JRA, part of RWS Global, is celebrating the opening of a new themed area at Kings Island in Ohio. Adventure Port is now open to visitors, with two new anchor rides, Sol Spin and Cargo Loco, as well as the Adventure Express roller coaster, Enrique’s restaurant and the Mercado Patio Bar.
With family rides and immersive theming, Adventure Port offers a range of all-new experiences for guests.
“Over the past several months I’ve been truly amazed to see how this area of the park has been transformed into telling an immersive story of adventure and exploration,” said Mike Koontz, Kings Island vice president and general manager. “The rides we’ve added are a perfect complement to the park’s offerings, and we took advantage of the new area to continue to showcase the quality of our food and beverage offering.”
The search for a lost city
The narrative for Adventure Port centres around the myth of an ancient civilization, a grand port city carved out of stone that has lured travellers from across the globe for over 100 years. Now, Adventure Port serves as a base for explorers searching the dense tropical terrain for the lost city’s forbidden temple and rumoured treasure. The villagers will share legends about those who came before you and disappeared – did they unintentionally disturb ancient spirits and become a target of a curse?
Could the huge golden sun disk of Sol Spin hold some answers? This new ride invites visitors to board open-air, suspended passenger vehicles and experience the sensation of flying 60 feet through the air at 25 m.p.h.
Meanwhile, with Cargo Loco, the Arrow Cargo Company says it will transport traveller’s belongings from Point A to Point B….eventually. Guests board shipping barrels and then can manually control the speed of their spin, thanks to a wheel in the middle of the barrel.
Visitors can also enjoy a ride on the Adventure Express coaster, which has been updated with additional theming and a relocated queue line. Riders will embark on a surprise treasure-hunting mine train expedition in search of a Forbidden Temple. This family coaster opened in 1991 and features a 63-foot first drop with speeds up to 35 m.p.h.
The design of Adventure Port was led by JRA, which has headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. Other contractors on the project include RSL Commercial Architects, Schaefer Engineers, Abercrombie and Associates, SHP Architects, R. E. Middleton and Kingdom Productions.
Earlier this year, JRA worked on renovations at Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. The improvements include an expanded Bat Vault, a completely renovated museum gallery, a new temporary exhibit space, and more.
