Backlot Stunt Coaster was a steel launched roller coaster at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, built by Premier Rides and designed by Werner Stengel. It first opened on May 20, 2005 as Italian Job: Stunt Track, themed to the climactic chase scene from the 2003 Paramount film The Italian Job, before being renamed Backlot Stunt Coaster in 2008.
As Backlot Stunt Coaster, the ride kept its signature LIM launch and compact, twisting layout through a faux studio backlot, remaining one of Kings Island’s most re-rideable family thrill attractions for over a decade and a half. For the 2025 season the park retired the Backlot name and re-themed the attraction as Queen City Stunt Coaster, swapping Hollywood references for Cincinnati landmarks while keeping the same track and trains.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Kings Island
- Manufacturer: Premier Rides
- Designer: Werner Stengel
- Opened: May 20, 2005 (as Backlot Stunt Coaster from 2008)
- Height: about 45 ft
- Top speed: 40 mph
- Length: about 1,960 ft
- Inversions: 0
- Current name: Queen City Stunt Coaster (since 2025)
The Ride Experience
Riders boarded compact three-car trains that launched via LIM technology from 0 to 40 mph in about three seconds, rocketing out of a faux three-story parking garage shell. The layout packed two upward helixes, an overbanked turn, and a mock helicopter-attack sequence with pyrotechnics into a run lasting roughly one minute, before a water-splash finale near the station.
With zero inversions and a 48-inch height requirement, Backlot Stunt Coaster was built as an accessible, high-intensity launch experience for riders who weren’t ready for Kings Island’s bigger inverted or hyper coasters, while still delivering one of the park’s quickest bursts of acceleration.
From Movie Set to Queen City
The coaster began life in 2005 as Italian Job: Stunt Track, one of three near-identical Premier Rides launch coasters (alongside sister rides at Canada’s Wonderland and Kings Dominion) built while the parks were owned by Paramount. When Cedar Fair dropped the film licensing after acquiring the parks, the ride was rebranded Backlot Stunt Coaster in 2008, trading movie-specific signage for generic studio-lot theming.
The ride’s original MINI Cooper-styled vehicles, developed with BMW, were simplified around 2010. In 2025, Kings Island retired the Backlot name entirely in favor of Queen City Stunt Coaster, reworking the theming around Cincinnati landmarks while leaving the core track layout and launch system unchanged.
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Italian Job Stunt Track / Queen City Stunt Coaster Photo Archive: 2005 & 2006
These are original ThrillZing photos of Italian Job: Stunt Track, today’s Backlot Stunt Coaster, taken at Paramount’s Kings Island on July 30 and 31, 2005, its opening season, and in August 2006, restored and upscaled from the original camera files. They show the Premier launched coaster in its movie-themed years: the tunnel billboard with Mini Cooper trains bursting through it, the parking-garage lift, the freeway-sign hill, the helicopter and shipping containers, and the ride from the Eiffel Tower. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
Backlot Stunt Coaster FAQs
Is Backlot Stunt Coaster still open at Kings Island?
The physical ride is still operating, but it was renamed Queen City Stunt Coaster starting in the 2025 season, replacing the Backlot name used from 2008 to 2024.
What was Backlot Stunt Coaster themed to before its name change?
It opened in 2005 as Italian Job: Stunt Track, themed to the car-chase finale of the 2003 film The Italian Job, before Cedar Fair rebranded it as Backlot Stunt Coaster in 2008.
How fast did Backlot Stunt Coaster go?
Its LIM launch system accelerated trains from 0 to 40 mph in about three seconds, the coaster’s top speed.
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