Kings Island
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cedar Fair Entertainment
Park News - (8/19/16) Kings Island has also announced that in 2017 their Soak City waterpark will see the addition of a new smokehouse style restaurant as well as an assortment of other new amenities and improvements. The new restaurant will serve pulled pork, smoked or grilled wings, hand-breaded chicken tenders and shrimp and much more. This actually sounds quite a bit like the awesome new Harbor House restaurant they added this summer to the waterpark at Carowinds and if so, Soak City guests are in for a treat.
(8/18/16) Kings Island has confirmed that after 12 long years WinterFest will return in late 2017.
The focal point of WinterFest will be the world’s largest Christmas tree display with the park’s iconic 314-foot tall Eiffel Tower decorated with thousands of lights which will be seen for miles.
Below the Eiffel Tower, International Street will be transformed into a colorful and quaint winter village, featuring the fun of holidays past – outdoor ice skating on the park’s Royal Fountain, Christmas carolers, and homemade crafts. Tasty foods, colorful gifts, live stage shows, fun rides, and of course, Santa’s workshop will all be part of WinterFest’s warmth and excitement.
Rides will include the Grand Carousel and a journey through the park’s Rivertown area on an authentic steam train.
Operating dates, hours and ticket prices for WinterFest will be announced at a later date. The event will be included free for 2017 Gold and Platinum season passholders.
(8/15/16) Kings Island has confirmed that this past weekend was your last chance to ride White Water Canyon this season. The rapids ride is now being closed for the rest of the season to allow for the construction of Mystic Timbers.
2017 - Mystic Timbers - (8/30/16) A nice video showcasing the start of vertical construction on Mystic Timbers at Kings Island was posted by the local news. Make the jump to check it out.
(8/17/16) New construction photos from the Mystic Timbers site at Kings Island have been posted to Coaster101. Tree being cleared, wood arriving and starting to be worked on and tons of new footers being poured.
(7/29/16)
Kings Island announced their new 2017 wooden coaster a few hours ago from GCI (Great Coasters International) to be called Mystic Timbers. The ride will be themed to an old lumber company which has been overrun by a magical overgrowth of plants and vines. The coaster will be 109 feet tall, have a 97 foot first drop, 3,265 feet of track, and hit speeds of up to 53mph along the course that will cross over itself, run down ravines, over water (and the park's rapids ride), through a dense forested area and end with a strange encounter as the train enters the darkness of The Shed. #WhatsInTheShed ? That is one secret the park is keeping to themselves until next spring.
If I had to guess however, my first bet would be on there being some kind of special effects room followed by a free-fall drop track inside the back-half of the shed, not unlike Verbolten at Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Thirteen at Alton Towers, though this would be a first for a wooden coaster. The odd thing however is that there is a 360-view of The Shed on the official website's video page, and it shows that The Shed is an L-Shaped structure, where there doesn't appear to be room for the train to make the turn and exit the shed properly to return to the station. I'm sure we're not seeing the entire picture here of course, but it does create a very interesting mystery.
In addition to The Shed, Mystic Timbers will feature a tunnel at the mid-point of the ride, 16 air-time hills and feature three GCI Millennium Flyer trains (24 passengers each) featuring a themed front car that kinda looks like an old blue truck. Mystic Timbers will also have a 48" height limit.
Oh, and as for that SplinterCat thing... as that doesn't look like it would fit at all with the theme of the ride, I'm guessing Don Helbig threw that out into the internet this morning as a red herring to throw everyone off the scent. (Well played Don... well played...)
Though I have to admit, I really like the idea of the SplinterCat theme for a wooden coaster... it just sounds like a more thrilling name or theme than "Mystic Timbers". Or at least it sounds like something that might sell a few more t-shirts by comparison.
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