beastfan11

That’s pitiful. They should be embarrassed. Is money so tight that they can’t: 1. Pay the original artist to use their work (this would also be a great PR/Marketing story). 2. Have one of their own designers/artists create something new? 3. Hire a freelance designer/artist to create something new? Gotta save money for the chicken sandwich budget, I guess.

We should’ve known by that ad that Six Flags was coming…

It was premeditated enough for them to start demo immediately (relatively speaking). Anyone who says this was an impulsive, sudden sale is a liar.

Man, Nick Universe was a lot of fun. And as I alluded to in past posts in this thread, NU was the reason I came across this site all those years ago. So it has a special place in my heart. That was a cool off season leading up to NU. I remember riding in the back of my parents car on the interstate and passing the park, just being able to catch a glimpse of Avatar with my old camcorder. The hype was real. At least for me. I was at the right age for all of that, honestly. It was the best. Being born in the early 90’s, I grew up with Nicktoons and the Hannah Barbara stuff on Cartoon Network. It made going to the park feel like going to Disneyland. Wild. I do wish there was still a place at the park for the HB characters. I miss them.

Fun concept for a Rivertown indoor/dark ride PT attraction from Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/KingsIsland/s/NVVq1f7Tf4 Will the building ever be reused? The dark ride coaster concept lends itself to a lot of cool ideas. I’d really love to see what they could do with it.

Bring on the dark ride coaster!

Can’t wait to walk even longer to my next paid Lightning Lane!

Pardon the double post. The flood waters are no more and demo continues. Luckily, the historic Silver Bullet slide has been purchased and removed from CSO’s carnage. Per Facebook and the buyer, there are no immediate plans for the slide, but the hope is to have it operational in the future. Photos from the buyer on Facebook:

I’d for sure be good for a few “magic” KI bands. That could be really cool if done right.

They don’t have any reason to tear anything down, but they still are. So, they can save their heroic comments about doing what they can and can’t save or about whatever buildings they pretend to care about. Their actions are completely transparent and they’re not trusted by the public. Nor should they be. There are plenty of people/groups dedicated to save whatever aspects of the park history that can still be saved. This is completely on CSO.

Last night was kind of awful (as expected with preview nights/days), but still had a nice time. Great to be back!

I was under the impression it was quick service, but not 100% sure!

A great opinion piece: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/contributors/2024/04/14/coney-islands-sunlite-pool-demolition-cincinnati-symphony-orchestra-class/73271962007/?fbclid=IwAR14ONjky_yoknoyKAUs__IxqaLPCg44t9NmcdqRnvKGZuoXBeEAPrznOTw_aem_ASf472FWj4io0gXwb-idu6O704g3eZNrqcZqafEJu19Rc0TY5Gj3qIPBL3sX2YB24R0

Thought this was pretty rad. Was perusing Reddit and came across some stills and video of The Maestro walk around character in the park circa 1992. He makes a brief appearance here in the 20th Anniversary parade (as well as the KI Clown Band): The mask for the character eventually found it’s way into a Fearfest display in front of the Action Theater in 2005 (per the photo gallery): Pretty cool stuff!!

A bad day to have destroyed the pump house at Sunlite. Good luck CSO!

Another video update posted about 15 minutes ago: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5gzk_6JseD/?igsh=MWwzdWIxMDNsNWZiNQ== Everything’s looking really good! But man, sure seems like a lot of work to be done. Excited to see it next week regardless!

I’m good for 1-2 a season. Not my favorite as I’m not into super fruity/flavored beers, but it’s cool to have one now and again. Glad it’s coming back!

How about a legitimate scare maze themed to A Christmas Carol? That could be a lot of fun.

I’ve also only ridden it twice. It’s a good time, but not my favorite. Much prefer Diamondback!

The SCI group is/was focused on Sunlite Pool, while the Cincinnati Preservation Association is “leading the charge” for Moonlite Gardens: https://cincinnatipreservation.org/coney-islands-moonlite-gardens-sunlite-pool-under-threat/ This has been stated multiple times in print, radio, and TV media. Personally, I have a vested interest in both, though the ship has sailed for the pool. CSO/MEMI doesn’t really have the desire to work with the community to save anything, so I understand why people would assume anyone trying to save any aspect of the park would be disillusioned by working with CSO/MEMI. The only way Moonlite Gardens will be saved if someone/some organization steps up to do so, unfortunately. It would be really nice to see that whole area of the park saved. You have Lake Como, the Admin building, the games building, and the old beer garden building right there in addition to bathroom and food facilities. It’s also situated near the picnic area and historic riverboat landing. That would be a nice area for a public park of sorts. It could do wonders for the relationship with the community that CSO/MEMI destroyed.

I don't believe anything has been officially decided regarding the fate of Moonlite Gardens. The "unsafe since 2018" line is either a typo or a flat out lie. The park was regularly holding events throughout the 2019 season up the the last night the rides were open. I would know, as I was there. Bingo. In my opinion, they really don't deserve the support they receive, and at this point, their non-profit status should seemingly be revoked. Previous generational ownership did the park no favors and are largely responsible for the state the park is (not) in today. The removal of the rides, various PR issues, lack of capital investment are all contributed to the park and pools closure. But is/was a viable business model when managed correctly and there's no reason to believe the park as a whole could not be successful. But no one forced CSO to bulldoze the pool. That decision is solely their responsibly alone. And if they end of doing the same with Moonlite Gardens and the surrounding buildings, that's also on them. And to be blunt, they don't give a darn about preserving history, they only care about their own infrastructure. That's why Music Hall was ultimately restored. I'd love to believe that they did it for the sake of preserving Cincinnati history, but they only did it because they absolutely had to in order for the building to be usable. And even then, the funds to restore Music Hall came from philanthropic efforts and taxpayer funds. The irony is that there are two historic music venues important to the history of Cincinnati. One has been fully restored by efforts led by the CSO. The other's fate is up in the air. Yes, it would cost significant amount of money to restore, but CSO/MEMI are financially capable of doing so (and have recently done so) while also seeking more taxpayer money from the state for this project. It's hypocritical to say the least, and demonstrative of their true character. Yes, there certainly is. As recently as least week there was talk of Anderson looking into purchasing the pool so it could continue to operate. This was to be discussed in a meeting last Thursday night, but the demo of the pool began suddenly that morning/afternoon. Take that as you will. They see more value in the space becoming a parking lot. This was never an issue of CSO not being able to operate a pool. They have shown that they have the ability to create different organizations (i.e. MEMI) to handle different aspects of the business they did not have experience in. IN this situation, they chose not to do so. There is plenty of space on that property for everything to co-exist, but they chose not to. More likely than not, for financial reasons. And as others have repeatedly mentioned, it's in their right to do what they'd like since they own the property. But given their status as a community-driven, non-profit organization, it certainly comes across as tone deaf and driven by nothing but greed. I guess this depends of the definition of "long time." The park was doing well until around 2017, and then things started to decline. With the rides removal in 2019, it became apparent what the then ownership's plan was for the park. I'm sure COVID didn't help. But there wasn't any desire to keep the park open. They saw dollar signs and jumped at the chance, I'm sure. Which is a shame, because under different ownership I truly believe the park could still be thriving today. And that does make it hard to see. And you certainly weren't the only ones who's visits either declined or stopped after the removal of the rides. It was an incredibly stupid decision if they intended on keeping the pool open. The thing that bothers me the most is two fold: 1. Someone will be making money off of this project. Big time. And that doesn't sit right with me considering the fact that the project is helmed by a non-profit. And on top of that, taxpayer dollars will more than likely be used to build this new venue. All to see someone's else's pockets lined. That's wrong. 2. The CSO has more or less vilified themselves and the arts as a whole. I hate to live in a city where so many, myself included, are anti-CSO. It's a big loss and the city deserves better community leadership in the arts. They should be embarrassed. Their mission, per their own words, is to serve the community. But when they actively go against the desires of the community they're claiming to care for, they shouldn't pull the victim card and feel sorry for themselves when people are vocally against them. Hoping to make it back down to the park in the next few days for some more pictures and updates. This is a terrible ting they're doing and it should be shared.

You’re definitely not alone, speaking for myself and others. I’d love a piece, but have no faith in that happening due to CSO/MEMI’s treatment of the people who care for the park and the ongoing situation as a whole. I’d love to be proven wrong.

No, not “exactly” in the slightest. This is in no way similar to 1971 when the park was closed. Sunlite Pool remained opened and the promise of Kings Island brought an entire section of the park dedicated to recreating the Coney Island mall experience, down to the relocation of several rides. There were no protests because there was no need for them. I think this dead horse has been beaten enough, no? Anyway. The work on the pool demo was put into high gear last week, just as Anderson and preservationists were in talks about options to save the space. Take that as you will. Not my photos: Some of my photos from last week: A new piece from Cincinnati.com: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra gives the arts a bad name by erasing historic Coney Island https://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/contributors/2024/03/30/cincinnati-symphony-orchestra-erasing-historic-coney-island/73095739007/?fbclid=IwAR1KKdyVHxm4WC9DL-aqjXu83hCnfHb7y-SI8CUrqH-poDu0YL91VA8GiCg_aem_AQ4mH_7rh7eF229m7DKFSTGtmwwA--eDw_5E5qC4v89s5s9fRLAE5LVKYPYv796GE1I "When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always 20 years behind the times." - Mark Twain

As much as I adored the old Adventure Express sign, I think the new one is even better. Absolutely adore it.

Nice update!