bsktgrvy

Great tips! We are also planning to visit Pigeon Forge in mid June. How crowded is the park on a Friday? We probably won't ride a lot of rides but plan to ride some of them. I have read that lines can be very long even for shows and food - is that true? I've also read that food in the park is very pricey. I can live with that since everyone raves about the food there. I just want to make sure we don't regret getting in the park only to find it to be too crowded to do much of anything. Thanks!

Things I miss - A train ride that was more than just a way to get to the water park and back. Winterfest The original themed sections of the park - although KI is doing a pretty good job of getting back to that. The area that had the Paramount Story that has been turned into a smoking section. People smoke pretty much when and where they want anyway - why not designate it as a non-smoking area?

Do we have to be so connected to phones that we can't even enjoy an amusement park ride without feeling the urge to text? IMO, the ride operator did the correct thing.

The accompanying photo gallery to the article brings back some good memories. I especially like the photo of the 'jello jump' from 1979, because I was one of the participants. Too bad I did not win the car. Article - http://cincinnati.com/blogs/ourhistory/2011/07/11/lesourdsville-lake-was-blue-collar-coney/ Photos - http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=AB&Dato=20110710&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=107060803&Ref=PH

Great trip report. And you made the most of it despite the weather, and you did not even complain about the weather. Good for you and your family! I highly recommend a visit to Chattanooga. It is a great area for a family vacation.

I agree with the idea of a park history area and I suggested this in a thread last year. The old 'Paramount Story' park area would be a perfect place for this. There could be photos and video screens with old commercials and ride videos, and actual ride components would be a big plus.

What a great thread! This brings back so many wonderful memories. Thanks to everyone that has shared their photos and videos.

We were at the park yesterday and the fountains were off the entire day. I guess this is normal now? It was disappointing. The fountains (when working) make a very nice entrance to the park and when having a snack or a meal on International Street.

That Sky Ride was very high!

I would love to see the train ride enhanced with animatronics, more theming, additional scenery, etc. However, if that is cost prohibitive, here's a thought - perhaps the "History of King's Island" could be told throughout the ride with a recorded audio presentation and signs and historical park photos situated along the route in a timeline fashion. It would be tough to condense that much history down to a few minutes, but with careful selection of the most significant events I think this would at least make the ride more interesting.

Why is that bad news?

Great job! Thanks for sharing the pictures. The Bayern Curve will always be one of my favorite rides that King's island had. And look at how beautiful "Tower Gardens" was then. I also remember the Kahn's hot dog place on International Street - where they actually made sausages. I agree - the themes throughout the park then were so much better than now. Ahh....Memories.

I think that is true for most parks not affiliated with Disney characters. Most Disney characters are loveable. I never got that with Rugrats or any of the Nickelodeon characters. Hanna-Barbera characters are good, but they are not exactly current, either. At least the Peanuts specials are shown throughout the year. Most kids will know them and I think the kids area will be just fine. And it doesn't hurt that their parents (and / or grandparents) grew up with Peanuts. I think you may be surprised at how much that will matter.

That's a good point, though. I think a lot more young kids know about Charlie Brown than we think due to the Christmas and Halloween specials still being shown yearly.

It fits well, actually. It was a movie of the same name. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_for_Your_Life,_Charlie_Brownwiki page