Coney Island 1971 Park Guide

[Oldiesmann]

Found this on Youtube... A guide to Coney in its final season before KI opened.

[KIfan73]

Thanks for sharing! I love seeing/reading things about the years of the CI/KI transition.

[XGatorHead 8904]

Thanks for posting that! I was surprised to see that they were closed on Mondays.

[Oldiesmann]

It would have been a lot of fun to visit Coney back then, as it seems like the park was a lot bigger at the time. I realize that the 15 acres of land now occupied by Riverbend and PNC Pavilion were once owned by Coney, but the park has changed so much in the 40 years since it originally closed that it's difficult to picture where all of these rides and attractions were.

[AintNutinElse2Do]

Many thanks to those who bring a little history to us, it's an era in parks I wish I had been able to enjoy. This video and all the ones the user created are also a must check out, they nearly bring tears to my eyes.

[Sparky]

What as the "Shooting Star" woodie like to ride..? As it looks a lovely out n back with plenty of "airtime" hills. I have a picture of this coasters layout in my lounge. Why was it removed from the park..?

[jdawg1998]

^ Probably because the park was closed for good in '71 to relocate rides to Kings Island but it ended up reopening.

[BB1]

I wonder what would Coney be like if KI wasnt made, and an expansion on the riverbend was made, if there could have been one.

[flightoffear1996]

I dont there was that much land in that place

[KI-ORIG-EMP]

The Shooting Star was a great coaster to ride! Our high school band (Kings High School) had a great day of fun at the park after marching down the midway.

[CoastersRZ]

Riverbend Music Center sits on land that once held the turnaround for the Shooting Star. Coney never technically closed either. Sunlite pool was open in 1972. Coney is gearing up for its 126th year of operation. This year, the park has put a big focus on landscaping, and it is looking wonderful!

[Shaggy]

You know Coney Island (Not counting Sunlite Pool and Lake Como) was only about 1/3 the size of Kings Island. It was not a "big" park at all. The fact that it didn't have room to expand contributed (although not as greatly as the flooding) to the closure and move to KI.

[westcoaster]

Imagine what they have in store for 13:

[beastfan11]

I do love Kings Island, but I'd trade it all to still have Coney around in this form. I'm about 50 years to late, I suppose.

[westcoaster]

Coney is still special for sure, but what it would have been is anyones guess especially with the flooding?

[The Interpreter]

Were there no Kings Island, Fess Parker's proposed theme park in Kentucky almost certainly would have been built. Whether Coney Island could have survived that, and if so in what form, nobody knows for certain.

[Oldiesmann]

One also has to wonder if the Coney Island of 1971 could have survived the 1997 flood, when the river crested at 64.7 feet - nearly 13 feet above flood stage (and, by comparison, almost 27 feet above its current level).

[pilotank]

It would have been a lot of fun to visit Coney back then, as it seems like the park was a lot bigger at the time. I realize that the 15 acres of land now occupied by Riverbend and PNC Pavilion were once owned by Coney, but the park has changed so much in the 40 years since it originally closed that it's difficult to picture where all of these rides and attractions were.

Actually there are enough original buildings left that you can

identify exactly where all the previous rides were located.

First locate the Moonlight Gardens. From there you can distinguish

the Midway as it runs past the old Beer Gardens past the building that housed

the Dodgems and Whip. Next you will see some Ginko trees that were cut to look

like push-up ice cream. Follow it right past the current LaRosa's building.

You can compare this to aerial photographs and by visiting www.cincinnativiews.net.

pilotank

[tenwordsorless]

Thanks so much for sharing...that was really cool!