A friend of mine tipped me off that this video was on YouTube - thought you guys might enjoy it. Not sure if it has been posted here before or not.

It is an old video from 1971-72 centered around the construction of the park (I think Taft did the video).

That's amazing!

Now THAT is an awesome find! Simply incredible footage, including construction of the Eiffel Tower, Racer, International Street.

Wow The Twin Racers was a "Wild Ride"

Excellent Find!

This is something of a "Holy Grail" for KI fans! Bravo! I've tried finding something like this on the internet for years!!! Way to go!

I like em' wild, and I build 'em wild and I like to see the people scream from the time they leave that hilltop (?) 'til they hit back on the brakes.

Wow that was awesome! Kinda gives me an erie feeling comparing it then to today

absolutely amazing!!!! never have seen this before!!! great find

Wow...I'm speechless...and that's only after watching the first minute. I'll watch the rest later.

-Gordon who really has only one final to study for, but should stop procrastinating on KIC anyways...

Absolutely amazing! I have never seen that before and would love to have a copy of it.

Definitely different construction safety laws in place nowadays! Wow for the Eiffel Tower builders! Fearless! I would have imagined they'd have safety lines & carabiners. Nope. Just walking around like there's no 250' drop to either side. Amazing!

very nice.

Definitely different construction safety laws in place nowadays! Wow for the Eiffel Tower builders! Fearless! I would have imagined they'd have safety lines & carabiners. Nope. Just walking around like there's no 250' drop to either side. Amazing!

I know!!! when I saw them just walking around my stomach did flips..I was thinking to myself...HA! FORGET THAT...I know I wouldnt be able to do something like that...Im afraid of heights too much to do something that brave..

Truly amazing video. That video gave me so much more love for our local park, looking at what it started as and what they set the park out to be when building it.

Thanks for posting that!!!!!!

The Eifel Tower part was amazing. It gives you an idea of how huge of a project it was. On the safety note, I'm sure those workers were very skilled at walking and working on that steel but what about wind

OMG, where has this video been hiding all these years??? Great find! I never knew this existed. I loved it showing the designing of Enchanted Voyage, this was one of my favorite rides as a kid (pre-Smurfs!). And I kept looking for the safety lines for the Eiffel Tower construction... definitely different standards in fall prevention back then. I'd love to add this to my collection of KI videos/dvd's!

Wow! That was awesome! But a couple of questions - when did they start building KI and how much did cost back then? Also how did they come up with the name? I know... probably useless info but I'm curious.

Maria

Absolutely incredible! You get an A+ and FIFTY GOLD STARS!!!!

Wow! That was awesome! But a couple of questions - when did they start building KI and how much did cost back then? Also how did they come up with the name? I know... probably useless info but I'm curious.

Maria

The name was a contest-winning name that combines "Kings" (Mills) with (Coney) "Island". Don't know who won that contest, though..

Absolutely incredible! You get an A+ and FIFTY GOLD STARS!!!!

Are those redeemable for cash and/or prizes? Just kidding. If that's the case, I have boxes and binders of old stuff lying around at home someplace...

Definitely different construction safety laws in place nowadays! Wow for the Eiffel Tower builders! Fearless! I would have imagined they'd have safety lines & carabiners. Nope. Just walking around like there's no 250' drop to either side. Amazing!

I know!!! when I saw them just walking around my stomach did flips..I was thinking to myself...HA! FORGET THAT...I know I wouldnt be able to do something like that...Im afraid of heights too much to do something that brave..

I hope they got hazard pay for that!! I wonder if their life insurance got automatically canceled or tripled in price?

Absolutely incredible! You get an A+ and FIFTY GOLD STARS!!!!

Are those redeemable for cash and/or prizes? Just kidding. If that's the case, I have boxes and binders of old stuff lying around at home someplace...

Maybe you can put them under your avatar and be a "KIC Uber-Ultra-Super-Platinum Member Deluxe".

I can't get over how cool it is to finally see this video! Mr. Allen was fun to listen to, and to hear these guys envisioning the park they were creating made me think "Wait'll you see it in 36 years!" I just watched it again and figured out the big, round steel thing...Grand Carousel. This is a gem! Thanks again!

Ground was broken (and construction started) on June 15th, 1970. The park officially opened on April 29th, 1972. The cost of the original park came in at $29.5 million. Incidentally, Diamondback cost almost as much as the park originally cost to build, coming in at $22 million!

Definitely a tremendous find as I said earlier!

That maybe the greatest video I've seen of Kings Island, thanks for sharing.

Ground was broken (and construction started) on June 15th, 1970. The park officially opened on April 29th, 1972. The cost of the original park came in at $29.5 million. Incidentally, Diamondback cost almost as much as the park originally cost to build, coming in at $22 million!

Definitely a tremendous find as I said earlier!

It would be cool to know the cost comparison for today on the same exact construction work.

i think for the members of this site- that video was likely the equivalent of Christmas, Easter, 5 birthdays, all the green beer one could consume on St. Patricks Day all rolled into one- WITH a cherry on top.

You don't have a ton of posts to your name- but pretty much are a "lock" to receive icon status now!

Check the new blog update out.

http://www.kingsislandinsider.blogspot.com/

Did I miss something or is it the video this blog was about?

i think for the members of this site- that video was likely the equivalent of Christmas, Easter, 5 birthdays, all the green beer one could consume on St. Patricks Day all rolled into one- WITH a cherry on top.

You don't have a ton of posts to your name- but pretty much are a "lock" to receive icon status now!

That's too funny - and here I thought it was just a cool video. And it's not even MY video so I get no credit there.

I've always been a lurker, so when I do post I try to make them count.

I've organized and participated in events with entities along that exit quite a bit in the last few years. And from those experiences, stories of those who have been around... and now viewing that video (and this isn't a knock on what Kings Island currently is)- I think that Kings Island was meant to be much different than it has become. ie- more of a Mid-Western Disney Land. I think that entire exit was supposed to be the Ohio version of Lake Buena Vista in Florida.... and that the park was to be more about Fred Flintstone and Scooby Doo than record-breaking roller coasters.

Good, bad, or indifferent- the park is what is today, and for that part we have nothing but reality to compare it to. It would have been VERY interesting to see what Kings Island would have looked had the US not slumped into a 2-year recession in 1973 (through 1975)- right after opening. Plus all of the fallout from Vietnam at the time.... Kings Island could have look A LOT different had the time period of 1973-1976 not existed.