'Return of the Bat'

After reading about the original Bat and that PKI doesn't have a B&M creation & many of you have wished for a B&M Inverted, what do you think of PKI building one & naming it 'Return of the Bat'?

BTW, how come PKI & PKD don't have any Beemers?

PKI-Beast, Top Gun, Son of Beast, Drop Zone, Face/Off, Vortex, Flight of Fear

PKD-Hypersonic: XLC, Volcano: TBC, Flight of Fear, Anaconda, Rebel Yell, Grizzly, Avalanche

I see your point, but think about it: We're talking about two parks with some of the most diverse selections of roller coasters out there, many of which are one-of-a-kind. I wouldn't complain if they put a B&M into either park, but I don't think anyone has a right to complain right now, either. Even without B&M, these parks provide an amazing selection that is varied and weighed--you can find everything from the tame to the extreme. What's wrong with what they have?
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Yet may I, by no means, my wearied mind
Draw from the deer, but as she fleeth afore,
Fainting I follow. I leave off therefore,
Since in a net I seek to hold the wind. --Sir Thomas Wyatt

I ws thinking that instead of an invert, they could get a new B&M flyer. That would definitely attract some crowds.

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Mayday - Memorial Day Weekend - Nonpoint, Nickelback, Oleander, Staind
Ozzfest - June 8 - Drowning Pool, Papa Roach, Linkin Park, Disturbed, Black Sabbath
Awake Tour- June 15 - Darwin's Waiting Room, Puddle of Mudd, Deftones, Godsmack

I was thinking about this same idea for a few years now. I had the pleasure of riding The Bat several times and I've always wanted some type of recreation of it to come alive at PKI. A B&M Flyer or maybe an inverted Setpoint Seizmic would be worthy of the name.

I doubt we will see this considering that every person that lives withing 2 hours of PKI thinks that people died on the thing. 
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Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.

Before either of these parks get new coasters, they seriously need to replace all of the flat rides and family type attractions that have been removed over the year with nothing to fill their space.  Face it, at KI and KD, if you don't want to ride coasters all day, or go to the waterpark that leaves you with kiddie rides.   The coasters they have are diverse, but with the exception of Beast, SoB and Flight of Fear, there is nothing else outstanding.

I grew up believing that people had died on it-I'm not sure how this urban legend was perpetrated, but it's widely believed in Ohio.

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Mark W. Baruth said:
I grew up believing that people had died on it-I'm not sure how this urban legend was perpetrated, but it's widely believed in Ohio.

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Dude, its widley believed EVERYWHERE, trust me.  People in kentucky that have never even been to PKI think that people died on the bat.

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Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.

I could not disagree with you more Super 7.  I think there is a huge amount of things that are outstanding at PKI.  I'll list some of my favs:

- The gorgeous Grand Carousel with the original functioning band organ.

- A wonderful dark ride.  Although in need of some "cleaning", it's theming far surpasses any other I have seen at a seasonal park.

- The best drop tower in existance.

- A breathtaking main entrance.

- A very well themed and re-habbed flume ride.

- The best kids themed section in the seasonal park business.

- A beautiful, fully operational train ride.

- The ONLY park to offer helicopter tours.

- A wonderfully large and immaculately mantained Antique Car ride.

- The best flyers in existance, which the park allows riders to "snap."

As far as coasters go...

- The legend that is the Beast.  Like it or not, it is 90% of PKI mystique.

- A coaster that went from the bottom of everyone's list, to become one of the best steel looping coasters in the business. (FOF)

- The best Runaway Mine Ride in the business (IMO.)

- A wonderful racing coaster, chock full of airtime, that was the first to go "backwards."

- The first successful stand up looping coaster, which still remains my favorite out of the 5 or so I have ridden.

- The ONLY looping wooden coaster in existance.  Short of Wildfire, this is the best inversion I have experinced.

- A vitrual showcase, and best of the bunch IMO, of Arrow multiplooping elements, with extreme air on the drop.(Vortex)

- A John Allen junior woodie.

- Not one, but two suspendeds.

- Not one, but two inverts.

Above all I think the attention to guest experience and satisfaction is incredible.  They have a wonderfully fascinating staff, all of which love the park as if it were a family member.  Also the park far surpasses any other in the sheer fact that they are willing to try anything.  They will spend millions on something never done before.  And they listen...when guests don't like something, they do something about it...FOF.

Can you tell I'm a big fan? :-)

In regards to the original post.  No, I doubt PKI will ever do anything reminiscent of or themed to "The Bat."  The Bat is one of those things that is a part of history.  Everyone you talk to about it has a very vivid memory of the ride.  And any attempt at capitolizing off of those memories would be in vain.  They already tried it with SOB.  Didn't work.

Shaggy

Thank god you came over here shaggy.  I was thinking about going back to URC just to read your posts, now that your here i don't need to bother. 
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Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.

The rumor was about The Bat, but it's not true...nobody died. It just had severe structural problems due to the unbanked track.

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CPgenius said:
The rumor was about The Bat, but it's not true...nobody died. It just had severe structural problems due to the unbanked track.

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But the public thinks its true, and that's what matters.
I can see the ads now.  "Come ride The Return of the Bat even though everybody thinks that somebody died on the origianal back in the early 80's!"

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Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.

Or better yet "Come ride the New Bat, we promise it will work this time!"

Ravenguy98, 

I still am very much present on URC too.  Actually I am having a bit of trouble judging this board.  I have a habit of typing long, drawn-out, detailed respnses and posts.  I am not sure if that is Kosher (sp??) on this board or not.  iIguess I just don't want to come off as being full of hot air.

Truthfully, I love certain subjects like PKI and marketing etc and get on a roll and type and type and type.  If it annoys folks here, let me know.

Shaggy ;-)

PKI antique cars.....well maintained?  Half of it has been closed for years.......resulting in longer wait for those who ride it.  Just an example of cutting customer quality to make a few dollars on the bottom line.

Carrousel, antique cars, train ride (which is OUT of Kings Dominion), dark ride, thats a whopping list of 4 rides that the entire family can ride together (kids to granparents). 

Helicoptor tours??? Thats a high price UPCHARGE attraction. 

The mine train is the roughest arrow mine train we have ridden and the ending leaves a lot to be desired..  Same for the stand up coaster, rough and short.  Out of the 10 trips we made to KI this year (last and only time we will buy a season pass as we became bored with it very quickly), the racer only raced ONCE!  Low quality operations in that case.  Vekoma inverteds, low quality rides compared to the high quality b and m to the north.

This park has removed 20 plus rides over it's history, most without a equivalent replacement.  Most of these were gentler attractions a family could ride together.  They have also discontinue a number of their shows compared to the 80's.

bayern kurve, rotor, ferris wheel, zodiac, flight trainer, halley's comet, cuddle up, tumble bug, rub-a-dub, turnpike, flying dutchman, spinnen kegger, winnie witch cauldrons, screamin demon, barvarian beetle, giant slide, cable skyway, monorail, skylab, keelboat canal, wheel of fortune.....

If you want to ride coasters all day, its great, or to go to the water park or for kiddie rides.  For a family with various interests, the park is limited.  7 whopping flat rides, very few shows, and very few attractions that are for the entire family.  

*** This post was edited by super7 on 11/8/2001. ***

Shaggy:

 

Go ahead and write all you want, dude. Long winded posts are completely welcome, especially when they are as high quality as yours usually are.

 URC is great, but i just really like the format over here a lot better, plus i have quite a few friends over here, and getting assimilated back into URC would just take a while. 

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Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.

I didn't say the park was perfect, rather I said there were things I considered outstanding.  When I compare my collective experiences at PKI with those at other parks, the PKI ones far outweigh them.  I also cannot acurately judge it from a family standpoint, as I am decidedly single.

I don't think that the lack of certian rides, or coaster types make it a poor park.  Although I have been on the rides literally thousands of times, I still manage to find something new and enchanting each time I go. 

I have tried before in other conversations to convey or explain my feelings about PKI.  But I can't.  It is like an avid theatre goer trying to explain why they love musicals, or a Basball fan trying to explain why they love the game.  It is just in my blood.  I guess if I really wanted to, I could look and focus on weaknesses at PKI, but I don't.  I'm too busy having a good time :-)

I wish others felt this way too, it is really a cool home-away-from-home feeling I get whenever I am there.  It is what I fell in love with as a child, and I am very lucky my parents introduced me to it and kept taking me back.  Why, the first time I went, I only rode maybe 3 things.  But that visit is what hooked me on PKI.  Not the rides, not upkeep, rather the "feel."

Since then, the park has also added attractions that have peaked my curiosity and that I immensely enjoy.  When I look at PKI, the glass is definitely more than half full.

I guess the answer lies in perception.

Shaggy

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ravenguy98 said:
Thank god you came over here shaggy.  I was thinking about going back to URC just to read your posts, now that your here i don't need to bother. 

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Amen, now that Shaggy has arrived on the buzz scene, I can make do with RRC and cb.  URC just took forever to loada, and posts are "infrequent"...my mom always said to try and be polite...;~)!

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the buzzer formerly known as gatorwoodie
Son of Drop Zone - PKI CoasterCamp I Champions!!!

It's a good name and theme for a coaster. I'd suspect that, if PKI were to build such a coaster, they'd probably name it the Bat and simply not refer to the previous coaster with that name.

While not my favorite park, PKI is a beautiful park, and my friends and I had a very nice time there this past August. It was the first time for both of them on the Beast.... I took them on that first as a wake-up call for the day. (And it worked!) Of course, if I could only have gotten my pal Mark to stop asking Brady Bunch questions....

The problem is that they named SOB based on the world wide infamy of Pappa.  Many non enthusiasts around the country have heard of the beast, and in the PKI area, the thing is REVERED by the general public. 

 

Why name a new coaster with a name that has been already used, when the old coaster has many, many negative things associated with it anyway?  It just doesn't make sense whatsoever. 

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Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.

Ravenguy,

Not sure if you meant that the Beast or Bat has many negative things associated with it.

Most people (average guests, PKI or KI attendees) hold high regards of the Beast.  PKI sought to capitalize on that by naming what was to be their newest legendary coaster after an attraction that millions of people know and love.  It worked, but yet it didn't.  It got people to go to the park out of curiosity, but most people came off the ride saying there was no comparison.

As far as the Bat goes, it is an odd enitity.  Yes, there is definitely the prevalent urban myth that people were killed or injured.  But everyone, and I do mean everyone, I have spoken to in and out of the enthusiast community have very fond, good, positive memories of it.  It amazes me that a ride that had such downtime and non-operational issues, plus a myth that it was a people killer, garners such good reactions when a topic of conversation.

Again, I think PKI learned their lesson with SOB and will not be ressurecting the Bat in any form.  Oh, and other than SOB, PKI has sought to "soften" the names of their coasters/attractions.  Gone are the days when new rides at PKI have "Demon", "Snake", "Monster", etc in their titles.

Shaggy