Shaggy

This picture absolutely amazes me. Why? Because I have such vivid memories of going to KD in it's early years (1970's) and thinking how enormous the Rebel Yell was. Then they built Anaconda when I was in my first year of college and I thought "My Lord that's a big coaster." Now... by comparison... !!!

If I may be so bold... submitted for your consideration... 1. An aeriel view of Canada's Wonderland, pre Leviathan. The highlighted areas show the grounds as they existed before the coaster was installed. 2. An aeriel view of Kings Island, with an unmistakably similar area highlighted. 3. Hmmm..?! ;-) Am I saying Kings Island is getting a clone, or version of Leviathan? No. But I do think there's a great place for one at the park. From what I understand, Leviathan is an absolute shash hit at Wonderland... as was Behemoth. And if you recall, Diamondback followed Behemoth in installation. None the less, Wonderland and KD both feature coasters over the 300 mark. I wouldnt be at all surprised to see KI and Carowinds follow suite someday. *Sigh* Wishful dreaming? Maybe. But fun to speculate ;-)

Well, let's see... KD holds a special place in my heart. It was the place I took my first coaster ride - on the Scooby Doo. KI holds a special place in my heart. It was the place that generated my fascination with parks and coasters. I have a deeper connection to KI because of the vast amount of time I have spent there. I still get "THE" feeling when I walk in. I have an eternal connection to KD because I visited the park in it's infantile days and I experienced all the original rides and attractions firsthand. When measured up, I think KD has the edge on a rides package, but KI has the edge on feel and layout. HOWEVER... KD lost MAJOR brownie points when they removed the train for Waynes World - the largest mis-step in the parks history IMO. KI lost MAJOR brownie points when they removed the Antiques and Eagles for IJST - the largest mis-step in the parks history IMO. KI was the original - but KD was built on the lessons learned from KI. In conclusion, I have to tip my hat to Canada's Wonderland as the winner. That park has chugged on and on for years like the little engine that could to become the star in the chain. Wonderland was built on the lessons learned from BOTH KI and KD and it combines the best features from both parks. It is, quite frankly, a far superior park to either KI or KD. And it pains me to say that ;-)

??? The boat is round. How is there a right side?

Why is that? Did they have to push the kids around the track if they got stuck or something? Yep, or if they tipped over, or the kid got off and ran around, or if the kid stopped turning the wheel... etc, etc, etc.

Handcarts. For employees, having to work that ride was the equivelent of being sent to hell.

I also vividly recall the signs all around Cincinnati promoting the addition of the Smurfs to HB land in 1983. "The Smurfs are here!" proclaimed at least half a dozen billboards.

The Blue Elephant fountain was in front of the restrooms in HB Land and adjacent to the landing of Scrappy's Slide. It was added when Scrappy's slide was installed. You can see a glimpse of the pool it sat in to the far right of this picture.

Not sure if "House of cards" was what it was called... but it was at least decorated to look like one. It wasn't very big... it was more of a decorator peice located beside the Puppet Tree and McScrappy's Farm. It did have some fun house mirrors in it and there was a "jungle gym" type attraction next to it with a Shaggy theme, I believe.

Wow... I have so many vivid memories of the original HB land from back in the day... My most favorite is the "Puppet Tree" which I wish I could go back in time to see again. But I also recall fondly... The Beastie - before it was The Beastie. It was the Scooby Doo Coaster and had manual hand brakes and was painted yellow. The Balloon Girls that frequented the area in ruffly bright colored dresses holding huge bunches of balloons with the HB characters and KI logo on them. The UNCOVERED and miserably hot loading platform and queue for Enchanted Voyage. Winsome Witches Cauldrons - the original multi colors on the cauldrons that were later painted black with flames and were terribly hot to sit on in the summer! The House of Cards Sunshine Turnpike and the distinct gas/oil smell those cars had. The "Stone" Flintstone benches The Flintmobile replica The Rainbow arch entrance to "The Happy Land of Hanna Barbera." The large "tarp" that covered a few of the smaller round-about rides. and... oh I'll let a few others chime in...

Most of you don't recall the merchandise KI USED to carry back in the day. KI used to have some of the most incredible souvenirs... and not everything had KI's logo's plastered on it. For instance, there was a Bavarian Toy Shop on International Street that carried the most amazing foreign collectible toys. Lots of West German items not found in regualr toy shops in the US. It was an absolutely amazing shop.... and it was one of SEVERAL like this. When I go to KI now, outiside of items unique to the park logos, there's very little merchandise that interests me. If there were more high-end collectibles, I'd spend big $. (I still have the framed artist prints they used to sell, a replica KI Carousel Lead Horse I shelled out $250 for etc etc etc.) Shaggy

Quite honestly... I don't want it to re-open. At least not in any way reminiscent of it's former self. I never liked KK, and I made no bones about it. Heck, I took a ride op job there on Chang 11 years ago for kicks (so I could operate a B&M) and quickly discovered it was even more screwed up behind the scenes than it was to the guest. That park was a festering ground for hooligans... it was nothing more than a summertime babysitter for teens from the wrong side of Louisville. The rides were sub-par, and it was literally a 3-hour park (After 3 hours, you were done.) In addition, the Lassiter accident can, and will, be cited as the defining moment when KK lost any future hope of being a successful ride park. That incident damaged it's reputation as a safe park far beyond repair. The Louisville masses dropped it like a hot potato. I supported the Koch's vision, simply because if anyone could have turned it around, they could. They recognized that it needed to serve as a regional waterpark destination. But the fact that they nixed the deal it tells me it's finally toast. KK is nothing more than Louisville's Astroworld - but at least in Houston they quickly bulldozed the park instead of literally letting it rot into an eyesore. Shaggy

Stick a fork in it

^So you're trying to put me on the defensive? Ok then, I'll bite. I didn't say that. I was simply speculating of what *likely* happened since I saw it happen myself from time to time while working on Beast crew. I had the same thing happen to me 30 years ago on the long-defunct Glissade coaster at BGW prior to your even being born. http://www.rcdb.com/1116.htm?p=23320 I bent down and to the right when the coaster made a hairpin turn to the left - hitting my head on the side rail of the car in the process. What I recall was that my embarassment was far worse than my injury. It wasn't my fault, nor was it his, nor was it the park's... it was simply an unfortunate accident. I feel bad for the kid.

This is not an un-heard-of incident on Beast. I, as a former Beast ride Op, personally saw it happen a number of times. More than likely the kid didn't "lean" with the 360, rather against it, and he face planted on the front side of the car. That, incidentally, is why there are small pads on that part of the train behind each seat. It had nothing to do with the kid not being measured, or not being tall enough. It has everything to do with the kid simply not knowing to avoid leaning toward the side of the car. Shaggy

Completely subjective... However, mine has been Thunderhead for about 4 years now.

I'm just old - that's all ;-) And I have a tendancy to recall useless facts. LOL The photo booth was temporary in the means that it was in a portable trailer that could be moved to a different ride from season to season. If memory serves me, back when on-ride photos were first introduced at KI, they were (and perhaps still are) contracted by an outside company. The company provided the intial equiptment and KI retained the profits. Some of the on-ride photo booths were highly sucessful - like Beast (which always had it's own permnt booth.) but rides like Adventure Express used a portable one so that if sales were unsuccessful, it could be re-located to another coaster. As a matter of fact, if I recall, AE lost it's on-ride photo when Face/Off was added... at that point the same booth was moved to that location and used. Shaggy

Those cars are long gone shaggy.... LOL, that should indicate just how much time I've spent at KI over the past 5 years... I think I average 1 visit a year now. And I can honestly say I haven't paid attention to the upcharges for a long, long time ;-)

The on-ride photo booth was a temporary one located where the remote control cars are now. The camera was located - if memory serves me - at the entrance of tunnel #2. (I think) When Adventure Express opened - there were many more effects. Virtually all are gone. Most kids today have no idea that back-in-the-day, when the train left the station, you went through a dense patch of fog and mist - and you dropped into tunnel 1 while in the fog. I think this tunnel also originally had red "flame" lights like it was burning. (It's been so long since the effects actually worked - it's hard to remember what happened when) Also, the finale "Bubba" actually used to pour water on the train as it reached the top of the final lift hill! The water/mist effects were removed (from what I was told) because of the rusting of the track and components. I do know that back when Face/Off (Invertigo) was built, the track out of the station to tunnel #1 was replaced. This was when the "mist" effect (which had already been reduced to a shell of it's former self) dissapeared for good. I distinctly recall the replacement track being in the KI parking lot next to the Face/Off track which was awaiting assembly. Finally, I was also told that the budget for effects was cut when AE was being built. There were more effects planned - along the lines of Phantom Theatre (Which was themed by the same company) but the budget got slashed and things like a large animatronic snake and bubbling lava pit were cut from the final ride. Shaggy

Fountaine Ferry Park closed because of issues related to racial unrest. Unfortunately, not much has changed in that regard as one of the main complaints against KK was always based upon race. Just sayin'...

Mr Hart must have forgotten that he SOLD Kentucky Kingdom to Premier Parks and chose to walk away when it was what he considers "highly successful." He fails to remind folks that he added large attraction after attraction by purchasing them on "time" - incurring debt that he passed on to his predecessors. You cannot operate a highly successful park without paying those debts. One thing I'll hand Holiday World - they install what they can pay for. Ed Hart is a shrewd business man, but he's not one I'd ever trust. His article wreaks of a high-pressure bully businessman. I find it amusing that he makes pleas to the Louisville public to question the intentions of local government... when in reality he's just ****ed he didn't get a chance to buy, and sell, the park again. Holiday World is no doubt going to focus on developing Bluegrass Boardwalk (ummmm.... BOARDWALK) as a waterpark. It's what Holiday World knows best... does best... and it's what they know will quickly become a cash cow. Add a pool and you get Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa and the kiddos. Add a coaster and you get the attention of teenagers. (Enthusiast community excluded of course ;-)

I can't imagine that CP/Engineers couldn't work the coaster around Space Spiral... rather I think the execs feel SS no longer serves a purpose. CP has always been pretty transparent in their installs. When they start "working on an area" - shifting rides or revitalizing nearby attractions - you can bet they are making way for a coaster. Hence I think that the initial thought of a coaster taking DT's spot has been in the works for sometime. Re-development of the area no doubt cast a speculative eye on the usefulness of SS... Thus last year CP got a version of WindSeeker which, more or less, serves the same purpose as the Spiral in a much more modern/marketable way. I am one of those old schoolers that rode DT prior to it being enclosed. I rode the year it opened as Avalanche run and distinctly recall being dissapointed with it. When Avalanche Run opened, people waited for hours in excruciatingly hot sun reflecting off the water (long before the park began covering queues and using fan misters.) The benefit of it being enclosed and turned into DT was that you no longer baked in the sun waiting for it. But enclosed or not, the ride never was a redeemable one. You wait(ed) eons for a coaster that never delivers - it's just eh. Finally, I never thought of it as a "family" coaster - it wasn't built to be a "family attraction." When it opened, it was promoted as a big-bad new coaster - so imagine the dissapointment it held. I always considered it a rare mis-step by CP that originally predicted it to be more thrilling than it turned out. Heck, Falfas was embarassed of the ride from the start. As for WildCat - seems to me that removal was not pre-meditated. I would suspect it simply reached the end of it's maintenance life and the cost of maintaining overrode it's validity as an attraction. Wildcat was not marketable, the new nightime show is. Both are geared to families - so I dont think the park sees the loss of Wildcat as a loss to the family attractions - rather a trade off. In addition, Wildcat is easily replacable. It wouldn't surprise me to see CP install a small mouse-type ride to up the coaster ante - I don't expect it, but it wouldn't surprise me. Ultimately, a ride or attraction must be markatable, viable, and crowd-drawing. Parks must survey if the turnstyles "turns" warrant a ride's upkeep and real-estate value. DT, SS and WC obviously do not meet those requirements.

Having just viewed some of the pictures from the new Soak City refurb and the new entrance to the waterpark - I've decided it's high time KI build a new main gate. What many may not know is that while still under the "Paramount" moniker, there was an initiative by execs at the park to scrap the main gate and build a new one. For various reasons, that never materialized, and thus today we still have the aging original. Now I am sure there are purists who will say "NO! DON'T! It's original to the park... we'd lose the International Restaraunt space" etc etc. However I have to say, that front gate is an eyesore in my book. It's terribly outdated and since the upstairs serves little to no purpose, a new fresher look is long overdue. Now the Soak City entrance is VERY Cedar Fair. If you look at the entrance gates they've refurbed for the Cedar Fair Parks over the years - Cedar Point, Dorney and now the new KI Soak City entrance - they all have the same "look." Quite honestly, I'd love to see something a bit more extravagant and condusive to KI in place of the boring 1970's brown box-o-shingles currently there. So I am curious - do others agree with my sentiments? What would you like to see in a new main entrance? Shaggy

I personally would liken the start of the ride program of Delirium to the start of Shake,Rattle & Roll. There's a slow turning with an outward thrust not unlike that of a scrambler (but not as violent.) Overall, however, the spinning factor is virtually obsolete once the more agressive swinging begins. I am fairly sensitive these days to intense spinning... but I've never had an issue with it on Delirium. However I do have friends who are more sensitive to spinning motions that have ridden it and complained that it did bother them. Delirium ranks as one of the best rides in the park IMO, so it's a don't miss for me. As far as Firehawk - I've noticed that people shorter than me seem to enjoy the ride more. I am a tall beefy guy - 6'3" 210lbs - and I find the ride confining and uncomfortable. Specifically, the way the seat back is molded there's a "bump" that falls dead in the center of my back. Also, as others have mentiones, there's a jerkiness to it. I have ridden all the Vekoma Flyers and each and everyone causes the blood to rush to my head - although I always feel like I am dangling by my ankles. Some are big fans of Firehawk - but for me it's not an enjoyable ride. But then, these days, I don't like my coasters to be as intense as I did when I was, say, 20.

You know Coney Island (Not counting Sunlite Pool and Lake Como) was only about 1/3 the size of Kings Island. It was not a "big" park at all. The fact that it didn't have room to expand contributed (although not as greatly as the flooding) to the closure and move to KI.