Woodstock Express is a

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also b ...

located at

Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park located northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park first opened in 1972 by the Taft Broadcasting Company. It was part of a larger effort to move and expan ...

and designed by John C. Allen. It is located in the children's rides area of the park known as

Planet Snoopy Planet Snoopy is a ''Peanuts'' themed area for children at several Cedar Fair amusement parks. Locations Current Planet Snoopy at Kings Island was awarded the "Best Kids Area" Golden Ticket Awards from 2001–2018 by ''Amusement Today''. It was ...

. The coaster has undergone four different name changes as the children's area in which it resides has been renamed and rethemed multiple times since the park opened. It has also been painted a number of different color schemes since its debut.

History

Woodstock Express was designed by John C. Allen of the

Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry Auchey and Chester Albright under the name Philadelphia T ...

(PTC). It is based on the first three roller coasters he designed shortly after becoming the company's president in 1954. These coasters opened in 1956 at

Hunt's Pier Hunt's Pier was an amusement pier located along the Wildwood, New Jersey, boardwalk from 1957 through 1985. Over its nearly 30 years in operation, Hunt's was home to many classic dark rides, roller coasters, and other attractions. History Hunt's ...

Angela Park Angela Park ( ko, 박혜인, born August 25, 1988) is a Brazilian-American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour. She holds dual citizenship in Brazil and the United States. Childhood and personal life Park was born in Foz do Iguaç ...

and the Gooding Zoo (now the

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a non-profit zoo located near Powell in Liberty Township, Delaware County, Ohio, United States, north of the city of Columbus. The land lies along the eastern banks of the O'Shaughnessy Reservoir on the Sciot ...

). Allen modified the original design, making Woodstock Express a little taller and longer. He eliminated the curved loading station as well, opting instead for an in-line station that precedes the curve to the lift hill. This modified design was then used to build two nearly identical models at

Kings Dominion Kings Dominion is an amusement park located in Doswell, Virginia, north of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, and features more than 60 ri ...

and

Carowinds Carowinds is a amusement park located adjacent to Interstate 77 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The park straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina state line, with a portion of the park located in Fort Mill, South Carolina. However, it has an of ...

. A third copy at

Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting Company and the Great-West Life As ...

was also based on this design but is taller and slightly longer, and it was designed by Curtis D. Summers. The coaster was originally named ''Scooby Doo'' and opened with the park in 1972 as part of "The Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera". Paying homage to The Beast after its successful launch in 1979, Scooby Doo was renamed ''The Beastie'', and a tunnel was added to the bottom of its first drop in time for the 1980 season. In 2006, a decision was made during the Nickelodeon Universe overhaul to remove the tunnel and rename it to ''Fairly Odd Coaster'' (based on the Nickelodeon TV show

The Fairly OddParents ''The Fairly OddParents'' is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows the adventures of Timmy Turner, a 10-year-old boy with two fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda who grant him w ...

). Although

Cedar Fair Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks, nine included-w ...

had the rights to continue using the themes through 2016 following its purchase of the park in 2006, it was decided to remove all remaining Hanna-Barbera and Nickelodeon themes from the kids area in time for the start of the 2010 season. As a result, the ride went through another name change to ''Woodstock Express'' in line with the new

makeover.Woodstock Express
/ref> Woodstock Express was awarded

ACE Coaster Classic American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) is a non-profit organization focusing on the enjoyment, knowledge, and preservation of roller coasters as well as recognition of some as architectural and engineering landmarks. Dues-paying members receive the ...

status, but that status has since been rescinded as a result of recent changes to the coaster.

Layout

The layout of the ride is the basic

figure 8 roller coaster Figure 8 roller coasters are a category of roller coasters where the train runs through a figure 8 shaped course before returning to the boarding station. This design was one of the first designs to be featured in roller coaster design, along with ...

. It is identical to the junior wooden coasters found at Kings Island sister parks – Woodstock Express for

and

, Ghoster Coaster at

, and

Zach's Zoomer Zach's Zoomer is a wooden roller coaster at Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon, Michigan. Zach's Zoomer was manufactured by Custom Coasters International. It opened in 1994 and is targeted toward younger audiences. Zach's Zoomer was named after Ro ...

Michigan's Adventure Michigan's Adventure is a amusement park in Muskegon County, Michigan, about halfway between Muskegon and Whitehall. It is the largest amusement park in the state and has been owned and operated by Cedar Fair since 2001. As of 2022, Michigan' ...

. It also shares many similarities with the Sea Dragon at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium's

Rides At Adventure Cove Rides At Adventure Cove is a small amusement park area that is part of and owned by the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Powell, Ohio. The park was originally part of Wyandot Lake before the zoo purchased the property in 2006, splitting it into tw ...

. An on-ride photo camera is located at the bottom of the second drop.

References

{{Kings Island Roller coasters operated by Cedar Fair Roller coasters in Ohio Peanuts in amusement parks