Kings Island celebrates 45 years of world class thrills, fun and family entertainment

posted by Don Helbig on April 1, 2017

In the fall of 1971, Coney Island, an amusement park on the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati, closed its gates for the final time, ending an era in entertainment. The following spring, another era began when the turnstiles began spinning in Kings Mills, Ohio at the new Kings Island Amusement Park. When the gates opened April 29, 1972, the stage was set for the next 45 years of world-class thrills, fun and family entertainment.

Although roller coasters like the Racer are still speeding up and down the tracks and the Grand Carousel still spins as it did 40 years ago, the park has gone through many changes. When opened, there were just over 60 attractions for the public to enjoy. Now, after 45 years of capital investments in excess of $300 million, there are more than 100 attractions.

In 1972, five themed areas were highlighted. Today there are seven. The employment opportunities have changed dramatically as well. Where it once took 1,300 employees to operate the park on any given day during the season, it now requires approximately 4,000 to keep the 364-acre facility in operation. The changes have not been limited to the park itself. The area surrounding the park, once farmland, now thrives with commercial and retail businesses, as well as the incredibly increasing population of homes.

During the past 45 years, an annual visit to Kings Island has become tradition for millions of people. Since 1972, more than 135 million visitors have experienced the park’s thrills making Kings Island one of the most celebrated amusement and theme parks in the world.

Don Helbig

Don Helbig joined the Kings Island marketing team in 2007 as the park's public relations area manager. He began serving in his current role as area manager, digital marketing last summer.

This Day in Kings Island History: Mystic Timbers takes first test run

Late in the afternoon, on March 20 last year, with a spring chill drifting up from the Little Miami River, engineers, technicians, construction workers, park managers, general manager and other involved people, watched as the Mystic Timbers roller coaster car sat in the station on the untested tracks. The first test run of Mystic Timbers, Kings Island’s 16th roller coaster, was ready to begin.

Planet Snoopy helps little ones ease their way into becoming thrill seekers

At Kings Island, we have some of the most thrilling roller coasters in the world for enthusiasts and adrenaline junkies to challenge when they visit the park, including The Beast, Banshee, Diamondback and Mystic Timbers. However, it’s great that we also have four roller coasters specifically designed for children to ease their way into becoming thrill seekers in the award-winning Planet Snoopy kids’ area: Woodstock Express, The Great Pumpkin Coaster, Flying Ace Aerial Chase and Surf Dog.

Mystic Timbers track work completed one year ago

March 6, 2017 was an exciting day at Kings Island. That's when track work on the Mystic Timbers roller coaster was completed at Kings Island. To build Mystic Timbers, it took work crews a total of 204 days from the standing of the first bent, 330,000 board feet of southern yellow pine lumber, 30,000 pounds of nails, 88,000 bolts and washers and 5,500 cubic yards of concrete for the foundation.

Congo Falls celebrates 30 years in 2018

Water and water-related activities have always been popular attractions at Kings Island. One of those attractions, Congo Falls, has been making a big slash with park visitors for parts of the last four decades.

Reading, writing, and roller coasters

Cresting a 230-foot lift hill on the tallest and fastest roller coaster at Kings Island, Diamondback, is the perfect opportunity for students to experience curriculum in action, as one person’s trigonometry is another person’s terror.

Amusement Park Jobs: My journey from summer gig to professional career

With Kings Island kicking off the 2018 hiring season recently, I thought it appropriate to reflect on my personal journey within our company, Cedar Fair, and all the incredible opportunities I’ve been afforded along the way. What follows is my story so far, and three key takeaways I'm happy to share from working in this business.

Former Kings Island ride operator an Olympic broadcaster

Lewis Johnson, who served as a rides associate and supervisor at Kings Island from 1981-87, is working his 10th Olympic Games for NBC as a reporter covering Bobsled, Luge and Skeleton. A member of The Beast and Racer roller coaster crews during his years as an associate at Kings Island, Johnson was an All-American track star at the University of Cincinnati prior to graduating in 1986.

Rebuild of cars for Mystic Timbers taking shape

A lot of very detailed work is going into the cars for the Mystic Timbers roller coaster this winter at Kings Island as part of the ride’s offseason maintenance program. Each car for the blue train has been disassembled, stripped down to every last nut and bolt, looked at and now in the process of being rebuilt by a team of ride mechanics.

This day in Kings Island history: The Beast is named

On February 6, 1979, the world’s longest wooden roller coaster was given its name: The Beast. Everyone thinks of a beast as a large, frightening, unusual animal. That description certainly fit the ride. It accurately conveyed the image of the awesome physical characteristics of the 7,359-foot long coaster and its unique use of the rugged, wooded, previously raw and undeveloped forest.

Attention job seekers! Kings Island is holding a job fair February 17

If you’ve ever wanted to work in the amusement and theme park industry, now is your chance. Kings Island will be holding a job fair February 17 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the park and thousands of jobs are available. Kings Island’s 47th season begins April 14. Prospective associates will have an opportunity at the job fair to meet department managers and supervisors, ask questions and learn more about the diverse employment opportunities available this year.

Kings Island