If Phantom Theater came back..

[SonofBaconator]

If Phantom Theater were to come back, what would you like to see? Would you want the layout completely remade to look like what it used to be? Would you like to see some scenes changed? Would you like to see some scenes not returned?

 

Honestly I would like to see the whole theater returns to reflect what it used to look like with some minor changes. For one I would personally like to see the lobby area where the main que room is to be brightened up a little bit what is seen in the picture below:

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2022/may/giving-phantom-theater-life---an-interview-with-rick-bastrup
 

Speaking of que, I would also bring back the outdoor part of the que as well.

I don’t know if this is possible but I think it would be cool if every other ride vehicle would alternate facing positions for certain segments of the ride; other parks of the ride the cars would be facing the same way. For example, when entering the prop room some cars would face the right side of the room and look at what’s happening in that scene while the other set of cars gets rotated to face the left side of the room to see what’s going on on that side. This would give a different ride experience depending on where you sit; similar to how your get a different scene on Mystic Timbers when you enter the shed. Like I said I don’t know if that’s possible but it would still be cool nonetheless.

With regards to the rest of the ride, I think that it should remain the same but with modern technology. I love to see the pepper’s ghost effect return along with the rotating busts. Also it would be neat if it could be over laid to reflect the Halloween Haunt and Winterfest seasons respectively.

 

[Return of the Rotag]

7 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

If Phantom Theater were to come back, what would you like to see? Would you want the layout completely remade to look like what it used to be? Would you like to see some scenes changed? Would you like to see some scenes not returned?

 

Honestly I would like to see the whole theater returns to reflect what it used to look like with some minor changes. For one I would personally like to see the lobby area where the main que room is to be brightened up a little bit what is seen in the picture below:

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2022/may/giving-phantom-theater-life---an-interview-with-rick-bastrup
 

Speaking of que, I would also bring back the outdoor part of the que as well.

I don’t know if this is possible but I think it would be cool if every other ride vehicle would alternate facing positions for certain segments of the ride; other parks of the ride the cars would be facing the same way. For example, when entering the prop room some cars would face the right side of the room and look at what’s happening in that scene while the other set of cars gets rotated to face the left side of the room to see what’s going on on that side. This would give a different ride experience depending on where you sit; similar to how your get a different scene on Mystic Timbers when you enter the shed. Like I said I don’t know if that’s possible but it would still be cool nonetheless.

With regards to the rest of the ride, I think that it should remain the same but with modern technology. I love to see the pepper’s ghost effect return along with the rotating busts. Also it would be neat if it could be over laid to reflect the Halloween Haunt and Winterfest seasons respectively.

 

the key to having haunt actors as part of the ride is keeping them from tearing things up like a dog with a new chew toy.

[SonofBaconator]

12 minutes ago, Return of the Rotag said:

the key to having haunt actors as part of the ride is keeping them from tearing things up like a dog with a new chew toy.

I was thinking more along the lines of altered character audio, the presence of Jack-o-lanterns and additional Halloween props, and so on- not so much incorporating live actors.

[Return of the Rotag]

On 7/6/2022 at 9:49 PM, SonofBaconator said:

I was thinking more along the lines of altered character audio, the presence of Jack-o-lanterns and additional Halloween props, and so on- not so much incorporating live actors.

i see dur point

[Delirium13]

If it were brought back, I’d like it mostly the same, save for technology upgrades and maybe additional theming. And do NOT make it a shooter ride.

Regardless something needs to happen with that ride. Boo Blasters is in a sad state of affairs: queue looks gross, dusty and why are there FunTVs in there? Kills whatever atmosphere it could hope to have… also the queue and ride need some good atmospheric music. But the best improvement they could make for Boo Blasters is to replace it with another dark ride.

[Skyrider]

It wouldn’t surprise me if they changed the Urgent Scare building into a Phantom Theatre themed Haunt this year for 2022   I would of course like the ride back but this would be a great addition at the Haunt this year in the interim.

[super7]

Phantom Theater was a world class dark ride full of animatronics.   Paramount gutted it, filled it with plywood scenery and cut the capacity  half.  
 

I would like to see the former attraction return exactly like it was with the full omnimover capacity. 
 

But seeing how Knotts Bear-y tales was brought back as a cheaper screen based ride by Cedar Fair, that’s probably what would happen. 

[SonofBaconator]

26 minutes ago, super7 said:

But seeing how Knotts Bear-y tales was brought back as a cheaper screen based ride by Cedar Fair, that’s probably what would happen. 

While that may be the case for one ride- I wouldn’t apply that to everything. Look at the refurbishments of the Timber Mountain log ride, the Calico mine ride, and Calico river ride that feature animatronics. I think Knott’s wanted to keep that buildings shooting style ride so they took the tech from Voyage to the Iron Reef and applied it to classic IP.

Unless the park brings back Phantom Theater like Knott’s did to Bear-y tales, I think it’ll be fine

[Browntggrr]

I absolutely love dark rides, I just do not know if a seasonal park can justify the cost for a brand new one in today's World.

I keep going back to Curse of DarKastle at BGW.  It was a fantastic ride, but fell out of popularity due to technology passing it by rather quickly.  For comparison, Spider-Man debut at Universal in '99 for a reported $100,000,000 and was overhauled in 2011 with new mechanics & digital projectors.  I could not find a cost associated DarKastle but I imagine it was not close to that of Spider-Man (which is probably why BGT never installed a dark ride, the comparisons to rides in Orlando would be brutal).

The other downfall I saw was and the story was not part of pop culture like Spider-Man.  That popularity can make up for technology passing it up.

Perhaps the cost of these rides will decrease as technology flattens out, one can only dream!

[Tr0y]

While Ill agree with the sad state of affairs with boo hill, needing rethemed, I don’t think phantom theater would make a good fit in Planet Snoopy. 

[brenthodge]

On 7/24/2022 at 11:44 PM, Tr0y said:

While Ill agree with the sad state of affairs with boo hill, needing rethemed, I don’t think phantom theater would make a good fit in Planet Snoopy. 

It’s not in Planet Snoopy. It’s technically in International  Street. Look at the pavement. Plus it was in “Hanna Barberra” land and Nickelodeon land before. 

[Browntggrr]

Looking at previous park map attraction list, Phantom Theater was part of Hanna Barbara Land under both KECO & Paramount.

The current park map lists Boo Blasters as part of Planet Snoopy.  https://qr1.be/Q021

 

[beastfan11]

I think Scooby was, at one point post-HB Land, technically a part of International Street. 

[BB1]

I don't really see an issue with putting Phantom Theater as an I Street attraction, I think it is close enough and it won't be too much of a scary façade for the kids. Inside? Yeah probably will be a bit much but you could argue the same for the end of BBoBH. I think a 1 for 1 reimagining of the ride would be an incredible addition for the park. Without major use of screen technology hopefully. I think with modern tech and some liberties with a more classic flair, it will become a great way to get some time out of the heat. 

I will stress this though, beyond all else please no more shooting. I hate the shooting aspect, it ruins the whole ride. 

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

Here's an idea to make it International Street: relocate the park services warehouse and gut out the peanuts showplace. Then use that space as extra queue space and have the entrance across from chick fil a next to the family care center. You could even do a pre show in a section of it like Hagrids.

[Timchat2]

With Phantom Theater Encore developing its own following of both new fans as well as fans of the original attraction, it would be fun if the new melodies written for the show can be integrated into soundtrack for a reimagined version of Phantom Theater.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

Just now, Timchat2 said:

With Phantom Theater Encore developing its own following of new (and old) fans of the original attraction, it would be fun if the new melodies written for the show can be integrated into soundtrack for a reimagined version of Phantom Theater.

I was actually thinking that the other day. Have a section of the ride have the ushers dancing to happy feet like in the show. 

[SonofBaconator]

11 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Here's an idea to make it International Street: relocate the park services warehouse and gut out the peanuts showplace. Then use that space as extra queue space and have the entrance across from chick fil a next to the family care center. You could even do a pre show in a section of it like Hagrids.

That would be a lot of relocation just to make it connected to one specific section. When it was Hanna-Barbera land Phantom Theater was there. They can still call that little stretch of pathway by the first aid building international Street

[beastfan11]

14 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

I was actually thinking that the other day. Have a section of the ride have the ushers dancing to happy feet like in the show. 

And now that’s going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day. 

[MeredithGrey]

I saw the Phantom Theatre show & loved it!  It was funny, smart, witty...lots of jokes that made me smile and laugh. I really liked it. 

As for the retired ride.... next to the KI Theater could be a cool spot for a return of the Phantom Theater ride...

It seems I might be in the minority here, but I actually like the Boo Blasters ride (although the laser tag guns really do need to be fixed. When I rode it, they weren't working). I would like to keep Blasters & also bring back Phantom. I have no preference on what to keep/change from the old ride.

[SonofBaconator]

Someone on Reddit made some cool PT merch concepts

 

[rotag]

i would love to have the funko pop

[rotag]

On 7/24/2022 at 11:44 PM, Tr0y said:

While Ill agree with the sad state of affairs with boo hill, needing rethemed, I don’t think phantom theater would make a good fit in Planet Snoopy. 

sorry for the double post. but maybe something like this instead:

 

[KIghostguy]

10 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

Someone on Reddit made some cool PT merch concepts

 

I'm definitely surprised there wasn't any new Phantom Theater merch other than the poster this summer--maybe it's just yet to come in? The characters are unique, distinctive to Kings Island, and highly marketable. The Usher plushie in particular is a no-brainer. I would buy that for sure!

[MDMC01]

After the first show, I looked for a Larry plush in the shops on International Street. The closest thing I was referred to were those themed squishmellows (which, while I thought they were cleverly KI-themed, I did not buy). I would totally buy that Larry FunkoPop and I don't even collect those!

EDIT: Sorry, that was a Maestro FunkoPop... In any case, I would love a Larry plush!

[beastfan11]

Consider me another who’d purchase all of that! 

[BryanJay]

Here’s some concept art that I made for a possible Phantom Theater revival. I feel like there’s a strong chance of the ride being reimagined after the success of Encore.

I feel like it would likely be placed inside the Boo Blasters building in order to save money on a new ride system/building. This may be wishful thinking on my part, but I think that there’s a chance the practical show scenes from the original could be modernized and reimagined instead of relying on screens or a shooter element. I also feel like a revival could include animatronics, but with less movement compared to the originals.

[rotag]

26 minutes ago, BryanJay said:

Here’s some concept art that I made for a possible Phantom Theater revival. I feel like there’s a strong chance of the ride being reimagined after the success of Encore.

I feel like it would likely be placed inside the Boo Blasters building in order to save money on a new ride system/building. This may be wishful thinking on my part, but I think that there’s a chance the practical show scenes from the original could be modernized and reimagined instead of relying on screens or a shooter element. I also feel like a revival could include animatronics, but with less movement compared to the originals.

just please, no plywood cut-outs...

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

I personally still think that if they are going to bring back Phantom Theater, or renovate the ride into anything else, that there is a very good chance that the park will implement virtual reality technology into its design. It would raise the ceiling for what the park could visually do and mitigate the maintenance costs by avoiding a largely mechanical display. It would also coincide well with blasters if they chose to go that route. Imagine seeing all of our beloved characters with high quality 360 degree animation.

[IndyGuy4KI]

On 9/2/2022 at 2:29 PM, CorkscrewMcPuke said:

I personally still think that if they are going to bring back Phantom Theater, or renovate the ride into anything else, that there is a very good chance that the park will implement virtual reality technology into its design. It would raise the ceiling for what the park could visually do and mitigate the maintenance costs by avoiding a largely mechanical display. It would also coincide well with blasters if they chose to go that route. Imagine seeing all of our beloved characters with high quality 360 degree animation.

I am ok with it coming back. I worry that if there is not some sort of interaction piece like you are mentioning, it will be a flop to those that did not grow up with PT. 

The nostalgia is not there for younger guests. Considering it's location by PS,  it will be boring if not done well visually with some sort of interactive piece as well. That is just my opinion with having 3 kids that are not familiar with PT the ride.