Kings Island has announced its new ride for 2017 - a GCI wooden coaster that should evoke comparisons with the park's classic, The Beast.
Custom designed and built for the topography of Kings Island by Great Coasters International, Mystic Timbers will be 3,265 feet in length, reach 109 feet in height and weave along steep cliffs, down ravines, cross over water and go through an extreme S-turn, among a forest of trees, at speeds up to 53 mph.
The ride will feature a total of 16 airtime hills, a mid-course tunnel and interact with parts of the Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad and White Water Canyon attractions.
Here's an animated POV of the ride, courtesy the park:
New ride will open in spring 2017.
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I have predictions for what is in the shed.
FreeFall track (like Verbolten)
OR
A heart line roll (not sure if that's possible but this is the park that brought you Son of Beast.
How very generous of you, Jim!
A Rao reunion sounds grand, but let's not stop with Kings Island! You promised Silver Dollar City for 2017, and I was thinking we could see some of your realm's other parks!
What's in the shed? The world's first on-ride full-body sensual massage!
Uh, let's talk about this. While I'd love to coaster vacation with you all, the part about Jim paying needs some discussion :*0
This looks like a solid GCI wood coaster. It doesn't look as good as some of their best work (such as Gold Striker or Thunderhead), but it should be a fun ride for Kings Island locals and a bit different from the various other wood coasters in the Mid-West.
Hmm...I've been thinking about potentially doing a week-long Midwest theme park trip with stops at Cedar Point, Dollywood, Holiday World, Kennywood, Kentucky Kingdom, and Kings Island in 2017. Perhaps I need to get in on this party. Then again, if there is any truth to the rumor of a Mean Streak RMC conversion in 2018 I'm definitely waiting for that before planning my next Midwest trip.
Cedar Point is making some big announcement on Monday. Maybe that will give us some idea what is going to happen next year.
If Mean Streak does get the RMC treatment for 2017 (or any treatment for that matter), we may have to add Cedar Point to our reunion/party/trip plan - again. Mr. Hummel can cover the costs of that part of the adventure. Thanks, AJ!
And, Mr. Hindley, if you drive out, Silver Dollar City is on the way! I'll meet you there, and Jim can wire us some cash to cover our costs! Thanks, Jim!
So it's settled! Our epic Midwestern multi-park road trip is set for summer of 2017, give or take Mean Streak. I'll chauffeur AJ out from Los Angeles, on his dime naturally. This helps us avoid Jim's glacial driving.
Thanks for the offer, Douglas, but I don't think my dime will cover the cost of a whole road trip. However, Silver Dollar City (and Worlds of Fun...perhaps Mr. Rao can cover that as he's local) are parks I still need to get to, so it would be tempting.
I'll also mention that if another park adds something more exciting than Mystic Timbers, I'll likely try to do a different trip in 2017. Of course, you're all invited to join whatever I end up doing (though if I'm buying we'll be doing 6-8 to a room due to budget constraints...you have been warned). We'll see what happens during the next couple months as we're now in announcement season.
Looks like I know what I'll be doing next summer. I just hope that I can get Anton (my son) to get his driver's license by then.
That looks awesome!
With a little help from Jim "Daddy Warbucks" Koehl, I'll definitely be able to cover some of the expense of a Worlds of Fun visit, AJ! Just make sure you are ready to supply the whole three hours you'll need for a thorough tour of my magnificent home park!
I'm honestly a bit surprised that GCI is all of a sudden doing a lot of work (1 installation this year and 3 due for next year after a 3 year hiatus). RMC was the brand du-jour for nearly 5 years, including a reconfiguration of a former GCI creation (Roar to The Joker at SFDK), but now all of a sudden GCI is making a comeback. Both InvadR and Mystic Timbers look like solid additions to US parks, and staying away from the extreme heights, speeds, and inversions that are infiltrating wooden coaster designs, may help to set them apart and make them far more accessible.
Since we have Cedar Fair Platinum passes, a trip to Kings Island (and Cedar Point) is almost a certainty every year, but we'll probably be making our trip in early August next season.
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Mystic Timbers looks great - can't wait! Perhaps another Rao -> Koehl -> Hindley Kings Island reunion is on tap for 2017! Anyone else care to join in the festivities? Jim's buying!
Oh, and just what exactly is in the shed????
Ugh! Never mind! I don't wanna know until I ride!