CoastersRZ

Yes, that would be neat. But, I`d almost rather the front side of the Eiffel Tower get the same LED light treatment that the back side got this past season for Snoopy`s Starlight Spectacular. I missed the front of the tower being illuminated like in years past. Especially since the front with the fountains and the nightly fireworks displays are such an iconic and photogenic spot for so many people as they will watch the fireworks from the base of the fountain, just inside the park gates. Part of the appeal of most of the rides in Coney Mall is their use of lights though. Think about it. Every single attraction in Coney Mall proper (save for the Action FX Theater and Backlot, and the two attractions in X-Base) makes use of lights. The Racer has chaser lights. Vortex has chaser lights going up its lift hill. Scrambler, Monster and Dodgems are all outfitted with great lighting packages. The Dodgems have lights on the cars, Shake, Rattle and Roll also has lights on the cars and on the arms of the ride. So I would agree, it would be nice (and fit in well with the traditional amusement park feel of the Coney Mall area of the park), if WindSeeker does have some kind of lighting package beyond just generic uplights.

A very interesting read. Lots of good quotes in the article. I second Terpy`s suggestion of a full read. This one quote, as Interpreter has pointed out before, is in this article: Likewise, they are not bound to any outcome of the vote over the increase in cash distributions. I`m beginning to wonder if we will hear any mention about the final vote count until the conference call by Cedar Fair in the middle of February.

Very nice article, with a very nice quote and mention by a KICentral member! Congrats for being in the article Jordan! So I wonder if the ride will simply get standard uplighting like Drop Tower has, or if there will be additional lights added to the ride. Only time will tell I suppose!

It should be noted that Craig Ross is a former General Manager from Kings Island. He was one several executives that "left" once Cedar Fair took control of the parks, although I believe Mr. Ross actually was around a little bit longer than most of the former Paramount people.

I actually have only been to The Beach two times. One time to swim in the mid 90`s, and then once for HolidayFest in 2006. That being said, I have only swam in Boomerang Bay one time since 2004, and that was opening weekend for pass holders in 2004!

And it could be argued that some of the decisions that Cedar Fair has made have been detrimental to Kings Island. Outrageous food prices with terrible quality anyone? Under Paramount, Kings Island used to have an executive chef position. I believe that the position was one of the many that Cedar Fair eliminated upon its takeover of the Paramount Parks. Yes, as a whole, Cedar Fair has made great strides in improving the look of Kings Island and updating its infrastructure (the renovation of Coney Mall this year is a prime example). However, the Paramount Parks were a pretty well run organization before Cedar Fair came along. They just weren`t installing the mega million dollar coaster additions, because they realized that they could see the same ROI on smaller, less expensive attractions. Some would argue that the KI and the former Paramount Parks were actually better before they were taken over by Cedar Fair, but that is a topic for another date and time.

I believe it has been stated that had they built the Eiffel Tower at Coney, as originally planned, it was going to replace the Lost River. Which in the aerial image, is the attraction that is just above the bottom (eastern most) Sky Ride station. It is also the attraction that is next to the upper left corner of the parking lot

Wow. Thanks for sharing those photos! That little pond with the water in it is still there. (Although the glass tubes with water in it are no longer in it. The fountain itself was painted blue this past off season. That image was taken just in front of what is now Moonlite pavilion, looking towards where River Runner sits today. The building next to the turnpike cars station is the present day Lakeside Pavilion. Today, Lakeside Pavilion is home to Coney`s three live shows, as well as Member Services, and guest relations.

That just goes to show you how years can begin to blend together. Especially now that I`m done with college and have a full time job. Time is certainly flying by. Its hard to believe that we are quickly approaching the end of January already!

And the loss of the ticket booths is a relatively recent change in the history of the park. I believe those were removed around 2005, or maybe 2004.

I for one have never heard any such comments from Imagineers. And I have attended several lectures at DAAP given by Imagineers. (Those were of course several years ago, before Universal`s Potter area even opened, and was not the subject of the lectures.

And for those of you who are wondering, yes, I have read all seven Potter books. And yes, i have visited Islands of Adventure since Potter opened. The entire Potter area is incredibly well done. It looks like it is straight out of the movies. And there are lots of little things that you can pick up if you have read the books. And the Potter ride is simply amazing. The queue line is an adventure itself. And the ride technology is simply amazing. I definitely recommend a visit if you are a Harry Potter fan.

And if i`m not mistaken, Rowling first went to Disney pitching the idea of a Potter themed area, and Disney did not want to pay the money that was being demanded. Universal quickly agreed and the rest they say, is history. I know that Universal considers that money well spent now. And Disney has kind of been caught with its pants down so to speak. They clearly underestimated the draw (and in turn the negative impact) that Potter would have on their theme parks in Florida, and in turn the negative impact it would have on their bottom line.

I remember seeing similar views from Kings Island many many years ago now. I know there was one at the entrance to the Action Zone. It must have been around 2003 or so. I`m not even sure what website they were on (it was something like VR Cincinnati).

Yeah, why the delay in announcing anything? Are they trying to figure out exactly what their next move will be? They do have a date when they have to figure out what they are going to do, and that is when they have their conference call in the middle of February. What will they decide to do if it did indeed pass? Increase the distributions?

A very interesting article. I would agree that Disney seemed to be resting too much on new attraction development the last few years and is now playing catch up. It also still seems like much of the attention has been over at California`s Adventure. While I like that the Fantasyland renovation now includes a coaster, and isn`t geared so much to the princess theme, it seems like the other Disney parks in Orlando are being neglected a little bit. Of course, they may have plans to add new E ticket attractions to those parks too, we just don`t know about them yet.

That is a nice piece to read, and sums up my thoughts on the subject quite nicely. The target market for the project is very limited, and how do they expect to attract that much attendance when not even Holiday World has been able to attract 1.6 million visitors in a year, yet. I don`t think that this park will get off the ground. I see another instance of a Hard Rock Park. As an aside, when I drive from my work in downtown Cincinnati, I actually drive INTO Kentucky, in order to get to my home in Anderson Township, a suburb in OHIO! Go figure that one out! (I take 471 to 275).

Speaking of that, have we heard anything on the progress of the 49ers new stadium? What was the time frame in which they hoped to have the new stadium operational and open for football games?

Very sad photos indeed. But thanks for sharing them!

Yes, I would very much like to see said images. And for those who do not know, Tom Rhein is one of the full timers at Coney, and the resident historian of the place on the staff. Little remains of the main mall. About the only thing that really remains is the western terminus with Moonlite Gardens. There was grading work done on the south side of Moonlite Pavilion which broke up the flow of the old mall. Moreover, Dodgems and Famous Fairways Mini Golf sit in the middle of what would have been the Mall. The current location of the Giant Slide/Tilt A Whirl is the approximate location of the Shooting Star station.

Alright, the main entrance auto gate fronting Sutton Avenue was built in 1924, the same year that ownership of the park changed hands (George F. Schott, was part of this new ownership group, which would control the park until its eventual sale to Taft Broadcasting). In 1925, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company constructed Moonlite Gardens. The building did not receive its wrought iron and French Quarter inspired architecture until a renovation in 1947. Additionally, the stone gate entrance from the Ohio River was constructed in 1925. A German beer garden was built behind the administration building in 1966 at a cost of $75,000. Today, this is the commissary that produces a majority of the food for all the group picnics that come through Coney. Hampton Court (now home to the games of skill, rides office, Skyline Chili, employee cafe and several other functions and employee offices, also opened that year at a cost of $300,000. It was designed by UC alumni Darrel Daniels, and comprised more than 40,000 square feet. The current LaRosa`s building across from the Dodgems opened in 1967 at a cost of $50,000. Another notable building that remains is Moonlite Pavilion, located next to the administration building. This building originally was home to the Dodgems, Whip and Cuddle Up rides. Today, it is used for special events and group outings, and dances. Several employee parties have also been held in there over the years. I hope you found some of that information insightful.

Yep. I knew John Bachelder. He retired early last year (around this time last year in fact). I remember hearing about the games and rides department being one department. One of the rides managers (who is now "semi-retired" from Coney), started way back in 1992 or so, would often mention how games and rides used to be one department (his name is Mike Cann, and he now only comes in for extra help on special occasions, like July 3rd). As The Interpreter mentioned, Moonlite Gardens is original (although it has seen many modifications over the years. It is actually getting some much needed TLC done to it for this year. OF course the admin building is original as well. The Gatehouse that fronts Sutton Avenue is also original. As is the filter building at the pool, the games/employee cafe/rides office building, Lakeside Pavilion, LaRosa`s across from Famous Fairways, and what is currently the maintenance/warehouse building). I`ll shed some more information on the subject when I get home from work tonight. Right now I have to run into a design meeting for a project in Africa.

Josh, what did you do when you worked at Coney in 2000 and 2001? I didn`t start working in the rides department until the spring of 2002. And I`ve been back every summer since then!

Very interesting stuff. I love the history of Coney. In fact, several of us ride managers at Coney are big on the history of the park. It is ashame that there aren't mote photos out there from Coney's heyday. It will be interesting to see what celebrations Coney has planned for this year. I know they have a couple things planned throughout the summer. I'll be sure to let everyone know what things are planned when I find out about them.

I would love to see some of those pictures! I am a huge history buff when it comes to amusement parks, particularly Coney, since I have worked there for nearly a decade now (it will be ten years when I start back in the spring).