Character Carousel (Kings Island)

Character Carousel
Location	Kings Island
Area	Planet Snoopy
Status	Operating
Opening date	1982
Attraction Type	Carousel
Manufacturer	Chance Morgan
Speed	5 mph (8.0 km/h)
Capacity	500 riders per hour
Duration	1:45
Height restriction	3 ft 10 in (117 cm)
Previous names	Nick-O-Round and the Hanna-Barbera Carousel

Character Carousel is a smaller version of a regular carousel ride that is located at Kings Island in Kings Mills, Ohio. It featured many different characters from different themes that it had had throughout its history .^[1]

History

Character Carousel opened in the year 1982 as the Hanna Barbera Carousel to fit the theme of the children's area which at the time was The Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera. In 2006, came the complete makeover of The Happy Land of Hanna-Barbera, with 3 new rides and attractions. The area then became known as Nickelodeon Universe. This makeover included complete rethemeing of all the Hanna-Barbera rides to fit the Nickelodeon theme. That is when the ride became known as the Nick-O-Round. Although Cedar Fair Entertainment Company had the rights to continue using the Nickelodeon theme through 2016^[2] 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. So in 2010, the area went through a another rethemeing to fit with other Cedar Fair's kid's areas. Nickelodeon Universe then became known as Planet Snoopy. To fit with the rethemeing, the Nick-O-Round became as the Character Carousel.

Fun fact

The Character Carousel has given 10,708,105 rides since 1982, the 21st-most in park history. Its record year was 1982, when 512,769 rides were given .^[3]

Layout and features

The Character Carousel is a basic carousel ride. Riders will chose an object to ride in whether it was a regular horse, or one of the featured characters. They will ride around in a circular shape for 1 minute and 45 seconds. What makes it different than the Grand Carousel is the many different characters that the ride features. At this point in time, it features characters from PEANUTS. However, in the past, it has featured characters from Nickelodeon shows, and characters from Hanna-Barbera. These characters had been featured according to the names it had had in the past.

If this description wasn't very clear, click here for a picture (taken in 2006).

References

1. ^ Island, Kings. "Character Carousel". www.visitkingsisland.com. http://www.visitkingsisland.com/public/park/rides/planet_snoopy/character_carousel.cfm. Retrieved 2011-10-28. 
2. ^ Sloan, Sam (2006-06-01). "Paramount Parks Sold to Cedar Fair". www.sliceofscifi.com. http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2006/06/01/paramount-parks-sold-to-cedar-fair/. Retrieved 2010-04-15. 
3. ^ Island, Kings. "Character Carousel". www.visitkingsisland.com. http://www.visitkingsisland.com/public/park/rides/planet_snoopy/character_carousel.cfm. Retrieved 2011-10-28.