The Bat Flies Again at Kings Island

 The Bat Flies Again at Kings Island.

 Okay so perhaps it's not the insanity of the original "Bat" which barely flew for two years. However, using the lore of that ride they've managed to breath some new life into an old park favorite.

 When Kings Island decided to re-theme the old suspended coaster "Flight Deck" we were all happy, this classic style coaster needed some love to boost it back into popularity with riders. Now it fits in well with it's brand new neighbor "Banshee" which just opened to the public on Friday. 

 Perhaps it isn't a new ride but it's classic and people often forget that classics need love also. With a new coat of paint and a spooky new theme, Bat will hopefully fly into your hearts again.

 It may not be as thrilling as it's new neighbor but there is something special about this ride none-the-less. Give it a go, give it ten goes. Trust me, this hidden gem is worth your time. Much like it's name-sake it's a hidden gem, seek it out and your in for a treat.

Kings Island- New 2014 Map Preview

Kings Island Releases New 2014 Map Preview.

 Ooo! Kings Island has just released a shiny new version of their map, just in time for the 2014 season and they've leaked it on Twitter!

 Yes, it may look the same but new is always been considering that it's got the parks newest roller coaster!

  Banshee is on the map as well as another goodie, The Bat. The new re-theme of "Flight Desk" has been given it's new colors on this seasons map. Overall, it's exciting simply because opening day is sneaking up quickly. Only have to make it till April 18th Everyone!

King's Island: The Bat - The Car

 

King's Island: The Bat

Hello All!!!

I'm so sorry that I'm a little behind in this update but life happens especially with ISI leaving our home turf tomorrow and heading out to SoCal for the week!!

So I have found a photo of what the cars will look when the park opens for business in April.

And....

3....

2....

1.....

BOOM BABY!

I like the orange myself.  I bet it'll reflect nicely with the sunlight and everything is going to look gorgeous!!!

And just for fun and games (and I can't remember if I posted it before, haha) here is the original commercial for The Bat from 1981.  This is a just a bit of fun plus it's interesting to note that the original ride opened on April 26 and the new ride will open on April 18.  They are SO close to the same opening date. 

Now I don't want everyone to worry that any new information will be forgotten while the crew is in CA.  We will be keeping up with all of our in progress stories.

So as always: any comments made are to be polite and without malice.  If you're nice to us then we'll be nice to you.

You can find us on Google+, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook.

*Picture was found on KI's Facebook page and the video was on YouTube

King's Island: The Bat - Repainting

 

Hello all!!!

King's Island is super busy with construction on Banshee and redoing The Bat all in time for opening day this year.  We have found some updated pictures for everyone to enjoy.

For everyone who may have forgotten: The Bat is being recreated out of Flight Deck and so far it looks really neat.  

Here is a photo of Flight Deck cars being repainted.  I'm going to guess that they're going with the orange and gray color scheme like the track photos, but I haven't seen any finished pictures yet.

 

Here are two photos of the track being repainted.  I am really happy to see that King's Island is revitalizing Flight Deck rather then knock it down to build something else. I can't wait to see this finalized in April and hope to see more pictures soon.

As always: any comments made are to be polite and without malice.  If you're nice to us then we'll be nice to you.

You can find us on Google+, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook.

*Pictures were found on KI's Facebook page.

Kings Island- The Bat Update

Image from Kings Island's Facebook Page

 The Bat- Repainting Keeps Going

 I've got to admit, this ride hasn't looked better for a long time.

 The new re-theme of 'Flight Deck' into the classic attraction 'The Bat' at Kings Island is making some amazing progress. No longer will it blend in with the back of the park and go unnoticed by many.

 The new Orange and Charcoal paint job is going to make this ride stand out once again. I also have to admit, I really hope the coaster cars will get a nice new update with some new fiberglass work also. Plus some nice new queue line goodies, really drive this thing home completely!

 I'm really beginning to wonder if Kings Island is planning to fully re-theme this area of their amusement park into a full 'land' type of area. With great themes like 'The Bat' and 'Banshee' happening, I hope it goes beyond the rides and extends to the park. It'd be nice to see something with a slightly darker theme lurking around!

Kings Island- The Bat Overhaul

 Despite Winter Weather, Kings Island Keeps Moving!

 The Overhaul of Flight Deck and it's complete change over to "The Bat" is making good progress. Kings Island has posted up this image to their Twitter Account. Showing that the paint is going down for the big conversion.

  The new Orange and Black theme is a great improvement over the previous "Steel Gray" incarnation of the previous "Top Gun" coaster which was renamed "Flight Deck" after Cedar Fair bought the park from Paramount.  It's still unknown if the ride cars will receive a full new theme to go along with this change over.

 Either way, It's AWESOME to see The Bat Return in some shape!

The Bat Flies Again at Kings Island

 Okay, maybe this isn't the original "Bat" roller coaster which was a very early prototype of the 'suspended-swinging' coaster.
 However, it will breath new life into a fan favorite attraction- Flight Deck. 

 On this day, 33 years ago in 1980 the original "Bat" opened to the public. As you can see, it was a pretty amazing ride but being a 'new style' it was plagued with problems. The track wasn't angled enough and the mechanics that allowed the car to 'swing' wore out very quickly because of this. If you check out the video, you can see it was a wild ride! The Bat flew it's last run in 1983 when it was demolished.. currently Vortex sits in it's place, reusing the original ride building. If you look around carefully, you can still spot peices that 'The Bat' left behind in that area.

Flight Desk, Summer 2013

 Finally dumping the steel gray look and the old left-overs from the paramount days, Kings Island is completely re-themeing Flight Desk with a new 'Orange, Two tones of Steel Gray and Black" color scheme and very likely, re-themed ride trains!

 Not only does "The Bat" fit in with the new "dark" theme which the park seems to have going, it's going to mesh beautifully with it's new big sister, Banshee. 



  This is a perfect answer for an excellent coaster. Rather then seeing an already rare type of coaster disappear, the park is giving it a much needed infusion of life.  Yes, it's the same ride but it's also paying homage to it's ancestor and I can't think of a ride that deserves more love then Flight Deck!

 ...Okay and 'The Bat' had about the coolest logo around, both new and old!

Photo Review: Canada's Wonderland

Canada's Wonderland

Our Trip in Photos

 In the Park Review I posted several of the picture which work with attractions we rode and talked about. However, we always take a complete ton of pictures and rarely do I have a reason to show them all off. Since we found Canada's Wonderland such an amazing park for the reasons listed in the review, I felt that everyone should be able to see the other pictures which show exactly what I was speaking of.

Read the FULL Park Review of Canada's Wonderland

Now, onto the pictures!

WARNING: VERY PHOTO HEAVY

I've made the photos small so they will load quicker, feel free to click on them to get bigger images to enjoy for yourself!

The Mountain at Canada's Wonderland:

Wild Beast:

Dragon Fire:

The Bat:

Time Warp:

Mighty Canadian Minebuster:

Skyrider:

Ghoster Coaster:

Flight Deck:

Drop Tower:

Riptide: I thought this was cool as I've never seen a top spin designed with two separate swinging cars.

Leviathan: 

Random Shots Through the Park:

Random Dork Sightings:

It's my hope you've enjoyed these photos and can see what a beautiful park Canada's Wonderland is and that in the future you'll visit!