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Covered walkway of old KI


Gannersdaddy
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I was talking with some friends about KI on Saturday.  I know there used to be a covered walkway that they grew plants over, but I could not remember where it was.  I have been looking through old maps and such, but not luck.  I know there are some folks on here that know what I am talking about.  Anyone recall where it was?  Bonus points for a map of it and any pix.

 

Thanks

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1 minute ago, Gannersdaddy said:

I was talking with some friends about KI on Saturday.  I know there used to be a covered walkway that they grew plants over, but I could not remember where it was.  I have been looking through old maps and such, but not luck.  I know there are some folks on here that know what I am talking about.  Anyone recall where it was?  Bonus points for a map of it and any pix.

 

Thanks

Are you talking about the tunnel to Rivertown? That was I believe located where Chick File A is now. 

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1 minute ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Are you talking about the tunnel to Rivertown? That was I believe located where Chick File A is now. 

Yes.  More of a low arch.  I was telling them that is was around there (we were eating at Chic Fil A at the time).  Thanks, I have not totally lost it (yet).   LOL

 

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54 minutes ago, Gannersdaddy said:

I was talking with some friends about KI on Saturday.  I know there used to be a covered walkway that they grew plants over, but I could not remember where it was.  I have been looking through old maps and such, but not luck.  I know there are some folks on here that know what I am talking about.  Anyone recall where it was?  Bonus points for a map of it and any pix.

 

Thanks

The yellow lines in this picture demonstrate approximately the general area where the covered archway once was.  You can still easily make out the old path area.

Ki Arch.png

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11 hours ago, Driver8rws said:

They still have one just like it at Carowinds! 

Pic 191 in this collection shows the KI one really well.

This is what they paid homage to by making the new one at the new entrance to White Water Canyon a few years back.

Wow. Those pictures are great, but sad. Shows just how much changes in ownership and public tastes have butchered a beautiful park. Also shows you what a missed opportunity they had when they stopped way short of a full renovation of International Street last year. It’s better, but the paver layout make no sense, the tables and benches are bad and industrial, and they missed the chance to bring back the gas lights and “street” feel. I think CF is really trying to “bring back” the park, but man they inherited a mess that even they themselves created the first few years of their ownership. 

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As a kid I loved that covered walkway.  I would walk back and forth thru it . . seemed like a magical gateway to me :) .  One end you can see and hear the sounds of International street, and go through the walkway to the sites/sounds of Rivertown to what I think you can see the log ride.  To a small kid it just seemed you were going to two separate worlds.

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Most don't know/remember that there were spray misters inside the arbor.  They weren't always on, but on hot days they often had at least 2 going.  It was the first park I ever saw with them.  As a result, the pavement often stayed wet inside of it.

Kings Dominion followed suit and later installed 2, around the time they added Diamond Falls, to the sign entrance to the Congo area.

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22 minutes ago, brenthodge said:

Wow. Those pictures are great, but sad. Shows just how much changes in ownership and public tastes have butchered a beautiful park. Also shows you what a missed opportunity they had when they stopped way short of a full renovation of International Street last year. It’s better, but the paver layout make no sense, the tables and benches are bad and industrial, and they missed the chance to bring back the gas lights and “street” feel. I think CF is really trying to “bring back” the park, but man they inherited a mess that even they themselves created the first few years of their ownership. 

I don't blame management changes for the removal of the covered walkway. The original vine covered archway suffered from poor placement. The archway was mostly removed and the pathway cut off to make way for the walk-in cooler and service area behind Snoopy Grill, which you can see in the photo posted by SonofBaconator. The rest was removed because the plants were starting to die and it probably wasn't worth the investment to replant on a dead end walkway. It's always great to see the love that the old archway gets because it holds a special place in my heart too. I always made my parents go out of the way to walk through it. I'm glad a new one was added in White Water Canyon's new entrance and I hope it grows in fully soon!

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17 minutes ago, befat said:

I don't blame management changes for the removal of the covered walkway. The original vine covered archway suffered from poor placement. The archway was mostly removed and the pathway cut off to make way for the walk-in cooler and service area behind Snoopy Grill, which you can see in the photo posted by SonofBaconator. The rest was removed because the plants were starting to die and it probably wasn't worth the investment to replant on a dead end walkway. It's always great to see the love that the old archway gets because it holds a special place in my heart too. I always made my parents go out of the way to walk through it. I'm glad a new one was added in White Water Canyon's new entrance and I hope it grows in fully soon!

I wasn’t referring to just the vine tunnel. The park as a whole definitely went through several phases of “remove and repave” as it changed from TAFT to KECO to PARAMOUNT. As to the vine tunnel, it seems that food location functioned fine for many years without a service area right behind it. Anyone know what it originally served and what changed to necessitate the removal of a path to add a service area? 

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Both Kings Dominion and Carowinds Completely replaced their arbor tunnels  at one point.   New structures and vines.     Carowinds actually modified theirs again last year to raise it to allow for parade floats to go through  
 

The ones that go to Whitewater Canyon are subpar compared to the original one.  The original one was wide enough that It has seating. If for some reason the vines have not covered them very well despite how long they have been there The ones that go to Whitewater Canyon or pitiful compared to the original one. If for some reason the vines have not covered them very well despite how long they have been there  

 

The removal of this is another example of Paramount/KECO damage to the original park But Kings Island got to keep the train, and the others didn’t   So that’s the better choice if one had to pick between the two  

 


 

 

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2 hours ago, super7 said:


 

The ones that go to Whitewater Canyon are subpar compared to the original one.  The original one was wide enough that It has seating. If for some reason the vines have not covered them very well despite how long they have been there The ones that go to Whitewater Canyon or pitiful compared to the original one. If for some reason the vines have not covered them very well despite how long they have been there  

 

 

 


 

 

It is wisteria vine and I would believe is heavily pruned to keep it in check as it can grow off shoots off the main vine upwards of 10 feet in a season. I would hope it is the native vine vs the Chinese one as that one is almost as bad as kuduz as far as invasives are concerned. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/25/2020 at 2:03 PM, brenthodge said:

I wasn’t referring to just the vine tunnel. The park as a whole definitely went through several phases of “remove and repave” as it changed from TAFT to KECO to PARAMOUNT. As to the vine tunnel, it seems that food location functioned fine for many years without a service area right behind it. Anyone know what it originally served and what changed to necessitate the removal of a path to add a service area? 

My guess: Frozen Chicken Tenders. They probably did more fresh food in 1972 and didn't need as much food storage. At some point, they decided they needed a walk in freezer.

Trends and needs change over time. I doubt the removal of the pathway was taken lightly. Someone has to make the hard decisions.

What has been removed and repaved? Paramount and Cedar Fair have both removed a ton of asphalt from the park and replaced it with concrete (nice stained concrete with the Nickelodeon project), or pavers. Sure, more modern materials have been used but you're not going to find the same building materials that you did in 1972.

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  • 1 year later...

I have fond memories of my childhood of eating the chicken tenders  and curly fries (back when they still sold those) with my family under the old arbor tunnel. I remember listening to the clickety clack of what's now Great Pumpkin Coaster (Then known as Top Cat Taxi Jam). I was disappointed when the tunnel was removed.

I was reminded of this tunnel after riding the train at Winterfest this season, queuing in the White Water Canyon entrance. While it's cool to see that arbor tunnel there, I still miss the one on the midway. Looking at old photos of the old tunnel, it looked like a portal that took guests from one section to another without the theming clashing. There has always been an awkward transition between Planet Snoopy and Rivertown, as well as the walkway into Rivertown from the floral clock past the upward spiral on Backlot. If the park ever brought that tunnel back, I'd love to see it be built in either of those two areas. 

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On 8/26/2020 at 12:05 PM, BoddaH1994 said:

Wouldn’t mind seeing one come back over one of the main midways. Just sayin’.

They could easily add it back during a Planet Snoopy update and still have movement through there.

I agree with another member who posted in this thread. It was like a portal that took you to another land. That is what they are missing. The immersion of themed areas. That is why Universal and Disney do so well. 

KI needs to separate Planet Snoopy and Rivertown again as well as isolate other areas.

 

Ivy Tunnel Recreation.png

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On 8/26/2020 at 1:54 PM, Maestro said:

Would be nice to see one of these back.  How about across the midway leading from Planet Snoopy (near the back restrooms) into Rivertown (by Flume)?

This would be a great idea! I hope KI is reading these posts!  This is something that is missed a lot.  

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  • 2 months later...
On 1/7/2022 at 10:13 AM, Oldschool75 said:

They could easily add it back during a Planet Snoopy update and still have movement through there.

I agree with another member who posted in this thread. It was like a portal that took you to another land. That is what they are missing. The immersion of themed areas. That is why Universal and Disney do so well. 

KI needs to separate Planet Snoopy and Rivertown again as well as isolate other areas.

 

Ivy Tunnel Recreation.png

It makes feel out of place going through Planet Snoopy to get to Diamondback when I get to the park.

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