It ended up lasting all the way through the night I hit the 1,000 on August 14th. I do not want to get another job because I would only be there two weeks.” I thought it would last a week, maybe two. So I was like, “I do not know how long this is going to last. I was working for the Cincinnati Reds as a souvenir vendor. How old were you in the summer of 1981 when you first starting officially counting ? And then every time I would come back, it was always the first ride I wanted to head towards. So about around 2 o’clock in the afternoon I did. My cousin told me he would give me fifty cents if I rode it with him. I kept looking at it, but I was still a little apprehensive about going on it. So I could see it from the Eiffel Tower (attraction at Kings Island). At the time it was the longest, the fastest, the tallest wooden roller coaster out there. Just the structure of it, just the sheer size of it. So I did not ride it, and then coming back here the next year, and then seeing the Racer, and I remember being intrigued about it. Looking back I wished I had not gotten out. As soon as they set you down, and you could hear noise from the train behind it coming through the tunnel, it was just like “No,” and I got out. I did sit in the seat, but right before the dispatched I wanted to get out. The last day Coney Island was open, in 1971, I did go through the line. I was intrigued by it, but I did not want to ride it. The year before and even a couple years before that, going to Coney Island (local amusement park), they had a ride called the Shooting Star. You first rode the Racer in 1972 when it opened. But here it is, thirty something years since I got started, and I still love the ride as much now as I did back then. I would have definitely stopped, wherever the number may have been, the minute it was not fun. I could not have done 10,000 rides if it was not fun. I would never recommend anyone do it just for the numbers - you can not. Or maybe for them, it does become boring.

A lot of people want to do it, but it is just being able to make that time and make it happen. People start out, and they may get 1,500 rides, maybe 2,000, but then other things get in the way and they can not make the time for it. I finished that first year with 1,200 rides, and it kind of evolved from there.ĭo you know anyone that is trying to break the record? When I actually started to come to Kings Island all the time, ride, and go for the numbers – that started on June 15th of 1981. Up to that point, my family would visit the park once, maybe twice a year. I had ridden the Racer from 1972 through 1980. Cedar Point Sports Force Park Dining GuideĬP Food Blog Filling your plate with Cedar Fair Amusement Parks news from Cedar Point to Knott's Berry Farm!ĭon Helbig: A record was set for the most nonconsecutive rides on the same roller coaster.

Kings island racer 1972