I was a employee and worked the night of June 9, 1991. It was surreal. I was out near the administration building behind International Street after a run of changing trash can bags and the air care helicopter landed in the lot next to it. We started getting info from security and park police officers based on what they were hearing on their radios. We were all shocked and saddened.
My first visit to KI was in 1993 when I was 5, right when Top Gun opened. The paramount era was so nostalgic and iconic for me, even though it was arguably their worse. Seeing Nickelodeon characters everywhere and movie IPs was so awesome! It was my Dinsey / Universal (which my parents couldn't afford). Man I miss the 90s so much. 🥲
@@AirtimeThrills Oh yea for sure. After SOB was installed, I felt the lack of quality. Maybe because I was older and became an enthusiest around that time. The early and mid 2000s before Cedar Fair took them over in 2006 was terrible.
And Kings Island as we know it starts to take shape! Loved this so much I managed to get my family to watch them and I more than happily rewatched the first 2. 2000s here we come!
It’s always unsettling to learn of accidents and incidents in any park. Thankfully, they remain the exception not the rule. Such a fascinating series. I’ll be sure to enjoy my visit even more now. This must have taken you so long to put together; it is much appreciated.
Dude this where you really shine, this is your space, videos like these as well as the Magic Mountain ones, your knowledge, history and research are great, but the presentation is excellent, you shine in this format and would explore it further, if not theme parks, I’d watch other history videos as long as they were a subject matter I cared about
Was definitely looking forward to this era. This was my childhood, and getting to see the park how I remember it. I do miss The bat as TOPGUN! Was my favorite as a kid. Can’t wait for next episode! Definitely make more content like this !
Another good one. Echoes of Canada's Wonderland when Paramount took over. Some say they wrecked the park. So many similar rides and attractions. Days of Thunder, extreme Skyflyer, Vortex, our suspended ride. I'm so glad Cedar Fair bought out Paramount. Looking forward to seeing the next video.
I recommend you focus on wording, as it makes it look like Cedar Fair bought out Paramount itself, which they would never do nowadays because it would be too big of an investment for them. I predict $100 Billion
"Flight of Fear" was amazing introduction to a lim launch coaster. The queue line was nice to be in since it is air condition. Plus, the video was entertaining. It was on a loop of scientists waking up from something happening, and they try to piece together what happened. All leading to a disaster, only to repeat over again. Originally, you didn't get to be inside "The Alien Space Ship" where the loading of riders is until a train has launched. At that time you never seen the launch, only experiencing the launch on the ride. It has been said that, KI had troubles with the premier of the ride. One of the safety features was that there couldn't be people on the loading station. This was to prevent people from getting injured during the launch, by like reaching out to a rider. On a personal note, when I visited Disney back in 1999, they had the new "Rock n Roller Coaster". It was funny to me, the people surprised at seeing the launch. They were shocked, and there was a buzz in the crowd. And to me, this was nothing new.😏
These are outstanding. I am so fascinated by the yearly changes my favorite parks have made. So interesting knowing what used to be there long ago & has been mostly forgotten about. Like the IMAX theater that used to be at Cedar Point!
Great job on this docuseries! I watched the full documentary on Six Flags Magic Mountain and loved the historical facts knowledge behind some of my fav rides. Keep up the great work!
Loving this series. Again thank you so much for doing it. I know it's quite the endeavor with all of the research it takes. I hope that you continue to do docuseries in the future. I would love to see one for King's Dominion and the Busch Gardens parks.
My favorite thing about Flight of Fears queue is that it's only half a saucer, the back wall is a giant mirror making it look like the saucer is full size
I live in Dayton and have grown up in Ohio my whole life. It's definitely a perk to say we have top notch theme parks. I am genuinely surprised when I go to or see a park with under 10 awesome thrill rides. I guess we're all use the stellar line up of rides and can't understand why you would build a theme park without a good amount of rides. Geauga Lake... Later Six Flags which paralleled sea world was another good one for a while but was later shut down. I'm not sure why. Great Job on the documentary. I know this comment is old, but I'm glad I ran across it. It's great work/quality.
I am loving this project. However I would like to point out a small flaw in the information. While it is true that the Antique Cars did close, It was only one side of the track that closed. The other side of the track that faced Coney Mall continued to operate until 2004 , when it was announced that the Antique Cars would be removed to make room for the new ride of the 2005 season! This happened while I worked at the park so I am SUPER excited to see the next part of your project: The 2000's!! This is the era that I worked in. I was part of the crews who saw the exit of Paramount and the Entrance of Cedar Fair. It was such a great time to work at KI, especially as a ride op, which is what I did. Words cannot express how excited I truly am for the next part!!
Yep i actually have that, i didnt specify that the other side of the antique cars was still open even though the one i mentioned closed and stayed there til the other side finally closed
I went to PKI many times over the mid 90s, including one time solely to go see the Star Trek: Earth Tour. Flight of Fear is my favorite coaster at KI, and one that ended my fears of looping coasters. To shorten the tale, when a woman in a wheelchair calls you a coward to not go on a rollercoaster when she would, you find you will go on the coaster, no matter how you feel about it. I ended up loving it. However, the last time I went to Kings Island I was unable to ride the ride due to the new lap restraints. I am working hard to one day return to Kings Island as an older man to once more, perhaps for the final time, ride Flight of Fear, and to also experience Velocicoaster in Islands of Adventure. Wish me luck.
The entire industry learned from the Paramount Great America drop tower accident. Every park in America added seat belts to their drop towers. Sadly, ICON Park in Orlando never researched this accident. If they had, that young man would still be alive today. :(
Awesome job. Love this series. Are you coming to KI this year? I’m there weekly. The park is performing amazingly and staffed better than I’ve ever seen. The shows, food and rides are better than ever. The nightly fireworks and drone show is Disney quality.
Fun fact: veteran voice actor Jim Cummings narrated the Outer Limits commercial, and he did some voiceover work for the queue as well. You can still hear his narration in the queue to this day.
I love your videos ,awesome!!!!! I know you have ridden both candymonium and nitro ,I am afraid of heights and nitro is the only hyper coaster I have ridden so far and I still find the slow ascent scary lol .my question is does it feel the same going up lift on candymonium or is it a lot steeper ? Slow and steep ascent are a no for me for now .I have ridden el toro and it's actually my favorite coaster now but it's a "fast" ascent!!!!
seeing the paramount stuff gives me huge nostalgia for 00s Carowinds. I hope to see a documentary about my humble little home park (or at least it WAS humble until cedar fair got it) thats as good as this.
In September 2003 the original sign in front of the park fell during a storm and was replaced with a new one that was originally meant to Replicate the famous Melrose Gates at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.
The Paramount era in some of these parks definitely had a huge impact and I think there were definitely pros and cons, but KI has slowly lost it, but CF has improved upon in so it’s all good
Son of Beast wasn't their worst idea. The designer and manufacturer were unfortunately. I honestly believe if they went with a more well established maker of wooden coasters SoB will still be operating today. Both the concept and unique elements (>200ft with a loop) were fantastic, it was the implementation and shoddy craftsmanship to blame in the end. Going with the lowest bidder isn't always the best idea when designing what was a first of it's kind coaster.
Adventure village looked great! Hopefully they try to add more trees and at least put new skins on the buildings in action zone. SOB was a mistake but that logo!!! They gotta reuse it again but for a steel coaster.
And Indiana Jones and Star Trek barely existed at Kings Island. Don’t know why they didn’t focus on Star Trek but for Indiana Jones, George Lucas was a creative consultant for Disney.
Son of Beast may of been a mistake but it was still fun while it lasted. That is one things Kings Island has done is push the limits. I feel Cedar Fair has weakened there ability to push the limits. If Son of Beast just had a better design it would of been one of the best wooden coaster ever.
KI definitely pushed the limits from the beast to vortex. Paramount only really did it with SOB. Cedar fair is adding high quality albeit safe coasters
@@AirtimeThrills I agree. I think safe coasters are good. Cedar Fair has added solid reliable coasters. I just hope the next one is something amazing. Kings Island definitely deserves something great.
Man, these documentaries are TV worthy. I binged the one on Magic Mountain and then the first 2 on KI. Outstanding work!
Thanks!
100%
I was a employee and worked the night of June 9, 1991. It was surreal. I was out near the administration building behind International Street after a run of changing trash can bags and the air care helicopter landed in the lot next to it. We started getting info from security and park police officers based on what they were hearing on their radios. We were all shocked and saddened.
I love your inclusion of the classic marketing for the coasters. Those old commercials are so nostalgic. This series keeps on getting better!
This is probably one of the best documentaries I've watched about my 2nd home. Love this series, man!
Thanks!
For those who don’t know, the Flying Dutchmen Shoes were bought by Kentucky Kingdom, and they still operate there to this day.
I actually didnt know that
My first visit to KI was in 1993 when I was 5, right when Top Gun opened. The paramount era was so nostalgic and iconic for me, even though it was arguably their worse.
Seeing Nickelodeon characters everywhere and movie IPs was so awesome! It was my Dinsey / Universal (which my parents couldn't afford).
Man I miss the 90s so much. 🥲
I got to visit PKI in 2002 and yeah it just wasnt anywhere near the quality today
@@AirtimeThrills Oh yea for sure. After SOB was installed, I felt the lack of quality. Maybe because I was older and became an enthusiest around that time. The early and mid 2000s before Cedar Fair took them over in 2006 was terrible.
And Kings Island as we know it starts to take shape! Loved this so much I managed to get my family to watch them and I more than happily rewatched the first 2. 2000s here we come!
Thanks for sharing it, i appreciate it
Yay part 3! Loving this series so far
It’s always unsettling to learn of accidents and incidents in any park. Thankfully, they remain the exception not the rule. Such a fascinating series. I’ll be sure to enjoy my visit even more now. This must have taken you so long to put together; it is much appreciated.
Today is a great day, last day of school and, the hills uploads
This series is the best thing on UA-cam.
This is the best day ever! A new video from Okay Coasters & Episode 3 of the KI documentary!!! Great Video!
Okaycoasters posted??? I didnt see that
Man, I can’t wait for the next one. I wonder how Ohio coaster enthusiasts felt in 2000.
This one hit me right in the childhood. Nice job! -Kyle
awesome man...only 2 more parts, can't wait to finish it
Dude this where you really shine, this is your space, videos like these as well as the Magic Mountain ones, your knowledge, history and research are great, but the presentation is excellent, you shine in this format and would explore it further, if not theme parks, I’d watch other history videos as long as they were a subject matter I cared about
Thanks! I was supposed to be a history teacher so this is my alley
That music being played when they were talking about the deaths was very fitting.
Loving this series.
I love the old commercials. They are so fun to see
Was definitely looking forward to this era. This was my childhood, and getting to see the park how I remember it. I do miss The bat as TOPGUN! Was my favorite as a kid. Can’t wait for next episode! Definitely make more content like this !
Thanks for putting in this effort, its a good series!
Another good one. Echoes of Canada's Wonderland when Paramount took over. Some say they wrecked the park. So many similar rides and attractions. Days of Thunder, extreme Skyflyer, Vortex, our suspended ride. I'm so glad Cedar Fair bought out Paramount. Looking forward to seeing the next video.
I recommend you focus on wording, as it makes it look like Cedar Fair bought out Paramount itself, which they would never do nowadays because it would be too big of an investment for them. I predict $100 Billion
@@DoswarePictures they did. Cedar Fair bought out Paramount in 2006.
@@clairefunnell8481 only the parks, not the entire studio.
This series is so so good!! Absolutely love it and much appreciated!!
Thanks!
Absolute quality. Per usual. Thanks for the entertainment
Dude this series is bonkers. I really appreciate you putting it together.
I appreciate you watching 🙏
Great video! I really enjoyed watching!
"Flight of Fear" was amazing introduction to a lim launch coaster. The queue line was nice to be in since it is air condition. Plus, the video was entertaining. It was on a loop of scientists waking up from something happening, and they try to piece together what happened. All leading to a disaster, only to repeat over again.
Originally, you didn't get to be inside "The Alien Space Ship" where the loading of riders is until a train has launched. At that time you never seen the launch, only experiencing the launch on the ride. It has been said that, KI had troubles with the premier of the ride. One of the safety features was that there couldn't be people on the loading station. This was to prevent people from getting injured during the launch, by like reaching out to a rider.
On a personal note, when I visited Disney back in 1999, they had the new "Rock n Roller Coaster". It was funny to me, the people surprised at seeing the launch. They were shocked, and there was a buzz in the crowd. And to me, this was nothing new.😏
Can't wait for part 4 these are awesome man
Love this set of video's!
You are a master of your genre sir. Have been enjoying for a while now
Top Gun, Days of Thunder, Outer Limits, Face/Off, Drop Zone. Let's gooooo!
Excellent video and series. Look forward to these each week
Great Job, so many memories!!
i'm excited for the next one and once they are all out I will rewatch it all again, love these types of videos! keep them coming!
These are outstanding. I am so fascinated by the yearly changes my favorite parks have made. So interesting knowing what used to be there long ago & has been mostly forgotten about. Like the IMAX theater that used to be at Cedar Point!
You are absolutely killing it with this series! I’m looking forward to the next episode!
Great job again my friend...
Great job on this docuseries! I watched the full documentary on Six Flags Magic Mountain and loved the historical facts knowledge behind some of my fav rides. Keep up the great work!
Loving the episodes keep up the good work 🎢👍
Great Documentary!! Please keep these coming one of the best series ever.🔥👍
Great videos, keep up the great work.
Great video as always!
Really love these videos! Thanks for putting all the work in to create this series!
Thanks for watching!
These videos are such gold! So well done!!!
Loving this series. Again thank you so much for doing it. I know it's quite the endeavor with all of the research it takes. I hope that you continue to do docuseries in the future. I would love to see one for King's Dominion and the Busch Gardens parks.
Those 50th anniversaries are coming up so definitely a possibility
Honestly you could mistake these videos for a history channel documentaries but you cant because these are better than those
My favorite thing about Flight of Fears queue is that it's only half a saucer, the back wall is a giant mirror making it look like the saucer is full size
Thats just smart financially
Another's week Another great video Aldo I'm Taylor Baldbee
I live in Dayton and have grown up in Ohio my whole life. It's definitely a perk to say we have top notch theme parks. I am genuinely surprised when I go to or see a park with under 10 awesome thrill rides. I guess we're all use the stellar line up of rides and can't understand why you would build a theme park without a good amount of rides. Geauga Lake... Later Six Flags which paralleled sea world was another good one for a while but was later shut down. I'm not sure why. Great Job on the documentary. I know this comment is old, but I'm glad I ran across it. It's great work/quality.
Thanks for watching!
I am loving this project. However I would like to point out a small flaw in the information. While it is true that the Antique Cars did close, It was only one side of the track that closed. The other side of the track that faced Coney Mall continued to operate until 2004 , when it was announced that the Antique Cars would be removed to make room for the new ride of the 2005 season! This happened while I worked at the park so I am SUPER excited to see the next part of your project: The 2000's!!
This is the era that I worked in. I was part of the crews who saw the exit of Paramount and the Entrance of Cedar Fair. It was such a great time to work at KI, especially as a ride op, which is what I did. Words cannot express how excited I truly am for the next part!!
Yep i actually have that, i didnt specify that the other side of the antique cars was still open even though the one i mentioned closed and stayed there til the other side finally closed
Loved this!
A Great America documentary would be amazing
I miss being able to watch Dr. Katz while waiting in line for rides
The outlines of that show shake more than Son of Beast.
Thank you
Thanks for this
I went to PKI many times over the mid 90s, including one time solely to go see the Star Trek: Earth Tour. Flight of Fear is my favorite coaster at KI, and one that ended my fears of looping coasters. To shorten the tale, when a woman in a wheelchair calls you a coward to not go on a rollercoaster when she would, you find you will go on the coaster, no matter how you feel about it. I ended up loving it. However, the last time I went to Kings Island I was unable to ride the ride due to the new lap restraints. I am working hard to one day return to Kings Island as an older man to once more, perhaps for the final time, ride Flight of Fear, and to also experience Velocicoaster in Islands of Adventure. Wish me luck.
Velocicoaster is definitely worth the effort
Flight of Fear is a good way to lose your fear of looping coasters. You can't see what is going on.😁
That ending though!!!
I can’t wait to have my 6 year old watch these after all five are put out.
The entire industry learned from the Paramount Great America drop tower accident. Every park in America added seat belts to their drop towers. Sadly, ICON Park in Orlando never researched this accident. If they had, that young man would still be alive today. :(
Awesome job. Love this series.
Are you coming to KI this year? I’m there weekly. The park is performing amazingly and staffed better than I’ve ever seen. The shows, food and rides are better than ever. The nightly fireworks and drone show is Disney quality.
I did go there on its birthday weekend but i doubt ill be back again this year
Fun fact: veteran voice actor Jim Cummings narrated the Outer Limits commercial, and he did some voiceover work for the queue as well. You can still hear his narration in the queue to this day.
Not the Kings Dominion location.
oh hell yes le best airtime thrills series
I like this series
Weirdly I just had an article on the bad day pop up and you missed posting this on the anniversary by 2 days!
I love your videos ,awesome!!!!! I know you have ridden both candymonium and nitro ,I am afraid of heights and nitro is the only hyper coaster I have ridden so far and I still find the slow ascent scary lol .my question is does it feel the same going up lift on candymonium or is it a lot steeper ? Slow and steep ascent are a no for me for now .I have ridden el toro and it's actually my favorite coaster now but it's a "fast" ascent!!!!
Yes part 3
Aka: "The Paramount Years" 93-06
can't wait to see the new thrills and chills that came to the park in Part 4!
seeing the paramount stuff gives me huge nostalgia for 00s Carowinds. I hope to see a documentary about my humble little home park (or at least it WAS humble until cedar fair got it) thats as good as this.
Haha yeah carowinds aint humble anymore 😳
Just now seeing this a few hours late because I was at Carowinds earlier
Video idea: Top 10 parks with the best defunct coasters! (Drachen Fire and Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens Williamsburg for etc)
I made that not too long ago
Hey Airtime Thrills, I got a question. You should do a countdown of the most Snappiest Elements.
That's not a question. That's a suggestion and a good one.
“Can you do a countdown of the most snappiest elements?”
Pretty good idea, will put it on the list
Wait the sky swing was called drop zone? Oh lord. So glad they changed that.
I never knew Congo Falls was named after the movie Congo, I like the part when the huge army dude yells at Tim Curry for eating his Sesame Cake 😀
I went to kings island yesterday and rode the drop tower and all of the roller coasters
Holy crap that shot of flight commander was my Uncle Greg. Haha
Seeing Son of Beast there at the end all I could say was "Oh no its time"
In September 2003 the original sign in front of the park fell during a storm and was replaced with a new one that was originally meant to Replicate the famous Melrose Gates at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.
I honestly never realized why Amazon Falls' name was changed. I don't think they ever made that clear lol
For a critically panned movie
Exactly 31 years ago from, today, the tragicness of the pond struck
Hey now I loved son of beast! It needs to come back just built by rmc lol
The Paramount era in some of these parks definitely had a huge impact and I think there were definitely pros and cons, but KI has slowly lost it, but CF has improved upon in so it’s all good
When ever I see a queue TV at KI I always yyawn lol
When was the red track on top gun repainted?? It looked so bad with the gray track.
21:45 reminds me of what happened back in March at Icon Park. :/
True
Son of Beast wasn't their worst idea. The designer and manufacturer were unfortunately. I honestly believe if they went with a more well established maker of wooden coasters SoB will still be operating today.
Both the concept and unique elements (>200ft with a loop) were fantastic, it was the implementation and shoddy craftsmanship to blame in the end. Going with the lowest bidder isn't always the best idea when designing what was a first of it's kind coaster.
They’d probably still would have to wait for someone willing to do it.
Kings Island in the 90's: But then everything changed when the Paramount Parks attacked.
Adventure village looked great! Hopefully they try to add more trees and at least put new skins on the buildings in action zone. SOB was a mistake but that logo!!! They gotta reuse it again but for a steel coaster.
Put it at Dorney
Rumor is kings island added action zone as dominator was rumored to go to Kentucky kingdom.
Really nice vid, would rick astley play never gonna give you up?
I'm sure everyone in the audience was willingly rickrolled
@@AirtimeThrills hahaha rip those
Of course the internet wasn’t a thing so they didn’t know it.
True
Buy or Sell Episode 7 For The Next Video?
Hold up, your telling me that vortex and adventure express cost the same money!?!?!?
Is it coincidence that this was released on the anniversary of black sunday?
The paramount years were a dark time for KI.
And Indiana Jones and Star Trek barely existed at Kings Island. Don’t know why they didn’t focus on Star Trek but for Indiana Jones, George Lucas was a creative consultant for Disney.
In my opinion kings island still doesn’t have a top tier coaster
…you really posted this on the anniversary of Black Sunday, eh?
Son of Beast may of been a mistake but it was still fun while it lasted. That is one things Kings Island has done is push the limits. I feel Cedar Fair has weakened there ability to push the limits. If Son of Beast just had a better design it would of been one of the best wooden coaster ever.
KI definitely pushed the limits from the beast to vortex. Paramount only really did it with SOB. Cedar fair is adding high quality albeit safe coasters
@@AirtimeThrills I agree. I think safe coasters are good. Cedar Fair has added solid reliable coasters. I just hope the next one is something amazing. Kings Island definitely deserves something great.
I thought "Drop Zone" was the original name of the drop tower they built.
It was. They also used it for their sky coaster
@@AirtimeThrills that’s cool to know. I went there tons of times when I was a kid and always remembered the tower being Drop Zone.
do six flags discovery kingdom, by the numbers
👍