The Bat (Kings Island) - Eyewitness 12 News clips, April, 1981
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- Опубликовано: 21 авг 2024
- Here are a few news clips from the opening of The Bat in 1981. Decent quality, considering these segments are over 30 years old! Some POV footage, and some action with a few trains of riders. Did they know how lucky they were to ride a legend?
I have actually rode this ride and still have the park flyer/map for this with the bat on it from 1981
TheEddiev1 I have to, but I didn’t have the map from the day I went in 82. It was insane. It wasn’t my favorite, but I was blown away by how crazy it was
Looks really good for 30 years old. The camera must have been the size of a suitcase.
I worked in the rides department at Kings Island from 1981-1988, my memories of the Bat were some of the best ever, it's where I spent prom night in 1982.
woxyroxme super cool 😎
This was the best damn suspended coaster of all time! If they just could have fixed the banking and the stress on the trains! I was fortunate to have ridden this coaster 163 times before it was shut down for good! This ride whipped you hard to the air! Top Gun/Flight Deck/ Now renamed the Bat, is in no comparison to the original Bat!!! No way!! Still its not a terrible ride either, just a little short. RIP Original Bat!! You are sorely missed!!!
If you never got to ride the original, you just have no effing idea on an awesome suspended coaster!!
I rode the original many times myself. Amazing ride. Nobody Died.
The problems that plagued the ride and ultimately led to its closure included:
Excessive stress on the supports and track due to unbanked track.
Excessive stress on the wheels due to brake fins being mounted at bottom of the swinging cars.
Excessive stress on the trains’ shock absorbers due to violent swinging.
Hairline cracks on wheels and chassis.
Robert E. Waring yes my dad was an electrician and helped wire that coaster for Arrow International. Sure was a waste of 2.8 million bucks but Arrow gave Kings Island a good deal on Vortex.
What many folks don't understand is that the original Bat was a "Prototype" and was the very first of its kind in the entire world. They needed to try the concept and the original was really a more of a learning experience for Arrow and also other companies involved. As you stated above, you are very right on all that you said. I was tired that night when I posted that comment and didn't feel like going into detail too much about the Bat. Thank you for commenting I do appreciate that!! Really though, the original just was like no other!! Remember how it swung so high depending on the weight and how fast the coaster would hit the non banked turns and it felt as if you were either going to fly out of the train or sometimes it looked as if you was going to hit the poles or beams. It really was a shame. I was on the first train with people back in 1981. Since my dad worked on that ride I got the privilege of being one of the first riders. OMG it was so fun that day! There were lots of people from the media and also from Arrow Corporation as well as others from Kings Entertainment and Taft Broadcasting. It was such a great day but they had lots of issues the very first train shutting down the ride due to the excessive swinging, the computer safety system would make the ride shutdown. I also worked at Kings Island while they built Vortex. Again I was on the very first train with people from Arrow, Kings Mgt. and several others. I remember it was a very cold with flurries on March 14th 1987 and we rode it about 10 or so times. We did freeze our butts off!!! Lol........
I started working at Kings Island in 1985 and White Water Canyon was the new ride. In 1986 it was all about Coney Mall. With a new refresh and name change, they added a brand new Dodgem where the flying Eagles used to be and those were moved to where the Sprite basketball game is now by the stunt coaster. The Zephyr was added and was installed where the giant slide used to be and the slide moved to Hanna Barbera land next to the restrooms and the Skylab that was so much fun and I miss it, replaced the Tumble Bug ride which was right where the entrance to Coney Mall is to the left where the basketball game is and the cool zone by Coke. That ride had a severe ride malfunction in 1990? I'm not sure the exact year but it was removed permanently. What a shame!!! The old Dodgem was directly next to the Scrambler to the right of it and is now used as a game in front and the back part for Halloween Haunt. That building also housed the former Cuddle up ride along with the Dodgem. Please take no offense I am sure you know your history of the park but I just commented on this in detail just for others that didn't know about the park!!
I had the privilege of working Winterfest and that was fantastic!! Also, 1988 brought Congo Falls which was a very boring but wet ride and then come Waterworks in 1989. That was the year I left Kings Island but I sure had a great time while working there. The company treated us very well. We had an awesome employee cafeteria with good food, discounts in the park, exclusive ride time, parties after work, Hawaiin Luaus, Pig roast and we also had several softball teams and played in Mason at a park. Great company to work with! Now Cedar Fair owns the park so I am not sure how they treat their employees. From what I hear its good. The 1980's was a very fun time period for Kings Entertainment. It became KECO in 1987. The company was so successful during this period that they had built a park in Australia. That park was so beautiful. Unfortunately that park was sold not because it didn't do well but because housing developments was worth more money and it was where the park was built. That park was modeled after the parks here in the U.S. and they had a Beastie kids coaster and a full size but a little smaller Bush Beast which was very similar to our Beast and was built with expensive Southern Pine wood so the coaster would last 40 years plus. Its gone because of greedy people. Sad!!! Here's the Parks that was originally Kings Entertainment,
1. Kings Island
2. Kings Dominion
3. Carowinds
4. California's Great America
5. Canada's Wonderland
6. Australia's Wonderland (defunct)
Canada's Wonderland is a really nice park. I had a really good time when I went there but it seemed there just wasn't enough hotels near the park. Had to go into Toronto which was a little distance just to get a place to stay. One thing about Canada is they do not have food or gas or hotels at every exit off Queen Elizabeth Way. I have never seen such a different Country but it was fun! If you get a chance, this park is must see!!! OK, I can just stay way off topic but I am just reminiscing the good old days and times..........
Take care everyone!!! Be a Coaster Warrior!!!!!!
163 times in three seasons? Holy crap!
mksrookies awesome!! Dont you think that the original Bat was something else. It was a damn good coaster just the engineering wasn't quite right mostly on the banking turns. I remember that coaster swing the shit right out of you. It was sure fun unfortunately it wasn't fixable.......RIP BAT, you was no copy but only the original.......
Jim Ewen rode it as a kid! Rode the King Cobra too, remember that bad boy?
It WAS fun!
It was closed a lot during the ladder half of 81 and almost all of 82. I rode it during early July of 83 when they announced that season “The Bat Returns”. Apparently the 81 version was wilder. In 83 they made some modifications to it and added extra supports. They also replaced the 3 original trains that had bat theming with 2 trains that had 6 plain looking cars (no bat theming) on each of them instead of 7. Apparently about a month after I rode it the ride continued to have issues and was shut down to the public for good. :(.
Did I see this right? I
Was there two lift hills?
Yes. Most suspended roller coasters to ever operate have used two, notably XLR-8, Big Bad Wolf, and Iron Dragon. I think it has to do with some of the swinging using up kinetic energy.
Looks just like the vortex and the current bat at kings island
Its replacement is getting closed now. :(
R.I.P Vortex
I wish Kings Island never shouldn't remove the bat or Vekoma built The Original Bat Vekoma Swinging Turns version 40th anniversary on April 21, 2021 at Kings Island, that well be awesome.
zacharylunsford2 it’s still there
Troy Miller the one there is a remake it used to be called top gun
Kit Andrews actually looked hot in the video.
Oh, the ride. It closed just before I started going to KI, but I wish I could've ridden it.
I've heard rumors people actually did get to ride this...but it sounds kinda far fetched
i rode it.
yes people got to ride it for a few years
RollerCoasterCrab I rode it too, it was twice as smooth as a conventional coaster
So why did they make top gun to replace this ride?
Honastly how it is now is better
In 2014 The Bat will fly again at Kings Island
Not the real thing.
Flight deck got re painted
@mksrookies The new Bat is a good ride and it's themed well. It's a fitting tribute to a ride that was too ambitious for its own good.
@@mutoneon noice