrow that we have, but Adventure Express needs an update or needs to go. Give it German theming, make it themed to the Rhineland or something and give it a total make over. The buildings it is housed in smells like rats and mildew. It is repulsive, and honestly makes me not want to ride the coaster. Then you have the animatronics, which need serious upgrades and revitalizations that personally I think would be best spent on retheming to a German mine or just scrapping the coaster all together and making a new fresh concept for that part of the park. 

Bat is honestly a shell of a shell when it comes to theming. I wish that they were able to keep the themed queue on Top Gun for Flight Deck but it was scrapped, then later destroyed out right. I would love to see a bat cave area below the station, maybe even a graveyard walking out to Bat as it is a pseudo Halloween themed coaster already and they should use it to their best potential. 

BLSC, well, I don't like this coaster for many reasons and I personally believe they should either re-theme with Cincinnati icons or just demo the whole structure and reinstall the park's most glorious ride duos, the Antique Cars and Flying Eagles. (That includes the Basketball game that kills the atmosphere of that area of the park)

Beast honestly I think has the perfect amount of theming but could use a new landscape package. I would love to see a new pond added or a new tree package of spruces, aspens and bushes to make you feel like you are in the woods more. The queue could also have some news clippings of a creature in the woods lurking since the 70's ready to strike on unsuspecting hikers or etc. 

Diamondback, just give it a true rounded paintjob and give the whole coaster a facelift. Put in some new theming effects in the queue, maybe even add a new lighting package. 

Racer, you already are doing a major rework of the coaster, might as well give it a classic paintjob and give it some TLC. Racer is a treasure of the park, and I would love to see it return back to the original colors and have a more fleshed out carnival feel with the anchor of the midway. 

 

[YOULLBEBACK]

Diamondback is such a thrill that it does not need more theming.  The older rides with less of a line need it much more IMO. 

[SonofBaconator]

Speaking of theming older rides, look what Fiesta Texas did to Poltergeist

 

 

[medford]

I think you could do a bit of theming on all the older coasters.

When they re-themed The Bat, I suggested that they take the bridge to SOB station and transform that to a cave looking entrance.  Made you feel like you were entering the jungle.  Could possibly even try and that bridge to a semi-local attraction down at Daniel Boone state park, the Natural land bridge.

The Racers could be a good spot to redo the line area and add some pieces of KI history in there.  A sort of mini-hall of fame that you could switch up story boards every once in a while to keep it fresh.  I don't know if they still have it, but the recreation of The Shooting Star at the entertainment junction is awesome; doing a recreation of The Racers or The Beast in that que would garner some eye balls and add to the experience.

BLSC has a ton of theming already; most don't like it, and I've suggesting switching it out from a Hollywood theme to a cincy-275 theme, but theming it has.

 

Beast is OK, if they could get the water back on near the station, otherwise the working mock up of The Racers that I suggested earlier, but done for The Beast and its history would work great in that back que.

Diamondback, I have no great answers for, but the ride just kind of exists.  Great ride, but they could add some sort of "story" similar to what Cedar Pointe has done with some of their coasters, perhaps play on that theming a bit to be the "down south" cousins, etc...

[rlentless]

I would love to see the water feature come back to The Beast.  I know there were issues with the pond/lake but maybe just enough to have to mill wheel run again.  The sound of running water just makes things more interesting.

[SonofBaconator]

6 hours ago, rlentless said:

I would love to see the water feature come back to The Beast.  I know there were issues with the pond/lake but maybe just enough to have to mill wheel run again.  The sound of running water just makes things more interesting.

I heard there was a smell issue

[MDMC01]

I saw the a Youtube video on the Poltergeist re-theme and it looks amazing. One of the cooler parts of the video occurred before the queue walkthrough was even shown: the camera focused on the house, which made it seem like it was the only thing around and that the house being filmed was most certainly not in a theme park (for some reason seeing that house from afar was really nostalgic to me), and after a few seconds, it followed down until it showed the lit-up spaghetti bowl of Poltergeist's track. It's like, here's this (ordinary) house...  and here's this random roller coaster that just happens to be nearby. The queue walkthrough was cool too; I wonder if 

Spoiler

in queue greeters/scareactors will be kept year round or just for Fright Fest.

In summery, just another reason for me to get down to Six Flags Fiesta Texas!

BTW, this is the video I was referring to:

 

[silver2005]

^Dat lighting package, yo.  

[SonofBaconator]

It’s funny to look at old threads that have since came true

[3dgyrat]

Not necessarily retheming, but I'd love to see additonal theming added to Race Your Life Charlie Brown. Its got some camping themes, but not as much as when it as the Wild Thornberrys ride. Id love just to see maybe statues of characters doing camping stuff as you go around the slide, or more audio of the characters playing as you ride through the slide. 

 

I'd love to see BLSC have more theming of Cincinnati icons and stuff, maybe theming like you're drving through the roads of Ohio. In the tunnel I know there used to be car lights and stuff, and I think it'd be cool to do something like that, or maybe referring to driving under tunnels on the interstate/main roads. 

 

And I love Mystic Timbers theming, but I wish they would add something to the shed. I just feel like its underwhelming ending it with a screen scare. Or even if you do still use it, maybe add stuff to the shed so it seems like the woods invaded the shed or something. With plants growing it and animal sounds of sorts, maybe even adding eyes behind the plants growing in to make it seem like somethings watching you in the shed.