Screamin’ Demon

[FlyMartyFly]

Also after going forward there is an operator shack.  I remember because I always used to wave to the ride op as we started going backwards!  Loved that ride!
 
Not very forceful to my memory.

It felt so neat to be pushed forward and then you floated going over the edge. I can remember it clearly!


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[TombraiderTy]

11 hours ago, gforce1994 said:

That must have been an interesting process to reconstruct them. Were they disassembled and then reconstructed?

They were standard bleachers. You can see them bottom left in this 1978 photo from jade_41171 on flickr.

I know I've seen a photo or two from ground level of the venue, but can't find them at the moment. 

[WhatTheBlazes]

17 hours ago, Jiddle said:

I rode this at Camden Park myself. 

I think it was a really good fit for that park 

[bengals fan]

what i remember most is every time it launched the tower would shake. don't actually remember the ride. must not have been that thrilling . but everyone has their own opinion.

[gforce1994]

[Oldschool75]

They were standard bleachers. You can see them bottom left in this 1978 photo from jade_41171 on flickr.

I know I've seen a photo or two from ground level of the venue, but can't find them at the moment. 

I have some film from some concerts there.


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[gforce1994]

1 hour ago, Oldschool75 said:

I have some film from some concerts there.


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How good were the views from the bleachers?

[TOPGUN1993]

On 5/20/2020 at 1:42 PM, TombraiderTy said:

previously shared some early drafts of the demon character... including one with a full body. I cannot find them in his post history, but it was very interesting to see how the concept evolved into the logo they ultimately used.

Think the photo with the 4 car train was during 1977 testing?

[TombraiderTy]

15 minutes ago, TOPGUN1993 said:

Think the photo with the 4 car train was during 1977 testing?

Definitely during testing. It’s a black and white photo so it’s hard to tell, but it doesn’t appear to have the gradient paint job present when the ride opened. I doubt the ride ever operated to the public with only four cars .

[gforce1994]

39 minutes ago, TombraiderTy said:

Definitely during testing. It’s a black and white photo so it’s hard to tell, but it doesn’t appear to have the gradient paint job present when the ride opened. I doubt the ride ever operated to the public with only four cars .

That’s a pretty cool pic. It’s also interesting to see the Eiffel Tower without the metal fence-like covering on the top level.

[Shaggy]

Can you imagine going to the top of the Eiffel Tower at KI and there only being 4’ railings or there not being metal “mesh” around the base?!

My Dad always said that as you get older your fear of things increases.  Well, I’ve noticed the past few years that I now get a terribly uneasy feeling when I’m up there that I never got when I was younger - even though I know I’m now completely caged in!  Frankly, knowing it’s “aging” has a lot to do with it.  Plus, on the lower level there’s a flooring plate just as you exit the elevator up there that “buckles” underneath you. I try to walk past it as fast as I can - but it still makes me weak in the knees.

But if that railing was only waist high, I don’t think I’d be able to walk up to it at all.  

Anyway, the first few years I went to KI, I believe they hadnt extended the railings all the way up.  I may be wrong but I believe a fatality at Kings Dominion provoked the observation levels be fully enclosed around 1986 or so.  I’m not sure the “mesh” was there yet either.  (If I remember correctly.)  

My memory of being up there with the lower railings may be blurred with KD, But I do recall being on one of the towers decks without being fully enclosed.
 

 

 

[Shaggy]

Actually, now that I think about it, I believe the Kings parks first extended the railings upward prior to 1986 - at least by the late 1970’s.  I don’t think It was until after the KD Eiffel Tower issue that they enclosed the top “open-air” deck of the tower.  Prior, the railing had been raised to an 8’ height or so.

Just going by memory...  I was around 7 or 8 the first time I went up the Tower... but I know things changed a few times after.  I’m not positive I was up there with just the 4’ rails - I may have it confused with other towers I went up as a kid (like the Space Needle in Gatlinburg, or the rotating “Island in the Sky” at Cypress Gardens etc.)

[TombraiderTy]

I wasn’t alive for any of the modifications, but based off photos and videos I’ve seen it appears the tower opened with only the bottom rail in 1972 and by the time The Partridge Family filmed an episode at the park later that year they had extended the fencing upward.
 

Someone recently shared a picture in Facebook group (I think the pass holder one) from the top of Tower in 1972, without the upper rail. I’ll try and find it to share it here, but just looking at it gives me acrophobia 

Edit - Here’s a screenshot of a photo of a picture of the original railing... unfortunately I don’t have the original contributor tied to it, but it’s a really cool shot. I’m thinking the railing is maybe 48”?

[KIghostguy]

The upper railing (not the total cage) was added in the first few weeks the park was open. Dennis Speigel went up one morning to the top platform shortly after the park opened for the day and found a young child sitting on the railing so his dad could take a picture! They immediatly closed the tower and installed the higher fencing.

[Shaggy]

30 minutes ago, TombraiderTy said:

I wasn’t alive for any of the modifications, but based off photos and videos I’ve seen it appears the tower opened with only the bottom rail in 1972 and by the time The Partridge Family filmed an episode at the park later that year they had extended the fencing upward.
 

Someone recently shared a picture in Facebook group (I think the pass holder one) from the top of Tower in 1972, without the upper rail. I’ll try and find it to share it here, but just looking at it gives me acrophobia 

Edit - Here’s a screenshot of a photo of a picture of the original railing... unfortunately I don’t have the original contributor tied to it, but it’s a really cool shot. I’m thinking the railing is maybe 48”?

 

Great picture!

That pretty much confirms my sentiments that there's no way I could walk up to the edge like that.

I was once on the observation level of Carew Tower downtown with my Dad.  The "railings" are actually 4' (or so) brick walls.  Well, some lady was carrying a baby and leaned over the edge to look.  I went so weak in the knees I had to sit down by the inner wall. Ironically, it was during the big flood back in the 1990's that immersed Riverfront Stadium etc.  I have pictures somewhere I can probably dig up.  It was the only time I ever went up there.

I would suspect the "mesh" that was added to the bottom rails of the tower had a lot to do with the loss of items like bags, purses etc through them.  Smaller kids probably dropped things as well as tried to "squeeze" through.

Eeeyikes!

 

[TombraiderTy]

1 hour ago, KIghostguy said:

The upper railing (not the total cage) was added in the first few weeks the park was open. Dennis Speigel went up one morning to the top platform shortly after the park opened for the day and found a young child sitting on the railing so his dad could take a picture! They immediatly closed the tower and installed the higher fencing.

The first few weeks would’ve had to of been after the grand opening then (and not the April 29 opening), based off the June 11, 1972 photo above 

[KIghostguy]

6 minutes ago, TombraiderTy said:

The first few weeks would’ve had to of been after the grand opening then (and not the April 29 opening), based off the June 11, 1972 photo above 

Yes, that would make sense. The executives at the park at that time that I’ve talked to use opening day to refer to the grand opening.

[IndyGuy4KI]

We retweeted a cool video of it here.

 

[TombraiderTy]

 

38 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

We retweeted a cool video of it here.

[Link]

It was credited in a follow-up tweet from the original poster, but that video is pulled from the start of the video (from EFC 8MM Home Videos) I previously linked to in this thread. It's worth watching all of it (well, at least the first four-and-a-half minutes shot at Kings Island).

On 5/20/2020 at 12:40 PM, TombraiderTy said:

There's no audio, but here's some wonderful footage of the ride in action from its first year (featuring that six car train). Lots of other vintage Kings Island in the video too:

 

[Oldschool75]

You should see the POV.


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[dbackdreams]

What is POV?

[robintodd]

23 minutes ago, dbackdreams said:

What is POV?

Point Of View.  It's a video usually taken from the front seat of a roller coaster.  You like the one from that one yellow and red roller coaster in river town.....

[dbackdreams]

1 minute ago, robintodd said:

Point Of View.  It's a video usually taken from the front seat of a roller coaster.  You like the one from that one yellow and red roller coaster in river town.....

Oh ok like ti looks like you riding the roller coater.  I love Daimondback!  I hope I not to scared to ride Oroin! Thank u being nice.

[robintodd]

4 minutes ago, dbackdreams said:

Oh ok like ti looks like you riding the roller coater.  I love Daimondback!  I hope I not to scared to ride Oroin! Thank u being nice.

Yes, exactly.  although now with the popularity of zoom reverse POV's are pretty popular.  That way when you use it as your background it looks as if you're riding the roller coaster.  In the meantime, you can use the POV of the backward racer for the same effect.  

[bengals fan]

On 5/21/2020 at 10:05 PM, FlyMartyFly said:

Yes I remember climbing those stairs. Glad I was young because it took some effort.


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it did take a lot of effort but what I remember is standing on the steps when the train lounched the tower would shake. i thought was this thing actually safe?