Kyle Kruthoffer

Stay tuned for the itinerary. All will be revealed soon.

Got a glimpse at the Coasterstock 2021 itinerary, and it is STACKED! Stay tuned for it. Anyone here going to be taking part in this exciting event?

https://youtu.be/0tDSQAUvYQo

Ooh ooh, can I be on next! In all seriousness, great interview! Always enjoy hearing Don talk about his time at the park. You learn something new every time.

Take an exclusive up-close look into the all-new Kings Island Camp Cedar via the Kings Island Blog during a construction hard hat tour that took place Thursday. You'll get to learn a bit more about what the final product will look like when guests stay at this state-of-the-art luxury outdoor resort. BLOG: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2021/april/take-an-exclusive-look-into-kings-island-camp-cedar

Orion's Belt just got a lot more dreamier.

The bond was quite strong between the park and enthusiasts. We have been so blessed to have great park leadership throughout the years, even going back to the late great Ruth Voss. She, in a way, kinda started the trend of ERT. I will say that Jeff is very similar to our own Mr. Don Helbig in the way that he is an enthusiast at heart and wants to do awesome things for enthusiasts. Tours, events, etc. CoasterStock was completely Don’s idea and he puts a lot of work into every year organizing it, something that I think most of us can glance over. Jeff is very active as well as he loves his fellow ACE members and puts on events for all organizations. In a matter of fact, SFFT just announced that they are doing a private THREE day event just for enthusiasts, Roller Coaster Rodeo!, something to which I’m not sure has ever been done before on a level such as this. I’m sure that that was completely Siebert’s idea. Sometimes it may seem like enthusiasts got to do a lot more things like construction tours and such under Paramount/Jeff, but a lot have things have changed over the years such as safety concerns, and not to mention certain enthusiasts can ruin the fun for all by breaking those rules. Yes, Kings Island may not “cater” to enthusiasts (as no park really should if we’re being honest, because we make up such a small number), but we are blessed that they do recognize us and want to do awesome things for us. If I am able to “move up in the ranks” someday, whether at Kings Island, Cedar Fair, Six Flags, Busch, wherever... I hope to help strengthen the bond/relationship between enthusiasts and parks.

@Shaggy please school us, oh wise one!!!!

Iron Rattler was very nice. I don’t really rank coasters, I try to gain appreciation for each of them in their own way and what makes them unique (sometimes even if they’re a clone). I really admired it a lot before riding as Jeff told me he likes to see it as the park’s comparison to “The Beast”. He made a couple changes to it such as removing the slowdown at the top to achieve a new maximum speed down the first drop, and took out the flashing lights in the tunnel to create a more unique night ride. The first drop is probably my favorite on any coaster (now that Vortex is gone), it has a lot of character. Airtime is quite nice as well. Kinda like Storm Chaser in the sense that it may be short, but definitely packs a punch.

In case anyone’s interested and likes watching quality vlogs (with POVs!), I had the trip of a lifetime with my best friend Sean Flaharty. Mr. Jeffery Siebert is SFFTs Park president, and you may remember him from all his awesome public relations work he did for Paramount’s Kings Island from mid-1999 to pre-CF era (SoB Blair Witch spoof and National Geographic Tomb Raider may ring a bell) WATCH HERE Jeff was kind enough to invest in me on my career journey in this industry, and invited me to come down to see how he did things and check out the park. I loved picking his brain on how he thinks creatively and what it takes to lead and “make it” in this industry. (I’m more infatuated with the business side rather than just being an enthusiast. I’ve always wanted to take it a step further). Jeff is an enthusiast at heart and his leadership skills and care for others is unmatched. I do hope to someday be like him, as he is just one more person that inspires me. We also were able to hit up Six Flags Over Texas, Sea World San Antonio, and ZDT’s Amusement for some fun as well.

In-house. Let’s not forget that Kings Island is home to a world-class wooden coaster maintenance team.

(November 17, 2020 BLOG) In today’s blog post, Area Manager of Digital Marketing Don Helbig takes us through some of the offseason work being done on The Racer, with more than 500ft of track being replaced. BLOG: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2020/november/more-than-500-feet-of-track-being-replaced-on-the-racer-roller-coaster

Hey all, I thought this would be a great place to drop recent links and discuss the recent blog posts from the Kings Island Blog. That way every time a new blog is posted a separate thread need not be created, unless the conversation can be expanded upon and talked more about. After all, there are some pretty cool and intriguing stories as we get closer to the park's 50th Anniversary in 2022. Plus, why not share some of your favorites? I believe they go back as early as 2017, and there have been many hidden gems. Speaking of new posts, yesterday Chad Showalter dropped a new story regarding the Simon Kenton Locomotive's first test run in 1971. BLOG: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2020/november/november-10-1971-the-simon-kenton-locomotive-makes-its-historic-first-trip

I was really impressed with the quality, detail, and overall look of the Coaster Cutout. Assembly can take around an hour or two, but it took me about three because I wanted customize mine a little with the appropriate colors. CoasterDynamix and Matt Schmotzer have a tremendous new product on their hands.

Hey there! I believe you’re speaking of the Brass Ring restaurant, eventually becoming Juke Box Diner.

Yes, those are two corkscrews originally designed for The Bat’s layout. I have seen the actual physical blueprints (and more that I can’t even discuss here) with my own eyes and can confirm this.

Thank you sir, it means a great deal. Can't wait to be back next season. I may have a couple more things planned for release on the blog this year so stay tuned.

It was great getting to meet some of the brains behind the architectural side of things at the small gathering. For me, it was getting to watch a POV on Orion on Fountain Square that made it really special. I'll never forget playing a small part in the rolling out of Orion. Orion will always have a special place in my heart.

Have you been able to try some of the 24 scrumptious and savory Tricks and Treats food items yet? Let me know if you have a favorite!

Great to see the legendary $5000 ghost projector in EV. Got very excited when I saw that.

K.

It was exciting to find it hidden deep in the archives on betamax, so after some digitizing I thought it would be awesome to show the world. Glad you liked it.

You know you love Kings Island when you only pay attention to the past attractions while watching.

I thought it would be nice to add some homage and highlight a truly underrated ride in the park.

This may be a great place to put this: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2020/july/kings-islands-orion-roller-coaster-a-story-driven-attraction