That was one ride PKI should have never gotten rid of.........SkyLab many parks still have them, and they are so much fun!

That was one ride PKI should have never gotten rid of.........SkyLab many parks still have them, and they are so much fun!

Skylab was so much fun. The story behind the removal of this ride was never really clear. The ride encountered a malfunction the season before it's removal that resluted in a few injuries. No one was seriously injured, but it was enough of an "accident" for local news to run a story about it. I think some folks went to the hospital with neck/back type injuries. It ran the rest of the season, with a slight modification. The "lean" of the wheel never reached the near vertical position as it had in previous seasons. The ride was dismantled the next season and sat in the boneyard for several years until it was sold. I would assume the removal of this ride had something to do with the accident since it was barely 10 years old at the time of it's closure. Does anyone know for sure?

Skylab was taken out due to maintance(sp?) reasons. Think of the three strikes and your out rule.

I was about to say, The Beast is much older than that and managed to crash coming into the station due to rain. Doo all the rides at PKI get the tthree strikes rule, or is this rule selective?

A little off topic but I remember when I was yonger that we had just got our lap bars check and a train came up and hit us from behind. It was moving fast enough to move the train and give it a good shake. But not fast enough that anybody was hurt. Except some light whiplash. But he Beast has those big steel bumpers so not damage was occured.

Possibly the three strikes rule applies to smaller rides

The same thing happend to "Sky Lab" as happend to "Flight Commander" some one had a little too much to drink and decided that they were going to get off of the ride while it was running. In both cases people were thrown from the ride. I will never forget that! I never rode "Sky Lab" or "Flight Commander" for that reason. -adam12

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.

The flight commander incident happened on the same day as another incident. I think the park calls it Black Monday or something like that. I remember that some kid fell into one of the lakes, and something bad happened, and then two peole jump in to save him. Ironically, the kid lived, but both of his rescuers died from electrocution, in the water trying to save him.

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.

How many rides must we lose to ignorance

You all could not be more right! I agree 100%. -adam12

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.

The three strikes and your out rule is not used on any ride. I was just using that "rule" as a guideline as to why Skylab was removed. Correct me if I'm wrong but nobody fell out of Skylab.

You are correct, no one fell out of SKYLAB.

The only deaths that happend on Black Sunday were first the flight commander insident where the woman was too drunk and fell out of her restraints, and second the electricution in the pond. It was the pond by Viking Fury with the fountains, hence the reason there is no bridge across it anymore. The person fell/jumped in and somehow didn't die because he kicked the ground wire for the fountain. However the two people that went in after him didn't touch the ground wire and were electricuted.

You are correct, no one fell out of SKYLAB.

The only deaths that happend on Black Sunday were first the flight commander insident where the woman was too drunk and fell out of her restraints, and second the electricution in the pond. It was the pond by Viking Fury with the fountains, hence the reason there is no bridge across it anymore. The person fell/jumped in and somehow didn't die because he kicked the ground wire for the fountain. However the two people that went in after him didn't touch the ground wire and were electricuted.

We've had this thread already.

Anyway they have the incidents reversed. The pond accident happened before to the Flight Commander incident . Actually about an hour or two prior. When the FC incident happened, investigators first thought the woman that fell had been trying to see what was going on in the Octoberfest area and squirmed out of the restraint to see into the closed area of the park. That was later proved false.

Shaggy

Sorry, didn't know the order and that wasn't what I was trying to explain just the two things that did happen. Wrong choice of words then.

Just to think when this was newly posted Phantom Theater had recently been removed...

KCKBC was awesome. It was great having a 'big' log flume. While they were before my time, I am always intrigued by the rides that were in Octoberfest. My uncle had an old park map that I'd pore over as a kid and the ones that really stuck out were the Rotor and the Bavarian Beetle...any good pics/stories about these? I still think we need a wild mouse of some sort. 

Keelboat Canal and Phantom Theater for me. 

Flight Commander tied with Days of Thunder in the theatre

Phantom Theater, hands down.

I guess a “sort of” answer that would beat that would be the Flying Eagles when you could snap them.

Skylab and Cobra

Zodiac.    Excellent visual ride,  you could see it from international street when you enter the park.  High capacity, long ride cycle and efficient loading.    Excellent view.     It’s a shame these Ferris wheels don’t exist anymore in the slow loading ones are the only ones that are operating. 

. 

Phantom Theater 100%. If KI brings back 1 thing again now that car are back it HAS to be the Phantom! We need  to put that in Mike's ears!

I'm not a huge fan of water rides but I have fond memories as a kid marathoning KCKC.    I'd also love to have another few spins on King Cobra.

Defunct rides I never got to ride but would like to have had the opportunity include the Bavarian Beetle, Screamin Demon, Zodiac and Flight Commander.

On 8/29/2018 at 8:15 PM, Maverick44 said:

Phantom Theater 100%. If KI brings back 1 thing again now that car are back it HAS to be the Phantom! We need  to put that in Mike's ears!

I'd actually prefer something other than Phantom Theater. Same kind, but not the same thing. Something still a bit spooky, but the BooBlaster part kind of takes away from it. Make it a ride with a ton of little details just like PT but don't give me something to distract from the effort.

Technically not a ride but I miss the old Nickelodeon store on International Street it was very nostalgic and it was cool to look up and see all the various Nickelodeon shows, who else remembers this? 

Really loved the Zodiac when I was a kid, it was one of my favs for sure.  Also, Coney does not quite sound the same without the hum of Skylab.  Also really enjoyed the slide.  Not so much when it was moved to Hannah Barbera Land, I think they shortened it once it was moved over there.  When it was Red white and Blue and was located I believe where Zephyr now is.  Oh and The Elephant Fountain!  which can be seen at Jungle Jim's I know, but being from Indy I have only made it there once.