Bye bye, Boo Blasters

[BeeastFarmer]

Money talks!

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

As do bankruptcy lawyers! I wouldn't be opposed to more competition between Kings Island and Cedar Point, even if it's from within the same chain. Either way, this may be a conversation for another extant topic altogether.

[BeeastFarmer]

Really great teaser they released!  In reflection, I see the obvious reference to the queue music, the cartoon Maestro, and the cat. The video also focuses in on a BB cutout that says something to the effect of "not dead yet."

The radio static reminds me of Mystic Timbers.

Any significance with the wind chimes in the transition scene?

[kingsislandfan1972]

6 hours ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Really great teaser they released!  In reflection, I see the obvious reference to the queue music, the cartoon Maestro, and the cat. The video also focuses in on a BB cutout that says something to the effect of "not dead yet."

The radio static reminds me of Mystic Timbers.

Any significance with the wind chimes in the transition scene?

Rumors say that it has something to do with the Conjuring Haunt attraction which is said to be in the old Crypt building. But honestly I'm not sure...

[BryanJay]

6 hours ago, BeeastFarmer said:

The radio static reminds me of Mystic Timbers.

Any significance with the wind chimes in the transition scene?

I’ve listened to it like 100 times, I can barely hear “So you wanted to see the theater did ya?” in the static (mostly listening for like syllables). But it might just be nonsense because anything else is a stretch.

I’ve never seen any of the Conjuring movies so idk if wind chimes have any significance, but a lot of the Maestro’s dialogue in the original attraction references like portals to another world. “You have entered our world, now escape if you can!”

 

Honestly I love the fact that there’s a teaser campaign that isn’t just “Phantom Theater’s coming back to Boo Blasters”. As of yesterday there’s apparently more construction walls outside of the Tomb Raider building, which makes me even more confused. I’m still sticking to my theory that PT goes in Boo Blasters as a flashlight shooting ride, and nothing goes into Tomb Raider, but the fact that I’m not sure about that is so interesting to me.

[Kylewestreviews]

I’ve listened to it like 100 times, I can barely hear “So you wanted to see the theater did ya?” in the static (mostly listening for like syllables). But it might just be nonsense because anything else is a stretch.

I’ve never seen any of the Conjuring movies so idk if wind chimes have any significance, but a lot of the Maestro’s dialogue in the original attraction references like portals to another world. “You have entered our world, now escape if you can!”
 
Honestly I love the fact that there’s a teaser campaign that isn’t just “Phantom Theater’s coming back to Boo Blasters”. As of yesterday there’s apparently more construction walls outside of the Tomb Raider building, which makes me even more confused. I’m still sticking to my theory that PT goes in Boo Blasters as a flashlight shooting ride, and nothing goes into Tomb Raider, but the fact that I’m not sure about that is so interesting to me.

I’m starting to get the idea that you don’t enter the conjuring through the normal crypt building entrance, and they’re making a path available for the side of the building that faces slaughterhouse and you’ll enter through the bay doors over there instead. Since the indoor theming doesn’t go with conjuring that they’ve had since the crypt. That way then you don’t have to go up and down the stairs either.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kingsislandfan1972]

1 hour ago, BryanJay said:

I’ve listened to it like 100 times, I can barely hear “So you wanted to see the theater did ya?” in the static (mostly listening for like syllables). But it might just be nonsense because anything else is a stretch.

I’ve never seen any of the Conjuring movies so idk if wind chimes have any significance, but a lot of the Maestro’s dialogue in the original attraction references like portals to another world. “You have entered our world, now escape if you can!”

 

Honestly I love the fact that there’s a teaser campaign that isn’t just “Phantom Theater’s coming back to Boo Blasters”. As of yesterday there’s apparently more construction walls outside of the Tomb Raider building, which makes me even more confused. I’m still sticking to my theory that PT goes in Boo Blasters as a flashlight shooting ride, and nothing goes into Tomb Raider, but the fact that I’m not sure about that is so interesting to me.

Yes honestly this is the best teaser Kings Island has given us since Mystic Timbers, I'm actually not sure what the next part of the teaser is going to be.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

When it comes to dressing up the exterior of the building, I'd like to see them attempt to make it like this old original concept art

[kingsislandfan1972]

3 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

When it comes to dressing up the exterior of the building, I'd like to see them attempt to make it like this old original concept art

I honestly would love that! The purple castle that was originally used for Scooby-Doo has been an eyesore...

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I'd love to see this kind of facade come to either the Boo Blasters building and/or to The Crypt's building. Both of them would need to have some extensive work done to look like this, but it would look so good. I feel like the biggest hang up from this concept art to what became PT was the addition to the building (with the posters in front of it). It would be a good place for some additional queue line and/or a much-needed addition of space for the Peanuts Showplace.

Whatever we end up seeing, I really hope there aren't any AI posters or artwork. AlpenFury has AI all over its indoor queue and it looks bad.

[BryanJay]

1 hour ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Whatever we end up seeing, I really hope there aren't any AI posters or artwork. AlpenFury has AI all over its indoor queue and it looks bad.

Offering it now, if the park uses AI for anything related to Phantom Theater, I will personally redraw it free of charge 

[Swiftdrawer]

13 hours ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

I'd love to see this kind of facade come to either the Boo Blasters building and/or to The Crypt's building. Both of them would need to have some extensive work done to look like this, but it would look so good. I feel like the biggest hang up from this concept art to what became PT was the addition to the building (with the posters in front of it). It would be a good place for some additional queue line and/or a much-needed addition of space for the Peanuts Showplace.

Whatever we end up seeing, I really hope there aren't any AI posters or artwork. AlpenFury has AI all over its indoor queue and it looks bad.

Hope not either. There are so many things wrong with things generated with AI slop. For starters, it’s highly disrespectful to the literal thousands of years of human creativity. It’s a slap in the face for just about every artist who has ever lived. Ai slop is also the worst example of plagiarism out there. Not to mention how much water it makes dirty and unsafe to use in areas where data centers have been recently built. Feel like we need to speak out more about the new Six Flags’s use of AI slop and do things like wear anti-AI slop shirts as a regular thing at the parks and write to them about it. The use of AI slop for a Phantom Theater revival would be hugely disrespectful to the original attraction, Encore, and those who were involved in them as well as their many fans.

If they really want to go cheap, they could always try to reuse whatever posters and such are still left from Encore and the original attraction. I don’t know how much commissioning artists who work in the amusement industry to create graphics these days costs but I’ve seen some artists in like the furry community charge a couple hundred dollars for logo design.

[beastfan11]

No sense in using AI if you have original artwork designed already. Given the pin sets using the original performer posters, I’d assume they’d have the ability to use them within the new ride…. Should it be coming back. 

[flightoffear1996]

We were leaning towards not ruining our passes until we saw these teasers.  While Boo Blasters was our kids faviorte I hoping they will quicky forget about it with this.  Kings Island please please dont mess this up!

[johnjniehaus]

48 minutes ago, flightoffear1996 said:

We were leaning towards not ruining our passes until we saw these teasers.  While Boo Blasters was our kids faviorte I hoping they will quicky forget about it with this.  Kings Island please please dont mess this up!

I think it's funny how the park keeps trying to cater to families but all my family members and friends haven't been pass holders since 2022. Some of them are actually getting excited about the park again with the potential of a phantom return 

[kingsislandfan1972]

6 hours ago, johnjniehaus said:

I think it's funny how the park keeps trying to cater to families but all my family members and friends haven't been pass holders since 2022. Some of them are actually getting excited about the park again with the potential of a phantom return 

Its funny how a ride over 20 years being removed from an amusement park is still being talked about, just goes to show you how much this ride is loved and missed.

[robintodd]

I've been to KI a couple of times now since the announcement and the line for Boo is always to outside the building.  The "ghosts" in the trees is a nice touch, not sure if they are the current "boo" ghosts leaving the park or new ones coming in....

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

3 more days until the big reveal!!

[disco2000]

1 minute ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

3 more days until the big reveal!!

Or another teaser 

[Diamondback_Is_King]

6 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

Or another teaser 

True. My guess is another teaser because I would thought another one would have come out before the announcement date

[cdubbs727]

18 hours ago, kingsislandfan1972 said:

Its funny how a ride over 20 years being removed from an amusement park is still being talked about, just goes to show you how much this ride is loved and missed.

I'll admit that I'm kind of surprised how much love this one has, but I guess by the time it opened, I was a teenager and already was getting to be "over" the kids' section. If you were a pre-teen when this ride was operating, I can see why it has a nostalgic pull. 

PT was charming. Yes, it was an attempt to replicate what Disney did with Haunted Mansions. But it was a solid attempt -- it had a fun story, original characters, a genuinely good Pepper's Ghost sequence, and some fun animatronics. It was spooky without being scary.  It was Disney on a regional park budget, but you could feel the creativity and love put into it. 

Compare that to Boo Blasters, which is Temu Haunted Mansion mixed with Temu Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. My kids like Boo Blasters because it was the first ride either of them rode at Kings Island. But I doubt there will be calls 30 years later for it to come back. 

My fear, though, is that PT fans might be expecting a bit too much. That original ride they loved isn't coming back; I doubt we'll see the same or even similar animatronics, and I also guess that screens will be prevalent (I really hope they change the ride system and ditch the shooting element). Maybe I'm wrong -- and at least there's still the hope they'll honor the original IP and designs, with a few musical Easter eggs. But there's also the chance this is a cheap way to placate fans and save money by slapping a Band-Aid on BB. 

[kingsislandfan1972]

We bought the Boo Blaster glasses in the early 2010s for the so-called "3D effect" but to me the effect didn't work and honestly had me feeling dizzy. 

[Orion-XL200]

4 hours ago, robintodd said:

I've been to KI a couple of times now since the announcement and the line for Boo is always to outside the building.  The "ghosts" in the trees is a nice touch, not sure if they are the current "boo" ghosts leaving the park or new ones coming in....

If anyone at the park this coming weekend can take pics of this, I missed it and would love to see.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I'm hoping that Six Flags understands the chance they have right now to make or break how guests will view Kings Island for the next few years. Build a quality dark ride that respects the original while providing a new experience and guests will flock to it and buy more passes. Put a cheap, uninspired, and entirely screen-based Phantom Theater overlay over Boo Blasters and guests will further understand that Six Flags is a cheap corporation that doesn't deserve their money. People will still come and ride, but another disappointment like this might be enough to tip the scale for more passholders to not renew in the next sale/next year's sale.

My guess for what we will see on Thursday is either a second teaser leading to an announcement next week (why wait even longer?) or the announcement itself. I'd be curious to know how the MVP sale has panned out for Kings Island and if Six Flags thinks they need this announcement to boost for more pass sales. I'm also shocked that no documentation has been leaked or submitted for permits, although I'm not sure how much of this project would need permits aside from "We're updating a ride with these companies". 

18 minutes ago, Orion-XL200 said:

If anyone at the park this coming weekend can take pics of this, I missed it and would love to see.

I don't have a photo of them, but they're just little sheet-on-a-ball ghosts up in the trees. They're very cute to see! That being said I think they're for Tricks and Treats, not for Boo Blasters.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

^^ Mason I believe changed the way permits/plans are filed. The website that was used last year when RiverRacers was leaked, has been basically disabled for several months. I don't know if there's a new site or we're back to going to the City Hall for plans. Has anyone tried that yet? 

[BeeastFarmer]

2 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

^^ Mason I believe changed the way permits/plans are filed. The website that was used last year when RiverRacers was leaked, has been basically disabled for several months. I don't know if there's a new site or we're back to going to the City Hall for plans. Has anyone tried that yet? 

Be careful!  Your bosses at KI may not take kindly of you giving clues on how to open the curtain to shed light on what information could be coming

 

[BryanJay]

1 hour ago, Orion-XL200 said:

If anyone at the park this coming weekend can take pics of this, I missed it and would love to see.

This photo from Kings Island shows them.

[beastfan11]

1 hour ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

I'm hoping that Six Flags understands the chance they have right now to make or break how guests will view Kings Island for the next few years. Build a quality dark ride that respects the original while providing a new experience and guests will flock to it and buy more passes. Put a cheap, uninspired, and entirely screen-based Phantom Theater overlay over Boo Blasters and guests will further understand that Six Flags is a cheap corporation that doesn't deserve their money. People will still come and ride, but another disappointment like this might be enough to tip the scale for more passholders to not renew in the next sale/next year's sale.

I wonder how much “say” (current) Six Flags had with this project. Regardless of what is announced, I’d imagine the project was more or less decided on pre-merger, right? Contracts signed, etc. Maybe this is more of a last Cedar Fair addition instead of a first Six Flags addition.  Could be totally wrong. 

Regardless, the hype is real. Saw about eight of the tie die PT shirt (excluding mine, ha) being worn around the park yesterday. Even saw an entire family with matching shirts. Lot of fun. Lot of buzz. Lot of room for disappointment. But to your point, I really hope they can deliver. I know they can, but I don’t know if they will. 
 

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

1 hour ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Be careful!  Your bosses at KI may not take kindly of you giving clues on how to open the curtain to shed light on what information could be coming

 

Well I no longer work at KI so nothing to worry about lol. 

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I think this has more possibility to be last-minute than to be pre-merger. Some pre-merger additions are still in the works like Magic Mountain's new coaster and Canada's Wonderland's alleged new water slide. It was mentioned on Tower Topics that the KI's 5-year plan included a ride for The Crypt building for 2026. This Boo Blasters project might've been in the plans for a different year and got moved up when the family thrill attraction was scrapped (we'll see what Thursday brings), but I'm not sure of what to think if that is the case. In my opinion Cedar Fair was doing really well with theming up until Camp Snoopy opened last year. 

The reality is that three different companies have owned and operated Kings Island since the original Phantom Theater was designed and installed in 1992. We've gone from KECO to Paramount to Cedar Fair to the new Six Flags. The exhibit in the lobby of Phantom Theater Encore showed how much attention and care goes into making a good dark ride, and I'm hoping Six Flags can deliver on that.

If they release another teaser and don't announce the ride until late September, I wonder how many people might see the doom buggy lantern activation and take that as a sign of what's to come