Posted
[Ed. note: The following is an excerpt of a press release. -J]
Thirty-three years to the day it was first introduced in 1980, The Bat will fly again at Kings Island.
The 364-acre amusement and waterpark is changing the name and colors of the Flight Deck roller coaster to The Bat. The change will take effect for the 2014 season.
“There was a lot of passion and enthusiasm around this name change by our guests,” Kings Island’s vice-president and general manager Greg Scheid said. “They told us this is a name they wanted us to bring back. We listened and we’re excited our guests will again be able to fly The Bat at Kings Island in 2014.
“The name also fits the characteristics of the ride. Similar to a bat in flight, riders soar through the air, swooping, circling and diving unexpectedly as they enjoy this ride.”
The newly named Bat is similar to its predecessor as a suspended roller coaster with the tracks above the trains. When the coaster train turns a corner, the cars are designed to swing out to the side, sometimes swinging the riders parallel to the ground.
The new color scheme for The Bat will feature orange track with two shades of charcoal for the columns and structure. Black will be the featured color of the trains.
Designed by the Arrow Dynamics Company, The Bat was custom designed for Kings Island when it debuted as Top Gun in 1993. Riders soar over the tree tops and through a hilly wooden terrain and a series of sharp turns on this seventh generation steel roller coaster.
The attraction celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2013, giving its 20-millionth ride in June. The Bat is one of 15 roller coasters at Kings Island, including the new world record-breaking Banshee set to debut in 2014.
The original Bat operated for parts of three seasons from 1981 to 1983, giving 1.8 million rides.