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Timberwolf stage back removed and dumpsters on scene. Something mysterious is going on near Outpost 5.

There's also the previous report of the timberwolf sign near the front entrance being removed as well. We should also pay attention to Xtreme Skyflyer since that's in the area too. Canada's Wonderland's was removed without any prior warning. I want to emphasize that this does not confirm anything of a new attraction going in the Action Zone section nor does this confirm any sort of land clearing is even taking place. But I am interested to see what this area will look like next year.

Thinking back on it, I don't think this was the first time we saw the back of Timberwolf removed like this. Perhaps they could just be doing work on it? I saw that Music in the Parks already has an event scheduled for the park next year.

Oh believe me I know, it's honestly a travesty. I hope with the unified six merger they take a more horror driven approach and bring back some of the skeleton motifs we had in years past. I feel like if they want the bars to be filled then they should promote this as a mature event. Better yet, the fact that there are still unsupervised youth getting yelled at by security, which I saw last night even, just shows that the chaperone policy needs a stronger grasp. It just feels counterintuitive for the park to be "family friendly" for events like this but open up dozens of bars that are 21+ and try to have a "world class haunted event".

So it is the volcano.... oooo!!!!!!!

Would you believed it, with The Racer fully retracked. They're now going to operate it during Winterfest.

Timberwolf sign is gone from the gate by the ticket booth. It could be nothing but something to watch. It was there earlier this year.

My opinion is that this is nothing more than a Red herring. Again there have been no survey markers found. Unlike Coney Mall which has quite a few of them. However not ruling out any possibility. If there is markings it’s in a location guests can’t readily reach. The Timberwolf Amphitheatre would be that location. If I’m not mistaken there haven’t been any events there this season?

I did see they put red spot lights on it I feel like they would be turned off if this was not intentional. But since the spotlights are their I think it is safe to assume it is not a maintenance issue or the flame running out of propane or whatever it runs off of.

yes, as far as references i can find, i personally identified the extinguished flame on august 13th, as of September 20th the flame was also documented as extinguished as seen in the reddit post im gonna go digging through youtube and see if i can find any further evidence of the flame being extinguished this year, either prior to august 13th, or in between august 13th and September 20th (which would hopefully confirm the flame being extinguished for some time here.) EDIT: video POV of Banshee identified as May 2024 shows the flame lit. EDIT 2: this video (POV UNDATED) but posted on September 8th, shows and extinguished flame EDIT 3: addition posting from September 8th showing an extinguished flame: EDIT 4: posting from august 25th showing extinguished flame: EDIT 5: August 21st posting showing extinguished flame

So is the flame actually out? Also it would be funny if they proceeded to just tear down the station after all this.

Unrelated, (sadly, lol, where's that front gate refresh + coaster) reference:

That could just be for repaving the lot if I had to guess. Even if there was going to be a new coaster using the SOB station (not saying there is, just a theoretical scenario), there's plenty of other land they could use for it. I doubt they would need to use part of the preferred lot for it.

There was markings in the preferred lot earlier this season:

Slight spoilers below but more speculation than anything: ------------ Anyone whos been to haunt this year (lol I know) have a better opinion/idea of how the scale of investment on this Son of Beast activation point compares to the other activation points for the lanterns?? i guess another thought that comes to mind and why i ask, is does this seem like a larger investment in theming compared to the other activation points? if so potentially the dual case use that comes to mind is a combination of marketing budget and haunt budget to really sell the announcement of a new project? or get the hype train rolling for a potential 2026 capital announcement in 2025? With a tertiary benefit of a real marker point to sell the lanterns for at least 2 haunt seasons? Certainly if the shipping Crate remains (obviously probably without the lantern point activation sign, and shipping label sign referencing haunt lol) through winterfest-offseason-and into next season, there may be more to this. Number 5 is alive? (also it would be killer to see the park do a similar setup to this one done at the SOB station, but near The Vortex plot and themed to the former ride at some point in the coming seasons)

Interesting. Was the Son of Beast casket the only one that was lit up like that? Or were there others?

I saw this on Reddit of the casket being lit up.

thanks for the update (and hiding the spoilers for those who don't want them) SPOILERS BELOW:

any update on what the lantern point effect is/does with the box?

Spoiler Alert: Is actually is a storage shed for ice cream products

Hmmmm...................

In am so open to a ground up RMC. Leave all the woodies alone and start from scratch.

I am absolutely with 99% of everything posted above, with the 1% I dissent on being the "Why do it again in any way?" question. If by some Universe altering miracle the folks in Sandusky and Charlotte will pat their eyes dry and lay off on their "take my ball and go home" philosophy regarding RMC (which could be the single thing worth a D amn in the whole FUN/SIX merger) then I wouldn't even be mad at them building an SV annihilating RMC in those woods and valley and using any kind of SOB name or reference they want!

(Not directed towards you specifically) Look, I’m not a fan of the current direction of things. And as someone who works in marketing, I’m also baffled by a lot of the decisions that come out from that side of the park. But to blame him specifically for this “teaser” is kind of absurd. I mean, if the park does so little as move a landscaping rock, there are enthusiasts that immediately take that as a “hint” regarding SOB returning. The only ones responsible for any disappointment are the ones who are over reacting and assuming every little thing is a hint/teaser. And it bears repeating that SOB was an awful, miserable fail of an attraction. It was a money pit that physically harmed guests on a few different occasions. And even if you weren’t involved in any of those incidents, the ride experience as a whole left much to be desired. The land where there ride stood is mostly occupied by another attraction. So, any new version would be by name alone. So is that really a SOB revival? And to that point, if there was to be a major new coaster addition, why would you want it to be associated with a ride that has such a miserable past? The hype around the ride was fun. The actual experience was mediocre on a good day. Ultimately, SOB was a low point in an otherwise world class coaster line up. Why do it again in any way? This display is a lot of fun. I love stuff like this. But it’s cool if it stays as a fun throwback to a defunct attraction.

getting home from work and reviewed the changes a little closer now, noticed that the "remnants of the unloved son" tape has gone, likely confirming IMO that this for sure has no relation to future plans, as this was the one link to the previously abandoned teasers. Edit: If the collective analysis of all these changes posted here by all you amazing people and making the connection back to the abandoned teasers at CP had anything to do with the removal of this reference, I would genuinely find that hilarious ;;; It would be awesome if we could get direct confirmation from anyone what the abandoned teasers at CP were about -------- gonna get crazy here feel free to disregard lol: My final I'm going insanely out on a limb here thought for the tiniest shred of a scrap of hope that maybe this is still something is that, we figured this out a little quicker than the park wanted, and were now being thrown off the trail because they want people at haunt to buy and interact with this feature piece for the lanterns, which also doubles as an announcement, and let the word spread naturally to drive sales of the lanterns and advertisement of a new attraction.

Posting this here since it feels more relevant, but the recent prop put out on display is confirmed to be one of the interactive lantern points. Definitely doesn’t rule out this being a clue for something, but is definitely an explanation for why it’s out this year.

Joke's on us! Now that SIX is the other half of the company, they are going to pull out a page from the ol'playbook from their SFWoA days and put in TWO major installments in the same year! One in The Vortex plot and one in the SoB station!!! ( hard sarcasm here )

I'm also thinking that this was mostly likely done as some sort of publicity stunt (like Beast 2.0) to get people talking about a potential new coaster themed around Son of Beast. I wouldn't hold my breath about this leading to a more significant project unless we start seeing any of the following pop up within the next several months: Attraction removals around Outpost 5 (Xtreme Skyflyer, Timberwolf, The Bat) Survey markers appearing in the area of Outpost 5 Construction vehicles appearing near Outpost 5 Notice of Commencement for 2024-2026 Even with that all being said, I do think it's still very possible we could see our next coaster in 2026, but I would put more stock into it going in The Vortex plot as opposed to reusing the Son of Beast station. But then again, crazier things have happened in the amusement industry so who knows.

I think a lot of people put stock into these tombstones because of what we saw with Firehawk a couple years ago, where it was blatantly obvious that it was going away but they still had fun with it. Now you have a tombstone placed near an old ride, as opposed to the graveyard, with quite a bit of detail in it. Pair this with the former ride building/haunted house seeing some activity last year and you have a good amount of speculation to have fun with if you’re a fan.

Having worked haunted attractions, often times these caskets are beat up and don't close properly. More than likely, no other reason behind it.

There are a couple floating around on social media for those who want to investigate. Plus they always have caskets scattered around the graveyard not related to ride funerals. My theory is that its just a diversion to engage people during an era of budget cuts. I'd love to be proven wrong in the future, though!

Why would they have other caskets spread throughout the graveyard too?

Why would the casket not be buried if SoB has been dead for 15ish years. Little odd....

This was on the KI Season Pass Holders facebook group the other day. I do find it odd that the lid is slightly ajar but that could be nothing.

I prefer The Vortex plot stay Coney Mall. The way the path is set up, something big at the end feels kind of highlighted by the rest of the area kind of leading up to it.

Do you think they would put something in this plot before filling The Vortex plot as well. Would they put a Son of Beast remake ride in The Vortex plot? I could see them trying to incorporate that into Rivertown area, but it would be a stretch.

I have found no survey markers near or around the old SoB station. My guess is all of the commotion going on at SoB station is because it is used as storage for Halloween props.

Or they could spend a tiny amount of the haunt budget to throw up some paint, throw up some props and get people talking about the thing. This would be a good way to divert attention from a haunt that has a (possibly) vastly reduced budget. Or not .

Seeing this photo going around reddit now

You really expect this PR staff to be that thorough through a supposed 5 year teaser for a theoretical RMC when they can't even get a kid's area properly advertised? Clearly, someone is too used to Don being at the helm.

Seems like a lot of detail was put into this to just troll fans, though I’ve been wrong before

;(Reposting the pertinent SOB station changes, recently and originally identified and posted by PKIVortex in the "Kings Island Halloween Haunt 2024 Discussion" over here for consistency of having all the info on the changes / speculation on this in one place. ); ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- on 9/8/2024 at 12:43 AM, PKIVortex said: Seen this today over near the SoB atation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- on 9/8/2024 at 02:32 PM, Coasterteam said: I have photos of them also taking stuff out of the area from August 14th, 2024. Just to show the difference, something cool to see them working in this place again. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I made additional connections in my post following this post from Coasterteam, on 9/9/2024 at 4:42 AM i just came to the realization that these are quite literally the "Lost remnants of number 5" that were referenced in the weird 2019 teaser from CP : definitely curious how this all aligns now further with the details of the poster, Stating "items inside crates and trunks must remain closed until the time is right", and now seeing a literal crate open with pieces of the former ride. Wonder if any of the other various crates / barrels marked with the outpost 5 logo throughout the park have been updated in any way following this new crate at the former site. Maybe this was the plan pre covid and was shelved until now? maybe the company is satisfied with steel vengeance and RMC now that its operating consistently and feel confident moving forward with this project? theoretically with tunnels itd likely be possible to reuse the original station going out under Banshee for what id imagine is the most viable route of entry / exit to the open space the former ride occupied, beyond Banshee personally I feel like with the space to available it could honestly be very fitting if a downward helix started the ride just as it does on The Beast ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- update for 09/10/2024 at 3:53pm: User on Instagram identified and posted additional changes to the "station building", seemingly new paint on the semi-temporary walls utilized by the former haunt attraction, curiously this new paint is in the same style of caution crosshatching as the crate and formerly SOB's original theme, as well as featuring a fairly sizeable outpost 5 logo painted near one of the three doorways ( photo attached ) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some additional thoughts: The crate states "ATTN. KI Haunt" which could be taken at face value for a teaser of a new Haunt maze potentially, but for me this raises some questions: Why would KI tease a new Haunt maze a full year ahead of said addition? Why does the crate reference RMC (while utilizing a font commonly used by RMC I might add), personally I would like to believe the PR association with utilizing any arrangement that leads to the abbreviation RMC at any theme park is known and wouldn't be placed on this crate lightly knowing the speculation it could. ( and is causing. ) ( lol ) Why does this now align very well with the, what were, seemingly abandoned thread of teasers from 2019? Hasn't the park in recent years (2019 onward?) reserved the haunt season for announcing / beginning the teasing of major removals/ additions ? (I.E.: Firehawk , Vortex , Orion) (obviously Adventure port was not in the plans and had little to no teasing, although it is weird that this could align as well, given that the park was handed a last minute budget for CapEx, and out of all the areas they could have changed, they chose to expand this idea that Adventure Express and the area is a mining / shipping port, which was always connected to the Outpost 5 lore, make additional references and teasers to outpost 5 and SOB within this addition, even reupping the theme references on the ride to the "shipping and cargo transportation route" which was referenced within the teaser from 2019? ( weirdly too coincidental IMO ) Any connection to the SOB / Outpost 5 tweets from RMC? Is this the T-REX??????!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? (Longshot but hey we know RMC was approached about the T-Rex by a park, nothing seemingly came of it, yet RMC has continued making references, tweets, and stringing along that its still a thing, seems curious that this timeline fits into the conundrum of unplanned additions / removals to KI (not to mention covid wrecking CapEx plans / timelines for all the parks) Edit 5:20 PM 09/10/2024: Seeing online as well that the structure may have been deemed unfit for use by the state at some point, could explain the electrical work previously seen being done? maybe power / utilities needed to be disconnected from the structure to comply with this? Maybe what pushed the park to begin making these changes, or look at the options they have with the space / structure? Furthermore, it appears as the "semi-temporary" walls, have internally been removed for the most part, seems like from the photos that the edge walls are basically all that's left up in there from the haunt, which I would imagine is probably for over image it might portray having the station fully empty, and maybe also to deter anyone who might go exploring from going all the way into the station (small case, but its been known to happen with some videos of people doing exactly this, able to be found on YouTube if you search hard enough (lol) Edit 6:30 PM 09/10/2024: Reference for full drawn crate seen in 2019 teaser is likely this: Crate which is found in the Adventure Express station post refurbishment and theming update. Weirdly IMO looking at this it seems to be straight up the exact same crate from the 2019 teaser, except, the hinge locks and straps keeping it closed have been IMO what appears to be themed as if something busted them open? destroying parts of the crate/hinges there? 6:40 PM: yeah 100% the blurry brown bar looking structure on the bottom right of the crate there is the same as the bar structure on the drawing of it. definitely made to look like something broke out. Edit 7:07 PM 09/10/2024: Further theming thought, maybe they really have just been been playing the incredibly long game with this one? I mean this teaser from 2019 references further incoming shipments, and again that they shouldn't be opened until the time is right, and since this there have been numerous occurrences of crates, boxes, barrels, etc. popping up throughout the park since this time. okay now this ones gonna get a little crazy, but In 2020 I capped a nice shot of this crate showing up next to the stairs in FOF, this year, just happening to be on a family visit, I noticed the crate was gone, and saw these weird pole structures beyond where the crate was, not sure if its always been there, I've never noticed it before, but if someone has any idea or if its related that'd be dope!