BoddaH1994

Points for visits as well as points for purchases. It’s intended to drive repeat visits, but they’ll pepper in some per capita spending too.

They say that season pass revenue and season pass numbers are up across all properties. I wonder how much of this is Q4FY18 simply cannibalizing the unit sales of Q1FY19 and early Q2 since there was so much incentive to purchase early.

That wasn't an ad. That was the content of my post.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2019/february/40-years-ago-today-the-beast-was-named “To see what avid roller coaster riders thought of the name, Kings Island conducted interviews with members of five special groups. They included males and females in their early teens, late teens and early twenties. All had visited Kings Island during the previous two seasons in 1977 and 1978 and had ridden The Racer.” It would be interesting to hear what the naming process is like today.

Forgot about Peanuts Showplace. I think that will host character meet and greets.

My predictions: Gravity returns with a few different acts Playlist Live returns with new songs Festhaus gets a new show, let’s guess country I’m hoping against the dog show thing in the Showplace, but I think that’s what is coming. As stated in another thread, Peanuts Celebration will likely return since its currently back at Knott’s.

Scene is reporting that this ride will open this weekend.

The new KI Director of Food & Beverage is Jes McAdam Sellers. His former roles have been director of HR at Kings Island and Dorney Park, and Admissions Manager at KI.

I think they’re manufacturing this stuff in Utah, so this might not be the last piece you see traveling through Ohio.

Comparing Boo Blasters to Forbidden Journey is unfair under his reasoning. That’s a pill I can swallow. Using it as an excuse for low quality, understaffing, poorly trained employees, inconsistent portions, and high prices is not. The Dick Kinzel “people gotta eat” mentality (his words, not mine) is exactly why they are where they are right now. I’m particularly excited about this move, though. I only know Jes in passing, but I know he has quite a history of people development - which is what they need.

I asked their maintenance guys and they said it had something to do with the LIM or LSMs or whichever it used.

I’ve been to KD several times and always had limited “play” time inside the park. Every time I was there Volcano was down. I never got to ride. To me, I feel sorry for some of the KD guests who, while I do believe that this was unavoidable in this situation, bought season passes and tickets without knowing that this wouldn’t be part of the lineup. It’s kind of like buying tickets to a music festival and one of the headliners cancels.

I don't disagree, but I feel like this would be hard to market. I know many friends who have the attitude of "why ride Intimidator when Fury is on the other side of the park?" It's one thing to top what you had, it's another to take a step back. Of course they could always market it differently or something, but I really think that a "gimmick" ride is far more likely. Think dive or wing.

Why add a hyper when they gave a giga?

No word on what they intend to do with the property yet. http://www.sanduskyregister.com/story/201902060028

Glad to see this ride is taking shape! I had dinner with Les, Jonah, and the rest of the Scene crew at IAAPA and they were on the fence about a few options for rides and I was thrilled when Jonah emailed me to say they had chosen a Mosier drop ride. Pay attention while you’re at work. Those Sandlers are smart! You can learn a lot from them.

Looping Star at Beech Bend. That took 10 years off my life.

Sort of. Same building but the front entrance was expanded for the castle look. The layout was the same but the cars now sometimes face different directions. A fun fact is that now right when you enter the ride area you face to the right. For PT you faxed to the left and were greeted by a ghost usher. The platform he hovered over is still there. It’s the same cars, although modified for the blasters, however there are about half as many. They were more frequent with PT. In the last few days of operation for PT they were loading every other car, presumably to test what would be the new operations.

Would love to see this, but I find it unlikely. 1. It would be expensive in today’s world and I don’t see them making a real, true investment in a dark ride. 2. Maintenance is a continuous investment with this moreso than some others and with the current dark ride in a perpetual “kind of working” state even with very few complicated animatronics so either the expertise or the investment isn’t available or important to them. 3. Let’s not kid ourselves - you’ll get your Planets v Zomies-esque thing soon enough, but the next ride going into the Boo building is going to be something Charlie Brown related with similar props and actions to what’s there now.

They way their hierarchy works is as follows: VP Director Manager Area Manager Coordinator I'm not certain where Chef Major and Nate come into play as their roles are unique. So Jes does have a local boss - the VP of Food & Bev Mark Boyer, and will have several managers below him and hundreds of line level associates below them. Coming from an HR back round does sound weird but if you break down the issues that the F&B department is having: staffing, personnel, training, efficiency, and consistency then the decision does make a lot of sense. There's a ways to go with bringing F&B up to what should be Cedar Fair's brand standards, but it seems like this may be a step in the right direction.

I've wondered what people would "actually" call Centurion if that's the name. Seems like 2 syllables is the limit for normal conversation. Examples: Backlot Stunt Coaster = Backlot Mystic Timbers = Mystic Flight of Fear = FOF (pronounced "Fauf") Kings Mills Antique Autos will be Antique Cars for a minute until it is shortened to 'Tiques. I know Diamondback is an exception. Maybe some people call it "DB" but I haven't really heard that in regular speech. Centurion is a bit of a mouthful so it would be interesting to see what people actually call it, if not just spitting out Centurion.

Digital touch points and FUNtv. https://www.digitalsignageconnection.com/cedar-fair-entertainment-company-selects-reflectmedia-for-strategic-in-park-advertising-and-sponsorship-management

They added several machines in Oktoberfest last year which really helped with the lines. The problem they’re facing now is often being out of ice or several choices being grayed. That has everything to do with staffing.

Thanks for reaching out, Jes. I think we are all excited that someone with a lot of experience dealing with KI’s associates is taking the helm in this capacity. You sure do have your work cut out for you, so I wish you the best of luck!! PS I didn’t know you knew how to cook!

I don't know if they would bring back international food and merch. I imagine it didn't sell the first time, so there isn't much reason to believe it would work this time. Just speculation. However, there are work arounds. I was at Universal the other day and I noticed how in the Springfield area they had the Kwik-e-Mart. On the outside it was the shop from the show. On the inside it was a typical gift shop. It added to the theme but still served it's functionality. I could see things like that happening.