Thrill_Biscuit

Well, as far back as I can remember (c. the 1974-1975 off-season), the tower was always dark during the winter months (except, of course, for Winterfest years). All you would see were the red aircraft warning lights on the tower's trunk and mast.

There it is! Nice job. I'm looking at a rain-soaked, night shot, and I notice the tower is lit up. I notice it's been lit up a lot this off season. Unusual. Anyway, good job.

That looks like the Ohio River. It could be the Coney Island cam (?). The last time I looked at the PKI webcam, it showed sunny, blue skies and no snow/ice, though we had just had the big ice storm.

^No real worries. It was more of a tongue-in-cheek thought starter, spawned primarily by my observation of how famous places get "renamed" from time to time. It looks like a lot of good thought went into the 'Gardens' renaming; more, it seems, than what went into the renaming of venerable football stadia during the 1990s ("3COM Park", "Heinz Field", "Investco Field", etc.). Again, no real worries.

Geographic awareness? I hope they never change "Kings Island" to something like, "Mason Meadows", or "Deerfield Forest", or "Warren County Wonderland", or "Paris, Ohio", etc. There's only one Kings Island (well, except for the one in Hilton Head, SC), and everybody (kinda) knows where ours is!

Did it look anything like this? My Dad once told me that the tower was built using Boeing Chinook helicopters. I've always tried to imagine what it must have looked like (being that it was completed about the time I was 2, so I don't remember seeing the unfinished tower). I've drawn pictures of the thing since I was 3 (the above is my latest, although a composite of several elements, the welders are my own little touch). I can't wait to see the real thing. All the Best, Eric

Does anyone know if Kings Island will still be playing those cool movie themes throughout the park? One of the coolest things about the experience of entering the park is hearing that awesome music, like the Star Trek, Superman and Talented Mr. Ripley themes.

Maybe it's time for another "filmed at Kings Island" tv show, like the Brady Bunch thing; or maybe KI can host one of those Xtreme motocross games (updated take on the 1970's Evel Kneivel jump) to bring national focus back. Maybe they can host a high-profile stunt by that weird, neo-Houdini guy from New York who keeps freezing himself in a box and stuff like that. Keeping KI in the world spotlight is one of the things that keeps the park from being like every other theme park.

They need more exciting 3D Immersion attractions a' la 'Back to the Future' or Star Trek: The Experience. The signage and marquis can be updated to the emerging new cutting-edge, bright LED screens like at Times Square or the Vegas Strip, to add that "world-classiness" back to the park. The Eiffel Tower should be lit with bright, colorful spots like during the last Winterfest, rather that with the current flood lights, which make the tower look like a cell phone tower. Fort Cooper should become a new midway, maybe with a new flat ride and some food/game stalls to round out the addition.

For real extravegance, use an international variation: German: Der Feuerhabicht! French: Faucon l'incendie! Italian: Falco Fuoco! Spanish: Halcón del fuego!

Whoa! 20 Years?!? Crap I'm old! I still think of Vortex as one of KI's newer coasters. Better go take my geritol. Sheesh! To quote Neil Peart: "Time Stand Still!!!" (Ironically, that song came out in 1987, too!) Oh well, happy 20th...

Oh, Quit hyperspeculating! It's X-Flight! X-Flight! X-Flight! Geesh! It's like people at Carowinds in 2005, seeing parts of a blue and white flat ride showing up in their parking lot, with eagle-looking scooter cars, saying, "It MIGHT be the flyers from PKI, but they COULD just be storing them in our parking lot..." Man, I hope I get you guys on my jury if I ever get in trouble for anything - Just kidding. Great pics!

Bummer. This is very sad news, indeed. What a dream he lived, operating (albeit such limited operation) an amusement park, almost single-handedly, as a hobby! A life well lived it seems. Rest in peace.

Do they have pictures of the Eiffel Tower under construction? (My dad says that they used helicopters. That'd be cool to see!) Anyway, that's a great aerial shot of the old park!

Gosh! I love that trumpet fanfare theme piped into International Street! Does anyone know what movie that's from? It sounds like Star Trek, but it's not Insurrection, First Contact, Nemesis or Generations. Maybe it's not Star Trek at all. It's definitely a trumpet-heavy theme, though (and it's not Chinatown, either). Does anyone know what the title of that track is? And what is the hypnotic, flute-sounding music right after Mission:Impossible? It sounds very familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Thanks if anybody knows!

Keep ther structure, but bolt-on some steel tube track like 'Gemini'.

I'm very impressed with the skill you guys have in keeping this great site going! I wonder what those thieving imbiciles think is going to happen when people get dragged into their worthless sites? "Ooh, I wanted to visit PKIC, but WOW, look at this neat other site that dragged me in against my will....ooooh!" ...morons . Nice recovery.

I never notice brakes before the hump. Vortex has been more brutal to me than Beast this year (the left turn coming out of the first drop is a real boxing match.) Beast does seem smoother, though.

The Vortex is a good day starter: it gets you ready for all of KI's flips n' dips.

Because no matter how many times I go, I can't get over how cool the entrance experience is: the bombastic, classical-sounding music, the cool mist of the fountains, the majestic tower, the people screaming over on Face/Off, and the aroma of food, perfume and sunblock. I just never get used to it. It's cool.

Old Name..........................New Name Italian Job Stunt Track........Alice's Coopers Tomb Raider: The Ride.......King Tut DropZone..........................Gulliver's Gallows Paramount Story................Jump 2 SDATHC............................Enchanted Voyage Son of Beast......................Timber Tantrum Congo Falls........................Splashdown Face/Off.............................Twisted Tango Top Gun.............................Vampyra

Dude, if you'd only waited 5 more days, you could've had your 666th on 6-6-6!

Word. Fo' shizzle that crazy nonsizzle don't belong at P-Kizzle! All y'all shorties don't need to be bringin' the heat, juz bein' on they feet, kickin' it wit' da 513 heat, up n' down da street, kno'msayn? Peace to all y'all homeboys. Unh! Unh! Yeah! Seriously, the metal detectors, as a visible security measure, are a good deterrent to would-be troublemakers, and provide an added sense of safety to the park experience (especially in this post-911, post-Columbine world where unimaginable things can happen). I hope they keep them.

Sounds like a case for Ty Pennington and Crew: Goooooooooooooood Morning Kings Islaaaaaaaaand!

It needs some Egyptian theming.