KIghostguy

Thanks, but I'm not talking about the deck. I'm talking about the actual bridge that spanned from the main pathway across the pond to the Bier Garten. It was in place from 198?-199?

Yup, that's the bridge. Do you know when this photo was taken?

Hi folks! This is something that I've been wondering about for a while. If you look back through old photos of Kings Island, you'll notice a bridge that spans across the pond in Oktoberfest. This bridge isn't in any photos of the pond in the 1970's. It also isn't on my 1983 souvenir map, which otherwise has all the paths and bridges on it. The earliest photo I've seen that the bridge is in is dated 1987. I used to think it was removed because of the Black Sunday incidents. (Timothy Binning and William Haithcoat fell into the pond from the bridge.) But it looks like just the bottom of it is in this 1992 video at 3:58-4:00: I think it's also in the 20th Anniversary Special as well, but right now I'm way too lazy to look back through the whole thing. The earliest photo I've seen without the bridge is from 1998. Does anybody know when the bridge was added, when it was removed, and why it was removed?

It was a boat ride in the same building that Boo Blasters is now. It showed the Smurfs celebrating the seasons. It opened in 1984 and closed after the 1991 season.

The Cincinnati Post says that Xtreme Skyflyer (then called Drop Zone) opened either May 31 or June 1, 1995.

I was there a month or so ago and can confirm it's still there.

1. Riding Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle for the first time. I first started going to Kings Island when I was obsessed with Scooby Doo, so it was my favorite ride. (I rode Fairly Odd Parents the same day and cried--I didn't go on roller coasters until three or four years after that!) I actually cried when the newspaper ran the announcement that they were replacing it and even wrote a letter to Kings Island management about it! 2. It will forever be The Beast. 3. Hmm...that's a tough one! Probably either Coney Mall or Rivertown. 4. Phantom Theater. 5. Mystic Timbers!! I have been hoping for a new wooden coaster for a while, so I was extremely excited when they first announced it. I can't wait for Preview Night--hopefully the crowd for Mystic Timbers will be somewhat less than regular Opening Day crowds.

The Phantom Theater photos are great (as are all the others)! Thanks for taking the time to post them!

This.

Bumping this thread a little bit... Do you have a link to that Columbus Dispatch article? I ask because I just stumbled upon this article (http://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/05/14/A-high-school-senior-was-decapitated-in-moving-elevator/9788421732800/), from United Press International, that states John was decapitated. From The Bryan Times article you linked (https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19630510&id=eZJPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mVEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4078,4112870&hl=en): "Authorities said he died instantly, suffering a skull fracture and several broken bones." It doesn't specify that was the cause of death though, although it'd be odd to specify those injuries and not the decapitation. I have two articles from the Columbus Dispatch, one from the Columbus Citizen-Journal, and four from the Cincinnati Enquirer, all of which say that he had suffered skull fractures and broken bones and died from the fall. I unfortunately don't have the link for the Dispatch and Citizen-Journal as I had those personally e-mailed to me from the Columbus Public Library. The Cincinnati Enquirer articles, however, can easily be found on newspapers.com .

I never rode it. I moved in 2007, and in those remaining two years I was too short to ride. My dad did ride it and said he loved it. He always tells me that he wishes that KI still had it, but he agrees that Banshee is a worthy replacement.

I love BLSC, so I don't know what I would want replacing it if in the future it's torn down.

I don't think we "need" one. For some reason, it would just feel strange to me to have a coaster taller than Diamondback at the park.

So many times that I lost count! I think I was around the 15-20 area.

This has probably been one of the worst years for the amusement park industry. First the employee killed at Disneyland Paris, then the boy killed by the gator at Walt Disney World, then the girls that (non-fatally) fell out of the Ferris Wheel at the carnival in Tennessee (?), then the boy killed on Verruckt, and now this. My deepest sympathies, prayers, etc. go out to the families of the victims. This is absolutely heartbreaking and I can't imagine what their families are going through. As for what rcwizard13 said, there was a fatality in 1999 at Six Flags Over Texas on Roarin' Rapids (very similar to this ride) when a raft flipped over. Apparently a pipe snagged the raft and it began to fill with water until it flipped over right in front of all the people waiting in line for the ride. So yes, there has been a very significant accident on this ride type in the past.

Most definitely a return of Phantom Theater, maybe with some new effects added. The park has kinda-sorta been bringing back defunct things (The Bat, the vine tunnel, the Flying Eagles, and now Winterfest) and I hope the next one in line is Phantom Theater. One thing I would NOT like to see a Triotech ride! If Phantom Theater is brought back, I hope it's without video screens.

I was at the park yesterday. Here's what I noticed. Flight of Fear was really good in terms of theming. Music was loud and clear, I could hear the audio for the TV's very clearly, and of course, the lights were synced. In the area right before you enter the tunnel that leads to the hanger, the audio of the commander giving orders was playing. It's the first time I've heard it. I don't know if this goes under theming or just general aesthetics, but the little fountain in the Oktoberfest pond is going again. It hasn't been on all year. It's moved though, now it's almost underneath Viking Fury instead of being close to Slingshot/the Bier Garten. I was very disappointed to see that the fog coming from the Banshee sign was turned off.

Are any props out this year? I was at the park for a little over 2 hours yesterday and didn't see anything. But then again, maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough!

The animatronics for Frozen Ever After are really the only good things about it IMO. Practically non-existent story (other than "you're just going to see Elsa") and I've always been a bigger fan of original stories and rides over ones based on movies. The Haunted Mansion has original characters that are still popular even after 47 years. How many more years is Frozen going to be popular? That being said, when I go to WDW again I would probably ride Frozen Ever After, just to check out the animatronics.

The Haunted Mansion would like to argue with that.

Disney has torn down the neon "Hollywood Tower Hotel" sign in front of the building.

Why is it closing? It's definitely one of my favorite parts of COSI.

Or when the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean aren't mentioned at all.

Nor can I take voters who like the Phoenix more than the Twister.To each their own, I guess.

A few weeks ago I saw him. The number then was 14,000, if I'm remembering correctly.