Gordon Bombay

Thanks @jtro223! I have a second part to that one which deals with a review of the park itself: http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2017/09/kentucky-kingdon-six-years-later-part-2.html

So I don’t post on here anywhere as much as I used to, but when I was much more active on KIC, one of my favorite things to do was create Photo Trip Reports. I loved authoring travelogues on places ranging from Cedar Point to Camden Park to the occasional visit to my home park of Kings Island. Over the past ten years though, the allure of visiting parks somewhat faded (although, if you follow my site by chance, I still visited plenty of abandoned ones). That all changed recently when I went to Kentucky Kingdom. So I’ve got a photo trip report in two parts. Part 1: Before/After In 2011, I had the opportunity to tour the park when it was closed/abandoned. Multiple ownership groups grappled for control, but now the park is very much alive. Check out side by side, interactive images showing what’s changed here. Part 2: A review I also took some time to just enjoy the park, ride the coasters, and have a look around. Overall, I think KK is pretty good, but what’s the deal with the constant one train operation? Overall, I'm pretty surprised at just how good this park ended up being. I had my doubts, but it won me over. Read more here. Thanks for checking it out! I have to say, it felt good to write a PTR again!

If Six Flags owned Kings Island... ...they'd probably have a "Fast Lane" system that's more than just wrist bands.

@CoastersRZ: people are saying "footers." Drop that knowledge!

SOB was a ****ty ride, but it had nothing on how awful The Villain at Geagua Lake was. Loved when Cedar Fair's proposed "fix" was putting used Gerstauler trains on there that weren't even good when they were new.

The park is still running the Fast Lane program in this way? As in, it's just a shorter line, but still a line? Are they still using the wristbands? Six Flags of all companies, STILL has a better system for this type of perk than Cedar Fair? Sad.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it just one conveyor belt and then two drops that were side by side with an operator switching boats between the two? That conveyor/lift scared the absolute living hell out of me as a kid. Fun Fact: behind the Tomb Raider/Crypt/Crappy Haunted House Building there is (or at least was) a wooden shack. In that shack, even well after KCKC was gone, the pump controls for the old flume still remained with "Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal" still labeled on them.

To be fair, all the crap about ghosts and whatnot is all nonsense anyways. "Legends," pssh, the last thing the park needs is some kid up there going on about how they heard rumors of a ghost. Talk about the train, cool facts about the park, etc, make it entertaining. I think the point teenageninja is making is that oftentimes the joking around, having fun, etc. can improve morale. As someone who's spieled, managed people spieling, audited crews who spieled, etc, I can say that if you get the right person up there they can have a good time and get the proper information out. The truth of the matter is, most people aren't listening anyways. No matter how important or eloquent the message, people in line have their minds on other things. They're not a captive audience. So if you can say "here's where you store your loose articles, fasten your seat belt, and here's a fun quick fact," then who cares? They know safety is the main priority, they're acutely aware of that. Doesn't mean you can't have fun and be entertaining while striking the proper balance. When I was 16, it was always a blast on those final Beast trains to get the guests to play Simon says: "Make a funny face, fasten your seatbelt, quack like a duck, nod your head if you understand where loose articles go."

Oh, man. You're right! There definitely was at one point.

^That Swan Lake bridge was definitely gone before 2007. There was also another bridge that ran between the basketball hoops and icee stand in Rivertown before Diamondback came about. I only remember it being for employees, but it ran over a creek and then behind wings.

Paging @Shaggy!

I don't think it was actually a "bridge." I think what you're seeing in this video was once the back porch area of Oktoberfest Gardens (when it was an actual biergarten theme) and it eventually became the back porch of Bubba Gump's "even less than stellar than the normal less than stellar chain restaurant" Shrimp Shack. There used to be remote controlled boats for a time I believe as well as the little vending machines where you could buy fish food. When it became Bubba Gumps, there was a turned over fishing boat placed over an old concrete pier. That pier used to be a support for the sky ride. Edit: strike all of that above, there was a bridge! S/O to DBInternational for showing that below.

Hi @Shaggy, I noticed as you posted the 1979 brochure, one of the features of it showcased pictures of the Reds/Riverfront Stadium/the city, but the text below it is even more interesting: It encourages guests to visit Carowinds and Kings Dominion while also encouraging them to visit Mainland in Los Angeles. Was Taft/KI once affiliated with that park? Edit: Apparently you can tag people on the forums now and including a link to Facebook, embeds the post? Technology, wow.

So I have to ask - how have these been the past few years? I remember hearing a lot of complaints when they were initially started, but have they gotten any better? Do they still do them in the (smaller?) new wave pool or do they utilize the large one? Love that they brought back this classic 1970's concept. RIP Astroworld.

Can't wait to start looking through all your content. Very excited and THANK YOU for sharing this. Just a heads up - you may want to watermark some of these with "Facebook.com/sitonit" to help promote your project as well as maybe protect it a little from an internet bound with trolls and others who will take it, use it as click bait, and then not credit you. Hi, WCPO!

​There's undoubtedly several perks to working in an amusement park, particularly your local one and a place you enjoy. I can't stress enough how important it is to have some sort of job as soon as you possibly can. I started working at 14 and it was the best thing that's ever happened to me. Had a strong work ethic and learned a lot well before I started at KI when I was 16. Kings Island can be an invaluable experience with a lot to learn while working in a place you enjoy. After eight seasons, so many experiences there have helped shape my life decisions, my current career path, and helped me meet some of the best friends I've ever known. I value my time there more than I do high school or university. It's a great place for a first job that can last a while. You will get out what you put in, but keep your expectations in check. For some, it's a one season quick job to look back on and joke/complain about, of many others it has helped shape the people they are. I miss that place every day.

Question for the executive staff: will ZosoBeast ever be returning?

Not only that, the cycle was changed TWICE. For a brief moment it had a "true" top spin cycle akin to what you might see while playing Roller Coaster Tycoon. It was actually a lot of fun and intense. No one cared that you were in an empty box with nothing but flashing lights. I remember the day we reopened with the final cycle (the ferris wheel type one). We had everyone in the queue so pumped up, shouting to them on the microphone. That first load of guests got on and as the ride started homing back to position at the end, nothing and I mean nothing, but boo's. So many agitated people as they exited. When I first started working at the park, the Tomb Raider crew was always one of the last few to get up to the office at the end of the day due to a long line. By the time it was The Crypt, we usually had the ride spick and span, trash changed, and everything done by 9 PM. Never had much, if anyone, after 8:30 PM. Got to the bar a lot earlier most nights that summer.

That website is nothing but a pinko commie rag. It hasn't covered Kings Island in years and probably never will again.

I think you have to look at incentive as well. Not knocking food service/fast food jobs in any way, but they're fairly common to come by all over the region within close proximity to residential areas/transit. What's the incentive to working in food service at Kings Island when you could find the same type of work much closer? Not to mention, for better or worse (and experiences in service vary wildly by location), but even companies like McDonalds offer actual benefits and regular pay increases on top of year round work.

Again, read what I said. I never claimed to know "what plans are" or why "they were executing it." All said, was that no one here knows what KI's current project is, how long it took to construct, or that it's somehow magically in response to Holiday World. I also reiterated, and will assert again, KK and HW are not the attendance threats that fanboys here like to believe they are. Is CF aware of them, yes. Are they quaking in their Sandusky boots? No. Just because you like to ride The Voyage doesn't mean Holiday World is making deep cuts into KI's attendance base.

Ha I've done quite a bit more than just "operate a ride" as a "teenager" and for avenues in the industry other than just Ohio parks. Keep on being a Holiday World apologist, you're vastly over estimating their "impact." Edit: Holy hell, I finally understand where ErosArrow05 was coming from all these years now.

Some of us have worked for the industry, familiar with "inner workings" and opinion's on nearby "rivals." Some of us get excited about meeting Don Helbig by The Vortex photo booth.

Doesn't even know what Kings Island's latest project is, how long it took to plan, etc. yet it's "In response to Holiday World/Kentucky Kingdom" because they "feel" families "that make one trip a year" are no longer choosing KI. I think your ACEr fanny pack is on a bit tight.

Again, like I said, they're probably more than aware of people like you who are closer to KK and may chose to visit it over KI, but are they worried about it hitting the bulk of their sales or pulling away their season pass base. Again, I doubt it. Your $60 over the course of a year is probably more than made up by one family who spends the day eating in the pro.