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So IAAPA is officially over. I have scoured literally every social media platform possible to find more/better footage of the BTS videos and concept art shown in the presentation, but if anyone took any they haven’t shown it yet (If anyone on this forum took it please share) but here’s all the new info/my predictions I have after the event. -Rather than being an abandoned theater that the guests just happen to stumble into, I interpret the vibe now as more as a theater for phantoms and wandering spirits (think the original retirement home idea for the haunted mansion at Disneyland) -The original soundtrack is rescored and will be present in this version. I interpret this as being Maestro’s new composition he discusses “Terror Toccata in D Minor” (unless of course he’s taking credit for bach’s work) -The animatronics on display went through 3 different spiels, and I believe this is the setup we’ll see in the queue. However, I think the particular Maestro animatronic they used will be located at the finale to the ride as opposed to the queue, as this figure has full legs and a “bowing” movement. The Larry animatronic could be in the queue to show off how to use the flashlight, or at the very beginning if they changed from the concept art for the opening scene they showed off. At this point, I think Maestro on the organ is a scene they’ll save for the physical ride (I think in the first room where the graveyard is now), but I really love the dynamic between Larry, Maestro, and the guests they showed off, so I’m fine with that. But I think there will be more that they say in the actual queue, I’d say more of a 15-40 minute loop. - We saw new bts videos showing off the Boiler Men, Arpeggio, the vulture from The Beastie, and Willard being wrapped up (by the ghost notes I assume) into the mummy. -They showed off the flashlight technology, which I’m very curious to see how it works. I wonder if the scoring system will be off of points or how many ghost notes you capture. -The park promises more updates throughout the Winter, which at this point I sorta hope they don’t show off too much more of the ride. Overall very impressed with the event, we got more than I expected. Thank you sally dark ride and Kings Island.

I have never understood the timing of these USA Today polls.

It would make more sense to run these polls while events are happening.

There are some clearer shots here on the Tower Topics FB group: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17T5g6WqKC/?

I already know I’m not going to last a day once the park actually releases merch, because I need phantom theater drink… I need $75 eBay reselling of the IAAPA poster which I’m not even sure is real because they’re selling like twenty of them… I need more footage because I’ve spent literal hours trying to find the footage they play on the side of the animatronics because I don’t know anyone going to IAAPA who can film it for me nor know if they even allow people to film that.

Why would I vote for an event that no one has been to yet?

Agreed. As much I enjoy going to Winterfest every year, who's to say what this year will be like? Sorta reminds me of tipping before receiving your food/drink orders.

RIP to the Mighty Bosco appearing heavily in this thing, he’s probably still trapped in his dressing room

Oddly enough, I think it may have been gone already:

I really hope they're taking down the Boo Blasters signage. I think for any other ride at any other major park it would've been taken down almost immediately. The castle modifications might be done closer to the start of the season so they could use the entire pathway while they work. I'd like to see them remove the turrets and add a marquee board, but I guess only time will tell what's in store. Did there used to be another turret cap on the right side of the castle (looking from this direction)? It'd be right below where the black pickup truck's door is. I could also just be seeing something on the Eiffel Tower's star wire, but that bulb does not appear to be oriented in that direction.

Double posting to share this video Orlando Experience took at IAAPA. You can see the screen on the left side as well as a less crowded view of the display at the end of the video.

Maestro looks perfect! A blend of cool, creepy ish, and cute! I love this so much! The presentation, the IAAPA exclusive lines from Maestro and No Legs Larry, the way they revealed them with the curtain and the people dressed as ushers.. Just absolutelu splendid!

Alright I have to say this, I love the new Maestro animatronic and it looks a lot more lively and more detailed than the original and I'm loving the realistic movements of the new Maestro animatronic, as much as I love the original Phantom Theater which I grew up riding... I think this is going to be a much better improvement!

We are going to try it at Kings Island probably during Winterfest or Opening day for Phantom Theater. Other than that, mom is really looking forward to drinking it.

When I did it in 2019, the messaging was definitely not clear and it was more like you would lose guaranteed access if you left to go into the park. I remember asking someone working what happened if I left and they basically said if the room gets full, I couldn't get back in.

You pay for you seat for the entire evening of the event. We have done it every year it's been offered. You are free to come and go as you please. You receive a wrist band when you check in. We are planning on doing it again. Sent from my SM-S936U using Tapatalk

The first time it was offered....didn't like it as much. I thought I'd rather be out in the park (at that point it was as if you left, you lost your spot and iirc you may have had to pay for admission again).

They might be taking down the Boo Blasters signage?? There’s been a storage container there for a few days but it would be for Winterfest so who knows… omg it’s the car how did you know??

Has anyone actually paid the ticket price for the International Restaurant NYE dinner celebration? If so, was it worth it?

Who’s got a few extra of these? Asking for a friend…

The car for the Outer Limits/Orion area is a really nice feature, the Ghost Hunting Van would work really well.

2 more group events have been added to the 2026 calendar, bringing the total 2026 event count to 4 so far. Music in the Park — April 24, May 1, May 8, & May 15, 2026 Physics, Science, and Math Days — April 24 & May 1, 8, 14, 15, & 22, 2026 Performance in the Park — Any Public Operating Day During the 2026 Season STEM Days — May 8 & 15, 2026 Unless something changes — which there is a chance that it might — we now know that the season will start by Friday, April 24th, 2026. I'm still holding out for the official release of the 2026 operating calendar and the Festival Events schedule, but as I said before, this is more than we knew about by this time last year.

I wonder if any melodies from Phantom Theater Encore will make it into the ride's soundtrack, even just as a musical Easter egg.

I am really intrigued with this footage and I'm scouring every IAAPA video to find it lol. Arpeggio looks really good, I'm kind of surprised that they weren't included in the display as well so I'm not greedy. I don't have the screenshots, but I saw that they're showing off the character posters during it as well, and a vulture and mummy animatronic were in it too. I wonder if the top character they're working on in the third image is Houdelini or another character.

Caught a few additional images from the Sally display at IAPPA from an interview with Tony Clark on Facebook: Hopefully that video is released at some point, I’d love to see it. Love that BTS stuff.

^That's more than retracking!

Glad to see more retracking on The Beast!

Ghost Blasters and Ghost Blasters II are the base models of the Boo Blasters on Boo Hill property from Sally Dark Rides. The ride that Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island received is specifically the Ghost Blasters II model, which was also installed at Elitch Gardens in 2008. The new animatronics, new screens, and new flashlights will definitely help to differentiate it from SDatHC and BBoBH. I don't know if Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare is an exclusive partnership between Kings Island/Six Flags and SDR or if other parks will eventually have the option to purchase it, but I think the most we'll see in the short term would be to replace the CW, CAR, and KD versions of Boo Blasters.

The app is showing Songs of the Nativity near the carousel pavilion, which might explain the rigging that appeared there near the end of Haunt:

It was so much fun watching the videos on YouTube people have put up, and the pictures here and on Facebook. Wonderful job!

IAAPA's Funworld has released this video with new information from Sally Dark Rides: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIPiFcuFBxs This video also has the full press conference: It was a great day. I was very moved being there for this.

I think another user confirmed that Richard Doyle is back for Maestro at least.

They also included this cool concept piece that I believe we saw in a previous YouTube video/interview:

Channel 12 has a story about some of the animatronics. As a side note, I cannot see the Opening 2026 sign and not think "Spongebob Squarepants" https://local12.com/news/entertainment/kings-island-unveils-new-animatronic-characters-upcoming-interactive-dark-ride-collab-collaboration-phantom-theater-opening-nightmare-iaapa-expo-orlando-mason-ohio-cincinnati-family-fun-entertainment-tech-rollercoaster Also Sally Darkrides also has a "Ghost Blasters" which is just BooBlasters but interestingly KI isn't listed as a park location. Please don't make PTON the same dang ride.

Yes I agree with what everyone has said! Looks very cool and am super excited to see all this come together in the spring! Here's the video on YouTube if you care to watch it there:

This was truly amazing! Honestly I would have to say the animatronics look a lot better now then before, this is getting me even more excited than before!

I missed the live stream but found this video on the revealing: A couple things that I noticed: 1) A remaster of the old soundtrack can be heard in the background 2) The Maestro animatronic doesn’t look as derpy as the leak made it out to be 3) Even though the Maestro has a different voice, it’s not a bat fit for the character 4) the flashlights used just to be props but I wouldn’t jump to conclusion 5) the people pulling off the curtain seemed to be wearing costumes from Phantom Theater Encore, so maybe a sign that more things from the show could return. (Like the artifacts in the lobby?)

Also just saying tonight I’ll share anymore thoughts because there’s additional footage of the other characters that I only caught a glimpse of, but they did mention giving out exclusive posters to attendees of the unveiling… so likeeee if any of them happen to see this and wanted to discard of it I’m taking donations.

Awesomeeee. I'm curious how the flashlights will work. I hear the OG soundtrack in the background at a slower pace!!!

Clip from Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRNcdTEgWVt/?igsh=MWw2NWs2bWIyeWo3dw== Absolutely loving it.

They’re perfect. The music. The voices. The posters. The dialog. Thank you Kings Island. This is better than I expected.

Caught a brief look on a Facebook live stream. Sound awful and it was from pretty far back, but the Maestro and Usher display from the TikTok link was unveiled.

I’m really loving how active the socials have been about this new dark ride. It appears that the park and the marketing teams realize how special this is and they are really pushing it which makes me happy. You can tell there are lots of passionate people bringing this project to life and they want to show us all the work and time going into this addition!

Me also in 8th grade drawing a 395 foot giga idea for KI named Savage 395 and telling every classmate and teacher about it. Ha!

Me in high school drawing and redrawing the leaked Diamondback layout on every notebook I had. Ha!

I can’t wait to totally focus on work and being an adult today, and not obsessively checking for IAPPA updates.

I'm predicting an animatronic sneak peek tomorrow either Maestro or No Legs Larry or possibly some new props nonetheless I'm excited!

https://content.yudu.com/web/69r/0Aiy7l/ParkworldOct25/html/index.html?page=52&origin=reader So one last little find that might get immediately disproven/proven during IAPPA starting tomorrow (which I’m so excited for I can’t sleep). I found another magazine regarding PTON, which mostly goes over the same details that’ve been released elsewhere, but one line stood out to me that I’m alternating over the meaning of. It says fans will recognize “the signature music themes” and I’m split between interpreting it as “the original soundtrack from the ride is returning” or “the ride still has the themes of music like the original did with organ and musician rooms” But hopefully a lot of details are announced tomorrow and I’m sorta hoping they play whatever music there, but at the very least we’re seeing some animatronics so I’m very happy.

I went back through that SDR interview video to see if I could get a better view of the concept art and came out with the following. There are 30 pictures on the grid with 6 obscured by a head, but I got what I could from when the camera moved around his head. I've put it behind a spoiler in case anyone doesn't want to see it. Does anyone else have ideas on what these could be? I can update the view and maybe even put them on my ride blueprints file if we figure out likely placements.