Jump to content

Memories of Hanna-Barbera Land


Voicetek
 Share

Recommended Posts

My earliest memory of KI was riding the witches cauldrons (not sure what they were called?) with my mom, and I remember the Smurfs ride. I remember the slide as well and I think it used to scare me back then even though I rode it a few times. I remember many of the rides that are still there just under different names and theming, like the bumper cars. The merry-go-round was amazing with all the Hanna-Barbera characters.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow that's awesome! I've always wanted to walk through a dark ride when it wasn't running. I'm assuming this was after it was shut down for the day?

Yep, my shift would start about 10 pm. In the winter it was pretty dead, no one in the parks at night. That was back in the days when they still had the fiberglass indians, they would store them in the fiberglass shop which was the building on the top of the hill on the other side of the fence from HB land. You'd be going thru the fiberglass shop at night with your flashlight walking thru all the indians with their hatchets and arrows and wondering which one was going to get ya! In the summer the park was busy all night, maintenance, people hosing down the walkways and cleaning the shops etc...always found people doing some interesting things on third shift...the motor house on the Flying Eagles ride comes to mind. Going thru the Enchanted Voyage you'd walk along the "canal" thru the building and check the doors and other areas. The perimeter check was interesting too, that was during the Lion Country Safari days and you'd have to go around the perimeter and check all the gates for the safari. You could shine your light into the lion pen and see all the eyeballs glowing at you.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't remember too much about HB as we only visited the park once a year and by the time I was old enough to have a good memory of most of the attractions, we had outgrown most of them. I remember riding Beastie when I was 6 (I believe this was before it had seatbelts as well), remember parts of the Smurf ride (this was a favorite of ours) and also have vague memories of the cauldrons, puppet theater and slide (though I don't remember if the slide was in HB or if it had been moved to Coney by that time).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow that's awesome! I've always wanted to walk through a dark ride when it wasn't running. I'm assuming this was after it was shut down for the day?

Yep, my shift would start about 10 pm. In the winter it was pretty dead, no one in the parks at night. That was back in the days when they still had the fiberglass indians, they would store them in the fiberglass shop which was the building on the top of the hill on the other side of the fence from HB land. You'd be going thru the fiberglass shop at night with your flashlight walking thru all the indians with their hatchets and arrows and wondering which one was going to get ya! In the summer the park was busy all night, maintenance, people hosing down the walkways and cleaning the shops etc...always found people doing some interesting things on third shift...the motor house on the Flying Eagles ride comes to mind. Going thru the Enchanted Voyage you'd walk along the "canal" thru the building and check the doors and other areas. The perimeter check was interesting too, that was during the Lion Country Safari days and you'd have to go around the perimeter and check all the gates for the safari. You could shine your light into the lion pen and see all the eyeballs glowing at you.

What I would give to see a point of view video of your experiences back then. I have always found Theme Parks at night when they are either closed down or closing down to be fascinating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I loved the merry go round. I was always on Jabberjaw. Also remember riding the bumper cars (which we incorrectly used to call the "BammBamm Bumper Cars"). Also remember the house of cards. I remember the floors being crazy in there.

I was too young to remember the original Enchanted Voyage (though I've been told that I rode it), but I distinctly remember really liking whatever it was that replaced it. Can't quite remember what they were that invaded that place.....hmm.....

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was also a Jabberjaw kid!

I was mainly a Scooby-Doo kid, but there were occasions that I would take a ride on Jabberjaw. I thought it was cool how you could sit on his fin and I'd look up at his mouth full of teeth. Ah..memories!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember I used to be scared of the characters walking around.

That's because they're gigantic to a little kid...you don't expect Scooby Doo to be the size of a forklift! :)

That and the fact that my parents would always force me to take pictures with them. They tried to get me to take a picture with Scooby one time and right before they took the picture I started crying. Then Scooby tried to give me a hug to make me feel better, so I started screaming and ran away. They had park security looking all over the place trying to find me. I don't remember much after that but from what my parents said, a couple guys found me sitting under a table.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of my HB Land memories involve my cousin in some way, who was killed last year. So I can't really choose an exact favorite >.>

Really sorry for your loss.

Excellent photos there! I completely forgot about the little things like the Smurfs on that park bench. Thanks for sharing.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I only visited Kings Island once a year, but I too have fond memories of Hanna Barbera. My parents tell me that we attended the park pretty much from year one or two. I wish that we had photos of the park, but alas we do not. One thing I do remember is that my uncle took a hand held 8mm (if I recall correctly) on The Racer. The footage is quite shakey as you could imagine, but I remember my Grandma setting up the movie screen time to time to watch the movie. Sorry, I just had a thought, I wonder if we have/had slides of Kings Island instead of photos?? I need to ask my family before it's too late to recall where these photos and/or slides may be. I will try to get back to you guys if I find anything out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are a few more photos of HB Land. My earliest memories are much like those already mentioned. I loved riding the Smurf ride and the witches cauldron. The Flintstones bumper cars were well themed and a great ride as well! Enjoy these pics :)

rubadubcopy.jpg

snail_2copy.jpg

enchanted_mush_1_1copy.jpg

rubadubflintstonescopy.jpg

kigulivers.jpg

kiflintstones.jpg

ki1.jpg

flintstone_2_1copy.jpg

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

and slide (though I don't remember if the slide was in HB or if it had been moved to Coney by that time).

You actually have that backwards. The slide was originally in Coney (as can be seen in the Partridge Family & Brady Bunch episodes), then was shortened and moved to HB.

Being born in '72, I grew up with HB Land. I loved all the things previously mentioned, but one my favorites hasn't been brought up yet. I absolutely loved the snail that sat outside the original Enchanted Voyage. It would blink, move it's head & neck, and I always used to say along with it, "Have a happy day!"

My uncle did characters at the park back in the early days, and my mom has a picture of me with Scooby, and inside the costume is my uncle. He also played a few of the Banana Splits characters. I loved all the characters, but Scooby, Captain Caveman and Hong Kong Phooey had a slight edge over all the others.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My uncle did characters at the park back in the early days, and my mom has a picture of me with Scooby, and inside the costume is my uncle.

Thanks, thanks a lot...now I know the picture I have with "Scooby" is not Scooby...just another childhood memory shot to... :rolleyes:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My uncle did characters at the park back in the early days, and my mom has a picture of me with Scooby, and inside the costume is my uncle.

Thanks, thanks a lot...now I know the picture I have with "Scooby" is not Scooby...just another childhood memory shot to... :rolleyes:

Sorry. Just don't ask me about the Easter Bunny & Santa Claus. ;)

It broke my heart the day that GatorGirl told me that Dora, Diego and Spongebob weren't real, and that they were just people inside costumes. I asked her about Mickey Mouse, Pinocchio and all of them down at WDW, and she said the same thing. And she had just turned 4 at the time. A little bit of childhood lost, but today she still hugs the characters whenever she sees them.

Thanks to my work, she still believes in Santa (for now). Last December she saw Santa twice, and she told our friends that the second one wasn't the real Santa. When asked how she knew, she said "Because the second Santa had to ask my name, but the Santa at Daddy's work already knows my name when I go in the room." ^_^

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...