Project 2025/305: Pantherian (Intimidator 305 Retheme)

[CoasterSkinny]

Are they planning on showing us theming plans? Or lack thereof? I'm afraid that if there was significant theming changes they would be advertising it with the coaster

I believe there will definitely be significant, applicable theming added, if the rest of the Jungle-X project is any indication. I wasn't expecting many more details beyond what they've already shared; they're already made a pretty big deal about this renaming announcement, much more than most other names/rethemes I've seen. There's already enough 2025 news, so any more details about this project may be overkill for the average, everyday person. Hopefully there'll be some blog posts going forward about this project!

 

[Bring Back Questor 87]

The name will grow on people. A basic retheme with some paint, jungle effects, maybe a soundtrack - this will do fine. Better than "Panther Strike" or some non-sensical grouping like we've seen with some of its counterparts down South.

Some people hated Kingda-Ka's name when it came out, but folks got over that because the ride experience was so memorable. I think this will be a great legacy-continuation if implemented nicely, and that paint job helps greatly.

 

[warfelg]

On a Facebook post about this a lot of people are saying this is close to Pantherinae which refers to the rather large subfamily that includes panthers:

Pantherinae

Pantherinae is a subfamily of felids that first appeared in the Miocene epoch and still exist to this day. This subfamily is decently large, and descends from the clade Feliformia. Members of this clade are named panthers, or sometimes known as Big Cats. Currently, there are 7 extant species and...

dinopedia.fandom.com

(Ironically, another coaster within United Parks chain has a name related to this with Tigris)

So this name could be interpreted as a very broad 'large cat' theme.

Therefore I will forever refer to Pantherian as "Big Cat".

 

[madmax]

The name itself isn’t the entire issue, it’s that it’s near identical to Pantheon which is less than an hour away

 

[rswashdc]

Are they planning on showing us theming plans? Or lack thereof? I'm afraid that if there was significant theming changes they would be advertising it with the coaster

There's a lot of foliage in that video that doesn't exist today. Using foliage to hide parts of the ride would be very interesting theming if that's what they are planning.

 

[Crunchewy]

The name is fine. I don't care that it's in a way close to Pantheon. Panther(ian) and Pantheon are entirely different things. You'll get over it. I like the logo a lot. I suspect the trains will be just like shown, though, which is disappointing. The ride will still be great.

 

[lyingtorobots]

Are they planning on showing us theming plans? Or lack thereof? I'm afraid that if there was significant theming changes they would be advertising it with the coaster

My guess is there will be some superficial reworking to stylize the entrance tunnel as the “temple”. Hopefully the NASCAR-esque chain link fences will be replaced, too.

 

[mikes]

The number of posts where someone is complaining about a name is ridiculous. The name is fine. Maybe BGW can rename Pantheon when it gets themed lol.

If the foliage does get added it could make a very nice improvement.

 

[Fenrihr]

I do really like the logo. Well done to whoever did that.

I am hoping the experience will be improved on ride in some way, though I'm not sure how well you're gonna notice theming while blacked out or flying by at 80ish mph.
So... Possibly improvements to the plaza, pre ride stuff, and landscaping?

 

[Intimidator325]

Barely anyone interacted with this post but one of these names would've been so badass.

Hoping they go for a real name and not a cheesy name they made up. here are some Big Cat names I think would fit our beast of a coaster:
Sheba
Kong
Rajah
Kuro
Khan
Omen
Creed
Aurora

Any who, I don't care for the name either but don't think its that big a deal... it doesn't have striker, timbers, or numbers in the name so ill take that as a win.

 

[mcmehler]

First impression is...cool name, could be a Busch Gardens ride. Second impression is...doesn't quite have the same oomph as 'Intimidator'. Third impression...I'm gonna have to ride this again and hope I don't gray out.

Barely anyone interacted with this post but one of these names would've been so badass.

Any who, I don't care for the name either but don't think its that big a deal... it doesn't have striker, timbers, or numbers in the name so ill take that as a win.

I would go with Sheba! Does the ride justice. But all of those are cool

 

[Mike541x]

First impression is...cool name, could be a Busch Gardens ride. Second impression is...doesn't quite have the same oomph as 'Intimidator'. Third impression...I'm gonna have to ride this again and hope I don't gray out.

For me personally, as soon as I start to feel myself grey out when exiting the first turn, I usually tense up my stomach muscles (I think that's the right term) and it usually goes away before the worse of greying out even starts. Also make sure you're hydrated and not riding on an empty stomach.

I'm gonna go Sunday and get my last rides on it, especially since I missed out the last two visits with it being down. While I'm not a huge fan of the new name, I don't hate it either but I am excited to see the new colors next year. I personally think it will look better than the red and yellow.

 

[mtpelepele]

Oh, what’s this? Is that a tear, Pantherian? Is Daddy’s little girl upset? I’m going to kick your ass into next Tuesday!

 

[fatherairtime]

Name is a major bummer, but I'll hold out hope for cool theming.

 

[Haunted River]

I actually love the name and logo. Hoping the station / queue and tunnel get a jungle look. Rope and bamboo would help. Make the station look better somehow!

 

[Hokie305]

I haven't been able to tell from the photos and announcement rendering, but does it look like the two lift hill support towers are being painted the same orange as the track or more of a natural brown color? Either way, I like the idea to paint those a different color from the rest of the black supports to showcase the lift hill. 15 years later, and the ride's lift hill design is still a roller coaster engineering marvel.

 

[Zachary]

I haven't been able to tell from the photos and announcement rendering, but does it look like the two lift hill support towers are being painted the same orange as the track or more of a natural brown color? Either way, I like the idea to paint those a different color from the rest of the black supports to showcase the lift hill. 15 years later, and the ride's lift hill design is still a roller coaster engineering marvel.

The two lift arch supports appear to be red in the concept art and that matches the color that we have begun to see applied to those supports as well. @Mike541x posted a few great photos here:

Since the ride was down yesterday, these were the best shots I could get of the paint job in the lift hill supports. I really like the black supports and wish that's what was happening with these ones. Ironically, I think the dark supports make the ride look a little more intimidating.

View attachment 34910
View attachment 34911
View attachment 34912

 

[CoasterAuditor]

I guess now we have the Virginia Panthintamintheriaon….

 

[MrBradferd]

I love the colors, love the logo. In the end though I couldn't give 2 shits what they did with it because it doesn't change that it is still a beast of a ride and argubely the most intense in the country. Paint it pink and call it barbie for all I care. Just like how Dominator is a parking lot coaster. Doesn't really matter. 90% of coaster name are realistically lame anyway. I think we should just start naming coaster how they name Hurricanes. Intimidator can be Timmothy.

God that would he hilarious. "Yo have you rode timmothy yet? Yea but I like susan better"

 

[the_pantsmith]

It's crazy how much more Reddit hates this name than we seem to here. They also don't mind Big Bad Wolf II. Weird.