Gordon Bombay

Wow, thanks to OP for the photographs and to @Hawaiian Coasters 325 for bumping this topic. Total nostalgia trip. I grew up with HB/Nick Central, but Nick Universe rolled around when I first joined this site/was much more active and was still an area when I was a manager. I remember having to try and remember all those weird names when working in the area. "Can you meet me at Backyardigans?" "Sure. What the hell is that?"

Wasn't the "monster" from Geauga moved to KI as well when that parked closed?

Sure, until it becomes clear that yet again, Texhnifex, has routed the wires through eight levels of scorpion infested concrete. Tomb Raider all over again.

That was it! I just envision FoF trains launching into a tunnel while "jerk it out" from that iPod commercial plays and half the lights don't work.

"Small" except for that bit about extending the track of a coaster built by a now defunct manufacturer that barely rises above the height of the station. ;-)

Don't forget "Flight of Fear retrofitted into a knock-off Rock N' Roller Coaster featuring MTV theming." Would've loved to have seen how many new lights wouldn't work after two seasons and how the queue would still be showing music videos from circa 2005-07.

Such an oddly themed ride for a park centered-around Country music, haha.

Hi folks, Bit of a random post here, but curious if the vast knowledge of KIC might know. Years ago, there was a trip report on here where someone stopped by what little remained of Opryland, Nashville's former seasonal park that was demolished to make room for a mall. All that remained was the trough and fake rocks of "Grizzly River Rampage," an Intamin water rapids ride similar to KI's White Water Canyon. You can see some photographs of those remains here: https://www.coaster101.com/2011/01/07/opryland-usa-themepark-remnants/ I was in Nashville recently and decided to swing by and see if anything was left. Unfortunately, all the fake rocks and trough appear to be gone, but I was wondering if anyone might know something. The pedestrian bridge that's there has a feel very similar to theming of WWC and an electrical box nearby seemed like it might have been from the ride. For some reason, I really want to know if in fact this bridge was part of the queue and if this box was once part of the ride. Photos: Anyone know for sure if in fact, this was part of Opryland/Grizzly River Rampage? According to aerial views, that pedestrian bridge may have been part of the ride. I think. Random question, I know, but if anyone knows for sure - I'd be so appreciative.

I’m relatively sure they did early on.

The sad thing was... it did have a lot of those features, they were just horribly executed and later "removed." • The "stair rumble" never quite got the point across. The section of the ride that is "a stairway" was so brief and so lightly themed, that you hardly have any idea that it's supposed to reflect descending down the subway stairs like in the film. When the "rumble" worked, it was simply just a slight vibration down that particular, small, spot of track. If you had never seen the movie or the ride's conceptual promo video, you'd probably just assume that section of track was "rough." It never translated well. • As for the "drifting cars," the infrastructure was there, but the effect you'd always feel was incredibly minimal. For one thing, the ride isn't very long so the section of "drifting" is over rather briefly. The cars also hardly drifted. Shortly after, you could look at the back of the vehicle chasis and see where the springs were and how the car was modified to not sway anymore, not matter how slightly it ever did. • The on-board audio: wow, this was always bad. Even on good days when the queue line audio worked and synced up properly with dispatching trains, it played so softly in the cars that you'd hardly hear it. For what seemed like years, the "outside" audio of police sires wailing seemed to switch on and off. Occasionally speakers beneath the cop cars made noise, occasionally they wouldn't. I think the only audio that's worked consistently is the helicopter/explosion scene. If I recall, the on board audio system was supposed to be re-charged during the loading process via a system below the vehicles and on the track. It apparently was troublesome. • The splash down: always loved that the "splash" scene wasn't actually a splash, but two pumps that sprayed water up after absolutely no attempt was made to hide this fact. They worked for awhile, disappeared at some point. In 2009 and 2010 it took months before water was even returned to the "aqueduct." • Yellow track: I remember the very first KIC event I ever attended was in early 2005 during an IJ:ST construction tour. Jeff Seibert mentioned that they had decided on changing the track from yellow to gray to make it seem like more of a "roadway." Ultimately, it doesn't look great, but imagine that bright yellow track after a few seasons of summer sun with ware and tear. • Lights on the cars: at one point, probably long gone now, the cars had headlights that made the tunnel look cool. • EDIT: I forgot about the fog! Right before you entered the tunnel, one poorly hidden, obvious nozzle would spray fog from the right hand side. It was hardly ever noticed. Sorry for the rant, Backlot Stunt Coaster was such an interesting ride that never came close to meeting its full potential. It was like an "abstract" themed attraction. Yeah, it had decoration, but everything seemed so cheap and minimal, like a high school art student arguing for using less supplies when really he waited to do his project at the last minute. I was 15 when the announcement video came out and so excited, only to find out that the announcement video had several angles of the same sections of ride that made it appear much bigger and longer than the ride would actually be. I remember trying to create a ride in RCT3 based off that video, so excited for what I thought was coming. The final product: ugh. And they built two more! In the end, Backlot's a good, little ride that works for both kids and adults, a nice intermediate attraction. I had a lot of fun working that ride back in the day, but man it was promised to be so much more. Wasn't worth the removal of the Antique Cars and its a bit of an eyesore in a prominent section of the park. I wonder how much longer its kept around on seemingly valuable real estate, although it's relatively reliable and harmless. /End Rant One Last Edit: If you ever get a chance to glance at the ride's blueprints, there was supposed to be a bit more theming such as a fountain that you would've sped around before entering the "subway stairs." The area is shown as a flower garden in the promo video, but was absolutely nothing in reality.

Is there even enough room between the train's cars for someone to get down there?

It says "best coaster designer," I thought it was a bit disrespectful to leave out the legend of bent coat hanger design. May his ghost give you extra headbangs on Vortex.

I'm not seeing the option for Ron Toomer...

Son of Baconator beat me to it.

While this seems to be the case, what's always thrown me off is the fact that multiple others still operated and one still does. I wonder just how hard those parts are to acquire.

King Cobra seems to always have two things offered up as excuses for its demise: 1) Spare parts became harder to find... or 2) The steel was in "bad shape..." ...yet, similar models operated well after, one of them even surviving relocation and still operating overseas. King Cobra itself was put up for sale. I wonder what the actual reason was for its removal. Does anyone know for certain?

Definitely planning to check this out. Kind of bummed it's not permanent.

Son of Beast could really use a fresh coat, I can't even see it these days.

If you look in the background of this shot (or ever find yourself in Timberwolf), you can see one of the lights from the Adventure Village/Wild Animal Habitat days.

Very cool. Looking forward to that and any other entries. Specifically with Kings Dominion, I never knew they removed theirs. Interesting how being a transport to the water park has somewhat kept KI's relevant. Back in the day, there was all this clamoring to revert it back to its own attraction. I believe there was at once a proposal to place Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular throughout the train's course, to be used after the water park closed during daily operation. Instead, the park made that half-hearted mess of burnt out Christmas lights.

Just popping in to say, been lurking over this topic for awhile. Really love the posts and discussion. Thanks for the informative and entertaining read!

Wow, I thought Peanuts was a bit outdated (although done well), but that's a real throwback.

And a lot of this was the result of changing trends over the decades that don’t necessarily appeal today. Kings Island (and several other regional/seasonal parks across the nation) was truly envisioned as a “Disney of the Midwest.” Not in the sense of totally themed attractions, but in the sense of being a destination. The park was a draw, but the idea was that there’d be a whole “resort” with options and activities that would attract whole families (and their money) for extended periods of time. At the same time, you could also grab up local passholders who’d routinely visit and spend money. The Kings Island golf courses were once renown and a step above simply due to availability. They were constructed at a time well before golf was a more “casual” sport and well before so many suburban neighborhoods (across the nation) were constructed around new golf courses. Over time, Kings Island’s golf center went from having limited competition to courses all over the region. Golf was no longer just the sport of the wealthy and those who had a Country Club membership/those who would travel to play at courses like KI’s, golf was soon found all across the suburbs and even in public parks. Then there’s the resort, which when originally built, was quite a few steps above standard lodging. KI’s also had no nearby competition. If you wanted to stay at a hotel near the park, it was by far the most convenient. Kings Mills and the Mason/Fields Ertel exit had close to nothing when the park opened, but soon piled up with a range of quality in hotel options as that industry changed too. Very quickly, the KI resort went from being renown luxury lodging to “pretty good” to “just ok” to “yeah, I just need a cheap bed for the night” to demolished. In terms of the campground, it’s been stated earlier in this thread just how popular camping was for a time. It seems to still be a popular pastime with enthusiasts, but the types of camping pursued has shifted. KI’s campground wasn’t just an attempt to capitalize on the craze of the 70’s, but to also offer a cheaper option for lodging when there wasn’t many alternatives nearby (except for their expensive resort). Around the time our campground was killed off and GWL built, Carowinds opened up a revamped and improved campground. If I recall correctly, that model was never really replicated in the chain by either Paramount or Cedar Fair. Nowadays, camping seems to just be a nice option to have at a park, but not something holding you back from attracting more guests. Overall, KI’s mission has changed too in an ever evolving world of entertainment options where you can choose to spend your disposable income. This has occurred at other parks built around the same time. The idea of “regional Disney’s” and massive “resort complexes” seemed to fade after the 70s. Soon parks began targeting local populations and regional visitors more strongly, realizing that the regular money comes from regular customers who spend within the park. Paramount Parks attempted highly themed attractions (usually executing them quite poorly), but the emphasis was always on the region rather than nationwide travelers. Under Cedar Fair, we’ve seen similar things. They know their core audience lies within the regions surrounding each parks (save for some wiggle room for exception at the larger properties such as KI, CP, KBF, and CW). This doesn’t always pay off, though. During the 2008 recession, CF banked on the thinking that most people would choose to stay home from vacations and frequent their regional parks more. Instead, people seemed to save up for that big vacation and take it at the expense of in park spending, season passes, and visits to their local/regional park. Sorry for the diatribe. Just bummed I can’t visit the “College Football Hall of Fame” anymore (because of course, that was once part of KI’s “resort” too). Edit: just to add, the KI Resort property was supposedly going to get townhomes/apartments built on it via Towne Properties, but that seems to have stalled.

I don't believe they use magnets, rather there are mechanical pins that slide through the reclined seats, locking them in place to the main vehicle chassis. There are several sensors on board the vehicle to confirm each pin (and there are many) is locked and ready to go. These sensors communicate with the main computer wirelessly.

Cool Wut