The story behind Mystic Timbers
Don Helbig
|
Mystic Timbers wooden roller coaster debuted at Kings Island as one of the most anticipated new rides for 2017, boasting impressive thrill stats and an intriguing mystery: What’s in the shed?
Mystic Timbers didn’t disappoint, winning Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Award for “Best New Ride” in 2017 and annually ranking as one of the world’s best wooden roller coasters in industry and enthusiast polls.
The story behind Mystic Timbers reaches back to Rivertown’s beginning and the formation of the K.I. & Miami Valley Railroad and the Miami River Lumber Company. The lumber company began buying large sections of wooded land with the goal of using the railroad to make it easier to ship the timber out. But something mysterious, something that could not be explained, began to happen. The area surrounding the lumber company became overrun by a medusa-like growth of vines as natured moved in and reclaimed its land.
Custom designed and built for the topography of Kings Island by Great Coasters International, Inc. and themed to an abandoned lumber company, riders on Mystic Timbers traverse 16 airtime moments through wooded terrain and over water along a 3,265-foot long track at speeds up to 53 mph.
Mystic Timbers has given more than 3.8 million rides through its first three seasons, with a season-high 1.3 million riders in 2018.
Take a virtual ride on Mystic Timbers by watching the video below.
At the entrance of the Mystic Timbers roller coaster at Kings Island, guests see a 1960's pick up truck crashed into a pole but the way it's themed makes it look like a moment in time that's just frozen, like someone just hit the pole. Watch the process for how this scene was created by Daniels Wood Land.