TraderJake Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 Well I didn't get to ride anything as I did work today as I do almost everyday, and I just wanted to let everyone know (as I didn't see this posted yet) that Bubba Gump's Shrimp Shack was open today. I didn't go to the place, but I talked to a crew leader in the Backlot while he was checking out a register bag and he let me know that they were open today. It's pretty nice, the associates in the place get a snazzy Bubba Gump's Apron, and I thought that they also got a hat that says Bubba Gump on it, so it almost looked as though the person did not work at PKI, but actually at a true Bubba Gump's restaurant. Sounds like a great place, according to the crew leader it has a full service bar on the back. Just one thing gets to me-- Wasn't the place supposed to open on Thursday? That's what I was originally told, and that was why I thought some extremely people were showing up to the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonLord Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 The "official" opening of Bubba Gumps is on the 12th. The bar (I guess they call it the Backlot) has been opened since Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow2k3 Posted June 11, 2003 Share Posted June 11, 2003 On the Map they've been calling it Lt. Dan's Backlot Bar or something like that. It's probably just Oktoberfest Gardens with a new coat of paint. Oh well. ~Shadow~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraderJake Posted June 11, 2003 Author Share Posted June 11, 2003 Actually I walked past the place today, and it wasn't open, but it looks awesome, and Lt. Dan's bar definitely looks like a back porch bar. It is very well themed, and they even had a Forrest Gump impersonator there for a TV shoot. The place is definitely looking nice, and it is a great step for the park to make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonLord Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 It's very well themed, not just a coat of paint. They did a lot of consturction on the site and added a lot of things. It looks great! Now if we only required guets to get take a breath test before selling them beer I would be happier. The backlot is very inviting, you can even sit at the bar all day if you wish. I have a feeling we are going to have a lot of drunks on our hands when they actually open the place up. When will people learn that beer and coasters don't mix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingog34 Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 At least they're not driving them...the biggest problem is gonna be EMPLOYEES that go to the bar...now we have a situation. Don't drink and drive rolller coasters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crispy1979 Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 I remember when I worked at Six Flags they sold (and still do sell) beer. I worked a ride called "Enterprise" which was a smaller verision of what the SKylab was at KI. I remember having lots of puking incidents. Once I even had someone puke on the Antique Cars. Anyway, do remember that Oktoberfest gardens wwas originally called "The Beer Gardens" and Beer has been sold in the park from it's opening in 72 until Paramount bought it. I'm not sure of its history since Paramount bought the park. I believe for a while you could by Beer in the Oktoberfest gardens, but was not allowed to take it out of the area and into the park. Cris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt3224 Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 I might go and try Bubba Gumps today....it sounds really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonLord Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 PKI still sells beer, although it did stop for a season or two after we had a death in the park a while back due to the alchohol. Employees should know better than to drink and drive a coaster. I'm not saying we shouldn't have beer, just more responsible guests! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crispy1979 Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 Ah yes, there were actually a few deaths on that day. One was the woman who fell off Flight Commander. The other was the guest that got drunk and fell into the water at the beer garden. He was electrocuted because the lights for the fountain in the water wasn't grounded properly. I remember that season walking down international street at night and thinking "Wow, it's really dark, I wonder why." After that incident, the park rewired all their underwater lighting, so there was a period where sections of the park were very dark at times. Cris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 (edited) The other was the guest that got drunk and fell into the water at the beer garden. Officially no one has ever died at King's Island. How so? Well, no one is pronounced dead at PKI... that happens at the hospital. ;-) There has only been one ride-related fatality in the park's history. On June 9th 1991 Candy Taylor, fell from the Flight Commader ride formerly located on Coney Mall. The ride, an Intamin Pilot ride allowed guests to flip or rotate their individual cockpits. But let me back up, because that day has become known as KI's darkest day. At approximately 8:30 in the evening, Timothy Benning (22)entered the park's pond located next to the Octoberfest Beir Garden to, apparently, retrieve a lost item. Upon entering the restricted area he was shocked due to an electrical current (later determined to be coming from a defective water circulation pump.) When he screamed and fell unconscious in the shallow water, his friend William Haithcoat (20) jumped in to pull him out. Immediately Haithcoat was shocked. Upon hearing the screams a park security officer, Darrel Robertson (20) jumped in attempting to help and was also shocked. Ironically the rescuers... Haithcoat and Robertson died, but Benning survived. The Octoberfest area of the park was emptied immediately, and closed off. Helicopters landed in the park to life-flight the victims to the hospital. They were undergoing CPR when they left. Just after this at the back of the park, Ms. Taylor, who was drunk, boarded Flight Commander at approximately 9:45pm. She rode by herself which later was determined to be the cause of her death. As the ride proceeded, she passed out (her Blood Alchohol level was 3.0. ) while flipping the ride upside down. Since her body was limp, she slid to the side towards the empty seat next to her and out of the over-the-shoulder restraint and lap bar. She fell 60 feet to the concrete below in front of eye-witnesses who were horrified. A design flaw in the ride was blamed. The ride was closed the rest of the 1991 season, but re-opened in 1992. The other death mentioned occurred on Grad Night 1983 when an un-named 17 year-old boy was found after he cllimbed a 10 foot barrier fence on the Eiffel Tower's 50-foot observation platform and fell in the elevator shaft. He plummeted to his death and rumor has it he was partially decapitated. A lot of mystery still surrounds this instance, but the general belief is that the boy either committed suicide or was showing off for friends and climbed into the restricted area. The Tower's 50 foot platform was closed and never re-opened. Each instance above was investigated and all were determined accidental. The park was fined for various OSHA violations, and more than likely settled with the families. Also of note, in 1976 a Wild Animal Safari Lion caretaker was mauled and killed as well. But King's Island is also the site of Heart Attacks, Strokes, etc of which people have perished. But so have malls, grocery stores, workplaces etc etc etc. Shaggy There you go. Edited January 1, 1970 by Dane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crispy1979 Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 Okay, so it was the woman on Flight Commander who was drunk and not the men at the Beer Garden. Those three deaths happened the same day, and i was relying on my memory from 1991, so i guess I assumed the guest in the Beer Garden was drunk. lol. Anyway, thanks for the info. I tried doing a google search and all I got was the below little blurb. The info you provided was much more detailed. >>Sunday, June 9, 1991 - Two men were killed after having been electrocuted in a pond at Kings Island amusement park in Kings Island, Ohio. They were trying to rescue another man who was in the pond. He also suffered electrical shock.<< I do remember, however, that season that the fountains were dark on International Street and throughtout other parts of the park for much of the time as they were ensuring that all their underwater electric equiptment was safe. Cris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 I had a season pass in 91 but I was too young to remember it. I have all my season passes from now to, um whan I turned 3. I think kids 3 and under were free(back then). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beastfreak Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 the biggest problem is gonna be EMPLOYEES that go to the bar...now we have a situation. Don't drink and drive rolller coasters. It is against park policy to purchase or consume an alcoholic beverage while on duty or on break. Plus, employees are not allowed to purchase anything in the park while in wardrobe, so they first off wouldn't be served. Plus anyone coming into work drunk or getting drunk at work will be fired immediately. Don't worry, you're safe. Anywho, the park hired real bar tenders for the back bar. So its not going to be the usual people who sell the beer and don't really pay attention to the guests level of intoxication. Things will go smooth. And no, it is still park policy that you must stay on the patio with your beer/alcohol. You can not wonder the park with it. We do that so that we can make sure it isn't passed off to anyone under 21. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crispy1979 Posted June 12, 2003 Share Posted June 12, 2003 >>>And no, it is still park policy that you must stay on the patio with your beer/alcohol. You can not wonder the park with it<<< So this is a fully stocked bar? I.E. They sell liquor and not just beer? Also, I do remember a time (pre-paramount) when beer could be purchased throughout the park. For example, you could buy it at the Funnel Cakes eatery on International Street. Cris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fyrfyter Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 I have a feeling we are going to have a lot of drunks on our hands when they actually open the place up. When will people learn that beer and coasters don't mix? Actually Beer and coasters do mix, and they mix very well. Not everyone at PKI who gets a beer and then rides a coaster is wasted. Some of us are smart enough to drink in moderation and still enjoy ourselves. Becareful of the comments you amke, since they do not affect everyone that visits the park, since not everyone is there to get drunk , partially since beer is so expensive in PKI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonLord Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 The park stopped selling beer in the entire park after the three deaths in the same night. I belive later that season or the next season they brought the beer back, but only in a few places where the guets would have to stay on the patio where they bought it. If I see a guest walking through the park with beer, I stop them and ask them finish it that moment, throw it away or I have to escourt them to the nearest patio with beer... I'm not allowed to leave the guest until the beer has been disposed of in some manner (unless I receive an emergancy call, of course). I then reiterate the rules of keeping the beer on the patio where they purchased it and explain to them that there are signs on all the patios stating that they are not allowed to leave with their drinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingog34 Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 "It is against park policy to purchase or consume an alcoholic beverage while on duty or on break. Plus, employees are not allowed to purchase anything in the park while in wardrobe, so they first off wouldn't be served. Plus anyone coming into work drunk or getting drunk at work will be fired immediately. Don't worry, you're safe." I...was...just...kidding...I almost put *teeming with sarcasm* but I thought it would be implied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beastfreak Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 The park actually didn't stop selling alcohol until the year after the three deaths in the park, not the same year. Then a year later they brought it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crispy1979 Posted June 13, 2003 Share Posted June 13, 2003 This is off topic, but I was just remembering how Busch Gardens in Tampa used to give away free beer in the 70's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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