(October 25, 2024)
As I was traveling with my mother through Cincinnati, Ohio this past week I was able to stop at Jungle Jim’s International Market. Jungle Jim’s is a grocery store… but so much more - like 200,000 square feet of your typical everyday groceries but then toys, kitchen wear, fresh seafood, Ohio’s largest wine selection, live fish, a MASSIVE selection of imported foods from around the world, and ANIMATRONICS!
Animatronics? Yes. Let’s step back for a second. I grew up from birth until 9 years old in Ohio. “Jungle” Jim Bonaminio opened the first Jungle Jim’s store (there are two in the Cincy area) in 1975. During that time and through the mid 80’s while I lived in central Ohio I often visited Kings Island amusement park also outside of Cincinnati, but that was really the only reason I ever went to that part of the state. As a kid I’d never heard of Jungle Jim’s. Around the same time Jungle Jim’s was taking off I was discovering that one of my favorite rides at Kings Island was ‘Enchanted Voyage’, which is a long gone dark ride that featured many of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters that I still love. That ride in addition to Showbiz Pizza is what introduced me to “Animatronic” characters long before I was able (and could afford) to go to Walt Disney World and Disneyland!
Thanks to more recent YouTube travel channels, I started seeing videos of Jungle Jim’s. Realizing it was in my home state I knew I’d have to check it out on one of my visits. One animatronic that I wanted to see in particular was “Elvis” who was originally called “The King” when he was in use at Showbiz Pizza places. He now sports different clothes, but it was really cool to see him again since the last time was probably the early 80s?
So yes, throughout the store there are some animatronics peppered along the aisles, as well as giant displays up in the air. Also, many of the displays holding food were created from old parts of rides from Coney Island (the defunct one in Cincy that eventually became Kings Island, not the one in New York) as well as Kings Island. In fact, I’d say the place is like mash-up of an Amusement park, a kid’s pizza place, and the biggest danged grocery store that you’ve ever seen! Heck, he even has some pinballs machines. And the bathrooms are worth mentioning, too. From the outside they are literally Port-O-Johns… but once you open the door you enter a hallway leading to a normal, AND CLEAN, bathroom! Very cool! Oh, and besides all of this craziness you are going to find all kinds of cool eats and drinks to try!
So below are some videos and photos of this insane place. If you find your self traveling or staying in the Cincinnati area, please check it out. There are two locations, the original is where I stopped is in Fairfield and the second at Eastgate, which is equally as fun!
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