Cincinnati residents and visitors know all about Kings Island's picturesque setting and iconic place in history. But the amusement park in Mason also has its share of celebrity fans.
Kings Island has appeared in many iconic television and film moments through the years, some of which are included in longtime park employee Evan Ponstingle's new book, Kings Island: A Ride Through Time. How many have you seen?
1973: The Partridge Family episode “I Left My Heart in Cincinnati” features Reds catcher Johnny Bench as a waiter at the park’s inn.
1973: The Bradys lose Mike’s blueprints at the park in The Brady Bunch episode “The Cincinnati Kids.”
1975: Daredevil Evel Knievel jumps his motorcycle over 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island, setting a world record.
1977: Actor Dick Van Dyke becomes the park’s celebrity spokesman and films a series of commercials for Cincinnati's beloved park and for Kings Island's sister park Kings Dominion in Virginia.
1988: Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy film portions of Fresh Horses at Kings Island.
Mid-1990s: Nick Lachey performs in a Kings Island barbershop quartet before becoming a member of 98 Degrees. In the following clip from Lachey and then-wife Jessica Simpson's television series Newlyweds, Lachey returns to Cincinnati for his grandmother's wedding and a nostalgic visit to the amusement park.
2008: Robbie Knievel, Evel’s son, jumps his own motorcycle over 24 Coke Zero delivery trucks.
This story was originally published in our 2021 Summer Guide issue.
