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monorail


cobra1562
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I actually never rode the monorail so I don't know where it all traveled but I do know where the station was. The station was in Action Zone just about where sky flyer is now. The maintanence/storage shed for the trains is still there and was holding the damaged Top Gun train at the end of the season.

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The Monerail was actually called the "Wild Animal Safari." The main station building was located right about where Drop Zone's Queue building and the Skyfler are now. It left the building in the direction of the (now) Days of Thunder Go-Karts area. It then traversed behind King Cobra, through the Adventure Express area then through the (now)FOF area and back into the back left corner of the property. It then circled around and made it's way back to the station via the lands near Top gun that now houses Son of Beast.

Many of the old sheds that housed the animals can still be found on the property, as well as markings from the former ponds and "Preserves" built for them. The ride was broken down into areas or "Preserves" based on the animal type. For instance, you would have the "Nairobi Preserve" that would house the Hippos etc.

Guests rode in enclosed trains that traversed a concrete path with a center guide rail. Each train was motorized and had a driver and narrator. The driver was necessary to stop the monerail whenever animals neared the train or crossed the track ahead.... which they often did. The narrator, of course explained the areas and gave information over a louspeaker about the animals and preserves. When the terrain dictated...such as in the Adventure Express area, the path was elevated up on large concrete pillars.

The attraction was added in 1974 when KI opened the "Wild Animal Habitat" portion of the park which later became Adventure Villiage and is now Action Zone. The attraction closed after the 1993 season. It only operated for 1 season under Paramount ownership. In it's final years, the ride was free, but prior had cost a nominal fee.

What many do not recall is that it operated nearly year round. And folks could visit the attraction in the off-season for several years.

The ride's remains sat in storage until about 4 years ago when Jungle Jims in Fairfield bought it, along with the squirting blue elephant from Hannah Barberra Land.

In it's History, the Wild Animal Habitat made national news several times... once when a lion keeper was mauled and killed, once when a female was denied a job there as a trainer and filed a lawsuit, once when several baboons escaped and were retrieved in many nearby neighborhoods, and a few times when animals were born in captivity.

Shaggy

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Not sure. The Zoo housed some of the animals in the off season during the latter years, so perhaps. However by the time the ride closed for good, most of the animals had gone away. I recall riding it in it's last year and only seeing a handfull of animals... as opposed to hundreds in it's heyday.

Shaggy

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The animals started disappearing because they were planning on closing the ride. They can not just open the gates and let them all loose or just dump them all on the Cincinnati Zoo. They had to find places to take them and then get them there. This comes from my boss, the VP of the Resale department, who has worked there basically since the park opened.

Didn't Jungle Jim's purchase other animal statues besides the squirting elephant? I know they have set up an extensive water pond thing that you walk through with animals in it to get to the entrance. I heard one year before KI sold the elephant someone loaded the fountain with soap and the elephant was just blowing bubbles. That would have been great to see.

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I don't remember that ever happening at Jungle Jim's,b ut I could ahve missed it. Currently, there are no squirting elephants at Jungle Jims, as that store is a mess, and probably will continue to be one for a while longer, while they finish construction. It will be really cool, though, when it is finished, monorail and all.

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I didn't say that the elephant was on display. Rather, that they had bought it. Fact is. Jungle Jims has it in storage. Just about 3 years ago, a handful of Fairfield High School Seniors were arrested for trying to sneak it out of storage to place it on the lawn of the high school as a senior prank. That was how I learned they had bought it.

Shaggy

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Jungle Jims is actually a grocery store in Fairfield Ohio. But calling it a grocery store is quite an understatment. It is it's own "unique" experience.

It started as a fruit stand and eventually became a store. It began featuring cuisine and hard to find products from around the world. Over time, Jim added fountains, decorations and animated characters to keep the kids entertained. Eventually the decor got more and more elaborate and business grew right with it.

Last I heard, there was a plan to eventually build a hotel on site. People come from miles away just to go.

Here is a link below. If you want to see the former PKI monerail as it looks today, just use the link below, choose attractions from the menu then scroll all the way down on that page.

Shaggy

Jungle Jims

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