The reapparition of the Phantom
Reimagined dark ride will debut next year at Kings Island
At this time of year, I typically share parks’ announcements about all of the new roller coasters, attractions, and lands that they plan to open next season. But this isn’t a typical year; it’s been oddly quiet on the theme park front. Attendance and revenue numbers at Six Flags, which now represents both the former Cedar Fair parks as well as the legacy Six Flags parks, have been grim and must be making the cash-strapped company skittish. Guest counts at the 13 properties under United Parks & Resorts’ umbrella, including the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks, are showing modest signs of improvement, but revenue is down company-wide. Other than a record-breaking dive coaster announced for Six Flags Over Texas (the details of which have yet to be revealed), neither of the chains, which usually have plenty of exciting news to trumpet as the current season winds down, have much to promote. Even Disney and Universal, whose numbers look considerably better than their smaller counterparts, don’t have a heckuva lot to tout for 2026–save the new Universal Kids regional park coming to Texas and the highly anticipated Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster opening at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Still, there is some news to share. Kings Island recently announced that it would be replacing its Boo Blasters on Boo Hill dark ride with Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare. Set to open next spring, it will take inspiration from from the Ohio park’s original Phantom Theater attraction, which operated from 1992 to 2002.
According to the park, the storyline will focus on the reopening of the Phantom Theater and feature Maestro, the ghoulish organ player who provided the eerie music for the previous ride. It seems that a violent electrical storm will cause the pipe organ to go kablooey and release “ghost notes” that will cause mayhem throughout the theater. Guests armed with interactive flashlights will travel in “enchanted opera boxes” to round up the errant notes (and, presumably, score points) by training beams of light on them. In doing so, the organ can return to normal, and the opening night show can go on.
Other returning characters from the original attraction will include Houdelini, Lionel Burymore, Hilda Bovine, The Great Garbanzo, and No Legs Larry, the usher who will guide guests on the mission. The revamped ride will welcome Arpeggio, Maestro’s black cat, to the proceedings. Sally Dark Rides will create animatronic representations of the creepy crew, which will populate the 26 scenes that the company is designing.
Sally, an industry leader for dark rides, crafted Boo Blasters on Boo Hill for Kings Island as well as its predecessor, Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle. The company has developed some noteworthy E-Ticket attractions, including SpongeBob’s Crazy Carnival Ride at Circus Circus Las Vegas and The Land of Legends in Turkey as well as the Justice League: Battle for Metropolis rides at Six Flags parks. Sally has also created some surprisingly sophisticated and engaging dark rides for smaller parks such as the wonderful Haunted Hotel at Funtown USA in Maine.
When Kings Island opened in 1972, guests could ride Enchanted Voyage, a boat-based dark ride that featured characters from Hanna-Barbera cartoons including Yogi Bear and the Flintstones. In 1984, the ride morphed into Smurf’s Enchanted Voyage. It changed again into Phantom Theater in 1992 and replaced the boats with Omnimover ride vehicles.
“Families who have visited Kings Island will remember how special the original Phantom Theater was, and they’ve always wanted it to return,” says Tony Carovillano, park manager of Kings Island. “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.”
Did you get to experience any of the previous dark rides at Kings Island? Are you looking forward to the return of Maestro and Phantom Theater?
I was a young kid in the 70's and have vague memories of the Enchanted Voyage and the Smurfs. My young mind thought it was Kings Island's version of It's a Small World. I liked Phantom Theater and the Scooby-Doo version. I wasn't a big fan of this last version because it felt generic, but I still had fun riding it every time we visited. I am looking forward to the new version!