Shaggy

I was reading through some of the responses Kings Dominion has gotten on FB over the removal.... Man people are such drama queens. I can understand being disappointed and even angry - but not to the point of getting verbally vicious with people you don't know over a coaster. Count me in as one that isn't surprised by the removal. Its always been "temperamental." It did have a good run - 20 years, that's nothing to sneeze at. Remember, if you took the collective total number of days "The Bat" at Kings Island operated it would amount to less than one season. Now "Volcano" gets to become one of those "There once was a coaster named _____ and I got to ride it" rides that will be ingrained into KD's history. Now, here's my personal feelings. I "liked" the coaster - but it wasn't the end-all-be-all. My reaction the first time I saw it being built was "They've ruined the mountain." They literally butchered the original "Lost World/Fantasy Mountain" structure to install it. On top of that, the ride's structure looked ridiculous IMO. They could have done a MUCH better job with the structure as to not obscure the mountain. It looked like scaffolding... like the mountain was in a constant state of repair. Also they lopped probably 20 feet off the top and removed the elaborate waterfall to install the blast hole - which really bummed me. The first time I rode it (I rode many times over the years), I was underwhelmed. It was fun, don't get me wrong, but I remember the general feeling was "That's it?" I remember being surprised that the initial launch was not what propelled you out of the top... rather it was just a launch into a long straightaway and then a wide turn behind it. It was back behind it that you realized they basically cut out the most of the back of the mountain. Imagine if the straightaway and turn had been enclosed! After the inversion out of the top, the ride slowed to a crawl. The barrel rolls were some of the slowest I've ever experienced and although fun, it wasn't necessarily "scary." But then, the coaster did a swooping, fast dive down into.... brakes.... wah wah. Everyone.... and I mean EVERYONE I rode it with over the years always said it was a let down - especially the ending. It's finale was on par with Adventure Express... a big build up to... the final break run. Now, you have to understand that the first time I went to Kings Dominion, the mountain was brand new... they were literally still putting the finishing touches on it. I was in awe of it - and I remember vividly how it looked and how amazing it was to look at. My parents and I waited an eternity to ride "Land of the Dooz." I wouldn't get on "Atlantis" the precursor to "Haunted River" (which I rode many, many times.) Also, my dad always told the story he waited for nearly 2 hours with me to ride "The Time Shaft" - only when we got there and I saw what it did I chickened out (I was 6 years old.) Finally, many don't remember that there was another ride on the right side of the mountain called "Mount Kilimajaro" which was a Bayern Curve that went in and out of the facade. That having been said, my opinion of Volcano was always kind of stilted because I missed the grandeur of the original Mountain. It was a good idea, in theory. And Lord knows by the time Volcano arrived the Mountain needed something (during the early Paramount years - it fell into such disrepair that it was embarrassing.) But in retrospect, I probably would have been more thrilled if they had just done a major refurbishment of the original rides. My biggest concern in all of this is that they will demolish the entire mountain. Sounds like they will. Knowing how badly it was kept, only to be gutted and ravaged by the installation of Volcano, I cant imagine it will be salvaged. That is what will really upset me. Frankly, when I think of KD, the Mountain always comes to mind... more so than their Eiffel Tower - because seeing it for the first time as a kid was such a "WOW" moment in my life. I guess I'm just lucky I got to see, ride and enjoy it in all incarnations. Finally - below is a write-up I did on another board many years ago when someone asked about the original mountain. It gives a bit of insight as to it's original history. The mountain was not built for "Volcano." It was there for many years before the roller coaster was added. It was originally built for the 1978 season. It was called "The Lost World: Fantasy Mountain." and when it opened, it had 4 rides. Those rides were "Professor Backenforth's Journey into the Land of the Dooz", "Time Shaft","Mt Kilimanjaro" and a dark boat ride called "Journey to Altlantis." -"Land of the Dooz" was a family themed ride in which you rode a train through the mountain and past various animated scenes. -"Time Shaft" was an indoor Rotor. A Rotor is a round room in which guests enter, it spins, they stick to the wall and the floor drops out beneath their feet. This ride was unique because it was all the way inside the mountain and had an elaborate lighting and music effect system. -"Mt. Kilimanjaro" was a Bayern Curve that ran in and out of a side portion of the mountain. A Bayern Curve is a bobsled-type attraction that was popular many years ago. It is a simple idea where you sit in a train of cars that traverse a circular track. As the ride continues, the bobsled picks up speed. -"Journey to Atlantis" dark boat ride they had only lasted the first season. It was changed for 1979 into "The Haunted River" which was a heavily themed scary boat ride excursion into various haunted scenes. It ended with a big splash down drop outside the mountain. In 1984, "Land of the Dooz" was changed into "Smurf Mountain." It still used the same train and course, but the Smurf characters were put in place of the "Dooz" characters. Although I am not exactly sure when, in the 1980's "Mt Kilimanjaro" also disappeared. You can still see where the ride existed though. It is the grown-over portion of the mountain nearest to the entrance to the Flight of Fear plaza. By the mid 1990's the "Haunted River" and "Smurf Mountain" were worse for the wear and were closed. Some of the treasure relics of "Haunted River" were moved into the re-themed "Yogi's Cave" in Hannah Barbera Land. The queue for "Smurf Mountain" and "Haunted River" were combined to form the queue for "Volcano." The station for "The Haunted River" is now the "Volcano" exit and gift shop. You can still see where the boats flowed through a trough up to the station. PKD has an original "Haunted River" boat permanently placed in that area now. All the skeletons from "Haunted River" were used as decorations in the exit. The entrance and tunnel that led guests into the mountain and to "The Time Shaft" was widened and opened up and became "Volcano's" launch tunnel. The old station you see is probably the one that is pretty high up in the mountain and was actually not a station. Rather it was there for decoration only. On a similar note, you can still see the tracks from the old "Dooz" and/or "Smurf" ride when you are in the station of Volcano. If you look up the side of the mountain where the small waterfall is, you can see where the tracks were simply cut off with a blowtorch. Finally, when "Volcano" was added, quite a bit was chopped off the top of the mountain's peak in order to widen the opening for the coaster. I would say a good 15 feet was removed. Prior to "Volcano" the mountain did not shoot fire, but rather had a wonderful large waterfall from the very top. Really, the mountain is a shell of its former self. Although I like Volcano and think it is fun, I personally think it ruined the look of the mountain. Volcano has way too much scaffolding supports around it and obscures the mountain itself. The designers should have spent more time and attention and used as few supports as possible. Finally, "Lost World: Fantasy Mountain" was the initial "test" for an even larger mountain project that the original owners of the park were planning. They were in initial design stages for Canada's Wonderland in Toronto. That park's signature piece is a large mountain built in the very same manner (although about 3 times the size) as Dominions. The difference was, when Wonderland's opened, there were no rides housed inside it. That has now changed over time.

Potential off-site dorms - allowing them to demolish the current ones on property and expand... perhaps.

I went many times in the latter years of it's operation and always had a good time. One time in particular I was there with coaster friends from Canada and it was like 110 degrees (no joke) out. As miserable as it was, we laughed hysterically all day - its one of my favorite memories. Other memories of the park include: Screechin Eagle was an INTENSE coaster. The drop after the turnaround was an airtime lovers dream. The age, and bad condition of the coaster in later years really added to the "thrill." The lake was full of GIANT carp. The Log flume was one of the wettest I've ever ridden. Literally a wave of water would flood your boat... you came off wetter from that than you would KI's White Water Canyon. The giant slide had seams/rivets that would snag your burlap sack There was a Fascination parlor - which I miss immeasurably. I spent hours and hours in there. I'm going to have to check out that restaurant - thanks for sharing!

FYI... just to add some tid-bits here... The "Pedestals" you see today were altered for either the 2nd or 3rd season of operation. Originally, the water bowls sat on top of the simple round cylindrical "tubes." Later, for decoration (and added support) the bowls were given 8 support arms each. In the pictures above you can see how the original pedestal "tubes" still exist and the original bowls with the later-added arms sit over top of them. The original IS configuration's street-scapes, curbs etc were all removed/altered for the first Winterfest in 1982. That's also when the "trees" were added along the fountains. The pavers on IS are the oldest in the park - and were added many seasons (1982) before other areas in KI - they have been repaired/replaced a few times over the years. The fountain and its filtration system was completely overhauled in 2003 due to a severe series of "cracks" that left the original concrete crumbling and leaking underground in places. Basically, they built a fountain over the fountain. This was also done in prep for the return of the 2005 Winterfest. For 2005's Winterfest, additional pathways from IS down to the fountain were added for access to the ice-rink. There is a long-standing rumor that a capsule of personal momentos may have been placed under IS by the original designers/contractors. But I've never had it verified officially.

"As of 2019, Warner Bros. uses the studio's brand to market properties and productions associated with the Hanna-Barbera library." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanna-Barbera "Today, Six Flags has dedicated itself to setting the standard for theme park entertainment... Our licensing agreement with DC Comics and Warner Bros. Consumer Products allows Six Flags the exclusive theme park rights to many of the world's greatest cartoon characters and super heroes..." https://investors.sixflags.com/investor-overview/company-history

I have a park map/guide from every year of operation, they are viewable on my SitOnIt FB KI site. If they are downloaded and used here, I'd appreciate the acknowledgement.

"Original" PTC trains is a relative term.... those trains have been re-built so many times over the years that I'd expect there's not one original thing left on any of them. Heck even the various front panels are owned by different KI collectors.

This is awesome. The fact it's only in its 2nd year (well, following a looooong break) and takes the 2nd spot shows just how awesome it is. Great job KI! (And great job to all that voted!)

Awww shucks! Labor of love...

Have you made attempts at obtaining records through the Cincinnati public library? Also, Museum Center at Union Terminal has a vast amount of historians on retainer that may be able to help. Now that the renovations at the Terminal are complete, you'd likely have a better chance at assistance. http://library.cincymuseum.org/ Most cities have a hall of records or center of historical records. Not sure where to start - but the above two options could lead you in the correct direction. Finally, a subscription to an archived news service online can be of immense help. There's several options for researching/reading old newspaper articles - all the way back to the turn of the century! Good luck!

There's (as of this post) just 1 hour left to vote for KI as the best Theme Park Holiday Event! Don't forget to vote for Winterfest! It's important! https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-theme-park-holiday-event/winterfest-at-kings-island-mason-ohio/

Well, International Street always had trees... but I believe it was overhauled, the curbs removed and the trees surrounding the fountains added in 1982 - in preparation for the first Winterfest.

I disagree. As a matter of fact, I have always found KD's International Street paled in comparison to KI's. The KD tree canopy obscures the grandness of the fountains and Eiffel Tower. I've never understood why they allowed those trees to grow so big - when the park opened - like KI, there weren't any trees at all and it looked so much better! The trees make it hard to get a good photo. Also, overall KD's International Street is a tad shorter and more narrow than KI's - that's because when it was built, attendance rates were not predicted as high as KI's, so they shrank the dimensions and gave it a more "intimate' feel - which with the large trees only makes it feel small and congested. Finally, the KD fountain base is painted dark - like green or such and the fountains are low to the water table... I much prefer the "blue" of KI's fountains and the raised pedestals. Overall, KI's looks much "cleaner." KD's from above Ki's from above

The awe of International Street is by far what makes Winterfest the standout to me... but it doesnt stop there. I'm old school KI - as most everyone knows - and I measure today's KI by the standards the park set 30+ years ago... I can honestly say, when I attended last year's Winterfest, it had every single bit of the old school feel. I nearly cried because it was the first time I felt like the original charm of KI was back. It made my year. That having been said... there was one big dissapointment. I saw the absolute MESS of a show in the KI Theater during last year's Winterfest with the Peanuts characters. Frankly - as much as it pains me to say this - that was the worst show I've ever seen at a theme park - hands down. (And LOUDEST.... PLEASE SOMEONE TELL THE SOUND TECHNICIAN THAT LOUDER DOESNT MAKE IT BETTER. I swear my ears were bleeding when I left the theater.) I couldn't believe they used the best show facility to host such a ramshackle, thin show. Tsk tsk... The show in the KI Theatre should be as over-the-top as it can get... it should be so well produced that people would come to Winterfest just to see it. That stage has at least a 30' fly space... spend the coin and make it all about the spectacle.... costumes, rent every holiday back-drop imaginable, use a live orchestra, add a turntable to the stage deck, make it snow, sing every holiday song known to man etc etc etc... Cut those &%#) Peanuts characters to a 5 minute segment for the kiddos (or preferably get rid of them from the show completely...) and make it literally puke Christmas all over the audience. Trust me, they'd LOVE it. As a side note - I recently attended Busch Gardens Williamsburg Christmastown. They utilize their "Broadway-style" theater to house a nativity themed show called "Gloria." It was terrific - a full live orchestra - professional singers, great visuals. It was standing room only - I swear half that park's guests were crammed into that theater with us. KI- take note - and pay a visit. Although it doesnt do the show justice (recorded versions of live shows never do..) here's a video of the show from 2 years ago (they update it every year)... remember - every bit of it is played and sung live...

Really, Holiday in the park at Discovery Kingdom is winning? Talk about stacking the votes! Everyone needs to give KI a nod... it's a stellar event. Yes, Dollywood and SDC are deserving too... but I can tell you I attended Busch Garden's Christmastown just last week - and KI's Winterfest is superior BY A LONG SHOT! VOTE!

I've been in the house - a couple of times. Its nothing of note... just an old ranch style house in ruins - full of litter and grafitti... oh, and an old couch. It had a basement and there were lots of old used oil cans in there. This was probably 15 years ago or so... FYI, it was the only house left from several that originally existed in the area. All but the one were demolished in the early 1980s for the construction of a KECO corporate office building. (Later it was called PKIU and was used for employee re-hire weekends/training seminars etc. Not sure what its used for today.) I believe it was when the train was re-routed for the waterpark that the lone remaining house was covered with the "Fort" facade. I think it served as a break area for employees at some point.

Back in the day, this (or a version of) was hung on the wall in the Admin conference room at KI (Same one used in the Brady episode - which often gets confused for the conference room in the old International Restaurant - not the same.) There were also aerial shots of other KECO parks (KD, Canada's Wonderland, Australia's Wonderland) - a holdover from the early 1980's massive KECO expansion period. Later they were replaced (during Paramount days) with updated aerials of Paramount Parks - PKD, PGA etc. I know personally that all pre-Paramount files, photos, press releases etc etc etc were not kept by the park. They were all discarded during a sweeping "cleansing" of the parks in the 1990s/2000's. You'd be shocked at how much documentation was destroyed by the park during the Paramount Tenure. I know because I personally saw it happen and many of my most prized KI historical items were "salvaged" during the purge...

LOL! Aint that the truth! Its sometimes like sharks waiting for bait to be thrown... Ha ha! When I wrote the blogs for KI, I had to develop a thick skin very quickly... people can be brutal when they are hiding behind a computer.

A blog I wrote for KI's website a year ago shed's some light on the KIMVRR https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2017/june/what-in-the-world-is-losantivlle

Have they actually started removal/demolition? I haven't seen any pics, but then I've been off the board for a week, so I could have missed them.

The bump and support is much appreciated. I took a sabbatical for a while, life got in the way, but I have been posting some new stuff lately. There's plenty more to come... stay tuned - as I dig through my totes I find more, and more and more... LOL!

Sorry - yes, typo... thinking "until 2005", typed "until 1995."

Just the taxis went to MS... the Cadillacs, AFAIK moved to the Coney side and operated until 1995. The Cadillacs then sat in storage near Racer for at least a period of time before disappearing from KI completely. The rumor has always been that the Cadillacs went to another CF park, but I've never had it confirmed. Of note - WOF's LeTaxi originally opened with French Taxis - but it now appears to operate with Cadillacs. So perhaps those might just be replacements sent from KI.

After "Antiques" were closed at KI, many of the "Taxis" were purchased by Ed Hart and re-located to Magic Springs in AK. They operate today as the Ozark Mountain Taxi Company.

Agreed.... and by original, I meant that they were indeed genuine - used in the construction of the coaster - as opposed to, say someone taking them to Kinkos (is that still a thing?) and making copies to sell.