Of Kings Island memories...

So once again I am wasting away here at work. The only thing to help me pass the time before I go home in two hours is to reminisce about bygone days at Kings Island amusement park. Let me just start by listing rides, food, and other things that are now gone that I miss...

Rides

First and foremost, I miss Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal. Just like Cedar Point and White Water Landing, I cannot stand the fact that most major parks are getting rid of their log flume rides. KCKC never had a line, didn't get you soaked, and a few times the employees let me stay in the log without going through the line again. They replaced it with the god awful Tomb Raider ride...thanks Paramount!

I miss the Smurf Ride. Yeah, it was a kiddie ride but it was MY ride back in the day. The damn thing was a staple of our visits and I can clearly remember the small drop at the end of the ride that used to scare my aunt. If I close my eyes I can still see the stairs to the loading platform, the boats, Gargamel. They replaced it with Phantom Theater in 1992, however....

I miss Phantom Theater because they took that out too in favor of a shitty Scooby Doo interactive dark ride. In addition to being air conditioned, PT featured a memorable ride soundtrack, inventive set design, and a welcome reprieve from the long lines in the rest of the park. How about just expanding the park instead of replacing old rides. As a amusement park you have to understand what your patrons want, and I think Paramount never understood the simple fact that people loved the older rides.

I miss King Cobra. TOGO designed coasters are notoriously rough, but KC always gave a great ride. Paramount got rid of their only stand up coaster and one of the more unique rides they had.
I miss Scrappy's Slide. Yeah, another kiddie ride but the thing NEVER had a line and it was a giant slide for fucks sake! What kid wouldn't love it?!?

I miss the Flying Eagles. My cousin Christie will agree with this one. More than any of their flat rides, including the Shake Rattle and Roll, this one was the best because you could control your ride. It was always great to see how high you could make your eagle fly.

I miss the old Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad when it wasn't just a quicker way to get to the damn water park. Bring back the frontier scenes damn it!

I miss the old Beast. The one that had "lap" bars that came down to your rib cage and gave you the best airtime on the ravine drop. The Beast that didn't have seat dividers. The Beast that didn't have magnetic trim brakes! The Beast that didn't keep the lights on in the final helix at night!!! Although I still love it, it will never be what it was.

Food

I miss the days when the Boneless Rib Sandwich at Wings didn't give you explosive diarrhea.

I miss eating lunch in air conditioning at the Festhaus while watching a ice skating show. There was nothing better than getting out of the heat for an hour while scarfing down La Rosa's pizza.

I miss eating the smurf ice cream. It's still there but it just doesn't taste the same as it did back in the late 80's/early 90's.

Misc.

I miss the small things that made a trip to KI so special. The World's Largest Hanging Flower Basket near the Beast. The bridge over the lake in Rivertown. The damn Rainbow that told you you were in Hanna Barbara Land!! The elephant fountain. I miss the vine tunnel that marked the entrance from HB Land to Rivertown. The shooting gallery that used rubber raquet balls shot from air cannons. I miss the way the employees operating the Beastie would allow my cousin and I to continuously ride the coaster without going back through the line. I miss the Kings Mills Log Flume that way it used to be before they themed it to the Wild Thornberry's....ugh. I miss panning for gold in the small Rivertown gold shop that had a wooden trough that you could literally pan for gold from. I miss the old Waterworks speed slides, especially Thunder Run. I will never forgive myself for never having the nerve to go on The Plunge while it was in existence.

The bottom line to all of this is KI will never be the same way it was when I remember it and you will never know....unless you were there also....what it was like to be there back in the day. Some kids and families swear by Disney or Six Flags. For me, especially when I was a kid, there was NO OTHER park that topped Kings Island. It is, was, and always will be my favorite park. If you go, please check these things out...

The Beast: Over 30 years later, still the Worlds Longest Wooden Coaster. Ride it at night.

Vortex: One of the better Arrow looping coasters.

Wild Thornberry's Log Ride: As much as I hate the theming, it still rides the same way...right through the woods.

Drop Zone: World's tallest Gyro Drop. 315 feet going down...

La Rosas Pizza: One of my two daily meals at the park. The other being...

Skyline Chili: Try the 3-way.....the dinner platter, not what you were thinking.



Later