Eiffel Tower decapitation 1983 at PKD
this is first to hear of this story.
the true story is, a man who was to be married found out that his finance wasnt being very faithful with him, so that day of the wedding he decided to go up to the top platform, drunk as all get out, the top platform which at the time, wasnt enclosed at it is now, and jumped off the tower. when you walk in front of the que entrance, you'll see the patch thats still there. when i asked about it when i worked there, there was no denial of it, just that no one worked there at the time, and didnt know (HA, they were 1-5's or ride op managers, so i think that they would have.) its impossible to be hit by the counter waits since they are on the oppisite side of the elevator shaft, a good 10-15 feet.
the story of the decapatation was the kid who was riding the old galaxi ride and stood up and CHOP-O, off came his head. Thats why they say that part of the park is haunted. thats the side the patch is on, and the 2 deaths at the same location.
hope that clears it up. i too would like to go and search for it on the microfilm. really see what went on.
at 7/22/03 10:01:53 AM
I am not sure why this has come up again... seems this subject crops up every other week or so.
But I thought it best to clarify...
No one died on the PKD Eiffel Tower. The tower there has had floor to ceiling railings since the mid-1970's. I first attended in 1978 and recall it having the secured rails at that point. There was no way for someone to climb over the rails in 1983. Urban legend.
However it is common knowledge that on Friday the 13th, 1983 a teenage boy DID fall to his death on the King's Island Eiffel Tower. He was at the park as part of an after hours Grad Night event.
Unfortunately heavy alcohol consumption and susbtance abuse is faulted for the young man's poor judgement. As I understand it, he violated all posted safety rules and regulations and climbed into a locked-out shaft area on the 50 foot platform level. He lost his balance and fell to his death. Many have speculated that it was indeed a suicide.
Since that night, the 50 foot level has been closed to guests on both Eiffel Towers at PKI and PKD.
FYI, if someone were able to jump from the highest observation levels on either tower, they most likely would fall to the roof over the 50 foot level. The queue entrance is located under the 50 foot platform, thus any object dropped from the tower's peak could not land at that spot.
The accident on the Galaxi at PKD is accurate. That young boy was decapitated. I recall when the incident happended simply because it was all over the national news. I lived close to KD at the time and every newspaper led with the story.
The Galaxi was located where the lift/drop/loop of shockwave now is. The young man managed to stand up... the ride had a simple buzz-bar type of restraint. The ride also had many low hanging support brackets and light poles. Thus he met his fate. That occurred on Sept 10th 1983. The ride did re-open afterward, but only ran for like one more season. It was then removed for Shockwave.
As far as ghosts and hauntings... basically every park has them. PKI's is referred to as Tower Johnny. I have heard of PKD having a ghost legend based on the Galaxi incident, but I do not know details. Actually the ghost stories are more novelty to employees than anything. When I worked at PKI, if something went wrong like a ride was being temperamental or such, the employees would just joke with each other and say "Well, Tower Johnny's back at it again."
But bottom line, both PKI and PKD are VERY safety concious parks. It's unfortunate that guests cannot adhere to safety rules and regulations at ANY park. But some make very poor decisions and stupid judgement calls. In the end, it hurts everyone. Parks go out of their way to make our visits fun and safe. I wish none of them had to deal with tragedies like these that label them negatively for years and years and deeply affect those that work so hard to keep things safe.
Shaggy
> He was at the
> park as part of an after hours Grad Night event.
Seems Grad Nights have a disproportionate number of fatalities around the country. Kind of surprised parks still host them.
> Since that night, the 50 foot level has been
> closed to guests on both Eiffel Towers at PKI and
> PKD.
Didn't realize that was why the 50 foot level was closed. Before I became an old goat, I used to hike the stairs at KI regularly. I always thought the closure was due to the steps (risk of a guest slipping, having a heart attack, etc.) and wondered why they didn't build an elevator stop at the lower platform. It gave a view of the park that was in many ways better than the view from the top.
As an old timer, I also remember taking the stairs between the upper and lower platforms at the top of KI's tower. Did that change at the same time the lowest level was closed?
I find that weird and that the shockwave also had a death. I heard they are tearing down the shockwave after the 2003 season which is really sad.
I heard they are replacing it with another coaster, if they were smart they'd make a resturaunt or something and build it in a different location.
Just for kicks
The Galaxi story is not accurate. The ride had no restraints at all, not even a buzzbar, you just sat down and there was a fixed bar to hang on to. The guy stood at the end and hit his head. He was not decapitated and he died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Dave
> No one died on the PKD Eiffel Tower. The tower
> there has had floor to ceiling railings since the
> mid-1970's.
watch the movie rollercoaster. there are no bars in any of the sceens. just the head level bars and a open top.
at 7/23/03 1:02:11 AM
> No one died on the PKD Eiffel Tower. The tower
> there has had floor to ceiling railings since the
> mid-1970's.
> watch the movie rollercoaster. there are no bars
> in any of the sceens. just the head level bars
> and a open top.
You have got to be kidding, we know how movies change things to their advantage, why are you going by this? The Movies could change a bodega into a big market chain, so because it was in Rollercoaster, you think this is for real? Time to get your facts, time for you to research the truth, not for us to give you the answers anymore.
You were told, you want to doubt, now time for you to prove yourself and not through a movie. I cannot believe that someone would argue that a movie showed it as such, wow, are there that many people out there that believe what they see on screen exists?
Ed
at 7/23/03 10:36:11 AM
> watch the movie rollercoaster. there are no bars
> in any of the sceens. just the head level bars
> and a open top.
Rollercoaster filmed at KD in 1977. I first attended KD in 1978, and the tower had floor to ceiling railings.
Never-the-less, no one has jumped or fallen from the PKD tower.
Shaggy
It has been a while since I did the tower at PKD, but if memory serves, it has 2 levels. The bottom one has bars from floor to ceiling and the top one has no ceiling. I don’t think they use the top level anymore, but I think I remember being on it in the 80’s.
at 7/23/03 1:18:30 PM
> Didn't realize that was why the 50 foot level was
> closed. Before I became an old goat, I used to
> hike the stairs at KI regularly. I always thought
> the closure was due to the steps (risk of a guest
> slipping, having a heart attack, etc.) and
> wondered why they didn't build an elevator stop
> at the lower platform. It gave a view of the park
> that was in many ways better than the view from
> the top.
Actually this isn't the reason the 50 foot level was closed. I didn't attend Kings Island until 1987 for the first time, when I was 7 years old. I remember when I was younger going up to the 50 foot section. I do not remember when it was closed, but I believe it was either right before Paramount took over or after. So I'm thinking between the 1992 and 1994 seasons when it closed off. But I do remember climbing the 50 foot section so I know it wasn't closed off in 1983 cause I wouldn't not have been their then as I was only 3 years old.
I hope this proves that it is true that a man did jump from the Eiffel Tower in 1986. I thought most people already knew this. You people need to check your facts before you dismiss anything. Check any Virginia news Archieves and you will find it.The bars on top of the tower only went up halfway as you will see in "rollercoaster". After the death they extended the bars to the top fully. here's proof from a local newspaper.. "A 32-year-old North Carolina man was killed yesterday at Kings Dominion theme park in Hanover County, after he jumped from an observation deck atop the park's reproduction of the Eiffel Tower, he said. He fell more than 300 feet".
-signed,
A local who lived 10 mins from KD all her life
This is no urban legend I can assure you.
* This post was modified at 8/18/18 5:50:26 PM *
