jandyb79

Interesting! I didn't give much thought to that but you are definitely correct. My sister was a fan of the Smurfs. I probably enjoyed the ride more than I did the show, truth be told My favorite Saturday morning cartoon was Alvin and the Chipmunks!

Yeah, these are mine. My wife determined that we simply didn't have room for a Smurf at our home and the Demon artwork doesn't suit the cozy interior of our home either. I really only put The Beastie logo up as a means of verification for the other items - I don't really want to sell it. I would be willing to work out a deal with anyone here for the Demon artwork, however. It is a beautiful piece of artwork!

If I had the space and the where with all, I would pop at $2500. The thing you have to keep in mind is this is not just a go cart, this also has pop culture value. This was a ride that was enjoyed by millions of patrons and I know several collectors who would love to own this vehicle!

In the earlier days, many of the items were either sold or auctioned off by the park. I know of a family that owns one of the Enchanted Voyage boats that they use in their pond. I believe they responded to a news paper ad that listed available items.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251520456165

Give it a few years and that will replace the on ride picture.

I used to drive a truck on the back roads when I worked at the park and believe this is simply a reroute to the concession service area. The gravel road that went under the Cobra had an exit behind Thunder Alley that would now be blocked by Banshee, so this new route makes the most sense to me. That road runs under the queue of Adventure Express and leads to Flight of Fear. You can see it quite well if you are riding The Racer on the left side.

Where exactly are all of you referring to? I see shadows over sections of the rails, but on my computer monitor none of those shaded areas appear as missing rail sections - or am I looking in the wrong place altogether?

Or "plush" as KI games employees are asked to call it...otherwise a taxidermy animal rights group may come a knockin!

I'm holding onto to what I have already stated - white reflects color and a blue and purple gel will really pop at night! I will be very surprised if this is not their plan.

I shed a small tear while reading that article. I grew up watching Mr. rogers Neighborhood and loved that man. I wasn't even aware that a new show was on PBS featuring Daniel Tiger from the former show, so I am glad to see that Fred Rogers spirit has continued. It does, however, make me realize my age. I never really thought of a world without shows like Mr. Rogers when I was a youngster. The world is a different place now...

It was a suspended airplane ride that worked similar to The Bat called The Zoomer at Cincinnati's Coney Island

One additional thought, I believe is important to understand about this ride - the suspended coasters that are still operational today are not the coasters Arrow was initially shooting for. The Bat design and overall unique ride experience was the ultimate vision. The suspended Arrow coasters we ride today are faster, more controlled and far more reliable, yet they are still a watered down version of The Bat. Fun Factoid: The Bat may have been advertised as the "Worlds first and only suspended roller coaster" but it wasn't the first. Can you guess who else had a suspended coaster of sorts that was unsuccessful and only lasted a few seasons?

My brother-in-law rode it a few times as a kid and is the only family member who ever had that opportunity. Naturally, he and I discuss the ride upon occasion as well. Obviously, the swinging motion set this aside from every other coaster of its time, as well as for coasters to come. Traditionally, you get pretty much the same ride each time you ride a coaster where factors such as heat, cold, night, day, etc will effect the overall ride experience. From what others have noted, who actually rode the ride, the swinging motion created a less controlled and uncertain sensation that played into the thrill factor. Arrow was always playing with gravity to move riders outside of the natural motion you would expect from a coaster. I speculate that the unimpressive statistics of The Bat may make some believe that it couldn't hold a candle to todays standards of thrill rides, but if you have ridden a Wild/Mad Mouse you'll know that it doesn't take impressive stats to make for a thrilling ride And lastly, everyone always notes the non-banked turns that lead to the Bats demise. However, if the track turns/curves had been banked it wouldn't have swung as violently as it did. This, albeit faulty, was intentional.

This was the full article to be published in Coasterworld Spring 1981, and I don't believe all of the pictures were used. So, it's safe to say that many have never been seen until now.

April 26, 1981 From Timothy Dagg *For immediate release in the next issue of COASTER WORLD. *Enclosed: 1 Bat article, photographs (with descriptions) and 1 reply card. *Allen, see you end of May at Great America! The Bat FLIES! By Tim Dagg Kings Island, Opening Day – A friend of mine and I ventured down to Kings Mills from Toledo to be a part of the park’s opening day activities and hopefully of the maiden run of The Bat, Kings Island’s newest roller coaster. Interstate seventy-five took us not only to our destination but also to better weather than what Toledo had. As we traveled, I became less skeptical of the weather and was glad to know that Ms. Ruth Voss, A.C.E.’s official Kings Island contact (sort-to-speak) and director of public relations, would have a nice day for the unveiling of her new “toy” The Bat. Opening day for Kings Island was Sunday, April 26th. We learned that on Saturday, April 25th, the park had been bought-out by three major firms. Also that day, according to Ruth Voss, the park’s phone system had been out of service for six hours that afternoon. Thus officials were in somewhat of a frenzy having to rely only on walkie-talkies for communication. What was funny was the fact that one of the companies in the park that day were Bell System employees! Nevertheless, Terry, my traveling cohort and I were at the front gate of Kings Island very early Sunday morning. Unfortunately for us, that night was the beginning of daylight-savings time. While we waited at the Guest Relations office for Ruth Voss to meet us and take us to The Bat, we were joined by other A.C.E. members from different parts of the country. Matter of fact, throughout the entire day, we probably saw close to thirty or forty A.C.E. member in the park wearing the logo. The Bat’s safety runs ended at about forty-five minutes after the park opened. The riders of the first train came off with different thoughts about the ride showing on their faces. Some definitely enjoyed the ride and ran to the back of the queue while others may have been thinking they ‘never want to go on it again’ but probably would. There were also some who may have thought The Bat was simply another gimmicky technological tool for some company to make money with. Terry and I personally thought The Bat was an excellent roller coaster. However, it cannot be fairly evaluated because there is nothing to compare it to. The Bat is the only suspended coaster built to date. General comments about The Bat among members of A.C.E. were varied. Many agreed that the color of the station, bright purple and white (or something like that) were a poor choice of colors. A positive item of thought was that we (A.C.E.) might actually have heavy influence on the roller coaster industry. I am referring to the change in the over-the-shoulder harness that Arrow developed for The Bat. Last summer at the Kennywood convention, one A.C.E. member made it quite clear to Arrow representative Larry Neuman how uncomfortable the harnesses were. Arrow’s original suspended test coaster constructed in their prototype field in Mountainview, California had the round harnesses similar to the type used on their corkscrews. The Bat’s harnesses, however, are flat at the top where they rest on the rider’s shoulders and round at the bottom near the rider’s stomach. After The Bat dropped us back at the Victorian mansion (style of station), we ventured deeper into the woods only to be captured by The Beast. Next to follow was The Racer and the SCREAMIN DEMON then back to The Bat and BEAST, circling around for the rest of the day! All in all, Kings Island’s opening day went well and fast – the park closes at 8:00 p.m. until their full schedule start on Memorial Day. We thank Ms. Voss for her hospitality, her enthusiasm in A.C.E., and of course, for her fine job she does at Kings Island. The Bat is out of the bag…and is a big success. Which park will be the next “victim” for a BAT or similar suspended coaster? ########### This is the unusual merchandising symbol for Kings Island's newest thrill ride, The Bat. The hanging coaster, the first of its kind in the world, will feature three 7-car trains, with each car custom-designed to resemble a bat in flight. The Bat is scheduled to open in April of 1981. Series of signs shows message that greeted guest to Kings Island on opening day in late April: A crowd of "Coastermaniacs" seeking truth behind gossip of a bat flying around at Kings Island patiently await the opening of the front gates. Ruth Voss (center) leads member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts to The Bat. Kings Island Maintenance workers check the wiring on one of the chain lifts of The Bat before its maiden run on opening day: A view from the front of one of the trains shows The Bat creature head detail and "round design" shoulder harnesses before they were changed: BAT riders in the front seat saw something like this as the coaster climbed the first chain lift... ...the coaster reaches the top of the 100 ft. high lift... ...at the top of the two lifts, just before the coaster is released from the chain, the catch-guard and cat walk end suddenly producing a feeling of psychological insecurity resulting from not having frame work beneath you! The countries only suspended coaster starts its descent far above the treetops at Kings Island. The Bat currently is running two trains on its layout. When Kings Island's full summer schedule begins and certain discrepancies get ironed out, three trains will run with a ride capacity of 2000 pph. This picture not only show how close The Bat comes from the ground and its support columns but also show the different swing-angles. At this particular S-curve toward the front of the ride, the coaster comes through at such a high speed that it appear the third car from the right swung even higher than 90 degrees as if it's trying to "dump" its passengers! Finally The Bat enters its Victorian mansion-styled station to drop off its white-faced victims and pickup a new batch of thrillseekers. The Bat roller coaster suspended from its track rolls smoothly and quietly into the station as Kings Island guest look on. A.C.E. members ride the front seat of The Bat to familiarize themselves with the layout and to compare front to back seats. A view from Kings Island's Eiffel Tower shows the track layout of The Bat and its location between The Racer (left) and The Beast (off picture, immediately to the right). Credits: All photos by Terry Fell Article by Tim Dagg Coaster World magazine American Coaster Enthusiasts Kings Island All documents and photographs were compiled by Josh Blake (from his personal collection) for historical purposes only.

That is an interesting question. I had always assumed that the 1969 addition was Coney's first and only. In any case, I thought that since the subject was brought up that I would post this pic. This is an original press used photograph that I own of the Scrambler operating at Coney Island the very last day of seasonal operations 1971. Some day I will scan all of the Coney/KI original photographs I've amassed over the last 15 years.

I agree on the logo. I prefer the vintage look and appreciate the uniqueness of it, but a logo is a companies identity and this is a new company. I am glad, however, to see that the vintage logo is still used on some apparel in their gift shops. That's what I get for not fact checking

The old sign shown above was completely destroyed in a storm the spring of 04. Paramount then built their new marque with the Hollywood aesthetics. No part of the old structure survived, other than the foundation. I don't know if that was what you were implying or if you thought that the message portion was one and the same.

From my private collection, here is the marque as it appeared Opening Day 1981:

What? No Basketball skill game listed?...Lord knows we need another pay attraction in that circle!!!

I think it is a really nice touch that they are using decorative black iron fencing, reminiscent of a graveyard, as opposed to the traditional chain linked fencing for the bottom of the loops. Detail considerations like this are fantastic! And it is appreciated since chain link fencing is less expensive.

exactly

White does reflect gel lights well...blue and purple lights? Another fun upgrade to speculate!

@baynumpainting blog: http://baynumpainting.wordpress.com/ " Seen here is the black base and interior, with the new bright orange upper body. Next up will be the silver finish on the accents, and they’ll be ready to hit the track! "