Attractions Expert Q&A: There wasn’t a book about Kings Island history, so 15-year-old Evan Ponstingle wrote one
As a summer intern in the Kings Island merchandise department, 15-year-old Evan Ponstingle noticed guests often asked for a book about the park’s history, but there wasn’t one, so he decided to write one himself.
This page may contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, we may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
After writing the best-selling book “Kings Island: A Ride Through Time,” Evan Ponstingle was promoted to Human Resources and Group Sales and Events Coordinator at Kings Island (a position the park created for him). Next year, he will graduate from Bowling Green State University with a Resort and Attraction Management degree and will start an undoubtedly successful career utilizing his education and experience.
What theme park souvenir might we be surprised to find on your shelf, and what’s its story?
I do have one in particular that really stands out to me. When Kings Island opened in 1972, they created medallions inscribed with “Kings Island Opening Day” on one side and an engraving of International Street on the other. Only 50 were made and given to all the full-time park managers and Taft Broadcasting to celebrate the opening. I actually have one of those medallions, which was gifted to me by Gary Wachs, the founder of Kings Island, as a token of appreciation for writing my book.
One of the things I wanted to do with my book was to pay tribute to all the people who have made Kings Island the park it is. To be recognized in that way was just so touching and meaningful, so that’s definitely my favorite.
What theme park have you always wanted to visit but have never been to?
I would love to visit European parks, like Europa Park and Phantasialand. My program at Bowling Green is Resort and Attraction Management, and at the end of your senior year, you do a two-week study abroad program. So, next April, I’ll be going to parks in France and Great Britain, like Disneyland Paris and Alton Towers.
There is only one other similar program in England, and it’s done in conjunction with Alton Towers. So you actually go over and meet the people from the other program at Alton Towers, which is really cool.
Was there a theme park or attraction that made you want to be in this industry, and how did it inspire you?
Theme park-wise, I would say Kings Island. I grew up going there, and I love being there. That’s the park that really allowed me to fall in love with this industry.
I’m from the Cleveland area originally, and then we moved to Mason, Ohio (where Kings Island is) when I was four years old, so I grew up going there — like all the time. Then, in my first year in high school, I started working at the park in merchandise, and I’ve been there pretty much ever since. When I was writing my book and doing all the interviews, just speaking with the executives and people who have worked at Kings Island and hearing their passion and dedication for the park resonated with me.
I live so close to the park that I can see the whole skyline from my backyard. And I can watch the fireworks show every night.
What was your favorite ride or attraction as a child, and why?
As a child, I loved Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle at Kings Island. That was the first ride I ever rode.
When we moved to Mason, all I knew about Kings Island was that there was a Scooby-Doo ride. At the time, I was obsessed with Scooby-Doo, so when we moved here, I was so excited to ride it. I loved that I had a Scooby-Doo ride right in my backyard! I only got to enjoy it for a couple of years, though, because they rethemed it into Boo Blasters in 2010, but as a young child, that was definitely my favorite ride.
Was there a ride, attraction, or character that frightened you as a child?
Diamondback (the steel roller coaster at Kings Island) was terrifying to me. That hill was just so scary. I remember when it opened in 2009. I was six years old, and seeing that ride, I was too terrified to go on it. I was 13 years old when I was finally able to muster up the courage to try it.
Now I ride everything — all sorts of crazy rides everywhere. But that ride scared the heck out of me, and I would not ride it until 2016.
What was the oddest or coolest job you’ve had in your career?
I’ve had a lot of cool experiences. One of my favorites was the 50th birthday of Kings Island, which was April 29, 2022. It opened on April 29, 1972, so there was a huge ceremony to celebrate.
They rededicated the park and invited every living General Manager in the park’s history. Folks who had retired or moved to different parks were included, and activities were going on all day.
I was 19 at the time, and they asked me to do a signing of my book, and I was so honored. It was a two-hour block, and for the first hour, I was signing books with Dennis Speigel (Founder of International Theme Park Services), and for the second hour, I was signing books with our General Manager, Mike Koontz. That was such a cool experience, and I appreciated that the park asked me to do that. It was awesome to be there with everybody celebrating Kings Island’s 50 years of success with all those brilliant minds in one place. It had a profound impact on me, for sure.
What ride or attraction do you think everyone needs to experience and why?
As a Kings Islander, I would have to say The Beast, of course. The Beast is the world’s longest wooden roller coaster, and it was entirely designed and built in-house by Kings Island staff, so that’s a ride everybody should experience at least once in their lifetime. Especially at night, it is unlike anything else.
And, you know, records get broken. I think when Millennium Force opened at Cedar Point, it was the world’s tallest coaster for maybe two weeks or something crazy like that, but The Beast has been the world’s longest wooden roller coaster now for 45 years — it’s incredible that it’s held onto that record for all that time. It’s a record that will never be broken.
If you were tasked with creating a new theme park food, what would it be?
There are lots of deep-fried foods. I’ve seen deep-fried Oreos and Twix, but my favorite candy bar is Take5. I’ve never seen a deep-fried Take5 bar, so I think I would have to say that. It would be super easy, and I would love to see one. I would totally buy it.
You’re a walk-around character for a day; who do you choose?
I would be Scooby-Doo. We don’t have him anymore, but hypothetically, I would say Scooby-Doo.
Warner Bros. World in Abu Dhabi has a ride, Scooby-Doo: The Museum of Mysteries. I don’t know if they have him as a character, but I know they have a Scooby-Doo ride in their indoor park. Maybe I’ll move to Abu Dhabi.
What types of attractions would you like to see more of, and why?
I love roller coasters, but we don’t see many new dark rides these days. My favorite ride of all time is the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, and you just don’t see those kinds of rides being built at parks anymore.
At Kings Island, we used to have Phantom Theater, which was our version of the Haunted Mansion. It had air conditioning for the summer weather and was heated so it could run during WinterFest. Dark rides are attractions that everybody in the family can enjoy — they have a broad appeal. I’d love to see more of those rides built at our regional parks.
Specifically, I would like them to see them with more physical sets because nowadays, when a new dark ride is built at a regional park, it’s all video screens, and I’m just not impressed by that. If I wanted to watch a video, I could do that at home.
Like Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair (the new version) is all video screens, but the old version of that ride was animatronics and beautiful physical sets. Although it’s nice to have those characters back at Knott’s Berry Farm, it’s not a replacement for that type of ride. You want to be immersed in the environment, so I would love to see more of those kinds of dark rides built.
Was there any challenge or surprise in your career?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve dealt with was when I was writing my book, and the publisher I was working with canceled my contract. I actually had a signed contract, and then during COVID, they said, “We don’t really have any interest in this anymore.” And they canceled it. I had the whole book written — everything was done. It was shocking.
It was like the rug was pulled out from under me because I had to start from scratch, basically. But that ended up actually being the best thing for my book, as I wasn’t really happy with the way it had turned out. Because of the original deadline, there was more I wanted to include, but I just didn’t have the time to add, get it edited, and proofread.
I saw a book called “Imagineering an American Dreamscape” by Barry Hill about the history of regional theme parks in America. It describes how parks like Six Flags and Kings Island got started. That book had just come out right around the same time my publisher canceled on me, so I emailed Barry Hill and told him my book had a similar subject — only mine was the whole history of Kings Island. I asked his advice for getting it published. He said he was a college professor with resources to publish books, so he asked me to send my manuscript. Two weeks later, I was signing a contract with him, so that worked out incredibly — and this was Fall 2020, right in the middle of COVID.
The new publisher gave me three more months to work on the book, so I was able to go above and beyond what I had originally wanted to do. I had all these people I wanted to interview but couldn’t, so with the three-month extension, I could include them. I ended up adding about 100 more pages.
It really showed me that when everybody says things happen for a reason — things you might not think you want — they’re what needs to happen. The publisher canceling the contract was 110% what needed to happen for this book to be the best it could possibly be.
Can you talk about what you are working on these days?
This summer, I’m back working at Kings Island in a dual role that they created for me, which is awesome. I alternate between HR recruiting, group Sales, and Event Coordination.
On the HR side, I do things with our Bridge USA program, such as international employees’ orientation, park tours, and associate engagement, helping plan events. On the group sales side, I’m coordinating events, like corporate or youth groups having catered functions at Kings Island. I handle all that and help organize their events. In the fall, I’ll be going back to school.
Is there another book? I don’t know. I would like to write another book, but I think the opportunity has to present itself (if that makes sense). It also has to be something that hasn’t been done before. The cool thing about this book was that I wrote it because one of the questions I got the most from people was, “Do you sell any books about the history of Kings Island?” We didn’t sell any, and I heard that from so many people; I thought, okay, I’ll do it myself.
I wasn’t expecting to write a book about his park until people started asking me for one, and I realized that was a hole that we needed to fill. It’s for sale in the park, on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble, and from my publishers’ website — pretty much everywhere books are sold.
You are going to your favorite theme park; which industry people (dead or alive) are you taking with you?
Any of the people I interviewed for my book, but I would have to choose Gary Wachs, the founder of Kings Island. His stories about building Kings Island, creating the idea, and developing the concept for the park are so incredible.
Photo by Nick Graham
Going to the park with him and hearing his insights would be amazing. We get coffee together all the time, but I think walking around Kings Island with him would be an awesome experience.
More Attractions Magazine stories:
Follow us:
Writer Kendall Wolf is a long-time consultant in the themed entertainment industry. She has worked with designers, producers, and fabricators to help developers create unique and successful projects around the world. In 2017, she introduced Merlin Entertainments to a development group in Sichuan province for the first Legoland park in China. Kendall continues to consult for the developer to open more themed resorts in China.
No matter where you want to go, our trusted partner MEI-Travel will handle the planning so you can focus on the memories. They offer free vacation-planning services and have nearly 20 years of experience creating memorable vacations. Visit MEI-Travel for a fee-free, no-obligation quote today.
