KI's Grand Carousel turns 94!

[IndyGuy4KI]

Opening at Coney Island, the Grand Carousel is now 94 years old.

Read more here: 

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2020/may/kings-islands-grand-carousel-turns-94

What is your favorite memory of the Grand Carousel?

[westcoaster]

Its just Awesome 

[silver2005]

Well, for starters, it was my grandparents' favorite ride when they got too old to ride most of everything else (and, surprisingly enough, Scrambler).  

I also like its placement above almost any carousel at the parks I've been to (maybe sans Hershey pre-entrance change), simply nestled below the Eiffel Tower, and the area around it looks stunning with the scenery work.  It certainly adds its own character to I-Street, especially back when the Tiques were still there.  Its a jewel to look upon at night. And of course, that classic music.  

I always find it hard to imagine that it was once taking a trip down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers in a survivable way. 

[TombraiderTy]

I'm intrigued by the May 29 date... based off old newspaper articles, Coney Island opened for the 1926 season on May 22. Newspaper articles put more focus on the two new roller coasters at the park that season (Twister and Wildcat) than they did on the carousel, so I cannot find anything on which date it opened... But I would have expected the carousel to open with the park on May 22. If it did open on May 29, I'm very curious why it was delayed.

[gforce1994]

1 hour ago, TombraiderTy said:

I'm intrigued by the May 29 date... based off old newspaper articles, Coney Island opened for the 1926 season on May 22. Newspaper articles put more focus on the two new roller coasters at the park that season (Twister and Wildcat) than they did on the carousel, so I cannot find anything on which date it opened... But I would have expected the carousel to open with the park on May 22. If it did open on May 29, I'm very curious why it was delayed.

They were delayed as everyone was dealing with Twister. The ride was apparently far from complete in early spring according to photo evidence I’ve seen, but that is likely the reason.

[TombraiderTy]

8 hours ago, gforce1994 said:

They were delayed as everyone was dealing with Twister. The ride was apparently far from complete in early spring according to photo evidence I’ve seen, but that is likely the reason.

Can you provide a source / additional information? I’d love to read more about that.

[gforce1994]

5 hours ago, TombraiderTy said:

Can you provide a source / additional information? I’d love to read more about that.

There’s images in a image research archive I visited. They had original images of the Twister, still under construction with no tunnels, but frames installed.. Upon further inspection, the tree’s appear to be budding, indicating it was late April. For a ride over 2000 feet long, the framing and installation of the tunnels would have been a significant undertaking.

 

I believe it’s highly likely that the photo was in the same reel of photos as the well-know picture of the Wildcat. Both photos were likely taken by Coney, with the images being sent to PTC.

[gforce1994]

Furthermore, a photo of the completed ride shows the tree’s with leaves. However, the area around the ride is still covered with wood from the construction.

[KIghostguy]

29 minutes ago, gforce1994 said:

There’s images in a image research archive I visited.

Like Newspapers.com? Or did you actually take the time to go to a historical society/library/etc.?

[gforce1994]

31 minutes ago, KIghostguy said:

Like Newspapers.com? Or did you actually take the time to go to a historical society/library/etc.?

It’s not on Newspapers.com. It was the historical archive. 

[TombraiderTy]

Just now, gforce1994 said:

It’s not on Newspapers.com. It was the historical archive. 

Which archive? I’d be interested in checking it out myself.

[KIghostguy]

3 minutes ago, TombraiderTy said:

Which archive? I’d be interested in checking it out myself.

He’s not going to be any more specific; it’s like pulling teeth.

[IndyGuy4KI]

@gforce1994 sharing your research source is not going to hurt any credibility. Blatantly being vague and not sharing for others to also enjoy does. 

[gforce1994]

1 hour ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

@gforce1994 sharing your research source is not going to hurt any credibility. Blatantly being vague and not sharing for others to also enjoy does. 

I have shared my source. It’s rather interesting how barren the ride and surrounding structures were between April and the next round of shots weeks later.

[IndyGuy4KI]

1 hour ago, gforce1994 said:

I have shared my source. It’s rather interesting how barren the ride and surrounding structures were between April and the next round of shots weeks later.

Saying "historic archives" is not specific enough for the members asking to know where to look to see the records themselves. Historic archives where? Online, a library in a city? Can you provide a link so others can see it for themselves?

[Oldschool75]

Who cares where he found it. He did the research and found it. Sometimes it hours down the rabbit hole finding things. He did the work, its his prerogative if he wants to share where he found it. Geez.

[Klabergian Empire]

It sure can be nice just to sit on the benches and listen to the music and relax for a bit.

[standbyme]

22 hours ago, TombraiderTy said:

I'm intrigued by the May 29 date... based off old newspaper articles, Coney Island opened for the 1926 season on May 22....

I feel for anyone that hangs out with you...they must be paranoid to even say “good morning” to you without the fear of being corrected with facts! 

(Just giving you a hard time. )

[TombraiderTy]

1 minute ago, standbyme said:

I feel for anyone that hangs out with you...they must be paranoid to even say “good morning” to you without the fear of being corrected with facts! 

(Just giving you a hard time. )

I was honestly just surprised a specific opening date could be determined for such an old ride, so I tried finding more information... which then led me down this rabbit hole 

[Oldschool75]

19 minutes ago, standbyme said:

I feel for anyone that hangs out with you...they must be paranoid to even say “good morning” to you without the fear of being corrected with facts! 

(Just giving you a hard time. )

I think you are mixing him up with someone else. LOL

[TombraiderTy]

1 minute ago, Oldschool75 said:

I think you are mixing him up with someone else. LOL

Nope, he has the right person... I like things being accurate and it's earned me a reputation 

[Oldschool75]

BTW, Coney Island did open on May 22, 1926.

This is from the May 23, 1926 Cincinnati Enquirer 

[TombraiderTy]

24 minutes ago, Oldschool75 said:

BTW, Coney Island did open on May 22, 1926.

This is from the May 23, 1926 Cincinnati Enquirer 

[Article]

I wasn't questioning whether Coney Island opened on May 22, but whether the carousel did. The blog post says that yesterday (May 29) was the ride's 94th anniversary, which suggests that the carousel didn't open with the park in 1926. I'm curious if it was actually delayed (and why), or if it was just a mistake and the ride actually celebrated its 94th birthday last week.

[Oldschool75]

I don’t see anything in the paper about it

[TombraiderTy]

Just now, Oldschool75 said:

The blog just said it turned 94. It did not state May, 29th was the actual date it opened.
 

Ah, it actually did. In the first line:

Quote

Generations of amusement park goers, from toddlers to great-grandparents, have ridden Kings Island’s magnificent Grand Carousel since it gave its first rides on this date 94 years ago on the banks of the Ohio River at Cincinnati’s Coney Island.

 

[Shaggy]

Re: The Carousel

I've wondered if the park has kept detailed logs of the carousel, horses and repairs/replacements done through the years.  I doubt it - mostly because the park has changed hands so many times.  That, and the fact the original employees that worked on the carousel in the years leading up to KI being built are no longer around.  (It, of course, underwent a massive refurb in 1969 while at Coney... that could have either triggered a detailed historical record being kept - or it could have triggered it being completely obscured.) I hope they have - it would make sense for them to.

I do know that the carousel likely has "replacement" horses.  Meaning, not all of them are necessarily original to PTC #79.  Although the ride does have the illustrious story of the great flood of 1937 (where all the horses floated away and all were recovered), it doesn't necessarily have as happy an ending as some think.   I believe several of the horses were actually damaged significantly (lost limbs, warped wood etc.) and were possibly supplemented with parts and horses from other PTC carousels.

FYI - The Wurlitzer band organ that has been a part of the KI Carousel since 1972 is not original.  It came from the fair circuit.  Originally it was on a carousel in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. A few years back, many... MANY music rolls from the KI Band Organ went to auction from the estate of a former KI employee.  (These were coupled with lots of early KI ride maintenance logs, replacement part inventories etc) Now, whether those were usable, whether they actually played on the band organ, whether they were duplicates, I don't know.  But I did take it as a sign that the park *may* not have intended to keep everything pertaining to the organ for long-term replacement or repair.

 

 

[TombraiderTy]

2 hours ago, Shaggy said:

I do know that the carousel likely has "replacement" horses.  Meaning, not all of them are necessarily original to PTC #79.  Although the ride does have the illustrious story of the great flood of 1937 (where all the horses floated away and all were recovered), it doesn't necessarily have as happy an ending as some think.   I believe several of the horses were actually damaged significantly (lost limbs, warped wood etc.) and were possibly supplemented with parts and horses from other PTC carousels.

I'd be surprised if all the horses were original to 1926 and wonder know how many of them are. I'd also be interested to know if all the replacement horses were still fabricated by PTC or by other companies.

I'm also interested in how many horses there are - there's 48 on the ride at any given time, but it appears there's at least one spare that the park has rotated through the years and previously used in displays.

Here's one horse used for a display under International Restaurant in 2008:

And here's another horse from a gift shop display in 2009:

[Shaggy]

For all we know, they might have supplemented horse to, and from, other "Kings" park carousels.

As I understand it, Dominions #44 (which is, ironically, a decade older than KI's) was originally built for Riverside Park in Massachusetts (now Six Flags New England.)  It was purchased by Taft Parks in 1973 from a park in Rhode Island.

Simultaneously, the carousel at Canada's Wonderland #84 (which is around 1 year younger than KI's) was purchased by Taft Parks from the closed Palisades Park in New Jersey around 1971-72.

Both were massively refurbished at Kings Island.  When Dominion opened in 1975 - #44 went to that park.  #84 sat in storage until Wonderland was built.

That having been said, I wouldn't at all be surprised if some horses were switched or parted out among those 3.  BTW... The KD and CW carousels are larger than KI's - with around 20 more horses.  (KD's is a real beauty and even still retains it's original ticket booth. Its organ it virtually original - dating back to its original operating days at Riverside. I love that carousel!)

I believe PTC stopped producing carousels 3 years after the KI version was built.  If memory serves me, they made less than 10 after it.  So there's no viable way that Coney was able to contract PTC to replace or replicate horses damaged by the '37 flood.  They may, however, have contracted the former carousel carvers that continued work on their own after PTC discontinued.

I thought for a while that since there were 3 signature horses on KI's, that perhaps they were taken from other carousels.  However, a few years back I did some minor digging and came to understand that PTC put multiple signature horses on carousels.  Some have a dozen or more.

Finally, Carowinds also has a PTC Carousel, as does Valleyfair.  However since those parks came into the "fold" later I would sincerely doubt any "horse switching" has happened with the Kings Parks.  At least I'd hope not.

 

 

[TombraiderTy]

If none of the replacement horses were manufactured by PTC (I wasn't aware they stopped carousels shortly after #79 opened at Coney Island), then I suppose an easy way to determine at least some* of the non-original horses would be finding any without the little PTC plaque/emblem on their side.

I'm not familiar with how PTC categorized their carousel horses, but if I had to guess I would assume the Row # correlates with the intended row for the horse (outside row is #1 and has the biggest and most detailed horses, whereas #3 is the innermost row and has smaller and less detailed horses... so the horses are not interchangeable between rows). But I'm not as confident in how PTC serialized the individual horses, became #238 seems incredibly low for the company's 79th carousel.

*Only some, because if horses were interchanged between the Canada's Wonderland and Kings Dominion carousels then they would also have PTC emblems.

[KI Guy]

Does anyone know if the band organ is working this year?