Shaggy

In addition to those already mentioned... Kings Island also had costumed characters of: Wilma Flintstone Betty Rubble Banana Splits Shaggy

They do not actually fill the fountains and freeze them. The ice rink is created by inserting platforms on scaffolding within the fountain base. From there, the ice rink is created on those platforms with the ice only being a few inches thick. In short, the ice rink is literally raised above the base of the fountain pool. Shaggy

Funny, I do not recall any religious symbols. Honestly, why some cannot just enjoy the festivities of an event without criticizing is beyond me. This attitude of "let's suck the fun out of every aspect of life" is ridiculous. Don't like it? Don't go. But then I expect 99% of the critics will attend. I for one applaud the park for bringing back a time-honored tradition. They proove once again that they listen to their guests and embrace our desires as patrons. I'll be one of the first to buy my tickets. This event is geared to families and friends, not to any certain religious group. The idea here is to celebrate good times during the holiday season with those you care about in a wonderful environment. Those of us that have been fortunate to attend a Winterfest in the past will be quick to point out how fun it is. It always brought a smile to peoples faces. Shaggy

"Son of Beast only had the two tallest hills for one year. Colossos was built in 2001. It has a 196' first hill. " Nope, SOB still holds the record. Colossos does not top it. SOB = 218' tall, 214' drop Colossos = 196' 10" tall "Holiday World is EXPANDING into a new area. PKI seems to have forgotten that concept. Sigh." Lest we forget that SOB, Taz Typhoon, Face/Off, Runaway Reptar all were built on unused portions of land at PKI. Shaggy

The Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad used a combination of live actors and animatronic props for years. The train would stop and be "held up" by two men dressed as train robbers. There was a shoot out, and a train conductor usually ended up scaring off the robbers by shooting his own gun at them. Throughout the course, there were animatronic animals (such as the growling bear... which is still there if you look hard enough... horses etc) animatronic Indians and Soldiers. The small western village that still exists had many effects, such as a lady's legs dangling out of the top of the saloon.... an old man rocking in a rocking chair etc et etc. Heck the Jail was even on fire if I recall. There were lots of loud bangs and pops. Specifically in the fort area that still exists where Indians were fighting with soldiers guarding the fort. As you ride today, notice all of the fake "tree stumps" scattered around the course. These actually were later added to cover up the electrical outlets in which the characters were attached. When the animatronics were removed, the power sources were simply covered up with these facades. The live actors left the ride long before the animatronics did. Over time, the animatronics became worse for the wear, and many stopped working. They were not replaced when they went kaput and eventually the ride was a shell of it's former self. KI scrapped the animatronics when the train became a transit to and from the waterpark. Shaggy

"Yeah, i still can't figure out what Foundation1.jpg is." It's the station. The splashdown pool will be located just in front of it. If you look closely, you will see concrete pilings located infront of it. The ground is dug out deeply in front of it, and although you cannot tell from that perspective, the pilings will support the walkway overneath that takes guests to the loading station. Shaggy

PKI is hosting this tour to coincide with the ACE No-Coaster Con which happens that weekend in Chicago. PKI presents at the Con each year, and is offering a walk through tour such as this on the Friday prior. It's for those passing through Cincy on their way to No-Coaster and for those locals that will not be able to attend the event to hear updates firt-hand. Shaggy

PKI is graciously inviting enthusiasts to tour construction of "The Italian Job: Stunt Track." Yes, that's right. On Friday January 14th, at 9am, PKI will host a walk-through on the site of the park's forthcoming 13th coaster. The wonderful marketing staff will be on hand to guide the tour, and answer general questions. There's no need to pre-register or such, just show up at Security Post 3 (the employee entrance to the extreme right of the main gates) by 9am. The main parking lot will be open for parking, but should some snow fall it will not be cleared. ;-) Dress very warmly, and please wear shoes and clothing that will not mind some mud or dirt. The construction site is just that, a construction site... so wearing footwear you are not concerned about is important.. and being on good, safe behavior is key. Thsi should be a fun chance to get a first hand look at next seasons sure-fire hit. It's also a chance to see what other unexpected, and unannounced changes the park is making for 2005.... ;-) Thanks to PKI for consistantly opening up such fun opportunities for us fans! See you there! Shaggy

"IJST will have a 1000 person per hour moving capacity (in theory), so it will be able to move about 200 more people per hour than FoF. That's not too bad of a sign right there. " Dream on.... Beast has 3 trains that hold 3 times as many people and it rarely clocks 1,000 riders per hour. Trust me, waits will be terribly long on busy days... if the coaster is a success. The capacity of the ride appears to be ridiculously low IMO. I am anxiously looking forward to the coaster, but let's be realistic. Shaggy

"Do I think they should remove the oldest ride in the park no. " The Eagles were not the (current) oldest ride in the park. They were the second oldest. The Carousel was built in 1927, several years prior to the flyers being manufactured. The carousel celebrated it's 77th anniversary this season. By the way, the oldest ride to ever exist at KI..... was the Tumble Bug. It was built for Coney in 1925, two years prior to the carousel. The Scrambler, believe it or not, falls in the age category of the Flyers as well. Shaggy

I just heard from the park. The Flying Eagles will cease operation at PKI on Sunday October 17th. Enthusiasts are invited for a final ride. Simply meet up at 9pm at the ride entrance. Marketing guru Maureen Boothe will be on hand to supervise the final ride and bestow a final tribute. **Please note... this is not an ERT session... rather a final chance to say good bye to the 70 year old ride. The ride will be dismantled, but will operate again at another park very soon. Shaggy

Mostly from IAAPA through the years. Shaggy

Not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this... but here goes... I am downsizing a ton of junk in my life. Because of that I decided to part ways with several park-related items. I posted the items on Ebay. So what? You may ask. Well, several auctions include PKI and KI maps and brochures. So if you are looking to round out your collection... look here: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQgotopageZ1QQsa...osortpropertyZ1 Good luck. Shaggy

Not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this... but here goes... I am downsizing a ton of junk in my life. Because of that I decided to part ways with several park-related items. I posted the items on Ebay. So what? You may ask. Well, several auctions include PKI and KI maps and brochures. So if you are looking to round out your collection... look here: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQgotopageZ1QQsa...osortpropertyZ1 Good luck. Shaggy

Am I missing something? Were you kidding with your last response, or are you simply that rude? I hope it's the former. Shaggy

Skylab was a Huss Giant Enterprise. Only 2 other parks besides KI ever installed them. One of those being at Paramount's Canadas Wonderland. That version still remains today, however it will be removed at the end of this season for the addition of their "Italian job" coaster. PKI removed their's because of astronomical operating/maintenance cost. It's hydraulic arm would often fail, and require replacement. The cost of maintaining it far outweighed it's appeal. So viola... it was ripped out and scrapped. It sat idle for 1 1/2 seasons before it was removed. Shaggy

As others said... The year it opened, a wheel bearing came loose and it lost a wheel. It stopped suddenly, injuring a few people. No one was killed or substantially injured. Shaggy

Park opened in 1972. Partidges filmed in 1972. Brady's filmed in 1973. Other than the show date in the credits... the way to confirm this is that fact that the Flying Dutchman and Bayern Curve are shown. Both were added (along with Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal which is not shown) in 1973. Shaggy

It's definitely a basketball. At the basketball toss in Rivertown, balls are notorious for falling into the waterfall stream directly adjacent to it. They then roll downstream and get dumped into the pond. Very common. Shaggy

The former KMLF was an Arrow flume built in 1968 for Cincinnati Coney Island. It was re-furbished by O.D. Hopkins. Oh and Racer, Beast and Beastie are not PTC coasters. The trains are PTC trains, however Racer and Beastie are John Allen designs built by King's Island. Beast was designed by Al Collins and was also built in-house by the King's Island construction team led by Charlie Dinn. Shaggy

There are actually 4 Vortex coasters in the Paramount Parks chain. -Vortex at PKI.... the original, an Arrow Dynamics Multi-Looper opened in 1987 and designed by Ron Toomer. -Vortex at Paramounts Canada's Wonderland.... an Arrow Dynamics Suspended coaster opened in 1991 and also designed by Ron Toomer. This coaster layout was duplicated (although tightened) at PKI in 1993 as Top Gun. -Vortex at Paramount's Great America.... a B&M stand-up coaster also opened in 1991 and designed by Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard and Werner Stengel. -Vortex at Paramount's Carowinds... a B&M stand-up coaster built in 1992 and designed by Walter Bolliger, Claude Mabillard and Werner Stengel. This is a duplicate of the version opened the year prior at PGA. The original logo of Vortex was the one designed for PKI... then just KI. It's logog was that of a steel giant who's hand was seen twisting the coaster's track. The original logo indeed showed the sit-down coaster cars. However, as the other coasters were built at the other parks, the logo was tweaked to be reminiscent of their version.... PGA and PCow showed a stand up coaster train, while PCW showed a suspended train. Over the years, the parks have shared the logo for press, promotional and merchandise purposes. Unfortunately this has led to some inaccuracies. The varying logo has showed up on t-shirts or advertisements at a park with a differing train type. It is simply an oversight, a detail not noticed by the untrained eye. FYI.... did you know that during it's first several years of operation Vortex at PKI had it's logo painted on the ground every few feet on Coney Mall ala The Beast footprints? It is one of a number of rides at KI that has had it's logo painted on the asphalt in order to lead guests to the attraction's line. Other rides at KI that have done this over the years.... Beast, Beastie, Outer Limits, Top Gun, Adventure Express, and Flight Commander. Shaggy

If I could do anything? With money no object? Well, PKI is a fantastic park, and I think they are doing great things. But if it were a perfect world and I had my say... then here's what I would do: - Gut the main entrance and rebuild it to make it more reminiscent of Paramount Studios. PKI has one of the most hideous main entrances in the industry. You have to go through that afwul building to see that gorgeous International Street. - Paramount Theatre would get a REAL show. None of this 2-member cast, pre-recorded junk. - Action Zone rides would recieve a repaint every two years. - Face Off would be re-located behind Delirium. - Congo Falls would be re-located to the pond in Rivertown. - A B&M hyper/speedcoaster would be installed to run the front of the park... from Face/Off's current location on down through the wooded area that lies between the parking lot and Timberwolf. - Timberwolf Ampitheatre would be gutted and rebuilt as a mega stunt show amphitheatre that could also double as a concert venue. - Son of Beast would have it's rose bowl yanked out and replaced with an out-and-back section of air hills. 2nd helix would remain, but would receive a tunnel. - Adventure Express would be re-located to Rivertown. - Octoberfest would receive a substantial overhaul... losing the Bavarian themeing and expanding Action Zone into it. - Coney Mall would be completely overhauled and given a more carnival or festive theme. Significant smaller/flat rides would be added, such as a large spinning teacups ride, a chaos, a whip, a circle swing, a spinning wild mouse, a ferris wheel etc etc etc. - Action FX Theatre would be scrapped... or relocated to Action Zone. - Antique cars would be relocated to the Paramount Story garden area. - Eiffel Tower would be painted bronze. - Tomb Raider's building would be disguised better. - A B&M invert would be added to the wooded area around White Water Canyon. It would perform a cobra roll around the railroad trestle bridge. - WWC would be overhauled and re-themed to something really fun... like the Beverly Hillbillies or such where you are being shot at, etc etc etc. - The older rides and attractions in HB would be removed or updated, and (with the exception of Scooby) all HB themeing would be changed to Nick. Sorry folks, HB cartoons are no in the minds of today's kid. My neices and nephews have no idea who Hukleberry Hound or Quick Draw McGraw are. - There would be a daily parade. - Scooby's Ghoster Coaster would get thrown in the scrap heap. - A formal sit-down restaraunt would be added to the park. - Smoking would be limited to few designated areas only. - The park would install a lo-que system. - The fountains on International Street would "dance" with the fireworks display. The show would culminate each time with the Eiffel Tower shooting off a small round of fireworks each night. - Winterfest would return. - One of the shops on International Street would be re-built as a museum of sorts as a tribute to the park's past. Featuring old park memorabilia and showing footage of the park and rides from years past. That's all I can think of for now.... Shaggy

A typical ferris wheel did reside at Kings Island until the early 1990's. It was a standard model that was situated on a plot of land in between the Festhaus and the path to the former Wild Animal Habitat area of the park. If you are only familiar with the modern day PKI.... an Age and Weight game now sits in that area. It is the tree-lined bit of land between the Festhaus and the path to Action Zone in front of Delirium. An Intamin double wheel, as others mentioned, was located at the rear of the park. It was removed for the addition of Flight Commander and shipped off to Australia's Wonderland Sydney. To my knowledge, Wonderland Sydney was never operated under Paramount ownership. It was built by KECO in the 1980's who formerly ran the King's parks. Because Paramount is not affiliated, I doubt we'll see any rides relocated from Wonderland back to the states. Also, Intamin Giant Wheels are so outdated that the manufacturer no longer supplies parts for it.... that is why so many are dissapearing from parks across the world and going to the scrap heap. The only Intamin Giant Wheel still operating (that I know of) is the one located at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania... and from all indications, is being removed after this season. Shaggy

Post season? PKI's season doesn't follow a calendar's summer months. The PKI 2004 operating season runs until early Nov. Mid season lies mid to late July. Shaggy

"You also said the same exact thing about the Anitque Cars removal too." What I said about the Antiques was simply that people needed to ride them prior to mid season. It was good advice, no? Also what I said about Antiques, as well as any rumor, is that they are simply rumor until the park announces something officially. "Besides, rumors are supposed to be fun speculation and you're trying to take all the fun out of it." No, I am trying to prevent assumptions that consistantly get made about PKI. Too many times I have seen rumors about the park taken as gospel, then those persons that believe them later complain on boards about the park not installing what they "promised." Sure speculating is fun, but it has to be presented as such. Statements such as your post "From what I have heard, Antique Cars will become Nickelodeon Toonpike" lead folks to believe that it is set in stone. You also make the assumption that this all started because of what you said. It did. I guess you think you were the only one that thought that they might be relocated somewhere else. No, of course not. But it's funny how posts appeared on this and other PKI boards only minutes after I made my post about possibilities. Get over yourself. Tough talk, but can you back up your insults? I can, but then I don't insult people. Ok, so now I guess it is time to get rid of the rumors section since this is obviously frowned upon. But this rumor is not being regulated to the rumors section. You have already been posting this as semi-fact in other forums... You seem awfully sensitive about all of this. Could you possibly be the one that submitted the rumor to Screamscape? Maybe, maybe not.... Eh, it's moot anyway. Shaggy... conversation.... done....