Woodstock Express

Entrance sign.

*Scooby-Doo* (1972 - 1979)

***Woodstock Express*** (previously known as ***Fairly Odd Coaster***, ***The Beastie***, and ***Scooby-Doo***) is a wooden coaster located in the Planet Snoopy section of Kings Island. If not counting its numerous rethemes throughout the years, it is one of the oldest rides in the park, having debuted alongside fellow wooden coaster *The Racer*, both of which were built and designed by John C. Allen, and his company, Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters. The coaster originally opened as part of Hanna-Barbera Land with a theme to *Scooby-Doo*, being named after the character and franchise. It has been rethemed three times since opening, and remains in operation to this day. Clones of this coaster exist at numerous sister parks Kings Dominion, Carowinds, Canada's Wonderland, and Michigan's Adventure. However, the ride is known as *Ghoster Coaster* at Canada's Wonderland and *Zach's Zoomer* at Michigan's Adventure.

## History

*Woodstock Express* originally opened with the park on April 29, 1972 under the name *Scooby-Doo*. Themed after the franchise and character of the same name, it was located in Hanna-Barbera Land, and was labeled as a junior roller coaster, serving as a coaster aimed for younger guests who were not ready to take on the bigger coasters just yet. Scooby-Doo himself did not appear on the ride, nor did any backgrounds or scenery related to the franchise, but old park maps do feature the character riding the coaster.

Following the successful opening of *The Beast* in 1979, the ride was rethemed and renamed to *The Beastie*, with a tunnel being added to make the ride serve as a miniature version of the popular coaster. This version of the coaster would remain in the park for over twenty-five years.

In 2006, Paramount made the decision to capitalize on their popular Nickelodeon characters and converted Hanna-Barbera Land to Nickelodeon Universe. Despite not being based on a Hanna-Barbera property at the time, *The Beastie* was one of many rides that was affected by the retheme, and became the *Fairly Odd Coaster*, themed to the Nickelodeon TV show, *The Fairly OddParents*. The ride cars were repainted to light green and pink, and featured the faces of the title characters, Cosmo and Wanda, in reference to the fact that the two are able to transform into inanimate objects with their magic powers. The original mascot of the coaster, Scooby-Doo, remained in the park at the nearby ride, Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle *(*now known as *Boo Blasters On Boo Hill)*

That same year, Kings Island and the other Paramount Parks were purchased by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, who began to remove references to films and TV shows throughout the park. Nickelodeon Universe would be the last area where this occurred, as it was converted to Planet Snoopy, and featured characters from Charles Schulz's *Peanuts* franchise, which were present in Cedar Fair's other parks. The coaster had all references to *The Fairly OddParents* removed, and was renamed *Woodstock Express*.

*Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle* also had its theme removed, and became a generic haunted house ride under the name *Boo Blasters on Boo Hill*. This would mark the first time that the coaster's original mascot, Scooby-Doo did not appear in the park, despite the fact that he had been part of the park's history for over thirty years.

*Woodstock Express* continues operations to this day, and its ride experience has not been affected by its rethemes, save for the tunnel that only existed when it was known as *The Beastie*.

## Trivia

* Unless counting the number of movies that have been shown in the now-closed *Action Theater*, *Woodstock Express* currently holds the record for the ride that has been rethemed the most times in the park.
* With the exception of a tunnel that only existed when the coaster was known as *The Beastie*, the ride experience has not changed under any of its rethemes.
* *The Beastie* is the only incarnation of this coaster that is not based on an entertainment company's intellectual property.
* When the ride operated as the *Fairly Odd Coaster*, the ride cars were painted light green and pink, with the faces of Cosmo and Wanda on the front of each set of cars. This was a reference to Cosmo and Wanda's ability to disguise themselves as inanimate objects at various points throughout *The Fairly OddParents*.
* Other coasters share the name of *Woodstock Express*, but with the exception of Kings Dominion and Carowinds, which are identical to this version, the layout and coaster type vary. For instance, the Cedar Point, Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, and California's Great America versions are all steel coasters.