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^PHOTOSHOP WIZARD! And that's just gross.

No intention of hijacking the thread, but just some information on Flight Commander and the accident... Flight Commander was the country's fourth Intamin Flight Trainer when it opened in Coney Mall on the former spot of Zodiac in April of 1990. It was part of $4.5-million in expansions that year ($2-million for just it) and it simulated flying a jet. Riders used a small joystick to raise, lower, and flip their ride capsules at a height of up to 62-feet. The attraction was designed by Steven Van Velson of Zurich, Switzerland. The minute-and-a-half ride had twenty two-person ride vehicles. The pods were equipped with a padded u-shaped harness and hip bar, the harness including a double spring-loaded dog-and-ratchet system, while the lap bar had three different backup features. The harness was not initially planned, but only added after it was discovered lateral forces would be experienced on the ride. Additional safety features included a crew of five operators who could emergency stop the ride at any point, vehicles that returned to an upright position after only a few seconds of being inverted, and returning to an upright position prior to the ride returning to the loading position. The ride had a minimum height requirement of 48-inches and was inspected twice daily, with these inspections lasting up to three hours. The attraction was also inspected by Ohio Agriculture Department on April 12, 1990, two days prior to its debut. On June 9, 1991, at approximately 9:45pm, an intoxicated 32-year-old Candy Taylor from Toledo, Ohio boarded the ride. She was visiting the park with two friends, and the trio planned on finishing their day at Flight Commander. The Taylor's two friends boarded the attraction and rode while she finished her beer. She boarded the next cycle, one of the last ones of the night. Taylor was in capsule number four. During the ride's fifth revolution, she slipped out from underneath the harness. She grabbed onto the restraint with her right hand, but was still flung from the ride, landing in nearby shrubbery. The ride was immediately stopped and the park's paramedics were quickly called. A doctor visiting the park with her family performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Taylor until paramedics arrived, which took approximately 30 minutes (they were preoccupied with a separate accident in Oktoberfest). She was eventually airlifted to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio, where she was declared dead an hour after the accident. The ride and surrounding area was closed off the following day, and similar rides at Great America, Knott's Berry Farm, and Kings Dominion all voluntarily shut-down. Representatives of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Warren County Sheriff's Department, and Ohio Department of Agriculture all arrived at the park for inspections of the attraction, and the ride's creator, Steven Van Velson, arrived in Cincinnati on June 11. The park requested that both employees and guests who had witnessed the accident call a toll free number to be interviewed. Over 50 witnesses from both accidents were interviewed. The park also offered assistance to employees suffering from distress. On June 12, the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced plans to investigate. It was operated for the first time since the accident that day. Afterwards, capsule four was removed and disassembled for investigation. Additional capsules were also removed and disassembled the following day. They were all stored in a room on Kings Island property. The investigation lasted six weeks before the cause of the accident was determined. The lack of a seat divider, the woman riding alone, and the adjacent restraint being left unlocked were all factors that resulted in the woman's death. Taylor had a blood alcohol level at 0.30 percent when thrown from the ride, which also played a role. Modifications made before the ride reopened the following year included the addition of a seat divider, a lengthened lap bar, a relocated joystick, and an inoperable joystick if both restraints were left unlocked. The ride reopened on April 11 of 1992. That December, the Taylor's family and Kings Island agreed to a settlement of $336,500. In February of 1993, the family sued Intamin Inc. for $8.8-million. The park restricted alcohol sales to only the International Restaurant and Picnic Grove in 1993, although the park said the June 9, 1991 accident did not affect this decision. This restriction has since been lifted. The ride last operated in 1995 before being dismantled. In the years since, attractions that have taken the same spot are Launch Pad, EuroBobbles, and now the Dinosaurs Alive! party pavilion. The attraction's former queue structure still exist and is currently used for storage. Other features of the ride, including blue lights placed around the platform, also remain.

^The pathway was added in 1975, alongside Troika (Shake, Rattle, and Roll) and Zodiac.

They needed those on the Carnival Triumph.

While I can't find the specific photos to back me up, something to note of Sonny's Valley: The former loop stood at 118 feet tall at "ground level" (the bottom of the valley). On the midway right by the bathrooms and Thunder Alley, you could just barely see the top of the loop through the lift hill structure. Also, the station (where the Haunt attraction, Wolf Pack, resides now) rests a good 60-70 feet off the ground from the Valley, even though it sits at just above eye level from the Action Zone midway. Lastly, Adventure Express's lowest point - the dip before the turn into the final tunnel, I believe - is still maybe 10-20 feet higher than what Sonny's lowest point was at the bottom of the 214-foot drop. Most of this conjecture is speculative; I'm only basing this from memory riding Sonny and Adventure Express numerous times and just looking at the surroundings.

Hoping to steer back to the original happy discussion originally on this thread... So hey, place sure looks different 41 years later, doesn't it?

^Inoperable joysticks if a restraint was left unlocked, as in if an employee didn't check the restraint and a person's restraint was left open during the ride, they would be unable to inverse the capsule.

Thanks Depatment47! I love learning about how the park looked and operated before I was around

A return of the 'tiques would be nice. One of the many things I'd like to see return to the park.

That video makes me sad...loved that ride. Had that move down pat.

Just came across this photoshop I did awhile back. Freaky.

I can still remember vividly seeing FC operating on my first visit to Kings Island in July of '92. I remember thinking that there was no way I was getting on that. Looked really intimidating. I had no idea of the very sad situation that happened on it the year earlier. I didn't know anything about that until I learned it on here just a few years ago. Thanks for sharing all those details. July '92:

Safety investigation demonstrating the inadequate design:

Latest update with Antarctica. May 24th Grand Opening date. Made a loop around the park last week for Bands, Brews and BBQ...it's looks VERY good over there. Quite a transformation from the very dated Penguin Plaza we were all used to! http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/seaworld/os-dewayne-bevil-seaworld-antarctica-20130221,0,7506320.column Check out the pictures, incredible detail going into the rockwork! - Todd

I presume that this was directed at a post made after mine that has since been deleted? I have missed out on this thread for the last week or so. But to stay on topic, it's amazing how much the land was actually levelled for SOB. I never really realized that. I'm excited to see what's coming in the next year for the site! Can't wait to start following the "clues"

Hey, if you wanna post gifs and memes with other high school kids, go to Reddit. if you wanna stay on the topic of "Son of Beast roller coaster to be removed," keep posting here.

I saw some snow on the grounds of KI. Could it mean Winterfest be returning?

Yet another reason why SeaWorld Orlando continues to be one of my favorite parks.....can't wait for the new additions to Discovery Cove also! http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-seaworld-expansion-20111108,0,6008749.story

Did anyone else read the title as "Tasers"? How about a roller coaster made out of.... wait for it... chocolate! Just don't ride it in the summer... "Welcome to the county court office ma'am. what can I help you with?" "I was riding on some chocolate and it must of been to hot because the chocolate began to melt and the ride feel apart. I went to the hospital and found out I popped a blood vessel! So I would like to sue Kings Island!" (lady at the desk) "Oh my gosh! That's terrible! (picks up phone and dials a number) Hello? Ah yes I need you to come and take this lady to a insane asylum... (hangs up) Have a great day!"

Not really an error, but the SEO text at the bottom of the homepage is pretty trite: The purpose of this text is to ensure high search result rankings, not to be read by most visitors. Considering that it's visible on the page, less awkward wording would still be nice. It reads like a grade school paper rambling on to fill up the page.

Here's a good video that shows someone doing it on the one at California's Great America: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fn2Xm3YnIA It's mostly about timing - you wait until you're at the peak of the swing, then turn the handle the same way you're turning (so if you're flying to the left, you would push the handle to your left, causing the fin to move to the right and thereby generating considerable wind resistance). Then you wait until you're at the next peak and quickly turn the handle the other way, minimizing wind resistance and causing the tub to swing inward.

All sined up and ready for some colorful fun amongst friends. I enjoy new experences at my home park creating wonderful memories.

I certainly would like that.I hope the burrito shack stays in place, but some Cincinnati Goetta nearby would be grand, too. Especially with CM Beer.

The Gator family has officially signed up with Team KIC!

I just want to say as a new member to this forum, going through these pictures have brought back great memories and provided me a little peek at history as well. Keep up the awesome work!

Flight Commander was fun, unless the rider happened to be very, very drunk.

I think this puts any rumors of KI getting rid of Oktoberfest to sleep. It looks like they want to improve this area which is fine with me

There is now.

I'm starting to wonder if the clock above Festhaus with the people who moved around (I obviously don't know what they are called) will work this year. I can picture Mr. Ouimet getting his first tour of Kings Island and asking why it doesn't work.

O. M. G!!! As if Hank's Burrito Shack didn't cause me to spend more money at the park last year, now they're bringing back German food?!?!? I'll have some tough choices this year. Hank's or Bier Garten? I think I'll just have to make it easy on myself and alternate each time. I loved my days of working Bier Garten in '92 & '93 (or actually Oktoberfest Gardens as it was known then, but I always liked the name Bier Garten better), and I am so glad they're bringing it back, even if it is just the back bar.

Oh my gosh, they're actually doing something related to theme of Oktoberfest. I do like this new Cedar Fair...

JFKGNJDJSFIUWH. I said something like that when I heard SOB was going to be destroyed. This might make me just as happy!! I swear. They really do take into account what we have to say here.

When anyone quotes a post, as I just did, the timestamp in the quote header is five minutes ahead from the timestamp on the original post that was quoted. It seems to be consistent, both in terms of always occurring on every quote, and in terms of always being exactly a five-minute difference. Who's playing with the time machine?

I have a sudden desire to ride Drop Tower to get a really good look at that area! It would be cool to get a sense of how a new coaster could fit on that land!

I agree. This forum does have a tendency to take things much to seriously. People need to learn how to take things in strides. Especially on the Internet. It makes everyone happy campers. Now with this being said, is there times that a line can be crossed? Yes absolutely. But most of the time, that just isn't the case.

Guys, thanks for coming to my defense, but HTCO was only making a joke. (By the way, I liked the meme. Even though it was about me, I still laughed ) I'm only human, I make mistakes, and others are allowed to take notice of my mistakes with great Bill O'Reilly memes. Captain Nemo, your picture is really great. Thanks for posting it here.

Maybe it's just me, but other members' posts like UncleHenry have really gotten on my nerves lately. Too many people are using their seniority as an excuse to bash on the community, and that's what I take issue with.

Synergy. KI markets CP's new coaster to try to convert gold passholders to platinum passes. Perhaps next year CP might help market KI's new Vekoma Flying Stratarestaurant? ...a diversion?

The then General Manager of Kings Island transferred to Carowinds. The Flying Eagles went with him. Terp, choosing his words with care.

Something I learned from getting involved with too many projects at home. "If you can't keep up fixing the things you have you shouldn't expand"

Antique Cars and Flying Eagles are family friendly...

There is always the possibility that the bigger thrills will stay a few hours north. KI is really more of a family park as it is currently constituted anyway. With an award winning kids area and a number of family friendly rides and coasters. There are seven roller coasters that one could argue are family friendly along with pretty much every flat minus Drop Tower, Delirium, and WindSeeker. Is it crazy to think that they may continue to embrace this aspect of the park and add something that isn't a shiny new B&M/Intamin monster? Isn't something more along the lines of Shoot the Rapids or a family friendly dark ride just as likely? I think Ouimet is very aware that in park spending is where parks are going to have to look to increase revenues, as attendance across the board has been relatively flat the last few years. Who spends the most in the park during their visits? Families.

If only they could use Universal's ideas: http://www.coroflot.com/eric_williams/Art-Direction

Sometimes.... (sigh)

Only Frosty the Snowman and his winter friends would be brave enough to ride a roller coaster in the freezing cold! This is of course if the ride manufacturers would permit it.

For their own protection, they otter be.

PETA is gonna be so maaaaaaaaaaaad!