Kings Island in 1990

[@cincinnatipedalsteel4347]

Brought back some memories. The old Smurf ride, vortex, racers, cobra, the beast….. heck even the tram safari….. I spent many days at KI growing up. Thanks for the memories

[@SeanFlaharty]

Thank you for watching!

[@AirtimeThrills]

Ah 1990. When Beast was the same age as Diamondback is now. You're a pioneer in getting park footage. This is great stuff. Makes me regret not doing this when i had the chance over the last 20 years

[@SeanFlaharty]

Thanks, Chris! The camera I used to record a lot of this older stuff with wasn't practical for travel as it contained a separate recording deck from the camera itself. It was a chore at times but I am glad I was able to record as much of my life as I could.

[@AirtimeThrills]

@@SeanFlaharty yeah i definitely cant imagine that travelling with a camera back then was easy to lug around. Recording devices in general were pretty rudimentary until like 2006 or so. Even the Nikon i bought in 2008 took garbage video

[@SeanFlaharty]

@@AirtimeThrills I have had so many cameras in my life. Lol. My father was an engineer at a local TV station in Columbus and fixed up an old black & white security camera so I could create videos. I would record video to very bulky 3 1/4 cassettes. The camera was so worn that if I recorded a white wall, you can see the image of the staircase it used to record. It was burnt in. This was when I was twelve years old. That also gave me my first taste of editing as I used to edit using tape for years until 1999. The second camera I ever owned was my first color camera, which is the camera I recorded this KI footage with. It lasted many years. It was the only JVC camera I ever owned.

[@Paneeks1960]

Wow Sean. This is one of the reasons why I consider you the Godfather of Coasters on the Net. I heard the Brady Bunch reference. One of the best parts of the video for me was seeing you with long hair wearing the Forbidden jersey. Kind of looks like you were with a few band members. Heavy metal, playing in bands and riding coasters in the nineties. Life just doesn't get better than that Sean. You are just as metal now as you were then. But cooler~ Rob/Boston

[@SeanFlaharty]

The drummer of my band at the time, Threnody, is in the video wearing a Rush shirt. Everyone else was just friends. I laugh when I watch this footage. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I will be visiting my local parks very much this year. I plan on going to Kings Island at least one time but after that I just don't see much point in it if I am being honest. I fully support the parks opening, but they just don't seem much fun to me. I hope I am proven wrong. Ha ha.

[@MrCollerRoaster]

It’s great to see footage of Kings Island in 1990 👍

[@YokozunaNumber1]

WOW! The video quality is perfect. It's like I'm back in that special when KI was virtually my home.

[@SeanFlaharty]

Thanks for watching!

[@Cody-vw5jg]

This is an amazing Time Capsule, thanks for sharing.

[@SeanFlaharty]

You are welcome. Thank you for watching.

[@UberBeavis]

OMG! Smurf Mountain! Flight Commander- blecch. Thanks for sharing this.

[@SeanFlaharty]

You are welcome, Matt! Thanks for watching, buddy.

[@jackiehoward7300]

I really enjoyed the vortex. I liked going on the Smurf ride and the safari tram in the hottest part of the day. Thank you for the memories.

[@SeanFlaharty]

Thank you for watching!

[@kienthusiast3666]

A nice vintage snapshot of the park. Thanks for uploading, Sean!

[@SeanFlaharty]

You are welcome, Evan!

[@lauraschnitzler4537]

This is an amazing video! So great to see so many rides that are no longer there.

[@SeanFlaharty]

Thank you for watching.

[@KentuckianaCoasters]

Nice hair, Sean! I think you have me beat. I had hair down to my shoulders but never that long! 🤟🏽 -Ted

[@SeanFlaharty]

Back then, when someone was in a thrash band, (or any metal band for that matter), long hair was almost mandatory. Lol.

[@Metal_Groove45]

Dude, your hair man! 🤣 Seeing this upload is making me more excited for Orion in a few weeks!🤘 So close!

[@SeanFlaharty]

Yep, I was in a band at the time and long hair was almost a mandatory thing to have back then. Lol. It will be interesting to see how the parks operate this year.

[@patriciaclifton7205]

The safari ride was air conditioned so we would get on it a couple of times just to cool down. Lol

[@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102]

15:37 Down there is the Les Taxis, now the location of the Backlot Stunt Coaster. They've brought back the antique cars as of last year, with the Kings Mills Antique Autos over where Flight Commander stood.

[@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102]

Impressive seeing how much faster the dispatch times were back in the day. This is so apparent in the first clip of Vortex, where the train was halfway up the lift hill by the time the train ahead cleared the midcourse brakes.

[@SeanFlaharty]

The final day of operation for Vortex, they were coming very close to hitting those old dispatch times. It was interesting to see that again.

[@CoasterBob62]

I was looking forward to this, dude, and you didn't disappoint! Great vintage stuff, especially the monorail -- I rode that a few times back then but don't remember much about the scenery. It was great when the air conditioning worked. And the Smurfs, another favorite. Love the shot of hippie Sean.

[@SeanFlaharty]

You have been posting great vintage footage also. I am glad you liked this. The really strange thing is when I digitized this footage quite a few years ago, I thought it would have been funny to release it online thirty years from when it was recorded. It was more of a joke as I didn't know if I would have still been on KZbin when I thought that. Well, strange things really can happen. Lol. I also have footage recorded at Cedar Point recorded twenty-five years ago, being released before September.

[@CoasterBob62]

@@SeanFlaharty I'll be looking forward to that as well. Between the two of us, we might have every year covered!

[@travispettipiece2331]

Oh my gosh i wasn't around in 1990 but my dad went in the late 80s and early 90s he rode vortex and it took him 30 years to become an enthusiast 😅. He also always told me why flight commander was trash. Ill need to send this to him if he remembers anything! Thanks for sharing!

[@SeanFlaharty]

I really appreciate you taking the time to leave this comment. One of the main reasons I upload older content is to spark memories of times long ago. I agree with your father. Flight Commander was trash. :)

[@coasterjeff2664]

Thanks, I love old park footage

[@SeanFlaharty]

Thank you for watching!

[@spcmediaproductionsashapar3588]

This is amazing!

[@KyleGMathews]

Great footage. Its awesome to see how Kings Island was the year before I was even born. At 16:04 is that ride what we now know as Race For Your Life Charlie Brown or Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal?

[@SeanFlaharty]

Thank you! That ride was Kenton’s Cove. It was the bigger of the two flumes at the park.

[@cincinnatipedalsteel4347]

That tram was great on hot days 😂 The AC was killer

[@SeanFlaharty]

Even when the park removed all the animals, I would still ride the monorail on hot days.

[@MillenniumForceMan]

RIP flight commander

[@thomaskylecreative]

Fun fact, 50 years ago today (20 on the day of your visit) was the day groundbreaking construction took place on the park

[@SeanFlaharty]

Wow! That's really cool. I shouldn't be surprised that you know that. I had no idea. Lol.

[@maxmustermann6248]

Happy 30th Coaster fan anniversary!!

[@SeanFlaharty]

Thanks!

[@Debbiesdarts]

Testament 👍. Wow looking good in 1990 Sean. Love the hair. Sounds like you got an English accent at one point 😂.

[@SeanFlaharty]

Ha ha. Yea, I was a huge fan of Testament back then. I still like them as I have recently purchased their first few albums on vinyl. Yep, I was a metalhead (still am) back then. Not sure about the English accent though. Ha ha. The midwestern "accent" is a weird one as many people hear many different things at times. Here in Central Ohio, our lack of a real accent is supposed to be what American newscasters learn. I can't confirm that but it's a cool stat if that is the case.

[@Debbiesdarts]

Interesting, thanks for the info. 23:51 defo sounds English haha. X

[@datdudecollins]

God, this is soooooooo fucking nostalgic for me.

[@autiej]

Boo hoo. I want the Vortex back!!!! And The King Cobra!!!! And the tastes great/less filling yelling on Viking Fury!!!

[@CoasterKey]

Do you still hate flight commander (even after it's closure) BTW, 30 years of this must be very special to you! Congrats!

[@SeanFlaharty]

Ha ha. If Flight Commander were still at the park, I wouldn't give it a ride. I think I only rode it one time, after the accident it had, to check out the changes to the ride. After that last ride, I swore off riding it again.

[@jarretstroud1842]

@@SeanFlaharty Why did you hate Flight Commander?

[@SeanFlaharty]

@@jarretstroud1842 It was an uncomfortable ride and certainly not worth the hype it had when it opened. I remember the commercial saying something along the lines of "And pull 3 Gs as you twist and turn upside down." It was a very slow ride that didn't do much of anything other than give riders a lot of hang time. It rarely had a line when I would visit.

[@Thompsongs]

Wow. I don't remember any kind of wildlife area at Kings Island, but I think this was a couple years before I began going there essentially every year. Also, where in the park was the wildlife area? Did the railroad eventually replace the monorail route?

[@SeanFlaharty]

The wildlife and monorail were in a secluded area that started where Son of Beast was built and continued way back into the terrain, away from the park. The railroad has always been where it currently operates. That is on the other side of the park. Even after Kings Island removed the animals, guests were still able to ride the monorail , mainly to cool down.

[@Thompsongs]

@@SeanFlaharty very cool! Thanks for the information. And, if I remember right, Son of Beast was off to the right of the main entrance/fountain area, in what used to be Hanna-Barbera Land, right?

[@SeanFlaharty]

@@Thompsongs Actually, Son of Beast was located to the far left of the main gate, as you are walking into the park. The pathway to Top Gun/The Bat was partially used for SoB's queue. The railings for the queue are still up. If you walk to The Bat, you will see them to the right as soon as you exit the tunnel. The loading station for SoB is now used for one of the haunts.

[@bombsquadbh2277]

Were arrow loopers smooth back then?

[@SeanFlaharty]

I thought they were. I had no problem riding them. However, maybe they were just as rough as they can be now and we just didn't have a lot of smoother coasters to compare them to. I remember taking my first ever ride on Cedar Point's Raptor in 1994 and trying to figure out why it was so smooth as I had never ridden anything like that in terms of comfort.

[@jarretstroud1842]

It's honestly depressing to see Vortex operating

[@SeanFlaharty]

It's going to be strange to see that entire area, in person, where Vortex used to stand.

[@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102]

@@SeanFlaharty Kings Island better build some sort of impressive roller coaster to fill up that empty space.

[@SeanFlaharty]

@@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102 I am sure whatever they have decided to build will be great. Only time will tell.

[@AmusementLabs]

I had no idea they had a freaking SAFARI!

[@SeanFlaharty]

They sure did. I believe it cost $1 to ride the monorail through it. It was a very popular ride on hot days as each car had air conditioning.

[@AmusementLabs]

@@SeanFlaharty $1 ain't bad, but perhaps it was a little more steep back then.

[@SeanFlaharty]

@@AmusementLabs I didn't think it was that bad, even back in the day. I just thought it was strange that all the rides were free, yet you had to pay to ride that. It was one of the first "added cost" attractions at the park.

[@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102]

These existed at both Kings Island and Kings Dominion until their first years as Paramount parks. There were actually a couple years where the Kings Island monorail interacted with Adventure Express. The safari land in Kings Island is now taken up by a combination of The Bat, Banshee, and Adventure Express.

[@Pdasilva0324]

I have never liked roller coasters. Rides yes. Coasters, no. I first rode the Racer at KI in 1991, then again 1998. By 1999 I was in a relationship with someone who loved coasters, and we got a KI season pass for 1999. One day she decided on our way from Columbus to KI that I needed to ride a big coaster or we were going to break up. That was the ultimatum. So one day in June or July of '99 we went to KI. I was made to ride the Racer again. Blah, Not a fan, Then I could pick from a large coaster to save my relationship. I picked the Beast. Bad, bad, bad choice. Anyway I rode it. It sucked. It was scarier than any of my fears, oh and I got off feeling like I was hit by a bus, then by a truck. I had a horrible, horrible headache and was nauseous the rest of the day. But..we didn't break up! Until about a month later..

[@SeanFlaharty]

Whoa! That's pretty crazy. My whole family loved riding coasters when I was younger. I was always sitting on a bench and just watching the coasters while everyone else rode. I loved coasters but would NEVER ride a larger ride until the day this video was recorded. It changed my life.