Omnimax Theater

[Stephen]

I searched and could not find anything on the topic. But does anyone know if the old movies that used to play in the Omnimax style theater are available anywhere? I remember going in and sitting on the floor to watch it as a kid. There may have been multiple versions. This just popped into my mind today. Sorry if it’s been mentioned. But I searched and could not find anything. 

[Buckeye Brad]

I loved watching these.

I believe the park called it the “Cinema 180”.

A new one every year. I remember each one stating with a coaster POV, then a random collection of other POVs like a race car, airplane, and even a runaway baby carriage through a hilly downtown. 

The floor was uncomfortable, and we got quite dizzy, but it was always a nice break.

I looked a while back on YouTube and was not successful. 

[Stephen]

I think possibly one was called 747 maybe for some reason that rings a bell after you said airplane. I’d love to find these somehow. 

[BoddaH1994]

Was this the inflatable-looking theater where Tower Gardens stands today?

[PKIDelirium]

Nah, the dome in Coney that was laser tag for a while.

[Buckeye Brad]

It was back near where the new antique cars are now, just across from where The Vortex queue once stood.

 It did have a somewhat bubble shape like the inflatable theater you are thinking. I remember it was much smaller and more like a yurt or steel framed tent.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

49 minutes ago, PKIDelirium said:

Nah, the dome in Coney that was laser tag for a while.

They had Laser Tag at KI? I never knew that! 

[westcoaster]

I thought i rode Vortex once??in the cinema. 

[cdubbs727]

Yes! Cinema 180 was where Antique Cars is now. I think it might have been closed down to make way for Flight Commander, but I'm not 100% sure; my memory is fuzzy and I think I remember seeing the structure standing with FC, so take it with a grain of salt. 

I remember doing it once and not liking it. It was very claustrophobic sitting on the floor with so many people in that dark room and the big screen was overwhelming (I was a small child at the time). I also remember we went in just as a storm was approaching and had to be evacuated because the metal supports could pose a hazard. 

[TombRaiderFTW]

The Cinema 180 theater was standing until sometime between 2009 and 2011, if I remember correctly. I could be wrong, but I want to say it disappeared when WindSeeker was built. I DO know for a fact it was there when I started my coaster enthusiasm in 2008.

[TombraiderTy]

Cinema 180 (also referred to as Cinema 180 Theatre) opened in 1986 and had a different film every year. It appears to have last played a film in 1995, and was briefly re-purposed as an upcharge laser tag game in the early 2000s. It was then storage through its removal before the 2009 season. Here's a (I think) complete listing of its movies with brief descriptions, pulled or re-worded from old park guides, newspapers, etc.

• 1986 - Flight 747 - airline pilot landing a Boeing 747 when chaos ensues
• 1987 - Block-buster - clips from a helicopter ride around Seattle’s Space Needle, a motorcycle pursuit through downtown Atlanta, Georgia, a ride through the Kamakazi curve of the Orient Express roller coaster at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri, and a speeding bobsled at Lake Placid
• 1988 - Fantastic Flights - POV from a U.S. Air Force Thunderbird stunt plane and a roller coaster POV
• 1989 - Impact - galactic star field and other adventures
• 1990 - Flight 747 - I assume the same as 1986's. Additional description included "unforgettable flight featuring Rio de Janeiro, Copacabana Beach, and Iguacu Falls"
• 1991 - Horizons - Unknown
• 1992 - Colossus - cliff diving, careening through the narrow streets of Mexican village, and flying in a jet fighter
• 1993 - Galaxy of Thrills - careening up the street, down the surface at Waikiki Beach and through an entire Galaxy of Thrills... the building was also used for a traveling Star Trek exhibit through June
• 1994 - Wild Wild West - dynamic chase scenes at breakneck speeds. Included a high-speed chase with the California Highway Patrol, flights over dizzying vistas, a corkscrewing roller coaster, and snow skiing trhough western states
• 1995 - Crazy Wheels - high-speed action

For what it's worth, Cinema 180 was an attraction at other parks too, like Hersheypark and Kennywood. There's a brief history of it over at The Amusement Parkives here - https://amusementparkives.com/2019/03/28/omnivision-inc/

Edit - Here's a picture of it its last year, 2008.

[Gordon Bombay]

Thanks to all who have shared such great information in this thread. Maybe I'm getting confused, but wasn't there some sort of other inflatable building near where Tower Gardens is now? For some other attraction?

[TombraiderTy]

5 hours ago, Gordon Bombay said:

Thanks to all who have shared such great information in this thread. Maybe I'm getting confused, but wasn't there some sort of other inflatable building near where Tower Gardens is now? For some other attraction?

You're thinking of the Kings Island Theater (not to be confused with the current Kings Island Theater, which is the indoor theater near the park entrance that used to be The Paramount Theatre). The original Kings Island Theater opened with the park in 1972 and was a big red vinyl structure supported by air pressure. It collapsed due to a December 1974 snowfall and was replaced with a new version (now blue) for the 1975 season. Its last year was 1977, and it was replaced by Tower Gardens in 1978.

Theater in August 1973 (courtesy gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com):

Theater collapse in December 1974 (source unknown... I think it was Cincinnati Enquirer though):

Pictures of the second version (with the blue vinyl) are hard to find. Reference a few posts down for a couple pictures of it.

[Gordon Bombay]

^ @TombraiderTy, as always, thank you!

Would love to see that blue vinyl one, I never knew it even existed. 

I'm also mad at myself for never having gone to look into that old laser tag building/cinema building when I worked for the park. 

[Stephen]

Thank you all for the replies on this. I wish we could find the footage from these. Even not in the “omnimax” format, they would be great to watch and re-live. 

[MDMC01]

I think I barely remember that old Lazer Tag building in Coney Mall back in the day (or at least the idea that there was lazer tag back in the day; in any case, thanks for posting that pic). Also, never realized that the location of the (inflatable) Kings Island theater is where Tower Gardens is today; I guess I always assumed Tower Gardens was always there (as in, it opened with the park).

[TombraiderTy]

2 hours ago, Gordon Bombay said:

Would love to see that blue vinyl one, I never knew it even existed. 

You can see it behind the Floral Date in this 1977 picture (from an old eBay auction, unfortunately I don't have a name or anything attached for crediting)

And here it is from Zodiac, screenshotted from the 1:30 mark of this YouTube video, from EFC 8MM Home Videos

 

[Joshua]

I barely remember Cinema 180 but if my memory is correct, it was the venue for a short term walkthrough with props/replicas to promote the then-upcoming release of CONGO. I remember it being in a "dome tent" in Coney Mall near The Racer. It would've been Summer 1995, the year the last movie (Crazy Wheels) was shown. 

[TombraiderTy]

1 hour ago, Joshua said:

I barely remember Cinema 180 but if my memory is correct, it was the venue for a short term walkthrough with props/replicas to promote the then-upcoming release of CONGO. I remember it being in a "dome tent" in Coney Mall near The Racer. It would've been Summer 1995, the year the last movie (Crazy Wheels) was shown. 

I never knew about that - thanks for sharing your memory!

Here's an advert for it from July 14, 1995 in the Dayton Daily News.

 

[CoastersRZ]

This is an awesome thread. 

The air filled structure that was located where Tower Gardens is now, was an air filled structure.  It relied on the air pressure on the interior to keep it up.  It collapsed due to a snow storm putting increased load on the roof, that the interior air pressure could not support.  

The Cinema 180 building did not sit on Flight Commander`s land, but rather was situated between Flight Commander`s pad and the restroom by Vortex`s exit.  When Dinosaurs Alive was put in, the tent structure that they installed (immediately to the left of the restrooms) sat where the building used to be.

[Joshua]

3 hours ago, TombraiderTy said:

I never knew about that - thanks for sharing your memory!

Here's an advert for it from July 14, 1995 in the Dayton Daily News.

 

Glad to finally see there is proof this thing actually happened. I seem to be the only person who ever remembered it. IIRC, it included the sat-phone prop (or a replica of it), some monitors and advanced camping gear from the film. I do remember the promotional video, which I'm sure was the standard EPK (electronic press kit) used to promote it. The funny thing is I think that was the only time I entered that building. 

With this, the "we are watching you" ads and the Taco Bell campaign, I remember being so hyped for CONGO. It's more of a guilty pleasure, one I like probably more than most, but Jerry Goldsmith's score is undeniably amazing. 

 

[vintge]

I remember watching these as a kid in the late 80s / early 90s at King's Island. starting the journey of seeing if I can find a version to display today. My mom thought it might have been called OmniMax 180 back then. i have vivid memories of sitting on the floor in the dome with a bunch of other kids with their parents and watching a 180 video in 1st person of a car driving crazy or being on a rollercoaster, etc. Want to recreate that in a dome for a bunch of stoner's at a weed event lol. would be epic. 

thanks all for the info and memories.

[DeltaFlyer]

On 2/25/2021 at 3:15 PM, CoastersRZ said:

The air filled structure that was located where Tower Gardens is now, was an air filled structure.  It relied on the air pressure on the interior to keep it up.  It collapsed due to a snow storm putting increased load on the roof, that the interior air pressure could not support.  

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Silverdome#Original_silver-like_roof

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_H._Humphrey_Metrodome#1980s_roof_incidents

A lot of the old Geiger designed (or derived) tensile membrane structures in the 70s and 80s had real problems with snow accumulation. Modern ones seem to employ a roof slope and texture that causes to snow to slide off rather than accumulate.

Entering the Silverdome and RCA dome airlocks are some of my fondest memories from high school band. 

 

[teenageninja]

Are we 100% sure that building was torn down in 2009?

I don't recall it being back there in 2004 and 2005 when I worked at Action Theatre and Vortex.

[TombRaiderFTW]

^ Yep! Can confirm it was torn down before the start of the 2009 season. I started going to the park as an adult in 2008 and remember being curious about that theater... and then they tore it down the next year.

EDIT: Just realized I already replied to this thread and was unsure about the Omnimax theater. Guess I had a moment of clarity? 

[PKIDelirium]

It had occasionally-open mediocre laser tag in it during the late Paramount years. In 2004 there was just a big carnival-style trailered midway game parked in front of it for the season. 2005 was back to just kinda being there, abandoned.

[Arlo]

Just to add a bit to this thread, I ran the Cinema 180 projection system in ‘92-‘93 and was there for the Star Trek exhibit in ‘93. 
 

At the time, it was indeed called Cinema 180. And I believe the show was called “Colossus”. I remember the film had you flying over a mountain, on the front of a race car, and maybe the Thunderbirds or something, and a couple others. Seemed like it was all ‘70s footage or something - lol.