Take a ride through the new Phantom Theater attraction at Kings Island
Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare, a revival of the popular haunted attraction that operated at Kings Island from 1992 to 2002, premieres April 18.
- Warren County officials are warning Kings Island visitors about accidental 911 calls from roller coasters.
- Park-goers are advised to turn off their phones or use airplane mode to prevent 911 pocket-dials.
- Dispatchers may send a text message to phones that place 911 hang-up calls from the park’s location and send first responders if park visitors don’t reply.
The screams police and fire dispatchers may hear during a 911 call might be coming from The Beast instead of a real emergency.
Now that Kings Island is open for the season, the Warren County Emergency Management Agency has issued an advisory to park-goers to turn off their cellphones or put them in airplane mode, because they might accidentally pocket-dial 911 while on a ride.
If dispatchers receive a 911 hang-up call from a cellphone, that phone may receive a text from the Warren County Communication Center, according to an EMA Facebook post on April 27 that showed a photo of what the text would look like. That text will come from a randomly generated number.
“If a call is not made to the Communications Center, responders will continue their response,” the post continued.
One commenter put his hand up as part of the reason for the warning.
“This was me last week. Sorry y’all,” Matthew Lawson wrote. “I think it was the crash detection setting on my android. Appreciate you getting ready to save me!!”
Car insurance dings driving score for man riding The Beast roller coaster
This isn’t the first time cellphones have caused issues on rides at Kings Island.
In October 2024, Tom Bousquet posted in the Facebook group Roller Coaster Enthusiasts Club that his insurance company, Geico, thought he was driving when he was actually riding The Beast, and it cost him points off his driving score.
He shared a screenshot of the trip summary from the insurance company’s app, which included a map with six red dots. “Those red dots indicate where the app incorrectly assessed my cornering and braking skills and lowered my driving score,” the man wrote.
In a reply to a comment, the man says that “so far” his rates haven’t gone up. He planned to call the insurance company the next day and “let them know.”
Geico, like other car insurance companies that offer safe driving discounts, allows users to update past trips in case activity was recorded when a customer wasn’t driving. The company’s website details the process customers can follow to update their driving record.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.