Defunctland: The History of Tomb Raider: The Ride 

Y I P P I E S K I P P I E

I am Laura Croft, the heroine. Ready to find my treasure. - Some Lady

"What do you say meridith?" *"YIPPEE SKIPPEE"*

imagine getting on a brand new roller coaster, you've no idea what you're about to experience, then some jerkass next to you starts narrating everything that's going on as it's happening.

"These mothafuckas thought they was Universal." was seriously the funniest thing I've ever heard in a theme park related video.

Imagine going to India and going on a cheesy theme park ride featuring a giant statue of angry Jesus with glowing eyes attacking you.

when i die, please turn my house into a seasonal haunted house attraction

"she's talking in hindu right now" ah yes, hindu, my favourite language besides islam and christianity.

The fact that we/riders did NOT know what it was cannot be stated enough. We had no idea. My mom rode it first before riding with me and she couldn’t describe it. What you really miss from this video, was the people who ignored repeated warnings that this ride COULD NOT secure your stuff. You flip that first time and you hear “THUNK THUNK CLINK” and see a bright LED light tumbling end over end as someone loses their razr cell phone to Shiva.

"But who would have thought that you'd find a mysterious temple...in Ohio?" That got me. there's nothing here.

"Get ready to experience the Far East in the Midwest." Oh no...

“You’re in Merideth, what do you say?” “Y I P P Y S K I P P Y”

5:10 Whoa whoa whoa. i worked at kings island and i know for a fact that that girl is NOT tall enough to get on the ride.

I usually don't stop mid video to comment noted flaws, but the fact that he just brushes past a Face Off themed roller coaster is an utter sin. I require at the very least a 5 part series on how they even convinced Mr.Paramount that Nicolas Cage's aura is safe to meld with steel

The narration of the riders was so inane. "WOW, WE'RE ON AN AMUSEMENT PARK RIDE!" "WOW! THERES A BIG STATUE OF A HINDU GODDESS!" "WHOA, NOW WE'RE GOING UP AND DOWN AND SPINNING!" "WOW, THAT LOOKS LIKE LAVA!" "AMAZING, WE'RE AT AN AMUSEMENT PARK! IN OHIO! ON EARTH! AND BREATHING OXYGEN!"

Theme Park Management: *slaps abandoned building* This bad boy can fit so many seasonal haunted houses in it.

5:13 and then Meredith went flying because she wasn't tall enough for the seat. Yipee Skippee

A ROLLERCOASTER THEMED AFTER FACE/OFF?!!?!? What a time to be alive.

I stood in line for 2 and a half hours for this ride on opening day, and it did not disappoint. We did not know what the ride was -- outside the queue they did have a two-seater version of what the rig would be inside, so that people could test it to see if it was comfortable for them. My friend and I were certain it had to be an indoor roller coaster like the Outer Limits (Flight of Ear), another attraction in the park. We couldn't see the stage when we were strapped in because of the fog (and some of us had our shoes taken away with no explanation), and seeing the walkways fold away from the stage seating was so ominous and cool -- we couldn't wait for it to begin. Excited screams abound when the lights went out and then the first thing we could see in the fog were the statue's glowing eyes. That's when we began to move -- and lots of what they describe in the video is as it was on opening day. You could feel the chill of dripping water from the stalagtites, the blast of heat when held over the water. My friend and I were clasping hands and screaming our heads off, and it was amazing. What did disappoint was coming back only a year later to find out how much the experience had declined due to mechanical issues. MOST of the water effects were already gone within a year of Tomb Raider opening, before it was even rebranded. The fog machine was gone (so you could see the goddess statue, all the hidden effects, everything, and you didn't feel the mist from the icicles anymore. Honestly I can't even remember if the water jets in the lava part were even still there. We soon found out why: Later that day we would find out that if we'd waited to ride Tomb Raider again instead of running straight to it as soon as we got there, we might have had some misfortune: the ride had to be shut down because it had frozen with a full passel of parkgoers trapped on it until they could be gotten down. People talked about one of the reasons there were fewer water features is that it was affecting the equipment, causing it to stick in places, and I guess it still was.

I think the show building for Tomb Raider: The Ride should've been covered with jungle foliage to make it more believable.

Seriously though, why wasn't this called the *Tomb Rider* ?!?

As someone who rode Tomb Raider a lot, but also has worn glasses all her life, this episode was both nostalgic and enlightening. I've never gotten to see the what the ride actually looked like while in motion. So neat!

Omg. A ride that makes the act of waiting in line an immersive experience and part of the ride??? I cannot think of a better way to make the queues more tolerable. Especially with the production value it looks even better than walking into a full movie set, the level of detail was amazing. I almost appreciate that part more than even the ride itself haha

I'm honestly so fascinated with Tomb Raider: The Ride. The concept of taking a off-the-shelf flat ride but then giving it Universal-quality theming is such a great idea, and I'd love to see more rides in this style. Why is it only roller coasters, boat rides, and omnimovers that get detailed theming most of the time? I want to see more of the common traveling fair thrill rides given this treatment

Who knew I could become so emotionally attached to a RU-vid series over broken and abandoned roller coasters. Great to have you back!

That's maybe the saddest defunctland episode ever. What a waste of a ride. Could've challenged the monopoly of Universal and Disney

"...saw guests searching for the Triangle of Light, an object that can manipulate time." Shouldn't... that... be the Triangle of TIME?

Watching this video breaks my heart. Ive never wanted to experience something so bad in my life and the fact that i never will be able to ride the original Tomb Raider ride hurts my soul.

That's such a sad tale. The Tomb Raider ride seems to be the perfect way to create an attraction. Shame that a load of guys in suits had to ruin it.

For the life of me I don't know why King's Island didn't just lean into Star Trek.... HARD

It's sad to see such a unique and innovative approach to creating immersive rides go to waste like that.

17:44 WAIT A MINUTE!!! They had a LazyTown-themed ride?!

A new Defunctland season? YIPPIE SKIPPY!

As an amateur set designer, I wish I could get my hands on all the defunct themed rides' props and set dressings. What a waste to have things just sitting there, unloved.

Worked here as a ride op in 2004 and just found this video :) By that time a lot of the theming elements were already broken or on their way out (mostly lighting effects), and the ride was having a lot of issues. We had to manually open and close the big round door (unless it decided to work that day) until they gave up and just left it open. The ride itself had a lot of power and hydraulic problems and would randomly e-stop itself. Seats were blocked off to help with some issue causing it to e-stop, which helped, kind of. There was a LOT of downtime in general though. While the ride was REALLY cool, I’m not surprised that Cedar Fair put zero effort into the retheme and gave up on it.

I can’t imagine riding this on the first day and having absolutely no idea what was about to happen

I tried to ride Tomb Raider on three different visits. Each time it was closed for maintenance. Then I finally rode it....as the Crypt. * Sigh * Now I finally get to see what it was like in all of its glory. And I'm truly sad I never got to experience it.

"Who would've thought you could find a mysterious temple in Ohio?" You'd think the producers of Mysteries at the Museum and Expedition Unknown would've known about the Mound Builders.

It's surprising that the IP issues couldn't be fixed with a pretty inexpensive reskin--it was basically down to the design of the statue and the triangle, and the movie footage in the pre-ride. So project a static logo on the screen, cover up the most recognizable bits of the pre-show set with some generic hindu-esque garden statues, and record a new intro voiceover. Keep the soundtrack for the ride without the specific movie samples and drop in a more generic music track if needed. Even draping strategic pieces of cloth or overgrown foliage with a repaint here and there could have changed the statue design enough to save the ride. If Paramount wants to sue after that, THEN you shut it down.

It is sad that this great ride was destroyed. I remember begging my mother to be there opening day to ride it. It was my favorite ride in the whole park. I remember riding it after the changes and it was not the same, I was severely disappointed and saddened by the changes. I honestly believe Kings Island will probably never get another ride as great as Tomb Raider again.

Didn’t know how lucky I was to be able to ride this ride years ago.

Why would a Hindu goddess be copyrighted?

"These b*tches thought they were Universal Studios."

As a born and raised Cincinnatian, this video was like going through the twilight zone. I grew up right next to this and rememberer this theming vividly! I never thought kings island was on the same level as universal or Disney but learning this history is wild for me. So interesting

oh my god... i never realized Drop Zone was named after a movie...

This series I legitimately so well put together

*A dark Top Spin!* It was a frigging dark Top Spin! That's amazing.

I’m absolutely stunned, floored by this review. It feels like the late owners either did not understand the appeal of the tomb raider ride or just couldn’t afford the replacements to maintain its exquisite delivery. Such an incredible case study! Mind blowing research as always Defunctland!!! Bravo

*screams into my empty house* DEFUNCTLAND SEASON 2!!!

"You hear Angelina Jolie's lips."

*DAMN YOU COPYRIGHT LAW* *IS THERE NOTHING SACRED THAT YOU WON’T DEFILE?*

14:48 "Looking at a line of seats...resembling a Little Caesar's advertisement." "You hear Angelina Jolie's ....LIPS!" Can I buy some pot from you?

H E A V I L Y T H E M E D T O T A L L Y I M M E R S I V E D A R K R I D E A D V E N T U R E

I'm glad I found this channel, these videos fulfill my niche interests

this is absolutely heartbreaking!! I forgot I was watching defunctland for a while and got so excited at how awesome this attraction seemed...

*Y I P P I E S K I P P Y*

Great video! Thanks for the shout out!

Being a Midwesterner, there are so few rides I see on this channel that I've actually ridden, but I rode this one multiple times, and damn, it was fun. I have very vivid memories of the first time I rode it.

My cousins and I went on it once when it was the Crypt. We were so unbelievably disappointed with it that I christened it with a new nickname: The Crapt.

I can barley imagine how face off got made as a movie. The fact that it needed up being a ride is just WILD

Live in Cincinnati and rode this many times. It was truly an awesome ride. It was also a maintenance nightmare. It spent many days closed or only open for a few hours. That’s why the first row was removed. Trying to lighten the gondola and cut down on maintenance and issues. As Tomb Raider I loved it. As the crypt it was awful. By far, the best effect was the lava. The lights and fountains wouldn’t come on until you were upside down and lowering towards it. They added zippered pockets in front of the seats, due to the number of dropped items from hanging upside down. We were riding it once when it went it went into shutdown mode at the end of the cycle. A loud buzzer went off, we did an extra flip and all the normal lights inside came on. You could see everything. They had to get maintenance to inch the ride back into place with controls, lower the ramps one at a time, and then release us from the OTSRs. That was interesting. They did it really quickly. I’m guessing it wasn’t the first time.

Thank you for giving me credit for the queue video! I am glad I could contribute to this video. Keep up the good work!

I tried to ride this when it was still Tomb Raider and it broke down while we were in the restraints, the gimble-platform had disengaged from the locked position by about 3 feet and….we were stuck. Loud pounding drums, tight restraints that allowed for no movement other than forearms and legs. I had the most frightening claustrophobic panic attack of my entire life. I even had trouble watching this video, my experience was so terrible. I screamed and cried trying to get out. We were stuck on this ride for over 20 minutes while they re-booted it 3 times and the operator finally just had to override it to get the platform locked back into place. Before this I did not know I was extremely claustrophobic. I would consider myself a person with a pretty good bead on life (in general😉) but my experience on this ride did a number on me, and to this day, 14 or 15 years later, it’s still something I can’t recall without feeling some pretty intense fear. I’m glad the ride was removed but still pretty pissed that after all the terrible panic and fear, I never got to ride the damn thing.

Yes the genius commentary was brilliant, I especially love how he commented on which way the ride was going.

'She's talking in hindu now' Gotta love Americans.

It pains me so much to have never experienced a Tomb Raider ride. Lara's my hero and it would mean the world to me to experience something from her world. Thanks for opening season 2 with this one.

The version at Canada's Wonderland was/is completely different. You climb a step or two onto this flat contraption, stick your head onto a headrest, and the ride operator closes the cage thing on the back so you don't fall out (all while the cart is moving). Then it lowers so you're lying on your stomach and doing all kinds of flips and turns.

i miss when kings island was owned by paramount. all the themed rides were so cool. and i loved this ride. you had no idea what it was until it started which made it even more fun. you just had to wait in the dark strapped into your seat and see what happened lmao

I have a weird fear of unused big things. I don’t know what it is but stuff like that huge statue just sitting there in the dark right next to you freaks me out

Its amazing how much better you are at editing and adding effects to the videos since the first one. you deserve way more subs for the quality you're putting out

The intro was literally the ride. *I get it now*

You can see the moment when Newscaster Doug realizes he's just mispronounced "mount."

Very nice video! I never got around to riding Tomb Raider, and did not realize just how cool of an attraction it was. It's too bad it's no longer around, but the Crypt at Kings Dominion isn't half bad! Glad my footage could be of some use to you- keep up the good work!

Did...did that guy just say "Scooby-Doo and all those people?"

"Instead of Jaws, they had Face/Off" that sounds like a win to me

*"yippy skippy!"* I wish I felt that level of happiness in my life..

We use to go to Kings Island every year and the Paramount years were my favorite. I loved the movie theming at the park.

great video. And it shows once again: "Copyright destroys art"

This was an amazing ride, the world is a sadder place without it.

I'm so beyond happy I got to ride this in it's original state, it immediately became one of my favorite rides. I was so heartbroken to come back year after year and watch it get worse each time. Look how they massacred my boy you guys.

I’m serious man. How have you not pitched this series to any tv networks??

Wow! Wasn't that amazing? But hey, it's magic!

“A great amount of power is required to effortlessly spin 75 riders” Huh?

I had NO idea what this rise was when I was a kid and first got on it. My dad sat next to and noticed the giant arms on the side connecting into the platform on seats. He then leaned over and said " This whole thing is going up " and he laughed when he saw the look on my face as I turned over to him. I can still remember how much I screamed when the whole PLATFORM was doing 360 spins.

That was probably the most depressing ending for a ride ever. Damn you licensing and copyright!

Great video! Been dying for defunctland to return!!!

My friends and I referred to this ride as the "Pocket Raider" 🤣

With the help of this video, I was finally able to recreate a full virtual recreation of this legendary ride. It truly was the best attraction in the Midwest during the Paramount years. Thanks for the research help, Defunctland! 🙏🏼

Great Video, the Ride looks awesome and the original ride program just sound nuts. I would kill to ride this in it´s original form without knowing what´s coming. That being said there is still a licensed Tomb Raider Ride left. It´s called "Tomb Raider: The Machine" and it is in Italy´s Movieland Park. It´s a Zamperla Windshear, a variation of the Top Spin Ride that can tilt the gondola by rotating both arms into different positions and it will spin gueasts around while at those wierd angels. Not nearly as well themed as the original ride shown here, but the ride program itself makes it worth a ride if you are at the park.

Please do the nickeloden studio at universal parks.

This ride was seriously amazing! I still own my Tomb Raider The Ride hat from back in the day.

This takes me back to when i had a season pass to great america. The ride was rebranded to firefall and you could ride it over and over again because there was hardly ever a line. In my opinion, it was the best ride in the park. It sucked coming back the next year to see that it had been taken out of the park entirely with no warning...

YES KINGS ISLAND! This is my home and God do I remember this ride haha

11:52 - 12:12 Him describing everything reminds me of Arnold Schwarzenegger's play-by-play DVD commentaries.

I remember watching the Son of Beast unveiling, and the crowd was SHOOK. The people at the Tomb Raider unveiling just seem to be standing there in confused silence.

This was one of my first amusement park rides and it's still one of my favorites. I will literally never forget the immaculate theming and how crazy it was. RIP.

Season 2! and a full 20 minute episode! My day couldn't get any better.

Do Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton! A man can dream. Great video as always.

Alton Towers did a great implementation of the 40 seat version called Ripsaw, opened in 1997 closed in 2015. While it didn't have elaborate theming (though the ride itself was themed well) what was great about it was it added water with the ride slowly lowering you upside down and face first towards fountains before spinning you through them several times. There was also a similar themed haunted house dark ride in the hall called Hex where the room span around the riders while they were sat in a mild pirate ship style swing creating the illusion of a fully vertical ride.

Man, I really do miss the scooby doo ride in kings island :'( All we have now is "Boo blasters on boo hill." where my homies scooby and shaggy at