Shaggy, I'd like to talk to you about PKI...

Who`s gonna be at opening day? I will!!!
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Pki rox Man!!!

I normally don't like to go to opening day. One it's way to crowded and two, people only go to ride the new ride, normally. When for the past two years I've been to the Media Day.....thanks to Sean.
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It's his turn to feast, when you ride the Son of Beast.

*** This post was edited by PkI FaNaTiC on 2/25/2002. ***

I started going to Kings Island around 1980, and have been a huge fan ever since.

My mom bought season passes for the whole family. (I still remember the first year I didn't have to get one with a picture of scooby on it.) We went every Sunday after church.

Now I can't get enough of the park. Skyline on Coney Mall is a reminder that Summer is back.

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http://www.PKIGuide.com

I still remember my dad's company picnics at Coney Island and the games we played in the fields (I have a picture of me in the company newsletter from it). My fondest memory of that park was the Lost River. Then as they built KI we went up and actually drove down an access road just to the side of the Racer. Once KI opened my dad's company went there and I have been to the park and had a season's pass ever since they opened and had one. When I got married I was cleaning out some old stuff at my parents house and unfortunately threw out my original pass from the first year they had them. I knew a man from the marketing/PR at that time and I was only one of about 100 people to get them the first year. I loved going there yet it took the Beast to get me to ride coasters. As a young child I was too afraid of the Racer but now that I love coasters I would like to see the old lap bar return. But my real love and addiction to coasters began with my first ride on the Beast in its initial year. I remember doing the 'running of the bulls' back to the ride. My very first ride was in the front seat and my rider was a man I met in line. He said 'stick with me I know this ride'. This person happened to be Carl Eichelman who was in his early days of his thousands of rides on the Beast. KI has always given me great memories and now that my kids ride (oldest son becoming a coaster nut) it gives me even more pleasure.

Do any of you actually live by PKI?

I'm getting into this thread late but I wanted to chime in about one similarity to what happened to me regarding The Bat.

I saw Byron Allen profile the ride and footage of him riding it on the 80's NBC TV show "Real People." When I graduated high school in 1983 [yes, I'm *that* old!] my family went to visit my brother in college in Ann Arbor, MI. I begged my Dad to drive me down to Cincy to ride The Bat and The Beast. When I got there The Bat has already closed but was still standing. All I could do was stand and stare. I did, however, get to enjoy many rides on the Beast, and this was prior to all the addition of all the skid brakes.

The Bat will always be, to me, the one coasters that "got away."

i just wanted to write a quick note to you guys on this post and thank you for sharing a part of your lives with me. shaggy, sean f., derek, and coastersrz......thank you so much. i have learned so much from your posts concerning pki. the park is a very sentimental place for my entire family. 3 generations of my family have ridden the racer.....and to this day whenever i enter the beast queue area for the first ride of the season my eyes fill up with tears.....every year without a doubt. it's not the ride, or the theming, or even the fun i have on it.....it's the fact that this park and these rides represent a wonderful childhood full of great memories. those memories i wouldn't trade for anything in the world. thank you again for sharing your heart felt memories with me.

sincerely,

johnathan hogan

Johnathan,

Yes, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU! What you said on your post above, that's why I love Kings Island SO MUCH!

Derek

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Derek McBride
PKI Dude

pkifanatic said:
Do any of you actually live by PKI?

I live 15 mins away! 10 depending on the traffic on tylersville! if i didnt work there i would go every day

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Son of beast/top gun crew 2001 and 2002

Yea, I live pretty much the same area PKIEMPSOB lives i'm guessing if he drives over Tylersville where are you west chester?

Mamoosh said:
I'm getting into this thread late but I wanted to chime in about one similarity to what happened to me regarding The Bat.
I saw Byron Allen profile the ride and footage of him riding it on the 80's NBC TV show "Real People." When I graduated high school in 1983 [yes, I'm *that* old!]
LoL, Your not the only one, I graduated in '84
my family went to visit my brother in college in Ann Arbor, MI. I begged my Dad to drive me down to Cincy to ride The Bat and The Beast. When I got there The Bat has already closed but was still standing. All I could do was stand and stare. I did, however, get to enjoy many rides on the Beast, and this was prior to all the addition of all the skid brakes.
Matthew I must dispel that rumor that more brakes were added to Beast. There are no more brakes on the ride than there ever were and last year I had several rides as fast as it has ever run! There are times however that they adjust the brakes to be harder than others and that is a fact.
The Bat will always be, to me, the one coasters that "got away."

I was lucky enough to ride The Bat several times. I distinctly remember one very rough transition off the second lifthill that swung the train so violently from left to right it would bottom out the shocks and provide a nasty OTSR bang to the head if you didn't know about it.
I still have yet to see more beautiful trains though.
Chuck, who sees the only part of beast that is normally braked harder than it ever was as the brake on the fan turn after the first drop. The second drop used to provide airtime in the back and this brake is rarely light!

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Charles Nungester
167 coasters and hopes to be over 200 by the end of 2002 :)

ShAGgy your story about how u fel in love with pki is about the same as mine. I wouldn't dare ride the Beast,and my om said it is best at night. So she waited till we could get the last ride of the night on it. After i rode it(i was 8 at the time)I just wanted more and more of it but unfortunaltely the park closed. Now every year I get a season pass to go with every one I know. I even ge to plan out our coaster vacations because of my knowledge of what are the best parks to hit.

To rap it up, KI is what turned me into a coaster freak,and i will never forget the time that we waited 45 mins for my first ride on the Beast.

Cameron Parker A.K.A. mini-coaster enthusiast

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123 and hoping for 150 by end of 2oo2 and im only 13!!!

Shaggy, the exact same thing happened in my first coster experienc to spark my love for them. I was 8 years old at Kings Island and my mom wanted me to ride the Beast but I did not want to. So she waited untill there wasn't much time left until the park closed, so we got in line. 49 minutes later I stepped off the Beast with a twinkle in my eye. That was the greatest experienc of my life. Now I enjoy the pleasure of picking our parks for vacation becasue of my love of coasters and knowledge.

Cameron Parker

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123 and hoping for 150 by end of 2oo2 and im only 13!!!

pkifanatic said:
"Do any of you actually live by PKI?"

I live 10-15 minutes away

I live 25 minutes away. In Middletown....home of th never dying Americana!
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It's his turn to feast, when you ride the Son of Beast.

I was fortunate to ride the Bat many times since I had a season pass and lived near by. I agree about the roughness on the second hill. Usually when it got that rough you knew it was about to shut down. I did get to ride it a few times its last year. Often the ride was deemed closed but they would sometimes do a quiet open and let GP ride it. I did several times and must say it was a great ride. I have ridden big bad wolf at Busch Gardens but that is the only other suspended I have been on.