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We'll be going to Kings Island this weekend, so I'll finally be able to ride it and make a review! (And fingers crossed that I'll be able to buy a PT:ON hat too! 🤞)

Especially given numerous teasers used tha og soundsoundtack. If it is in the ride.. it's way too quiet. Esp the lull before the first ghost notes. There's a few scenes the OG music would be nice to hear cause its kinda dead in there, sound wise. Rode opening weekend & last sunday & I still havent smelt or felt any hot air. Odd choice when the boiler room scene is now a 2-tier moment. Cut the smell.. how 'bout some heat on the first one!? Did you ever have actual heat? I was there opening weekend and didnt feel it personally

The second boiler has a blast of cold air that’s synced to the audio. The first boiler is meant to have ambient heating throughout the whole room, but I haven’t noticed it since the second week. Since the opening weekend, the 2nd Maestro had a weird compression/distortion to the audio, so I imagine the speakers are being replaced.

1. Some things of note yesterday is I believe the volume in the queue is louder than opening day but maybe my imagination. 2. I smelled roses at the end of the ride which was nice 3. Maestro number 2 on the organ towards the ends lips were moving but no audio was heard. 4. I had a hard time scoring so I guess the scoring has been adjusted because on opening day it was easy to get the max 5. I heard some dialogue that I don’t remember on opening day so maybe that’s new 6. heat blast from the furnace wasn’t working nor the smell 7. Noticed that they load every two cars but then randomly a third car In the middle by itself and when riding in that car most of the scenes don’t trigger properly 8. Loading was much faster than opening day though.

I am hardly in there because I am out riding coasters, but my wife doesnt like coasters and it is a perfect spot for her to sit and read until I have had my fill of coasters and we go ride other rides and watch shows. That is why it may not be valuable to you but valuable to others. But they do need to stop taking things away from us, those kiddy size chips is a slap in the face.

Something I've noticed about the soundtrack is that it's now either Terror Toccata (at least I think that's what they're implying when they play Toccata & Fugue in D Minor) or the different arrangement of the original Phantom Theater theme. Both are nice, but I really want to hear the original during the ride in addition to/instead of the new arrangement. Hoping to get another ride in tomorrow if I'm able to make it out to the park!

Great design. The only thing I would change is: leave the banners on the trusses. I think it adds to the ambience and makes IS look more "royal". For the lamps, the flowers should be the focal point.

Today is the first time I've opened this thread. I avoided spoilers and POVs from media day. I visited the park for the first time this year, yesterday. I am blown away in all honesty. Hit the ride for Early Entry and the park wasn't too packed, so the wait was not too bad. The only downfall of the queue was the audio...it wasn't loud enough (even with my hearing aids), or people were talking too loud. Seeing it themed and seeing the Maestro up top again was a welcome sight. I loved that the screens in the queue also were not FUNtv. I will admit, I did miss the busts in the windows just before boarding. The audio for the spirits could have been a little bit louder as well. I decided for my first ride, I wanted to do it without trying to score any points and just look at it. It was odd seeing the 2 opera boxes and then a gap, but honestly glad they did that. I loved how immersive everything was from the moment we saw No Legs Larry until the end. I'll skip the play by play. I'd have to say my favorite animatronic was the first time we see Hilda and her hair raised. Some of the scenes did feel a bit far away, so the details were hard to see (being a theater person, I would have loved to look at the tiny details). I rode it again a few hours later and did the game. The flashlights were pretty cool and I enjoyed that they would vibrate when you hit the ghost notes. I enjoyed it enough, that at the end of the night, I did 4 consecutive rides through Fast Lane. Again, was honestly blown away. Great addition for the park!

Promise you I’m still a negative grump. Ha!

I think if there's any conspiracy theory here, it's that Coastermania was planned, then the park was told to scrap it because it cost too much. Then when they got tons of pushback and very few ticket sales for Morning Rush someone at corporate said "Fine." and told the park to bring part of it back. My question with the theory of MR being a diversion is why would the park be willing to take the risk of so much bad publicity? The only new thing for 2026 was a restroom renovation and a new event, staffing is apparently nowhere near where it should be, and guest satisfaction is getting lower and lower. Hopefully this new Coasterstock goes well!

I liked the concept for the Morning Rush event. The fail for Cedar Point was labeling it as a replacement for CoasterMania, which then draws the comparison. Offering significantly less, charging more invited the backlash they received. If they had just rolled it out as an all-new event with no reference to CoasterMania, it would have been much better received. The concept was good. How it was introduced was not.

I really would like to see the area outside the ride get some sort of soundtrack. I was thinking something similar of the soundtrack heard in this video playing outside of Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle at 2:04-2:15. I think the pathway that goes from I-street to the Phantom Theater entrance as well as down by the Great Pumpkin Coaster needs to have some sort of eerie/spooky soundtrack playing to build up anticipation. You can then move the Planet Snoopy soundtrack to the area by the Whirlybird entrance. I also wouldn't mind seeing the Great Pumpkin Coaster rethemed to match Phantom Theater. Ghoster Coaster maybe? Then turn the Peanuts Showplace into a Phantom Theater meet and greet or an actual Phantom Theater themed theater. Then move the Peanuts meet and greet to Beagle Scout Acres.

So, I rode Phantom Theater its second weekend, and it's taken me a bit to process exactly what I think. The ride storyline? Wonderful. It reimagines the original concept of the ride (which, not to be a hater, but I think it wasn't anything to write home about) into something that has a story and a progression and is engaging. The new "guns?" Fantastic. It's such an elevation of the shooter dark ride concept to have you aim at projections instead of specific targets. They can put a target anywhere, make them move, make them disappear when shot--it's an objective improvement over the 20 year-old standard we had from 2003 to 2025. It makes the whole experience much more dynamic. The animatronics? Incredibly well-done. I LOVE the queue. The way the cars have been reconfigured to move in close groups of 1-2 cars (with plenty of space between groups) instead of consistently placing them with one empty space between? SO smart. It allows scenes to reset between groups, which was something the shooter dark rides in that building severely lacked. Giving the scenes the chance to refresh makes the experience feel a lot more intentional, rather than seeing (for example) Boocifer finish his line for the car ahead, reset, and then repeat himself, which was basically always my experience on Boo Blasters and it reminds you that you're on a dark ride instead of on an adventure. However. I feel like Kings Island, across every owner since at least 1991, has consistently bitten off more than it could chew (or, to be plain, upkeep) when it comes to theming. I fear Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare may become one of the more egregious examples of this, perhaps even by the end of the season. Adventure Express, the original Phantom Theater, Flight of Fear, Tomb Raider: The Ride, Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle, Queen City Stunt Coaster, Boo Blasters on Boo Hill, and Mystic Timbers have all opened with theming that none of the owners across those eras could or would put the upkeep budget or staffing into consistently. Boo Blasters infamously had a fog wall effect that lasted maybe a month or two after opening, disappeared, and never came back. The best that's happened (almost all within the last 5 or so years, mind you) is that some of those rides got their theming repaired and refurbished as a capital investment, meaning they became advertised additions instead of, y'know, part of the maintenance budget so the park could consistently offer top-form attractions. Without knowing details, Phantom Theater seems like the most high-tech ride to hit the park since at least 2002, possibly ever. And like, elsewhere in the park... Adventure Express's final lift is basically back where it was pre-refurb. None of Mystic Timbers' lights sway, the Coke machine doesn't move, and more. It's just the tape deck, the lights that may or may not flicker, and the projectors that may or may not properly align audio and video and train location to show you whichever monster. QCSC probably won't use the helicopter at all. Even on my Phantom ride, cracks were showing. One scene, a screen didn't play as our car passed. Another scene, the appearance/disappearance of notes was out of sync with our car. They disappeared as we passed. Neither of those ruined the experience, by any means--I'm not disillusioned with the ride because that happened. I had a great time. But I'd be lying if I said that from an upkeep standpoint, that didn't feel the slightest bit ominous. It was weekend two. I'm supposed to believe that the management who can't keep Adventure Express's final lift fully lit will keep several projectors properly calibrated with the lights from dozens of flashlights and timed with the car groups for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 6 months straight this year? I'm having a very hard time believing opening day 2027 Phantom Theater will feel like the same ride as 2026 Phantom Theater, in an unfortunate way. And it's annoying, because this is a darn good ride that millions of people should be able to experience as it was meant to be experienced. I would really, really like to be wrong. It does make me wonder what the strategy is with new rides. Like, does the ride have to serve a certain ROI the first year to be considered a success, and then it just has to be enough of a semblance of itself to not actively drag down the average guest's day while not demanding too much money? Tangentially related, I've got a hunch we'll see PT replace more of the Boo Blasters chainwide. Much like with Justice League: Battle for Metropolis, I wonder if the cost of developing the ride will be offset by copying and pasting it elsewhere. It certainly wasn't a cheaply-developed ride, and I wouldn't be mad to see it show up at some of the other parks.

I agree. Guests are gross. People do things at the park that they would NEVER do anywhere else. That said, there's no discipline in keeping areas clean by employees either. I mean, does Skyline know one of their locations has a serving area that looks like this? I agree with Don; Kings Island was a near-benchmark of cleanliness for YEARS; one season changed that perception.

That's not acceptable and the fact employees in uniform were around just yapping and not doing anything about it makes it worse! Those employees need to be disciplined! When I worked there ride ops weren't allowed to leave at the end of the night until the entire perimeter of our ride area was clear of any trash or debris. And the area supervisors would hold cleaning audits after park close and if they found just one little candy wrapper, your ride crew failed! Cleanliness was one of the major cornerstones when I worked there and I hope it still is! I think the park needs to have this brought to their attention as I know upper management does not tolerate stuff like this. I know someone last year posted a massive rant on a facebook group of Festhaus being filthy and not long after they brought people over to clean it. We know the park reads the facebook groups. Also I think guests need to take a part in this too. When you're done eating, clean up after yourselves and throw your trash away!

If I were to do a piece on the 10 dirtiest parks in the amusement and theme park industry, Kings Island makes the list. It’s sad because for decades it was among the top 10 cleanest parks.

Could have been delayed to the mass snow storm across the state.

I've been driving up periodically to see if I can still see the spires of the old castle that was BBOBH, can confirm as of last weekend they still exist. My issue with the current situation is that I remember distinctly that they said work on the exterior would commence after the new year, which it is well into. That being said, we have like what practically 2 months from Opening Day? Plenty of time for the park to get everything done and get some testing in. As, with this attraction it is all indoors thus the progress seen from outside the park is slim to none. I remain cautiously optimistic that it opens on Opening Day, previews even.

I agree, it being the 2020s VS the 1990s, technology is a lot more advanced especially with the screens and the laser guns. I am confident Kings Island will keep PT:ON better maintained than Boo Blasters On Boo Hill.

It would be interesting to know. Obviously the original animatronics were probably more simplistic and the special effects didn't include screens or laser guns. So my guess is less programming but they could have run into some interesting problems just from the standpoint that it was a new ride and pretty good for its time

It is amazing on how complex these rides are, even if they appear at times to be just simple on the surface. They are so incredibly complex. Thanks @DispatchMaster for a description of how much actually goes into it. I do theater work and most would think lighting is just as simple as plugging in the lights...but it's so much more than that.

Good catch, those are definitely the opera boxes. They definitely go through inside the maintenance area behind the show building but I’m not sure what would be easiest to do. I wonder if they have had to remove and reassemble the ride cars every off-season like they do for the other rides, or if they’re allowed to stay because of the ride system. Either way I love seeing visual construction progress!

That would be a great little "mini land" that's part of International Street IMO. I'd also include Charlie Brown's Wind-Up (either keep it or move the ride and replace it). Keep the theater and renovate it to hold more guests. There's enough gift shops nearby, but some theming upgrades could go a long way! Could these be 9-10 of the enchanted opera box doom buggies sitting in front of the Bandstand? I see a hint of red on one of them and their shape fits overall. The only question I have is why they're not covered and/or which route they plan to take them into the building (whether to go around the French Corner or all the way down and around Sweet Spot).

Who says they're not planning to do that? (They're probably not, but I'd love if this would happen eventually if the ride is a hit)

I felt like the park could’ve taken this opportunity to “rebrand” the highlighted area of the park strictly to Phantom Theater. Rename Great Pumpkin into “Ghoster Coaster” or something that ties into the PT IP. For the Enchanted Theater, you could have a smaller PT show, live character meet and greets, or transform the inside all together into maybe a PT gift shop.

This is the worst time for an anticipated ride opening especially one as exciting as phantom theater returning, the lull period. I’m ready for it to be here, I’m not patient 😂!

It shows how fast time goes... yeah it has been over a month since we've seen another Curtain Call video. I'd imagine we'll get another one sometime this month. Maybe even soon?

The two videos would be the video and shorts version of the same episode. I wouldn’t discount them not working on more episodes documenting the construction process, but I’d be worried personally of them spoiling too much if they did that.

If there's two hidden videos and maybe one episode left, then what would the second hidden video be?

They usually post a short and a video for each Curtain Call episode. The YouTube playlist for Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare only shows 2 hidden videos left so my guess is only one more episode.

“Got anymore of those Curtain Call episodes?”

How often have the first three episodes of Curtain Call come by? Was it about every two weeks or so? Some of them seem to have been planned out since IAAPA, so it's not entirely like they're all done in the moment. I'd love to see another one come within the next week!

I'm not sure if we are going opening day or not but if not April we are going in May, and I am going to avoid all ride POV spoilers if I can, I want to be fully surprised when I see the ride. But of course if Kings Island shows teasers of the que or what the outiside looks like, of course I'm going to take a peek. 😉

I'm shocked that the auto collision shop that has the ride cars right now hasn't put up a wall to block the view of them from the street since it seems folks keep trespassing to see them. Here's to hoping that we'll see the ride ready for the park's Opening Day. That source from Reddit could be right on some things, but I'm still hung up on the idea that it would take two straight months of work to program the whole ride. Would they not be working all week (40 hours) every week to get it ready starting in March? If it was just Six Flags with their contractors then I might understand better, but surely it'd be Sally Dark Rides employees heading the programming efforts, right? I guess what I'm really wanting is to know how fast their other recent dark rides have taken to program — not that it's public information anyways.

The Reddit source claims programming starts the first week of March and will take to months (installation’s definitely still going to be happening awhile into February regardless of how long it takes to program. My understanding is the animatronics and ride cars aren’t at the park yet, but don’t quote me on that.) If taken literally that would place the ride’s completion date at the start of May, but since the park did say it opens in April I’m now leaning towards it opening with the park (if nothing has changed it’s essentially a difference of a week, assuming there’s not a charity thing that would happen before passholder previews.) I’m also optimistic because the park said since the beginning that PT’s set to open in the spring, and Camp Snoopy/Adventure Port were always advertised as opening in Late Spring/the Summer.

Thinking about the timeline for opening. If that info from Reddit is true and programming starts next week (and takes two months), wouldn’t that lineup pretty closely to opening with the park? Unless my timing and understanding are off.

This press release they handed out at IAAPA sets the opening in April.

Considering I moved to Seattle, I will not be planning a visit to the park until after July 4th just to be safe haha! Not flying halfway across the country for opening day only for them to not have Phantom ready

I think the word you were looking for is switchbacks (or cattle pens). That space could use a good renovation to fit more seats in it anyways. I do fully believe that it'd be best to use that space for any extended queue. The A/C situation would still worry me — we've seen how the Festhaus gets with its doors sometimes always open — so I'd love to see some giant fans in there if it comes to be true. The Reddit source might be right on some of the points. Now that you've mentioned more about it, I could understand how the connection of all of the effects could take that long. If the park decides to do some technical rehearsal soft openings then they might want to look at how Universal and Disney have handled theirs. I personally hope they don't have any because I don't want to choose between soft opening and real opening, but let's be real I think I'd go for whatever is available. Technical rehearsals would also help to sort out any potential issues with the flashlights, animatronics, and screens.

Last season they didn’t have any shows inside the theater and used it as a meet and greet space that kept the doors opened. Depending on how many turnstiles they’d be able to fit I’d imagine it’d be easy enough to fit most of the crowds back there considering the reused ride system has consistent loading times and any returning ride operators have experience with it. For opening weekend it could potentially be an issue of deciding whether they want to create a within the Great Pumpkin Coaster entrance, or the exit to PT. I’m now questioning the source’s belief that it won’t be ready by opening day, but it also depends on how much integrity the park wants to put into a first impression. If show programming starts the first week of March and takes 2 months, April 18 is in sorta in the middle where if programming takes faster than expected it could be ready, or they could choose to open it with some effects potentially not working and making any adjustments within the weekdays before they begin daily OPs. It could maybe be a case where they do passholder previews until a few weekends into the season, but that would probably only make more people upset than if their flashlights weren’t working properly.

I'd hate to lose that indoor theater space to an extended queue, but it would also mean more air conditioned and shaded temporary queue space. Although, if it does get turned into extended queue the doors would probably stay open and ruin the effectiveness of the A/C system. Does it really take 2 months to program a dark ride of this size? I haven't seen anything from similar projects, but that feels like a long time.

Man I really hope it’s ready by opening day since it will be my first time back in the park in 5 years. Going specifically in hopes that it is open on time.

I think they should at least set up a temporary overflow queue in the peanuts showplace just in case for opening weekend crowds.

It’s been a long time. Like, a loooong time. But I vaguely remember the overflow line on opening day for SDatHC being directed toward the left side of the building by the face painting booth/Sweet Spot. Does that mean anything for PT:ON? Nope.