Shaggy

Pond was removed in the early 1990s to re-route the exit and make it handicap accessible, as well as it being deemed unsanitary. Vortex was built years before the pond was removed. It was also at this time that the 4th queue house was removed. (Yes The Beast originally had 4 queue houses.) Shaggy

Obviously using the undeveloped land left from the demolition of Opryland - which never should have been demolished to begin with. Nashville is in dire need of an attraction of this sort... and with Dolly behind it, it will (hopefully) be a success.

Disney parks have the backing of a largely successful studio/media/merchandise operation providing the means for highly themed rides. Kings Island had a (albeit smaller) version of that at one point - and we saw the most expensive and most heavily themed rides in their history. There are many factors as to why KI is not, nor ever was, on par with the Disney experience. Ultimately it boils down to one thing... the financial pockets aren't deep enough. Comparing the two is futile. It's like comparing the financial and marketing resources of Skyline to McDonalds. Shaggy

KI is the only park in the world... tmk... that has ever owned/operated 3 Huss Giant rides. -Skylab (Huss Giant Enterprise) -Tomb Raider/Crypt (Huss Giant Top Spin) -Delirium (Huss Giant Frisbee) Of course only two operated at the park simultaniously... and all 3 have had a bevvy of mechanical downtime issues. Shaggy

Eagles... definitely. And I say that as someone that didn't ride them. (One of the very few rides I was scared of!) The biggest mis-step in KI history was the removal of the Antiques and Eagles for a junky looking coaster that delivers about 10% of it's original intended thrill. If I were made GM, the first thing I'd do is scrap Stunt Coaster and return that area of the park to it's original state.

Wow, the park is pretty much unrecognizable from these pics! It's amazing how time has changed things.

To me, the more interesting part of the story occurred after the Bluegrass Boardwalk vote. Seems the Fair Board held a closed door meeting where the "future" of Mr Harold Workman (CEO of Kentucky Fair and Expo) was discussed. Now, I'm a layman... but if I had to guess... I'd speculate that the decision to move forward with the park initiative somehow directly involves to the removal of Workman. One could "assume" that the Governor, State and Fairboard have had enough of Mr Workmans "involvement." http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120223/NEWS01/302230038/Kentucky-State-Fair-board-seeks-succession-plan-Harold-Workman

B&M invert... without a doubt.

There's so much more to this story than the press will ever reveal. First, Al J. Schneider inc owns and operates both the Crowne Plaza suites and Galt House hotel located here in Louisville. The Crowne Plaza used to be the Executive Inn... and is the large hotel right next to the park. Seems *correct* that the hotel would want to invest in an attraction to help boost their revenue. However, its no secret among business folk in downtown Louisville that Schneider has reduced staff consecutively for years now. Employees of both hotels have seen drastic layoffs, paycuts, and severly reduced hours all with explanations that the company's reduced revenue has restricted their ability to re-invest in their staff. Now, that's not unique to the travel industry, and understandable in hard economic times. Maybe I am naive, but IMO, it might be more prudent for Ms Moseley to make monetary ammends within the confines of her own company's infrastructure before she goes promising monies to outside sources. Because of the close proximity and interest in the Fairgrounds success, one would have to assume that Mosely and her company have a very "vested interest" in the ammenities of the KFEC. That means they have to keep close ties to Workman. As a layman, It would seem Harold Workman is working every angle he can to try and re-open the park as a self-serving move. He's probably feeling lots of pressure to get the park re-opened by his board, financial advisors, and probably political advisors. I understand that pressure, however I think resulted in Workman relaying something that now seems "false." When SF first walked away, didn't he say several other operators were interested in taking over KK and they had their pick of companies to run KK? Or am I making that up in my own head? If so, I'm not so sure that was true. Within months Hart, a former "partner" with Workman and the KFEC, was on the scene and announced as the possible lead operator. It took time, but one would have to assume that the state eventually saw the potential "partnership" between Workman and Hart as concerning. Ultimately choosing to decline Hart's push to take the reigns. The State, Workman and Hart have now parted ways (apparently not so amicably), and ultimately the situation is no different than it was when SF backed out. However, now the public is hearing that the Koch family is being persued to oversee operations. If this is true, then why is the Farigrounds/State pursuing someone? What about all those other interested operators of which Workman said they had a pick? Ultimately, it's all too messy at this point. It's all coming from what appears to be a desperate place... do or die time. It's my opinion that if the state wants KK back open (and at this point, I don't think they do) then Workman and the KFEC should be pulled from the scenario and Franfort alone should strike the deals. However, I don't see the park ever re-opening at this point, and they'd be better served salvaging and auctioning what remanants are still viable for sale. The state has too many other, more pressing, issues than re-opening an amusement park that has a checkered operational past. Shaggy *Disclaimer* The above is stated only as opinion from a 12 year Louisville resident's personal observations.

Diamond Falls at KD was indeed the same version as KI's. (I believe they were both Intamin shoot-the-shoots.) The main difference was simply that it was an earlier version and the water pumping system was a bit different. In addition, the curve after the drop on DF was covered by a small building and you went through a "Diamond Shaft" of sorts. The ride was always hard to find in the park and had a low ridership soon after it opened. In final years, it experienced downtime due to severe leaks in the trough. It was removed, the land filled in, and IJST was built on it's former site. Diamond Falls has the distinction of being one of the first rides in which KD "filled in" part of Lake Charles to install. Years following, the lake became more and more reduced for installs (most notably the waterpark addition) and now exists only as a small "pond" in which Anaconda dives. Once upon a time, it covered the entire back half of KD and was so big, they held water ski shows on it. It was a beautiful feature in the park, much like the Antiques were at KI... ahhh, the past... Shaggy

By use of the word "stubbly", are you describing a man who hasn't shaved for the day, or do you mean actually having a trimmed beard? If you meant that a man having not shaved *could* appear unkempt, then I would agree with you - but only to an extent. However, if you think having a beard is unprofessional, then I couldn't disagree more. Having a beard has NOTHING to do with one's professionalism. Having an unruly appearance could cause someone to have an unbased impression of you, but it does not determine one's capability. In Disney's case, they hire Cast Members as though they were auditioning for a show. Thus I agree that there are certain positions that probably lend themselves to being clean shaven - just as there are those that lend themselves to having facial hair. For instance, the fellows that sing in the Barbershop quartet on Main Street. Their having a mustache lends itself to the part, does it not? Or what about the Jungle Cruise Boat Captains? Or the Country Bear Jamboree Show Coordinators? Or Splash Mountain Ride Attendants? Seems to me a rugged look better fits the "part." Actually, I think the cast members in the Adventureland/Frontierland areas of the park always looked out of place by BEING clean shaven and neat and tidy. Now a cast member working a Fantasyland attraction, such as It's a Small World, or Winnie the Pooh etc would probably be better served being clean shaven IMO. Why? Because small children can perceive men with facial hair as being stern or intimidating. I feel those attractions should be cast with those having a gentler appearance with no seperation between their face and the child's eyes. I speak to this due to personal experience. I happen to hold the record as the first Disney Store Cast Member in this region to ever be allowed to have a beard. Many years ago, I worked the Disney Store as a sideline kick. I left the store after two years of hard work, only to be asked to return/assist during busier holiday times. In the time since I had left the position, I had grown a full beard and was unwilling to shave clean. Because of my "professionalism" and high former cast member ranking, I was welcomed back with open arms and told I could keep the beard as long as I kept it trimmed within a certain length. I made sure it was kept tidy and trimmed as to not appear sloppy and I worked another season WITH the beard. Bottom line... I disagree with any *possible* sentiments that someone having facial hair is "unprofessional." Heck, even Santa, Abe Lincoln, and Uncle Walt himself would agree with me. Shaggy - (but not a shaggy beard ;-)

Quite frankly, IMO the whole idea behind this was silly. I made it through about 5 minutes and had to turn. Good to see the park on TV? I suppose. But utterly ridiculous to have "ghost hunters" predictibly arriving in the haunted house looking for scary noises. Sheesh

Happy belated New Year to all! So, I was going to post these on New Years Day, but as fate would have it, Photobucket wouldn't cooperate. My gift to each of you fellow Ki fans is something you may find interesting. 12 years ago, I began photo documenting the construction of Son of Beast. I have pics from the very first footers, to the announcement, to final construction, to the first test runs, and finally opening day. There's lots of pics, all taken by me. I hope you enjoy. Please don't post these to other sites without asking me for consent. After all, I did all the dirty work ;-) First, here's a look at construction from start to finish: http://s1095.photobucket.com/albums/i475/jhnktr/Son%20of%20Beast%20Construction%20-%20PKI/ Here's pics from the announcement: (look closely and you'll see Jeff Siebert (This was prior to his being hired by PKI, which happened just weeks after this event!) as well as Don Helbig (Long prior to his joinging KI Marketing.) http://s1095.photobucket.com/albums/i475/jhnktr/Son%20of%20Beast%20Announcement%20PKI/ Here's the infamous SOB crate: http://s1095.photobucket.com/albums/i475/jhnktr/Son%20of%20Beast%20Crate%20-%20PKI/ Here's ultra rare pics of the first ever riders on SOB. This happened on Easter Sunday 2000. The first riders included Tim Fisher, then GM of the park, along with engineers and other Paramount Park Execs. http://s1095.photobucket.com/albums/i475/jhnktr/Son%20of%20Beast%201st%20test%20run%20with%20riders%20-%20PKI/ Finally, heres pics from SOB's opening day. These were taken Friday evening following the media event. After the media event in the morning, the track was ripped out and replaced in the ascent following the large drop. The coaster openened for a few hours on Friday evening, then was closed for sometime as the entire track in that area was considered "too violent." http://s1095.photobucket.com/albums/i475/jhnktr/Son%20of%20Beast%20Opening%20Day%20-%20PKI/ I hope you enjoy them. This was a fun time in my coaster life. Lots of friends and memories were made during this time. Let me know what you think ;-) Shaggy aka John

Actually, I don't think the clock was present in 1972... it wasn't installed until the mid-1970s.

You know, in general, haunted houses never truly scared me. (Although the *ending* of the one at Indiana Beach gave me a thrill) I just don't frighten from people jumping out, screaming, or fake bloody body parts etc. However, the thing about a haunted house that DOES scare me is the possibility of things going wrong - namely fire. Haunted Houses are NOTORIOUS for fires and disaterous outcomes due to them. So when I have gone through them in the past I always stayed concered with where the exits were. Shaggy

What many don't know is that most of the Phantom Theatre figures hands and heads were actually latex masks or "shells" over plastic frames. (Those with moving parts within the facial features and hands used latex shells. Those without were made of hard fiberglass/plastic.) Latex breaks down over time, and thus those using shells/masks simply melted over the years. In the early years, when the attraction was kept in it's best condition, the park would contact AVG (AVG was the company that provided the animatronic characters and effects for the ride) to supply replacement masks/hands for the figures as they "melted." AVG had molds of the original ride design clay sculptures. When contacted by KI, they would pull out the approriate molds and pour in liquid latex. After that, exanding foam spray (yes the type you can buy at Lowes for insulation purposes) filled the center. Once cured, the mold was opened and each mask/part was hand painted by an artist according to the original character design specs by R&R Animations. (R&R Animations designed the concept/story/characters for the ride.) The foam sprayed in the center had formed a stiff "core" (similar to those styrofoam heads that wigs are stored on) that enabled the artist ease in painting. The masks, once complete, were shipped to KI still on the foam heads. The maintenance team at KI then removed the masks from the foam core and replaced the deteriorating ones. This was a costly expense - and eventually the park cut the budget for it. Thus Phantom Theatre suffered and became a shell of it's former self. Quite frankly, those that only experienced Phantom Theatre in the last 4 or 5 years of it's life really only saw half original attraction. The first time I rode Phantom Theatre (June 1992 - inaugural year) I was absolutely astounded at it's quality. But then over the years effect after effect kept dissapearing. Many of the Phantom Theatre figures were in dissaray by the time the attraction closed. When I toured Phantom Theatre on foot (the last year it was open) many of the costumes on the figures had been ruined by melted/dripping latex over the years. (Not to mention just general dirt and filth) There was a maintenance bay in the show building where the replacement parts were stored. They literally had dozens of the foam heads and old deteriorated shells/masks laying around. How any of the shells/masks have survived this long is beyond me - especially since the figures have been used outside in the weather for a few season now. However, even if they had been stored in a climate controlled environments they would not have lasted. The outside elements, no doubt, are greatly speeding their demise, but ultimately nothing lasts forever. Think of them like a plastic Halloween costume stored in an attic - over time they simply dont last. Here's some photos I took just after they began disassembling Phantom Theatre. The pictures actually make the figures look pretty good. However, in person it was a different story - they were in bad shape. Shaggy

How horrible for those animals... first they spent their lives in captivity, then when uncaged they are gunned down. Terrible :-(

A keen eye will find lots of old Ki items scattered throughout Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Why? KI held annual "Yard Sales" for years. They would clear out many items that had been sitting in storage without use. This is how Jungle Jim obtained many pieces in the early days. There are homes with Smurfs, signage, ride cars etc etc etc.

I always heard that "Kings Island" was named by a young girl. Her name, I don't know, but she won a "Name the new park" contest held prior to KI being constructed. She was the one that coupled the two words together to form the park name - and as a reward she has a lifetime pass. At least that's what they said in the speech given at the 25th anniversary banquet I attended years ago.

Did she lose her wig?

Funny you should mention it... Just yesterday I read a thread on KI's Facebook page for the first time. It asked a question like "7 original rides from Cincinnati's Coney Island still operate at KI, can you name them?" Well, I started reading answers/guesses and was flabbergasted at the false responses, inaccuracies and arguments that were arising! I didn't reply - again, not worth it. ;-)

So I had the good fortune to be able to attend KI recently... my first and only visit to the park this year. I enjoyed WindSeeker, but did find it a bit "disorienting" at night. It's a fun install. Now on to the subject of this thread. I pride myself on all things factual... especially Kings Island. And I can't help but be irritated when I hear people "embellishing" or "fibbing" about things only to make themselves seem "experts" on a subject. Case in point... While on WindSeeker, as we were waiting for the ride to lower to the ground, a few seats ahead of me was what I will term a "Kings Island fibbing know-it-all." I listened as he loudly explained to his friends that WindSeeker was originally going to raise to the top, twirl, then the ride carriage would drop several feet, raise again then drop all the way. (As best I could understand him to say.) He said "All the parks that got one were supposed to do this, but they couldn't get it to work so it just raises and lowers." Now maybe I missed something, and that was the original intent (although I find it as far fetched as just about any rumor I've ever heard.) But for some odd reason, I have had a hard time letting it go. There's no way I would have corrected him, but I sure wanted to! Does this ever happen to you? Grrrrrrr....

What can't be understood by those that never rode the Eagle, is that it had one of the most insane moments of airtime on any coaster. The drop following the turnaround was unnerving to those riding in the rear car. It was as though the entire track fell from underneath you. That drop was so steep, as a matter of fact, that the rear seat of the car had a special "back" adhered to the rear of the train so that riders in the last row would not fall out backwards. I loved riding the coaster... and wish I could experience that feeling again :-( Shaggy

I have the complete press/media announcement kit for "The Bat." I also have one for most, if not all, the coasters up until Firehawk (They went viral with press kits when it opened.) But The Bat remains the rarest, IMO. I also own a Beast Operators manual from back when it operated with skid brakes. Shaggy

Splashin Safari is HW's bread and butter. There's nothing that can touch it within a 4 hour drive. The dry park, however, has direct competition from other *nearby* parks - KI, IB, SFSTL, BB etc. Shaggy