Gordon Bombay

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.

I'm sure they're paying attention to it, but is it (and Holiday World) as big a threat as some here would like to believe? I sincerely doubt it.

Based off of the number I have gathered both KK and HW have a combined attendance right around 2 million people last year. That is around the total attendance of Carowinds last year. You can say people have forgotten about HW or KK but the numbers say otherwise. I will agree and say that KI is on a completely different level than KK and HW. That is mainly due to KI belonging to a international theme park chain. Both HW and KK are independent parks. Both KK and HW will likely never truly challenge KI for top dog in the tri-state area, but 2 million visitors a year is a very sizeable chunk of the theme park market. To say that people have forgotten about HW and KK is a stretch at best. You mean "reported" attendance by two private companies who benefit from making sure that number is as high as possible without sounding too unrealistic. KI generates a solid majority of its business from pass holders and return visits. Kentucky Kingdom used to when six flags flew above its entrance (and didn't bother investing much because those local pass holders kept returning). Holiday World and KK are only a threat in that they may possibly prevent some consumers from traveling up 71 to Kings Island. However, even when Six Flags still operated KK, they abandoned plans to be any direct threat to KI and instead just focused on the local market. After "Twisted Sisters/Twins debuted, you stopped seeing Six Flags adverts in the Cincinnati market. You'll never convert Holiday World pass holders into KI holders several hours up the road, so I doubt KI is too concerned with Koch family drama world. In short, the "two million" (through the gate per year, not entirely separate individuals) are probably more like a fly buzzing hours down I-71. Cedar Fair probably keeps an eye on it, but probably doesn't care, if anything, they're more curious about Holiday World and probably just chuckling at KK when they're not asking: "that park is open again?"

Tacky? It was better than nothing and more than anyone else would do at the time.

That's a shame.

Love hearing memories like this.

Wow, Monroe, thank you so much for sharing that. I had no idea of the aircraft's history. The gentleman who now owns the airport land was telling me about the DC-3 and he said that it required so much runway that it used back up all the way and be nearly on top of nearby Lebanon Rd. I'm sharing this information with him. Thanks for passing it along, what an incredible history!

Some folks on here may remember the old International Air Show. It ended before I was born, but I've heard a lot about it. The show would start with a hot air balloon being launched, two biplanes mock dogfighting, and had the finale of four skydivers. This show happened every night too! A friend of mine works on a property that used to be an airport in Lebanon, Ohio. Coincidentally, that airport used to be the place where the skydivers for Kings Island would take off from. Like the air show, it too is gone, but some parts of it remain. You can check out that article here if you want: http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-lost-airport-of-lebanon_13.html While doing some research for the above article, I came across something interesting. English born skydiver Jackie Smith was one of the sport's first prominent female jumpers and she was on that International Air Show team. Here's a photo of her landing at the park. If you look closely, the gate behind her should be familiar: She authored a retrospective piece on her days as a KI skydiver. It's a great read and even has a video of the full air show. You can check that out here: http://skydiving-encyclopedia.com/wiki/skydiving/23-records-events/23-4-significant-skydiving-events/1980-kings-island-nightly-jumps/

It'd be interesting given Cedar Fair's interest in year round revenue opportunities and it'd be the perfect location. Kings Island is an interesting scenario though. The nearby Great Wolf Lodge was built on land formerly belonging to the park and once operated in a great partnership with Kings Island under Paramount. Then for awhile GWL advertising, signage and branding disappeared from the park and its promotional materials. Now it's back. If KI were to pursue its own resort/hotel, no doubt the folks literally right next door may not take a liking to it.

I'm doubtful on the street level retail concept similar to Deerfield Towne Centre. I'd think that if retail develops, it'll have to be much smaller shops. I do think that'd be a good thing though - dense units with convenient shops nearby. It's a far cry from most suburban developments. It'd be even better if this development (and for that matter all surrounding things) were better linked to KI for pedestrian/bike access.

An article from the Cincinnati Business Courier stated that Towne Properties (one of the big names in rental properties throughout Cincinnati) was developing "luxury apartments" to be built on site. They even had somewhat of a rendering: http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2014/12/05/developers-planning-35m-apartment-project-at.html However, those plans were announced in December 2014, a few days after the resort/Inn closed. Demolition began in January 2015, but stopped slightly after. Someone I spoke with from Warren County mentioned that there was a zoning problem and that the demolition may have paused because the property hadn't been rezoned for the rental property yet. With it resuming, I'm not sure if the "luxury apartments" are still on track. I believe at one point, someone also speculated about retail being able to mix in with the apartment complexes ala the nearby Deerfield Towne Centre. Again, just things I've heard, not hard facts.

Just in case anyone's curious, the demolition has finally resumed. I took these photographs on Friday the 11th of March. I imagine by today, most of it's gone. PHOTOS: http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-demolition-of-kings-island-resort.html

Winterfest 05 was a truly heartfelt effort. Remember, it was rolled out at two parks underneath the Viacom umbrella. While Viacom made some interesting decisions and had different ideas from the original incarnation of Paramount Parks, they weren't stingy entirely. They invested in a lot of infrastructure improvements and entertainment options for KI's Winterfest. KI's WinterFest 2.0 suffered from several issues. Snowfall and bad weather were much more frequent. Required parking payment and admission outside of a season pass also didn't help. There were also more regional entertainment options that had cropped up or been improved in the years since Winterfest halted. From the people I knew and the amount of investment, it seemed they planned to make another go at it the next year. Later, Viacom and CBS split. Paramount Parks fell under CBS while Paramount Pictures fell under Viacom. From the onset of 2006, it was clear that CBS was hardly interested in continuing the Paramount Parks operation and would seek a buyer. Associates started that year without name tags. Instead they were issues one identification badge to wear clipped to their shorts (and would incur a payment deducted fee for replacement). The "QTV's" also constantly blared advertisements for CBS owned properties like College Sports Television (CSTV (Now CBS Sports Network). They also had this interesting little thing they did... When you entered the park, immediately to your left were advertisements for Winterfest. They were already selling "advance tickets." Now, there's two diverging viewpoints I've heard over the years: 1) The intentions were true and they planned to give Winterfest 2.0 another go. or 2) CBS didn't actually intend to risk losing money on another winter event should a buyer not be found and wouldn't actually go through with it or... ...as what would happen: someone did buy not just Kings Island (but all the parks) and Cedar Fair had the pleasure of being the ones to announce Winterfest's cancellation (not that many people really knew or cared) as well as refund those advance tickets (did anyone really buy any?). There you go.