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Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare Construction Progress


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As Boo Blasters is officially no more, construction is set to begin on the transformation into Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare set to debut in Spring 2026. This thread will be used to document the construction progress of this exciting "rebirth" of a former beloved dark ride. 

As a reminder to keep the terms of service in mind when posting on here and to only get pics in authorized areas. To view the terms of service, view here: https://KICentral.com/forums/topic/4128-terms-of-service/

 

Here's to another season of construction! To get things started here's the advertisement of this new ride outside of what once was Boo Blasters shared by @Losantiville Mining Co. in the announcement thread!

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I'm super excited to see how construction progresses and how visible it will be! There's not a lot of it visible from the park's webcams, and they have tended to make sure construction cannot be seen from those in the past few years. I wonder if any of the other spaces in the building will also be renovated alongside PT:ON. It would be nice to have a better layout for the Peanuts Showplace (and a better name IMO), and I'm sure the other spaces in the building might be in need of a little TLC. I've stated in other threads how much I hope the park doesn't just put up their "Exciting New Offerings" chain link fences, and I'm sticking to that. Any hiding that can be done using a wooden fence would be great! 

Some of the first things I think we'll see outside is the removal of the signage and the demolition of the "BH" crests that can be seen from the pathway. I'd assume the castle won't come down until the park has time to properly demolish it. That way it's not as visible that there used to be a facade there. Any of the indoor stuff will probably come out through the garage doors closest to International Street.

 

 

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I'm excited and sceptical at the same time. I get they want interactivity on the ride kids get to feel they are participating. But honestly, I'd prefer an I-Spy ride. Make the ride about how much stuff you can secret into the experience. 

 

Granted they could do both, and I hope they do. Make each ride a little different by unlocking things you missed with the flashlight. But don't make the ride generic blast everything and nothing new happens

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@IndyGuy4KI can this thread be pinned to replace the Soak City 2025 Construction Progress thread? The one in the KIC Newsroom might work for general discussion, but I'm wondering if this one would still be good to pin.

 

It was really nice to see the park post the picture of the heads today because I think it shows that there may be a higher willingness to share updates for this than there has been for the past few years' additions. I'll be very curious to see how everything looks as people get back into the park during the park buyouts and when 9/19 rolls around. Will the castle be gone yet? Will we see nothing yet? Who knows :) 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Paul Bonifield shared this on Linkedin a few weeks back. For those who don't know, Paul was one of the many who were unfortunately laid off by Six Flags back in May. Also in the comments, Chad Showalter (who was also let go) commented a bit about it. Based on those comments, it sounds like this project was planned for awhile and may have been the "family thrill attraction" planned all along. 

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paulbonifield_phantom-theater-returns-to-kings-island-ugcPost-7366851910231855104-Oe2X

 

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4 minutes ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

I think I can see about 24 cars on the stage: either the other 3 are hidden somewhere or I counted wrong. Hopefully we can see some good progress photos during their transformation!

I took one home :P  (just kidding for anyone taking it serious LOL)

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If anything they're either painted with decals or have full-on vinyl wraps like can be used for cars and trucks. Personally, I think they're painted with decals, though I could see using a vinyl wrap if it conforms better to the fiberglass body of each ride vehicle.

 

Does anyone want to take a guess at what could be on the left side of the stage in those boxes? The photo quality makes it look like an open-top cardboard box covered in plastic.

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5 hours ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Does anyone want to take a guess at what could be on the left side of the stage in those boxes? The photo quality makes it look like an open-top cardboard box covered in plastic.

Probably Winterfest decorations. In the past, there have been photos of the decorations on the stage.

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3 hours ago, kingsislandfan1972 said:

Any predictions how busy the ride is going to be opening day? 

If, by Opening Day, you mean opening day of the park in Spring... I'm going with zero (0). Seems the recent axiom of new attraction opening dates is to be weeks (sometimes months) after the park opens. 

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Interior demolition of Boo Blasters has begun, in strangely public fashion (Note these were taken in public guest view areas, if this breaks rules let me know)

 

I know they probably wouldn’t tell us, but I’m curious if Sally Dark Rides take all the props from Boo Blasters and reuses them to create another ghost blasters attraction somewhere, considering I think they’re still making boo blasters as of like 2022 I think??

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2 hours ago, BryanJay said:

Interior demolition of Boo Blasters has begun, in strangely public fashion (Note these were taken in public guest view areas, if this breaks rules let me know)

 

I know they probably wouldn’t tell us, but I’m curious if Sally Dark Rides take all the props from Boo Blasters and reuses them to create another ghost blasters attraction somewhere, considering I think they’re still making boo blasters as of like 2022 I think??

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This is awesome! The props I circled are the ones I noticed, I am curious if this was the first Boo Blasters to be removed from any park.

a6nstu.jpg

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14 minutes ago, kingsislandfan1972 said:

I am curious if this was the first Boo Blasters to be removed from any park.

Very technically yes, generally no. Elitch Gardens in Denver, CO (To Not See Elitch Is To Not See Denver!) had a standard Ghost Blasters attraction up until about 2018 when they removed it and replaced it with Meow Wolf Kaleidoscope. Meow Wolf is the same company that has/had the Omega Mart installation at Area 15 in Las Vegas. 

I think Kings Island will be the first park to remove an attraction named "Boo Blasters" on Boo Hill, which is why it is a very technical yes.

2 hours ago, BryanJay said:

I know they probably wouldn’t tell us, but I’m curious if Sally Dark Rides take all the props from Boo Blasters and reuses them to create another ghost blasters attraction somewhere, considering I think they’re still making boo blasters as of like 2022 I think??

I'm also super curious about this. I think there is some kind of licensing agreement that parks use for the standard SDR attractions, but I don't know exactly how that works. That's partially why the Six Flags parks used the Scooby Doo IP and why the former Paramount Parks may have had the option to continue using Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle/Mansion after 2009 instead of changing over to BBoBH. 

Personally, I think Six Flags should find out how much it would cost to ship everything up to Cedar Point and give them a new BBoBH dark ride.

 

It looks like everything is still up at the now-shuttered attraction, by the way. As expected the garage door is closed, all signage is still present, a collapsible fence has been placed in front of the exit, and the giant promotional sign has been moved to block the queue entrance.

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Some related stuff to Phantom Theater, what if almost every major rides here at Kings Island has a video game rating for each story and experience.

Phantom Theater/Adventure Express/Orion/Bat:
P.T. Rating.png

Banshee/Mystic Timbers/The Bat/Diamondback/The Beast/Delirium/Flight of Fear
Mystic Ratings.jpgToo many to contained into one list.

Vortex
Vortex Rating.png

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I was ridding the haunted mansion the other day and had the thought of “oml this ride gonna be boring asl if you just sit there.”

A solution could be to put screens in your lap bar, like the size of a smart phone, that show custom Instagram reels to keep you entertained and stimulated when you’re not using the flashlight.

You could have maestro doing tik tok dances, or snoopy, or even other six flags parks related reels with gold pass ads.

Content could be changed out, and less people will be on there phones, so it’s a win for everyone.

Thoughts?

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6 hours ago, SPONGEBOB_FAN_97 said:

I was ridding the haunted mansion the other day and had the thought of “oml this ride gonna be boring asl if you just sit there.”

A solution could be to put screens in your lap bar, like the size of a smart phone, that show custom Instagram reels to keep you entertained and stimulated when you’re not using the flashlight.

You could have maestro doing tik tok dances, or snoopy, or even other six flags parks related reels with gold pass ads.

Content could be changed out, and less people will be on there phones, so it’s a win for everyone.

Thoughts?

I really like this idea since it will truly stimulate the rider and light up their brains. It would be revolutionary nothing like this would ever be done before and KI would once again be able to be the first to do something. I would be worried because it wouldn't be my instagram reels so it wouldn't be tailored to me, but they could make it so you can login in to your account.

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12 hours ago, SPONGEBOB_FAN_97 said:

I was ridding the haunted mansion the other day and had the thought of “oml this ride gonna be boring asl if you just sit there.”

A solution could be to put screens in your lap bar, like the size of a smart phone, that show custom Instagram reels to keep you entertained and stimulated when you’re not using the flashlight.

You could have maestro doing tik tok dances, or snoopy, or even other six flags parks related reels with gold pass ads.

Content could be changed out, and less people will be on there phones, so it’s a win for everyone.

Thoughts?

Please no. The purpose of a themed attraction is to get people to feel as if they've stepped out of the regular world, not to thrust them back into it.

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On 9/23/2025 at 2:56 AM, SPONGEBOB_FAN_97 said:

I was ridding the haunted mansion the other day and had the thought of “oml this ride gonna be boring asl if you just sit there.”

A solution could be to put screens in your lap bar, like the size of a smart phone, that show custom Instagram reels to keep you entertained and stimulated when you’re not using the flashlight.

You could have maestro doing tik tok dances, or snoopy, or even other six flags parks related reels with gold pass ads.

Content could be changed out, and less people will be on there phones, so it’s a win for everyone.

Thoughts?

giphy.gif

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