Old Kings Island Newspaper Articles

[KIfan73]

If you're really into Kings Island history, you need to check out Google's archived newspaper articles.

Here's a link to Kings Island articles since the park opened:

http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=kin...-8&oe=UTF-8

Many require money/subscriptions to read, but there's several you can read in their entirety, just like you're reading an old newspaper.

[TOPGUN1993]

The lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer are more than just the days of hot dogs and pretzels and beer. They also are the days of "coaster boasting."

And as the Memorial Day weekend opens the windows to summer, Ohio's two largest amusement parks are filling the atmosphere with blasts of hot promotional air on behalf of their newest roller coasters. The winds are warmest over Lake Erie, where Cedar Point has uncovered its "Mean Streak," which it touts as the world's tallest and fastest wooden coaster. Built at a cost of $7.5 million and countless Southern yellow pines, Mean Streak hits speeds of 65 mph and looms 160 feet above Sandusky Bay.

Or, as the Cedar Point literature puts it, "It's more than a mile of mayhem and intense speed that'll challenge even the most daring thrill-seekers."

Comparatively down-to-earth are Kings Island's adjectives for its new "Adventure Express," which cost no more than $4 million, goes no faster than 35 mph and stands no higher than 63 feet. Still, in the words of its promotional prose, it is filled with "runaway excitement" and "surprise encounters" contained in "750 feet of adventure."

While some amusement park officials are reluctant to concede that roller-coaster building, and boasting, is a competitive activity, the scream machines clearly are seen as a major lure for the more than 3 million customers expected to visit each of the Ohio parks this year.

"Obviously, the parks want to advertise something," observes Meg Keehan, editor of RollerCoaster! magazine. "They want to advertise the biggest, the baddest, the woodiest, the whatever-est."

For Cedar Point, the advertising also includes the "mostest." The 121-year-old park has unveiled four coasters in the last five years and bills itself as "America's RollerCoast," on the basis of its world-record 10 roller coasters.

Among them is the 205-foot, 72 mph steel Magnum XL-200, which it advertises as the tallest and fastest coaster of any kind.

But, while the 3-year-old Magnum still holds the Guinness Book of Records speed mark, it soon will be replaced by the newly opened Steel Phantom at Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pa., which has an unofficial clocking of 81 mph.

Cedar Point's building frenzy illustrates the height and speed of the roller coaster escalation.

In the hearts of roller coaster fans, however, speed and height do not necessarily make right. In a poll of readers last summer by Inside Track, an international newsletter for amusement park and roller coaster enthusiasts, Kings Island's Beast was a roll-away winner for the third consecutive year. Magnum finished fourth.

Even though roller coaster purists tend to favor the more traditional wood rides over high-tech steel, early reviews from the 4,000-member American Coaster Enthusiasts for Cedar Point's woodie Mean Streak are not nearly as hot as the advertising adjectives.

"We've heard from a few members of our club and, unfortunately, they have not been impressed," Keehan reports. "Sometimes the biggest isn't always the best."

A sampling of riders earlier this week was equally lukewarm for Mean Streak, which, despite its statistics, is little more than a no-frills Beast. The 2:20-minute ride starts with an anticipation-building climb, followed by a 155-foot drop. After that, however, it's nothing but undistinguished hills and stretches of rough road. As one graffiti-wit inscribed on a wooden support not yet aged and darkened by the elements, "Standing in line is the best part of this ride."

"It wasn't worth the wait," declared 35-year-old John Van Holstyn, who drove from his home in Midland, Mich., and stood in line an hour to test the ride. "I like the Magnum better."

"I wouldn't stand in line another hour to ride again," agreed 26-year-old Lindey Norcross of Sarnia, Ontario. "Magnum definitely is better."

If there is more shill than thrill from the Mean Streak, Kings Island's Adventure Express appears to have had better luck living up to its more modest hype.

"I loved it. I thought it was great," enthused 14-year-old Sarah Forsythe of Edgewood, Ky.

GLANCE BOX: RAN ON PAGE 4A 05/25/91

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'Coasting hints for thrill-seekers

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If you're looking for roller coaster thrills, this may be the best weekend of the summer to get in line. "The park will be fairly crowded, but it won't be like an August weekend," predicts Kings Island spokesman Steve Edwards. "Holiday weekends are really a good time to come, because they're not as crowded as average summer weekends." "May and June are slower than July and August," agrees Cedar Point spokeswoman Janice Lifke. "Our peak season is July and August, because that's when the kids are out of school."

Kings Island, off Interstate 71 near Kings Mills, will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. this weekend. General admission is $21.95. Children ages 3-6 and senior citizens 60 and older pay $10.95.

Cedar Point, at Sandusky, is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. General admission (ages 4-59, 48 inches and taller) is $21.95. Juniors (age 4 and older, under 48 inches tall) pay $11.95. Seniors (60 and older) pay $12.75.

AMERICANA Amusement Park in Middletown opens at 10 a.m. - with rides starting at 11 - and closes at 9 p.m. Tickets for adults are $12.95. Children 3-6 and seniors, 60 and older, pay $6.95.

Copyright, 1991, Cox Ohio Publishing. All rights reserved.

http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archiv...&p_docnum=1

[Ashers]

What a great find!!

Love that article you posted,TopGun. They even knew back then that Mean Streak was going to suck That is funny to read that because my brother and I were talking about MS when we were at CP saying "oh,well back when it first opened people probably loved it....". Apparently not.

Thanks for sharing that with us,KIFan!

~Ash

[KIfan73]

1975: Knievel Set to Jump at KI

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bRwLA...dq=kings+island

1977 Time Magazine article about coasters. Mentions The Racer and Screamin' Demon

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/...45764-1,00.html

[kjkjkj]

LOL I guess MeanStreak was horrible from the start! It's a shame that that space had to be used for such a junky ride! I hope it gets torn down soon!

[Jasper]

There is onyl one thing good about Mean Streak. That is the sheer beauty of the coaster itself and the structure.

[The Interpreter]

Raging Wolf Bobs at Geauga Lake was a gorgeous ride, too.

And that's all I will say about that....