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And the Terpster was hawking cheeseburgers, fish, french fries, fried chicken and roast beef from behind a stainless steel counter in front of a spherical glass bowl full of uncarbonated Orange Crush (often fermented) recirculating through a plastic three tier fountain. Driving a huge, dilapidated '67 Ford LTD to haunted houses (tell me people don't change!), and plotting his escape from the small Kentucky city where he was born and raised. Even then, his career interests were much the same as now....the restaurant industry, marketing, planning, writing, and interpreting. It was a very different world, then, though. A 20 minute state to state direct dialed weekend long distance call was promoted by Bell Telephone as $3 or less. Operators were still common, and many people placed person to person calls (you didnt pay unless the operator reached the person you asked for, you didnt even have to have the phone number) and asked for a fake name. The operator would ask for that person, and, say, your parents would then know you made it back to college safely. If they slipped up and accepted the call, the charge was huge, with a three minute minimum, typically $4 or so. (minimum wage was $1.60). 911 didn't exist. In an emergency, you just dialed the Operator. Most gas was sold at full service gas stations, nearly all of which had lube and light repair service. A full tank often got you a glass or plate or bowl. Fast food included fresh cut fries (although McDonalds was switching to frozen), slaw made in the store, and very little pre-prepared items. Orders were taken on a pad with a pencil, manually added, only the total rung on the register, and orally called out to the kitchen. Cameras to observe employees were big, expensive and rare. Employee theft was far more common. Driving was actually probably far more expensive than now. Yes, gas was 36.9 cents a gallon, but cars broke down frequently, flat tires were very common, tune-ups were required far more often, carburetors required far more maintenance and spark plugs fouled quickly on the leaded gas then used. Premium fuel was called Ethyl, from the company that made most of the lead additive. The Racer was the biggest roller coaster I had ever seen, and I thought I'd never see one larger. Kings Island was brand new, no one knew its future. It was owned by a broadcasting company that many saw as on a par with Disney in many ways. The park was a gleaming showplace, and the entire region was very proud of it. It was a family attraction, with a balance of incredible entertainment produced at a near Broadway level, exquisite carefully prepared food, lush landscaping and oh, yes, rides--some themed but many not. It was a different time, it was a simpler time. And 40 years from now, someone will say the same of now. The circle of life continues. My parents took me to Kings Island because they knew how strongly I was attracted to it and they wanted to enjoy a family experience. Today, thrills connect.

Not crazy about "Zoom Flume". I think "Snowy River Rampage" was better.

You would be surprised, dare I say shocked, on how fast SoB could be up and running. I have mentioned this in the past (how could you miss it in 53 pages???? ) a local wood coaster (with the ENTIRE park) sat for a number of years literally untouched. This coaster is MUCH, MUCH older than SoB and was up and running within a couple months with donated money (less than $70,000 if memory serves) and still operates today. The biggest issue at start-up; finding a motor for the lift. http://www.rcdb.com/249.htm SOB won't need a motor - all the people who posted here that want this coaster re-opened will either push or pull the darn train up the hill (and the huffing and puffing involved could get to the same volume levels as the motor/chain lift did!)

Photo #102 Photo #103

All this talk of maps made me remember on of my favorite shows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8zBC2dvERM You can actually change some of the dialogue and insert "SoB" & "fanboy" in certain spots....

^ START A FACEBOOK PAGE! That will show them.

I like it better than, "Fun and Only."

I am the type to visit a park on a cool cloudy day when there's a chance of rain, it's like having a fast pass to the whole park. I know that if I ever God forbid end up at a CF park on a busy Saturday or holiday weekend, and I'm not really riding with anyone, my butt is heading to the Fast Lane booth. I don't do well in large crowds anyway; I'm claustrophobic. Given all of that, I doubt I'm going to need a reason to buy a Fast Lane pass. However I do think it's great in the way that a lot of summer travelers come to CF parks. They may only have limited time on the last day of their vacation before they have to pack up and be back at the airport; maybe they want to squeeze in as many rides as possible before they fly back home from their only visit to the park this season. Tom and I went to Six Flags Great America a couple years ago on a Labor Day Weekend Sunday and Monday. We were told it wasn't going to be busy.. boy were we ever misinformed. The place was a madhouse and it took us 2 days to get our credits. We hadn't brought extra money for Flash Passes but we would have bought them in a heartbeat had we known how packed it was going to be. A lot of other parks such as Dollywood, Busch Gardens, Six Flags, and Disney have quick queues. I really don't see it as line cutting. It's a special perk that I will most certainly take advantage of if I arrive at a new park and see lines out the wazoo. There may be some kinks in the system but we have to be patient and have faith that it will get worked out as long as we politely communicate with the parks on how it may or may not be working. If you have a reasonable complaint on why it is not working, such as ride lines becoming longer or not having a separate lane for Fast Lane guests, politely email the park with your concerns. Nobody responds well to cussing and name calling.. I am seeing a LOT of that on the CF park Facebook pages. It's unnecessary. We need to help them out as guests and provide feedback so that they can assess what needs to be done.

Which is not to say that coaster runs anything like what it did in its heyday. Sadly, it does not. In addition, that coaster was well engineered, built to commonly accepted methods and construction techniques. It was not the tallest wooden coaster ever built when it debuted. The park did not take over the general contractor role during construction. The park did not sue the first contractor for deficiencies and get a judgment. The coaster did not suffer a major collapse during construction. And Conneaut's GM did not say the ride was closed, even though cleared by the state to operate, as he was unhappy with the ride experience.

I remember when a coaster in Ohio celebrated it's 75th birthday, now she waits.

Thanks Bret. I spent a good 20 minutes looking for that page, because I knew I had seen it before, but could not find it, so I kept my mouth shut, haha.

I will still call them "that slide over there."

Browntggr is the winner http://www.visitkingsisland.com/media-center/ride-record-book

Thanks for the input, Don! Figure out a way to get it back to that price and I'll be able to double the number of trips I make to KI this year.

Below are some happenings from the year Kings Island opened in 1972: Richard Nixon wins his re-election bid for the Presidency. Swimmer Mark Spitz wins seven gold medals amid terrorism at the Munich Olympics. Troop withdrawals and truce negotiations begin in Vietnam. Man continues to walk on the moon during Apollo moon flights numbers 16 & 17. The Cincinnati Reds win the National League Pennant but lose the World Series in seven games to the Oakland A's. Gasoline is $0.37 per gallon. The last passenger train leaves the historic Union Terminal in Cincinnati. The "Godfather" wins the Academy Award for best movie. Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" spends six weeks at number one on the pop charts. The Dallas Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins 24-3 to win the Super Bowl. More people watch "All in the Family" on a weekly basis than any other television program.

Whether you call it Mondo Monsoon or Tasmanian Typhoon, to me it will always be the giant toilet bowl.

wow, i really like the names! except for zoom flume, the rest had kind of a tropical theme to them, and then that one...

Photo #101 - Oktoberfest in it's prime

I can't take this web site seriously anymore...

Rides come and go. Kings Island is a different place now than what it was even five years ago. Things change, and there is nothing we can do about it. If things didn`t change, look where we would be now. There would be no internet, or computers. Simple things like communication are now instantaneous, whereas before, you often would have to wait for letters to arrive via snail mail.

Photo #88 - One of my favorites....... wonder why...

This is the best topic ever on KIC!

It wasn't labor day weekend, but the Taste Great, Lessing Filling chants went out on the ride earlier this year while I was waiting for my turn. As Bennett said, it was a staple of the mid to late 80s.

Small note- in the theater/Paramount Story picture, it's actually Coney Potato Works now, not Midway.