The Great Pumpkin Coaster is a small family roller coaster tucked into the Planet Snoopy section of Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Built by E&F Miler Industries, it’s a classic steel “junior oval” coaster designed to give young riders their first taste of a lift hill and a few gentle dips without any of the speed or intensity of the park’s bigger rides.
The ride has actually been part of Kings Island since 1992, though it hasn’t always worn its current pumpkin-orange theme. It opened as Scooby Zoom, became Top Cat’s Taxi Jam in 1998, and was renamed Little Bill’s Giggle Coaster in 2006 before finally taking on its current Halloween-flavored identity in 2010 as part of Planet Snoopy’s Peanuts theming.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Kings Island (Mason, Ohio)
- Manufacturer: E&F Miler Industries
- Opened: 1992 (as Scooby Zoom; renamed The Great Pumpkin Coaster in 2010)
- Height: about 8 feet
- Top speed: about 6 mph
- Length: about 199 feet
- Inversions: 0
The Ride Experience
True to its junior-coaster roots, The Great Pumpkin Coaster keeps things simple: a single train of six two-across cars climbs a short chain lift before rolling through a couple of turns and small dips in a standard oval layout. The whole trip lasts under a minute, making it an easy, low-intimidation ride for kids experiencing a coaster for the first time.
Riders must be at least 36 inches tall. Guests between 36 and 40 inches need a supervising companion to ride, while guests 40 inches or taller may ride alone (children still fall under the park’s general rule that young riders must be accompanied by a companion at least 60 inches tall). The purple track and Peanuts-themed decor tie the ride into the surrounding Planet Snoopy area, which is built around Charlie Brown and friends.
A Ride With Several Identities
Few rides at Kings Island have changed names as often as this one. It began life themed to Scooby-Doo, then Hanna-Barbera’s Top Cat, then Nickelodeon’s Little Bill, before Peanuts branding took over Planet Snoopy in the late 2000s. Each retheme swapped out car designs and paint schemes while leaving the underlying Miler-built layout untouched.
That history makes the coaster something of a time capsule for how Kings Island’s kids’ area has evolved over three decades, even as the ride itself has stayed a dependable, low-key introduction to coasters for the park’s youngest guests.
Explore more: Explore more roller coasters.
The Great Pumpkin Coaster FAQs
How tall do you have to be to ride The Great Pumpkin Coaster?
Riders must be at least 36 inches tall. Guests between 36 and 40 inches need a supervising companion, while guests 40 inches or taller may ride alone.
How fast does The Great Pumpkin Coaster go?
It’s a gentle family coaster that reaches only about 6 mph, designed for young riders rather than thrill-seekers.
Has The Great Pumpkin Coaster always had this name?
No. It opened in 1992 as Scooby Zoom, was renamed Top Cat’s Taxi Jam in 1998 and Little Bill’s Giggle Coaster in 2006, before becoming The Great Pumpkin Coaster in 2010.
Get More from The Great Pumpkin Coaster
Log the coasters, stadiums, and venues you’ve experienced, rate The Great Pumpkin Coaster, and see what your friends thought. Get the ThrillZing app.
Photo: Eli Duke from Portland, OR, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.