Our Predictions

What do we think is inside the shed?

Well, we don’t have any better guesses than you do.

We know that the shed is the end of the ride (the train enters it, turn to the right, and arrives back at the station) so it couldn’t be a launch or an inversion. Some have signaled that the ride’s theme and story put it in the “dark forest” genre that’s developed with Alton Towers’ TH13TEEN and Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Verbolten, both of which are centered around… well… you’ll have to find out by reading our Behind The Ride: Verbolten special feature. But do we suspect that Mystic Timbers’ secret is the same as Verbolten’s? Not necessarily. It would take quite an apparatus to make it work on a wooden roller coaster, not to mention that the provided layout makes it appear unlikely…

Maybe there’s a piece of trick track inside…

It could very well be that the ride’s finale just gives us a dark ride scene providing a glimpse at the origin of the enchanted vines, perhaps emanating from a gnarled tree as signified in the ride’s logo.

Whatever the case, you can bet we’ll be on hand for the ride’s 2017 debut to find out, and that’s the sort of difference that a little theme can have.

Underestimating

Image: Cedar Fair

Before you go suspecting, as some have, that Mystic Timbers won’t stand out among Kings Island’s storied lineup, remember Cedar Point.

Just a few hours north, Cedar Point is known as the Roller Coaster Capitol of the World, and for good reason. Magnum XL-200 was the first roller coaster to cross the unthinkable 200-foot height barrier. Then, Millennium Force did it with 300-feet. A few years later, Top Thrill Dragster broke the unimaginable 400-foot height barrier.  Naturally, fans agonized over what record-breaking thrills Cedar Point would craft next. Instead, Maverick was announced.

Barely 100 feet tall and with two inconsequential inversions, Maverick read on paper as a let-down – nothing that could come close to standing out amongst Cedar Point’s lineup of record-breakers. How would Maverick compete with the park’s record breakers?

Image: Cedar Fair

Long story short: it wouldn’t. Once people actually, y’know, rode it, they understood. Turns out, Maverick is among the best coasters in the world, ranked among and even above Millennium Force on many enthusiasts’ lists. It’s not always about height and speed and drops and inversions. Maverick succeeds not because it breaks records, but because it’s a really good roller coaster.

So no, Mystic Timbers won’t topple The Beast or the Racer for their legendary and historic statuses.

And no, Mystic Timbers won’t become the go-to white-knuckle thrill ride at the park, dethroning Diamondback and Banshee.

It’s not supposed to!

Mystic Timbers is exactly what Kings Island needs. In fact, it’s exactly what lots of thrill parks need: a well-balanced family thrill ride that’s got airtime and story and speed and details and thrills and heart.

Image: Cedar Fair

Kings Island’s already billing it as an adventure, and that says it all. Mystic Timbers will not be just a ride, but an adventure! We’re going to step into a lumber company that’s being ensnared by sinister vines growing from a vengeful enchanted forest, race into the woods to find the dark source of the magic, and be thrilled on an incredible GCI coaster in the meantime.

So sure, some people have doubts that this ride is worth it. But when riders disembark next spring, hopefully they’ll realize that this is exactly what Kings Island needed – a return to form and a wonderful roller coaster. That’s a win-win.

Enjoy the point-of-view video below, and imagine what it will be like to ride this wild terrain-hugging wooden roller coaster through a mystical, mysterious dark forest in search of the source behind the sinister vines.