Kings Island
Kings Mills, Ohio
Coney Island was a popular traditional amusement park
located on the Ohio River ten miles upstream from Cincinnati, Ohio. Having a
riverside location proved problematic as it was flooded several times. By the
late 1960s, the owners were looking to relocate. Coney Island closed in
1971 and Kings Island debuted in 1972. (Coney Island reopened in 1974 with a limited amount of rides, but closed permanently
in 2023.)
Kings Island is a 364-acre theme park located 24 miles north of Cincinnati. Like its 1975 sister park
Kings Dominion,
the skyline here is dominated by a 330-foot tall Eiffel
Tower replica. The park was originally owned by Taft Broadcasting, but the newly formed Kings Entertainment Company (KECO) acquired the park in 1983.
The park's name changed to Paramount's Kings Island when it and four other parks were purchased by Paramount Communications in 1993. Viacom purchased
Paramount the next year which brought Nickelodeon themes and characters to the park. Cedar Fair bought all five Paramount Parks in 2006 for $1.24 billion
in cash. The park dropped the Paramount name and theme in 2007.
Eight coasters have left the park:
- The Bat (1981-1983) This was Arrow's prototype, but persistent design and mechanical flaws caused its demolition after operating for a very short time. (There is a newer coaster that recently was renamed Bat.)
- Bavarian Beetle (1972-1978) A small "Galaxy" style coaster built by SDC, it moved here from Coney Island when Kings Island opened, but it only lasted until 1979.
- Screamin' Demon (1977-1987) Later renamed Demon, it was Arrow's first shuttle loop. It ran as Thunderbolt Express at Camden Park in West Virginia from 1988 to 1999. It was demolished in 2004. (Click picture below for details.)
- Firehawk (2007-2018) A flying coaster from Vekoma, the ride began its life as X-Flight at Geauga Lake in Aurura, Ohio. It was demolished in 2018. (Click pictures below for details.)
- King Cobra (1984-2001) This stand-up coaster from TOGO had one inversion. It sat in pieces from 2002 until being scrapped at the end of 2006. (Click pictures below for details.)
- Scooby's Ghoster Coaster (1998-2005) was a small suspended single-rail coaster from Caripro Rides. It was disassembled after the 2005 season, sat in pieces for over five years, and was eventually scrapped. (Click pictures below for details.)
- Son of Beast (2000-2009) When it opened, it was the tallest wood coaster and the only wood coaster with a loop. However, it was plagued with problems and even suffered an accident. Even after its loop was removed, the trains were replaced, and work was done on the track, it continued to be problematic and was demolished in 2012. (Click pictures below for details.)
- Vortex (1987-2019) This coaster from Arrow Dynamics had six loops. It was demolished in 2019. (Click pictures below for details.)
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