Shaggy

Wheel Of Fortune was not located where the entrance to White Water Canyon is. It was located adjacent to the King's Mills Log Flume, now Thornberries, in the location where the Nick Central Sign is now. It was removed and "Scrappy's Slide" was added in it's place, however the slide faced HB, not Rivertown. Wheel of Fortune was indeed a Rivertown attraction. You are right about the criss cross in the Brady episode, however I thought Jan and Marcia give the plans to Alice in front of the Kings Mill Flume, who then gives them to Bobby and Cindy near the Eiffel Tower not near The Vortex area... that midway area didn't exist then. Bobby and Cindy then hand off the plans to Greg and Peter at the old Halley's Comet ride that was located in front of where the Zephyr is now. At that time, Coney Mall ended just past the ring toss. Greg and Peter then run to the front of the park with them. What is ironic is each of the "runners" all pass the Antique Cars when running. And those of us that know KI well know that Marcia and Jan simply had to walk through HB to The Beastie (then Scooby Doo) area literally just a hop skip and a jump from the flume. That is where the Admin offices are. Do you know why they had the kids running all over the park? Paramount Communications had a vested interest in Taft Productions which owned KI at the time. They wrote the episode, in part, to make the park seem much bigger than it was at the time. At that point in time, it was being billed as a sort of "Disney of the North." However something obvious is missing from the Brady episode. There is absolutely no reference or shots of the Hanna Barberra area or characters. All the "costumed" characters in the show were non HB related costumes made expressly for the episide. I have both episodes of the Brady Bunch and the Partridge Family on tape. I prefer the Brady Bunch because 90% of it takes place in the park. On the Partridge Family episode, most of it is filmed or shot at the King's Island Inn. When the Partridge Family episode begins, they are holding a concert at the very front of the park at the end of the fountains nearest to the main entrance. They have tons of kids dancing around with the Banana Splits. The episode also features a music montage that shows the Eiffel Tower, Monster and The Racer. Keith gets sick and runs to the restroom when Danny taunts him with a slimy braut from the now defunct Octoberfest Gardens. Shaggy

TopdogofKings Island - Not a big deal at all, but being the Survivor addict I am I feel I must clarify Kentucky Joe... Kentucky Joe, or Roger Bingham, was the #5 Survivor on the 2nd season of the show called "The Austrailian Outback." Tina won, Colby was 2nd Keith was 3rd Elizabeth was 4th Roger was 5th. Mr. Bingham is one of the kindest and most down to earth people I have ever met. I have been fortunate enough to see/meet him in person 3 different times and have heard him speak twice at various engagements. Each time seeing him was rather by circumstance although I did choose to hear him speak both times. Again, he is a terrific man. And for the record, the Australian version of Survivor is still the best season so far... and I have watched each religiously ;-) Shaggy

"Britney Spear was there two years ago when she performed at Timberwolf. " Actually, Brittney was there about 4 years ago. I worked weekends on Beast then (1999) and she rode Beast while I was there. More celebrities ride the attractions than people realize. Basically the ride gets a call ahead of time and told to be prepared for a special guest rider. The crews typically keep it hush hush and they ride without guests even really knowing. If I recall, just in the time I worked Beast I was working when: John Ritter Montel Williams Micheal W. Smith Tina from Survivor Various Soap Opera people etc etc etc. Shaggy

They were being filmed for a new "Newlywed" reality show on MTV to air in September. It was Nick's idea to go there, he used to be employed at PKI. MTV is following the couple around for several weeks and filming their "adventures." Shaggy

Bavarian Beetle was a Schwarzkopf Galaxy coaster. It was originally built for Cincinnati's Coney Island and was added to that park in the early 1970's just before it closed. It was then dismanteld and moved to KI. At Coney, the Bavarian Beetle was called simply "Galaxi." At Cincinnati's Coney Island, the Galaxi was located near the turnaround of the Shooting Star, at the end of the midway. At King's Island, it was placed (along with the Rotor to it's right) where the Festhaus now stands. The front of the coaster faced east, or towards (then) Octoberfest Gardens. There was a path that led between the Beetle and the the shops on International Street. In 1974, the addition of Lion Country Safari necessitated the re-location of the Rotor from the right of the Beetle, to the left. This was done to allow an entrance path to LCS. With it's re-location, the path behind the International Street Shops was closed and an additional path leading from the main gate was placed running behind the Beetle. Although RCDB.com list's it's operating years at KI as 1972-1979, the ride actually lasted through 1981. It was closed, removed and replaced with the Festhaus. Festhaus, if my brain serves me well, was opened for Winterfest in 1982. No one is sure of the wherabouts of the Bavarian Beetle or the Rotor. There are many rumors that indicate they were sold or moved to another park elsewhere, but all of that is unsubstantiated. Fun Trivia fact: PKI's Head of Park Operations, Don Miller, originally started work at KI as a seasonal employee. He was a ride op on Bavarian Beetle. Out of all the rides at KI, Bavarian Beetle, IMO, is the most elusive. It's blurred history far outweighs the significance of the legend of The Bat. Why? Well, Bavarian Beetle was the least photographed and least documented ride in the park. There is no info about the ride in old newspaper articles and it never had it's own postcard or merchandise. I am an avid KI memorabilia collector and have been fortunate enough to locate a few items, but BB easily presents the biggest challenge among all of the defunct KI rides. I do have a postcard of the Screamin Demon that has the best shot of the Bavarian Beetle (at KI) I have ever seen. Actually, I was more excited about the postcard because of the glimpse at the BB than the Demon! I also have many park maps that show artists renderings of the ride. I have a park booklet that has a very obscure picture of the coaster and the Rotor. And finally, I have found only one print ad with a shot of one of the cars going through a turn on the Beetle. Actually, Charlie Jacques' book on the "History of Cincinnati's Coney Island" has terrific shots of the Galaxy before it became the Bavarian Beetle. However, when the ride was re-located to KI... it was eventually re-painted and given an "Alps" theme complete with flat mountain "peaks" and mountain climbers at the top of the station. Also, PKD (Or King's Dominion then) opened in 1974 with an indentical clone of Bavarian Beetle. It was called simply "Galaxy" like the former Cincinnati Coney Island ride name. It lasted for many years, and was located where the Shockwave standup coaster is. It was dismantled in 1985 for the addition of "Shockwave." Ironically enough, one reason for it's removal from KD was due to a fatality on the coaster when a young boy foolishly squirmed out of the restraint and stood up. The young man was partially decapitated and thrown to his death. It is ironic, because on the very same plot of land a few years back, another foolish young man squirmed out of the restraints on the Shockwave. He too was thrown from the ride. Again, PKD's is pretty elusive as well, and not much documentation or not many pictures can be found of the ride. But much more information can be found about the KD ride than the KI ride simply bceause of the accident, which the National News and Associated Press reported. I did ride the KD version many times before it closed. I did not ever ride the Bavarian Beetle. However I do recall seeing it at PKI during my first visit to the park in 1981... it's last year of operation. Shaggy

I have been sitting on this little tid-bit for a while now, but the time is right to share with those fellow enthusiasts that may know Mr. David Mandt at PKI. David has held the position of Marketing Manager and Director of Guest Experience at PKI for several seasons now. He transferred to PKI from Star Trek: The Experience in Vegas. Prior to that, he worked within the Marketing Department at Paramount's Carowinds. Mr. Mandt is returning to Carowinds to assume a Marketing Mangement position there. Also, David is now an offical PR rep for Paramount Parks. This is a terrifc move for David on a lot of different levels. Mr. Mandt has been a crucial part of what I consider to be among the best Marketing/PR Department in Kings Island's history. The phenominal job that he and the Marketing Department has done over the years really shows. Not only did he embrace the park and the joy it provides, but he also embraced all of us enthusiasts that enjoy the park so much. David officially begins his position at Carowinds on Monday May 5th. I wish him all the best of luck with the new job, Carowinds is lucky to get him back. Jeffrey Siebert, Marketing Area and Communications Manager, will assume the role vacated by David.... go Jeff! I am anxious to see what great things will come from both PKI and Carowinds after this. It is wonderful to see good friends move up in the world. Although bittersweet for me personally, it simply means that I'll have to head South more often. Keep a seat on Top Gun ready for me David! Shaggy

Actually, the official opening of King's Island was May 27th, 1972. That same day, Mr. Siebert was born. The park began preview weekends on April 28th 1972... a month earlier.. however, the Grand Opening was not held until May 27th. What many do not realize is that this is actually the park's 32nd season of operation. Another tid-bit of info: although I wasn't fortunate enough to be born the day KI opened, I do share the same age as the park...31. Also a final note: The Monster was actually built in 1968, thus it is 4 years older than KI. Shaggy

True story.... Back in winter 1998/1999, Tim Fisher, PKI's GM until last season, ordered Top Gun painted for the Action Zone remodel. He took a walk out to the ride as painting progressed and remarked on how good the primer was looking and he couldn't wait to see the final outcome. He was met with the response: "That's not the primer... that's the paint." Needless to say, he was unhappy. After that, the park GM and other Marketing/Managerial staff at the park instituted a "hands on" approach to ride color choices. Delirium itself had it's own unique color history. The original ride was slated to be entirely grey. However Marketing took one look at it, disapproved and required that the designers at PPD&E (Paramount Parks Design and Entertainment) go back to the drawing board. And so, Delirium ended up with the over-the-top bue/yellow/red/orange and grey color scheme. If you pay attention, PKI uses photos that show Top Gun's previous paint job.... red track/grey supports. Also, for years has used old pictures of Vortex simply because the paint had faded so badly and recent photos of the ride looked bad. It was re-painted for last season and I understand has been re-photographed for marketing purposes. Advertising a ride or a park requires that the attractions "pop" visually from the page or on television. Obviously color choices affect how a guest percieves a ride, so that plays a big part as well. But bottom line, when the day comes for Top Gun to get re-painted (which will most likely be a while... the paint is holding up rather nicely) I expect it to return to red/grey to be more visually appealing in print, on air and in person. Shaggy

Actually, when it comes to staffing, I don't think money is a factor at all. PKI pays it's rides associates pretty well, but adding a staff member hardly breaks their bank or disrupts their budget. I think the problem is that they have a hard enough time keeping positions filled, resulting in minimal crews. This is evidenced quite easily by observing how many crew members that the attractions have at the start of the year as opposed to mid or late season. Once the park opens for daily operations, that thins their staff. Not only because they are spread out through a wole week, but also because there is a big turnover in employees. When the underside of Top Gun's station queue was in use, it required that a crew member be staffed in that area to guard guests who tried to hop rails or do silly things. As someone stated, it is very high off the ground and the railings and gratings essentially required supervision. Also, that is where "munchkins" were measured. That is the term PKI uses for guests who challenge the required height. Obviously the area was mainly used to help set up the story-line and allow guests to walk through various themeing elements. However guests got little from it. And after a while, it just became obsolete. I personally wish PKI would invest in bringing back the banners and various decorations that hung off the railings and throughout the stations, as well as bring back the fog element. I would rather they do that than consider investing time an energy to re-openeing the que below. Shaggy

It's not a money issue. If it is re-opened, it creates another crew position. Shaggy

I think poor English skills can be attributed to nearly anyone that speaks the language. However, you are right, it is apparent that Americans show a lack of concern for proper grammer. Shaggy

PCW is the abbreviation designated by Paramount Parks Inc. for Paramount's Canada's Wonderland. The proper abbreviation for Paramount's Carowinds, according to Paramount Parks Inc., is PCoW. The abbreviations are reflected on merchandise and clothing offered for sale at both parks. Shaggy

I have been to Wonderland several times. Last time I attended was 2001 when their "Shockwave" flat ride was new. Wonderland is a great park. It operates just as smoothly as PKI and offers a tremendous variety of attractions. I would say that it rivals Paramount's Kings Dominion in size. It is not as large as Kings Island. It seems to have the best entertainment of any Paramount Park I have attended. But out of all of the Paramount Parks in North America PCW caters to the largest metro area... Toronto. PCW has to step up their entertainment value a notch because Toronto has a plethura of entertainment and talent to offer. PCW, frankly, is not a good coaster park. What coasters it has, are dated and not that thrilling. Even the best coaster there.... The Mighty Canadian Minebuster.... has been totally re-profiled and tamed over the years for waterpark expansion. I will give props to Wilde Beast which is the best maintained/most well run Cincinnati Coney Island Wildcat clone in existance. (Two other Paramount Parks have CCIWC clones.... PGA and PKD.) My only deterrent to that ride is that is is small and short. But PCW is flat ride heaven. They offer the worlds best collection of non-coaster attractions IMO. They have every sort of contraption you can imagine. For instance, where most parks have either a swinging ship ride OR an inverting ship ride... PCW has an Inverting ship ride AND a swinging ship ride AND a frisbee ride. Just this year they are busy installing what the industry and most enthusiasts are speculating will be the ultimate flat-ride.... a Huss (Pronounced Hoooos... the manufacturer)Jump 2 (pronounced Jump Squared) called "Sledge Hammer." Quite honestly, I expect to see this ride start cropping up in other Paramount (as well as other chain) parks. I enjoy Wonderland very much, but only attend every other season. It is a great park, but is too much of a long trip for me to make consistantly. Shaggy

The Green Goblin and the Vampire are there as well. :-) But here's the real trivia question.... who gets unmasked as the villain at the end? Shaggy

Well, he is from Germany. I thought he was just avoiding trying to speak poor english. Shaggy

I personally find PKI is headed in the right direction, but if I were Management... didn't have to worry about a budget... didn't have to worry about marketing... didn't have to worry about guest draw... and was only concerned about making the park better suit how I think it should look/flow... I would: Basically gut Coney Mall and rebuild. It would still be themed to a turn-of-the-century park, but the buildings and rides would better reflect that. Some smaller flats would be peppered throughout. Such as a spinning teacups ride, Tilt-O-Whirl, a slide would return, as well as a giant ferris wheel. The buildings woudl be more victorian in theme, and older games like updated fascination and Skeeball would return. The Eiffel Tower would be re-painted a bronze color. Les Taxis would be re-located to the grassy/pond area behind International Showplace. The land vacated by it's being moved would be home to a new wooden twister coaster fitting the Coney Theme. A B&M Hyper would be added throughout the woodsy area around the train and WWC. The actual station would be accessed by extending the path between Beast and TR. The shooting gallery would return to Rivertown. The main entrance would be gutted and re-built with the admin offices housed upstairs and to the sides. The old admin buildings would be gutted and the Picnic shelter area would be relocated there. The vacated Picnic area would then be used for a Nick expansion. HB, would also get re-branded to Nick over time, however The Beastie area would keep a Mystery Inc theme (Mystery Inc was the gang's name in Scooby Doo.) Octoberfest themeing would go away and become more Action Zone oriented. Even Festhaus would be re-themed. The Action Theatre in Coney would get moved to the now vacant plot of land in Action Zone behind Delirium. Timberwolf would get re-branded the Action Zone Concert Amphitheatre. Congo Falls would be re-located to the Rivertown pond area. Shaggy

Craig Ross is now the General Manager of PKI, Tim Fisher left PKI during the 2002 season to become General Manager of PGA. Shaggy

Actually the water was drained because the exit was re-configured. The on-ride photo booth was added and the exit was re-directed to steer people in that direction. Because the new exit path was low, the water had to be drained. Many people do not realize that the area where the on-ride photo booth is located was originally another que house. Beast originally had 4 que houses. This was the first, and was removed for the new exit. Also the water was a breeding ground for mosquitoes and bugs. It was chemically treated, as well as circulated by a pump that still exists. However the cost and difficulty in keeping it maintained/clean helped promt it's drainage. Shaggy

"The restraints on Vortex hurt your collar bone because they aren't OTSRs at all. They're horsecollar restraints. " Last time I checked, they went over my shoulders IMO a horsecollar and OSTR is a "like" term... same thing. As far as the positive/negative g thing..... A positive g is the force pushing you down in your seat when the gravitational pull increases. Positive G = the gravitational pull on your body is increased. A negative g is the force pulling you up out of your seat when the gravitational pull is contradicted. Negative G = the gravitational pull on your body is decreased. On Delirium for instance, you will feel positive g's at the base of the swing. At the higher points of the swing you will feel negative g's. Negative g's are more commonly referred to in enthusiast circles as "airtime." However, rides that have inversions or make arc movements like Delirium or looping coasters also rely on another force.... centrifigal force. Centrifigal force is an intertia that contrasts the gravitational pull on an object. So as you swing in an arc, or manuever a loop it pulls outward from all directions. That is what holds you in your seat while going upside down or holds change in your pockets when going fast through a loop. Using the bucket full of water idea... as you swing it rapidly upside down, centrifigal force holds the water in. But if that motion is slowed or halted, then gravity becomes the stronger force and the water will spill out. Centrifical force relies on speed and heavy inertia to override gravity. This basic idea explains how some coasters loops really pull enough force to not need restraints, while others do not pull enough and rely on restraints to hold riders in. Think of The Vortex... the vertical loops pull enough centrifical force to keep you in your seat. However the corkscrew is much slower so gravity takes control and your body relies on the restraint to hold you in. Shaggy

Men In Black is at Universal and the Disney Imagineers were not involved. Never-the-less, Scooby will be terrific for PKI since it is a seasonal park. It will be the hit of 2003. Trying to compare a seasonal park like PKI to a year-round park like Universal is like comparing apples to oranges. Obviously Disney and Universal have the edge on detail, but that is to be expected with the crowds and money they rake in. Shaggy

The Wild Animal Safari Monerail was not closed because someone got mauled. The ride existed at PKI from 1974 through 1993. In the early 1980's a lion trainer was mauled by a lion. The animal was then put to sleep. However the ride remained open for well over 10 years afterward. Guests were never in danger. There were several "ponds" along the monerail, one where the drum to FOF now exists, but a much larger one farthur back in the property nearer to the Little Miami. In the picture of Flight Commander, several maintenance sheds are shown. The largest of which was demolished for Flight of Fear in 1995. If you look at the picture in question it is the building that is farthest to the left and nearest to the bottom behind The Racer's lift. Only that one maintenance building was removed. I believe that the former storage shed for the Monerail (in what is now Action Zone) was used once that building was demolished. Shaggy

The fatality was not the reasoning for the ride's removal. It certainly contributed to it, but it actually existed for several seasons after the death. Flight Commander was removed because interest among guests wained... they found it "boring." Shaggy

Zodiac was removed from Coney Mall for a few reasons. It was added in 1975, when Coney Mall was expanded. It was removed prior to 1990 when Flight Commander was added in it's spot. Zodiac was an Intamin double-armed ferris wheel. It was costly to maintain, and held very little interest for guests. The ride was relocated to PKI's sister park Wonderland Sydney where it still operates today. The que for the ride was located in front of it just off of the midway. The que someone mentioned seeing near the laser tag building is actually the former que for the Cinema 180 attraction that was once located in that building. The Zodiac's que was removed when Flight Commander was added. Flight Comammder is a story in itself, but obviously is not longer at the park. It was an Intamin Sky Pilot ride. It had a unique loading platform that required riders to walk up a spiral staircase from an "underground" que area. The underground que for Flight Commander still exists, although the center spiral staircase entrance has been sealed. The loading platform now houses the Euro Bungee attraction. That is why the Euro Bungees are so high off the midway, the loading platform (from the former Flight Commander attraction) on which they sit actually has a que house underneath it. In 1996, a season after Flight Commander had been removed, a sign was placed in the empty ride location for about a month. The sign said "Look for a new ride dropping in next season." That spot was originally supposed to house a much smaller Intamin Drop Tower called.... what else?....Drop Zone. But the attraction was cancelled and installed at another Paramount Park instead. The park decided to expand the waterpark the next season and held off installing a drop ride until 1999. I am glad they did, because in the in-between time, Intamin developed the Gyro Drop... which is what PKI's Drop Zone is. Much bigger and much grander than what PKI would have initially installed. But, if the original location and concept of Drop Zone had come true, then it would have meant that 3 different Intamin flat rides would have occupied the same spot at KI. Shaggy

The only reason the costs of the Slingshot and Skyflyer are exhorbitant is because people are willing to pay it, it has nothing to do with how much replacement parts cost. Manufacturers, when selling an upcharge attraction to a park, fill the heads of park folk about how lucrative the attraction can be. That gives the park merchandise execs (At PKI upcharge attractions are staffed by Operations, but fall under the Merchandise department... that should tell you something right there...) a base in which to establish the "upcharge" to guests who wish to experience it. The Skyflyer and Sling Shot, and Climbing Wall, and Euro Bungees, and Go Carts, and Laser Tag and blah blah blah..... will all reamain at PKI until guests are either no longer interested in them, or willing to pay the cost. One of my few complaints about PKI is the absurdity of the amount of pay-extra attractions they have installed. It is a slap to the face of their less fortunate guests that scrimp and save to attend the park, only to find many of the attractions cost extra. $50 for a Sling Shot ride, c'mon PKI. That's ludicrous. Shaggy

The sunscreen netting over TR:TR's que is actually the second covering. There was one in place when the ride opened on media day, but it was removed shortly therafter. The original held water, and so the park replaced it. The second one was added a few weeks later. In the time in-between the removal of #1 and the installation of #2, the queue was not covered, but it was always intended to be. SOB's que is one of the more poorly planned ques in the park. Actually it was a last minute decision made more by park maintenance rather than parks execs. Originally the intention was that SOB was to have perhaps the highest capacity rate of any coaster in the park. (Adventure Express has the highest throughput) So the thought was that the que would be temporary in that area. However, once the park decided two trains would run on SOB, that kept the line long enough to warrant PKI keeping the queue as is. I agree though, it is terrible and needs some sun shelter and TLC. Shaggy