Banana Splits at Kings Island - 1972

[TombraiderTy]

Why hello... it's been a while since I've been on here. Almost four years. But I recently acquired something cool in terms of Kings Island history and have been wanting to share it.

So, quick history lesson: In the early 1970s ABC aired The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie on Saturday mornings. The series consisted of hour-long specials produced by Hanna-Barbera, Warner Brothers, Paramount Television, and others. The twelfth episode aired on November 25, 1972 and was named The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park. It featured the stars of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (a variety program that aired from 1968-1970) and was partially filmed at Kings Island during the park's inaugural season.

The episode mixed Hanna-Barbera's classic animation style with the live-action segments shot at the park. The story focused on the Banana Splits touring a young girl named Susie (played by 11-year-old Michele Tobin) around the park. Susie is tricked by an evil witch and lured into a cartoon billboard, leaving the Splits to follow her into the animated world. The majority of the story takes place in the animated world, but the beginning and end take place within Kings Island.

Despite the episode's popularity, I do not believe that it has ever been released on DVD, streaming, etc. It's occasionally aired on Boomerang, albeit very infrequently. I had never seen it, but after some extensive online searching I was able to find a copy for sale from a random CD shop. The legitimacy of the DVD is questionable at best... it was clearly recorded off of Boomerang at some point. But without any other methods to obtain the film, I ended-up purchasing it.

With DVD in hand, I watched the full 60 minutes. I honestly only cared for the six-and-a-half minutes shot at Kings Island though, which is what I figure a lot of KIC users are interested in tool, so after my initial viewing I edited the video down to feature only the material shot at the park. I also cut gifs out of scenes that depicted points of interest within the park, like defunct rides or unique views.

So, without further ado, I wanted to share the video and gifs below. I've also included some commentary and fun facts for the gifs. And quick note - I wasn't alive yet during the 70's, so all information is from what I've read, watched, etc. If something seems wrong, please let me know.

Enjoy.

 

To start, Winsome Witch's Cauldron (also identified at different points on park maps as Winsome Witch's Caldron, Winnie Witch's Cauldron, Witches Caldrons, and Witch's Cauldrons). The tea-cup style flat ride opened with the park and was themed to Winsome Witch, a Hanna-Barbera cartoon that appeared in the 1960s. There were 18 cauldrons split between three small and one large turntable. Note the pastel colors - the ride opened with yellow, blue, and red cauldrons. This paint scheme only lasted two seasons before the ride vehicles were painted black with orange flames in 1974.

Winsome Witch's Cauldron last operated in 1991. It was replaced by a small Zamperla-built swings ride, today known as Charlie Brown's Wind-Up, in 1992. Following the ride's removal from the park, several of the cauldrons found a new home elsewhere: one is now a photo spot at Jungle Jim's store in Eastgate, another is featured in the Dent Schoolhouse haunted house in Cincinnati.

 

Here we have the Banana Splits trying to find park guests to tour around the park. Note the station for Enchanted Voyage in the background - the ride was manufactured by Arrow Development and loaded guests into small boats outside the building. Once on board, guests would then float into the show building and through several Hanna-Barbera worlds. When the ride was transformed into Smurf's Enchanted Voyage in 1984, the canvas tent structure over the station was replaced with a more permanent wooden one. That structure remains today and is now part of the station for Great Pumpkin Coaster.

 

Bavarian Beetle was a compact steel roller coaster in Oktoberfest. It was manufactured by Italian company S.D.C. and had a previous life as Galaxi at Cincinnati's Coney Island. The coaster stood 45-feet tall, stretched 800-feet, and was adorned with lighted archways and spires.

Bavarian Beetle's history is a little iffy... the ride is still depicted on the 1978 park map, but a photo from that August shows that the coaster had already been replaced by Ferris Wheel. The ride may have operated for part of the season, or it could have been like Cedar Point's Wildcat in 2012, where the coaster was expected to operated but was quietly removed just before opening instead.

 

It's almost absurd how many different stages and entertainment venues Kings Island has had. This here is a short-lived one in Coney Island. It wasn't there opening day but was present by July and appeared to have some musical act. The stage's last year was 1974. It was replaced by the first incarnation of the park's Floral Thermometer in 1975 when Coney Island was expanded, and that space today is a grassy area next to Zephyr.

 

Beautiful view of International Street from Sky Ride. Royal Fountain was advertised as the world's largest animated fountain at opening and was created by Fountain Specialist Co. of Milford, Ohio. Also note the park's entrance building does not yet have International Restaurant... that wasn't added until 1973.

 

Susie should really stay on the pathways... But this shot really shows Coney Island and its neatly-pruned ginkgo trees. 35 of them were relocated from Cincinnati's Coney Island and they required pruning six times annually to maintain their distinct shape.

It's a little hard to see, but on the left you can just make out the building for Dodgem and Cuddle Up. Both rides were also relocated from Cincinnati's Coney Island. The building remains today and is used for the Attitudes gift shop and Sorority House Haunt maze, but both attractions are long gone. Some claim that the current incarnation of Dodgem is the same as the original, but it features a different ride area, different cars, different shape... you could have a whole philosophical debate over what makes a ride "new", but I don't think it makes sense to say our current Dodgem is original to the park.

 

I've been trying to figure out when this was all shot at the park. At some point, the archway in the back had The Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera added to it. But that wasn't until at least July. This, plus the stage from earlier, shows that the park was still adding all those finishing touches through-out its first season.

 

You can't argue that International Street didn't look like a street... but look at that total lack of shade and all the asphalt.

 

A lot of enthusiasts were amazed when Disney introduced its "talking" characters a few years back, with mouths that could move. But Kings Island was doing it long before then 

Also check-out Winsome Witch, flying around her tree in the background.

 

The old plant tunnel. It had 100 London-plain trees bowed over its pipe framework. The structure remained in some form through the end of 2006 2005, then was removed for Nickelodeon Universe's addition in 2006. I like that the park is attempting to bring it back in White Water Canyon's queue line.

 

Few things to comment on...

First, those lights on the top of Monster. They were removed around 2005 I think, but I could be off.

Second, Monster in general... I've heard before that our current Monster is not the original ride. The original version opened at Cincinnati's Coney Island in 1968 and was relocated at park opening for 1972. There's an interesting photo from 1981 that shows Monster's ride platform empty though. Rumor is that ours was replaced the following year and the original version was sent to Canada's Wonderland in time for its 1981 opening. If true, it's ironic that CW's version of the ride, named The Fury, was removed after 2003 and it was sent to our park to use as spare parts for Monster. It's worth noting that the park has claimed that the current ride is the original though. Edit: Here's a lengthy conversation on whether the Monster was sent to Canada's Wonderland or not. It seems that the verdict is the ride was not sent to the Canadian park.

Third, check out Dodgem's sign in the background. It, and the out-of-frame sign for Cuddle Up, both came from Cincinnati's Coney Island. At the old park they were housed in the same building as the Whip, but that ride was unfortunately never relocated to Kings Island.

 

Racer is one of my favorite rides at the park today, but man I would have loved to have ridden it in 1972. No head rests, no seat belts, no seat divides, just a buzz bar... plus the final airtime hill was still in place (interestingly that was removed a year apart for the North and South sides... North's during the 1995/96 off-season, South's the 1996/97 one.

Two things in this shot. First, the trains only have four cars each. A fifth car wasn't added until 1973. Also, red train racing red train. From 1972 through 2007 both tracks had a red and a blue train. The rides were only assigned specific colors in 2008.

 

I should've ended this gif a bit before the zoom... sorry for how obnoxious that is.

Anyhow, Der Spinnen Keggers on the left. The ride was similar to Winsome Witch's Cauldron, only the platform tilted upwards during the ride. The vehicles were also initially covered, but at some point between 1981 and 1987 the tops were removed. Anyone know what year that happened?

On the right, Kings Island Theatre (at times spelled Theater). It was built by Bird-Air Structures, Inc. from Buffalo, New York for $250,000 and could seat 1,100 guests. It played host to "Something New!!" its opening year. After the 1974 season the park experienced a heavy snow storm and the theater collapsed. It was replaced with a similar one in 1975, albeit with a blue covering instead of red.

 

The floral clock has been a staple of Kings Island since 1972, but it has not always been behind Eiffel Tower. It was originally to the right of it, where International Showplace is today. It was relocated when that amphitheater was built in 1977.

 

Flying Scooters, later renamed Flying Eagles, in its original spot. The ride was relocated to the back of the area in 1986, then again to Paramount's Carowinds in 2005. The ride originally opened at Cincinnati's Coney Island and was apparently relocated at least once while it was there too. In this shot, notice how the door is open on the side. The current Woodstock Gliders also has a door in its center console, but I would assume it's kept shut when the ride is operating.

 

Scooby-Doo, later renamed The Beastie, later renamed Fairly Odd Coaster, and now Woodstock Express. It's probably been through just as many paint jobs as it has been through names.

I love the oversized Scooby-Doo cut-out and didn't know it was ever a thing until I watched this. Also, you can just make out the coaster's last dip before the brake run. I don't know when it was removed, but I would guess sometime in the late 1990s. Anyone know?

 

See that stroller at the bottom? The park still has some of these older ones, now re-purposed to help ride operators carry water coolers to their rides in the morning.

 

At the end you can just make out the train blowing steam from its sides. The engines can still do this and indeed do for special events.

 

I highly doubt you'd ever see costumed characters, like Snoopy or Charlie Brown, riding a coaster today. And that shot through the tracks? I also doubt that'd be permitted. The whole ride is encircled by a giant fence and anything within it is lock-out.

 

Kings Island Theatre again. Some more facts: it was 137-feet long, 87-feet wide, and 40-feet high. It was avinyl structure and was supported entirely by air pressure.

 

Last shot... Tumble Bug was a standard tumble bug attraction manufactured by Traver Engineering of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. It had a diameter of approximately 100 feet, featured five large tubs, and was the park's oldest ride at opening. It originally opened at Cincinnati's Coney Island in 1925. It last operated in 1985 and was replaced by Skylab the following year. I've heard that it was sent to Kennywood to use for parts on their similar attraction, but I don't know the validity of that statement. Today the space is occupied by Coca-Cola Marketplace.

 

So that's that... some pretty cool shots of the park its opening year, and hopefully you learned a thing or two about its history. Again, please let me know if you think any of the facts are wrong or if you have extra info to add. Hope you enjoyed.

Edit - Edited April 9, 2020 to correct a date and clarify one of the comments.

 

Edited April 9, 2020 by TombraiderTy
Corrected a date and clarified one of the comments.

[SonofBaconator]

This one part of the video made my day, thank you Ty!

I wish Kenny still looked like this.

@TombraiderTy do you have any old videos or photos of the KI&MVRR like the one shown above?

[jcgoble3]

Thank you for taking the time to post this! In the 6+ years I've been on these forums, that may be the first good picture I've seen of Bavarian Beetle. Glad to see you back!

[freaks76]

Very enjoyable. 

[Creed Bratton]

Thanks for sharing! Now I want to watch the whole episode!

[Magenta Lizard]

Amazing work! Thanks so much for sharing with us!

[johnaalexis]

Thanks for sharing with everyone! I found it to be really interesting!! 

[TombraiderTy]

On 2/18/2017 at 12:13 AM, jcgoble3 said:

In the 6+ years I've been on these forums, that may be the first good picture I've seen of Bavarian Beetle.

There's a few others out there. Like...

 

1972, from an eBay auction by user "Momthrewitaway" (hence the watermark)

 

1972, from CheezOnAStick. You can see all the lighted archways and ornamental decorations along the track.

 

1972 (opening day, in fact), from holzsc.com.

 

1973, posted here on KIC by KIfan73

 

1973, another from holzsc.com.

 

1974, from KIC's own photo gallery.

 

1975, also from the photo gallery.

 

1977, from flickr user jade_41171.

 

Date unknown, courtesy KIExtreme.com

 

One of the more common Bavarian Beetle pictures. I think this was used in a View-Master set you could buy at the park. I think the large sign and accompanying decorations were added in 1976 or 1977.

 

Something different... a picture taken while riding Bavarian Beetle. Notice all the lights. Source unknown, but date is sometime between 1972 1973 through 1974 (Hayley's Comet is still in its original location).

 

And bonus picture... you can see the ride, still called Galaxi, in the background. There's a few other rides in the shot that also found their way to the new park... Sky Ride, Rotor, and the log flume.

Edited April 9, 2020 by TombraiderTy
Clarified date range

[Zexeos]

You really do learn something new every day! Thanks for making this great read!

[kikid74]

Wow! Thanks for the great history lesson! I remember most of those things...at least those that were still there in the late 70's. I really loved walking through the plant tunnel at night!

[CoastersRZ]

Thanks for posting that TombraiderTy!

[Shaggy]

On 2/17/2017 at 11:14 PM, TombraiderTy said:

Why hello... it's been a while since I've been on here. Almost four years. But I recently acquired something cool in terms of Kings Island history and have been wanting to share it.

So, quick history lesson: In the early 1970s ABC aired The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie on Saturday mornings. The series consisted of hour-long specials produced by Hanna-Barbera, Warner Brothers, Paramount Television, and others. The twelfth episode aired on November 25, 1972 and was named The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park. It featured the stars of The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (a variety program that aired from 1968-1970) and was partially filmed at Kings Island during the park's inaugural season.

The episode mixed Hanna-Barbera's classic animation style with the live-action segments shot at the park. The story focused on the Banana Splits touring a young girl named Susie (played by 11-year-old Michele Tobin) around the park. Susie is tricked by an evil witch and lured into a cartoon billboard, leaving the Splits to follow her into the animated world. The majority of the story takes place in the animated world, but the beginning and end take place within Kings Island.

Despite the episode's popularity, I do not believe that it has ever been released on DVD, streaming, etc. It's occasionally aired on Boomerang, albeit very infrequently. I had never seen it, but after some extensive online searching I was able to find a copy for sale from a random CD shop. The legitimacy of the DVD is questionable at best... it was clearly recorded off of Boomerang at some point. But without any other methods to obtain the film, I ended-up purchasing it.

With DVD in hand, I watched the full 60 minutes. I honestly only cared for the six-and-a-half minutes shot at Kings Island though, which is what I figure a lot of KIC users are interested in tool, so after my initial viewing I edited the video down to feature only the material shot at the park. I also cut gifs out of scenes that depicted points of interest within the park, like defunct rides or unique views.

So, without further ado, I wanted to share the video and gifs below. I've also included some commentary and fun facts for the gifs. And quick note - I wasn't alive yet during the 70's, so all information is from what I've read, watched, etc. If something seems wrong, please let me know.

Enjoy.

 

To start, Winsome Witch's Cauldron (also identified at different points on park maps as Winsome Witch's Caldron, Winnie Witch's Cauldron, Witches Caldrons, and Witch's Cauldrons). The tea-cup style flat ride opened with the park and was themed to Winsome Witch, a Hanna-Barbera cartoon that appeared in the 1960s. There were 18 cauldrons split between three small and one large turntable. Note the pastel colors - the ride opened with yellow, blue, and red cauldrons. This paint scheme only lasted two seasons before the ride vehicles were painted black with orange flames in 1974.

Winsome Witch's Cauldron last operated in 1991. It was replaced by a small Zamperla-built swings ride, today known as Charlie Brown's Wind-Up, in 1992. Following the ride's removal from the park, several of the cauldrons found a new home elsewhere: one is now a photo spot at Jungle Jim's store in Eastgate, another is featured in the Dent Schoolhouse haunted house in Cincinnati.

 

Here we have the Banana Splits trying to find park guests to tour around the park. Note the station for Enchanted Voyage in the background - the ride was manufactured by Arrow Development and loaded guests into small boats outside the building. Once on board, guests would then float into the show building and through several Hanna-Barbera worlds. When the ride was transformed into Smurf's Enchanted Voyage in 1984, the canvas tent structure over the station was replaced with a more permanent wooden one. That structure remains today and is now part of the station for Great Pumpkin Coaster.

 

Bavarian Beetle was a compact steel roller coaster in Oktoberfest. It was manufactured by Italian company S.D.C. and had a previous life as Galaxi at Cincinnati's Coney Island. The coaster stood 45-feet tall, stretched 800-feet, and was adorned with lighted archways and spires.

Bavarian Beetle's history is a little iffy... the ride is still depicted on the 1978 park map, but a photo from that August shows that the coaster had already been replaced by Ferris Wheel. The ride may have operated for part of the season, or it could have been like Cedar Point's Wildcat in 2012, where the coaster was expected to operated but was quietly removed just before opening instead.

 

It's almost absurd how many different stages and entertainment venues Kings Island has had. This here is a short-lived one in Coney Island. It wasn't there opening day but was present by July and appeared to have some musical act. The stage's last year was 1974. It was replaced by the first incarnation of the park's Floral Thermometer in 1975 when Coney Island was expanded, and that space today is a grassy area next to Zephyr.

 

Beautiful view of International Street from Sky Ride. Royal Fountain was advertised as the world's largest animated fountain at opening and was created by Fountain Specialist Co. of Milford, Ohio. Also note the park's entrance building does not yet have International Restaurant... that wasn't added until 1973.

 

Susie should really stay on the pathways... But this shot really shows Coney Island and its neatly-pruned ginkgo trees. 35 of them were relocated from Cincinnati's Coney Island and they required pruning six times annually to maintain their distinct shape.

It's a little hard to see, but on the left you can just make out the building for Dodgem and Cuddle Up. Both rides were also relocated from Cincinnati's Coney Island. The building remains today and is used for the Attitudes gift shop and Sorority House Haunt maze, but both attractions are long gone. Some claim that the current incarnation of Dodgem is the same as the original, but it features a different ride area, different cars, different shape... you could have a whole philosophical debate over what makes a ride "new", but I don't think it makes sense to say our current Dodgem is original to the park.

 

 

Few things to comment on...

First, those lights on the top of Monster. They were removed around 2005 I think, but I could be off.

Second, Monster in general... I've heard before that our current Monster is not the original ride. The original version opened at Cincinnati's Coney Island in 1968 and was relocated at park opening for 1972. There's an interesting photo from 1981 that shows Monster's ride platform empty though. Rumor is that ours was replaced the following year and the original version was sent to Canada's Wonderland in time for its 1981 opening. If true, it's ironic that CW's version of the ride, named The Fury, was removed after 2003 and it was sent to our park to use as spare parts for Monster. It's worth noting that the park has claimed that the current ride is the original though.

Third, check out Dodgem's sign in the background. It, and the out-of-frame sign for Cuddle Up, both came from Cincinnati's Coney Island. At the old park they were housed in the same building as the Whip, but that ride was unfortunately never relocated to Kings Island.

 

 

I had not seen this footage until you shared it with me.  It's terrific!

To add on to what you said about the original Dodgem/Cuddle Up...  many think the Cuddle Up was removed when Coney Mall was overhauled for 1986.  However according to park maps, it could have been removed as early as 1984.  Although I did visit KI in those years, I don't remember riding Cuddle Up then - so it was likely gone.  In addition, what is now the Candy Shop at the end of Coney Mall was the location of Ki's Fascination Parlor.  Fascination transferred from Coney Island as well.  I believe it bit the dust in 1986 when the Coney Mall update happened.  Although I've never known it as fact, I have heard that KI's Fascination games were sold to LeSourdesville Lake - which eventually became Americana.  They had a working Fascination Parlor until the final years, but I'm not sure if it was ALL KI original equipment, or if KI's was used for replacements.

[CoastersRZ]

Fascinating.  Thanks, as always for sharing!

[Tien Shinhan]

I got lucky during my 5th or 6th grade year (between 2008 and 2010). I had a sick day and on that day I was sick they showed this film on Boomerang. I specifically remember freaking out when I realized the amusement park in the film was Kings Island. Pretty much the only part of the film I remembered was the beginning at KI. Especially the part where they march with the marching band.

[TombraiderTy]

On 2/24/2017 at 3:24 PM, Shaggy said:

To add on to what you said about the original Dodgem/Cuddle Up...  many think the Cuddle Up was removed when Coney Mall was overhauled for 1986.  However according to park maps, it could have been removed as early as 1984.  Although I did visit KI in those years, I don't remember riding Cuddle Up then - so it was likely gone.  In addition, what is now the Candy Shop at the end of Coney Mall was the location of Ki's Fascination Parlor.  Fascination transferred from Coney Island as well.  I believe it bit the dust in 1986 when the Coney Mall update happened.  Although I've never known it as fact, I have heard that KI's Fascination games were sold to LeSourdesville Lake - which eventually became Americana.  They had a working Fascination Parlor until the final years, but I'm not sure if it was ALL KI original equipment, or if KI's was used for replacements.

Yeah, I've seen the incorrect 1986 date for Cuddle Up before. In reality, it was one of the first rides to be removed from the park when it was replaced by Fascination in 1977. The Fascination parlor included 60 game tables.

Indiana Beach still has a Fascination parlor, or at least did when I visited in 2011. It was a really fun and competitive game, and it's something that I'd love to see return to Kings Island in the future.

[Creed Bratton]

Indiana Beach still has their Fascination parlor, Knoebels has Fascination as well. I agree would love to see it at KI.

[SonofBaconator]

This might bring back some nostalgic memories for some of our older members. Hmm that park looks familiar

 

[KatieF]

Thank you!! How wonderful!

[Oldschool75]

Awesome pictures and video. Just thought I would let you guys in on something I'm working on for someone. You have seen a picture or two, but have you seen video?



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[Dane]

^Thats the best photo I have ever seen of it. That roof structure is interesting.

[Oldschool75]

Here's a little teaser video, gonna take me about a month to finish

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