The Crypt (Kings Island)

The Crypt
The Crypt
	The sign outside The Crypt at Kings Island.
Kings Island
Name	Tomb Raider: The Ride (2002-2007); The Crypt (2008-2011);
Area	Rivertown
Coordinates	39°20′25″N84°16′02″W / 39.3402°N 84.2671°W
Status	Removed
Cost	Approx $20,000,000
Opening date	April 5, 2002
Closing date	October 30, 2011
Replaced	Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal
Replaced by	Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror
Ride statistics
Attraction type	Giant Top Spin
Manufacturer	HUSS Park Attractions
Height	80 ft (24 m)
Drop	70 ft (21 m)
Speed	13 rpm
G-force	4.3
Participants per group	77 (2002-06); 47 (2007-2011)
Duration	Approximately 1 minute and 10 seconds
Height restriction	54 in (137 cm)

Last updated February 02, 2024

The Crypt was an indoor Giant Top Spin ride located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Former park owner Paramount Parks collaborated with HUSS Park Attractions to design and manufacture the ride, which opened as Tomb Raider: The Ride on April 5, 2002. The flat ride featured a variety of special effects that correlated with the theme of the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider from Paramount Pictures. Under new ownership by Cedar Fair, Kings Island removed all references to the film from both the ride and its indoor queue line following the 2007 season. It reopened as The Crypt in 2008. An outdoor, smaller version of the ride opened at sister park Kings Dominion in 2005 as Tomb Raider: FireFall and closed in 2019.

History

During the 2000 season, Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal, a log flume water ride, gave its last ride. For the beginning of the 2001 season, the area around Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal was fenced in, with the phrase, "An exciting new adventure is coming in 2002" written along the fence. Paramount's Kings Island officially announced Tomb Raider: The Ride on July 2, 2001, by placing the 17-foot-tall (5.2 m) Hindu goddess Brahma prop used in the first movie (and later, in the ride's pre-show) in front of the park's Eiffel Tower and Royal Fountains.^[1] After the Paramount Parks were sold to Cedar Fair and all licensing rights were dropped, the rides within the park continued to operate with the Paramount movie names for the 2007 season. However, on January 21, 2008, Kings Island's main web site replaced the name Tomb Raider: The Ride with The Crypt.

The ride cost approximately $20 million to build, making it one of the most expensive rides the park has ever constructed. The Crypt was the world's first and only Giant Top Spin, performing two inversions in a cycle that lasted 1:10.

Ride experience

Tomb Raider: The Ride (2002–2007)

In the attraction's Tomb Raider: The Ride incarnation, the attraction's entry plaza featured a special edition Land Rover Defender parked by the ride's entrance to represent Lara Croft's presence at the site. Atmospheric music (some sampling the movie's score) played throughout the plaza and into the queue. Upon entering the building, guests found themselves walking on catwalks over artifacts and rubble while passing under ceilings supported by a seemingly temporary bamboo structure. A large antechamber, featuring large stone monkey warrior statues from the film, sectioned off one cycle's worth of guests into three rows. As the ride's original score intensified, ancient gears could be heard tumbling into place as a light aligned to illuminate the Triangle of Light featured on the elaborately-carved door located in front of riders. Once the light is aligned, the door began to slide open with accompanying sound and fog effects, allowing guests to enter the pre-show room. Once in the pre-show area, the door would slide closed.

The pre-show room featured the statue of Brahma used in the film and a large oval projection screen that raised out of the altar beneath the statue. A video played to explain the foundation of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider , establishing the ride's storyline to be centered around the Triangle of Light, an ancient artifact capable of controlling time, which is sought by Croft in the film. Once the pre-show video had ended, the entire left wall of the room rose, revealing the "secret" entrance to the sixty-foot-tall altar chamber of the god Shiva ^[2] and allowing riders to board the vehicle, maintaining the same rows from the prior room.

The ride featured an original soundtrack composed by Rob Pottorf, sound effects from The Bakery, and voiceovers from Angelina Jolie, along with other members of the film's cast.

The ride lifted riders up toward the eyes of a carving of Shiva on the forward wall. His eyes (embedded with automated lights) scanned the car, and fire and ice emblems held in two of his six hands illuminated. The ride then flipped through the darkness before stopping with riders looking straight up at razor-sharp icy stalactites on the ceiling. It released, flipped again, and came to a stop, holding riders looking straight down on "lava pits", pools of water cascading from a massive volcano stretching up the chamber's back wall. In time with the music, the lava would begin to jump up, as fountains narrowly avoided splashing riders.

After another flip through the darkness, the ride circled around the bottom of its arc, looking up at the god on the wall. As fog and lights filled the room, the fire and ice effects went off at once as, in time with the audio track, the god screamed and her fire, ice, and eyes went dark. He appeared to "wake up" once more as one final blast of fog emanated from the base of the ride structure, nearly contacting riders before fading away (this used as a device to keep riders engaged during the ride's lengthy homing procedure before the bridges could lower to allow guests to disembark).

For the majority of its time as Tomb Raider: The Ride, the ride included four inversions, extended "hang time" over the lava pits, a god with piercing eyes and fire and ice emblems, fog effects, and a synchronized musical score composed specifically for the ride, lasting 2:30.

The Crypt (2008–2011)

In June 2006, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company purchased all five Paramount Parks from Viacom. After the 2007 season, the parks removed all references to Paramount and their licensed film properties from rides and attractions. At Kings Island, this led to a change in the name of Tomb Raider: The Ride which became The Crypt.

The name change coincided with a change in theme, as many film aspects of the original ride were removed. The Shiva goddess statue in the Heart of the Tomb, a feature in the line queue, was painted over. The ride's water and fog effects were also removed. The Giant Top Spin's 77-seat gondola was reduced in size with the removal of the first row of seats, reducing the capacity by one third. The ride performed a nine-inversion cycle like its sister ride at Kings Dominion for the 2008 season and for a month of the 2009 season. Beginning in 2009, the ride was reprogrammed to perform a less intensive cycle with only two inversions – half the number previously performed when it was known as Tomb Raider: The Ride.

The Crypt was changed and updated several more times over the years. Following its operation in 2008 with a techno soundtrack in complete darkness, the soundtrack was changed to howling wind and beating drums. Gradually, more of the theatrical lighting used on Tomb Raider: The Ride returned to the ride. The queue line, which had its Tomb Raider: The Ride musical score removed earlier, began playing an album of atmospheric music from the Midnight Syndicate until 2011, when both the queue and ride were outfitted with music from the score of the 2010 film Inception . Also in 2011, new lighting and props were added to the queue line, and manual doors were retrofitted in place of the original "vault door" that would raise and lower to let riders in. In the middle of the season, the red, amber, and yellow underwater lights that formerly illuminated the "lava pit" were turned back on, and would stay illuminated throughout the ride. In addition, blue lights were installed on the goddess statue and would begin flashing as the gondola reversed direction halfway through the ride cycle.

The Crypt gave its last ride October 30, 2011. The following year on January 20, 2012, The Crypt was removed from the park's website without explanation. Park officials confirmed the following month on Twitter that The Crypt "has reached the end of its service life", and that it would "be replaced by an all-new Halloween Haunt experience".^[3]

Halloween Haunt Attraction (2012–present)

The Crypt has been transformed into Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror. This attraction is themed to a museum of oddities and wax.^[4]

Design

The show elements for Tomb Raider: The Ride were designed by Technifex, a special effects company specializing in themed entertainment. Scenic design was handled by Weber Group with lighting designed by Visual Terrain. The soundtrack was composed by Rob Pottorf of RPMusic while The Bakery handled sound design.

The Travel Channel aired a behind-the-scenes special dedicated to the mechanics and story of the original ride.

The Crypt is a higher-capacity version of the highly popular smaller Top Spin located at many amusement parks. Initially, Tomb Raider: The Ride accommodated 77 riders. When it was rebranded The Crypt, its capacity was reduced to 46 (by removing the first row of the gondola).

Related Research Articles

Kings Island is a 364-acre (147 ha) amusement park located 24 miles (39 km) northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Island, a popular resort destination along the banks of the Ohio River that was prone to frequent flooding. After more than $300 million in capital investments over the years, the park has grown to feature over a hundred attractions including fourteen roller coasters and a 33-acre (13 ha) water park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Parks</span> Former amusement park owner and operator

Paramount Parks was the operator of Paramount's Kings Island, Paramount's Kings Dominion, Paramount's Great America, Paramount's Carowinds, and Paramount Canada's Wonderland, which annually attracted about 13 million patrons. National Amusements-owned Viacom assumed control of the company as part of its acquisition of Paramount Pictures in 1994.

Kings Dominion is an amusement park in the eastern United States, located in Doswell, Virginia, twenty miles (30 km) north of Richmond and 75 miles (120 km) south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the 280-acre (1.1 km²) park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, and features more than 60 rides, shows and attractions including 13 roller coasters and a 20-acre (8.1 ha) water park. Its name is derived from the name of its sister park, Kings Island near Cincinnati, and the nickname for the state of Virginia, "Old Dominion."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indiana Jones Adventure</span> Dark ride attraction

Indiana Jones Adventure is an enhanced motion vehicle dark ride attraction based on the Indiana Jones film series, located at Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. Guests accompany intrepid archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones on a turbulent quest, aboard military troop transport vehicles, through a dangerous subterranean lost temple guarded by a supernatural power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Walking Dead: The Ride</span> Steel indoor roller coaster

The Walking Dead: The Ride is an indoor roller coaster haunted attraction located at Thorpe Park, England. It was the park's first non-powered roller-coaster. It was themed around a rave and had the strapline "Ride on a wave of light and sound" — when it was titled X — but currently The Walking Dead: The Ride's slogan is "Those who ride, survive".

Volcano: The Blast Coaster, or simply Volcano, was an inverted roller coaster located at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, United States. Designed by Werner Stengel, it was the first launched roller coaster manufactured by Intamin and the first of its kind in the world to be inverted. Its launch mechanism utilized linear induction motor (LIM) technology. After a series of delays, Volcano opened to the public on August 3, 1998. A portion of the ride was enclosed inside an artificial mountain, constructed in 1979, which previously housed other attractions. Following nearly two decades of operation, Volcano abruptly closed a few weeks into the 2018 season, and the closure became permanent during the following offseason.

The Action Theater is a motion simulator ride that debuted in 1993. It is currently only operating at California's Great America. Located formerly at Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Kings Dominion and Kings Island. The attraction was previously known as "Paramount Action F/X Theater" before being renamed following the purchase of the Paramount Parks chain by Cedar Fair in 2006.

Adventure Express is a mine train roller coaster located in the Adventure Port section at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio. Manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, the roller coaster opened to the public on April 13, 1991. A portion of the ride's design drew inspiration from the Indiana Jones franchise. Similar to other mine trains, the Adventure Express uses a lap bar restraint and does not feature any inversions.

Fantasy Island is a Resort Theme Park located in Ingoldmells on the East Coast of Lincolnshire.

Backlot Stunt Coaster is a launched roller coaster located at three Cedar Fair amusement parks. The first two installations opened at Kings Island and Canada's Wonderland in 2005 under the name Italian Job: Stunt Track, while the third opened at Kings Dominion in 2006 as Italian Job: Turbo Coaster. All three were themed to the climactic chase scene at the end of the 2003 film The Italian Job. Special effects were incorporated throughout the ride to reproduce the scene, although some of the effects were removed in later years. The Italian Job theme was also dropped in 2008 following Cedar Fair's acquisition of the amusement parks from Paramount.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phantom Theater</span> Former dark ride at Kings Island

Phantom Theater was a dark ride located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, United States. Manufactured by Morgan Manufacturing, the ride opened to the public on April 11, 1992. Its design incorporated a continuously-moving chain of vehicles similar to Disney's Omnimover ride system. The attraction was furnished with sets and characters created by R&R Creative Amusement Designs, Inc., and it was themed as a haunted, abandoned theater.

Time Warp is a flying roller coaster operating at Canada's Wonderland. It opened on May 2, 2004. It is the only rollercoaster in the world that was themed after the Tomb Raider franchise. After the removal of Tomb Raider themed rides at Kings Island and Kings Dominion it is now the only ride left in existence to be themed after the Tomb Raider franchise.

WindSeeker is a 301-foot-tall (92 m) swing ride at several Cedar Fair parks. The rides are Wind Seeker models manufactured by Mondial. They opened for the 2011 season at Canada's Wonderland in Ontario, Cedar Point and Kings Island in Ohio, and Knott's Berry Farm in California. Carowinds in North Carolina and Kings Dominion in Virginia opened their WindSeekers in 2012. The first four each cost US$5 million, while the remaining two each cost $6.5 million. Cedar Fair relocated the Knott's Berry Farm WindSeeker to Worlds of Fun in 2014, where it reopened as SteelHawk.

The Crypt, formerly Tomb Raider: Firefall, was a Suspended Top Spin flat ride located at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia. Manufactured by HUSS Park Attractions, the ride opened to the public on March 19, 2005. An indoor version of the ride with heavier theming opened at Kings Island several years earlier as Tomb Raider: The Ride. Both rides were originally themed after Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, a film based on the Tomb Raider video game series and franchise, but all references to the film were removed in 2008 following Cedar Fair's acquisition of the parks in 2006.

Delirium is the name of three Frisbee rides located at three Cedar Fair parks – California's Great America, Kings Island, and Kings Dominion. The installation at California's Great America, the smallest of the three, was designed by Chance Rides and opened in 2002. The installation at Kings Island was designed by HUSS Park Attractions and opened on April 12, 2003, as the largest Frisbee ride of its kind in the world. The record-setting ride is able to swing 50 passengers up to 76 mph (122 km/h) reaching a height of 137 feet (42 m). Mondial manufactured the version of Delirium at Kings Dominion, which opened in 2016. It accommodates up to 40 passengers, reaches a top speed of 60 mph (97 km/h), and swings to a maximum height of 115 feet (35 m).

maXair is a Huss Park Attractions Giant Frisbee ride at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. It is one of two HUSS Giant Frisbees in the United States, the other being Delirium at Kings Island. It is located near the front of the park near Troika, GateKeeper, and Kiddy Kingdom.

Flight of Fear is the name of two identical enclosed roller coasters located at Kings Island and Kings Dominion amusement parks. Built and designed by Premier Rides, they were the world's first launched roller coasters to feature linear induction motor (LIM) technology. Both locations opened as The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear on June 18, 1996, originally themed after The Outer Limits TV series that began airing in 1995 as a revival of the original 1960s series. Paramount's licensing rights to the TV show eventually expired without renewal, and all references to The Outer Limits were removed from the ride and its name in 2001.

Boo Blasters on Boo Hill is an interactive family dark ride designed and manufactured by Sally Corporation. The ride opened in 2010 at four Cedar Fair amusement parks — Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island. The ride was a slight alteration and replacement of Scooby-Doo! and the Haunted Castle after Cedar Fair chose to remove all Hanna-Barbera branding from each of their parks by 2010.

References

↑ "Tomb Raider: The Ride to Open at Paramount's Kings Island". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
↑ "Tomb Raider: The Ride". Technifex. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
↑ Kings Island [@KingsIslandPR] (February 14, 2012). "The Crypt has reached the end of its service life. Will be replaced by an all-new Halloween Haunt experience" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
↑ "Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror | Kings Island, Mason OH". Visitkingsisland.com. Retrieved 2018-06-05.

External links

Kings Island Central information - Alternate source of details and stats.
POV of the original attraction in 2002

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Tomb Raider: The Ride to Open at Paramount's Kings Island". Ultimate Rollercoaster.

[2] "Tomb Raider: The Ride". Technifex. Retrieved 2020-05-07.

[3] Kings Island [@KingsIslandPR] (February 14, 2012). "The Crypt has reached the end of its service life. Will be replaced by an all-new Halloween Haunt experience" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[4] "Madame Fatale's Cavern of Terror | Kings Island, Mason OH". Visitkingsisland.com. Retrieved 2018-06-05.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]