Shaggy

Beastfreak said: "Delirium will be my first stop, unless that smell of Chinese food stops me on the way to Action Zone" If you are talking about the Chinese food stand that was located on International Street near the Eiffel Tower (next to age and weight at the entrance to HB land) well worry no more. The food stand was demolished and will not be there this season. Shaggy

I am typically not vocal about alternative life subjects, but thought I would throw this out there. My first time as an employee at PKI was on a "Pride Night." I was working FOF. I didn't know it was a "special event" but soon realized once I was at the park. Actually it turned out that the people there that evening were polite, kind, patient and articulate as well as clean and rule-abiding. Compared to other horror stories I can tell you, working a Pride Night at PKI was far from a "scary" experience. When I think of scary experiences at PKI, I think in terms of various accidents or incidents I witnessed.... all due to rider or guest negligence. The park is VERY safety concious, and I gave my word when I worked there that I would not dicuss specific incidents I witnessed as a ride op. But the GP does really stupid things, and often get hurt because of their own ignorance. What is scary to me is when a guest feels they are superior or more intelligent than the safety rules and regulations. I used to tell myself before each shift that I have to remember that the brain cells get sucked out of guests heads when they enter the park, and it is up to me and the other PKI employees to basically look out for them and do the thinking for them. Sad, but true. Shaggy

It's not... this off season. Shaggy

Not dying for someone to ask. You'll soon see ;-) Shaggy

Go to www.pki.com and follow the Scooby construction links. There you will see the begginnings of what should be a great new attraction.... I am still trying to figure out what Mr. Siebert is trying to do in one of those photos ;-) Shaggy

It amazes me that David and Jeff remain so upbeat and pleasant. They get BOMBARDED by hundreds of questions sent by enthusiasts ALL OF THE TIME. Remember that the more time they have to spend answering relentless emails speculating about some obscure areas of the park, the less time they have to work on ACTUAL attractions. Shaggy

How do I know? I was told by park management. It is not a big secret. There are lots of esthetic improvements for next year. There's another that no-one is talking about that may surprise and please some. And no, it is not a ride..... Back to the fountains.... there was a tremdous problem with the Fountain leaking plus the filtration and pumping system was completely outdated. Honestly, most will not be able to tell that much of a difference, but the thing is a mess right now. Shaggy

Yes, but they have been removed for the current renovation. They are being re-furbished too. Shaggy

No Cinema 180 did not cost extra. Shaggy

Yes.... still undergoing a complete overhaul. Guests probably won't even notice it come opening, but the fountains are the site of a big construction mess right now. Shaggy

"The damage to the Top Gun train was irrepairable. It was like an explosion. Nothing was left but one of the supports that the train hung from." That is an exaggeration. I saw the train, and although heavily damaged, it was not in tiny bits and pieces like it exploded. You make it sound like someone threw a dynamite stick in it. Obviously the fiberglass shell was destroyed, and there was significant harm done to the front chassis, but the bulk of damage only affected the front half of the train. I am sure the entire train was replaced, but good parts from the un-damaged train sections were more than likely kept for replacement parts. Don't forget that there were also pictures that appeared on the web at the time of the accident that showed the train stalled in the collision area with only the front half covered by a tarp. Shaggy

Anyway they have the incidents reversed. The pond accident happened before to the Flight Commander incident . Actually about an hour or two prior. When the FC incident happened, investigators first thought the woman that fell had been trying to see what was going on in the Octoberfest area and squirmed out of the restraint to see into the closed area of the park. That was later proved false. Shaggy

Cinema 180 was fun, but I recall one of the final years it had a movie that featured flying in a helicopter, rafting over rapids and a rollercoaster. Ironically the rollercoaster it featured was "The Beast." I remember thinking to myself "Jimminy Crickets, why doesn't everyone just go ride it for real rather than watch a movie of it?" Shaggy

The "basket" like spinning ride that you are referring to was indeed a round-up. The name PKI called it was "Halley's Comet." The ride lasted from 1972 until 1982. It was located in two seperate locations during it's life at KI. First, it sat right about where the high striker game is now on Coney Mall. Coney Mall, then called "Old Coney" ended right where the Zephyr (or Swings) are now. In 1975, Old Coney was expanded and lenthened. At this point Halley's Comet was relocated to the rear of Coney Mall right where the entrance plaza to Action Theatre now sits. It was a ride that came from Cincinnati's Coney Island when that park ceased and KI opened. There are still two round-ups in the area.... one at Lesordesville Lake and one at, ironically, Coney Island. Neither is the model that KI used.... it was junked. Also, Holiday World in Indiana has one that is often rumored to be the former KI attraction, but that rumor is false. Regarding the other rides people have mentioned: - The Rotor, the other KI original stand-up spinning ride, was located just behind International Street in the area of the Festhaus. It was a ride transferred from Cincinnati's Coney Island as well and, ironically enough, was removed around the same time as Halley's Comet. - Wheel of Fortune was a Chance Trabant and was located exactly where the "Nick Central" sign is now next to the Rivertown Bathrooms. It opened with the park and lasted until the mid-1980's. It was one of a very few Trabants that cycled both forwards and backwards. It was replaced with Scrappy's Slide which is also now defunct. -Zodiac was a large Intamin double Sky Wheel located at the back of Old Coney where the Euro Bungee trampolines and Laser Tag now reside. It was added for the Old Coney expansion in 1975 and lasted until the late 1980's when Flight Commander was added in it's place. The ride was relocated to Wonderland Sydney a KI sister park, where it still operates as one of the few remaining Sky Wheels. - Sunshine Turnpike was a huge kids mini-sportscar attraction that was located where the Nick area now sits. At the time, it formed the rear of HB land. It dissapeared prior to the addition of Nickelodeon. - Cuddle Up was a spinning, teacup like ride located in Old Coney. It shared a building with Dodgems for years before the area was expanded. The building that housed them still exists and is now home to the Rock Shop. The rear is used for storage and for a Haunted Attraction during Fearfest. Both rides came from Cincinnati's Coney Island. When Coney was once again updated in the mid-1980's the Dodgems were replaced with a larger version at the site of the Flying Eagles, which moved to their present day location at back corner of Coney Mall. - Bayern Curve was located where the Sling Shot now sits. It had an extensive Bavarian Olympic theme and ran from 1973 (It was added for the park's 2nd season along with Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal, the International Resteraunt and the Flying Dutchman.) until 1983. It was removed for the addition of King Cobra. - The Flying Dutchman was located right where the exit to Adventure Express now is. If you look at the pavement in that area, and around the remote control cars, you can see the outline of the old que/loading area. The ride ran through 1990 when it was removed for the addition of Adventure Express. - Tumble Bug was a Schwarzkopf antique that came from Cincinnati's Coney Island where it operated for many, many years. It was located in Old Coney near The Racer's entrance where the basketball toss now sits. It operated at KI until around 1985 when it was removed for the addition of Skylab. Sadly, the ride was junked and discarded having entertained literally thousands of people for decades. It, IMO, was one of the silliest removals KI ever made. - Skylab was a Huss Giant Enterprise. Only three ever existed and KI had one of them. It was added in 1986, I think, and lasted until the mid-1990s. It was a maintenance nightmare in which the hydraulic arm would "fail" and the wheel would drop to the ground with a loud "THUD." The ride, althrough a guest favorite, took the place of the Tubble Bug. It was removed after the park deemed the ride too costly to repair and unsafe. It sat idle for a full season before it was fianlly removed. The que and drivers booth (also used for the TB) still exists and can be seen next to The Racer's exit. It has been enclosed, and is used for storage of plush prizes. Only one Giant Enterprise still exists, and it is at KI's sister park Paramount's Canada's Wonderland. - Der Spinner Keggers was located in Octoberfest where the airbrushed T-shirt stand now sits. It was built by Chance, I believe, and was a brand new ride when the park opened. It lasted until the mid 1980's. It was basically a large cuddle-up spinning ride that sat on a tilted platform, much like the Calypso rides of yesteryear. It was themed to Bavarian beer barrels. A smaller, but similarly themed version operates at Canada's Wonderland to this day. - There are plantly of others that I neglected to mention.... the Flying Carpet Slide, Scrappy's Slide, Gulliver's Rub-A-Dub-Tubs, the Puppet Tree, McScrappy's Farm, the House of Cards, Winnie Witch's Cauldrons, Flight Commander, Cinema 180, the Octoberfest Ferris Wheel, the Congo Elephant rides, etc etc etc..... but I have spent way too much time on this post already. Shaggy

Jungle Jims is actually a grocery store in Fairfield Ohio. But calling it a grocery store is quite an understatment. It is it's own "unique" experience. It started as a fruit stand and eventually became a store. It began featuring cuisine and hard to find products from around the world. Over time, Jim added fountains, decorations and animated characters to keep the kids entertained. Eventually the decor got more and more elaborate and business grew right with it. Last I heard, there was a plan to eventually build a hotel on site. People come from miles away just to go. Here is a link below. If you want to see the former PKI monerail as it looks today, just use the link below, choose attractions from the menu then scroll all the way down on that page. Shaggy Jungle Jims

I didn't say that the elephant was on display. Rather, that they had bought it. Fact is. Jungle Jims has it in storage. Just about 3 years ago, a handful of Fairfield High School Seniors were arrested for trying to sneak it out of storage to place it on the lawn of the high school as a senior prank. That was how I learned they had bought it. Shaggy

Not sure. The Zoo housed some of the animals in the off season during the latter years, so perhaps. However by the time the ride closed for good, most of the animals had gone away. I recall riding it in it's last year and only seeing a handfull of animals... as opposed to hundreds in it's heyday. Shaggy

The Monerail was actually called the "Wild Animal Safari." The main station building was located right about where Drop Zone's Queue building and the Skyfler are now. It left the building in the direction of the (now) Days of Thunder Go-Karts area. It then traversed behind King Cobra, through the Adventure Express area then through the (now)FOF area and back into the back left corner of the property. It then circled around and made it's way back to the station via the lands near Top gun that now houses Son of Beast. Many of the old sheds that housed the animals can still be found on the property, as well as markings from the former ponds and "Preserves" built for them. The ride was broken down into areas or "Preserves" based on the animal type. For instance, you would have the "Nairobi Preserve" that would house the Hippos etc. Guests rode in enclosed trains that traversed a concrete path with a center guide rail. Each train was motorized and had a driver and narrator. The driver was necessary to stop the monerail whenever animals neared the train or crossed the track ahead.... which they often did. The narrator, of course explained the areas and gave information over a louspeaker about the animals and preserves. When the terrain dictated...such as in the Adventure Express area, the path was elevated up on large concrete pillars. The attraction was added in 1974 when KI opened the "Wild Animal Habitat" portion of the park which later became Adventure Villiage and is now Action Zone. The attraction closed after the 1993 season. It only operated for 1 season under Paramount ownership. In it's final years, the ride was free, but prior had cost a nominal fee. What many do not recall is that it operated nearly year round. And folks could visit the attraction in the off-season for several years. The ride's remains sat in storage until about 4 years ago when Jungle Jims in Fairfield bought it, along with the squirting blue elephant from Hannah Barberra Land. In it's History, the Wild Animal Habitat made national news several times... once when a lion keeper was mauled and killed, once when a female was denied a job there as a trainer and filed a lawsuit, once when several baboons escaped and were retrieved in many nearby neighborhoods, and a few times when animals were born in captivity. Shaggy

Pardon me. The park was kind enough to send them to me as well and I thought people here would enjoy seeing them. I don't frequent every single PKI site regularly so I didn't know they were posted already. I was just attempting to be kind. Shaggy

I cannot say I have ever dreamed of PKI. But I have had numerous "feel like I am still riding a ride while in bed" moments. These come just as you are falling asleep after a day at any park. You feel like the bed or room is moving around you. It is a pretty cool thing. Shaggy

For those wishing to see recent looks of PKI in the winter, I uploaded two very recent pics of a couple PKI popular attractions.... enjoy. By the way, these pics are for viewing only and should not be re-used elsewhere without permission. http://members.aol.com/jhnktr/images/trtrentrance.jpg http://members.aol.com/jhnktr/images/beast...stfirstdrop.jpg Shaggy

The actual reason was because they re-routed the exit. The exit used to backtrack under the station and exit into the now fenced off area between Beast and Tomb Raider (then KCKC.) That area is now used for Vending/Ecology storage. The new exit ramp was extended to run along side the turn out of the station and then next to what is now the 1st que house. This allowed the park to add the on-ride photo booth and create an exit plaza for people waiting for riders. Prior, people had gathered next to the entrance creating a bottleneck and traffic jam. The low lying new exit path required that the water be drained. It also aided by eliminating the need for a circulation pump. Even though it had one, the water still smelled and attracted mosquitoes as somone else mentioned. But also, the unclenaliness of the guests made for constant trash floating in the pond. There was a small boat that ride ops had to use nightly to gather floating trash from the pond. What many do not realize is that the Photo Booth for Beast took the place of one of the original queue houses. Prior to the exit being re-routed there was another entire que area that was used for extremely busy days. Although a fence covers most of it now, the concrete pad still exists. Shaggy

Or quite possibly with the cold weather and high winds we have had lately, coupled with the shutdowns that PKI has for Thanksgiving and Christmas, it was decided it was in the best interest of the maintenance fellas to wait. Shaggy

What I like about the current rides on the PKI maps over the past few years is the attention to details. How so? If you look at the 1972 map shown here for instance, the train is going the wrong way, the antique cars are headed in the opposite direction, etc etc etc. Although the latest PKI maps may have a cartoon flair to them, at least they have accuracies... you can thank Jeffrey Siebert for that.... he oversees them. Finally, in the early to mid 1990's KI's maps hit an all-time low. With just boxes and generalities for rides and locations... no detail whatsoever. As the decade progressed, there was a bit more focus on making them more legible. However below is an example of one that will give you an idea of how much they have improved. This one is from 1997 and is actually pretty good compared to some earlier in the decade... believe it or not. http://www.themeparkbrochures.com/maps/199...97/pki1997.html Shaggy

SML828 said: "You do realize the only reason the old VP left the park is because they wanted him to do the same good things he had done for PKI at PKD..." Actually the GM of PKI and VP of Paramount Parks Tim Fisher was transferred to Paramount's Great America this season to aid that park. Paramount Parks restructured their management teams this season and because of Mr. Fisher's success at PKI he was asked to aid PGA and moved there. Craig Ross took his place and is, from what I hear, doing a great job. In reference to PKI "needing" a coaster... PKI will still get coasters from time to time, but not as frequently as in the past. The demand for various types of attractions by surveyed guests has dictated that they continue to focus on overall improvements to the park rather than one single capitol expenditure. Don't like it? Don't blame PKI, they are only doing what the GP wants them to. Shaggy