Racer’s Original Design

[gforce1994]

Looking at the various concept art of the original Kings Island, it’s interesting to note that The Racer has a different profile, similar to the KD/CW racers. Was it originally planned to be that way?

[super7]

The design of Racer 75 and Thunder Road is/was highly improved from KI Racer. 
 

1.  3rd hill after the drop is/was a great floater hill on 75 and TR vs. the higher hill on Rscer that the trains just get over. 
 

2.  The split turnaround on Rscer really takes away from the racing aspect as you lose sight of the other train.   75 and TR stay/stayed together.  
 

3.  Drop into tunnel finale on 75/TR.  Racer never had the tunnel even before they removed the final drop. 
 

Racer 75 is one of my favorite coasters because of the train interaction.  Especially now that the lift hill is synchronized. 

[DonHelbig]

13 hours ago, super7 said:

The design of Racer 75 and Thunder Road is/was highly improved from KI Racer. 
 

The designer of The Racer, Racer 75 and Thunder Road, John Allen, considered The Racer to be the finest of the roller coasters he designed during his legendary career. And he designed some good ones! 

[gforce1994]

7 minutes ago, DonHelbig said:

The designer of The Racer, Racer 75 and Thunder Road, John Allen, considered The Racer to be the finest of the roller coasters he designed during his legendary career. And he designed some good ones! 

I think KI’s Racer is Allen’s finest creation, followed by Racer 75. It is clear to see how the design of The Racer spurred the second Golden Age of the wooden coaster.

[RollerCoasterAirtime]

Did the original design have one train going backwards? Or was that just a short stint in the middle of its history?

[medford]

It did not open with one train going backwards, it switched I believe during the time of The Bat failure.  I wouldn't call it a short stint either, I think the backward racer stayed that way for 20 years or so.  Someone will provide the exact timeline.  I loved the backwards racer, always rode The Racer at least twice, once forward, once backwards and often times 3 times in a row, backwards, forwards, and then backwards again before moving on.

Edit, ran backwards from 1982-2008, so 26 years

[medford]

pov with both experiences

 

 

[BeeastFarmer]

I never chose to ride Recar.  I would not choose to ride it now either as I do not like to go backwards.

[medford]

One less person in line if they every bring it back

[purdude86]

I wish they would. Would view more as two different credits then and get a different experience on either side. I always loved Recar

[gforce1994]

So in the conceptual map provided in the last Coney Island brochure, there is a concept for KI that is similar to what was nearly built, but there are notable differences - one of them being The Racer. Unlike The Racer we have today, The Racer has it's lift hill on the outside of the ride, with a curving drop similar to the Wild One at SFA. The ride from there is basically The Racer but travelled in reverse. I recreated this version in NL2. Thoughts? 

The one thing I like about this concept is that the exit as depicted could have served a double purpose, with it also providing the means to an access road for maintenance.

 

[Gordon Bombay]

Per Dale Brumfield's blog:

Quote

The original plans called for the Yell to be exactly like the KI Racer, but Jim Figley discovered there was no room for the “pigeon wing” shape of The Racer’s back curve without bringing in tons of fill, so a decision was made to re-profile the back curve to an oval return feature. It was a good move - Yell riders attest to the thrill of the sudden separation of the trains at the top of the back curve. Carowinds’ Thunder Road, which was constructed in 1975, was built on the same plans as the Yell but with minor variations, including a lift hill 8 feet taller and the total ride almost 500 feet longer.

Brumfield was a 20 year veteran of Kings Dominion's maintenance staff. Today he's an author and I highly, highly recommend his book and blog, both called "Theme Park Babylon."

[KI Guy]

On 7/13/2020 at 2:06 AM, super7 said:

The design of Racer 75 and Thunder Road is/was highly improved from KI Racer. 

At least from an aesthetics standpoint, The Racer is and was far better. Look up the pictures from when it first opened.

Before the Action FX Theater, Flight of Fear, and the loss of the original color scheme, The Racer combined with the grounds around it were unmatched. I think the thrill of the layout was balanced with looks. Old Coney was especially beautiful when it was brand new in 1972.

[gforce1994]

1 hour ago, KI Guy said:

At least from an aesthetics standpoint, The Racer is and was far better. Look up the pictures from when it first opened.

Before the Action FX Theater, Flight of Fear, and the loss of the original color scheme, The Racer combined with the grounds around it were unmatched. I think the thrill of the layout was balanced with looks. Old Coney was especially beautiful when it was brand new in 1972.

Plus it used to head out into the woods. I think the design in the illustration/map would have really given an impression like The Beast today (lift hill going into the woods).

[Oldschool75]

7 hours ago, Gordon Bombay said:

Per Dale Brumfield's blog:

Quote

The original plans called for the Yell to be exactly like the KI Racer, but Jim Figley discovered there was no room for the “pigeon wing” shape of The Racer’s back curve without bringing in tons of fill, so a decision was made to re-profile the back curve to an oval return feature. It was a good move - Yell riders attest to the thrill of the sudden separation of the trains at the top of the back curve. Carowinds’ Thunder Road, which was constructed in 1975, was built on the same plans as the Yell but with minor variations, including a lift hill 8 feet taller and the total ride almost 500 feet longer.

Brumfield was a 20 year veteran of Kings Dominion's maintenance staff. Today he's an author and I highly, highly recommend his book and blog, both called "Theme Park Babylon."

But Racer is even more unique as “Hill 95” has an angle of 45 degrees unlike the other copies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gforce1994]

43 minutes ago, Oldschool75 said:

But Racer is even more unique as “Hill 95” has an angle of 45 degrees unlike the other copies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I noticed that while riding it. I believe it is only 35 degrees on the other copies.

[dbackdreams]

Ummm is this gonna be tore down since they turned on light too lololol

[Vortex]

Didn’t The Racer add a car to each train do to being very popular?

[PKIDelirium]

Every photo I've ever seen from even 1972 has five cars per train.

[DonHelbig]

8 hours ago, Vortex said:

Didn’t The Racer add a car to each train do to being very popular?

When The Racer opened in 1972, the trains were four cars long which is the same as the Shooting Star had been at Coney Island. A fifth car was added to the trains in 1973. 

[gforce1994]

36 minutes ago, DonHelbig said:

When The Racer opened in 1972, the trains were four cars long which is the same as the Shooting Star had been at Coney Island. A fifth car was added to the trains in 1973. 

Were all the trains on the Coney coasters 4x3 row bench trains?

[Vortex]

21 hours ago, DonHelbig said:

When The Racer opened in 1972, the trains were four cars long which is the same as the Shooting Star had been at Coney Island. A fifth car was added to the trains in 1973. 

Thank you me and my dad forgot. I was only 3 and just tall enough to ride The Racer in 1979.

[DonHelbig]

22 hours ago, gforce1994 said:

Were all the trains on the Coney coasters 4x3 row bench trains?

From what I remember and have seen in photos, yes. 

[TombraiderTy]

On 9/26/2020 at 5:55 PM, PKIDelirium said:

Every photo I've ever seen from even 1972 has five cars per train.

I think you may be confused - here's an autumn 1972 photo from eBay user momthrewitaway that shows the four car trains.

Something interesting I only recently learned though is that the ride appears to have opened for the 1973 season with still only four cars per a train... the fifth wasn't added until later that year. Here's a 1973 photo from eBay user rl67s, whereas most 1973 photos show 5 cars:

 

[gforce1994]

As originally proposed and visualized, Coney Mall was a two midway area. The first midway ran in a North South orientation from The Racer to the Sid and Marty Kroft theatre and featured Haley's Comet, Racer, Ferris Wheel, Dodgems, Whip, and the Giant Slide. The second midway ran in an east west orientation from the Sid and Marty Kroft theatre to the Antiques. The second midway had Tumble Bug, Haley's Comet, the theatre and the Antiques.

There are no flying scooters in the early visualization.

[gforce1994]

Anyone else getting Coney Vibes from these views?

One major difference of the original concept was a Racer with split lifts.

[gforce1994]

Here’s a look at a nearly completed Coney Mall and semi completed Oktoberfest section.

The interesting thing about the early visualizations is the fact that the park would have had a pathway between Coney and Rivertown at the back and middle of the park.

[calakapepe]

Not all the way to coney, but I thought there was a bridge over swan lake a long time ago. Is this wrong?

[BoddaH1994]

5 hours ago, calakapepe said:

Not all the way to coney, but I thought there was a bridge over swan lake a long time ago. Is this wrong?

You sure you aren't thinking of the lake by the Beergarden? 

[Oldschool75]

Not all the way to coney, but I thought there was a bridge over swan lake a long time ago. Is this wrong?

There was a bridge over swan lake at one time, also one over the lake at the Biergarten


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk