The year was 1886 and one icon of that era was a set of Coney Island parks. Coney Island in Ohio was located in Cincinnati, just on the shores of the Ohio River. For many years, traditional flat rides and thrills dominated over the shores as people came to the park to ride classic rides such as the many legendary wooden coasters that have graced the midways and more. The park would go well, despite the burden of constant flooding from the Ohio River. In the late 1960's, the owners of Coney Island became fed up with the constant flooding of the Ohio River, making the park hard to maintain and to add to that, the lack of space to expand. The owners of the park decided to move away from its old location to a plot of land boasting over 1600 acres just thirty miles north of Cincinnati in 1970 at the suburb of Kings Mills, Ohio. Construction started on the park soon afterwards.

On September 6th, 1971, the park had its last day of operation before closing the park for good. After the last day of operation of the old Coney Island, most of the rides at the park were moved to the new park. The two existing wooden coasters at the time were never moved and were sadly torn down. But the two coasters would be recreated later on at other Paramount parks. Throughout the winter of 1971, a kingdom of thrills began to rise as the iconic Eiffel Tower replica rose and as well as many rides, both old and new. On April 29th, 1972, the park’s gates opened to thousands of guests and soon to be fanatics of the park. Five themed sections were built to have guests explore the lands of International Street (entry area), Coney Island midway, Rivertown, and the Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera. The park opened with three coasters, the signature addition to Kings Island other than the Eiffel Tower being Racer, a twin tracked racing coaster designed by the legendary John Allen. Racer takes riders on both tracks through an out and back course with a race against each other on an airtime filled course with speeds of sixty-one miles per hour and heights of eighty-eight feet. Racer would remain one of the most revolutionary coasters in the world because of the rebirth of the classic wooden coaster in its design. The second biggest coaster was Bavarian Beetle (defunct), made by S.D.C. as one of their Galaxi models, this was the only coaster relocated from the old Coney Island park. The ride took riders through a tight, compact steel coaster circuit. The third coaster added in the park for its opening year was another classic John Allen wooden creation. This coaster, designed for young coaster enthusiasts, called Scooby Doo (now known as Beastie). Scooby Doo would take riders through a pint sized cyclone-like layout full of airtime.

Other attractions added for the park’s historic opening year includes the iconic 330 foot tall replica of the Eiffel Tower located at the entry. In the flat rides department, rides included Der Spinning Keggers, Enchanted Voyage, Flying Dutchman, Flying Eagles, Giant Slide, Haley’s Comet, Kings Mill Log Flume, Monster, Rotor, Scrambler, Sky Ride, Sunshine Turnpike, Tumble Bug, and Wheel of Fortune. After a successful opening year, Kings Island added two more expansions to the park the following year. Bayern Kurve and Keaton’s Cove Keelboat Canal log flume were added in 1973. Another huge expansion would occur in 1974, when the wild invaded the park. Lion Country Safari and Monorail were added as a 100 acre expansion. The area would allow guests to get up close with numerous African animals in a simulated savanna. Two more flat rides were added to the park the next year, Zodiac and Shake, Rattle, and Roll.

America’s bicentennial, 1976, would bring a small addition, the American Heritage Music Hall. But 1976 would be the start of one of the most iconic wooden coasters around. The Beast underwent planning and numerous designers partook in the design, including in the earlier stages, John Allen. In the end, John Allen only designed the brake system for the ride. 1977 would finally bring Kings Island a new roller coaster and a first of its kind as well. The Screamin’ Demon was added as the world’s first shuttle loop coaster and shuttle coaster as well. Made by Arrow Dynamics as one of their Shuttle Loop models, riders are launched at thirty miles per hour out of a station, dip down and travel through a loop. After the loop, riders rise back up and stop until they are pushed backwards, going through the course again in reverse. After no new additions in 1978, the woods surrounding the park suddenly spawned a creature of goliath proportions and remains to be one of the most iconic and well-known coasters of all time. The Beast was added in 1979, designed by Al Collins, Jeff Gramke, and Charlie Dinn, with a small contribution by John Allen. The Beast opened up as “The Biggest, Baddest, Longest, Fastest Wooden roller coaster in the world!”. The Beasts boasts extreme heights of over 110 feet, drops over 140 feet, speeds of nearly sixty-five miles per hour, more than one and a quarter mile of track, three tunnels, and two lift hills. The Beast remains to be favored by enthusiasts and has remained King’s Island’s signature coaster for many years. At the end of King’s Island’s biggest, baddest season, three rides are removed: The Bavarian Beetle steel coaster, Haley’s Comet, and Sky Ride. The next year, no new additions were added, but the Beast spawned an offspring when Scooby Doo was rethemed to Beastie. The new Beastie was painted purple in color, and a tunnel was added at the bottom of the first drop.

The next year, King’s Island wanted to stun the coaster industry yet again, as they did with Beast, Screamin’ Demon, and Racer. The park contacted Arrow Dynamics again for another new, first of its kind, roller coaster. The answer was The Bat, the world’s first suspended roller coaster. Opening in 1981, Bat took riders through a course of extreme turns and swings as the cars are suspended below the steel track and swing at extreme angles. But, The Bat wouldn’t hang around King’s Island for long, as numerous downtime and maintenance problems plagued the coaster. In 1984, The Bat was removed from the park and the suspended coaster seemed doomed until Big Bad Wolf and XLR-8 saved the concept from being scrapped. Also at the end of the season, The Rotor flat ride is removed.

In 1982, the park celebrated ten years of thrills by adding more rides to the park. Two brand new kiddie rides appear inside Hanna-Barbera Land and two more flat rides, Ferris Wheel and Viking Fury, were added to the park as well. Also, one side of Racer’s trains is reversed, making riders go through a wild, racing wooden ride, backwards. Also, the beginning of a park tradition occurs, WinterFest. Winterfest celebrates Christmas at the park, which includes a few of the rides open during December and numerous spectacles of lights and shows as well. In 1983, Lion Country Safari (renamed Wild Animal Habitat) opens up a new walkthrough exhibit. More family rides come in 1984 as Enchanted Voyage is rethemed as The Smurf’s Enchanted Voyage. Also in 1984, a new King of the Island is built, America’s first stand-up roller coaster, known as King Cobra (now defunct). Built by TOGO International, King Cobra takes riders through a steel course consisting of a ninety-five foot height, a vertical loop as its only inversion, and speeds of over fifty miles per hour. At the end of 1984, The Bat is removed because of the problems that had continually plagued the ride.

In 1985, White Water Canyon is added as Ohio’s first River Rapid’s ride. The ride, made by Intamin AG, takes riders through a soaking course as a perfect family addition to Kings Island. Tumble Bug also gets removed from the park in 1985 as well. The park’s fifteenth anniversary in 1986 brought the park four new rides in a newly themed area, Coney Mall. Skylab (Huss Skylab), Zephyr (Wave Swinger), and Dodgems (modified Bumper Cars), and Cinema 180 theater were added. In 1987, in the void left from the Bat’s old location, a new Arrow Looping coaster was built. Vortex, a twisted mega looping coaster, was added in the spot occupied by the Bat. Consisting of six inversions, speeds of fifty five miles per hour, and heights of 150 feet, Vortex became another stellar hit at the park. At the end of the season, Screamin’ Demon is removed from the park and was sold to Camden Park in Huntington, West Virginia as Thunderbolt Express. Today, Thunderbolt Express has since been dismantled.

In 1988, in the spot of Screamin’ Demon came another water ride. Amazon Falls was added, coming from Intamin AG as their shoot the chutes models. But the next year, 1989, would bring the areas first major water park. Water Works was added, consisting of fifteen water slides, a lazy river, and the Splash Island childrens area. Two flat rides are removed that season, Der Spinning Keggers and Zodiac are removed from the park. The nineties came and in 1990, another Water Works addition was added, Rushing River, a 700 foot long family rafting experience, was added. Also added in 1990, Flight Commander was added to replace Zodiac. Two rides were removed in 1990, Flying Dutchman and Ferris Wheel were removed. In 1991, another new coaster comes from Arrow Dynamics, Adventure Express, a mine train coaster, is added. Adventure Express takes riders through a steel coaster course of heights over sixty three feet and speeds of over thirty five miles per hour, making it the perfect family coaster with four themed tunnels, each with special effects.

The parks twentieth anniversary came in 1992 and The Smurf’s Enchanted Voyage is removed for a new themed dark ride. Phantom Theater is added that year, along with a new kiddie coaster, Scooby Zoom (later known as Top Cat‘s Taxi Jam), boasting an eight foot high height and a short 200 foot length. But on July 31st, 1992, the biggest change since the move from Coney Island was announced. Paramount Communications buys out the park’s owner, King’s Entertainment Company, and results in all of the parks in the chain under the Paramount name.

In 1993, Kings Island opens its gates once again, this time as Paramount’s Kings Island. Another big attraction was added to mark the big change, Top Gun: The Jet Coaster, an Arrow suspended coaster, was added, giving a second try to the Suspended coaster concept. Taking advantage of the terrain, the ride takes pilots to heights of seventy eight feet and speeds of fifty one miles per hour. Originally, Top Gun was going to be called Thunder Road before Paramount took over the park and theme it to the movie. At the end of 1993, the Wild Animal Habitat and Monorail are removed from the park. The next year, taking the place of the now uninhabited Wild Animal Habitat is a new themed section named Adventure Village. Also added in 1994, Days of Thunder, a motion simulator themed after the movie, opens up. Two attractions are removed in 1995 in Hanna-Barbera Land when a new themed section would be built for kids. In 1995, Nickelodeon Splat City opened up. Another extreme attraction opened in 1995 as well, an S&S Skycoaster upcharge attraction called Extreme Skyflyer. Another attraction bites the dust in 1996, when Flight Commander is removed from the park. But in 1996, Kings Island would end up pulling off another record.

In 1996, a new form of launch was unveiled to launch riders at high speeds. Paramount Parks decided to give two parks the new ride. The ride? Outer Limits: Flight of Fear (now known simply as Flight of Fear). The new launch method would be LIM (Linear Induction Motor) launch, using electric motors to propel the train. Made by Premier Rides, riders are launched at speeds nearing fifty-five miles per hour into a spaghetti bowl layout consisting of four inversions. The ride became another hit, despite the ride having OTSR’s (Over The Shoulder Restraints). In 1997, the park’s water park, Water Works, expands to double its size to thirty acres. Two new attractions are added, Surfside Bay wave pool and Buccaneer Island kids area. Water Works expands even more the year after with the addition of Wipe-Out Beach, an attraction where guests can body surf. Also added in 1998 were one coaster and two new attractions to Hanna-Barbera Land. Scooby’s Ghoster Coaster, a kiddie suspended coaster from Caripro, takes junior riders through a twisty, swinging course. Atom Ant’s Airways and Yogi’s Sky Tours are the other two rides added.

The action began again in 1999, as two new thrilling attractions are added in the newly rethemed Paramount’s Action Zone area (replacing the Adventure Village area). The first of the new additions were Face Off, a Vekoma Invertigo coaster that takes riders, with their feet dangling, up 138 feet and through a three inversion course, both forwards and backwards. Also added in 1999 was Drop Zone, an Intamin Giant Drop tower that rotates riders up to heights of 264 feet in the air. Also, Amazon Falls is renamed Congo Falls, after the Paramount movie. Also in 1999, another monster creation was beginning to spawn. The new millennium would bring a monster that would even upstage The Beast. Like father, like son, Son of Beast opened up as another record shattering wooden coaster. Residing as the worlds tallest and fastest wooden coaster, with heights of 218 feet and speeds of more than seventy eight miles per hour, the first wooden hyper coaster, and the most unusual element, the first and only inverting wooden coaster with a vertical loop. Manufactured by RCCA (Roller Coaster Corporation of America) and Werner Stengel, Son of Beast didn’t have as pleasurable ride as its father, but nevertheless remains a hit amongst park goers.

2001 brought even more Nickelodeon to the park. Nick Central opened up and has remained to receive golden ticket awards since its opening. Replacing a good portion of Hanna-Barbera Land and Rivertown, Nick Central had the same rides as before, but with Nickelodeon themes. The biggest addition would be the Rugrats Runaway Reptar coaster, a Vekoma Junior Suspended coaster and the rethemed version of King’s Mill Log Flume to The Wild Thornberry’s. Also, the “Outer Limits” name is dropped from Flight of Fear and lapbars replace the old OTSR’s. At the end of the season, Kenton’s Cove Keelboat Canal is removed for another blockbuster ride.

In 2002, the park celebrates thirty years and to celebrate, another movie themed attraction opens up. Tomb Raider: The Ride, themed after the video game and movie, opens up. An enclosed and well themed Huss Top Spin ride, like its sister ride Tomb Raider: Firefall, pyrotechnic and water effects inside a tomb themed area. Also in 2002, it seems King Cobra was dethroned, as the ride was demolished at the beginning of the season. The remains of the ride are still inside the park, the coaster trains inside Flight of Fear and the track outside of Son of Beast. Also in the middle of the season, Phantom Theater is closed and removed for another family themed dark ride to come to the park next year. 2003 came, and in the spot of King Cobra’s spot came a new extreme flat ride from Huss, the world’s first Huss Giant Frisbee called Delirium. The Frisbee swings back and forth like a pendulum, spinning riders and rushing them at speeds of seventy miles per hour. Also added in 2003 was a new dark ride to replace Phantom Theater called Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle, a Sally interactive dark ride in which riders shoot ghosts from their Mystery Mobiles. Another new attraction is added in 2003, when Spongebob 3D opens up in the parks Action F/X theater as well.

Another era came for Water Works, when it was rethemed to Crocodile Dundee’s Boomerang Bay in 2004. Being totally refurbished, new attractions added, and upping the size of the park yet again. Boomerang Bay has become a huge success for the park, providing world class services in park and soaking thrills as well. But in late 2004, shocking and sad news came for the park’s classic Flyers thrill ride, Flying Eagles. The Flying Eagles and the Antique Cars rides were going to be removed for the parks next big thrill. To the sadness of the removal of Flying Eagles, the ride lives on at Paramount’s Carowinds as Phantom Flyers. To replace the void that used to house Flying Eagles and Antique Cars, another movie themed ride is added. The Italian Job: Stunt Track is added to the park. Made by Premier as a family launch coaster, riders are launched through a twisted course at speeds of forty miles per hour three times throughout the ride. Also, riders encounter hairpin turns through a parking garage, sewer racing, and chased by helicopters during the ride.

In 2006, the park's award winning Nickelodeon Central section was about to become too big for one galaxy, it became a universe. The park's classic Hanna-Barbera land was finally rethemed into Nickelodeon themes. Many rides were renamed, including Beastie into Fairly Odd Coaster and Top Cat's Taxi Jam into Little Bill's Giggle Coaster. The park also removed a roller coaster as a part of this transformation, Scooby Doo's Ghoster Coaster was removed after numerous mechanical issues and capacity issues made the ride a candidate for removal. Its replacement? A 'roller coaster' version of Zamperla's famous Disk-O flat ride called Avatar, after Nick's hit cartoon series. Also added this year was a new film, the Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera motion simulator.

But that was not all of the changes that happened in 2006. On May 22nd, 2006, Cedar Fair announced that they bought out the entire Paramount chain for $1.24 billion dollars. The Cedar Fair chain doubled in size and many changes were underway for the entire chain in 2007. Cedar Fair's first move after the purchase was dropping the Paramount name from all of the parks, making the park King's Island once again. The park also made numerous changes and a brand new thrill ride for the park's thirty-fifth season in 2007. The first major change was the surprising removal of Son of Beast's famous vertical loop. The reason behind the change? In order to run lighter trains on the track, making the ride less problematic and painful. While it may not be the world's only looping wooden coaster, Son of Beast will continue to terrorize thrill seekers for years to come.

It was not long before Cedar Fair were able to announce the 2007 additon to King's Island's already extensive roller coaster selection. From Geauga Lake, King's Island formally opened Firehawk, a Vekoma Flying Coaster. While it was only a trans-Ohio journey to reach its new home in the Coney Mall section of the park, it proved to be a hit with the guests with its flying position and turns, twists, and inversions at 51 MPH. This year, along with 2008, was time for change for Kings Island, as their rides were being renamed one by one. For example, Top Gun was renamed Afterburner and the Italian Job:Stunt Track was renamed Backlot Stunt Coaster. 2008, however, did not see any spectacular or notable additions to the park.

The dull year of 2008 was only anticipation for the new ride of 2009. The long awaited ride to come, Diamondback opened as Kings Island's first B&M and second hyper after Son of Beast. Its imposing height, 230', its ferocious speed, 80 MPH, and steep 74-degree drop make this ride a killer of a roller coaster. The latest signature ride with B&M's new trains, Diamondback's out and back layout proved to become a hit with the general riders and coaster enthusiasts.

Over the years, Kings Island has become a world class park full of unique and extreme thrills. Whether it's from the gentle thrills of Top Cat’s Taxi Jam to the sheer intensity of the duo of Beast and Son of Beast, Paramount’s Kings Island has a collection of thrills not to be missed for everybody. Both top notch and top ranked, Kings Island is one of the highest ranked parks in the world. Who knows what record breakers or unique thrills will come to the park next? If you want a day of adventure and thrills, Kings Island is the place.