Mrs. G.

Back on topic, SkyLab was my official "weaning" ride. It was the first big-people, upside-down ride I could get each of my girls on at 3, to make that big jump out of Hanna Barbera Land. For that I will always be nostalgic for it. There aren't enough rides like that.

I don't remember him saying a date - or was I too frozen to hear him? From past years I recall the shows being on in late May/early June (usually on both TLC and Discovery). But all I remember is being "escorted" (RUNNING) to the front and the guys saying come see us in the summer. So if anyone else was there and heard a date, let me know too!

Black Sunday, June 9, '91. Ironically that was the only year I never made it to the park. I had read that all the incidents were alcohol-related. Way off topic, but still, it's never good to lose a ride due to people who won't follow safety rules.

I remember the Flight Commander incident but didn't know that happened on Sky Lab too. It seems unfair to blame the ride for people acting like idiots...that always ticks me off. I would never have any fear of a ride due to others' stupidity, but that's actually one of the things I always liked about Kings Island, you don't see too much of that there. Still miss Sky Lab, always will. Things change, at least most of the changes at Kings Island have been for the better.

THAT'S IT!!! THANK YOU!!! I will always miss that ride. We could spend half a day jumping back and forth between that and The Racer...

I know it wasn't Flight Commander, which like you said was down farther. Although I remember liking that ride and I can't find a picture of it anywhere. I wish I could remember the name of the ride, yes, it was right next to The Racer. The one at Great America is called the Orbit. Kings Island's was (of course) bigger, faster and better. I loved it because it went upside down but it was mild enough to bring pretty little kids on. You didn't have to hold onto anything and the breeze felt great.

The old-fashioned flat round ride in Coney Mall that went upside down, the name completely escapes me......? I also loved the boats that went through the trees, and my kids liked the giant slides.

What a great discussion! Especially agree with the "smiles on faces" comments! Being a theme park/roller coaster nut all my life, I was pretty limited here in Chicago. Six Flags Great America sucks and always has, it's overpriced, graffitti-laden, packed with punks and the rides aren't that great. So back in the early 80's I started spreading my wings and flew to St. Louis to check out that Six Flags, and a couple other places I don't even remember. They did nothing for me. One day in '85 a co-worker gave me a Kings Island brochure, she had been in Cincinnati with her boyfriend for something and they had stopped in. So I went the next possible weekend and absolutely fell in love, and The Vortex wasn't even built yet! It was so different, so spacious, so laid-back, THE WORKERS WERE ALL POLITE, AND EVEN PLEASANT, less expensive and so much more to do, it was literally like being in another world - and THAT is what a vacation is supposed to be. Since then I have visited at least once a year, through the years I have brought several different boyfriends, my first husband, my current husband, several friends, and now two kids of my own; it doesn't matter who you bring, everybody ends up happy. Now that my daughters are big enough to get on everything (I spent several years reluctantly stuck mainly in Hanna-Barbera Land) we spend at least two weeks and two weekends and come back for Fear Fest. There is nowhere else I can take my daughters and feel so free and so safe. I have never had an unpleasant experience of any kind at Kings Island. We love all the rides (although The Beast alone was what hooked me in the first place and will always be the best!), the food is great, and yes we even watch the shows sometimes. We love it so much we were crazy enough to make the trek in two days to take part in the Tomb Raider video shoot in November. It's that kind of thing, you are treated like an actual person and not just a wallet. NEVER got that feeling from Six Flags - and they don't have a water park either. Just my two cents!

I will miss "the Centurion" tremendously. PT was one of those rides that was SO lame you had to LOVE it. I remember the Smurf ride and thought PT was an improvement. You're right, the little kids didn't appreciate it....however I put mine on as soon as they were big enough to ride and PT had become, as someone stated, tradition!