MASON, Ohio – Kings Island is tapping into nostalgia for its new 2019 attraction.
Park officials announced on Thursday that the antique car ride remembered by many Tri-State families as a favorite for young children will return next season. The original Les Taxis ride closed on Aug. 16, 2004 - 14 years to the day before Thursday's announcement.
"For so many of our guests, it's an attraction they remember riding with their whole family," Kings Island Vice President and General Manager Mike Koontz said. "Another memory that's shared with me when we talk about Antique Cars is that it was their very first driving experience as a kid."
The reopened ride will be named Kings Mills Antique Autos.
The updated version of the ride will be located in the Coney Mall near the Juke Box Cafe and alongside the Racer. The ride will include two-third scale replicas of 1911 Ford Model Ts that travel along a quarter-mile track. The leisurely drive will last approximately three minutes.
Since purchasing Kings Island in 2006 it's become an annual event for the park's parent company Cedar Fair to tease fans about new features coming to the park the following season.
RELATED: Kings Island making 2019 season announcement; teases new coaster may be coming
In recent weeks, amusement park enthusiasts have been on a roller coaster ride of excitement trying to speculate what new attraction was coming to Kings Island.
In a press kit released on Wednesday, the park promised that "something old will be new again" when people visit Kings Island next year.
The announcement though probably won't quell the ongoing speculations of roller coaster enthusiast being shared on websites such as Reddit.
Earlier in August, one roller coaster fan posted an image of a flier from Cedar Point, which Cedar Fair also owns, as proof that Kings Island plans to resurrect the defunct Son of Beast.
The park tore down that wooden coaster in 2012 after the ride injured people during two separate incidents.
RELATED: Here are nine Kings Island rides we wish had never gone away
The Son of Beast rumors continued on Wednesday when an Instagram user named "emotional_rollercoasters" posted an image of documents submitted by Kings Island to the State of Ohio. Those documents, which can be found on the Warren County Recorder website, indicate Kings Island is starting work on future attractions and improvements that will continue through 2020.
Swiss-based roller coaster company Bolliger & Mabillard is listed as one of the contractors in the "Private Improvement: Notice of Commencement" document filed by Kings Island.
The company could be doing anything from performing routine maintenance on an existing Kings Island roller coaster to preparing for a future ride.
Kings Island officials would not comment on any online rumors or speculation.
