jandyb79

I failed to mention that these parties were held after hours of operation and not during the day. What area did your wife work in?

When I worked at the park they had "employee appreciation parties" for each area. On most occasions the parties were held at either the picnic grove or in the international restauraunt. I do recall two of these parties being held in both the Action Zone (then adventure village) and beast games. Each party allowed us to ride designated rides for each party. I was kicked off of the go carts the first yr the attraction opened, at one of the parties, for being too rough :/ The parties were a load of fun, but the rides didn't stay open for very long since most of us preferred to socialize. Those were the days!

^ Ha! That's clever Most people don't know that the first season of Saved by the Bell was set in Indiana before it was rebranded from its original incarnation; Good Morning, Ms Bliss. And as if you didn't already know, yes that is Max.

I visited the Haunt last weekend for the first time this season and I've given this particular attraction a lot of thought. I really liked the concept, but I felt like an opportunity was missed. I hate impugning any negativity about the well dressed attraction, but I never got the feeling that this building/decor was meant for a wax museum. Instead, I couldn't help but feel like I was in the vampire lair from the film Interview with a Vampire as a more appropriate attraction for this environment. I told my wife this as we were approaching the dinner table area and she exclaimed "You're right! That would've made more sense!" We discussed other possibilities such as a cursed Egyptian tomb with mummies, etc. (though I realize that this may have violated that Tomb Raider theme non-usage contract - err whatever). And I know the Haunt already has a vampire attraction, but this would've been an excellent upgrade!!! And don't get me wrong, I love the wax museum concept - but not in place of this old attraction. It just didn't seem to jive...

The shot taken of the footers at 5:11 in that uploaded video look like headstones in a cemetery.

The Smurf ride had such a distinct odor that I was able to recall it, while walking through a stairwell at my wifes college campus. just a few years ago. The odor was a mixture of a basement, chlorine and ice. Man, I miss that ride!

For me, it is what was rather than what currently is. I loved the smell of the old antique cars, the Smurf Ride and Rivertown before Kentons Cove was taken out.

Good...maybe I'll get a shot at one of these! I left a message tonight to make arrangements to order one tomorrow Also, read my last post. $100 now and several hundred later. ~Josh

I can understand where you are coming from, but items such as these really are within the eye of the beholder. There are a couple of examples I could use that may, or may not, justify why people want these "boards". I have been a collector for several years, both of Kings Island memorabilia as well as other pop culture rare items. Most of the items in my collection are unrecognizable to the general public, but I know what they are and I most certainly know what they are worth - both sentimentally and secondary market value. The items that excite me the most, as you may guess, are the ones that are instantly recognizable (such as a sign or train as you put it). I have no train coasters *yet, but you get the point I'm after. When the Shooting Star was demolished throughout 71 and 72 several Cincinnati residents wanted a "piece" of that ride as well. I have a newspaper article that states that just one board from the Shooting Star was auctioned off at $75 in 1978. That is like $265 and some change in current USD. Aside from that, an items value rests in what it represents (what it once was) - not just what it currently is (just a piece of wood). Let me give you two examples: screen used movie props and recovered steel beams from the World Trade Center. I used to collect movie prop replicas and the majority of them were screen accurate. A Ghostbusters trap replica would cost you somewhere in the $200 range. Track down one that was used in the movie and you would be looking to pay around $65k (I knew someone who had one and auctioned it off just recently). Both items are identical from an operational standpoint, but one holds greater value because of what it represents (some people have more money than sense and I understand how crazy this seems). Again, when the 9/11 tragedy occurred, my University was given a single steel beam as a memorial of that event. It is nothing more than a piece of steel. However, because of what it was (not what it currently is) it holds certain cognitive value. There really isn't a way to justify why people collect. I quite trying to explain myself to others several years ago (mainly my father who only sees dollar value - not that of sentiment or cultural). And I collect what I like to collect. In this case, I can see KI doing small wooden plaques with stenciled letters explaining what the piece of wood is and what SOB was, as a suitable memento. That's just my two cents... ~Josh

I really can't believe they replaced The Cemetery with CornStalkers. I've never been much of a fan of the Cemetery, even though I thought it had good potential. However, it has always been hard for me to take CornStalkers seriously. It's just a ridiculous concept in my opinion. I'll finally get a chance to visit the Haunt this season the weekend of the 12th, so I hope to see some of you there! ~Josh

Riding The Racer for the first time in 1991 was one of the most thrilling experiences I ever had - at least up to that point in life! Until then, the largest coaster I had ridden was the Big Dipper at Camden Park (ridden for the first time in 1987). To me it is all about the ride experience rather than impressive statistics, so I can honestly say that my first ride on The Racer was equally thrilling to my first ride on The Beast.

Wow, that's an interesting picture for sure! Thank you for sharing that info I had heard that there was testing for incorporating corkscrews on the Arrow suspended coasters, but didn't know that it went beyond the small scale model to full scale prototype. ~Josh

I hate hearing news like this my prayers go out to His family!

Something Pilotank and I have been searching for for well over a decade! It's another Coney documentary WCET first aired sometime in the mid 80's.

The ride closed off and on at random times throughout each operating day due to maintenance issues. Some days ran better than others, but it was not uncommon for a large line to be told that the ride was down with no indication for how long. I recall standing in line 2 to 3 times when this happened. Some people would wait, while others left. It became pretty frustrating at times. However, I do miss that ride a lot and wish they had replaced it with another coster instead of a flat ride and a freakin Sling Shot...booooo :/

Here is the thread that was started a day after it was torn down: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/24345-screechin-eagle-demolished/page__fromsearch__1 ~Josh

Well, I still think you should consider picking this up at the park, but here it is in its entirety on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLrhjK1C-7s

I know where two are located. One is outside of the Diamondback Trading Post and the other is inside the gift shop in Planet Snoopy.

I've owned the vhs of this recording since 99 and then purchased the dvd revision just a few years back. I remember my first thoughts after seeing the park footage when the real estate was maxed out (namely the footage from the sky ride looking down the mall toward the fountain). I had only seen family photos at that point and was shocked that the park grew to that size! I agree that it is very sad in some parts, but feel that it captures what a lot of patrons who frequented the park were feeling about the closure during that era. The real shock was when I visited the park for the first time the following summer and saw what it had become - what it had lost! In any case, it's a real treat to watch the video with a parent or grandparent who had visited Coney during its heyday My dad watched the video with me and explained what it was like to ride the Shooting Star and how it was like nothing he had ever ridden before! ~Josh

Thank you It's actually the mortician from the train ride. He was taken out when they revamped the ride to...well, no theming at all. The designer said that he used Boris Karloff (famous classic horror film actor) as reference when sculpting the character - see pic here http://www.imdb.com/...56992/nm0000472. Here is a comparison of the rendering next to the maquette that was once part of the ride: ~Josh

I guess this would be a good place to post a few pics of my collection. I have been collecting Coney/Kings Island items for nearly 13 years and have accumulated quite a few items. Here are a few choice pieces that range from retail items to conceptual art dept. presentation pieces that I have set up in my office. A lot of my stuff is still packed away from having recently moved, but I thought I'd get a few out and put them on display: Back row: 1974 park map, grand carousel vinyl record, drunken cowboy concept art for train ride maquette design approval Front row: 1971 park preview brochure, 1972 park guide, View Master reels (1973 & 77), Scoobie Bucks and early 90's park guides Back row: Concept artwork for the "Bat" (when it was conceived as a space themed ride), Bat concept train art and employee button. Front row: Coney Island games & rides tickets and park passes, KI games tokens and elongated pennies (all from the 1970's and 80's) Beastie terra-cotta sculpting (clay sculpted onto plywood backing) used for creating all of the fiberglass reliefs that were affixed to the front of each train and as a presentation piece for management approval. This piece is very dense and weighs about 30 lbs. 1983 Park Map Framed concept art for train mortician design approval rendering and Bat paint scheme variation art (there is an astra next to the one that was selected as the final paint choice for the train cars). Additional items not shown can be seen here: http://s26.photobuck...d%20collection/ ~Josh

Just a few weeks ago I was out at the park and the ride operator stopped Flight Deck on the lift hill because someone was trying to record. An operator then told them to put the camera away, over the loud speaker, so they could start the ride back up. They repeated the statement some 3 or 4 times before that patron put the camera away. The rode op said "thank you" and the ride started back up. So there you go... ~Josh

That was my first as well! At least, it was the first I remember. I'm sure there was a Little Dipper sometime before, but I very much remember the first time I rode the Big Dipper...that was in 1986 ~Josh

I don't have any idea how long each took. I do know quite a bit about early sculpting and casting techniques from researching action figure production during the late 70's and early 80's, and from speaking with several sculptors who were involved in 3 dimensional production in those days. They would sculpt a master from either clay, wax, polyester, foam, etc. and then cast it in silicone or plaster. In the case of The Bat heads, and various other items throughout the park in the 70's and 80's, the preferred sculpting medium was clay. This type of sculpting is known as terra cotta and was sent into an oven once sculpting was completed. After the mold was created, copies were then cast from fiberglass and could take 1 to 2 days to complete each piece. You can only get about 10 good copies from a silicone mold before they begin to wear down. At that point a new mold would need created to maintain the integrity of the original sculpting (however, I do not believe this was the case with most of KI's projects - remember they wanted it completed quickly and some items were very crude in nature when compared to fine art sculptures). As for the paint scheme, I really have no idea what factors played into them not painting them all up with the intended colors. Just because it ends up in the early concept renderings does not guarantee that it will make it into production. I'm sure it was approved all the way up until production was in full swing. At that point, they were told to cut back. This is all speculation, however, and I do not know the exact scenario that was played out. This happens a lot in the early stages of project development (ever own a toy that looks different than it did on the toy packaging?). What I do know is that all of the footage, photography, etc doesn't have any of The Bat heads painted up with colors other than shades of gray. I hope that brings a little more clarity to the question. ~Josh

I appreciate your interest! One comment in regard to the full color Bat head, this is actually the only one painted up like this. All other examples have a more simple paint scheme - all dark gray with airbrushed touches of light gray. This example was the first relief to be pulled from the mold and was painted up as a sample for approval (never used out in the park on the ride). I would imagine when execs gave the ok their next question was "How soon can you have 30 made up?" The budget and time for the project were likely factors for cutting out the other colors. ~Josh