Kings Island Super 8 reel from 1972

[HarvestmanMan 511]

Posted about this a couple days ago in the general off-topic thread, but I thought I'd stick it up here as well.

Last week I found this Super 8 film reel for a few dollars at an antique store in Newport.

I'm watching it so far, and among the rides attractions visible are:

• Racer
• Giant Slide
• Skyride
• Unidentified ride involving boats with sails(?)
• Multiple early Hanna-Barbera Land rides
• ...and more

I'll try to capture it and post it here once I'm done. Quite an exciting find for me.

[Oldschool75 6775]

I'm sure KingsIslandPR may be interested in this. Can't wait to see it.

[HarvestmanMan 511]

I'm sure KingsIslandPR may be interested in this. Can't wait to see it.

Interesting. Makes me wonder if it would be worth getting it professionally digitized...

There's quite a bit of footage left to record, but unfortunately my camera battery died on me. So in the meantime, I have about 2.5 minutes of the film rendering and uploading as we speak. There's also some really nice footage of Winnie Witch's Cauldrons - including Winnie herself spinning atop the ride, and Screamin' Demon in the background. Interestingly, the few photos of the ride floating around show the cauldrons as being black with flames - apparently when the ride was new, they were pastel-colored, resulting in a "Winnie Witch's Teacups" of sorts.

[Oldschool75 6775]

Well if the Scremin Demon is in it, definitely not 1972.

[HarvestmanMan 511]

Well if the Scremin Demon is in it, definitely not 1972.

My mistake - it's actually the "Scooby Doo" coaster in the background, not Screamin' Demon.

[HarvestmanMan 511]

And here we are...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIt42gkIfYQ

(Period-correct stock music is included instead of obnoxious projector noises.)

More to come.

[DiamondAceExpress 699]

That's fantastic! Thanks for sharing.

[MDMC01 7693]

Good stuff. I think the ride with sails might be Gulliver's Rub-A-Dub.

[KIBeast 1569]

Sweet footage! A bit hard to watch, but cool none the less

[HarvestmanMan 511]

Sweet footage! A bit hard to watch, but cool none the less

Yeah, sorry about the quality. I'm not sure how to get rid of the frames being split into two parts like that, it may be an issue with the actual film itself. Once I get it transferred, it should look considerably better.

[Oldiesmann 14033]

Which store in Newport was this?

[KIfan73 3833]

That would make for the most perfect commercial for Kings Island...the music and everything. It would just fade into the Kings Island logo at the end with something like "entertaining you since 1972".

[Thrill_Biscuit 17178]

I love that "Yes meets early Chicago" soundtrack! Beautiful.

Thanks for posting this! I think MDMC01's right about the Gulliver's Rub-a-Dub.

[HarvestmanMan 511]

Which store in Newport was this?

Sin City Antiques. I may head back there this week to see if any of the other reels are worth buying.

Watched the rest of the reel, and it features some pretty good shots of Wheel Of Fortune and the Marathon Turnpike, as well as a short Enchanted Voyage cameo. Unfortunately, I've somehow put the reel on backwards and don't exactly know how to "rewind" it properly...will work on that when I return Friday evening.

(For the record, I think the ride in question is indeed Gulliver's Rub-A-Dub, judging by the proximity to the rest of the rides.)

[KIBeast 1569]

It's cool man. No apology necessary. Just to see KI Super 8 footage took me back in time. Where's Marty McFly when I need him.

[BansheeGal1203 13]

And here we are...

So happy to find this on here I THINK I already watched it on YouTube by finding it but it's so COOL

[Spectrum91 1725]

Here's all the attractions featured and at what times.

0:03 - Dodgem

0:05 - Racer

0:12 - Flying Carpet

0:20 - Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad

0:49 - Gulliver's Rub-a-Dub (this is only the second time I've ever seen video of it, so kudos on the rare find)

1:00 - Enchanted Voyage

1:11 - Sky Ride

1:18 - Motor Mouse

1:20 - Scooby-Doo (in background)

1:24 - Kikky Kangaroo

1:54 - Winsome Witch's Caldron (it had multiple different, similar names at points)

Definitely a great find, and the 1972 date on the reel seems accurate (at the very latest it's 1974, based off Winsome Witch's Caldron having colored cauldrons. They were black by 1975). EDIT - The cauldrons were actually repainted in 1974, so this footage is for sure from 1972 or 1973. I'm assuming that the date on the front is accurate though.

[HarvestmanMan 511]

Here's all the attractions featured and at what times.

0:03 - Dodgem

0:05 - Racer

0:12 - Flying Carpet

0:20 - Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad

0:49 - Gulliver's Rub-a-Dub (this is only the second time I've ever seen video of it, so kudos on the rare find)

1:00 - Enchanted Voyage

1:11 - Sky Ride

1:18 - Motor Mouse

1:20 - Scooby-Doo (in background)

1:24 - Kikky Kangaroo

1:54 - Winsome Witch's Caldron (it had multiple different, similar names at points)

Definitely a great find, and the 1972 date on the reel seems accurate (at the very latest it's 1974, based off Winsome Witch's Caldron having colored cauldrons. They were black by 1975).

Thanks - much appreciated. The red building at 1:30 seems to be the Sky Ride loading station that is currently a Peanuts souvenir shop, but I can't tell what the various shapes and structures around it are - perhaps part of the pentagonal Funky Phantom/Squiddly Diddly/Kikky Kangaroo/Motor Mouse structure?

[Spectrum91 1725]

^That's exactly what they are. The ones shown are the structures are for Funky Phantom (Linus' Beetle Bugs) and Squiddly Diddly (Boo-Boo's Baggage Claim, removed after 2005).

[BB1 5756]

​I actually have a Super 8 MM film projector that I am working on at the moment (I cannot get the bulb changed out). May head on over to NewPort for some of these old films.

[Dane 1911]

Cool find. Thanks for sharing!

[kingsislandfan1972 5984]

I love to see any footage of Kings Island, thank you!

[HarvestmanMan 511]

Quick necrobump here. Once I gather the necessary funds, I will be sending the reel off for digitization. That is, after I figure out how to get it out of the projector after accidentally inserting the film backwards...

And what have we here?...

[The Interpreter 82044]

Thank you!

The future (and the past) looks bright!

[zacc1993 906]

This is awesome! So cool to see the park from that time.

[KI-ORIG-EMP 1795]

I was only a junior at King High School back then, which was my first year working at the Park! Oh how I had really nice thick red hair back then!!!

[HarvestmanMan 511]

Resurrecting this thread...I still have both reels and am preparing to get them digitized.

Unfortunately more than half of the Coney reel is filled with St. Patrick's Day Parade and family picnic stuff.  Whoever the camera operator in question was sure had a thing for mini skirts.  Kind of creepy actually.

Unfortunately, due to a belt-related incident involving my projector, I still haven't been able to see the rest of it.  Who knows how much actual Coney footage is on there.  The KI reel, however, is well worth checking out. Stay tuned...

[gforce1994 1760]

41 minutes ago, HarvestmanMan said:

Resurrecting this thread...I still have both reels and am preparing to get them digitized.

Unfortunately more than half of the Coney reel is filled with St. Patrick's Day Parade and family picnic stuff.  Whoever the camera operator in question was sure had a thing for mini skirts.  Kind of creepy actually.

Unfortunately, due to a belt-related incident involving my projector, I still haven't been able to see the rest of it.  Who knows how much actual Coney footage is on there.  The KI reel, however, is well worth checking out. Stay tuned...

If it’s stuck inside, you could use an X-ray machine.

[HarvestmanMan 511]

5 hours ago, gforce1994 said:

If it’s stuck inside, you could use an X-ray machine.

Not stuck inside - both films are intact. The problem was that the projector needed a new drive belt, and our replacement belt ended up partially melting and eventually broke from the heat of the lamp. 

[gforce1994 1760]

23 minutes ago, HarvestmanMan said:

Not stuck inside - both films are intact. The problem was that the projector needed a new drive belt, and our replacement belt ended up partially melting and eventually broke from the heat of the lamp. 

Costco has some cheap film transfer services. I haven’t tried them yet, but I want to.