Kings Island's History Is Relived in "Riding History to the Limits"!

[BoddaH1994]

Nearly a year in the making, "Riding History to the Limits," the brainchild project of CET Cincinnati's Nate Byrum is finally available for you to enjoy! Explore the history of Kings Island with facts, footage and photos that have rarely been seen by the public in this 90 minute feature length documentary!

Synopsis:

As early as 1964, the design and concept of a groundbreaking amusement park was growing in the mind of an ambitious young man by the name of Gary Wachs. Until this time modern amusement parks were leaving roller coasters and other thrill rides out of their parks. Gary Wachs knew that bringing back the thrill to amusement parks was a path that would be as profitable as it was popular in the future of entertainment. After a five year struggle, Gary finally got to see his dream materialize and eventually opened to the public in 1972, Kings Island.

In this program, we sit down with Gary to learn first hand how Kings Island went from a glimmer in Gary’s eye, to the multi-million dollar park it is today. We will tell you how Gary brought back the rollercoaster to parks in the United States, and how Disney played a roll in the birth of this park. Kings Island has set a precedent in the American amusement park industry and has given millions of park goer’s memories that will last a lifetime.

This program combines old film footage, photographs taken by Rick Norton and other patrons of the park, and new footage.

Interviews include: Gary Wachs, Dennis Speigel, Charles Meechem, Jack Rouse, Don Helbig, Carmen Electra, Walter and Nancy Duff, Barry Williams, and Michael Lookingland. Hosted by Nate Byrum

Click Here to See CET's "Riding History to the Limits!"

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[CrashOverRided]

yay watching now

[cedarAfairs]

Yay! Christmas did come early! Thanks Santa!

[Hoeter]

There's a lot of interesting information in this documentary. Definitely a treat and was fun to watch!

Thanks to all who were involved in making this documentary possible!

[Thrill_Biscuit]

I find myself almost crying during the Hanna Barbera piece. I miss that ride!

This is a great documentary! Thanks x 50000000!

[CrashOverRided]

I agree there are aot of things I miss and these video sure brought back memories.

[Avatar]

This documentary is exceptionally produced and is a treasure to every Kings Island fan enthusiasts out there. I want a copy of this documentary for myself.

I think KICentral should consider having all new members watch this documentary before they can post their first post.

Being a Kings Island enthusiast myself since 1972 I an overwhelmed with this treasure chest full of new unknown facts to me regarding my home park. Riding History to the Limits is a must view for every Kings Island fan and theme park history buff.

[greendragon991976]

I am thrilled that all of you are finding the documentary entertaining. I want to thank all of you for your support. CET is now raising an eyebrow to the fact that there is programming that can be done that the public is very interested in. No matter who owns it, Kings Island will always have a special place in our hearts.

Sincerly,

Nate Byrum

WCET-TV Cincinnati

[Tomkatt7]

Wow!

Should be mandatory viewing for all members of KIC!!!!!

So much history, so many questions answered about the inspiration behind the different areas and rides.

A few things were "skipped" over, but overall, I'd say it was a great movie.

[CrashOverRided]

i found this on youtube.. this one is called "fun in the making."

[greendragon991976]

i found this on youtube.. this one is called "fun in the making."

"Fun in the making" was a film reel Dennis Speigel had found in the attic of his office when I started doing the documentary. I had it transferred to beta and mini dv as well as DVD for International Theme Park services and it is on their website as well. Thank God we found it before it got lost forever. Dennis gave CET permission to use this footage in the documentary. It was produced by the Gunselmans who were well known film guys in Cincinnati. The Gunselmans also shot the introduction to WKRP in Cincinnati.

[CrashOverRided]

i found this on youtube.. this one is called "fun in the making."

"Fun in the making" was a film reel Dennis Speigel had found in the attic of his office when I started doing the documentary. I had it transferred to beta and mini dv as well as DVD for International Theme Park services and it is on their website as well. Thank God we found it before it got lost forever. Dennis gave CET permission to use this footage in the documentary. It was produced by the Gunselmans who were well known film guys in Cincinnati. The Gunselmans also shot the introduction to WKRP in Cincinnati.

AWSOME find

[greendragon991976]

i found this on youtube.. this one is called "fun in the making."

"Fun in the making" was a film reel Dennis Speigel had found in the attic of his office when I started doing the documentary. I had it transferred to beta and mini dv as well as DVD for International Theme Park services and it is on their website as well. Thank God we found it before it got lost forever. Dennis gave CET permission to use this footage in the documentary. It was produced by the Gunselmans who were well known film guys in Cincinnati. The Gunselmans also shot the introduction to WKRP in Cincinnati.

I about crapped my pants when Dennis called me with the find.LOL

AWSOME find

[Coney Islander]

This is great! Too bad I have so much homework, and was only allowed to watch some of it.

Must... Watch... More...

[greendragon991976]

CET would like your stories of Kings Island! At the bottom of the page http://www.cetconnect.org/KingsIsland/ please tell us your KI story in our comments box. Thank You for your support!

Nate Byrum

WCET-TV Cincinnati

[Guest rcfreak339]

Why don't any of those links work?

[jacobliford]

Why don't any of those links work?

I don't know i'm having the same problem.

[Beast79]

I know that alot of you have already heard my story but this was my comment on CET's website!

Wow just wow for someone who has spent all my life at Kings Island it was nice to finally see how it all came about! I can say that I'm a second generation Kings Island enthusiast since I was born in May of 1979 my Father waited two months until my mother was able to ride The Beast. My earliest memories of Kings Island as a very young child was Hanna Barbara land and how every spring my dad would measure my brother and me in hopes to have grown enough to ride the bigger rides. Of course the more I grew the more I could ride then when I turned ten my dad brought me on The Beast, he was so excited to share the thrills that The Beast gave out and of course I was a little nervous. As I was stepping into the car my foot got stuck between the car and the riding platform, my dad not wanting to hold up the line pulled my foot from my shoe then pulled my shoe from The Beast’s grip and sat on it, so here I am the first time riding The Beast with only one shoe just loving it. Kings Island is in my blood, we would always get season passes for Christmas and spend are whole spring and summers there.

Loving Kings Island so much I have always had a desire to work there, in the spring of 1997 I started working in Rides and my first ride crew was Viking Fury / Skylab, once Skylab went down for technical issues I kind of wondered around operating just about every ride at Kings Island then on July 4th I joined Flight of Fear’s crew and worked there until the end of the 1998 season. Beginning of the 99 season I worked Face/Off which is now Invertego then transferred to Xtreme Skyflyer since they need extra Site Controllers. Beginning of the 2000 season Face/off and Xtreme Skyflyer became one ride crew, then towards the end of the 2001 season I became supervisor for Face/Off and Xtreme Skyflyer and also recruited for Kings Island that fall.

Then September 11 happened and I joined the Air force, April of 2002 I was discharged for medical reasons and got hired back at Kings Island working with Mech 2 ride maintenance, since I started late during the 2002 season I got to work through the winter being a weld helper by helping with winter maintenance on Eiffel Tower, Vortex and Flight of Fear and even some construction for Delirium. I worked seasonal ride maintenance for two seasons I did maintenance and daily inspections for Drop Tower, Congo Falls, Xtreme Skyflyer, Zephyr, Carousel, Fx Theater, Log flume, White Water Canyon and the kiddy helicopter track ride in Nick Universe also in 2003 I met my wife on Water Water Canyon she was a ride operator and me working maintenance we started dating in May of 2003.

Spring of 2006 I got my chance to work at Kings Island once again by helping with the installation of Nickelodeon Universe, I was on the Nick Go round with my two daughters when I saw two plain clothed men taking measurements around the ride while the ride was being loaded. After riding I stopped by the guys writing down their measurements and ask them what they wore doing, they informed me that they wore weeks behind on the completion of the whole Nick project. Being out of work at the time I suggested I could help since I have experience in the park so a few days later Creative Environs hired me to help with the install. We spend nearly 6 weeks working 15 hour days sometimes more to catch up and finally finished the install. I then spent 2 years working as the Water Park Facility Manager at Great Wolf Lodge. I would do anything to work at Kings Island once again and I will jump at the first opportunity I get to get my hands dirty once again in that park that I love so much!

Thank you so much for making this awesome documentary

Gary Bryant or on KICentral as Beast79

[greendragon991976]

I'm sorry if the links are having problems. You can go to cetconnect.org and look in the history and science catagory it will be posted there.

[whatever]

Winterfest clip from movie

Winterfest in its prime...

[jandyb79]

Is this going to be available for purchase? I thought I read that is was going to be available some time today. Am I missing the link somewhere?

[greendragon991976]

KI Documentary help? CET is trying to gauge the response of this documentary so if you liked or disliked the doc. please leave a comment on the bottom of the CET webpage. The Riding History to the Limits video page with all 9 video sections there is a comment catagory at the bottom. This also helps determines if we can have copys made! Thanks for your support.

Nate Byrum

[greendragon991976]

The way Public Television works is by your support. When PBS says "supported by viewers like you" we count on you to let your public television know that you like this type of programming.

[The Interpreter]

And if you really like it, please consider giving a generous donation to your public broadcasting station...in this case, to WCET....

[greendragon991976]

Did anyone notice what was being autographed by the Brady's during Nate's interview with them?

[greendragon991976]

To answer a question. The background behind Gary Wachs during the interview is a concept painting that was supplied by International Theme Park Services. However, Since Gary was sitting on the left side of the screen I had to flip the image so that the tower was on the right. So the original image is reversed from what we see in the documentary.

[markr]

Just finished watching and am getting kind of teary eyed thinking about my dear father whom I lost 2 1/2 years ago. We had such fun together in those early years at KI.

[iChase]

I know that alot of you have already heard my story but this was my comment on CET's website!

Wow just wow for someone who has spent all my life at Kings Island it was nice to finally see how it all came about! I can say that I'm a second generation Kings Island enthusiast since I was born in May of 1979 my Father waited two months until my mother was able to ride The Beast. My earliest memories of Kings Island as a very young child was Hanna Barbara land and how every spring my dad would measure my brother and me in hopes to have grown enough to ride the bigger rides. Of course the more I grew the more I could ride then when I turned ten my dad brought me on The Beast, he was so excited to share the thrills that The Beast gave out and of course I was a little nervous. As I was stepping into the car my foot got stuck between the car and the riding platform, my dad not wanting to hold up the line pulled my foot from my shoe then pulled my shoe from The Beast’s grip and sat on it, so here I am the first time riding The Beast with only one shoe just loving it. Kings Island is in my blood, we would always get season passes for Christmas and spend are whole spring and summers there.

Loving Kings Island so much I have always had a desire to work there, in the spring of 1997 I started working in Rides and my first ride crew was Viking Fury / Skylab, once Skylab went down for technical issues I kind of wondered around operating just about every ride at Kings Island then on July 4th I joined Flight of Fear’s crew and worked there until the end of the 1998 season. Beginning of the 99 season I worked Face/Off which is now Invertego then transferred to Xtreme Skyflyer since they need extra Site Controllers. Beginning of the 2000 season Face/off and Xtreme Skyflyer became one ride crew, then towards the end of the 2001 season I became supervisor for Face/Off and Xtreme Skyflyer and also recruited for Kings Island that fall.

Then September 11 happened and I joined the Air force, April of 2002 I was discharged for medical reasons and got hired back at Kings Island working with Mech 2 ride maintenance, since I started late during the 2002 season I got to work through the winter being a weld helper by helping with winter maintenance on Eiffel Tower, Vortex and Flight of Fear and even some construction for Delirium. I worked seasonal ride maintenance for two seasons I did maintenance and daily inspections for Drop Tower, Congo Falls, Xtreme Skyflyer, Zephyr, Carousel, Fx Theater, Log flume, White Water Canyon and the kiddy helicopter track ride in Nick Universe also in 2003 I met my wife on Water Water Canyon she was a ride operator and me working maintenance we started dating in May of 2003.

Spring of 2006 I got my chance to work at Kings Island once again by helping with the installation of Nickelodeon Universe, I was on the Nick Go round with my two daughters when I saw two plain clothed men taking measurements around the ride while the ride was being loaded. After riding I stopped by the guys writing down their measurements and ask them what they wore doing, they informed me that they wore weeks behind on the completion of the whole Nick project. Being out of work at the time I suggested I could help since I have experience in the park so a few days later Creative Environs hired me to help with the install. We spend nearly 6 weeks working 15 hour days sometimes more to catch up and finally finished the install. I then spent 2 years working as the Water Park Facility Manager at Great Wolf Lodge. I would do anything to work at Kings Island once again and I will jump at the first opportunity I get to get my hands dirty once again in that park that I love so much!

Thank you so much for making this awesome documentary

Gary Bryant or on KICentral as Beast79

WOW! Fascinating post. It's really exciting to me when someone gets to work where they love and I can tell that you sir, love Kings Island. I truly wish I could have been in your shoes. I'm amazed at the ambition and courage you showed coming up to those two guys and offering your help. I had to be a good feeling when you got that call/letter giving you the chance to help them. That, to me, would mean the world.

[Diamondback FOF]

I truly wish I could have been in your shoes.

Don't you mean shoe?

Wow. Great story Gary (Beast79)! You are so lucky to have been able to work at Kings Island like you have.

markr, I am so sorry to hear that.

[Beast79]

hahaha yeah I can say my first visit to ki I didn't even get to set foot since I was only two months old and riding The Beast the first time with only one shoe twenty years ago! I do have pictures that my dad took back in 79 but I can't find any of me I remember seeing a picture somewhere with my aunt holding me standing at the log flume exit!