Kings Island is a 364 acre (1.5 km²) amusement park located in the city of Mason, in Warren County, Ohio.[1] The park is located 24 miles (39 km) northeast of Cincinnati . The park owns close to 775 acres (3.2 km²) of land, but only 364 acres (1.5 km²) are currently developed. Kings Island is owned by Cedar Fair, L.P., and was part of the former Paramount Parks chain that Cedar Fair acquired from CBS Corporation on June 30, 2006.
| Previously known as Kings Island - 1972 to 1993 Paramount's Kings Island - 1993 to 2007 | |
| File:Ki 275x206.jpg New Kings Island Logo | |
| Location | Mason, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1972 |
| Owner | Cedar Fair, L.P. |
| Slogan | The Best of Hollywood Entertainment: Now Playing |
| Operating season | April through October |
| Area | 364 acres (1.5 km²) |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 41 |
| Roller coasters | 12 |
| Water rides | 3 |
| Website | Kings Island |
Park history
Kings Island first opened its gates in 1972 in what was then Deerfield Township, developed by the Taft Broadcasting Company. Taft Broadcasting took the name from the previous landlord, the defunct King Powder Company, which founded the town of Kings Mills for its workers. The site is between I-71 and the Little Miami River. The park remained in Deerfield Township until it was annexed into the city of Mason in 1997.
Kings Island served as a replacement for Coney Island, a popular park on the Ohio River about 10 miles (16 km) east of downtown Cincinnati. Coney Island was forced to close due to frequent floods, but has since reopened on a much smaller scale. Many of the rides from Coney Island were moved to the new park; the only attraction left at Coney at the time was Sunlite Pool, the world's largest swimming pool. In 1992 Kings Island was purchased by Paramount Communications, along with 4 other theme parks in America and Canada; the park was renamed Paramount's Kings Island.
One of the first events to draw publicity to the park was the filming of an episode of The Brady Bunch at the park in 1973. An episode of The Partridge Family was shot there the previous year, in 1972. While they do not mention the name of the park, they do call it "a new park outside Cincinnati."
On October 25, 1975 Evel Knievel successfully jumped 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island, setting a new audience viewing record for ABC's Wide World of Sports, garnering a 52 household share when his performance was broadcast live. He landed on the 14th bus, but held on. This was one of his last big jumps.
On July 4, 1976, Kings Island played host to the wedding of Paul Revere of the pop rock band Paul Revere & the Raiders.
Original attractions
Like its sister park, Kings Dominion, the centerpiece of Kings Island has always been its 1/3 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower, located just across the International Street fountain from the main entrance gate. Elevators regularly take patrons up to the lookout tower, which provides a chance to see the entire park and, at park closing, offers the best view of the nightly fireworks display.
Another star attraction is the Racer, which consists of twin wooden roller coasters that race each other side-by-side. Designed by legendary designer John Allen, The Racer is credited by many people with starting the second golden age of the roller coaster. In 1982, the trains on the right side of the Racer were turned backward, freshening up an old favorite. (Many coaster enthusiasts have nicknamed the backwards train "recaR".)
Other coasters present in 1972 were the Bavarian Beetle, a small steel coaster brought over from Coney Island (and removed in 1979); and Scooby-Doo, a wooden coaster (renamed "The Beastie" in 1979; and renamed again as "The Fairly Odd Coaster" for 2006) located in the park's "Happy World of Hanna-Barbera" kids' area.
Later attractions
Kings Island has added, and removed, many thrill rides throughout the years. 1977 saw the debut of Screamin' Demon, which launched riders through a loop, then back through in reverse; this ride was sold in 1987. In 1979, the park unveiled The Beast, the tallest, longest, and fastest roller coaster in the world at the time. After more than 25 years, it still holds the title of the world's longest wooden roller coaster at 7,419 ft (2,261 m).
In 1981, Kings Island introduced the world's first suspended roller coaster, The Bat; however, it was plagued with maintenance problems and removed four years later. The first stand-up coaster in the United States, King Cobra, opened in 1984, but was dismantled (and put up for sale) in 2002 when maintenance proved to be too expensive.
1985 saw the debut of White Water Canyon, a popular whitewater rafting ride that soaks its riders. In 1987, the Vortex roller coaster briefly set a new record with six inversions. 1989 saw the debut of Water Works, a family water park, and 1991 brought Adventure Express, a mine-train style coaster.
The mid-to-late 80's also introduced a Christmas event called Winterfest, which ran from November 25 through December 31. It included visits with Santa Claus, Ice Skating, and a nightly light show. There were many shops and places to eat within the park, and a train ride through the woods was included with admission. This event ended in 1992, but returned for the 2005 holiday season. In July 2006, however, due to low attendance in 2005, the park, now under Cedar Fair ownership, decided to cancel the event, at least for 2006.[2]
Top Gun, the last suspended coaster built in the USA, was built in 1993 and avoided the mechanical failures of The Bat. 1994 saw the addition of Days of Thunder, an indoor simulator ride based on the movie. It was later renamed Action Theater, and featured simulations based on movies and TV shows, such as James Bond and Spongebob Squarepants. In 1996, the park added the world's first roller coaster powered by a linear induction motor (LIM), Outer Limits: Flight of Fear. In 1999, the park introduced Drop Zone, the world's tallest free-fall tower, and Face/Off, an inverted "boomerang" coaster.
The Son of Beast, billed as the sequel to the Beast, opened in 2000. Currently, it is the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in the world, as well as the only one to successfully incorporate a steel loop into its otherwise wooden structure. In July 2006, an on-ride accident closed Son of Beast. The vertical loop was removed in December 2006 as part of modifications being made to the ride as a result of the accident's investigation. Son of Beast is expected to re-open for the 2007 season.
In 2002, the park added Tomb Raider, an indoor version of a ride commonly known as a giant top spin. Delirium, a 137 ft (42 m) Giant Frisbee, opened in 2003. In 2004 the movie "Days of Thunder" opened in side B of the Action FX theater next to SpongeBob, taken away later that year due to low viewership. In 2005 the park introduced the Italian Job:Stunt Track. Also that year, Delirium experienced a malfunction that caused closure of the Giant Frisbee for a major part of the season. It eventually received the repair it needed, and reopened later in the season.
Today, Kings Island has 13 roller coasters and many large flat rides. It also has more tame rides as well as other attractions for those not interested in thrill seeking. Kings Island's "WaterWorks" water park was renovated in 2004 to become "Boomerang Bay," a waterpark resort included with admission. Kings Island has also won Amusement Today's award for 'Best Kid's Area in the World' five consecutive times (2001-2005). Its longtime kids' area, Hanna-Barbera Land, was slowly being replaced with the Viacom-synergistic Nickelodeon (TV channel)Nickelodeon Central, which debuted in 2001,which in turn replaced the Nickelodeon Splat City area. The entire kids' area was rethemed as "Nickelodeon Universe" for 2006, with Hanna-Barbera still represented by the dark ride "Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle" and a movie in the Action Theater.
A new attraction has been announced for Kings Island for 2007. Recently, pieces of neon green track have arrived as of January 23, 2007. Although there will be an official announcement from the park on February 5, 2007; these pieces of neon green track are reported to be the ride X-Flight being relocated from Six Flags Ohio. More information is available from the Roller Coaster Database (www.rcdb.com)
New ownership
On June 30, 2006, Paramount's Kings Island, along with the rest of the Paramount Parks chain, was purchased by Cedar Fair, L.P., for approximately USD $1.24 billion. [3]. With this purchase, Cedar Fair now owns all three major amusement parks in Ohio (Paramount's Kings Island, Cedar Point and Geauga Lake).
PKI, like the other parks in the former Paramount Family, features a number of attractions - encompassing rides, live shows and restaurants - based on Paramount Pictures films and other CBS and Viacom brands. The park seems to be making a conscious decision to attract families more than thrill-seekers. However, it remains to be seen how Cedar Fair's purchase of the park will affect these efforts.
Roller coasters
Operating
| Ride | Year Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Racer | 1972 | A John Miller/Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters racing wooden coaster. Can be ridden forwards or backwards. |
| Fairly Odd Coaster | 1972 | A John Miller/Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters family wooden coaster. Previously known as Scooby Doo (1972-1979) and Beastie (1980-2005). |
| The Beast | 1979 | A giant wooden roller coaster designed by the park themselves that remains a top 10 coaster among many industry experts and enthusiasts. To this day, it retains the record for longest wooden roller coaster. |
| Vortex | 1987 | An Arrow Dynamics designed "Mega Looper" coaster that opened as the world record holder for most inversions (6). |
| Adventure Express | 1991 | Arrow Dynamics designed family Mine Train roller coaster. |
| Little Bill's Giggle Coaster | 1992 | A Miler Coaster designed ride aimed at kids. Previously known as Scooby Zoom (1992-?) and Top Cat's Taxi Jam (?-2005). |
| Top Gun | 1993 | An Arrow Dynamics Suspended roller coaster. Cars are suspended below the track and are free swinging. |
| Flight of Fear | 1996 | A Premier Rides LIM-launched roller coaster prototype. Previously known as Outer Limits: Flight of Fear (1996-2000) |
| Face/Off | 1999 | A Vekoma inverted Boomerang roller coaster. |
| Son of Beast | 2000 | A Roller Coaster Company of America designed wooden roller coaster. Was the first hyper wooden coaster and the first wooden roller coaster with a vertical loop. Closed since July 9, 2006 due to a malfunction, injuring 27 riders. The vertical loop was removed in December 2006 to allow for lighter weight trains. Son of Beast is expected to reopen for the 2007 season. |
| Rugrats Runaway Reptar | 2001 | A Vekoma family suspended coaster based off of the TV show Rugrats. |
| Italian Job: Stunt Track | 2005 | A Premier Rides family LIM-launch coaster based off the chase sequence of the 2003 remake of The Italian Job. |
Defunct
| Ride | Year Opened | Year Closed | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bavarian Beetle | 1972 | 1979 | An SDC designed "Galaxi" steel roller coaster. Moved over from the original Coney Island Ohio park. |
| Demon | 1977 | 1987 | An Arrow Dynamics shuttle loop roller coaster and the first of its kind as well. Moved to Camden Park in West Virginia as Thunderbolt Express, then scrapped in 2004. Also known as Screamin' Demon. |
| The Bat | 1981 | 1983 | Prototype Arrow Dynamics suspended coaster. Although intense, the ride had a fair share of downtime and complaints of pain. This concept was given another try with Top Gun in 1993, which was significantly less intense. |
| King Cobra | 1984 | 2001 | Prototype TOGO Stand-up roller coaster. The ride was America's first true stand-up coaster and was taken down in 2002 to make space for Delirium. Today, King Cobra sits in a field behind Flight of Fear and some parts are inside Flight of Fear's building. The ride is currently up for sale, however it may be impossible to operate the ride again due to it sitting in a field and being neglected. |
| Scooby's Ghoster Coaster | 1998 | 2005 | Prototype Caripo Batflyer suspended roller coaster (billed as the first suspended coaster for kids). The ride had poor capacity and roughness complaints. Removed in 2005 as a part of the Hanna-Barbera Land removal for Nick Universe. |
Other attractions
Operating
| Ride | Year Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Eiffel Tower | 1972 | An approximately one-third scale replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris; manufactured by Intamin AG. |
| Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad | 1972 | A train ride which provides transportation between the main theme park and Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay. |
| Drop Zone | 1999 | An Intamin gyro drop. At 315 feet, it is the tallest gyro drop in the world. |
| Tomb Raider: The Ride | 2002 | An enclosed Huss Giant Top Spin. A highly themed darkride. As of 2006, the antechamber (where clips from the movie were viewed) is now bypassed. |
| Delirium | 2003 | A Huss Giant Frisbee. |
| Scooby Doo & The Haunted Castle | 2003 | A Sally dark ride experience for families which involves shooting laser guns at ghosts and ghouls. Originally opened in 1972 as the dark boat ride "Enchanted Voyage" (later "Smurfs' Enchanted Voyage"), later converted to the Phantom Theatre (1992-2003). |
| Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay | 2004 | A 15 acre water park with an Australian theme; features a wave pool and variety of slides. An expansion and refurbishment of the WaterWorks park which opened in 1989. |
References
- ^ McNutt, Randy (1998-8-31). "Bite by bite, neighboring cities take land". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Magan, Chris (2006-04-24). "Kings Island cancels WinterFest after 1-year revival". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 2006-12-28.
- ^ "Cedar Fair, L.P. Completes Acquisition of the Paramount Parks" (HTML). Retrieved 2006-12-28.