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Visitors to Kings Island can see the park is building a ride that park managers refuse to discuss, except to say that it will open in 2009.

But drawings the amusement park filed with the city of Mason Planning Department provide new clues:

• The plans describe a roller coaster 4,200 feet long. It will span from just behind International Street and the Eiffel Tower and over the Rivertown area, and into what appears to be a wooded area.

• It will be smaller than The Beast, which is 7,400 feet long, and bigger than the Vortex, which is 3,800 feet long.

• Plans show that each train on the new ride holds 32 people in eight attached cars.

• The track will run over a splash pond near the end of the ride.

The new ride is designed by Switzerland-based Bolliger & Mabillard, which describes its "hypercoaster" model as having "height, speed and airtime," according to its Web site.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4525 or dcallahan@coxohio.com.