THE HISTORY OF PARAMOUNTS KINGS ISLAND

1972 will be the first year for Kings Island. Taft Broadcasting owned Coney Island, then sold Coney Island ( Which Is still there today), to build KI, Taft Broadcasting later became KECO. The signature ride was Racer, which started the second Coaster golden age, which is still going on today. The five main areas were International Street , Oktoberfest , Coney Mall , Rivertown, and The Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera , which later was shortened to Hanna Barbera Land. Some other rides were Bavarian Beetle, Canoe Ride, Der Spinning Keggers, Enchanted Voyage, Flying Dutchman, Flying Eagles , Flying Carpet, Haleys Comet, Kings Mill Log Flume, Monster , Rotor, Scrambler, Sky Ride, Tumble Bug , Wheel of Fortune(when it was removed it was sold to DelGrossos), Sunshine Turnpike, Scooby Doo , and Eiffel Tower . The Kings Island Inn also opened, The hotel�s original design was meant to take advantage of the pastoral setting and evoke a sense of the foothills to the Swiss Alps.


In 1973 Bayern Curve(when it was removed it went to Wonderland Sydney) opens in Oktoberfest and a big log ride called Kenton Cove�s Keelboat Canal opens in Rivertown. ''The Brady Bunch'' and ''Partridge Family'' both shot episodes in the park.


In 1974 A new area opened called Lion Country Safari , with over 300 animals, the main ride in that area was Wild Animal Habitat Monorail.

In 1975, Zodiac, and Shake Rattle & Roll are added in Coney Mall, Coney Mall and River Town are connected. Daredevil stuntman Evel Knievel set a new world's record by jumping over 14 Greyhound buses.

In 1976, Research and design for Beast begins. American Heritage Music Hall is added.


In 1977, Screamin Demon ( later on the name what shortened to Demon) is added to Lion Country Safari , This would be the last year for Canoe Ride, Dick Van Dyke, visit�s the park, and Forty five riders are stranded on Sky Ride for as long as 8 hours after high winds cause the ride to jam.

In 1978 Construction on Beast begins.

In 1979, The world famous Beast makes its debut in River Town, it becomes the new signature ride, the tagline was "...the biggest, baddest, longest, fastest wooden roller coaster in the world!", and Bavarian Beetle, and, Haley�s Comet, makes there final run.

In 1980 Scooby Doo is renamed Beastie , and Sky Ride closed during the year. A ghost named tower Johnny makes his first appearance on the Eiffel Tower and eyes can be seen in the royal fountains, this all is rumored to have happened in the early 80�s.

In 1981 The Bat, the world's first suspended roller coaster is added in Coney Mall, this would be the last year for the Rotor.

In 1982 Hanna Barbera Land gets a $2.1 million face lift, new rides in Hanna Barbera Land were Hanna Barbera Carousel, McScrappy's Farm, and the Jelly Bean Bowl, One side of the Racer is turned backwards, Ferris Wheel and Viking Fury are added in Octoberfest, and Timberwolf Amphitheater is built, and Enchanted Voyage becames Smurfs Enchanted Voyage. This year also saw the debut of Winterfest, featuring the new Festhaus.


In 1983 King's Entertainment Company (KECO). Is formed, KI�s sister parks are Carowinds, Kings Dominion, Great America, Canada Wonderland, Wonderland Sydney (which was sold shortley after it was built, and closed in 2004), Coney Island ( which was sold in 1987), Bonfonte Gardens (in 2004, the park left Paramount Parks), Star Trek the Experience, and Hanna Barbera Land which died in the 1980's. Friday, May 13, 1983 - A teenager was killed after falling from the Eiffel Tower attraction . He was in a restricted area of the ride when he fell.


In 1984 After three years of constant mechanical difficulties and design flaws, Bat closes, King Cobra , North America's first stand-up coaster opens in Lion Country Safari, and Admission to get into the park is $13.50.

In 1985 White Water Canyon opens in River Town, and Tumble Bug is removed at the end of the season.

In 1986, The Flying Eagles is moved to the back Coney Mall, to make Dogdem bigger, Flying Carpet is moved to Hanna-Barbera Land and renamed Scrappy's Slide, Skylab and Zephyr are added to Coney Mall, this was Kings Islands' 15th Anniversary. Cinema 180 is also added.


In 1987, Vortex opens in Coney Mall, and Screamin Demon is removed at end of the season and eventually sold to Camden Park in Huntington, West Virginia. As of 2004, this ride is SBNO, then in 2005 its was removed and Zodiac is SBNO this entire season.

In 1988, Amazon Falls is added to Lion Country Safari, and Zodiac
still is SBNO this season.

In 1989 a new area opens in the park, the name of the area is waterworks . Zodiac and Der Spinning Keggers are removed at end of season. Zodiac is moved to Wonderland Sydney.


In 1990 Flight Commander opens in Coney Mall, Rushing River opens in Water Works, Flying Dutchman is removed and sold to Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, where it still operates today, and Ferris Wheel is removed. A ghost named Racer Boy is seen for the 1st time, Tower Johnny gets more extreme, by operating the Eiffel Tower, this is all some of the folklore circulating in the early 90�s.


In 1991 Adventure Express , opens in Oktoberfest. Sunday, June 9th , A woman was killed after she fell from the Flight Commander ride. Also on this same day two men were killed after having been electrocuted in a pond. They were trying to rescue another man who was in the pond. He also suffered electrical shock.

In 1992 The Smurfs Enchanted Voyage is reworked as Phantom Theater , Scooby Zoom, opens in Hanna-Barbera Land, on part of old Smurfs Enchanted Voyage, and This would also be the last year for the Wild Animal Habitat Monorail and would be snt to Jungle Jims. Paramount buys out King's Entertainment Company in July of this year.




In 1993, Lion Country Safari is renamed Adventure Village, A suspended roller coaster, to be named Thunder Road, opens in Adventure Village, but is named Top Gun , which has the has the longest queue long in the park. This also marks the beginning of Paramount's Kings Island.

In 1994, Days of Thunder , (this ride was the first ride in Paramount Action FX Theater), opens in Coney Mall, Sunshine Turnpike and Scrappy Slide are removed at end of the season.

In 1995, a new area opens in the park, Nickelodeon Splat City, Flight Commander also completes its final season. Extreme Skyflyer is added.


In 1996, Outer Limits Flight of Fear opens in Coney Mall.

In 1997, Water Works nearly doubles in size, Surfside Bay and Buccaneer Island opens in Water works, Skylab operated for a few days and spent the remainder of the season SBNO, and then removed at the end of the season.

In 1998, Wipe-Out Beach is added to Water Works, Scooby�s Ghoster Coaster, Yogi�s Sky Tours and Atom Ant�s Airways opens in Hanna-Barbera Land, Scooby Zoom is renamed Top Cat's Taxi Jam,
Days of Thunder becomes James Bond 007 A License To Thrill.

In 1999, Adventure Village is renamed Paramounts Action Zone, and Drop Zone and Face Off opens in Paramounts Action Zone, Amazon Falls is renamed Congo Falls, and Son of Beast construction begins. They close King Cobra and Drop Zone in response to two accidents that happen at other paramount parks. Drop Zone is struck by lightning after being shut down due to weather conditions.


In 2000, Son Of Beast, the world's tallest, fastest, and only looping wooden roller coaster, opens in Paramounts Action Zone, Seatbelts are installed on the Beastie, King�s Mill Log Flume, one of the few rides remaining that was moved from the Coney Island ( when it was at CI it was called Log Flume), is SBNO this season, and Outer Limits Flight of Fear is renamed Flight of Fear, and Tower Johnny makes appearances at Beast and White Water Canyon, this supposedly happened. While building the Son of Beast OSHA fines the park $110,000 for working conditions. Cars are redesigned on Scooby's Ghoster Coaster. New short restraint belts to connect the over-the-head shoulder harnesses to each seat are added to Drop Zone Stunt Tower. Fearfest a halloween event starts during the month of October. Kings Island sues the 3 companies directly involved of construction of Son of Beast for it being down most of the year.


In 2001, Nickelodeon Splat City is renamed Nickelodeon Central, King�s Mill Log Flume was reopens in Nickelodeon Central, and is renamed Wild Thornberry�s River Adventure, Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal is removed, and Rugrat's Runaway Reptar opens in Nickelodeon Central, and James Bond 007: A License To Thrill becomes 7th Portal and Meteor Attack and Tower Johnny supposedly made the elephant on Wild Thornberry�s River Adventure spray water. The name Outer Limits is droped off Outer Limits Flight of Fear and now becomes just Flight of Fear. The OTS restraints are replaced with a lap / foot restraint. On June 12th a family sues PKI for a family member getting struck by lightning in the parking lot. October 14th Two trains collided in the station during a rain-related shutdown of the ride. The second train failed to stop short of the station and slid into another train that was unloading passengers. Twenty people were taken to area hospitals with various injuries. No injuries requiring an overnight hospital stay were reported.

In 2002, Tomb Raider The Ride opens in River Town, King Cobra is removed, the last day for Phantom Theater is July 14th, On July 16th, during a morning test run, an empty train on Top Gun collides with a maintenance vehicle parked too near the track, Top Gun reopens with the one remaining train on July 18th. New magnetic brakes are added to the Beast. Vortex get repainted.


In 2003, Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle opens in Hanna-Barbera Land, Delirium opens in Paramounts Action Zone, Metal detectors are added at the front gates, Top Gun's second train re-appears with four new cars, Octoberfest Beer Gardens is renamed Bubba Gump's Shrimp Shack, and 7th Portal becames SpongeBob SquarePants in 3D and Secrets of the lost temple. There is a stand off when a man tries to enter the park with a knife and stun gun. July 25th a women suffered an apparent heart attack while riding Top Gun. Park officials noticed her having trouble breathing when her train reentered the station. Paramedics were summoned and performed CPR. She was taken to Bethesda North Hospital, where she was taken off life support and died the next day. The fountains on International Street are refurbished. The turn off of the first drop on the Beast is reprofiled. The entrance area for Action Zone is widened. The queue is extended for Drop Zone. New safety belt locks are added to Drop Zone. Adventure Express F/X are refurbished. PKI announces that WaterWorks will close on Labor Day and will be replaced with a New Addition for 2004. Kings Islands sign is toppled down when storms move through on September 27th.


In 2004, Water Works is renamed Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay , most of the rides in Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay , that were in Water works are sill there but renamed, Zephyr and Scrambler are repainted, Monster is refurbished, Beast and Racer receive seatbelts, and Secrets of the lost temple became Days of Thunder again which closed in June, but came back again in July, Just to be closed again. Fire breaks out in the Festhaus, but was extinguished quickly, this all happened on August 13th, and Antique Cars closed for good on August 15th. Flying Eagles closed for good on October 17th, Flying Eagles were moved to Paramounts Carowinds.


In 2005, Italian Job Stunt Track opens in Coney Mall. Happy Days Diner opens in Coney Mall. A Graeters Ice Cream opens in the park too. Magilla Gorilla's Grill is replaced with a Chick Fila. New cannons are added to White Water Canyon. Winterfest come back this year. Nickelodeon Central, and Hanna-Barbera Land are removed. The Paramounts Kings Island Campground is removed, for a new Logde. A Star Bucks also opens.

In 2006 A new area named Nickelodeon Unaverise opoens. Scooby Doo also gets his own area. Sponge Bob squar Pants in 3D is replaced with The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.

If there is any thing you guys want me to add to this time line pm it to me, and I will add it.