MasonBuzz.com

John Kiesewetter reports:

This just in from Kings Island:  Greg, Cindy and Peter Brady — also known as Barry Williams, Susan Olsen and Christopher Knight — will return to Kings Island on Sunday, May 19, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of taping a  “Brady Bunch” episode at the park in August 1973.

The three stars will ”entertain park guests during four shows of singing, dancing and Brady Bunch anecdotes,” says Don Helbig, KI public relations manager.

• Photos: The Brady Bunch at Kings Island

Williams, Knight and Olsen will be available to meet fans, sign autographs and pose for photographs after each show.

Here’s a link to my Jan. 30 blog about the episode airing on Hallmark Channel. And here’s my Feb. 6 blog about all the long-gone KI rides seen on the ”Brady Bunch” episode.

Here’s the release:

Brady Bunch stars returning to Kings Island

KINGS ISLAND, Ohio – If you grew up in the 1970’s, chances are you really had two families: your own and The Brady Bunch.

One of the grooviest sitcoms of the era, The Brady Bunch filmed one of its most popular episodes at Kings Island. The episode, called “The Cincinnati Kids,” was filmed at Kings Island August 20-24, 1973, the second year the park was open.

In the episode, which first aired November 23, 1973, Mike Brady, played by Robert Reed, takes the family with him as he presents his architectural plans for a new addition to Kings Island. The plans become inadvertently misplaced while the family is in the park and a variety of comic situations evolve while recovering the drawings.

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Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Kings Island |

Tags: Tags: barry williams, brady bunch, christopher knight, kings island, susan olsen

Pattie Byron, right, watches Belle Page paint something during the Mason Arts Festival. (Photo by Tony Tribble)

Artists have until Monday to register for booth space at the Mason-Deerfield Arts Alliance FallFair Arts Festival.

The juried show, formerly known as the Mason Arts Festival, will feature up to 100 local and regional artists Sept. 21 at Deerfield Township’s Cottell Park.

Nearly 5,000 people attend the annual event, now in its eighth year.  The festival awards monetary prizes in 10 categories by art medium.

To apply for booth space, artists should mail an application with three images of original artwork and a photo of their booth display by slide, CD or photograph and a non-refundable $25 jury fee to MDAA, P.O. Box 381, Mason, Ohio 45040.

Download applications at www.masonarts.org or call 513-309-8585.  Artists will be notified of acceptance by May 15, at which time a $75 booth fee is due.

For more information, call the MDAA at 513-309-8585 or email masonarts@gmail.com.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Events |

Tags: Tags: art, artists, cottell park, deadline, fallfair arts festival, festival, juried, mason arts festival, mason-deerfield arts alliance

Shauna Steigerwald reports:

When Kings Island opens April 27, its Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit will have a literally huge new feature: The world’s largest animatronic dinosaur, a life-size Sauroposeidon.

The length of three school buses (112 to 118 feet) and the height of a six-story building (56 feet), the North American dinosaur was known as “the Earth Quake Lizard” was one of the largest in the world. It’s said to have weighed 50 to 60 tons, eight times the size of an African elephant.

The Sauroposeidon arrived at Kings Island Monday in four shipping containers; a crew of 12 people will spend the next two weeks setting it up.

Other new additions to Dinosaurs Alive! include a pack of Albertosaurus, exploring the idea that they may have hunted in packs.

Kings Island previously announced that a Reds-themed restaurant, the Reds Hall of Fame Grille, will open at the park this season.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Kings Island |

Tags: Tags: albertosaurus, animatronic, cedar fair, dinosaurs alive, don helbig, ki, kings island, mason, sauroposeidon

Every year, from April until late October, millions of thrill-seekers pour through Kings Island’s gates in search of heart-pounding adventures on one of the park’s world-class roller coasters or other rides.

The Mason amusement park will rely on more than 4,000 seasonal workers to operate the park when it opens April 27. But for Tom Dillingham and his crew, the real work begins when the shrieks subside, the last ride makes its way into the station and the park gates close.
• Quiz: How much do you know about Kings Island?
• Photos: Opening day 2012
• Photos: Brady Bunch at Kings Island• Things you may not know about Kings Island
• Video: Son of Beast comes down

As the park’s manager of rides and mechanical maintenance, Dillingham, 54, oversees a crew of about 50 mechanics, carpenters and welders who conduct year-round testing and maintenance of the park’s 46 rides. The bulk of the work takes place in the park’s off-season months of November through April.

“A lot of people think that you just swing the gates shut when the park closes and swing them open when it’s time to open. It’s completely different than that. This is our busiest time of the year. We’re working right up to park opening,” Dillingham said.

The process starts with the dismantling of rides beneath shelters in the park picnic grove. Wheels and axles are disassembled. Each car is stripped down to every last nut and bolt.

“It’s in the neighborhood of 5,000 parts for all the coasters combined. Diamondback alone has approximately 1,600 parts checked annually. It’s very detailed work,” Dillingham said.

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Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Kings Island |

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1973: David Cassidy chums it up with a young park patron and Square Bear, a costumed Hanna-Barbera cartoon character, during the filming of the special “Partridge Family” show at Kings Island.

John Kiesewetter reports:

Before the “Brady Bunch” came in 1973, TV’s “Partridge Family” filmed an episode at Kings Island in 1972, the year the park opened, called “I Left My Heart in Cincinnati.”

And you can see it at 10:30 a.m. Monday (March 18) on Antenna TV. (Not sure where or how to get Antenna TV, but I’m confident a reader will post the info in a Facebook message with this post.)

Shirley Jones, David Cassidy, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, Alan Bursky and the gang — plus Johnny Bench! — will be seen all over the park. The Partridge cast ride the blue Racer, Grand Carousel merry-go-round, Monster (Octopus), Linus’ Beetle Bugs, Rivertown flume ride and the old antique cars.

You’ll see the Skyride several times, young female KI employees wearing those funky yellow-and-orange caped uniforms, and the Partridge gang dancing on International Street with the Banana Splits characters!

“I Left My Heart in Cincinnati” refers to Keith (David Cassidy) falling in love with an older woman – park PR person Audrey Parson played by Mary Ann Mobely — while doing concerts at KI. Don Helbig, the real KI PR guy, tells me that Bench’s appearance as a waiter(!) on “the “Partridge Family”  was his second TV acting gig, after his debut on “Mission: Impossible.”

Helbig says Kings Island used the “Partridge Family” theme song as a tie-in for the park’s grand opening slogan, “C’mon Get Happy.”

See a 4-minute clip on YouTube here. It’s not the best, and repeats a lot, but still fun to watch. Enjoy!

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Kings Island |

Tags: Tags: alan bursky, danny bonaduce, david cassidy, don helbig, i left my heart in cincinnati, johnny bench, kings island, mason, patridge family, shirley jones, susan dey, video

Polly Campbell reports:

Two of the most popular things about summer around here – The Reds and Kings Island – have teamed up for a new restaurant called  the Reds Hall of Fame Grille.

It is a Reds-themed restaurant at Kings Island, with Hall of Fame memorabilia, framed jerseys and photos, and other bits of history of the Reds, dating back to the 1880′s.

Video highlights from World Series, playoffs and other games will play on TVs through the restaurant.

On the menu: burgers, wings, Montgomery Inn pulled pork, baby back ribs, Saratoga chips, wraps, salads, desserts, draft beer and wine.

There will be a new patio overlooking a spectacular view of Diamondback roller coaster.  The grille will be ready when Kings Island opens for the 2013 season April 27.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Business, Kings Island, News |

Tags: Tags: business, cincinnati reds, kings island, mason, reds, restaurant

A major winter storm that dumped heavy snow across the region overnight didn’t stop work crews at Kings Island as the Mason theme park gears up for its 41st season.

Crews spent Wednesday morning shoveling and removing snow from rides to continue off-season maintenance work.

A crew of about 50 mechanics, carpenters and welders work year round to conduct testing and maintenance of the park’s 46 rides.  The bulk of the work takes place in the park’s off-season months of November through late April.

“I think a lot of people think that you just swing the gates shut when the park closes and swing them open when it’s time to open.  It’s completely different than that.  This is our busiest time of the year.  We’re working right up to park opening,” said Tom Dillingham, the park’s manager of rides and mechanical maintenance.

Kings Island opens for the 2013 season on April 27.

Posted in: Kings Island, News |

Tags: Tags: amusement park, crews, kings island, maintenance, mason, mechanics, off-season, photos, snow, the racer, theme park, tom dillingham, winter

Bowdeya Tweh reports:

The Beach Waterpark in Mason is hosting a job fair March 9 to recruit 500 people for employment.

The recruitment event is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the waterpark at 2590 Waterpark Drive. Attendees will arrive at the general parking lot and then be directed to the admissions building.

Part-time, seasonal positions include supervisors, food service workers, bartenders, lifeguards, emergency medical technicians, park landscapers and maintenance workers, game room attendants, admissions workers, seasonal marketing workers, sales and special events workers, party captains, and gift shop retail and merchandising workers. Bartenders must be 21 and older. and EMT personnel and landscapers and maintenance workers must be 18 and older.

Potential hires are asked to fill out an application online at www.thebeachwaterpark.com before the job fair. Candidates should also bring identification and copies of certifications received in their field of work such as first aid or rescue.

The Beach is expected to open May 18.

Adventure Holdings LLC, the waterpark’s new owner, bought the park after it closed in September 2011. The company is also honoring all 2012 season passes bought for waterpark admission.

The park’s owner said it is spending more than $5 million on renovations at the venue this season.

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, The Beach Waterpark |

Tags: Tags: hiring, job fair, jobs, staff, the beach waterpark, workers

Ed McHale stands in front of Kings Island’s Hall of Fame wall. McHale, who was involved in the grand opening of the park in 1972 and served as its general manager from 1973-1976, was the lone person inducted into the park’s 10th Hall of Fame class. The Enquirer/Rachel Richardson

In 1971, Ed McHale faced what could only be described as a logistical nightmare.

As a manager at Coney Island, McHale was tasked with overseeing the transportation of more than a dozen rides from the shuttered Anderson Township park to the site of what would become Kings Island in Mason.

Construction was underway to open up a new park in Warren County to replace historic Coney Island, which had been besieged by major flooding and had limited space for parking and expansion.

Ed McHale, far right, celebrates the grand opening of Hanna Barbera Land at Kings Island in 1972. Photo provided/Kings Island

McHale and his team had 45 days to move the rides in order to meet Kings Island’s opening date in the spring of 1972. They got it done in 30 days.

“There was a lot of pressure, but we did it and we were in surprisingly good shape to get it in operation by opening day,” he recalls. “We were blessed with good winter; if it had been a bad winter or bad fall, I don’t know what we would have done. We got lucky.”

• Photos: Ed McHale helped shape Kings Island

But luck had little to do with it, according to park officials, who say McHale was instrumental in the planning, development and oversight of Kings Island in its fledgling days.

Last fall, the park inducted McHale, who served as the park’s operations manager in 1972 and general manager from 1973-1976, as the newest member in its 2012 Hall of Fame.

The exclusive club of 10 honorees includes such luminaries as park visionary and founder Gary Wachs, former park entertainer Carmen Elektra and ESPN and NBC sports reporter Lewis Johnson, a former rides supervisor.

“He really set the tone for providing that ‘best day of the year’ experience for park guests,” said KI spokesman Don Helbig of McHale. “That’s been in place for 40 years and all goes back to the group Ed was a part of.”

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Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Kings Island |

Tags: Tags: amusement park, cedar fair, ed mchale, general manager, hall of fame, kings island, kings mills, mason, taft broadcasting company

Kings Island closed The Bat in 1984, saying the coaster never operated up to expectations and would be too costly to fix. AP photo

John Kiesewetter reports:

Watching that  “Brady Bunch” show from Kings Island got me thinking about all the long-gone rides at the park. Can you help me list them all?

I was surprised how many rides are gone. Of course there were the Sky Ride and Antique Cars, but I didn’t remember the Canoe ride, where people padded over to an island with the Indian tepees.

• Photos: The Brady Bunch at Kings Island

The vast empty spaces at Kings Island from the “Brady Bunch” aerial shots showed how the park had grown and changed over 40 years.  The Bradys were there before Lion Country Safari opened (in 1974).

Below is my list of long-gone rides from the “Brady Bunch”  episode. There are so many other rides that have come and gone since then, like the King Cobra stand-up coaster or Sky Lab.  Can you add to my list?

• Double-decker parking lot bus
• Sky Ride
• Giant Slide
• Flying Eagle
• Canoes
• Wooden Shoe spinning ride
• Halley’s Comet spinning ride
• Wheel of Fortune spinning ride, like a big roulette wheel
• Spinning Barrel ride (like the Disney Tea Cups, but barrels)

What were your favorite rides and attractions that are no longer there?

Posted in: Arts & Entertainment, Kings Island |

Tags: Tags: antique cars, brady bunch, canoe ride, closed, flying eagle, giant slide, halley's comet, kings island, lion country safari, obsolete, rides, sky ride, the bat, wheel of fortune, wooden show