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Seeing this set piece in Episode 2 is really getting me excited!

Richard Doyle confirmed as maestro again, interesting to see where Rick bastrup will appear in the ride, here’s to April.

If I were to guess, I would say it’s Gus the electrician, basing off the we haven’t seen him in the animatronic list, but we’ve seen his body and switch.

I thought somewhere it was stated that the electrician's name would now be Rick, and that that would be the Rick Bastrup feature, no? Maybe in one of the text articles from October/November? Although looking back at the plans it does say Gus. Are Marty and Ralph the stage hands? So many characters are listed that I hadn't noticed before. According to the video, exterior work should be starting any day now. I wonder how much of it we might be able to see from the webcam. Very exciting times!

The 2025 season has officially come to a close for Kings Island and 2026 is starting off strong with a new Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare update episode from the park. Some notes about the upcoming season are as follows: 2026 will be the second full season under the new Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, with all-park add-ons now working across every North American park in the chain. Kings Island will open for the season on Saturday, April 18th, 2026. A Passholder Preview event may be held on 4/17, but I haven't seen anything official on that matter. Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare is set to debut this Spring as a revival of the classic Kings Island attraction that occupied the same building from 1992-2002. There is hope that Monster will reopen after being down for all of 2025 while a little further north Invertigo has received a new lift chain, hopefully to also reopen in 2026. The 1926 Grand Carousel will celebrate its 100th birthday this season. Similar carousels at Carowinds and Kings Dominion received informational plaques and an anniversary horse design for their 100th anniversary. No plans have been released about other park projects, but we may see survey markers and site clearing for a potential 2027 or 2028 attraction. I believe we might also see some upgrades elsewhere in the park like we have in previous years with the Festival/Carousel Pavilion and other retail location renovations. With new leadership at the helm of Six Flags and changes being made across the board, I will be very curious to see how this year turns out for Kings Island.

I stumbled upon this video and thought I'd share.

I'm on board with B&M doing a 4D coaster with the Wing Coaster model, unless it's like Rapterra...too shaky.

I wish there was more innovation like this in the coaster world these days, even if it were just modern manufacturers trying to improve greatly on models that mostly died with Arrow. Imagine if B&M could make a 4D coaster like X2 using the Wing coaster model as a base, or if Vekoma began to test a new version of the swinging suspended coaster like Iron Dragon or The Bat. This pipeline model would be particularly interesting to see improved because of how it might change further along in the design and testing processes.

So… help me out. Who’s this?

It would be hard to make the case to spend a sizeable amount of money to save FoF if it came to it. Closing the ride is always cheaper. I don't know what the condition of the track is, (metal fatigue gets all large steel coasters eventually if not retracked), or the launch system. Since these execs seem to think predominantly about cost and then marketability with experience third, then it really is in an even worse spot. FoF is only 2 years younger than Vortex was when it was shut down in 2019. I think the next coaster will launch since KI really doesn't have anything with the thrill of a modern launch and the writing is on the wall for FoF.

Here’s every animatronic (except one I guess, I’m not sure if they’re counting the gargoyle as one). I’m assuming some of the head sculpts will be reused for the main characters. I wonder if them being yellow within their model means they have facial movements (Which would align with Maestro and Larry well. The two oddballs with this theory are Hilda and the Boiler Men which I assume would talk but I after this new episode I also need to remember that it’s a homage to the original versus a remake. Also if Houdelini gets a voice that will be cool.) They all look fine here, and when judging the models with the physical figures we’ve seen I’m sure they’ll look fantastic!

New trains and an overhaul may also come with the addition of a test seat — a feature that I wish more coasters had overall. There is something to be said about just how much cheaper it is to upgrade the ride as it currently stands than it would be to replace it. A track repaint and some new/simple props and lights in the bowl would help to elevate the ride experience. Now, if the park could add a new flat ride and some real restrooms to Area 72 I think they'd have a much better mini-land. Kings Island fared the 2024 ride purge a lot better than other Six Flags parks. They removed Xtreme Skyflyer (alongside the one at Cedar Point) and have been working to repair Monster and Invertigo. Where other parks were forced to cut events and make mid-season changes to their pass benefits, the most Kings Island really dealt with was the addition of the Haunted Attractions Pass. I've got my own gripes about this company, but I can't really say that Kings Island was worse off in its 2025 season than in 2024. I don't know how different Six Flags will look under John Reilly, but there have already been some good changes compared to previous years. The websites and mobile app have been updated and consolidated, the 2026 operating calendars have been released, and some parks have even begun to release their 2026 festival lineups.

I'd say you are right but somehow we still have Invertigo even after the six flags cuts...so maybe there's hope

Whos counting down til midnight for Phantom Theater Episode 2? (Oh and also the new year...)