Kings Island & More

I used to run this blog, under a slightly different URL.  The primary purpose of it was to provide an outlet to publish a project that didn't quite get off the ground. The blog format fit it quite well.   Unfortunately, it was through my high school Google account, and the blog was permanently deleted after I graduated high school. Most, but not all, of the blog was actually archived through the Wayback Machine, but I decided to copy and paste the articles that were archived back into an easier to access blog format. The writing here isn't quite as sharp as things I've written more recently, but there are still some important things on here as far as dispelling and clearing up Kings Island's various urban legends. It's also a record of my first large-scale published writings. Sorry for the articles that were not archived, and enjoy this...ride through time.

  Originally published 12-31-2018 2018 may not have been a major, record-breaking year for Kings Island. Yet it was still full of interesting moments and good memories for the several million guests that passed through the gates this season. The park saw the opening of a major new restaurant, the continued success of Mystic Timbers, and expanded offerings for Winterfest and Halloween Haunt. The 2017 "announcement season" came and went, with no word from Kings Island. This came as no surprise for the year following the opening of a major new roller coaster. Many did not think Kings Island would add anything for 2018, despite persistent rumors of a new barbecue restaurant. The first official news of the 2018 season came on January 25 on the official Kings Island blog, which confirmed that Diamondback would be getting brand new black seats and clamshell restraints for the 2018 season. The old seats and restraints were getting dirty and worn-down and the sleek, new black seats ar

  Originally published 11-15-2018 Author's note: The original edition of this article featured many wonderful and thorough photos documenting this attraction's last moments operating. My younger self deleted those photos from his phone after he uploaded them to the blog, thinking they would be preserved forever on the blog. As mentioned in my preface to the current site, the original blog was unfortunately deleted, wiping those photos from the world completely. As you'll see, some of these photographs from the original article were able to saved. Others were not. I deeply regret not saving all the photos, and apologize. I have done a lot of unique things in my life, but going to a funeral for a roller coaster was a first for me.                                                                    ---------------------- Firehawk was never my favorite coaster at Kings Island. In 2018, I only rode it once before I learned it was closing. I have been attending the park since 2007

Originally published 9-2-2018 Author's note: The original edition of this article featured many wonderful and thorough photos documenting this area. My younger self deleted those photos from his phone after he uploaded them to the blog, thinking they would be preserved forever on the blog. As mentioned in my preface to the current site, the original blog was unfortunately deleted, wiping those photos from the world completely. As you'll see, some of these photographs from the original article were able to saved. Others were not. I deeply regret not saving all the photos, and apologize.    Kings Island announced they were bringing back the Antique Cars on August 16, fourteen years to the day the Coney Mall side closed. Construction is slated to begin next week. I stopped by the park Friday evening, August 31, to document in photographs an area that will look very different next season. Walking past the KillMart building, the first structure to be demolished will be Coney Drinks.

  Originally published 4-25-2018 It is a story recounted in breathless whispers around campfires, in line at Kings Island, or on online forums. A high schooler, "Tower Johnny," was killed in some sort of freak accident on Kings Island's Eiffel Tower in 1983 and his ghost remains. The exact details change depending on who is telling the story, but the bare bones remain the same. The story is frequently brought up, but does this it have any actual truth to it? John Wesley Harter was born May 27, 1965. He grew up in Delaware, Ohio, which is a town located 30 miles north of Columbus. John Harter attended Delaware's Hayes High School, where he was captain of the track team. Sheila Sferrella Martin, who was a close friend of Harter's during high school, recalled that  "h e was always trying to improve his PRs at track meets and talked about being in the Olympics." "[He was]  such a lovely person...I don't know anybody that didn't like him," r