CoastersRZ

I can`t remember how much KI charged for ice skating during Winterfest in 2005. I do know that the rink was fairly empty the day I skated on the rink back in December of 2005. But then again, Winterfest in 2005 was not as well attended since pass holders had to pay $23 or so to gain entry, and had to pay for parking.

There have been years where KI hasn`t added new attractions. Keep in mind that Cedar Fair has announced all attractions and general improvements that they are doing to the parks. While KI hasn`t mentioned anything specifically, in a Cedar Fair press release they stated that KI (along with other parks) would be getting enhanced food options for next year. They do not necessarily need to have a new ride to market every year. They can still push Mystic Timbers, and the second year of Winterfest. Personally, I am super excited to experience Winterfest in a few weeks.

They have added even more lights to the event this year, along with new songs. I went through this last year, and it was an amazing experience. Please get there early if you go. There were reports of 1-2 hour waits to get in last year, particularly on weekends.

I haven`t read your blog post yet. But it reminded me of my thesis. I graduated in 2009 from the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning at the University of Cincinnati. My thesis was entitled "Entertainment Architecture: Contextually Integrated Water Park Resort in Norwood, Ohio." I discussed some placemaking concepts and designed an indoor water park. My entire thesis document is actually online here: https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=ucin1243014144&disposition=inline Be warned, it is a large 25 mb file, so may take some time to load.

I am sure that the park solicited an RFP for ideas on what to do with Son of Beast before deciding to tear it down. After all, the park had sunk a lot of money into trying to get it right. Do I miss the ride? Not really. I much prefer Mystic Timbers, though I do wish Mystic Timbers was a little longer than it is. You blink and the ride is over. Dinosaurs Alive probably wasn`t generating a lot of revenue in the last couple of years. I honestly only went through it the day it opened at KI. I wasn`t that impressed. I get it had its place, and I am sure kids loved it.

I have just wrapped up my 16th season at Coney. I think I can offer some insights. Coney has been my second job since 2005. I worked there when I was finishing up college/doing co-op jobs. I have had a full time job at architectural offices working M-F, then going into Coney on weekends (and doing the employee schedules in the weekday evenings). While it is nice to get that second paycheck from Coney, I work there because I enjoy it. It is certainly an odd feeling now since some of the employees that I am hiring/training were 1 or not even born yet when I started working at Coney. It is definitely a generational issue. A lot of the new generation want everything handed to them. They do not want to have to work for things, or own up to mistakes they made. I can`t tell you how many emails I have received from parents saying I scheduled their child when they had a sporting event, etc. The child knew about the event in enough time they could have scheduled off, but they either forgot, or were too lazy too. There are some employees we get that love to accumulate hours, but most of them complain when they get scheduled for 25 hours. Back in 2009, when I hadn`t landed an architecture job yet after graduating, I was working doubles seven days a week at Coney. I think I only took two days off that whole summer, and I ended up going to KI those days. Pigeon Forge gets a lot of retirees, and I think a lot of the older people that work at Dollywood are people that are retired and looking for something to do and earn some extra money. And Kings Island needs a substantial amount more of employees compared to Dollywood, given its size. Part of the issue is the pay (Coney actually bumped people`s pay up at the end of the season to entice the workers we did have to stay) when places like Target offer year round jobs that pay several dollars more than a seasonal job. I would love to be able to screen employees who work for me and select only the best, most enthusiastic employees. Unfortunately, it comes down to a numbers game. We need a certain amount of employees to staff the rides, and if they can operate the ride, even if they aren`t the most bubbly, cheerful personality, I need to hire them to ensure that I am not short staffed and having rides closed. If there were a magic way to coach even the shyest teenager to have an engaging personality that would help create memories for the park guests and leave them wanting to come back, that person would surely make a fortune, as tons of amusement parks, not just Kings Island or Cedar Fair would be clammoring for that technique.

And part of it comes down to having enough seasonal help in the food stands, particularly in the shoulder seasons.

Even the $100,000 figure seems low. I believe that Cedar Fair has said they will not be releasing attraction costs anymore. Though they did said that they intend to invest 10% of their revenue into capital projects as part of the Q3 earnings release today.

That $50,000 amount seems low for a station. I know you were just throwing out numbers. Most of these stations are a lot more than just a shed. Not to mention there are architects that have to be paid to draw up the construction drawings so that it can be permitted and built by the contractor.

I haven`t heard anything official yet. I have heard some rumors, but nothing concrete that I can report at this time. I will keep you posted if I hear anything.

The 2017 season at Coney is now officially in the books. Thanks to all those who came out and visited. It is hard to believe that I have completed 16 seasons working there. Looking forward to my 17th season in 2018.

Those lights by the BLSC restrooms are actually purple and orange halloween lights that are lit up during Haunt.

Yes, I was having issues as well. I visited on Friday. By yesterday afternoon, I was able to download the pictures from Friday.

And the whole thing gets more complicated when you factor in the meal plans that Cedar Fair is selling. How do these work, if at all, with these outside vendors. You will likely see more options like the Coney Mall Skyline where there are ordering kiosks, which essentially eliminates the need for an employee or two. Having handled staffing and scheduling for the Coney Island rides department for the last seven years, it seems maintaining full staffing in the shoulder seasons is more and more difficult. Coney even implemented a bonus program to incentivize bringing in additional employees this fall. But at Coney, we have remained short staffed. I do not see this problem changing any time soon, either. Especially when people can go out and start working at Target for $11 an hour (they have intentions of raising it to $15 an hour by 2020), it is hard to attract workers to a minimum wage job, that is only seasonal.

Not to mention, isn`t the KI location operated by a local franchisee?

Dollywood starts hanging Christmas lights in August... It will make for a weird juxtaposition with Christmas stuff up at the park and the Haunt stuff still up. If the setup for Winterfest 2005 is any indication of set up for this Winterfest, we will likely see the Royal fountain drained before the end of the regular season in October to prepare for the ice rink.

And Paramount did add some B&Ms. They added what is now known as Afterburn at Carowinds (formerly Top Gun) in 1999.

I would love for a coaster like that at Coney. Don`t look for it next year though, unfortunately. I have hears about some exciting things that maybe coming to Coney in the next several years, though nothing is set in stone yet. I am curious, for those that have visited Coney this year, what did you think about the renovations that were done over at Sunlite Water Adventure?

In the case of Kentucky Kingdom, I think they are desperate to try and attract more people through the gates to reach their attendance goals. There might be some competition, particularly in the Louisville for KI and Holiday World with Kentucky Kingdom. I doubt that too many people will choose to go to Kentucky Kingdom over going to Kings Island in the Cincinnati area. In this day and age, I think parks as a whole are competing with other forms of entertainment verses competing with other regional parks.

I don`t think much will change. Keep in mind that with Mystic Timbers, there was a story to that attraction... I don`t think we will see story driven attractions with outside IP beyond what we have already seen from CF.

And people thought that the Winterfest held at KI and Carowinds in 2005 was "Walking in an empty winter wonderland." That was completely empty. Keep in mind that in the winter months, the city of Sandusky has a vastly smaller population than the metro area of Cincinnati. Not to mention as others have mentioned, all the lake effect snow and that is a recipe for not a lot of people attending. That was still a fun video to see. Especially without Millenium Force at the Point, and seeing the Giant Wheel back by the train station.

Although, if they remove the Attitudes building, that site would probably just be about big enough for that attraction. The image linked to above is of the boneyard...

It sounds like there will be even more live entertainment offerings than with the Winterfest incarnation from 2005. I have seen mention of a Rivertown stage, things occurring at the Feshaus plaza, Outer Hanks plaza, Skyline Patio in Coney Mall, and the above mentioned Tinker`s Toy Factory is slated to be held in the Festhaus. I am really looking forward to tha one. I am sure that this event will be a hit and become a new tradition. It will be exciting to see how it changes and expands over the years. They definitely are trying to make sure that this event is well rounded from the start and not something that will take several years to build up the full offering.

The parking lot in its current configuration wouldn`t pose an issue to recreating the train in its original layout. The issue would be the location of several other rides. The new Como Cruisers dock, River Runner and Tempest all sit on the area that used to be the train station.

They spent a lot of money on the special effects. I believe they added them in 1969.