[2] The movie's plot revolves around Kiss, who use their superpowers to battle an evil inventor (Abner Devereaux, played by Anthony Zerbe) and to save a California amusement park from destruction.

[3] At Magic Mountain, Abner Devereaux, the park's engineer and the creator of a series of animatronic attractions is not pleased that his works are being overshadowed by an upcoming concert by Kiss.

Calvin Richards, the park's owner, explains that the concert will generate much-needed revenue to make up for the quality control problems that have plagued Deveraux's creations.

The band is questioned the next day, but no action is taken, causing the park's officials, including the police and Richards to apologize to them by pardoning Gene of sabotage.

Melissa seeks help from the band to find Sam, unaware that the security pass she received from Devereaux is a tracking device.

Meanwhile, Sam manages to steal the talismans and delivers them to Devereaux, who then neutralizes Kiss with a ray gun.

After the show, Kiss, Melissa and Richards confront Devereaux in the underground laboratory, only to discover that he has frozen in a catatonic state, seemingly revealing himself as the namesake "phantom" of the park.

[3] Creative manager Bill Aucoin felt, however, that the cycle of album releases and touring had taken Kiss as far as they could go, and that it was time to elevate the group's image to the next level.

"[4] Filming for Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park began in May 1978,[5] and it was produced by Hanna-Barbera, known primarily for animation.

[3] Before completing the script, screenwriters Jan Michael Sherman and Don Buday spent time with each Kiss member, to get a feel for how they each acted and spoke.

Criss's dialogue had to be dubbed by voice actor Michael Bell[7] (who had worked with producer Joseph Barbera on a number of past projects) because he refused to participate in post-production.

[1] The concert depicted in the film was recorded in the parking lot of Magic Mountain on May 19, 1978, in front of a crowd of 8,000 people.

Tickets for the concert were given out by local AM radio station KTNQ, where "The Real" Don Steele was a disc jockey.

The theatrical release featured a vastly different version, with several scenes that did not appear in the original television airing added to the cut.

In recent years, Kiss's public statements concerning the film have been a mixture of bemusement and disgust.

[3] The European edit of the film (which removes most of Ace Frehley's dialogue) is available on DVD as part of Kissology Volume Two: 1978–1991, a collection of concerts and television appearances.

The most noticeable difference in the Australian release was the inclusion of "New York Groove" as background music during the rampage through the park.