Gordon Bombay

You know, I'm not entirely sure. If I recall correctly, I remember reading that Spielberg controls a good amount of the rights associated with his films, which is why we never saw much Indiana Jones in the Paramount years aside from posters, the theme song on I street, etc. AKA why we had "Tomb Raider" instead of "Indiana Jones." WHat's interesting, though, is that Adventure Express was planned, designed, conceived, and opened a few years before Paramount took over the park. So I think in that case, it was simply just a matter of the Indiana Jones films/franchise being incredibly popular for the time (Crusade opened in theaters in 1989) and KI knew what they could do with a mine train coaster. It seems like KECO was in to theming for a moment. Phantom Theater seems a lot like Haunted Mansion, no?

Except they weren’t. The ride wasn’t fun, but the State investigation found that the accident was due to a design flaw.

Paging @Shaggy — after reading this topic, I ended up going to watch that old Discovery Channel POV and all of that got me thinking about things I had heard over the years. Thought maybe you would be able to shed some light and dispel truth from fiction: - There's a pinch break on the straight piece of track shortly after you leave the station. I don't believe that was one of the ride's block sections, but once heard that the original station was supposed to be longer with zones for loading and unloading, thus allowing the ride to accommodate 3-4 trains. I also seem to recall seeing a third train Premeir train in storage and that the ride was originally supposed to have three. Any truth to that? - There was a kicker wheel just before trains crested the hill into the drop after the post-lift hill dip. I'd heard from many folks over the years state that the first train ever tested valleyed in that dip with all the park executives watching from the Eifel Tower. Did that happen? - Any idea why they never built tunnels into the ride ala its predecessor? - Also remember reading that SOB was the world's largest wooden structure and that it held a record for crossing over and under itself more times than any coaster. Did they ever promote it with those records? If you have any insight, I'd love to hear it! What an aesthetically pleasing ride it was. I originally thought it was odd that the lift hill was the only thing you could see, like it was just a massive wooden blob. Then you boarded the train and pulled out to see that loop in the distance. So darn cool. And at the top of the hill—everything out in the distance looked insane. And it was. Because the ride was never all that fun. But darn it looked good. Also enjoyed how the first drop ran parallel to the loop, making people think that the loop would happen first.

Well, thanks, @Oldschool75! Shoot me a DM or FB message and I'm sure we can work something out.

I do enjoy watching the OG Rattler POV. What an ...interesting... ride.

I'll always have a soft spot for that ride. It debuted right when I was getting into roller coasters and I had just received Roller Coaster Tycoon for the first time when SOB was announced. I mean, who wasn't amazed by that announcement? And when it was built, that structure was SO impressive looking! What a time to be alive! I even had the chance to walk its structure on a few occasions (shameless plug). Let's be real, though. The ride sucked and anyone who generally liked it always must add "but" to their statement. The ride always had an asterisk next to its reputation. Could it physically have been fixed? Sure, I bet there was an engineering solution. But, even if you gave it the "RMC treatment," every article, mention, and story was going to declare what the ride used to be and what it was known for (the 2006 accident, the later allegations, etc.). Even if it had Steel Vengeance levels of notoriety, SOB's past would always be looming. The Son of Beast name was tainted. Better to remove it and let it fade away into the annals of history. I also sincerely doubt you ever see a ride themed/named to anything resembling "son" or "family" "of Beast" again. Why bring up bad press? For those who never rode it: the view from the top just before you rocketed down the hill was incredible. The rest of the ride was misery.

No. Outpost 5 is in reference to the recordings that used to play in Adventure Express' queue line. "All aboard the express for Outpost 5." The loose storyline to AE was that you were boarding a mine train to that specific outpost and interspersed were reports from the "station master" who mentioned that one track was closed, one expedition had gone missing (and that the search was called off), etc. I think it was "track 2" that was closed (and there used be a sign reading something like "Track 2. Closed. Do not enter!" when your train entered the first tunnel. And the expedition was... the "Richards Expedition?" Anyways, yeah, that's what Outpost 5 is in reference too on the side of Son of Beast's old station. Fun Fact: for years, Adventure Express had the Indiana Jones theme playing in its queue line between announcements from the "station master." This music, along with the ride's general theme, gave the distinct impression that the ride was Indiana Jones themed. However, it never was directly. Paramount's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (the one that features a mine cart sequence) debuted in 1984, and the final film in Paramount's series (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) debuted in 1989. Adventure Express opened in 1991. Paramount acquired the park in 1992/1993.

If you ever visited Americana/LeSourdsville Lake or Fantasy Farm in Middletown/Monroe back in the day, you may remember them fondly. Americana’s demise in particular was incredibly sad. While both that park and the neighboring Fantasy Farm are gone for good, there’s a new business in Middletown that keeps their history alive. And the ice cream/food are darn good. Here’s a post on it, if you’d like to check it out: http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2019/01/fantasy-diner-and-ice-cream-parlor.html The diner is actually built into Fantasy Farm’s old gift shop. Tons of cool relics from both parks on the walls.

Due to budget cuts that year under CBS, nameteags were not produced for (not sure if all, but at least line) employees. Instead, employees wore their badges on their belt loops as a name tag.

I particularly like “one uniform shirt per employee” and “just wear your ID badge on your belt as a name tag.”

Couldn't agree more.

That's a really good and interesting read. It's interesting how all of this would come to effect Paramount Parks as a company as well as the regional/seasonal parks they took over. The acquisition of the properties would've taken place before Redstone's acquisition. Had he not come into play, I wonder how different (for better or worse) they would've been. There's a great vintage video from a news station in Columbus covering the KECO/Paramount transition in 1993. I love hearing the optimism and bold vision for Paramount Parks, just before what truly altered any "best laid plans" as Viacom came into play. On one hand, the addition of the Nickelodeon properties was probably a huge boost. On the other, Paramount didn't really have any great movies that could become rides/attractions and then failed (or couldn't) leverage the films that were truly popular/good. Contrary to popular belief, Adventure Express wasn't "truly" themed to Indiana Jones (and never marketed by Paramount as such, just implied), Titanic never became any real attraction, Spieldberg associated films went to other parks, and Top Gun/Days of Thunder were already well beyond their best years of relevance. I remember taking a Paramount Parks survey once, asking if people would be interested in a ride themed to the film "The Core." I had to look up what movie that was. Oh, and Tomb Raider—yeah. Italian Job: Stunt Track. Piecemeal ride, forgettable film. While I think Cedar Fair gets far, far, far, too much praise as a company, it certainly has a better vision for the parks than what Paramount/Viacom cobbled together whenever they occasionally remembered that they owned theme parks. It always struck me that PP would offer up a themed attraction one year (seemingly doubling down on the theme park business) and then do a "amusement park" ride the next. It was like they couldn't decide between going full theme park (Tomb Raider, Italian Job) or traditional regional amusement park (Son of Beast, Delirium, Drop Tower, etc.). In the end, they always seemingly missed the mark of both categories. And that woeful CBS year... good Lord.

Thank you sir. I hate to admit it, but I haven't been to the Eastgate location still. Yep, that new shed is for monorail maintenance/storage. The existing "Snake" building/station is having its maintenance/track storage converted to event space. Thanks, @beastfan11, hope you're well!

I wonder what this means for the Northern Kentucky one that's long been touted, but never particularly close to reality.

Thanks, @IndyGuy4KI!

Hi everyone, Back in 2008, I visited Jungle Jim's and wrote a story for this site about the park's former monorail which was (at the time) being repurposed there. I was accompanied by Keith, a KIC member and former monorail operator. Years later, I finally got to ride the thing with @BoddaH1994. I dug up some of my old photos, cleaned em up, and put together a new story that tells the tale of the monorail at both Jungle Jim's and Kings Island. You can read the full thing here: http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2018/12/jungle-jims-monorail.html There are also some fantastic resources out there that helped me cobble together the story (admittedly it's a bit brief on my site, but these two links are GREAT reads): 1) Ty's thread from 2011 2) This great piece on the KI website by the talented @Shaggy.

I can't remember: do certain coaches only run with certain engines or do they shuffle it up from time to time? It annoys me that the green coaches aren't with the green engine in that photo.

Totally cool once you’re 21, though. But not a second before 20 year olds are notorious for not respecting lions. Typical millennials.

@Robiet This is incredible! Any chance you’ll be breaking it out or unfurling it at some point in the future? I’d love to do a follow up to the original article! I can bring you some beer for your trouble/help fold it back up!

I know he was kidding, but Scott was a bit hurt by that. They weren't a joke and his connections with Comp USA made all the difference.

A little backstory: KIC wanted to keep costs low for attendees and Comp USA stepped up in a big way. They were able to fund the buffet lunch and extra staffing for ERT. The family shown on the lanyard were The Schiaffos. They had won KIC's "Father's Day Fun Post" contest here on KIC the year prior. Not sure if Steve or any of his family members still post here, he eventually took a job in his home state of New Jersey and now works in the drone industry after years of being a film producer. Wonderful memories. Edit: The "Stardate" was put in place because it was rumored that Paramount's former Star Trek The Experience was going to be relocated to KI's picnic grove. Cedar Fair had extended licensing use for this attraction, but the park's track record of maintaining themed experiences was called into question. The announcement was going to be exclusive to KIC event visitors, but was called off at the last minute.

Thank you so, so, so much for keeping up with the site! I really appreciate it. I'm definitely going to keep writing and shooting and adding to it, but I need to update it, get a better interface, etc. It really needs to be better for mobile use as well. Blogger is a dinosaur that Google never updates.

Thanks, man. Not sure what's going to happen with the site in the next few months. Appreciate you checking it out and hope you're well!

Ryan! Glad you're doing well! I remember you talking about the Little Dipper when we visited Americana/LL back in 07. While it was similar to Great Pumpkin, I don't think it was an exact clone. I never rode The Serpent, but if it's anything like The Python at Coney, it was probably terrible. I still have never ridden the Electric Rainbow, despite all the times you and I went to Stricker's. I remember being at Americana as a really young kid, then going once in that 2002 season as well. Like you, I remember the Eagle being really good. I had assumed that it would be "bad," since it was at a small park. Progress definitely comes at a cost and I'm sad to see this place go, but there certainly was ample opportunity to save it if the right person was interested. It just seemed that person never quite came along. In the original 2007 article, the comment section has been filled with people claiming all kinds of conspiracies about how things happened behind the scenes to keep the park from returning, but I don't believe most of that is true. The park had been struggling since 1996.

Hi folks, So, eleven years ago, I was a lot more active in this website. Not just the forums, but its production, content, etc. as well. Helping out with that shaped a lot of what I studied in school and what I do now. Love that this site still has an active, great community. Made a lot of good friends from here, have met a lot of great people over the years. Back in 2007, myself and some of KIC's staff had the chance to visit Americana/LeSourdsville Lake five years after its last season. We documented the closed park and what might become of it. That story launched my website: http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2007/10/lesourdsville-lakeamericana-revisited_29.html Since then, I've had the chance to photograph a few other abandoned amusement parks (among a lot of other subjects). With the demolition of Americana/LeSourdsville almost complete, I decided to go back. My buddy Scott helped out with his drone. Thought some of you might enjoy the video, photos, and history. Ryan, Dane, Gabe, Robbie (and yes, even you Bill (but not you Dan*): hope you're all doing well. Here's the story: The End of LeSourdsville Lake/Americana *Just kidding, Dan.