Kings Island has revealed its new family ride for 2026 - and it's a callback to the park's past.
Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare will open next year in the building currently occupied by Boo Blasters on Boo Hill. Sally Dark Rides is creating the all-new dark ride, which will feature 26 interactive scenes.
"Families who have visited Kings Island will remember how special the original Phantom Theater was, and they’ve always wanted it to return," Park Manager Tony Carovillano said. "While paying homage to the original ride, Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare’s modern and advanced features will help create new memories and stories for all who take their seat inside this amazing experience."
It all takes place on a dark and stormy night, of course. Lightning will unleash musical spirits from the Maestro’s pipe organ.
"With the help of head usher No Legs Larry, guests will take the role as a member of his team and ride in 'enchanted opera boxes,' utilizing special spellbound flashlights to capture and return the ghost notes to the organ so the performance can begin on time."
It's not the first time that an interactive dark ride has used flashlights as its triggering mechanism. (Let's see who can name another example of that, in the comments.) The Kings Island ride will feature multiple animatronic characters, including "Houdelini and The Great Garbanzo to Hilda Bovine and Lionel Burymore," Six Flags said. The ride also will introduce a new character, Arpeggio, Maestro’s furry feline friend.
The original Phantom Theater ran in the same building from 1992 to 2002. The building first housed Enchanted Voyage from 1972 to 1983 before that ride was taken over by The Smurfs in 1984.
To keep up to date with more travel and theme park news, please sign up for Theme Park Insider's weekly newsletter.
And that was quick!
I like the concept I think most amusement parks should have at least one creepy (yet family fun) offering. People love chills and it just makes sense.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
It sounds like this is a light refresh given the use of similar props that will clearly carryover from Boo Blasters (organ scene and others), which makes sense given that this is an omnimover attractions with limited flexibility without doing a complete renovation of the ride system. I can't say that I'm familiar with Phantom Theater, but the imagery here reminds me a bit of the Hanna Barbera creation, the Phantom Tollbooth - Kings Island used to have HB IPs like Kings Dominion.
And to answer Robert's question, Monsters Inc Ride and Go Seek at Tokyo Disneyland also uses flashlights to allow guests to interact with characters.