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The Crypt (Kings Island)
Encyclopedia
The Crypt is a Giant Top Spin
thrill ride located at Kings Island
theme park in Ohio. Originally constructed in 2002 by then-owners Paramount Parks
, the ride opened as TOMB RAIDER: The Ride, featuring numerous special effects, pre-shows, and voice-overs establishing its relation to the Paramount
film, 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
'. In 2007, after the sale of the Paramount Parks
to Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, references to the film were removed from the ride and its indoor queue line, and its name was changed to The Crypt for the 2008 season.
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 transformed into The Crypt, its capacity was reduced to 46 (by removing the first row of the gondola).
For the 2001 season, Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal, a log-flume water ride, gave its last ride. On April 24, 2001, 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. Kings Island officially announced Tomb Raider: The Ride on July 2, 2001 by placing the 17 feet (5.2 m) Hindu goddess Brahma prop used in the first movie (and later, in the ride's preshow) in front of the park's Eiffel Tower and Royal Fountains. After the Paramount Parks were sold to Cedar Fair and all licencing 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 new Cedar Fair name "The Crypt".
A behind the scenes and on-ride video of the old Tomb Raider: The Ride incarnation can be found on various video websites by searching, the former a Travel Channel
special dedicated to the mechanics and story of the ride. There are also numerous Facebook
groups dedicated to the attraction and its return. Additionally, there are a few petitions to return the ride to this incarnation.
The rides interior was designed by Technifex, a company specializing in theming rides such that smaller, regional theme parks can achieve the same rich and thorough ride theming as a destination park, such as Disneyland.
parked by the tunnel's entrance to represent Lara Croft's presence at the site. Atmospheric, specially composed music (some sampling the movie's score
played throughout the plaza and into the queue. A large antechamber sectioned off one cycle's worth of guests and played a video pre-show in which guests learned the story of Lara Croft. There, too, was established the storyline of the Triangle of Light
, an ancient powerful artifact sought by Croft in the film.
After a rising wall revealed the "secret" entrance to the eighty-foot tall altar chamber of the goddess Durga
, riders were seated on the 77-seat gondola divided into three stadium-seating rows. The ride (synchronized to a soundtrack featuring special-effect noises and voiceover from Angelina Jolie
and other members of the film's cast) then lifted up to the eyes of an eighty-foot tall carving of Durga on the forward wall. Her eyes (embedded with laser lights) scanned the car, and fire and ice emblems held in two of her 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 goddess 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 goddess screamed and her fire, ice, and eyes went dark. She appeared to "wake up" once more as one final blast of fog emanated from the Triangle of Light prop at her base, 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 goddess with laser-eyes and LED fire and ice emblems, fog, and a synchronized musical score composed specifically for the ride, lasting 2:30.
from Viacom
. After the 2007 season, the parks had the "Paramount's" prefix removed from their names and references to the licensed film properties within the parks were removed. At Kings Island specifically, The Italian Job: Stunt Track was renamed Backlot Stunt Coaster
; Top Gun became Flight Deck; Drop Zone: Stunt Tower was renamed Drop Tower; FACE/OFF was renamed Invertigo and TOMB RAIDER: The Ride became The Crypt.
The change in name was met with a change in theme, as many aspects of the original ride were removed to cut ties with the film. The Durga goddess statue on the wall of the chamber was painted over, with the ride's water and fog effects removed. The 77-seat gondola specific to the Giant Top Spin was reduced in size by removing the first of its three rows, thus reducing the capacity by one third, but theoretically allowing the ride to perform a more "thrilling" ride experience to compensate for the removed special effects. 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 more tame cycle with only two inversions (half the number performed during the TOMB RAIDER: The Ride era).
The Crypt has consistently been changed and updated thematically, having originally operated in 2008 with a techno-music soundtrack in pitch black darkness which was quickly replaced with howling wind and beating jungle drums. Gradually, more of the theatrical lighting used on TOMB RAIDER: The Ride returned to the ride, as well. The queue line (which had had a specifically-composed musical score during the TOMB RAIDER: The Ride era) played an album of atmospheric scary music from the Midnight Syndicate
until 2011, when both the queue and ride were outfitted with music from the score of the film Inception
. 2011 also saw the addition of new lighting and props in the queue line, and manual doors used to separate the queue line from the ride where the rising "vault door" once stood, again preventing riders from seeing the ride in action - or even seeing what type of ride it was - until they are seated. In the middle of the season, the red, gold, and yellow LED lights that formerly illuminated the "lava pit" were turned back on, and stay illuminated throughout the ride cycle (though there is no water in the pool). As well, blue lights were positioned on the goddess statue which flash as the gondola reverses direction halfway through the course.
As of the 2011 season, The Crypt is still the world's only Giant Top Spin, and performs two inversions on a cycle that lasts about 1:10.
Top Spin (ride)
The Top Spin is a thrill ride developed by HUSS Maschinenfabrik, and is the generic name for a series of rides from other manufacturers that follow the same principle. The ride consists of a passenger platform suspended between two counterweighted arms...
thrill ride located at Kings Island
Kings Island
Kings Island is a amusement park located northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio. Opened in 1972 by Taft Broadcasting Company and now owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, Kings Island is the most visited seasonal amusement park in the U.S...
theme park in Ohio. Originally constructed in 2002 by then-owners Paramount Parks
Paramount Parks
Paramount Parks was an operator of theme parks and attractions, which annually attracted about 13 million patrons. Viacom had assumed control of the company as part of its acquisition of Paramount Pictures in 1994....
, the ride opened as TOMB RAIDER: The Ride, featuring numerous special effects, pre-shows, and voice-overs establishing its relation to the Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
film, 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2001 adventure thriller film adapted from the Tomb Raider video game series. Directed by Simon West and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, it was released in U.S. theaters on June 15, 2001. The film was a commercial success...
'. In 2007, after the sale of the Paramount Parks
Paramount Parks
Paramount Parks was an operator of theme parks and attractions, which annually attracted about 13 million patrons. Viacom had assumed control of the company as part of its acquisition of Paramount Pictures in 1994....
to Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, references to the film were removed from the ride and its indoor queue line, and its name was changed to The Crypt for the 2008 season.
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 transformed into The Crypt, its capacity was reduced to 46 (by removing the first row of the gondola).
For the 2001 season, Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal, a log-flume water ride, gave its last ride. On April 24, 2001, 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. Kings Island officially announced Tomb Raider: The Ride on July 2, 2001 by placing the 17 feet (5.2 m) Hindu goddess Brahma prop used in the first movie (and later, in the ride's preshow) in front of the park's Eiffel Tower and Royal Fountains. After the Paramount Parks were sold to Cedar Fair and all licencing 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 new Cedar Fair name "The Crypt".
A behind the scenes and on-ride video of the old Tomb Raider: The Ride incarnation can be found on various video websites by searching, the former a Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
special dedicated to the mechanics and story of the ride. There are also numerous Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
groups dedicated to the attraction and its return. Additionally, there are a few petitions to return the ride to this incarnation.
The rides interior was designed by Technifex, a company specializing in theming rides such that smaller, regional theme parks can achieve the same rich and thorough ride theming as a destination park, such as Disneyland.
Tomb Raider: The Ride (2002-2007)
In the attraction's Tomb Raider: The Ride incarnation, the attraction's entry plaza contained a Special Edition JeepJeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
parked by the tunnel's entrance to represent Lara Croft's presence at the site. Atmospheric, specially composed music (some sampling the movie's score
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (soundtrack)
- Original Motion Picture Soundtrack :Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is a 2001 soundtrack album to the film of the same name. The various artists soundtrack was released June 15, 2001. The Score was later released on June 26, 2001....
played throughout the plaza and into the queue. A large antechamber sectioned off one cycle's worth of guests and played a video pre-show in which guests learned the story of Lara Croft. There, too, was established the storyline of the Triangle of Light
Eye of Providence
The Eye of Providence is a symbol showing an eye often surrounded by rays of light or a glory and usually enclosed by a triangle...
, an ancient powerful artifact sought by Croft in the film.
After a rising wall revealed the "secret" entrance to the eighty-foot tall altar chamber of the goddess Durga
Durga
For the 1985 Hindi Film of Rajesh Khanna see DurgaaIn Hinduism, Durga ; ; meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible"; , durga) or Maa Durga "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having eighteen arms, riding a lion...
, riders were seated on the 77-seat gondola divided into three stadium-seating rows. The ride (synchronized to a soundtrack featuring special-effect noises and voiceover from Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
and other members of the film's cast) then lifted up to the eyes of an eighty-foot tall carving of Durga on the forward wall. Her eyes (embedded with laser lights) scanned the car, and fire and ice emblems held in two of her 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 goddess 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 goddess screamed and her fire, ice, and eyes went dark. She appeared to "wake up" once more as one final blast of fog emanated from the Triangle of Light prop at her base, 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 goddess with laser-eyes and LED fire and ice emblems, fog, and a synchronized musical score composed specifically for the ride, lasting 2:30.
The Crypt (2008 - Present)
In June 2007, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company purchased all five Paramount ParksParamount Parks
Paramount Parks was an operator of theme parks and attractions, which annually attracted about 13 million patrons. Viacom had assumed control of the company as part of its acquisition of Paramount Pictures in 1994....
from Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
. After the 2007 season, the parks had the "Paramount's" prefix removed from their names and references to the licensed film properties within the parks were removed. At Kings Island specifically, The Italian Job: Stunt Track was renamed Backlot Stunt Coaster
Backlot Stunt Coaster
Backlot Stunt Coaster is a steel launched roller coaster currently open at Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario; Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia; and Kings Island in Mason, Ohio.-History:The three roller coasters originally opened as Italian Job: Stunt Track at Canada's Wonderland and...
; Top Gun became Flight Deck; Drop Zone: Stunt Tower was renamed Drop Tower; FACE/OFF was renamed Invertigo and TOMB RAIDER: The Ride became The Crypt.
The change in name was met with a change in theme, as many aspects of the original ride were removed to cut ties with the film. The Durga goddess statue on the wall of the chamber was painted over, with the ride's water and fog effects removed. The 77-seat gondola specific to the Giant Top Spin was reduced in size by removing the first of its three rows, thus reducing the capacity by one third, but theoretically allowing the ride to perform a more "thrilling" ride experience to compensate for the removed special effects. 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 more tame cycle with only two inversions (half the number performed during the TOMB RAIDER: The Ride era).
The Crypt has consistently been changed and updated thematically, having originally operated in 2008 with a techno-music soundtrack in pitch black darkness which was quickly replaced with howling wind and beating jungle drums. Gradually, more of the theatrical lighting used on TOMB RAIDER: The Ride returned to the ride, as well. The queue line (which had had a specifically-composed musical score during the TOMB RAIDER: The Ride era) played an album of atmospheric scary music from the Midnight Syndicate
Midnight Syndicate
Midnight Syndicate is an American musical group that has been working mainly in the genre of gothic music since 1997 and is based out of Chardon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland...
until 2011, when both the queue and ride were outfitted with music from the score of the film Inception
Inception
Inception: The Subconscious Jams 1994-1995 is a compilation of unreleased tracks by the band Download.-Track listing:# "Primitive Tekno Jam" – 3:23# "Bee Sting Sickness" – 8:04# "Weed Acid Techno" – 8:19...
. 2011 also saw the addition of new lighting and props in the queue line, and manual doors used to separate the queue line from the ride where the rising "vault door" once stood, again preventing riders from seeing the ride in action - or even seeing what type of ride it was - until they are seated. In the middle of the season, the red, gold, and yellow LED lights that formerly illuminated the "lava pit" were turned back on, and stay illuminated throughout the ride cycle (though there is no water in the pool). As well, blue lights were positioned on the goddess statue which flash as the gondola reverses direction halfway through the course.
As of the 2011 season, The Crypt is still the world's only Giant Top Spin, and performs two inversions on a cycle that lasts about 1:10.
External links
- Kings Island Central information - Alternate source of details and stats.
- Tomb Raider: The Ride at Kings Island