Xtreme Skyflyer is being Removed

[Diamondback_Is_King]

3 hours ago, Coasterteam said:

I appear once again!

 

Photo from Cincinatired

Was this said that they would be begin deconstruction this offseason? This is yet another sign that this might just be where the 2026 "'family thrill attraction" is going. I feel like we're getting closer to discovering something else that might hint to what's to come. 

[Shaggy]

I wanted to just trip down memory lane... for the sake of those that may remember, and those that maybe haven't been around long enough to remember, when Xtreme Skyfler was added.

This is all from my memory - so I'm doing the best to recall some details...

Xtreme Skyflyer was actually constructed after the start of the 1995 operating season.  Originally called "Drop Zone",  most of its construction happened during the week while the park was in weekends-only operation.  It's assembly was highly visible from the Interstate, and many rumors actually swirled among enthusiasts/guests that it was potentially early construction of a new coaster.  (The arch looked like a large inversion.) You have to remember that at that time, skycoasters were a brand new idea and most people had not seen one before.  Kennywood opened one the year prior (If I recall) to great success.  (Kennywood's did not have a rounded "arch" - rather a squared structure - so that led to some of the confusion about the one at KI looking like coaster track/support from I-71.)  After the Kennywood success, virtually every theme park in the country hopped on the bandwagon and contracted to add a Skycoaster.   To increase capacity at larger parks, the attraction now used an "arch" to double the throughput by allowing two sides to operate simultaneously.  There were dozens built over the next couple years at every major theme park.  (Causing a back-log of orders and mid-season construction/openings for many.)  KI's "Drop Zone" opened as a larger version in late June (If I recall properly) as a part of the recently coined "Adventure Village." 

That area of the park - prior to the addition of the Skycoaster - had been in a complete state of theming flux. 

1993 saw the addition of the first "new ride" added under the Paramount Ownership - Top Gun.  It was also the first new coaster added to that area of the park since 1984 (King Cobra.)  In reality, the coaster was planned prior to the Paramount takeover and has always been rumored to have been intended to carry a "bird" theme (I believe other names related to "Thunder" were also being tossed around.) Top Gun was odd name choice mix considering it was placed in an animal/congo themed area. 

The first season of Top Gun's operation, to get to the ride's entrance, you actually walked along a path that wound around and behind the Safari Monorail Station.  The entrance was completely obscured and hidden and confused guests.  (Then once you got to the main entrance, you still had to navigate the massively long meandering queue through the woods.) There were originally elaborate props along the path... Air-Craft Carrier artifacts, a revolving radar/scope movie props and posters.  Not to mention the song "Danger Zone" on repeat over the speakers hidden in the trees.   

During Top Gun's original season, I think the area was still called "Wild Animal Habitat."  (From 1974-76, it was called "Lion Country Safari".)  But Paramount's intent was to re-theme a multitude of rides to capitalize on movie branding.  I could be wrong.

By 1994, the name of the area had definitely changed from "Wild Animal Safari" to "Adventure Village" to better suit the onslaught of movie tie-ins planned for the park.  Also, the park knew in '93 it would be the last year of the Safari Monorail.   They explored options of turning it into a movie-theme ride called "Movierail" that took guests past sets/artifacts from Paramount licensed movies & properties.  Ultimately, the idea got scrapped - as did the monorail system.  Also, if memory serves me, 1993 was the season when they also radically reworked the entrance to that area of the park.  Prior, as you entered Wild Animal Habitat, you crossed a fairly narrow wooden footbridge over a stream that flowed from under King Cobra's helix over to a pond adjacent to Cafe Kilimanjaro (now Chicken Shack.)  There were originally, cages/netting on the cafe side that housed exotic birds during the warmer months.  On the other side, the stream culminated in a small pond under the King Cobra helix.  There was a jet spray in the pond that was set off each time a King Cobra train passed through.   This bridge area became a terrible bottleneck when Top Gun opened - so they remodeled it all to expand the midway and alleviate congestion.

By the start of 1994, the old Monorail Station and track was removed.   The western portion of the land on which the station sat is where the Skycoaster would be built for the following season. (It also necessitated the removal of a small wooded area between the old station and the "Congo Coolers" frozen drink stand. )

In 1999, the park gutted "Adventure Village" and gave the area it's current "Action Zone" re-theme.  It was at this time that the park re-named the Skycoaster from "Drop Zone", demolished the "Congo Coolers" drink stand, and built the Intamin Giant Drop in its place - giving it the name "Drop Zone."  

Finally, here's a rare look at the gutting of Adventure Village during the Action Zone re-theme.  Pics (taken by yours truly) start with the final weekend of operation as "Adventure Village including "Drop Zone" and Congo Coolers drink stand, and then show the gut-job they did over winter 1999.  

[Shaggy]

Sorry - my dates were off on the Top Gun opening... 1993.  Again, was going by memory (which isnt what it used to be.  LOL!)  I corrected in the above post. ;-)

[CoastersRZ]

Wow.  

Thanks for sharing that insight and those pretty cool photos!

I was actually on the Skycoaster crew during Haunt seasons in 2013 and 2014.  It was a very fun time.  

I still miss the days of working in an amusement park running rides.  

[KIghostguy]

45 minutes ago, Shaggy said:

I wanted to just trip down memory lane... for the sake of those that may remember, and those that maybe haven't been around long enough to remember, when Xtreme Skyfler was added.

This is all from my memory - so I'm doing the best to recall some details...

Xtreme Skyflyer was actually constructed after the start of the 1995 operating season.  Originally called "Drop Zone",  most of its construction happened during the week while the park was in weekends-only operation.  It's assembly was highly visible from the Interstate, and many rumors actually swirled among enthusiasts/guests that it was potentially early construction of a new coaster.  (The arch looked like a large inversion.) You have to remember that at that time, skycoasters were a brand new idea and most people had not seen one before.  Kennywood opened one the year prior (If I recall) to great success.  (Kennywood's did not have a rounded "arch" - rather a squared structure - so that led to some of the confusion about the one at KI looking like coaster track/support from I-71.)  After the Kennywood success, virtually every theme park in the country hopped on the bandwagon and contracted to add a Skycoaster.   To increase capacity at larger parks, the attraction now used an "arch" to double the throughput by allowing two sides to operate simultaneously.  There were dozens built over the next couple years at every major theme park.  (Causing a back-log of orders and mid-season construction/openings for many.)  KI's "Drop Zone" opened as a larger version in late June (If I recall properly) as a part of the recently coined "Adventure Village." 

That area of the park - prior to the addition of the Skycoaster - had been in a complete state of theming flux. 

1992 saw the addition of the first "new ride" added under the Paramount Ownership - Top Gun.  It was also the first new coaster added to that area of the park since 1984 (King Cobra.)  In reality, the coaster was planned prior to the Paramount takeover and has always been rumored to have been intended to carry a "bird" theme (I believe other names related to "Thunder" were also being tossed around.) Top Gun was odd name choice mix considering it was placed in an animal/congo themed area. 

The first two seasons of Top Gun's operation, to get to the ride's entrance, you actually walked along a path that wound around and behind the Safari Monorail Station.  The entrance was completely obscured and hidden and confused guests.  (Then once you got to the main entrance, you still had to navigate the massively long meandering queue through the woods.) There were originally elaborate props along the path... Air-Craft Carrier artifacts, a revolving radar/scope movie props and posters.  Not to mention the song "Danger Zone" on repeat over the speakers hidden in the trees.   

During Top Gun's original season, the area was still called "Wild Animal Habitat."  (From 1974-76, it was called "Lion Country Safari".)  But Paramount's intent was to re-theme a multitude of rides to capitalize on movie branding.  

So by 1993, the name of the area was changed from "Wild Animal Safari" to "Adventure Village" to better suit the onslaught of movie tie-ins planned for the park.  It was at this time that the park knew '93 would be the last year of the Safari Monorail.   They explored options of turning it into a movie-theme ride called "Movierail" that took guests past sets/artifacts from Paramount licensed movies & properties.  Ultimately, the idea got scrapped - as did the monorail system.  Also, if memory serves me, 1993 was the season when they also radically reworked the entrance to that area of the park.  Prior, as you entered Wild Animal Habitat, you crossed a fairly narrow wooden footbridge over a stream that flowed from under King Cobra's helix over to a pond adjacent to Cafe Kilimanjaro (now Chicken Shack.)  There were originally, cages/netting on the cafe side that housed exotic birds during the warmer months.  On the other side, the stream culminated in a small pond under the King Cobra helix.  There was a jet spray in the pond that was set off each time a King Cobra train passed through.   This bridge area became a terrible bottleneck when Top Gun opened - so they remodeled it all in 1993 to expand the midway and alleviate congestion.

By the start of 1994, the old Monorail Station and track was removed.   The western portion of the land on which the station sat is where the Skycoaster would be built for the following season. (It also necessitated the removal of a small wooded area between the old station and the "Congo Coolers" frozen drink stand. )

In 1999, the park gutted "Adventure Village" and gave the area it's current "Action Zone" re-theme.  It was at this time that the park re-named it from "Drop Zone", demolished the "Congo Coolers" drink stand, and built the Intamin Giant Drop in its place - giving it the name "Drop Zone."  

Finally, here's a rare look at the gutting of Adventure Village during the Action Zone re-theme.  Pics (taken by yours truly) start with the final weekend of operation as "Adventure Village including "Drop Zone" and Congo Coolers drink stand, and then show the gut-job they did over winter 1999.  

Great post and especially great photos. Thank you for sharing!

[Shaggy]

4 minutes ago, KIghostguy said:

Great post and especially great photos. Thank you for sharing!

Thanks - I appreciate that.  I had some "blips" in my dates - now corrected.  I'm getting too old to remember them all - so I gladly pass the torch to your expert KI History knowledge.  Its up to the next generation to keep up with all these factoids ;-)  

 

[Shaggy]

Oh - Here's some other fun things I recall from that time period..  Shortly after "Drop Zone" (Xtreme Skyflyer) opened, KI started work on Outer Limits: Flight of Fear.  It became the typical game of going to the top of Eiffel Tower to try and see/figure out what they were doing (once I figured out something was going on behind Racer.)  KI obviously caught on and teased enthusiasts by cutting crop circles in the grass - I remember the grass had been cut to look like an alien.  As the season passed, the ground was being dug up and moved.  I think they finally announced it late season, and there was a large billboard showing the layout of the ride placed right where the entrance to Area '72 is now.  They started building the "drum" by the end of the season.  And throughout the winter of 95/96, you could see FOF being built from I-71. 

Well, the building that is. 

They completely closed in the front side of the building (side facing the interstate) with its metal walls, to obscure pics/sneak peaks of the track being assembled.  They then assembled the track inside the frame of the building, out of view of curious people like me driving past the park during off-season.  Once they finished track assembly... they closed in the walls on the back half of the building.

Obviously, there was no Winterfest.  So enthusiasts had to wait what seemed an eternity to see it (well, the outside of it) in person.  It had a delayed opening, so for the entire spring and a good part of June - the anticipation was crazy.   When it finally did open - the line stretched all the way down Coney Mall past Vortex - single train... 5 hour wait.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

As much as I love the year a new coaster opens, it's probably more fun the season before when construction is going on. 2019 was such a fun season with the construction of what became Orion with the updates from the tower and the teaser campaign. It probably would've been better had the layout not get leaked though as we ended up knowing the layout beforehand which ruined the surprise, but it was still fun speculating the name, theme, and official stats. 

I was living out of town during Mystic Timbers decoding/construction but I remember following it on social media and that looked like a fun season as well.

Banshee I have very little memory of it outside of a few pre announcement videos. All my memory is the animation videos and vertical construction. 

[Diamondback_Is_King]

2 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

As much as I love the year a new coaster opens, it's probably more fun the season before when construction is going on. 2019 was such a fun season with the construction of what became Orion with the updates from the tower and the teaser campaign. It probably would've been better had the layout not get leaked though as we ended up knowing the layout beforehand which ruined the surprise, but it was still fun speculating the name, theme, and official stats. 

I was living out of town during Mystic Timbers decoding/construction but I remember following it on social media and that looked like a fun season as well.

Banshee I have very little memory of it outside of a few pre announcement videos. All my memory is the animation videos and vertical construction. 

I remember watching every piece of track on the lift hill be put in. I even remember putting together the Orion puzzle online that KI released! 

[Klabergian Empire]

I managed to get exactly 10 rides in on Skyflyer with them all being done in 2023 and 2024. The initial drop after pulling the rip cord was always such a rush. The only ride at Kings Island that could best that sensation is Drop Tower. While I will certainly miss the sensation and experience, I do believe removing it was a good choice. The additional upcharge on top of low capacity is what turned a lot of people away. Considering the cuts that corporate Six Flags is making to parks around the chain, and that other rides in AZ are rumored targets for removal, I consider us lucky.

[Pagoda Gift Shop]

I remember Xtreme Skyflyer looking absolutely massive when I first saw it in 1996.  At that time, the tallest thing nearby was King Cobra which was only about 100 feet tall. 

It never looked as big after Drop Zone/Drop Tower was built nearby in 1999.

Edit: RCDB has a nice photo from 1996.

[TOPGUN1993]

So Long

[Stoan]

On 3/1/2025 at 7:59 PM, Cedar Fair Fanboy said:

Do you want to see Drop Tower queue line to be moved to connect to Banshee or Bat's plaza and given a horror makeover?

Dead Drop

[Cedar Fair Fanboy]

Just now, Stoan said:

Dead Drop

I prefer Falltrum for story purposes.

[Tr0y]

On 3/1/2025 at 7:59 PM, Cedar Fair Fanboy said:

Do you want to see Drop Tower queue line to be moved to connect to Banshee or Bat's plaza and given a horror makeover?

Lex Luthor Drops of Doom. 

[DJSkyFoxx]

All I'm saying is something awesome better go in it's place. I will still stand firm on the fact that nothing they put there will compare to the thrill this thing gave IMO, but hopefully something of a worthy successor gets placed there. 

[KI Guy]

I see this as a good sign that management decided that Action Zone should be prioritized over The Vortex plot which I strongly believe was the correct decision.

• Action Zone is the ugliest area of the park with little shade and no discernable theme.
• There is no balance to the ride lineup in the area. Everything there —outside of Congo Falls— could be considered on the thrill side.
• The rides in Action Zone are quite old and won't be around forever so replacements will need to move in. The eleven-year-old Banshee is the most recent attraction.
• Action Zone is a ton of land with relatively few attractions, and only one marque attraction.
• I seriously doubt Skyflyer netted much if any money in its final years.

The Vortex plot will be addressed after AZ at some point, but that area of Coney/Rivertown is in much better shape overall than AZ.

[SnoopyMan6000]

Its Official Kings Island Confirmed That Xtreme Skyflyer Is getting the axe more than 30 years of Operation

[SonofBaconator]

On 3/14/2025 at 4:23 PM, KI Guy said:

I see this as a good sign that management decided that Action Zone should be prioritized over The Vortex plot which I strongly believe was the correct decision.

• Action Zone is the ugliest area of the park with little shade and no discernable theme.
• There is no balance to the ride lineup in the area. Everything there —outside of Congo Falls— could be considered on the thrill side.
• The rides in Action Zone are quite old and won't be around forever so replacements will need to move in. The eleven-year-old Banshee is the most recent attraction.
• Action Zone is a ton of land with relatively few attractions, and only one marque attraction.
• I seriously doubt Skyflyer netted much if any money in its final years.

The Vortex plot will be addressed after AZ at some point, but that area of Coney/Rivertown is in much better shape overall than AZ.

In my opinion, Action Zone should have been completely overhauled either with or shortly after the debut of Banshee. When the record-breaking invert opened in 2014, the park did invest in some welcome changes: the new seating plaza where the water tower once stood, the revival of The Bat, the repaint of Delirium, and even the back patio of Festhaus that allowed guests to watch the action.

But much of the area remained untouched. Drop Tower, Xtreme Skyflyer, and Congo Falls stayed exactly the same, with only Invertigo receiving a repaint in 2012. The result was an area that looked half-new and half-forgotten.

What always stood out to me was how split Action Zone felt after Banshee’s arrival. One side had modern touches - Banshee dominating the skyline, The Bat tying in nostalgia, and an energized central plaza. The other side was the “old” Action Zone, with Invertigo, Drop Tower, and Congo Falls still carrying their early-2000s extreme-thrills aesthetic. It was almost like two lands stitched together, each telling a different story.

Now, with the merger in play, the uncertainty around Action Zone is even greater. Banshee needs a repaint, Skyflyer is gone, Congo Falls feels out of place, and Invertigo seems like it’s living on borrowed time. The Bat still runs well, but its future is uncertain. Then there’s the empty Son of Beast station - once reused for Wolfpack during Haunt - now cleared out and sitting vacant, a reminder of unfinished potential.

This is why I’d like to see Action Zone addressed before The Vortex plot. Back in the Paramount era, the park felt unbalanced - Top Gun, Son of Beast, King Cobra, and Drop Tower were all piled into one corner. Today, the lineup is more evenly distributed: Orion anchors Area 72/Coney Mall. Rivertown has Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, and The Beast, and other coasters are scattered more thoughtfully throughout. But Action Zone, which was never part of the original master plan, has gone through so many transformations - from wild animal habitat, to Adventure Village, to Paramount’s extreme-thrills hub, and now to its current patchwork state - that it badly needs a clear, consistent identity moving forward.

That lack of focus also makes the area vulnerable. With DC Comics IP so readily available, it would be easy to rebrand the entire section overnight. Drop Tower could become Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom. The Bat could be renamed Batman: The Ride. Banshee could turn into Superman: The Ride. From a marketing perspective, it’s effortless, but it would strip the park of originality. IP can work at Disney or Universal where it’s deeply integrated, but in regional parks it often feels like a shortcut.

There is reason for hope, though. Kings Island’s decision to bring back Phantom Theater in place of Boo Blasters shows the chain is willing to lean into creativity and history instead of outside brands. I truly hope I’m wrong about the DC angle, because what Action Zone needs isn’t a quick rebrand - it just needs to be completed.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I have to wonder if the limit to the modifications of Action Zone that came with Banshee in 2014 came about because of budget constraints. We saw how differently the budget was allocated this year with the additions of River Racers and Splash River Junction, and how likely it was that some of their budgets went toward restroom renovations and modifications to other parts of Soak City. We might've even seen a bigger retheme of (part of) Soak City had Six Flags been in better shape overall. If all of Action Zone had been rethemed, I could see a world where Banshee was a smaller Invert. 

A big part of me hopes that Six Flags will not waste the money it would take to turn Action Zone into a new DC Universe/Gotham City/Metropolis, or to retheme anything that does not immediately need a retheme/redo. Arbitrarily slapping an IP onto an area when you're $5 Billion in debt would indeed be a waste of money, and would show guests that — whether intended or not — the goal is to make the park "Six Flags Kings Island".  If they did change it up then I'd much rather see Banshee become Batman: The Ride instead of becoming Superman. 

 

If Kings Island is looking for a nice rebrand for Action Zone that could work well with guests, I'd suggest they turn it all into a new version of Oktoberfest. It could begin by bringing in new decorations and ride names/signage, then continue modifying it more as the budget allows. I'd personally prefer to see everything outside of Chicken Shack, Banshee, Congo Falls pond/trees, the shade tent, and The Bat get completely reimagined. Don't even let the pathways stay totally the same. That way Banshee wouldn't look entirely out of place (an old European mythical creature in a European-themed area), The Bat could continue to live out the rest of its years as is, and the park would gain more nostalgia points with guests by expanding on an original area to the park. The park's original themed lands (specifically Rivertown, Coney Island, and Oktoberfest) related heavily to Cincinnati, and this would be a massive win in returning the park to its roots. 

[BeeastFarmer]

^Needs to be redone to Safari Village. 

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I'm hesitant to agree about transforming it into Safari Village since Banshee wouldn't fit that theme and because of how many changes would need to be made for it to be done right. The tie of Oktoberfest back into the history of Cincinnati is also important to me because it was part of the original park concept. You could probably keep The Bat (or convert it to Swoop), find a new water ride to replace Congo Falls, and give the whole area a more extensive Jungle Xpedition-style makeover. I think they could also easily close the entire area (minus Banshee and its restrooms) to make sure the new area isn't a rushed project. 

Safari Village would be cool if they had a great way to retheme Banshee, but overall I think they should stay away from that because of the fact that Kings Dominion has Jungle X in that same general area. It'd be good to let KI and KD have some more differences in their themed lands.

[BeeastFarmer]

4 minutes ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

I'm hesitant to agree about transforming it into Safari Village since Banshee wouldn't fit that theme and because of how many changes would need to be made for it to be done right. The tie of Oktoberfest back into the history of Cincinnati is also important to me because it was part of the original park concept. You could probably keep The Bat (or convert it to Swoop), find a new water ride to replace Congo Falls, and give the whole area a more extensive Jungle Xpedition-style makeover. I think they could also easily close the entire area (minus Banshee and its restrooms) to make sure the new area isn't a rushed project. 

Safari Village would be cool if they had a great way to retheme Banshee, but overall I think they should stay away from that because of the fact that Kings Dominion has Jungle X in that same general area. It'd be good to let KI and KD have some more differences in their themed lands.

Sorry, I said Safari Village instead of Adventure Village. This ties back to the historical roots of the area, and could tie into Adventure Port as well, with Port being a portal into Village. 

The Bat would need no change. If they can swap Banshee into Superman or Batman as some are suggesting, a theme could easily put Banshee into the theme...AE is right next door, so tie into that.  Chicken shack could be reskinned readily.  New hardware would be needed of course, but a multi year project  would be feasible. I think the parallel with KD would be a great feature, especially if KD or KI are sold off to a different operator.  They could even incorporate the area after the KIT plaza to make it coherent. 

If an Oktoberfest is really needed, take the path from The German Building and theme it up. You have FestHaus already, and Viking Fury.  Vikings are German, right? ;). Bring the Flying Dutchman from SFA, put in a maypole and have yodeling contests, another bar, and mini cows on occasion with those Bavarian bells. Bada boom bada bing.