PKI History
I have some questions about the history of Paramount's Kings Island.
1. What family/company owned Paramount's Kings Island before Paramount bought it.
2. What was the fisrt roller coaster that Paramount added to the park?
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1. KECO (King's Entertainment Company?)
2. Top Gun
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I actaully have another question. What year did Paramount purchase King's Island?
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My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
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The World of Thrills
linder family
Top gun
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Actually King's Broadcasting owned PKI
Top Gun was the first Paramount added coaster.
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(Former Signature replaced due to bad joke with accident) The Beast at night-Two peas in a pod? http://www.geocities.com/moviecoaster/safetyeditorial- Next article against Markey!
When SF bought Fiesta Texas, they had just purchased their Vekoma Looper. SF decided to install it anyway and turn the trains around backwards since they believed it would make the ride more thrilling.
I'll throw my two cents in here...
King's Island was originally opened as a division of Taft Broadcasting. Cincinnati's Coney Island had been purchased a few years prior from the Wachs family. When the park closed up shop and moved to Mason, most of the managment team from Coney moved as well.
Immediately therafter, Taft began to plot other parks and plans were laid out for King's Dominion. Plans, as early as 1973, were in the works for additional amusement centers/parks in Toronto and Chicago. Chicago never happened, but Toronto eventually premiered years later as Wonderland. Once King's Island was complete and attention moved to KD, Kings Entertainment Corporation, or KECO, was formed to help emcompass the growing amusement park division of Taft.
Paramount always had an investment in Taft parks as a large shareholder.... hence Paramount television shows filming at KI.
By the 1980's KECO had basically become it's own entity as Taft Broadcasting faltered. By the late 1980's the lions share of stock was purchased by Carl Linder of Procter and Gamble fame. Mr. Linder's coprporation ran the parks for a few years, and although they made huge ride investments, the parks were rapidly loosing steam and money. Paramount stepped in and opted to purchase the lions share from Mr. Linder (Who still remains a shareholder) in order to brand the former KECO parks as "Paramount Parks." This aquisition included King's Island, Carowinds, Wonderland and Kings Dominion. Great America was also purchased in this deal as well but prior had only been managed, not owned, by KECO.
Non-the-less Paramount took owenership in late 1992.... the same year Phantom Theater premiered at KI. Arrow had already been contracted prior to the buyout to build KI's second suspended coaster... KI has always (even to this day) worked on future additions two or more years prior to the season in which they will premier. Although it has always operated as "Top Gun," the coaster originally was planned to be called "Thunder Road." Paramount continued with the deal and the coaster opened in 1994.
If for that reason you do not count it as a Paramount addition, then Outer Limits was the first coaster that Paramount added to the park.
Shaggy
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Shaggy
R.I.P. Maestro
Phantom Theater 1992-2002
*** This post was edited by Shaggy on 8/19/2002. ***
Shaggy KNOWS his PKI (KI) history....but aren't two cents and two cents four cents.....
bill, who has NO "sense"...;)
That what happens when you double click ;-) Now the second is deleted...
Shaggy
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Shaggy
R.I.P. Maestro
Phantom Theater 1992-2002
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*** This post was edited by DLDude13 on 8/19/2002. ***
Shaggy,
Was it always going to be called Thunder Road before Paramount took over? I was at KI late in 1992 and I remember seeing a sign over by the old monorail station saying something like, "Look for 'Swoops' coming next season!"
I always figured "Swoops" was going to be the original KECO name for the coaster. And the name fit since it's a suspended and it was going into the former safari area.
Oh, and probably just a typo, but Top Gun opened in 1993. Days of Thunder was 1994.
Yes, sorry... typo. Top Gun at PKI did open in 1993.
Not sure about the "Swoops" sign. I did not attend the park late in 1992 so I never saw it. I did attend that season, but only a couple of times in the heart of summer.
I know of "Thunder Run" because PKI marketing has told me that factoid. The name change came when Paramount decided to brand the Park with movie names/theming. I have heard a rumor that the old KI had also considered calling it the Raven, but I have never had that authenticated by and PKI personel.
There's lots of fun stuff about what almost was, or could have been at PKI. Sometime I'll bestow you with info about "Movierail."
Shaggy
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Shaggy
R.I.P. Maestro
Phantom Theater 1992-2002
*** This post was edited by Shaggy on 8/19/2002. ***
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My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
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The World of Thrills
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