Spectrum91

The fact Candy Taylor was intoxicated had little to do with that accident. And even if a guest is intoxicated, or unconscious, or whatever else, a ride restraint should be able to keep them secured.

Calling Mysteria "bad" is being nice. That attraction was a giant embarrassment to the park... what's worse is that it stuck around for more than a season. Actually I think that's the sign holder for either the skull or spider neon lights (used to mark an attraction or Fright Lane entrance).

The elephant fountain was actually added before the slide was moved. The fountain made its debut in 1982 with the Hanna-Barbera Land expansion, the slide was relocated in 1986 with Coney Mall's expansion. I also vividly recall the signs all around Cincinnati promoting the addition of the Smurfs to HB land in 1983. "The Smurfs are here!" proclaimed at least half a dozen billboards. The Smurfs made their debut at Kings Island in August of 1983 for a two week special preview, but Smurf's Enchanted Voyage didn't open until 1984. Here's a picture of the fountain. It was added in 1982 as part of the Hanna-Barbera expansion. It featured four control stations that allowed guests to alter water flow and control Yogi on a unicycle, Boo Boo climbing a tree, Scrappy Doo circling around on a carousel, and Jabberjaw plunking into the water. In the center was a jet stream of water that "supported" a ball. a jet stream of water that “supported” a ball.

The nighttime ERT sounds fun. But the morning ERT is just the attractions already offered to Gold and Platinum Passholders - not much appeal there.

Bumping an old thread here, but this is backwards: the ride opened as Screamin' Demon in 1977 and by the time it closed in 1987 it was referred to as just Demon. Here is a page from the 1978 brochure and here is one from 1987, both showing the ride's names. I believe the ride was renamed in 1982, but I think there may be cases of the park still calling it Screamin' Demon past that point.

Yeah, that's the part that perplexes me. That the park would spend such a large sum of money to refurbish a coaster, ensuring guests could continue to enjoy it for many more years... and then demolish it. I'm sure the Soak City expansion will be great and feature a nice collection of family-friendly attractions, but it's still sad to see an older coaster like Thunder Road go.

It's interesting to note that this is not the first time that Monster has been "removed" during a season. From 1981... I reverse image searched the picture to give credit, but it appears the original site is now gone. But this picture was also posted a couple years back in this thread, where there were then arguments on whether our current Monster is the original Monster. I've heard it was replaced by a different one around this time, but I've never been able to prove/disprove that claim.

Almost eight years late, but canoes were also where Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal was. The attraction, Kenton's Cove, only operated in 1972. The canoe ride where The Beast currently is was Shawnee Landing.

Great trip report! I've been wanting to get to SFGA for ages now, especially since Goliath was installed last season. Maybe I'll get around to planning a trip there sometime this summer.

Edit - Accidental double post

What about a coaster(s) like Racer, where there are two separate tracks that are mirror images of each other? One or two coasters? If you say just it's one, what if the park relocates one track to another park- is it still just one? Or how about when it comes to retracking or rebuilding parts of a ride, like Carowinds' Thunder Road. It's been slowly rebuilt over the past few seasons - is it now a new coaster and therefore a new credit?

At 0:51 the vehicle passes through a fog screen... wonder how long that effect will last.

Monster is a fantastic Kings Island ride - it's incredibly accommodating (if you're less than 46" you just have to ride with an adult), it's an original park ride, and it looks beautiful at night. And although I'd be sad to see it go, I half wonder if it'd be wiser for the park to replace it with a similar flat ride. Italian manufacturer Emiliana Luna Park offers a ride model called the "Polyp Ride". It's similar to Monster, but has five arms instead of six. Although it seats eight less riders (40 versus 48), it can load all its arms at once (versus Monster being limited to just two at a time) and therefore probably has a much higher hourly capacity. The cars also appear much easier to load and unload, versus Monster's cumbersome pod design. https://youtu.be/xWkpKYMVJEE?t=49s Once again, it'd be sad to see an original park ride removed. But the more I look at this alternative, the more appealing it seems. Has anyone ever ridden one of these Polyp Rides and able to share how it compares to an Eyerly Monster?

Half of them are not static displays, or are at least not supposed to be. There should be over 60 animatronics, according to the advertising for the attraction, with only a handful of the dinosaurs being static. This I'll agree with... it boggles my mind how an area that appears so shaded can end up being so unbearably hot. Maybe I've just always visited the attraction at the worst possible time though.

Sounds like a fun trip, but just thought I'd mention that Diamondback and Flight of Fear have the same 54" height requirement. If your son isn't tall enough for one of them, he isn't tall enough for either.

^I agree. I'm also surprised FunPerks didn't last more than a season for the same reason, because beyond encouraging more in-park spending, it also provides incredibly valuable data on who is buying what and where.

Back in October 1977 the park paid President Jimmy Carter's brother Billy Carter $10,000 to visit and participate in a promotional event called the "U.S. Peanut Olympics". The two-day event consisted of six peanut themed events, including a peanut butter sandwich making contest, throwing a fifty-pound peanut bag blindfolded, and a peanut-filled wheelbarrow race (pictured). In-between the rounds Billy Carter answered questions from park guests.

I hope they'd keep Boo Blasters, or at least the Boo Blasters ride system - it's one of Kings Island's most inclusive attractions. Practically any guest can ride, regardless of height, physical limitations, service animals, etc. If they put a Wonder Mountain like attraction, with a roller coaster or drop segment, it'd prevent many guests from enjoying the experience.

There's no guarantee that Woodstock Gliders will even have that same panel. The speed setting switch may be absent from whatever Kings Island's version is.

There still is - Shake, Rattle, and Roll was 1975 as well.

How many different shot glasses are there? I ask because I see a lot of repeats. Also, what's the oldest in the set? You say they date back to the early 80s but the oldest I can spot is an Adventure Express one that may be 1991. Edit - If you're counting (and including) the stein at the top of the first picture, then I stand corrected on Express being the oldest.

It was probably sent via PM and not answered here because, no matter how seemingly minor, it was employee information that is not accessible to the general public. As a couple others have mentioned, working at Kings Island can provide you with some interesting information. But if you go sharing this interesting information online, like on KICentral and similar websites, you may find yourself not working at Kings Island much longer.

Is there not one in the International Street Fudge and Candy Shop anymore?

Thanks for sharing! I never considered that the theater changed colors (from red, here, to blue, here) because of the collapse. That makes a lot of sense though. A lot of online sources claim the theater collapsed during the 1975-1976 off-season. Do you know if this is accurate? And if 1977 was indeed its final year then?

Can't believe I only just stumbled upon this. I saw your DHS mock-up a few months back and was incredibly impressed, and this too blew my mind. Although there are small things here-and-there I disagree with, overall I'm a giant fan of this concept. I especially like The Woods and how it marries Action Zone and Oktoberfest so perfectly. I also like smaller details, like the Stone Henge set-up around Delirium or the reference to the local area in Kings Mill Run. The map makes it a bit hard to tell, but are Congo Falls, Xtreme Skyflyer, and White Water Canyon still around, or were the three rides axed?