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Alright, here is the last video from July 24, 1980. I put together all the random scenes. You'll see the entrance, shops, singers singing "YMCA", brief views of Zodiac and Tumble Bug, day and night views of the fountain, and even a person selling those neon glowing strips at dusk that were so cool. I am glad this website exists, and I am glad so many people have enjoyed my dad's video. Time to put this tape back on the shelf. George

Meh.....I prefer dining options unique to the park instead of franchised joints that are splattered all over the country.

It's come to this. There was a time that having unique, special offerings was a lure to Cedar Point. Not unlike, say, Mythos in Florida. Now? They just wing it.

If you think QSL is overpriced now... just wait until it's on Cedar Point property.

And this one? Truly special. 1980. Nearly 35 years ago. Where DOES the time go? Thanks so VERY much for sharing with us! 'Tis truly great gifts you brought us!

I never realized how big Zodiac was. It just towered over Coney Mall. Also, I noticed how most of the video focused on things other than rides. Boy, how times have changed.

What a treasure! Your video, more than any others I've seen, truly captures what the park felt like in those earlier days. Seeing the park in this raw context is the way I remember it as a child. The footage of the Tumblebug was especially was a treat! I also love how this was able to capture the music and sounds of each area, where other videos that have turned up from the period have only been mute. Thank you once again for taking the time to edit and post these!

Ah! This is so awesome! Those glow strands! Way before the modern LED toys, those were all the rage at the park! (This made me remember all those colorful, feathery bird marionettes, Glassblower-stretched 7-Up bottles, and "Ghost Chasers" Invisible Dog leashes everyone was walking around with as the closing hour drew near). I loved the ambient music over Coney Mall. Very amusement-park-like! I miss it. The shot of the timeless Glassblower shop reminds me of how there is at least one craftsperson who (as far as I am aware) is still working in his shop since years before this video was made. Just one of the millions of thoughts and wonderful memories that come pouring in as I watch these. Your videos are beyond treasures. Thanks!

We've loved watching your videos! Thanks so much for sharing them with us!

That's the most vivid image I've seen yet of what it was like to be in the park way back when. I've always wanted to see what the shops looked like during the early years. Amazing! Thanks! Edit: I also want to say your father must have had an extremely advanced video camera (for that time period). The picture quality and the sound are incredible. I've got a pretty good set of speakers set up on my computer and it sounds like I'm right there. For the young ones...In 1980, it would have been extremely rare and expensive to have even owned a VCR in 1980!

Quoting KIFan73: "What is it about July 24!!??" In 1980? It wasn't the most eventful day in history, unless you were an avid fan of Peter Sellers or Bjorn Borg. Who died and was married (respectively)... That didn't come out quite right...

I've loved watching your videos so much! I spent so much time at KI as a kid, but I have a crappy memory and almost no documentation of it. Your videos have let me step back there for a little while.

One will probably be sufficient. Get thee to Kumba, Montu...

I think KI/CF of now needs to take notes and watch this video of the past! You ask me, the park looks truly amazing! I love the themeing they had! Some things that I would LOVE to see: International Street (IS), look and become "international" again. More focus and care put back into the fountains. Someone walking around selling balloon or even have a cart. Not ounce in past few years, have I seen KI even selling balloons! Redo some of the signs of their kid ride, to make them look much more grand again! A live band to go with the show(s). Classic music for Coney Mall and IS. grass/shrubs in the shapes of Peanut characters. Honestly those are some silly things that I think would be quite doable and really add to the park experience!

Oh what FUN, another wing place. Oh, what, FUN? Another wing place?

Except he is. Hamm is a profoundly ignorant and intolerant man. He's doing more damage than good.

Mod Edit: Added the 2014 year to the topic title to avoid confusion with the 2015 Opening Day. The 2015 calendar has not yet been released.

Well, since we are talking a 20-year section of the park's history here (1972-1992) there is a LOT to choose from. Racer saved the wooden coaster from certain death and gave the park a signature thrill ride in its early years. The Eiffel Tower is iconic to the park. The Enchanted Voyage was iconic in the park's early years. The Wild Animal Safari Monorail was an awesome idea. Screamin' Demon- while not the longest lived ride- did help "launch" the launch coaster. The Original Bat was flawed but opened the door for the suspended and inverted coasters of the future. King Cobra was the first stand-up looping coaster. Vortex broke records and sent riders upside down 6 times and still runs strong today. Adventure Express ended up being a darn good mine train. Phantom Theatre has a strong following today years after its removal. But...compared to one ride, these are all just very honorable mentions. The Beast- the legendary wooden monster. Racer saved the wooden coaster from death, but then it was Beast that took not only wooden coasters but coasters in general to another level, showing how good marketing and hype could sell a ride. Breaking nearly every world record helped too of course. And 35 years later, it still holds a world record as the world's longest wooden coaster. It is STILL beloved by millions. It even got a sequel. HOW MANY RIDES GET SEQUELS!?!? And so it gets my vote as not just the most iconic addition of the Taft/KECO/Lindner years...it even beats out FOF, Diamondback, and Banshee as my pick of KI's best ride addition of all time.

I don't think the point is to make it an amusement park, but rather a life-like encounter with the days of old. Never say never, but I don't see Moses bumper cars any time soon.

They haven't did any track work of late. Which clearly is a cause of the holidays.... which they surely they deserve with the pace they have been building this (and it's the holidays). Here a picture I just took off Carowind's webcams where you can't see a thing ( photo taken from https://www.carowinds.com/online-fun/webcams ) .

I love the rustic look and theme of the old Kings Mills Log Flume. Very classy. I want that theme back. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What is it about July 24!!?? http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/24760-standing-within-3-feet-of-1974/?p=446132

They should do like Paramount: opening day at the end of March. Battle snow flurries to get there.

I was at a Bdubs and they were advertising their ghost pepper wings. They looked delicious and at the time I had no idea what ghost pepper was. They had the manager come out and requested that I only get a side of it and some fries to try, etc. Well evidently ghost pepper is the hottest pepper.... The wing sauce was delicious but the after burn was not worth it. They did taste better than blazing though.

They should, at least, change the background music on International Street to something instrumental. Kings Dominion's International Street still plays nice fitting background music: (Not my video. I found it on Youtube)

"Seconded," says the guy who typically likes wooden coasters with reputations for roughness.

I will be visiting Busch Gardens Tampa sometime next week for the first time . I gotta make sure to get on that beast a few times. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I remember sitting on Santa’s lap in the Florence Mall when I was a kid growing up. I only half-heartedly believed in Jolly ‘Ol St Nick for one main reason: if he had such a complex system of knowing which kids were naughty or nice then why wouldn’t he also already know what I wanted for Christmas? It baffled me that his magical powers of observation could be so astounding in one area, but lacking in another. Plus, how many people did you have to kill to be on the naughty list? I wasn’t a bad kid, but I knew a lot of other kids that I considered to be bad to my standards. They always got presents – no lump of coal – just like me. Life wasn’t fair. I digress. Anyway, despite the creepiness of sitting on an old man’s lap that I didn’t know, I was still always excited to go to the mall. It wasn’t about meeting the big man, it was able the experience of standing in line. You waited through a winter village full of reindeer, Santa’s elves, candy canes, and snow. It fully encapsulated the spirit of the season and really hyped my excitement to unending heights. I remember looking on the calendar and seeing that Christmas was over two weeks away. It felt like a lifetime in those days. I don’t know if it has to do with budget cuts, liability, or just a lack of return on investment, but this whole experience has been scaled down greatly in the past twenty years. What was once a journey through a Christmas village is now replaced by Santa in his plywood sleigh surrounded by a few Christmas trees and holiday props. Some are nicer than others, but never as good as it was in the 1990’s when I was a kid growing up. Zip ahead a few decades and enter EnterTRAINment Junction. If you’ve been on KIC for any amount of time then you know what this place is all about. It’s the world largest indoor train display featuring incredible detail, interactive parts, and some great educational value. But I’m not here to talk about trains. Every year, EnterTRAINment Junction celebrates the Christmas season with Christmas at EnterTRAINment Junction. I have to admit, as often as I had been to this place over the past five years, I had never experienced Christmas there. Boy was I missing out. The Main Street section of EJ is decked out for the holidays. This area has the look and feel of a late 1800’s or early 1900’s railroad town. You know that I don’t like to compare things to Disney because it’s never a fair comparison, but I’d imagine that if they wanted to theme an area to the same time period it wouldn't look much different than this. The Exposition Center has its own setup and is totally free if you just want to check that out. It has several “winter wonderland” displays that are neatly crafted as well as thousands of Christmas lights. The true star of the show is the Journey to the North Pole. Remember the mall Christmas display that I told you about? Imagine that, but 1000x better. It really brought out some nostalgic feelings. It looks as though Santa's reindeer are stabled up and getting ready for their annual trip around the world. Santa's elves are putting some last minute touches on toys for the girls and boys on the "nice" list this year. Enter the Arctic Tundra and see penguins playing, lights flickering, and yes - it even snows in there! Check out these three handsome old men! At the end of your journey you meet Jolly 'Ol St. Nick. Don't worry - there are photos available for purchase so you don't have to have a selfie fail like I did. If you haven’t visited EnterTRAINment Junction yet then you’re really missing out. It takes about three hours to do the whole experience, and you’ll never get bored in the process. Christmas at EnterTRAINment Junction runs through January 5, but Santa returns to the North Pole after Christmas. Don’t forget that 2014 and 2015 Kings Island Gold and Platinum Season Pass holders get a $4 discount on the Do It All ticket. The Do It All ticket includes the world’s largest indoor train display, Funhouse Junction, and Christmas at EntertTRAINment Junction. The display in the Expo Center is free. There is no charge for parking. www.EnterTRAINmentJunction.com

QSL has a large variety of food - chicken, burgers, steaks, salad... The wings and sauces are of course their main "claim to fame". I ate at the one in Polaris (north of Columbus) with some friends years ago, and the food was pretty good as I recall. At the time, their hottest sauce was "Atomic". The sauce I got was mild compared to that (a mixture of BBQ and Tobasco sauces), and even that was too hot for me. They now have 3 locations in Cincinnati - Northgate, Florence and Milford. For those who are more "adventurous", they have the "Atomic Wings Challenge" and "Triple Atomic Wings Challenge", in which you have to down 6 wings slathered in their hottest sauces. Those who are successful get their name on a "wall of fame" at the restaurant as well as a commemorative t-shirt.

In my opinion Crossroads and B-Dubs's have better wings than Quaker Steak and Lube. I have been to Quaker Steak and Lube about 5 times and I still dont like their wings.

Perhaps they need SIX!

I'm sure many people will be happy with this but it's not my cup of tea. I've been to QSL at least three times, all different locations. The last time, I said never again. Each visit involved subpar service and mediocre food for the price. But, from friends that go there, they are going for a bike night or the special deals on wings. I'm okay with not being their target audience.

Yeah that part of the solution thing doesn't sound fun.

Terpy, of course Ryan is part of the problem. Was that ever in question?

Well, now its official. http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/2014/12/23/busch-gardens-gwazi-roller-coaster/20799551/ http://tbo.com/news/breaking-news/busch-gardens-to-close-gwazi-roller-coaster-20141223/ http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/tourism/goodbye-gwazi-busch-gardens-to-close-wooden-coaster/2211242

"All I want for Christmas is my two front seats..." http://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2014/12/22/want-christmas-two-front-seats/

Or...you know, be patient wait for a confirmation from the park. I'm kind of hoping Gwazi opens next season. Its hilarious to see how many sites are jumping on unconfirmed reports about this.

Then you are a part of the problem...

In light of McSalsa's twist on my Poll Season(Which I must give him credit on an excellent poll) I made this one to go back all the way back to day 1 for KI. In this poll, you can pick one per era. (Edits on the telephone, reception is not a gift) I also will like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and do make it merry when ever possible!

Funny, I just ate at Quaker Steak for the first time the other night. I left... somewhat disappointed. Hard to explain, the food was good I guess, but when I was leaving I kept thinking about how I wish I had gone somewhere else. I like cars as much as the next guy, but I don't enjoy the atmosphere there. It's tacky but that seems to be par for the course for most chains these days. I would've preferred they added something that was maybe a step above Friday's, or at the least something a bit more unique. I like that Kings Island offers food unique to the region and in recent years has added their own food choices. The food quality at Kings Island has improved quite a bit in the past couple years. It would've been cool to see Cedar Fair expand on this by adding a unique restaurant (with good food) that can't be found anywhere except Cedar Point. That would definitely add value to a trip to Cedar Point.

Beastfan summed up what I said before editing except nicer lol.

Beastfan summed up what I said before editing except nicer lol.

Quaker is a wings place, similar to BW3's. They are notorious for their motor vehicle flare, gas pump like beer cylinders, and an extended variety of sauces for your wings..........The hottest of them all is something that few would try. I personally like it, a location is close by, though I never go, I still like to go occasionally for some wings and the Twizzlers for the dessert. (Sorry Terp, no Snickering here) By far I must give the utmost respect to Cedar Point. Expanding on the marina, and their market, the park is now more of a resort where people could have "StayCations" and essentially spend most of their lose monies on site rather going out of the property. When I go to CP this year (first time ever too), I will have to go and try to get some Quaker wings after marathoning Maverick.

Way overpriced...strictly an atmosphere destination.

Better than B-Dubs? Yeah....Right. They are just your typical, breaded, lightly covered in a watery over buttered sauce, Wing place. Think Hooters garbage without the Cleavage. The one in Florence, KY was beyond terrible. The one we tried in Colerain was decent. That said, I have been to B-dubs in 3 states and the only one worth eating at is on Dixie Highway in Louisville, KY. The best wings are made at home with some Frank's Red Hot.

I usually post a PTR of the bowl trip, but it'll probably be a few days after I get back. I won't be taking a computer as I won't really have time to use it, plus I'm afraid I'll forget it with how hectic Saturday morning will be (have to be out of the hotel at 6 am). And above all else, LET'S GO BEARCATS! EDIT: I've gotten really, really sick the last few days, so I won't be able to go on the trip.

I've never been to a Quaker Steak and Lube. Is it any good? Who from here has been to one? Better than B-Dubs, less than quality homemade.

I'm going to say the Eiffel Tower. Above any other attraction, I feel this is the icon of Kings Island. When people come to the park, they leave with that beautiful sight of the tower soaring high above the fountains. Its up there with Cinderella Castle at the Disney parks, Spaceship Earth at EPCOT, the globe and main entrance gate at Universal Studios Florida, and so on. When people think of Kings Island, they think of the Eiffel Tower.

I'd definitely have to say The Beast. It's a legendary ride, and a great ride that really put the park on map (well, The Racer did that a few years prior, but still...). It's managed to keep its status as the longest wooden roller coaster for all these years and is an all-around fantastic ride. Long live The Beast!

Woof! It would be helpful to have a poll to select from or at least to serve as a list for reference to direct comments. Lots and lots of stuff came pre-Paramount. Probably objectively, The Racer would qualify. Obviously The Beast would, too. Lots of infrastructure would also need mentioned, since things like the layout of lands, many restaurants, and lots of architecture would no doubt fall under the category of "addition."