I was reading a book about The Racer and said it was modified in 1982 to run backwards. You mean it went down the hill backwards? I know this is a thing that most people know. I am new to Kings Island.

Yes, one side of The Racer was turned backwards in 1982 to compensate with the excessive downtime and closures that The Bat faced.

It ran backwards from that time until it was turned forward again in 2008. One person who knows more about The Racer than anyone on here is Mr. Racer himself, Don Helbig.

Originally thought it was done in 2007, so The Racer ran backwards for the first full year of Cedar Fair ownership.

Edited September 13, 201312 yr by Andrew

11,999.

Last I heard.

Oh I was like whoa, that got to be intense. I do know Don has the record for riding racer.

Edit: 11,999 Man that's alot

Read the post above yours.

I picked up this book at the library, it's got every coaster in the United states. But it's from 2009 I'm looking at the Kings Island section. It's even got a photo of top gun.

I miss The Racer Backwards, it was always one of my favorites, and one not to miss!

Sadly, and I said the same thing to the group I was with Sunday, I never got to experience The Racer backwards.

If that's not enough for you, I didn't even experience any of coasters other than forward Racer and Adventure Express until 2008 and 2009!

The front seat. (or back in reality) was my favorite, you could see where you had been, look at the track and lift chain, and all the elements were a surprise.

Don, how many of your 11,999 rides are on backwards Racer?

I was 7 years old when The Racer was turned forward again. I had riden The Racer several times, but at that age I was too scared to ride backwards.

I think one of the most popular questions for people who are season pass holders is if The Racer will ever run backwards again. It's probably not going to happen again. But who knows maybe next year it will. Only time will tell.

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Don stated at our Q & A that he did not see it going backwards any time soon.

Tis all up to PTC.

Unless'n there's a train change.

Tis all up to PTC.

Unless'n there's a train change.

I don't see that happening!

There's probably about as much a chance of that happening as there is seeing the current trains in their original form (buzz bars, bench seats and no seatbelts).

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I loved riding The Racer backwards. I loved the seat on the very end of the train and enjoyed seeing where I had been instead of seeing where I am going.

Does anyone else feel old since it felt like just yesterday that they announced that they were going to run both sides forward, and we're already getting, "Is it true that one side used to be backward?" topics?

Then again, I met an employee at the first KIC Day who was shocked to hear that Paramount once owned the park.

Does anyone else feel old since it felt like just yesterday that they announced that they were going to run both sides forward, and we're already getting, "Is it true that one side used to be backward?" topics?

*raises hand*

Just wait until you relate things from personal knowledge and experience (in my case from the Seventies and Eighties) and then get told that without a weblink, it's not a credible source. (As if the web were more authoritative than an original source--See also Wikipedia)

Tis all up to PTC.

Unless'n there's a train change.

I don't see that happening!

Actually it is Ohio state law that is keeping the coaster from going backwards. I believe it is all rides must run as they are recommended and originally built to do without modification. Basically PTC, while allowing their trains to be run backwards, recommends all their trains be run forwards.

The stupid factor on this whole debacle is through the roof!

It's the manufacturer's recommendation that is key. Modification is fine, if the manufacturer approves. PTC once did. Then, it didn't. So, KI got all nostalgic.

Here is what I don't get, and the stupidity in laws sometimes. Kings Island has roughly 2 decades of data about the effects of running the Race backwards. I don't recall any serious injuries, nor any specifically harmful effects on the track, but before the web, that kind of information wasn't as readily available as it is today (imagine if black friday were to happen today, rather than a time before everyone was "logged on")

I loved the backwards racer, I loved the front/back seat, seeing where I've been, not where I was going, not being able to as acurately gauge when the next air time was coming, when we were about to bank left and turn back around. I understand the intent of the law, and its certainly there for good reason, but 20 years of solid data trumps any manufacturers recommendations in my book. If Cedar Fair/Kings Island wanted to run The Racer backwards again (and pehaps there are good reasons beyond the legal/insurability aspect of this issue that they don't), I think that 20 years should be good enough to have a waiver granted.

It's the manufacturer's recommendation that is key. Modification is fine, if the manufacturer approves. PTC once did. Then, it didn't. So, KI got all nostalgic.

If PTC once did, what prompted the change?

PTC today is not even the same legal entity that built the trains. There are those at the park that will tell you (such as Don Helbig) that the park chose to stop the backwards operation, could resume it any time it wants to, but chooses not to.

I wish they would run beast backwards.

Meanwhile at Magic Mountain.....

Or Six Flags Great America....

Interpret as you will the following...

As you can see Don edited it 3 times but on Facebook you can see what the original post was.

^Why did he do that?

We are on to you, Don....