Adventure Express

Adventure Express is a mine train roller coaster located at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio. Designed and built by Arrow Dynamics, the ride opened to the public on April 13, 1991. It is located in the Oktoberfest section of the park near Hank's Burrito Shack and SlingShot. Like many traditional mine trains, the Adventure Express features a lap bar restraint and does not contain any inversions.HistoryKings Island approached Arrow Dynamics and one of its lead designers, Ron Toomer, in 1990 to build a traditional mine train roller coaster with a unique twist. Unlike previous Arrow installations, this one would be heavily-themed and produce an "out-of-control feeling" inspired by scenes from the 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Construction began later that year, and the total cost to build the family ride was estimated at $4 million. The ride was marketed as a jungle adventure mine train that plunges "through steamy volcanic tunnels, across rickety bridges, and into a deserted mine shaft inhabited by snakes and spiders". The roller coaster opened on April 13, 1991.Ride descriptionAs the train leaves the station, it makes a small turn right followed by a small turn left. The train then dips into a slightly-banked turn to the right through a jungle-themed tunnel labeled with a large sign reading "Track Closed". After exiting, the train moves over a brake run that slows the train on its way through a second tunnel, where the train makes a sharp, 90-degree turn to the left into the roller coaster's first lift hill. It exits the tunnel at the beginning of the ascent, where a skeleton wearing a safari outfit is seen perched to the right with a spear through the chest and a snake wrapped around its neck. Riders pass under several wooden beams, each featuring a tiki-themed face mounted at the center.