TOPGUN1993 Posted Thursday at 02:45 PM Share Posted Thursday at 02:45 PM I came across these photos showcasing new Arrow Dynamics suspended coaster trains....... Whats interesting about these photos is the color scheme of the trains... clearly not the TOPGUN 1993 paint scheme. Were these the original "Swoop" paint colors and the ride was quickly rethemed to TOPGUN when Paramount purchased the park? @KIghostguy Do you have more information about this time period in KI History? Are these photos taken in a KI maintenance buildings or arrow factory? 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted Thursday at 02:49 PM Share Posted Thursday at 02:49 PM Very interesting! Can't wait to hear more. Seems someone did not like those colors. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I...am SteVe Posted Thursday at 02:54 PM Share Posted Thursday at 02:54 PM According to @KIghostguy 's KI book, the ride was already under construction when Paramount took over. This would also infer that the (originally intended) theme had been chosen by that point, which would explain the strange color scheme. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIghostguy Posted Thursday at 03:39 PM Share Posted Thursday at 03:39 PM Thank you for sharing this. This is a topic I would LOVE to have more information on. Just about everyone I spoke to couldn't recall a lot of details about this ride pre-Top Gun, other than it was already contracted prior to the sale and was going to be built under the Swoop name. I was told that it would have been bird-themed and that a sign/logo had been designed (which I would love to see). That's about all the information that I was able to get, unfortunately. No one had any blueprints or color schemes or anything like that. I think these are likely the cars being built when it was going to be that name. I'm sure that more exists out there, somewhere, but as far as historical archiving at the park, a lot of stuff is either scattered around or was thrown out. If anyone has any further info, I would love to see it. I've looked around various places at the park but have not been able to turn up any more information. By the way, I still think Swoop is a great name for a coaster. Unique, easy to say, and to the point. It would have been an awesome name for Rapterra. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted Thursday at 04:24 PM Share Posted Thursday at 04:24 PM Which is better, just Swoop or The Swoop? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJSkyFoxx Posted Thursday at 05:04 PM Share Posted Thursday at 05:04 PM I'd say just "Swoop". Those photos are really cool btw. Love seeing old historic pictures pop up that aren't widely seen or known about. It's fascinating seeing the color scheme they chose. Really late 80's/early 90's vibes for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOPGUN1993 Posted Thursday at 05:41 PM Author Share Posted Thursday at 05:41 PM 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOPGUN1993 Posted Thursday at 05:54 PM Author Share Posted Thursday at 05:54 PM In 1992 these signs appeared in the Adventure Village area of the park. Would they really tease the new attraction with part of the alleged name in the wording? Perhaps "Swoop" was just the code name for the attraction at the time? 7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIghostguy Posted Thursday at 06:12 PM Share Posted Thursday at 06:12 PM 16 minutes ago, TOPGUN1993 said: In 1992 these signs appeared in the Adventure Village area of the park. Would they really tease the new attraction with part of the alleged name in the wording? Perhaps "Swoop" was just the code name for the attraction at the time? "Swoops" is the only word italicized on that sign--it seems like they wanted to draw emphasis to that word in particular. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losantiville Mining Co. Posted Friday at 02:09 AM Share Posted Friday at 02:09 AM This isn't perfect, but here's what @TOPGUN1993's picture looks like compared to the Google Maps view. You can see various existing features like Cafe Kilimanjaro/Chicken Shack, Amazon/Congo Falls, and Timberwolf (one of the more distorted areas of the picture). The brown shapes with black outlines and the heavy red lines are the easiest way to tell what is from their picture. The Bat and its entrance can be seen at the bottom. For any version of an Action Zone retheme I'd love to see a mix of these path layouts. The area needs a pretty comprehensive rethinking IMO, but the bones are there. If you look closely you can see how the pathways could work while keeping Banshee, Chicken Shack, the Invertigo restrooms, and Congo Falls intact. Banshee's entrance and I.D. sign are to the left of the front of the Monorail building in this image. New flat rides could take the place of Xtreme Skyflyer while a new roller coaster could take over the Timberwolf area. I'd also like to see the entire area become a new extension of Oktoberfest. The overall theme would need to be played with a little (Oktoberfest festival mixed with northern/western European folklore) but I think it could work well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted Friday at 04:26 PM Share Posted Friday at 04:26 PM 22 hours ago, TOPGUN1993 said: In 1992 these signs appeared in the Adventure Village area of the park. Would they really tease the new attraction with part of the alleged name in the wording? Perhaps "Swoop" was just the code name for the attraction at the time? Swoop was going to be the name. It would have been a good name, better logo. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofBaconator Posted Friday at 04:50 PM Share Posted Friday at 04:50 PM It’s kinda ironic, this ride was never built with its original identity: Built to be named “Swoop” but was rebranded as Top Gun before making its public debut Went from Top Gun to “Flight Deck” to detach from the Paramount branding Went from “Flight Deck” to “The Bat” taking advantage of Banshee’s debut and paying homage to the original suspended coaster Only time will tell if we see any DC tie in of the Caped Crusader variety Talk about an identity crisis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted Friday at 05:13 PM Share Posted Friday at 05:13 PM What coaster holds the record for most renames @DonHelbig? With this new info, this is the 4th name for The Bat to this point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcoop22 Posted Friday at 05:27 PM Share Posted Friday at 05:27 PM 12 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said: What coaster holds the record for most renames @DonHelbig? With this new info, this is the 4th name for The Bat to this point. Woodstock Express is currently at 4 and perhaps a 5th next season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted Friday at 05:27 PM Share Posted Friday at 05:27 PM Just now, jcoop22 said: Woodstock Express is currently at 4 and perhaps a 5th next season. Does KI hold 2 rides with the most renames? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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