Shaggy
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Posts posted by Shaggy
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Here’s a couple early merchandise items from my collection with the original “Crown” logo.
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29 minutes ago, TombraiderTy said:
The Coney Island brochure scan is especially interesting - the map of the park at the bottom left has some drastic differences compared to what was actually built: pond outside park entrance, Turnpike in place of Scooby-Doo, a bridge over Royal Fountain (!!!)... I wonder if there's a full sized version of that map floating around somewhere... @kimv1972 is this the map that you were asking about here?
The map pictured in the Coney brochure was a watercolor concept drawing by Bruce Bushman. It is a large painting and exists to this day. It is in the private collection of a Kings Island collector, and is (perhaps) the rarest KI artifact I've ever had the pleasure of seeing.
Its cut off in the Coney brochure, but at the time the drawing was done, the park had yet to be named - there's a "banner" area at the bottom right of the actual painting where the name was to be later filled in - but it never was.
I can tell you with absolute certainty, that the outlying areas of the park - specifically rides/ride placement - changed immensely from the Bushman concept painting.
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8 hours ago, BeeastFarmer said:
I was surprised they used the Paramount logo.
I can’t recall Cedar Fair ever reusing the Paramount Logo for nostalgic merchandise purposes prior. Perhaps enough time has passed allowing Paramount Parks monikers to to fall into public domain. Either that or the rights to the logo fell to CF as a part of the buyout... and they’ve simply chosen to suppress its reuse until now.
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The Kings Island "Crown" logo was used through fall 1971 to promote the park. By December the new, more familiar, "Disneyland font" logo was in place. (More about that in a minute...)
Ads for the KI preview movie that played local theaters used the new logo as early as Jan 1st. However the movie itself was produced in 1971, and used the "Crown Logo" in it's title shots.
Here are samples of the logo in the variations of the "preview" brochure that was distributed before KI opened. There were at least 3 variations of the brochure. The first (far left) was distributed at Cincinnati's Coney Island at the preview center in early summer 1971. The second version was also distributed at the Coney preview center late season/August 1971. (It names the Jack Nicholas designed golf course at Kings Island which was announced in August 1971.) The third brochure was distributed at the information centers after Coney closed (note the original planned opening date of May 6th which did not happen.) As you can see, the second logo was in place for this brochure.
The new logo was developed, as I understand, in fall 1971. It utilized a variation of what's become known as the "Disneyland" font. It *may* have been suggested by Bruce Bushman, who did quite of bit of concept work for the park. (Mr Bushman was one of the original WED Imagineers responsible for the original design of Fantasyland for Walt Disney. He was instrumental in also designing Kings Island and, no doubt, patterned parts of KI on it.) The new logo could also have been a "nod" to the fact that Kings Island - when it was being announced/built - was being billed by many as Ohio's version of Disneyland.
While the park was under construction, there were 2 different billboards placed by the interstate to mark the location of the park. The first billboard featured the "Crown" logo. The second also used the "crown" logo as well - but the Eiffel Tower had become part of the advertising campaign. Here are pictures of both billboards courtesy of KI50MOVIE...
Its worth noting that ALL advertisements of Kings Island at Cincinnati's Coney Island used the "Crown" logo. Including the "Racing Coaster" billboard that sat adjacent to the Shooting Star's station.
By the time KI opened in May, the "Disneyland" font version of the logo was the only one being used for advertising purposes. The confusing matter is, the "Crown" logo still cropped up on merchandise and shopping bags etc. That (very likely) included the "Tiki Mugs" mentioned here. The reason? Because many orders for merchandise and various items were placed prior to the logo change to meet manufacturing timeline requirements.
BTW - the "Crown" logo still crops up as a "throwback" on merchandise from time to time. For instance, this season there is at least one item (a slinky toy) that features the "Crown" logo being sold in the shops on International Street.
For posterity, I think the switch to the "Disneyland" font logo including the Eiffel Tower was an excellent decision. Its far more iconic and dynamic than the "crown" logo. Frankly, I still prefer it to any logo the park has used since - including the Paramount version and the current Cedar Fair version.
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15 minutes ago, robintodd said:
Seeing the site in person I'm really hoping for a dive coaster that uses the natural ravine. Could easily have a drop of 210+.
I'm not. While I understand some enjoy them, I've ridden 4 of those suckers and for me are a let-down... a one-trick pony. I hope KI goes a complete different direction - whenever they do add another marquee coaster attraction.
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40 minutes ago, coaster sally said:
How did the governor approve their plan minus masks?
I would expect that to change in the coming days/weeks.
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Kentucky Kingdom has been issued corrective orders for not enforcing Covid precautions and safety measures. The park insists the orders are unwarranted as they were not a part of reopening plan.
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14 minutes ago, thatguyfromohio said:
My only question... why are their hands not up
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkBecause CF legal doesn't allow it on park promo photos.
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I'm just tossing this out there as a precaution to folks vying for a ride on Orion on the 2nd...
I'm no numbers guru... but bear with me as I just play with numbers out loud.
If they dispatch a train every 2 minutes, that's 30 trains per hour.
If they limit it to, say, 12 people on each train, that's an hourly capacity of 360 people. (I have no idea how many they plan on allowing on each train, I just "supposed.")
If they let in 4,000 people before noon and 2/3 of them head to Orion...
Well, again, just be prepared for a long, long wait. Take sunscreen, sanitizer and drink lots and lots of water my friends.
Just sayin.
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1 minute ago, TombraiderTy said:
Here's another picture of Viking Fury's new paint job, now from behind (courtesy Twitter user KyleKruthoffer):
I'm disappointed that they seemingly just coated the whole boat with one color, especially those windows... I wonder if any light from inside will shine through with those layers of dark paint applied on top.
For reference, here's a (slightly older) photo of the back of the boat. The big light on top was removed before the 2010 season.
BTW - most know this, some may not, when it opened, there was a center mast with flags on it.
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For those that attend opening day, just remember, the park is feeling its way through this, and will likely be operating at a very cautious speed. Its just as new to them as it is to guests - so its gonna take time for them to get their footing.
Also, prepare yourself that wait for Orion will likely be very, very long... EXCRUCIATINGLY long.
Due to Covid, hourly capacity is likely to be limited to 1/4 (or less) than designed. In addition, new rides like Orion are, understandably, prone to some downtime.
I'm not trying to be a downer, I'm just pointing out the potential that things may be a bit chaotic, or slow moving.
Please keep eyes and minds open to the fact that the staff is doing everything they can to make the day a success - its not their fault that the park is on restricted operating procedures. They have some long, challenging days ahead of them - and they need positive support.
Take time to thank the employees that you interact with for working under the conditions.
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I guess the cat is officially out of the bag so I can now freely comment...
There are two - they are located on the Meteor Canteen building.
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I’m really excited that Kyle is contributing these blogs! Really enjoyed reading this and looking forward to more!
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2 hours ago, TombraiderTy said:
Only about 70 or so feet over.
Both photos courtesy Jeff Joiner:
1980 or 1981 (can't pinpoint which):
That pic is baffling... For all intents, it makes sense that it would be 1980... but I guess it could be from early summer 1981.
If you look real close, some people are wearing shorts, the grass is pretty green and the foliage looks younger on the trees.
The former pad for Stadium of the Stars is still there... but the bleachers are not... I didn't find any ads for concerts in 1980 at KI past June. There was a BJ Thomas concert at KI in spring 1981 I believe. I assume he was a big enough draw to require the stadium? There also doesn't seem to be any concerts held at Kings Island's Stadium of the Stars past May of 1981.
Also, because I am a show nerd - I can easily tell that the show playing the American Heritage Music Hall is "That's Entertainment." It played the 1980-81 seasons. There are obvious billboards in front of the theater that have cast "still shots" on them. (Notice they are gone by 1982 - that's because "Celebration" was now in production.)
The Safari Amphitheater is not in use. I believe in 1981, it sat dormant... but I dont know if it was used in 1980 either. There was a Calypso band that played in that area of the park, but I don't think they played IN the amphitheater. There was, TMK, no bird show in 81 however.
The odd thing, of course, what appears to be coaster track in the parking lot. It could be "The Bat" track. But why on earth would they have additional track and/or supports left over after the coaster had opened? Seems to me that would have been gone by 81... but then given it was a prototype, perhaps not? Also, I know by looking through the pics that Mr Joiner took, they visited in both 1980 and 1981. He took shots from the Eiffel Tower both times.
My eyes arent as good as they used to be, but maybe that is not track in the parking lot and, perhaps, remnants of bleachers from Stadium of the Stars?
Hmmmmmm....
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5 minutes ago, Joshua said:
Where was it relocated?
It was moved from approximately where the front of the Festhaus is now, to the plot of land beside it (Where the age/weight game is (was?)
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1982 was a big year for change at KI.
Obviously, celebrating their 10th Anniversary, they refurbished/expanded Hanna-Barbera Land. But (going by memory) I believe that season also saw the loss of Rotor, Bayern Curve left at the end of the season, the Ferris Wheel was relocated and Racer turned backwards. They added Viking Fury, Winterfest premiered with the new Festhaus and Timberwolf opened earlier in the spring. In addition, if I recall properly, that was also the year that they completely overhauled International Street and did away with the "yards" in front of the shops.
That's a lot in one season.
I would suspect that, by that time, many of the attractions were "aging out" and the park just needed a general refresher. New decade - new stuff - new look. (That trend obviously continued over the next few years as Coney Mall got overhauled, Enchanted Voyage switched to Smurfs etc) Also, as the park had expanded over the years, attendance had grown. They had also added season passes to the mix around that time, so they probably felt more pressure to change in order to hold the attention spans of those that would be returning year after year, week after week, day after day. Not to mention, they felt like they had to mask the previous season's inferiority due to "The Bat" being so temperamental - and then completely closed for all of '82.
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2 minutes ago, CoastersRZ said:
Which would make sense, as The Festhaus is under construction. It opened in 1983.
Not to nit pick - but Festhaus actually opened with Winterfest in 1982.
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13 minutes ago, TombraiderTy said:
On the overall subject of Viking Fury, I don't think I've ever seen a construction picture of the ride. The ride is listed on the 1982 poster map as a 1983 addition, but it actually opened summer 1982 (July 18, though I've seen it misidentified as June 18 before). So it was likely under construction while the park was open to guests... which makes the lack of construction photos even more odd.
Also of note on that map is the placement of the Ferris Wheel.
I have not seen a construction photo of Viking Fury either, but the concept art is out there...
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11 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:
I rode GhostRider in February. It it in the top 5 of my favorite wood coasters now.
Its an often forgotten gem. I rode both "versions" pre and post re-do. I re-rode last year and it reminded me how much fun it is.
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Hear hear! I said it before, I'll say it again - these are rare gems. Bob is to be commended for taking them, as is Jeff for Sharing.
Thanks for posting them here at KIC as well.
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22 minutes ago, MrPKI said:
This is obviously not happy news. But it is understandable given the circumstances. I imagine you are correct that certain members of news media will still be given an opportunity to showcase the ride.
As a non-passholder who didn’t sign up for the first rider event, it’s going to be a long wait.
Or cave and buy a pass...
I really feel bad for the park. What a horrible position to be in. They have added the biggest new toy in their history and cant show it off, or invite all their friends over to play the way they'd like.
I know some may be upset, complain, argue, point fingers, rant and rave etc (after all, that's what people seem to do on social media.) But I am positive Kings Island is as frustrated and saddened by this as anyone - and they'd change it if they could.
Everyone will have a chance to ride, some sooner than later, but ultimately this whole situation is a bummer from all sides.
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1 hour ago, Imperial79 said:
Do you or @Shaggy know when the bottom of the fountain was switched to light blue? The park had so much charm back then!
It went light blue in the 1990s, and continued as such when the fountain was refurbished in 2003. I'm not sure if the base is white, or light blue at this point. Doesn't matter to me though, I prefer the dark blue.
There very well could be a non-visual reason that the park switched to light blue/white... like how public pools are painted light so lifeguards can see the bottom should a kid fall in... but being so shallow I doubt it.
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6 minutes ago, KIghostguy said:
Totally agree! Plus the white bottom was done years before 2019. I’ve worked on the banks of the Royal Fountain since October 2017 and I think the current fountain is great. Even Gary Wachs thinks that the current fountain is an improvement!
..and that right there is a primary example of why we could never be friends. ;-) LOL
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If you needed any evidence that the current fountains are, frankly, pitiful... here's photographic evidence of the best they ever looked. Why on earth they removed the pedestals and switched to a light blue bottom I'll never know.
I love the current state of KI... and I think the park is making some terrific strides and decisions... but the changes to the "Royal" Fountains last year really diminished the "ooh ahh factor."
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What's your favorite Kings Island memory?
in Kings Island
Posted
My first visit.
Seeing “The Bat” (original) in person.
First ride on “The Beast.”