“The Brady Bunch” kids raced around Kings Island looking for lost architectural plans on ABC Television on this date in TV Kiese history, Nov. 23, 1973.
Here’s the story of a show called “Brady”… Stars Barry Williams, Maureen McCormick, Eve Plumb, Susan Olsen, Mike Lookinland, Christopher Knight, Florence Henderson, Ann B. Davis and Robert Reed were shown looking all over Kings Island for Mike Brady’s (Reed) architectural drawings for the park’s expansion.
The “Cincinnati Kids” episode was filmed here Aug. 20-24, 1973, the second year the park was open.
Today it’s a great, fun romp through the past. As the kids search for a poster tube containing dad’s missing sketches, viewers see many long-gone original rides, including the antique cars, canoes (yes, you could paddle a canoe!) and the Swiss sky ride.
When Marcia (McCormick) and Jan (Plumb) find the plans on a canoe, “Brady Bunch” producers filmed the stars doing a relay race through the park to get the plans to their dad before his business meeting ends. I can only find on YouTube this poor quality 8-minute video of the run through the park.
The previous year, ABC’s “The Partridge Family” with teen heartthrob David Cassidy shot an episode during Kings Island’s first year.
In the 1970s, Cincinnati’s Taft Broadcasting owned and operated Kings Island and WKRC-TV (Channel 12), which was an ABC affiliate then. So bringing the ABC shows here gave the new amusement park national TV exposure.
