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Sergeant Pepper

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    Kings Island's 5@5 Q&A Thread

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    A Fountain?

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    The Blog is also ending their posts.

    This is the 180th and final update for this blog. It is being retired. To those that have been following this blog, thank you! We hope you enjoyed the updates and photos that have been posted since the blog was introduced in February of 2009.

    "Planet Snoopy" Replacement

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    Well, as long as we have Family Guy already thrown in. I say...Monty Python theme.

    I Don't Like Spam! (Wild Thornberry's River Adventure) Travel through the trees in your own spam cart?

    Smoosh (Plankton's Plunge) Giant foot that raises up and comes back down with a loud 'smoosh' sound.

    African Swallows (Lazy Town Sportacopters)- Guests pedal a coconut-laden African swallow for a right jolly view of the park.

    Musical Mice (Blue's Skidoo) - Children ride in large wooden mallets that raise and lower on their command to squash the delightfully squeaking mice underneath.

    Silly Walk (Bikini Bottom Bash) - Do your best crazy strut through the waterworks.

    Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog - (Jimmy Neutron's Atom Smashers) Kids wait until the count of 3, (Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out!) then crash together a variety of holy hand grenades and killer rabbits.

    Dead Parrot - (Danny Phantom's Phantom Fliers) A high flying adventure where kids can do their best zombie parrot impressions.

    And that would be called Planet Monty with this playing.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5LMbcoTFFE

    Kings Island's 5@5 Q&A Thread

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    </h2>

    <h2>Answers for Tuesday's 5@5 mailbag below.

    David McPeak - Is Great Wolf Lodge actually on Kings Island property or is it on it's own land?

    That is Great Wolf’s property now. The arrangement was complicated at the start and has gotten even more complicated. What’ not complicated though is our partnership. We work very well together. They attract lots of visitors to the area and many businesses, including us, benefit from them being here. If you’ve never stayed there, you should. It is a great experience. [Plug Alert] And with your 15% Off Gold Pass discount there’s no reason you shouldn’t check it out!

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    Matt Godfrey - I really liked the roving entertainment you guys put out there last year (magician, juggler, and stiltwalker). Do you think the idea of having live music like a band or small drumline is feasible enough to add to the live entertainment lineup? I know on occasion some schools do special events throughout the year, but I was thinking more along the lines of an in-house set of live music; the Twistin' to the 60's band did some really amazing improv in-between shows.

    Our live entertainment department is fantastic. Kevin Brunck, Area Manager of Live E, is a tremendous asset. He and his team are creative, dedicated and really care about the product they put out. We have used the roving street entertainment for our special event days but I much prefer the work Kevin’s team creates in house. To be honest, I was never really into the shows here. I’d check them out once or twice but that’s about it. Now I find the shows part of my daily routine. Your idea for an in-house band is interesting. I’ll share it with the team.

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    Bret Shroats - I saw something about Kings Island Tv on the parks website under the youtube page. Can you explain what Kings Island TV is going to be? What will be featured on Kings Island TV?

    We will be loading much more video content to YouTube and to our new website. The traditional stuff (we’ve been sorely lacking) like POV and off-ride video along with our commercials. We have plans to get much deeper into viral videos. It may take us a little bit to get up and running but I think you’ll be impressed.

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    Jackson Thurnquist - On your website, it contradicts itself with the Gold Pass Perks. On one page, it says Morning Gold Pass ERT starts April 17, the other, April 30. Which one is it? Thanks.

    Thanks Jackson. We were leaving the 17th off the list just to be cautious. But after reading your question I’ve corrected the web to say we are open for Gold Pass early rides on DB and Beast EVERY DAY just like last year, beginning Saturday, April 17! This is an awesome perk as you know. Make sure you use it so it never leaves!

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    Brian Krosnick - Do you folks ever post something (a la the pictures of the new dark ride) and then hop over to a Kings Island fansite like KICentral.com or KIextreme.com just to see how quickly and emotionally we all react? If not, give it try sometime... it's pretty funny.

    Some of us (myself included) do visit these two sites periodically. I wouldn’t say we post and jump like this by any means. As you can see, we’ve got our hands full and barely keep up with our own stuff! These sites are a great place to see what your most passionate guests say and feel. You sometimes need to have a thick skin. We try really hard and it’s easy to get defensive when see something that you consider negative. Don’t get me wrong, this is certainly the exception rather than the rule. 99% of the time I visit I leave more energized. You care about the park and we love that.

    Kings Island's 5@5 Q&A Thread

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    Thursday's 5@5 mailbag answers below.

    Ross Musick - Is there any chance you would be able to share some photos of "lost" areas of the park? The lower level of Flight Deck's station? Any barns or outbuildings left from Lion Country Safari? In Scooby Doo's show building, are there any hidden parts left of the Enchanted Voyage? Many of us are history buffs and would love to see some hidden pieces of park history!

    This is a great suggestion and one we have been kicking around quite a bit. You will see a more focused effort to these historical changes being added to our FB page and official site moving forward. We will be making this a regular feature. There are so many cool treasures around our offices that can be posted to this "online history museum". From pictures to ride renderings to sounds that might take you back. Why not start a thread on our discussions page and fire off some ideas.

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    Nicholas Himes - Actually it was concluded that straight-line winds were what caused the sign to topple over.

    The news said straight line winds – probably because they didn't predict a tornado! Either way it was a very ugly storm in September of 2003. Fortunately it was overnight and early in the morning. The former marquee stood in this place since 1978. I'll place a pic in our wall photos of the old sign. I think you'll the wind may have done us a favor.

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    Jeffrey Schoenstra - I've been a big fan since opening day 1972, My question is The first year after KI removed The olde Time Cars, One of the managers, I think has name was Jeff, Told a group of us that The cars will make a return, is that still something we can look forward to, or did Cedar Fair nix that project,

    Not sure who told you that but I'm afraid that was probably wishful thinking on someone's part. That decision had nothing to do with Cedar Fair. There is always hope it could return. There were lots of upkeep issues, especially with that particular attraction but it was also very popular with a wide age range. I think you know my vote.

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    Tom Short - I really liked the way the path going back toward The Beast used to be marked with the "paws" painted on the ground leading to the queue. Also done with twisted metal for Vortex, and other rides as well. A small thing that I kind of miss. Are there small bits and bobs to the park that have changed over the years, that you would like to bring back?

    I too have fond memories of the paw prints. Faded and crumbling paw prints don't look great though. These do make nice anniversary celebrations. Personally, I loved the "world's largest hanging basket" that used to be on display here. What's better is hearing the landscape folks talk about how they came up with the idea one (late) night. They stayed even later, put their welding skills to work and had it in the park the next day as a surprise to most everyone else that worked here. That's pretty cool. How many other things happen that way around here I wonder?

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    Austin Benton - How often does the Eiffel Tower get painted...and how much maintenance is spent on restoring it..cause it still looks amazing and it was built sooooooooo long ago!!!

    The tower was last painted in 2005 and required more than 2,200 gallons of paint for the one-third scale replica. There was talk at that time of changing the color and we saw renderings of light and dark blue, a purplish thing, and bronze. Here are a few more fun facts about the tower:

    - 450-ton structure designed and fabricated by Intamin

    - Installation and equipment costs exceeded $1 million

    - It took just over 30 days to build in the spring of 1971

    - Average elevator speed is 10 feet per second.

    - Elevator riding time is 30 seconds.

    - There are 15,000 bolts holding the structure firm.

    - There are 410 steps that lead to the top of the tower.

    - On a clear day you can see 18 miles from the top.

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    They have also put on this.

    KCn8x.jpg

    Kings Island's 5@5 Q&A Thread

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    Q: Kyle Joyce - Any pictures of the new facade for Outer Hanks?

    A: There are some photos of the new facade for Outer Hanks in the photo gallery of our FB page. We will add more photos of Outer Hanks the week of March 29. We will also include images of some of the rides being tested.

    Where?

    Kings Island's 5@5 Q&A Thread

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    Nick Honea – Will Kings Island's website be getting a redesign soon like Carowinds' website did recently?

    A: YES! We are working on it right now actually and have been for some time. We are still in the design stage and I'd love to have your help. I will start a topic in the discussions box (below on this page). Throw out your ideas and we'll incorporate as much as we can - keeping in mind that we're going with a similar structure as Cedar Point, Knott's, Worlds of Fun, and Carowinds.

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    Zach Clapper – How much thought and work goes into marketing and advertising a ride like DB?

    A: Zach, we put a ton of time and energy into promoting Diamondback. It's not every day that you get a ride like this so we didn't want to leave any stone unturned. We tried very hard to build the buzz and keep Diamondback top of mind all year long. We had a lot of fun doing it and are very proud of the results. It's not a one-year deal though. We are spending lots of time now thinking of ways to keep DB out there. The best part though is the fact that the ride totally delivers.

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    Derek Branock – How much work goes in the planning of a major special event…and what exactly goes on during the planning?

    A: These large events can be the most stressful but most rewarding things about my job. I will never forget the Knievel event...ever. Stumble upon a crazy idea, convince your boss it's worth the risk and effort, work with every single department in the park on the never-ending details, find all available PR opportunities, and then close your eyes and hope he makes it. Find another idea and repeat!

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    Brett Fehr – What do you think about a contest, like designing a slogan or picture, that could be hosted via Facebook with prizes?

    A: We are working on some ideas now. As you can see, we're putting much more effort into this and we are committed to making this a big part of what we do. We have such a fun product and we need to have more fun with it. I see great FB pages out there for really boring products. We will do better. Again, your ideas are welcome. Really.

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    Brandon Sersion – Is "The Fun and Only" really becoming Kings Island's new slogan?

    A: You will hear and see THE FUN & ONLY in most everything KI puts out this year. Some call it a slogan, some say it's the way we sign our name. I can't think of one piece of creative that I've seen in my 13 years of doing this that I loved the first time I saw it. Where Else grew on me. Do me a favor, please. Take an open mind with you to our YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/kingsislandonline). I will post a :30 soundtrack that you'll hear in some of our advertising. Picture this with lots of great park video. Listen to it a few times. It just may grow on you.

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