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This, this is your answer. We took our 2-3 year old son on that a lot last year when he cleared the 40" hurdle in early summer. My Wife & I both grew up with that ride being called The Beastie, so we continue to call it that even thru the name changes. Our son, who can't read yet, so just calls everything by what we call them, asks to go on The Beastie. I doubt we're the only ones, which is likely what happened with esquire's husband. He was with a group of people that had spent almost a decade calling it the scoobie doo, so they referred to it as the scoobie doo and it sticks.

Photo #112 - lol at my ghetto watermark

Photo #111 - huge file sorry

When I used Fast Lane at Carowinds a few weekends back it ran fairly well. How they did it was simple, every 3 trains or so they would just let 1 train be only Fast Lane. This means that if the ride operators are doing their job correctly then wait times shouldn't hurt at all. Those saying it will directly effect wait times are merely jumping to conclusions too quickly, remember Six Flags has had the same system for over 10 years now. For example, let say the park has a busy 60,000 people day and out of those 60,000 about 10,000 buy Fast Lane. Those 10,000 people, even without Fast Lane, would still wait in lines for those rides meaning that would be more people waiting in the actual line. So yea, Fast Lane guests are pushed to the front but that also means a smaller line in the regular queue. Fast Lane, if done properly, should NOT effect line wait times.

Another week has passed and we're over $31,000. We're half way to beating last years total! Everyone keep up the good work. If you want to participate or donate, click the link below and go to your favorite park's page. www.coastingforkids.org

Having gone to the park to process my pass yesterday, words can not describe how happy I am to see that most of the old, plain slides are being repainted in bright colors. I noticed that Down Under Thunder (the 4 slides with wooden supports) were being repainted, each in a new color. The water park will be really nice to look at now, it's a welcome addition.

It's the Enquirer. You're lucky, that's actually one of their better articles. There weren't any misspellings in it.

Even though it was not "purchased" from Coney Island, I do hope the article is correct that the carousel features the grand Wurlitzer organ. That would be a fantastic opening day surprise. Perhaps the organ has returned from its sabbatical.

^I like that picture...but mostly because it shows one of the old "Sippers" stands...thanks for posting the pictures. When my Aunt passed I found one of our old grape ones in her attic that she had saved...I don't know why, but I was glad.

The Beast and Thunderhead...two of my favorite wooden coasters. Disclaimer...I grew up on The Beast. I took my first spin in 1985 as a 10 year old, and become a coaster nut. So many great memories of riding The Beast with family and friends, in the day, night, rain, and even fog. I rode Thunderhead last summer, and again last month. These coasters are so very different. Here are some categories I use to compare wooden coasters: 1. "In the woods" feeling The Beast, obviously, has this in spades. Though much of it is in "clearings", you are almost always deep in the forest. Thunderhead is set against a beautiful hill of trees, but you don't really go "in" the woods. 2. Out of control feeling The Beast is like driving 100 mph on the interstate. Thunderhead is like driving 50mph down Lombard Street. Both are fun, but I gotta admit that I prefer the latter. Besides the lift hill and station flyby, Thunderhead does not travel 12 inches without changing direction up, down, left, or right. Much of The Beast's track is quite linear, and the curves have large radii. This is the biggest difference between these two coasters, in my opinion. 3. Mystery From the public walkways, one can see pretty much every part of Thunderhead. So there are no big surprises along its course. On the other hand, every part of The Beast (except for the first lift-hill) is hidden from view. Even views from the Eiffel Tower, Diamondback and Vortex only offer glimpses of the second hill. Of course, now one can check out Google Earth or YouTube to learn what really happens out in those woods, but when I was a kid, you went into the ride blind. Added fear factor. 4. Trains All of my rides on Thunderhead were quite comfy. Over the years, my rides on The Beast have ranged from comfy to washboard road terrible. 5. Tunnels I really enjoy coaster tunnels. The abrupt differences in sound and light, plus the "head-chopping" effect, never get old for me. The Beast has 4, while Thunderhead has one: the station flyby. It feels a bit different since it is so open compared to the tunnels on Beast. 6. Airtime On my rides, nearly every hill on Thunderhead offered airtime. I'm not sure I've ever had any on The Beast. 7. The "voyage" feeling I used lowercase "v" because I don't mean the coaster in Santa Claus (though that coaster excels in this category) but rather the way a coaster layout takes me on a literal far away trip. These coasters have it: The Racer, Magnum, Millennium Force, Voyage, and The Beast. These, not so much: Vortex, Mantis, Firehawk, and Thunderhead. This "voyage" aspect is not a requirement, just a nice bonus for me. 8. Emotional pacing, adrenaline For me, Thunderhead stays between 10 and 11 (on the Spinal Tap meter) until the brake run. The Beast is all over the place, dipping to 5 on the straight sections, and somehow reaching 12 at the entrance of the double helix. What can I say, I love'em both. So there you have it. Much more than my two cents. If I had to move to a deserted island and take one of these with me, it would be...Thunderhead. But The Beast, especially running at top form, would be a fine second choice. I'm glad that I live close to both of these great coasters. They show how different and great wooden coasters can be.

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Awesome pictures! I had never seen a shot of the skyride station before so that was very cool. I have a hard time choosing between the pictures today. I'd love for the skyride to still be in the park, but the 2011 shot is very vibrant looking and the landscaping is nice. Anyways thanks again for doing this!

Another great picture! I believe, on initial inspection, that the skyride station in the 1974 picture is in fact the Octoberfest station, just based on the background and elevation of the station floor to the midway. The building in kiddyland has a floor that is at grade with the surrounding midway and is not "elevated." like the one in the 1974 picture. Thanks again for all of these WONDERFUL, and often never before seen historical pictures of Kings Island. I just love this thread! Of course, I am also a history buff/geek when it comes to these things.

As I looked at one of the animated maps of the park, say from 1972, there is a grassy area in front of the station in Hanna Barbera land, and no grassy area in front of the station in Oktoberfest. So now, I am not sure. Do you have shot from the Eiffel Tower of the station from 1974 that may show the stations?