Spectrum91
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Posts posted by Spectrum91
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I'm a little sad that the park is losing a unique building that (I'm pretty sure) was there in 1972, but mainly I just don't want to lose the elephant ears.
Yep, present since park opening. Originally home to "Whistle Stop" before becoming "Canyon Canteen" in the 1980s. Also a Skyline Chili at one point.
I'm curious about what will happen in this space, but I'm even more curious about the White Water Canyon pathway. If the bridge is gone I wonder if the park will build a new one or instead have a new railroad crossing, similar to Cedar Point's railroad.
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Which means at some point the cars were replaced.
And they appear to have been replaced yet again when a Turnpike was built at Kings Island.
(from this thread: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/24760-standing-within-3-feet-of-1974/)
I'm somewhat surprised Taft didn't just reuse all the Coney turnpike cars for the similar ride at Kings Island.
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Isn't there a newspaper photo of the theater structure after collapsing in the snow? I know I saw one somewhere online.
^Yeah, I recall seeing that photo too. I'm surprised I didn't save it, and now I can't find it anywhere.
Found it!
Some history on the theater...
The 1,100 seat theater opened with the park and was built by Bird-Air Structures, Inc. from Buffalo, New York. The vinyl structure was 137-feet long, 87-feet wide, and 40-feet high and was supported entirely by air pressure. It played host to "Something New!!", a musical review of Kings Island's themed areas, its inaugural year.
The theater was destroyed after the park experienced a heavy snowstorm on December 1, 1974. The snow accumulated on top of the structure and failed to slide down the edge. Pressure from the snow had lurched the top of the theater down on scaffolding in the rear and on spotlight poles in front, causing huge rips in the fabric. The damage was priced at $250,000.
As KICentral user Elfdog posted above, lots of electronics had to be retrieved from inside. There was initially a $4,000 organ, two pianos, and a set of drums trapped on the inside, but they were rescued the following day. The lighting board could not be saved.
The theater was rebuilt, only now with a blue color scheme versus the original red. The theater remained in place a few more years before being replaced by Tower Gardens in 1978.
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^Bavarian Beetle. It was a small Galaxi style coaster relocated from Coney Island. And despite being on that 1978 map, its last year was actually 1977*.
*Or perhaps it was removed mid-season 1978, but it was for sure gone by August.
Edit - Actually, it appears as though it was indeed removed mid-1978.
This shot (courtesy Roller Coaster Philosophy) is clearly from August 1978, based off the floral date at bottom. Ferris Wheel stood in the spot previously occupied Bavarian Beetle, so the roller coaster was removed by this point.
But this aerial picture of the park (source unknown) is also from 1978 and Bavarian Beetle is clearly visible. You can tell it's from then because Tower Gardens opened that year and the water fall is visible (I'm 90% sure that's what that spot is, even though it looks a little large). Additionally, Beast construction has begun (no more Shawnee's Landing) and the ticket booths to the left of the main entrance are there (I think those were added in 1978).
Hmm. I wonder why the coaster was removed midseason then, although this would help explain why Ferris Wheel suddenly appeared without much fanfare.
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It's important to note that much of the video The Interpreter posted in 2008 is sped-up and not a realistic representation of the ride. Here is a NoLimits creation of the coaster, courtesy GCI:
In my opinion it looks like a fun little ride. But if rebuilt today, it'd be nothing noteworthy.
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The Web in West Chester is super similar - it has go-karts, miniature bowling, arcade games, and putt-putt. It doesn't have any rides, but it does have a laser tag.
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Well The Beast is the longest wooden roller coaster in the world, so I don't think capacity would be a problem. It runs 3 trains (30 riders a train I think) with no problem right now. I think this type off train would allow them to let up on the brakes a little, as it could pass through the transitions more fluidly.
A coaster's length doesn't necessarily correlate with its capacity. Also, the three trains hold 36 riders each.
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Which was built first, the building and then the ride, or the ride and then the structures coming after?
I would imagine that probaly the building was constructed first and then the insides of the ride were built. That makes the most sense to me.
Well, if the ride was built similar to FOF and Rock N Roller Coaster at the Disney Studios, the ride was built first. I've seen construction pics showing those rides standing out in the open, after which are pics showing the building being constructed around it.
Actually Flight of Fear's building was built before the track. You're right that Rock 'n' Roller Coaster was constructed before its building though.
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You know what I'd like to see brought back? The puppet tree. Now that was something I looked forward to every year when I was a child. When the new season rolled around, I couldn't wait to get to the park to see what new characters and songs would be part of the show. Ever year I had my favorite character puppet and song. My dad would take his camera and get a picture of that puppet for me. I remember one year it was a koala bear puppet that sang and danced to "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport." For whatever reason, I just really liked that part of the show.
Not sure if kids today would be into this kind of thing, but it was something I looked forward to most every visit to the park.
After it was removed, it wound up in somebody's backyard for a couple decades. There were pictures online somewhere of it, before it was scrapped, but I can't for the life of me find them again.
Anyone know what I'm talking about?
Only took a year, but found it!
From Facebook user Linda Mason:
The tree was removed from the park after the 1992 season. Upon visiting in 1993 ,my daughter spied the tree near a back lot dumpster. I called Kings Island the next day and they GAVE me the tree ( never hurts to ask) .After obtaining permits and insurance I had it transported to my home where "Woody" remained until I had to move without him and the new home owners eventually had him taken down.
Being lifted by crane to load onto a flatbed truck
Final destination
He finally got real leaves ...He's so happy.
I recall finding photos though of the tree's removal from the backyard... guess I'll have to keep looking for those ones
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Talk about a clickbait thread title.
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Do you guys think it's okay?
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I'm curious how it even got into the wheel assembly... was it climbing on the track in the brake run and then it moved unexpectedly?
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(Last statement (irrelevant to Sorority House)) Has PKI/KI ever changed a house or scare zone's name/content during a previous event's run or is DDD the first?
Maze of Madness at 2001's FearFest was initially to be known as "The Morgue", prior to sensitivity concerns.
If you're looking at more examples of Halloween events changing attractions/displays over public response, I typed-up a lot of them a year ago:
Edit - And from this year, Universal Studios Hollywood removed a "darnation Army" sign from one of its attractions, supposedly after complaints.
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The launch was nothing special. At all.
I'd disagree. It was far from the fastest launch, but being uphill, indoors, and unexpected all made it an incredible feature of the ride.
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Are you by chance referring to a park photographer, like those at the entrance or inside some queue lines, like (I think) Wolf Pack that year? If so, most of those photos are deleted at the end of the day. Odds of finding a specific shot that you were in is next to impossible.
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^But then how would the website get the increased ad revenue?
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^I recall reading that Morgan's Canoes had some old Oktoberfest trash cans too.
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I recall hearing it was broken into bits and scrapped. Unlike the smaller fiberglass figures of SpongeBob, Patrick, etc. (which are lying in fields and can be seen from satellite images), Reptar was probably a bit too big to save.
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^It'd be beneficial to counter false accidents like "Someone fell off WindSeeker" and help distinguish myth from reality.
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^I'm pretty confident that the toddler death occurred at Kings Island sometime in the 1980s, but I cannot find any sources on it. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough.
In addition to getting an organized list of deaths at the park, it could also be beneficial to have one of accidents in general. I may start trying to compile a list if I get the chance.
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I recall one of the cauldrons popping up on eBay five or so years ago. I wonder if that's by chance the one.
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Sorry if this has already been written about, but here is Kings Island's death tally: In 1976, a 20 year old ranger on Lion Country Safari, John McCann, ran from his jeep into the lion area without his shotgun to use the bathroom. He was mauled by the lions and died on the spot.
1983: Tower Johnny. I already covered this in greater detail here: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/31433-clearing-up-tower-johnny/
1986: a 26 year old man dives into the Royal Fountains from the bandstand. He breaks his neck and dies.
1989: 39 year old Thomas Cahill is a park employee walking through the parking lot to get back to his car in a thunder storm-while carrying his tuba. He is struck by lightning and dies.
1991: 20 year old William Haithcoat and 20 year old park security guard Darrell Robertson are electrocuted by a faulty aerator pump in the Oktoberfest Pond trying to save 22 year old Timothy Benning, who survived the incident. 37 minutes later, 32 year old Candy Taylor, who is riding on Fight Commander passes out (she was very, very drunk), slides beneath her restraints into the unnocupied seat next her and falls to her death.
2003: A woman has a heart attack on Top Gun (now The Bat) and died the next day in the hospital.
2009: A man has a heart attack on Firehawk and dies later that day in a hospital.
One story that I have heard but I cannot validate was that a six year old boy died of natural causes in 1978 while riding what's now Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown.
Kings Island is a very safe place. Most of the incidents above were blamed on the victim. If I have made any errors, feel free to correct me. Sorry if this has already been covered on this thread before, but I love clearing up the truths on things.
-Ghost Guy
Excellent post, but there's a couple things I'd make note of:
-1986, when the man dived into the fountain I don't believe he actually passed away until a week later in the hospital.
-In 2007 a man passed away a day after riding Son of Beast - (http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/news/local/son-of-beasts-history-rough-for-park-riders-1/nM2M9/). Pre-existing conditions were involved, but that is also the case of other deaths already listed here.
-If you count the Kings Island Campground as part of Kings Island, there are then at least two additional deaths. In April 1986 Robert Weight passed away in James Keith Smith's trailer at the campground. In June Smith was charged by a jury with aggravated murder, tampering with evidence, and obstructing official business.
-I cannot find a source for this, but I think I once read about a toddler being run-over by an RV at the campground and passing away.
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Excellent research and information. Are you by chance able to link to these Columbus Dispatch article referenced, alongside the source for any other information?
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Are there any pictures of the tunnels? I can't find them in any satellite images and am somewhat confused what I should be looking for.
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Rivertown funnel cake stand razed
in Kings Island
Posted
^I agree, but it would also require the park to staff a crossing guard there. And even at minimum wage, that cost of labor quickly adds up.