Top Gun Question

[Burgtoad67]

I am 18 years old, born in 92. I know Top Gun opened in 1993, so obviously I was only 1 and not exactly old enough to remember anything. It never dawned on me before I visited yesterday that the area below the station used to be part of the queue line. I am just curious if anyone has pictures of it then, or even maybe what it looks like under all those covers and doors now? I think that would be uber cool because ive been riding it since I was little but never have I seen what it looked like fully themed out down there.

Edit: Ok I found an old thread about the same subject, but all the links for the pictures were dead:( any help?

[TOPGUN1993]

I'll try to find more.

[screamingnight]

Why don't they guests go through there anymore?

[TylerRider]

Why don't they guests go through there anymore?

They have enough Que already for the line of ten people. JMG

[Burgtoad67]

I'll try to find more.

Did you take these? If so, when?

[Creed Bratton]

I haven't seen the lower queue ever. I've always hoped to see it one day. Thanks Paul for posting these pictures. If there are any more you can find I know I'd be happy.

Darn my parents for not taking me to the park more when I was younger!!!

[KIfan73]

Top Gun was quite the experience when it was new. I remember the ride ops in flight suits, the "windshield" of the "sub", the three dimensional jet coming off the billboard, the fog...and of course, the soundtrack.

[Guest rcfreak339]

Sometimes you can just find some of the decorations open in the Flight Deck queue...although not often.

[Jasper]

Even up in the 2000's you could still hear the soundtrack blaring out even before you got in line. Those were the days, so I can only imagine what I would have thought back when it first opened and was themed very well.

[Gordon Bombay]

You could still hear the soundtrack the last year that it was called Top Gun in 2007 when all the posters and such were still up. Its a shame how the theming of that ride really nosedived throughout the years. I remember my fist visit to the park in 1995, I was six, Top Gun had been open for two seasons. I didn't ride, but I remember standing in the exit path and seeing the fog and how cool the trains looked as they pulled into the brake line. I was obsessed with that movie as a kid and I wish I still had the "Top Gun" hat I got from one of the vendors back there.

From what I understand from reading over the years, and I could be incorrect (so if someone who knows better (looking your way Shaggy), please speak up), but Paramount really had to make the ride their own. I.E. Top Gun wasn't completely a Paramount Parks design concept. The ride was originally purchased and planned by KECO (a clone exists as Vortex at Canada's Wonderland) and was supposed to be themed to the Adventure Village area (which was Action Zone, before it was Action Zone). Some people claim it was supposed to be called "Thunder Road," others say it was supposed to be "Swoop," themed after a bird's flight. I've always speculated that this is why Kings Island got an Arrow Suspended Coaster themed to Top Gun and Great American got a B&M Invert. I don't know if KECO had planned the B&M invert or if that was a Paramount Park's decision.

Anyways, after the Paramount Parks purchase, PP decided to theme it to the popular action movie, Top Gun. Exline Design was contracted to do the theming and John DeCuir Jr. was also brought in. DeCuir was the Paramount set designer for the film. I came across Exline's website a few years back and while they take credit for the theming design of KI's Top Gun, they don't mention Great America's. Here's a few pictures from their website:

- A concept design for the station, notice how much they tried to make it look like an aircraft carrier and how much it differed from the final design.

- The original billboard image. Notice how it was made to be like you were walking across the deck of the carrier and into deck's (queue line). Later this billboard was changed to a stock image of an aircraft carrier at sea with two F-15 Eagles in flight above it (The F-15 is primarily used by the Air Force and while carrier variants were proposed for the Navy, they never took flight tactically and were not the planes featured in the film (that would be the F-14 Tomcat)). This billboard also had a "Gillete Mach 3" logo slapped on it.

- Station design model.

- Original logo. I love how "1990's" it looks compared the Top Gun Jet Coaster logo introduced at Carowinds nine years later.

Despite the fact that Paramount Parks had to modify a KECO concept and make it their own, its pretty cool to see how much time, energy and detail they put into it. Paramount Parks even sent Exline on a trip to the USS America to research aircraft carriers. You can check out all of Exline's photos and a neat summary about the project here: http://www.exlinedesign.com/entertainment/portfolio/ride/topgun.htm If you ride "Flight Deck" today and look in the station after the train leaves, you can see open, white PVC tubes in the floor where the station fog used to come out.

The under queue used to have all kinds of cool stuff in it. If you look closely, you can see ammo boxes, camoflauge netting and as Paul's pictures showed... highly detailed "sets." I believe they even once had a "greeter" down there, an employee who would check height.

It's really a shame what became of the ride theming and experience. Even today, I'm surprised with how many other things Cedar Fair has come in and cleaned up in order to make the park appearance nicer, that ride still hasn't been re-painted. I mean, it looks awful. In 2008 at the KICentral: Second Coming event, someone asked Jeff Gramke during a Q&A what the deal was with that. He said the park was investigating "paint failures" with the company they had used to re-paint it. I'm not sure how long it takes to investigate "paint failures."

Anyways, I always thought it would've been cool if instead of calling it Flight Deck, the park had painted the track Red/Orange and the supports black and changed the name to "Return of The Bat" or something. Even if they're gonna stick with the Flight Deck name, I think a paint job like they gave to Nighthawk at Carowinds would look awesome:

Anyone know exactly when they stopped using the lower queue and when the flight suit's disappeared?

I just hope they never use the lower queue line as a haunted house. The last thing this park needs is perfectly good ride's getting plywood and halloween decorations from Party City stapled up everywhere ala SOB and Action Theatre.

[bkroz]

Great information, Gordon! Thanks! I live for posts like those, echoing a time that I don't quite recall.

I agree with the repaint (though I would also be happy with it's original silver & red). Perhaps "Son of Bat" would be a fitting name, pending the removal / renovation of the hyper coaster next door? Or "Spawn of Bat."

[DeLorean Rider]

I used to go down there all the time in 2004 when I worked there. I'd roll up all the doors and look at what was left. A few missiles, a model plane or 2, etc. There used to be a staffed position down there with a hight stand. It was kind of like their greeter position. For some time in 04 we had one of the missiles upstairs, put tape around it, and used it as a height stick.

At least back then, everything was still in place. Anyone remember how there used to be fog every time a train entered or exited the station? Such a good effect.

[muppetfan1999]

Is that part of the line still ever open?

[Jasper]

My first ride ever on Top Gun I still remember to this day. I was with my dad and his brother and the whole entire ride they were spouting off these one liners like, "I feel the need....the need....for speed!" "Jester's dead!" "Goose, I am gonna slam on the brakes he'll fly right by." I had no idea what was going on because I had never seen the movie. I remember looking at the billboard with the Gillete logo on it and if I am not mistaken, even the trains had the logo slapped on the back of every car. I also remember on the tunnel there used to be painted, "Fightertown USA" and it had like stars with blue circles around them. I am about 95% I have seen all of this before, I could be wrong, but like I said I am very sure that the ride's theme used to have this.

[MarketingExpress]

Is that part of the line still ever open?

See posts 3 & 4 of this topic...

[Jasper]

Why don't they guests go through there anymore?

They have enough Que already for the line of ten people. JMG

I beg to differ, where you in the park last Saturday by any chance? I counted many more than ten people.

[muppetfan1999]

Is that part of the line still ever open?

See posts 3 & 4 of this topic...

Well my brother once went on the ride and he said the line was more than 30 minutes long. I asked him if he saw that part of the line and he said no but he might've not known what I was talking about.

[DeLorean Rider]

Is that part of the line still ever open?

See posts 3 & 4 of this topic...

Well my brother once went on the ride and he said the line was more than 30 minutes long. I asked him if he saw that part of the line and he said no but he might've not known what I was talking about.

It would have had to have been at least 10 years ago for him to have gone through the lower queue.

Also I believe flight suits were last used in 2001. I could be wrong. If Alien Seed still posted on here he would know for sure.

[SOB_TOM]

I can't remember the last year of the bottom queue operation, but I do know the reason they shut it down:

The bottom queue never had a security camera installed into it, making it easy for the driver to see the line, or what the line was up to. Also, that greeter position was the only staffed spot down there, which made it hard on that one operator to see all and stop potential incidents. So the line was closed due to safety concerns.

As for the fog, again, don't know when the actual fog stopped, but it was for budget reasons. The ride was expelling a decent amount of fog per train. The entire tube had to fill with fog, then be pressurized to get the effect, which was a huge drain on the 55 gallon drums that supplied the fog juice. So it was taken out.

[Guest TombraiderTy]

^What about Adventure Express, White Water Canyon, or The Crypt? To my knowledge, none of their queue lines have security cameras nor ride operators, yet they still operate?

[faeriewench]

Anyone know exactly when they stopped using the lower queue and when the flight suit's disappeared?

Late 90s I believe. I actually have one of the suits, its hanging in my closet with the Flight of Fear uniform shirt.

[AZ Kinda Guy]

The fog is no longer used due to the fact it interfered with the electrical sensors, not due to budget reasons.

[Dvo]

I remember Top Gun in its early days. We waited over 2 hours for it in its opening year. At the time we were pretty disappointed since it was such a short ride. Nonetheless it was fun. The station was really cool though. I especially remember all the different banners that they hung on both the lower portion and the actual station.

[standbyme]

I actually have one of the suits, its hanging in my closet ...

Let me know when it hits eBay!

[DeLorean Rider]

Wardrobe still had those through 2003. When I worked at SOB/GUN in 04 I tried like hell to get one but they had none left. I was so ****ed that I had waited. All they had were the hats so I bought one of them.

[faeriewench]

Thats how I obtained my Fight of Fear uniform lol! The jumper suit from Top Gun belonged to my cousin, actually a size too big for me In 03 think they had couple more left, I actually asked about and they were small. >.>

[KIfan73]

I remember Top Gun in its early days. We waited over 2 hours for it in its opening year. At the time we were pretty disappointed since it was such a short ride. Nonetheless it was fun. The station was really cool though. I especially remember all the different banners that they hung on both the lower portion and the actual station.

Waiting in line was as much of an experience as the ride itself was!

[robbieg123]

The things I remember from the Top Gun queue line:

- in TopGun1993's post (second in this thread), the windows to the left and right of the red cable in the first picture had water spraying onto the windows with a windshield wiper on the opposite side wiping off the "rain".

- while walking/waiting in the queue line, there was a radar setup shortly after the tunnel to the left of the queue which did move for a number of years of top gun's/flight deck's beginning of operation. unfortunately, it's been probably two years since I've been to Kings Island, but based on the "detheming tone" of this thread, i wouldn't be surprised to find out that is gone.

- waiting to board the trains, there was a soundtrack of air traffic communication in between the ride operators "clear" before being sent of to begin the ride.

- i seem to remember the animal train ride tunnel/bridge having two phrases painted on the side of the bridge at different points through the rides run to date: one was "high security area" and the other "blast zone ahead." i only see "high security area" pictures online, so it's possible i'm confusing this with another ride.

[Jasper]

Does anyone remember what year they went from red paint to the atrocious silver color scheme we have on it today.

[Jasper]

Watch towards the middle of this video, you can see the queue under the station and it shows the new ride in action along with the beginning of the line and the fog.