TombraiderTy

A few months ago I was actually trying to figure out when it was added... it appears to have been installed mid-1975. 1975, from KICentral/Reggie Zippo (notice it missing at bottom right): August 27, 1975, from an eBay auction (it's present on the right): I was talking with another KICentral user about it back in June and he speculated that it may have been a Farrell Coffey addition. Coffey created a lot of fiberglass figures and props around the park in the mid- to late-1970s, and this stein looks right up his alley.

A week ago Cincinnati's Coney Island held a memorabilia sale and sold off a lot of the former amusement park's old pictures, artwork, ride vehicles, signage, etc. There wasn't too much posted about the sale ahead of time, but I recognized an old Kings Island map in one of the pictures shared on their Facebook about a week before the sale. After a little consideration, I booked a flight up to Cincinnati for a long weekend to visit family and hopefully score that map. And after an early Saturday morning (and a lot of stressing about getting to the sale early enough and finding the map before someone else got to it), I found myself the new owner of this cool vintage piece. It's a little faded and worn, but it's also nearly five decades old. I believe that it would've been displayed in the preview center for Kings Island at the old park (hence why it was being sold at the Coney Island memorabilia sale and didn't end up at the new park). The map was created by Ron Riegler, who would later serve as the chief art director for Kings Productions. It was one of several park maps created ahead of the new park's opening to show future visitors what Kings Island would look like. Whereas other maps had a lot of differences compared to what was ultimately built, this one seems to have been one of the final iterations and matches up with the as-built Kings Island really well. There's a few minor discrepancies between the artwork and what was actually built... I assume some were just artistic liberties, whereas others may have been actual adjustments. I think one of the most fun parts of Kings Island history is sharing it with others, so I took some pictures of the map's details to share here... with a sprinkling of commentary (especially with regards to what was painted and what was actually built). Description of the five themed areas and Ron's signature... note number five is the "Happy Kingdom of Hanna-Barbera", whereas the real section was known as the Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera. It also refers to the "Happy Kingdom Ride", which I assume would ultimately become Enchanted Voyage. The entrance plaza is one of the biggest changes between concept art and real life. The tram circle in the drawing is skewed to the side, whereas the real life variation was directly in front of the park entrance. There was also a line of flags here that I don't believe ever existed in real life, plus the International Restaurant appears to be included (in reality it didn't open until 1973). The concept of International Street here appears very similar to what was built, pardon a few small things. There is a floral clock and date in front of the tower, whereas the real life floral clock was behind it to the right (before being relocated to directly behind the tower in 1977) and the floral date wasn't added until 1973 to the left. Note that there's also flags on top of the carousel, which I don't believe were ever a thing. Oktoberfest and Coney Island. I'm not sure what's depicted between Sky Ride and Rotor (bottom left of the "2"), but I don't believe anything was ever built there. The Racer station and lift hill also show some flags that were never a real thing. Top of the map, with Racer, the antique car rides, and Rivertown. I think that Rivertown ended up being the most accurate to what was actually built. I can't pinpoint any changes. The railroad and picnic grove. It looks like a series of teepees at the railroad's turn-around... there were teepees in the real ride, but I think that specific location was home to the Fort McHale show scene. And finally, the Happy Kingdom of Hanna-Barbera... pretty close to the as-built, sans the big canvas tent structure over the center and the huge compass atop Enchanted Voyage's building (though the real one wasn't added till mid-1972). The map is a cool piece and I'm sure it made a lot of Coney Island visitors excited for the new park opening in 1972. It's cool to compare it to what was built, and I'm excited to (hopefully soon) get it hung up to properly display. If anyone has any additional comments on the history of the map or its contents (or if you think I erred anything), please feel free to share!

I think you may be confused - here's an autumn 1972 photo from eBay user momthrewitaway that shows the four car trains. Something interesting I only recently learned though is that the ride appears to have opened for the 1973 season with still only four cars per a train... the fifth wasn't added until later that year. Here's a 1973 photo from eBay user rl67s, whereas most 1973 photos show 5 cars:

Technically FearFest and not Halloween Haunt, but I always liked the coloring of this old photo from when they still had the hearses out in front of the fountains. And so much fog!

Thank you for sharing! That's some fantastic footage of Enchanted Voyage, Cuddle Up, the Sky Ride, and more... especially Enchanted Voyage. Footage from that ride is usually really dark, but it's pretty bright and clear here. I also don't think I've ever seen video specifically of Kings Island's Rotor, so that's cool. Big thanks to your uncle too - I'm sure bringing a big, bulky video camera to an amusement park was a hassle, but I'm always grateful for those who did and have shared their footage decades later. For what it's worth, most of the video appears to be opening year (1972), but there's some 1973 mixed in with it. Specifically the first few minutes where you can see International Restaurant in the background, and also around the 9:00 mark when there's footage of Flying Dutchman. Both attractions opened the park's second year.

Thank you for sharing this! Museum of Horrors has always been a Kings Island mystery for me so it's great to hear information from someone involved in the project. If you're open to answering a few additional questions, I'd love to hear more about the attraction. -Were the characters and props still turned on and part of the attraction, or were most turned off / covered in scrim and the actors were the focus? -Outside the actors, were there many props/scenes added to the ride? -How was guest reception to the attraction? I'm curious if it only lasted one season because of the amount of work involved (including closing the ride to daytime guests), poor guest reception, or maybe some combination of the two and other factors. -Regarding Torture Tower on Eiffel Tower, I'd also love to learn more about that attraction... operationally it sounds like a challenge. Did you send up a group, have them navigate the attraction, and then take them back down in the same elevator? Or was the attraction long enough you could simultaneously drop one group off and pick up the next? Also did the maze really take advantage of being on the Eiffel Tower? In my opinion it seems like a bit of a gimmick that wouldn't pay off, but I never got the chance to try it myself.

I don't remember if I ever had an account and posted on Carowinds Connection, but it's sad to see an amusement park fansite close... I know the Kings Island ones were instrumental in helping me make some of my closest friends, and I imagine Carowinds Connection served the same purpose for many who call(ed) Carowinds their home park. It's also unfortunate how much history will be lost when the forums go offline - even if sites like archive.org save some of it, it'll now be far less accessible and easy to find.

I don't question that that was the reason given by someone involved with the changes, but if their goal was to make the opening higher then it doesn't seem like they succeeded

Maybe that's the official reason cited somewhere or by someone, but I have hesitations on believing that. You can see that the opening under The Racer remained unchanged before/after conversion (match-up the structure between photos to see it's at the same height). The fact that the conversion wasn't in a single off-season, but spanned between two, is also interesting. (Photo one source, photo two from Google Maps)

After some further sleuthing, it looks like Nagashima Spa Land added one, called Sky Trainer, in 1990. I cannot find any information on its closure, but it sounds like it was for sure gone by 2007 (though I'd assume it was removed in the late 1990s when most of them were). Here's an old commercial of the ride: I edited my previous post to include this one in the list. Edit - After some further sleuthing, it looks like the ride was removed for the addition of the park's Giant Frisbee in 2004 (https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ナガシマスパーランド#かつて存在したアトラクション)

I've always been interested in the Intamin Flight Trainers and have compiled a list of all of them. As far as I know, there are no remaining Flight Trainers anywhere in the world. Kings Dominion (1989 to 1998) - Removed California's Great America (1989 to 1999) - Removed Knott's Berry Farm (1990 to 1997) - Relocated to Seibuen Yuenchi in Japan Kings Island (1990 to 1995) - Relocated to Flamingoland Rye Playland (1991 to 1991) - Removed Flamingo Land (1996 to 2004) - Relocated from Kings Island. Removed. Seibuen Yuenchi (>=1997 to Unknown) - Relocated from Knott's Berry Farm. Removed. Nagashima Spa Land (1990 to <=2003) - Removed I haven't personally seen anything regarding one at Nagashima Spa Land, but it's always hard to find older information on international parks and I wouldn't be surprised if they had one (though they don't appear to anymore). I'd love to learn more if anyone knows anything about that one. Edit - Corrected claim that the one from Seibuen Yuenchi came from Knott's Berry Farm. For a thorough list of the rides, locations, and dates, check out - https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Flight_Trainer_(product)

No it does not. The former Vortex Photo booth is gone. @PKIDelirium is correct that the shelter-like structure that remains only looked like the photo booth, and was actually a different structure. You can see it behind the photo booth (and with a different roof) in this photo.

Cincinnati's Coney Island had a version of this known as Twister. It opened in 1926 but parts of the ride were already un-enclosed by 1929. It opened the same year as Wildcat but was never as popular and was ultimately scrapped after the 1936 season. Regarding the original question, I think tunnels practically make any coaster better. I think underground ones are especially fun (especially that sudden drop in temperature as you dive into one). I wish more coasters were designed and built to incorporate them.

Well I was primarily talking about how I've always thought the demand was there, including for the past 15 years that the campground has been gone. Likewise, I'm surprised it took 15 years for someone else to decide to invest in a new campground. And I don't think it'd be pointless - Kings Island's own campground would be closer than the aforementioned one, plus it could offer visitors exclusive perks like a tram service to the entrance, discounted admission, early ride time, etc. I don't personally think it'll happen, but I don't think the idea should be dismissed because another campground is being built nearby.

That's really interesting... I wonder if the park just planned on using the small annex of the old campground that wasn't removed for Great Wolf Lodge (center of this photo), or if there were plans to clear some of the old safari land and build a new campground out there. I've always thought the demand for a campground was there, and it seems like that land would be ideal to build one on.

Knoebels is introducing a drive-through Christmas light display, "Joy Through the Grove":

The park could have easily auctioned off or sold tiny pieces of the ride and donated the proceeds to a charity they've worked with in the past, like Give Kids the World or A Kid Again. It would've been for a great cause, would've been great publicity for the park, and would've satisfied all the enthusiasts who would've loved to own a piece of history. Could've been a win-win-win. I'm amazed that the park (at least as of yet) hasn't done anything with the ride's remnants.

I don't believe that the ACE Landmark status works that way... perhaps you're thinking of the ACE Coaster Classic, which can be rescinded (as happened to Kings Island's own Woodstock Express)?

There is very little information on any of Bruce Bushman's concept art, but every news story or blog post I can find suggest it was for a never-built Hanna-Barbera park... not for Kings Island. I'd imagine that some of the ideas dreamed-up for this Hanna-Barbera Land made their way into Kings Island several years later, but (based off everything I can find and that I've read) it was not made for Kings Island. And, again, saying that the Moby Dick ride was "proposed for Kings Island" or that the concept art was for "a boat attraction in the spot of land that eventually became the site of Enchanted Voyage" - unless you have additional information you're not sharing - is misleading at best. For what it's worth, the first instance of the concept art I can find online was an April 2007 blog post. There isn't much information attached to the images there, but it notes that they were recently auctioned on eBay by Howard Lowery Gallery. And for posterity's sake (and because the page with the images linked earlier has a habit of publishing misleading articles, not to mention Facebook itself compresses the images), here are all of Bruce Bushman's Hanna-Barbera Land concepts:

So... you’re saying I’m right and the Bushman concept art was not for Kings Island, and it’s therefore misleading to say it was and that the Moby Dick ride was intended for Enchanted Voyage’s space?

Bouncing off this, I’ve always been under the impression that the Bushman concept art was not necessarily for Kings Island, but for a Hanna-Barbera park... Taft saw the success that Disney had with injecting its characters into a theme park and wanted to do the same with the newly-acquired Hanna-Barbera characters. It just worked out that Coney Island wanted to partner with Taft and Kings Island ultimately replaced that stand alone park idea. @gforce1994 Unless you have additional information and/or photos you’re not sharing, then I think it’s misleading to say that the Moby Dick ride was planned for Kings Island, or that it was set for where Enchanted Voyage ultimately went.

If we’re sharing our original logo souvenirs, I’ve had this for a few years now. I don’t remember if it came from an antique shop or eBay though.

^Thanks for sharing! I think I own the same glass with International Street somewhere in my collection. The Coney Island brochure scan is especially interesting - the map of the park at the bottom left has some drastic differences compared to what was actually built: pond outside park entrance, Turnpike in place of Scooby-Doo, a bridge over Royal Fountain (!!!)... I wonder if there's a full sized version of that map floating around somewhere... @kimv1972 is this the map that you were asking about here?

Not to go off topic too much, but regarding the different logos... does anyone remember in 2007 when the park just removed the Paramount's part of the fountain marquee and left the bottom half in place? I'm assuming @BeeastFarmer is referring to souvenirs with a similar set-up, which I think I saw a few of last year. Regarding the tiki mugs... @TikiDan151 thanks for sharing! I don't have anything to add that others didn't already cover - that logo wasn't used on park publications 1972 onward, but it's on some early merchandise. As @standbyme put it - it was "like the park just bought an item from a wholesaler and slapped their logo on it."

I think it's the first time recently, but not the first... when the ride opened there used to be a small souvenir stand outside the exit, Adventure Supplies, with a whole collection of totally 90s souvenirs... including this gem: In 2017 there was a four-pack shotglass set with the wooden coasters - Beast, Racer, Mystic Timbers, and... Adventure Express But before that, the best I could ever find was when the ride's logo was on a shirt with all the other coasters.