Shaggy

Stadium of the Stars. Pre-Timberwolf concert venue.

Please note I was speaking in terms of overall public facing materials - not just park maps. In 1980, the park first featured the logo - including ONLY "The Demon" as a part of its Souvenir book. The souvenir booklet from 1979 did not - as it had yet to be developed. My main point - which seems to have been obscured - is that the decision to "change" the name was a concentrated effort on the behalf of those in marketing. Over time, as the coaster's marketability waned, the focus namesake was most definitely blurred.

The park first dropped "Screamin'" in marketing materials in 1980 (park maps kept the "Screamin'" until 1981 I believe.) I was told this was a Marketing/PR move in order to mesh it with the "The Beast" - since it didn't have and adjective in front of it's name. (Meaning it wasn't called something like "The Raging Beast" or "The Flaming Beast" etc.) But by 1984 the park was back to calling the ride "Screamin' Demon" on park maps and print materials. (Which would make sense since the newest coaster name was "King Cobra"... not simply "Cobra.") Ironically, the earliest logo made for the ride only included the name "The Demon." I believe it was created by Lawler Ballard Little - who simultaneously developed "The Beast's" logo. Its worth mentioning that for 1980 - both Mariott's Great America parks extensively refurbished their "Turn of the Century" Arrow Corkscrew Coasters, painted them black and re-named them "Demon." Now, doesn't it seem "ironic" that Kings Island would begin to call their ride simply "Demon" in the same year as the other two appeared? ;-) I've never had it confirmed officially, but I believe it may have been a marketing ploy by the park. By the early-to-mid 1980's a new logo was developed - which again included "Screamin'." The logo switch was made, from what I have been told, to eliminate the "bat-like" wings of the original. Since the park now had "The Bat" they wanted a change. Here's the later logo. Just for overall clarification - the ride's original, intended name is "Screamin' Demon" - with the adjective and an apostrophe. That is what the park has officially called the (former) ride whenever it refers to it's history at the park. (FYI - from time to time both the park, news articles and advertisements got the name complete wrong - and added a "g".... "Screaming Demon.") Also, the general public never dropped the "Screamin" when talking of the ride. For anyone who attended and/or rode the coaster - its always been "Screamin' Demon." Now as far as the ride goes... The (Screamin') Demon was mid-level ride when it came to forces. The launch had a "jolt" to it and the drops were pretty abrupt - specifically the end seats (rear car got "yanked" down the hill when going forward, the front car got "yanked" down the hill when going backward.) The loop's feel was virtually identical to that of a loop on any other Arrow. The teardrop loop on Corkscrew at CP probably feels the closest - but Vortex's loops felt pretty much the same. Most people don't recall, or never knew, it made a distinct sound. It rattled a lot, and there was a sort of "hisssssss..... Bang!" that you heard when the brakes released and the launch initiated. It could be distinctly heard in the north end of the parking lot where you could also see it operate from certain areas. It wasn't much higher than the trees, but you definitely could watch it. When the ride navigated the first loop and climbed the second hill, the brakes grabbed it pretty abruptly. Then they released and the train slowly rolled toward the end of the track where the launch "car" was. If you were sitting in the front car, it could be unnerving because the track looked as if it just ended. The drop backwards was always the biggest "thrill." Although the train had a elongated "hood" on both ends, I believe the riders on Screamin' Demon always faced one direction. While other (later) Arrow shuttle loops split the direction of the riders... half the cars riders faced one way, half cars riders faced the other. That way there were essentially 2 "front" seats. SD would valley from time to time and the train would rock back and forth between the loop and the base of the drop. I believe (I never saw it happen) they had a way of winching it back up the hill. Shaggy

Frankly - for The Beast's theme music, Kings Island should still use the "Firebird Suite" written by Stravninsky. It was jazzed up and used as the music for "The Beast" segment in the 1981- 1982 KI show "Celebration." Remembering that portion of the show still gives me chills - it was really something to see and hear. Especially for a wide eyed 10 year old (at the time) like me. The darkness, the fog, the over-the-top dancing and masked/winged costumes, the scenic effects, the giant Beast, Demon and Bat props that came down from the ceiling over the audience in the darkness. Its never been matched by any other Theme Park entertainment. It really was incredible.

He's a reporter - first and foremost - and reporters clamor for things that grab headlines and can garner them a lead story. Kings Island always grabs headlines - that's why he writes about it so often - not necessarily because he's an "advocate." Frankly, his article could have been summed up in one line: "Kings Island spokesman Chad Showalter said the park has no opening date or announcement yet." But the quote from Kings Island's official spokesperson didn't give him anything to report or build the article around. So, instead, he sought the opinion of an outside source - who's words are speculative - as a "lead" for his story.

Wait for the park's official word - don’t rely on that of speculative outsiders... especially those two.

In my research over the years, I have read that Paramount & Sherwood Schwartz DID first approach Hanna-Barbera with the idea to produce a Saturday Morning TV series based on The Brady Bunch. I believe there are some concept stills out there created by HB's lead animator, although I have never personally seen them. Apparently, Sherwood Schwarz (the creator of The Brady Bunch who owned all rights to the characters) also approached Filmation after having taken note that his own kids were fans of "The Archies" cartoon. At the time, Filmation had big success with cartoons like "The Archies" and "Sabrina: The Teenage Witch" and "Fat Albert." As I understand, Filmation was awarded the contract after their quotes for production costs came in exceptionally lower than Hanna-Barbera. Turns out, their bid didn't reveal everything. They had planned to re-use previously created animations and story lines from "The Archies" and just over-lay them with the Brady characters. The cartoon premiered on ABC in fall 1972 and apparently Sherwood Schwartz was so disappointed/upset that he stepped in and assumed all creative control. By the end of season 1, half the Brady kids refused to continue to voice the cartoons and a lawsuit ensued. (Their voices were replaced by other actors.) Filmation stopped production 5 episodes into the second season once they reached the necessary syndication amount. The entire series lasted only 1.3 seasons - and concluded its original run by October 1973. Separately, Paramount Productions, who produced "The Brady Bunch" was a major Taft shareholder. Taft Productions owned the rights to all Hanna-Barbera characters. In addition, Paramount acted at the distributor for HB's first feature film - "Charlotte's Web." (BTW - did you know "The Brady Bunch" cast was used to promote "Charlottes Web?" They recorded their own versions of the songs, and preformed them at the movie premieres.) The Partridge Family (produced by Screen Gems Television) had a successful episode filmed at KI in 1972. So in August of 1973, the Bradys followed suit. The episode aired November 23. 1973 a month AFTER the final first run episode of "The Brady Kids" cartoon aired. It is worth noting, however, that the "Cincinnati Kids" episode shows very few HB characters. Hanna-Barbera Land was not used in filming at all (portions of it can be seen very briefly in background shots - and in passing - but thats it) and the Bradys only interact with characters from "Hair Bear Bunch" and "The Banana Splits." The only HB character mentioned by name is Yogi Bear (Jan says the name once to Marcia after exiting the gift shop.) Of course the Yogi poster includes his name when Mike Brady shows it to the park "executives." All three shows had ceased production by the time the episode was filmed. Hair Bear Bunch ended its original run in Jan 1972, Banana Splits ended its original run in Sept 1970, and Yogi Bear's two namesake shows had both ended by 1968. An offspring show using the Yogi character did premiere in fall 1973 - so its highly likely they featured Yogi in order to help promote the new cartoon series - especially since the character had not been in used for 5 years. One final thing I'll mention... "The Brady Bunch" aired at 8pm ET (7pm PT) followed by "The Partridge Family" at 8:30 ET (7:30 PT) - both on ABC. They were the considered the primetime lead-ins and commercials for ABC's Saturday morning lineup often aired during the shows. Shaggy

The Untouchables poster was located in front of Stunt Crew Grill when Action Zone first opened. The Top Gun billboard was only located outside the entrance to the ride in later years - not around the Water Tower - If my memory is correct.

There were various "soft" billboards throughout Action Zone which were changed/relocated/updated from year to year. Several of them were located in a circle located around the water tower. I distinctly recall through the years there was: Congo, Drop Zone, Clear and Present Danger, Deep Impact, Top Gun, The Untouchables, Patriot Games, Titanic, Braveheart and Mission Impossible. In the first years of Action Zone - the billboards nearest to the rides were not on brand. Meaning the billboard closest to Drop Zone was Titanic, and the one closest to Face/Off was Patriot Games, the one closest to Congo Falls was Deep Impact etc. It was in the latter years that the park finally began putting the actual on-brand billboards next to their "namesake" ride. I never understood why it took so long for them to figure it out. The "Face/Off" billboard was larger and was on the upper north-facing portion of the exterior flyspace of the Paramount Theater facing Congo Falls. The opposite side of the building (viewed at the entrance to the park) had a large Titanic Poster.

Actually, the wall of the Paramount Theater - for at least a while- had a large billboard-sized Face/Off movie poster facing the ride.

I once spent all day at KI riding PT over and over specifically to memorize everything the characters said. I'd concentrate on a specific character one ride at a time and when I got off, I'd write down what I heard in a spiral notebook. (Remember - this was long before smart phones!) I'd then wait in line, get back on and do the same thing for another character. Sometimes I'd have to ride several times just to catch all the phrases each character said - as the rotational tracks were recorded long enough as to not repeat the same lines while a guests was still in earshot of each scene. I still have the notes somewhere - and many (most) of the lines are forever stuck in my brain. For instance... the electrician stagehand at the breaker panel said the following with a bit of a southern accent: "Who's there? Backstage is for performers only." "Hey who's out there? No one's allowed backstage." "Go on now, this here's no place for playing around!" But here's some trivia.... originally, he also said: "Where's that light breaker? Oh yeah, there now..." This audio was omitted in the ride's later years and could only sporadically be heard. And just for posterity... here is a very badly overexposed picture of me in 2002 during the disassembly of the ride - I am actually playing around with the set piece from the Phantom Theater scene I just mentioned. The figure had been removed, and was sitting (along with the others) in the workshop located adjacent to the ride. More trivia: The figure's left arm was flexible pipe - and although it looked animated - it wasn't. The switch (the one I'm holding) was hinged to a motor-driven lever behind the wall. It went up and down on its own and when the figures arm was attached - it appeared as if he was pulling the lever up and down. Notice how it differs from the other "breaker" switches? That's because thet middle piece extended through a slot in the wall, and was hinged to a longer rod. That rod extended downward and was then attached to a wheel turned by a motor. As the wheel spun slowly, the arm moved the switch up and down. (Think of a crankshaft/connecting rod on a locomotive wheel - same premise.) The figures head and right arm were hydraulic, and would "twist" right to left simultaneously. Many of the "effects" in Phantom theater were done this way.

They were included on the PKI ACE Collector's Edition DVD created by Jeffrey Siebert, David Mandt and Maureen (Kaiser) Richmond. The DVD was given out as an exclusive gift to ACE No-Coaster and East-Coaster attendees in January 2005. It included ride soundtracks, Qtv Excerpts, Ride announcement spoof videos, The Beast 25th anniversary special & more. Heres mine:

AMEN! That coaster was insanely awesome. EXTREMELY fun ejector air. I rate it up there with Phoenix at Knoebels as best airtime I've ever gotten on a wooden coaster. Heck - the last seat of the train had a high back to prevent people from flying out the back of the car. I am so glad I got to ride Screechin Eagle many times. There will never, ever, be another coaster built like it - with that kind of out of your seat euphoria. I will always miss it.

I was personally told about the Addams concept in mid-January 2003 when I was at KI and toured Delirium and SDATHC while under construction. I photo documented the day, but was asked to not take pictures while in the Admin Offices... lets just say I learned, and saw a lot with my own two eyes.

The licensing issue, as I understand, was that Charles Addams widow (Marilyn Matthews Miller) obtained the rights after his death. She held the copyright tightly, and passed away in 2002 leaving it in limbo. The Addams Family Coaster concept has been posted about a number of times on this board. The concept was based on using a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter coaster in a dark ride format - complete with a mansion facade and show building behind. Separately from that fact, the rumor has always been that when Paramount passed, the concept was - in part - reused by Gerstlauer at Dollywood for Mystery Mine. Over time I've heard people (outside KI) say the coaster was plotted for Coney Mall, or Rivertown etc etc etc. But I understood it never made it that far enough in planning to be specc'd for the park. The coaster was to be heavily themed - and the "story" was based on an Uncle Fester experiment gone wrong.

Well, my saying that was not meant as a "tease" of information. Rather, I was seriously asking a question because - IMO - the direction (and tone) of this board seems to have changed in recent months. Traditionally, KIC forums have always been an open forum of collective ideas, experiences, varied knowledge levels and ideas. That's what made it fun to post and read. If that's no longer the case - I'd like to know.

I know of another proposed coaster from the Paramount Days that never made it past the concept/rendering phase. I never saw blueprints, never heard any official stats, never saw concept art... but I know for a fact it was an idea in the works. But since I don't have anything to prove it, does that mean the standards here dictate it cannot be discussed? Now - don't read that facetiously - its a serious question.

Ive learned that William Reece - the director of Kings Islands Wild Animal Habitat from 1977-1992 passed away today. Mr Reece joined KI after the management agreement with Lion Country Safari was discontinued. He led the entire Wildlife team for 15 years - much to the enjoyment of millions. After (P) KI removed they Wild Animal Habitat, many of the animals were transferred to “The Wilds” in central Ohio where Mr Reece transitioned to Executive Director for the rest of his career. I know that he returned to KI With his family last season to pay a visit to his old workplace which he loved dearly. For those of us that were able to experience the Wild Animal Habitat attractions at KI, this is a sad day. Thank you Mr Reece - RIP.

Got the official notice today. For the first time in over 40 years American Coaster Enthusiasts Coaster Con will opt to hold a “virtual” Con. No traveling, no physical parks, no physical rides, rather virtual meetings and special online coaster “events.” Con is always a highlight of my summer. I was really excited for this years, but I guess good things come to those that wait. Sigh

Probably the covering over the KMLF queue. It can be seen in the Partridge Family KI episode which was filmed later in 1972.

The bathrooms by Ohio Overland Auto Livery (antiques)

Love this - my favorite thing about this board is hearing from persons that actually experienced the history of KI's early years. Thank you for sharing!

Here's a fun fact for you. When KI first opened, the children's rides in HB Land were clustered together and covered by a large "tent." The tent was made of triangular tarps and when viewed from above looked like slices of pie. So - ride operators referred to that cluster of rides as "pie." Over the years, the name stuck and to this very day the park still refers to the various sections of Planet Snoopy (formerly HB Land) as "pie." So if you work "South Pie" then that means you work on the kids rides in the south (lower) side of the kids area.

They were small children’s rides placed in Hanna-Barbera Land. Both revolved - One had kangaroos you sat in that went up and down, the other was cars.

I believe it to be storage track that had not been installed. The fact that the track is painted to match the coaster would indicate that - but the giveaway is the fact that in the other '87 Vortex picture the "s-curved" track pieces are not jetting out of the storage bays.