BoddaH1994

I like to think of units of time in terms of wave pools. Person 1: "What year did The Beast open?" Person 2: "1977, I think," Person 3: "Nah, man, It was 1979." Person 2: "Whatever, it was like two wave pools ago."

http://www.KICentral.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=342 Things sure are coming along! I couldn't get any really great shots of the new Wave Pool, but it's certainly in the shape of a wave pool now... not just a hole in the ground.

With more ammenities, a fast-paced Action River, and a giant second wave pool, Soak City is sure to please all of Kings Island's waterpark fans. Follow the link below to see the latest Soak City construction photos shared with us by Don Helbig. http://www.KICentral.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=342

PR and marketing are not the same thing, although they are very hand-in-hand. "Public Relations" typically accounts for things such as charitable events, although many companies use that term to refer to media relations - which involves talking to the media, pitching story ideas, etc. Without trying to put a definition on Marketing Director, the influence you see from that position is more along the lines of "Buy Now, Pay Later," Gold Pass Benefits, pricing strategies, etc. It's more in tune with adding value and giving a reason to come to the park, while PR (or media relations) is more about spreading the word through outside avenues. Is Outmet behind this? Probably. It's not uncommon for a new CEO to shake things up a bit when they come into power. I do not know if Robin is still with the company or not, at the time of this writing, but regardless I wish him the best.

Gotta admit, when people want me to see their KI music videos, I usually think, "Oh Lord..." because they've been done again and again. This one had a fresher feel to it. Nice work.

Couple of thoughts: 1) A birdy told me that many of the Fast Lane predictions that many of you have made are correct. 2) If anyone wants to bet that The Crypt will run ever again, I want in on the bet. 3) You'll see more media stuff coming out of KI in the next several months. This will both me entertaining and will make KI a more guest-friendly place. Exciting time to be a fan!

On Saturday, May 24th 2008, Kaptain Robbie Knievel was set to jump 24 Coke Zero trucks at Kings Island - following in the footsteps of his father. Pre-jump Interview The Jump! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzmelwUxZUM Here is a longer version of the jump, including more activities that they did throughout the day. This was a pivital day in modern Kings Island history. It showed upper management that risk/reward is the name of the game. If you didn't get to attend, this would be a good video to watch.

I know that this has been discussed before, but I thought I'd start a fresh topic since it's been quite a while. Nate Byrum, formerly of CET Cincinnati, passioniately created this documentary about the history of Kings Island back in 2009. I know many of you are new to the boards (since 2009) so this is certainly a "must" for those with any interest or passion for KI. KICentral is thanked in the ending credits. Enjoy!!! http://www.cetconnect.org/kingsisland/

Some photos from KIC will be featured on the show. They asked me to fax them a release form, which I gladly did. The photos were credited to Dane, so I sent Dane an email about them. Of course, Dane didn't read the email and sent me a text about it when they emailed him. I told him to refer to the email that I had sent him weeks before. He replied, "Thanks for your quick response. I was about 5 seconds away from making my Facebook status: 'Why the [explicit] is Ghost Hunters emailing me??'" I guess that might have spoiled the surprise. hahaha

I'm totally with you guys on the whole, "site needs to be updated" thing. The truth is, I could probably find the time to do it, and would be more than willing to, but Dane has to do all of the hard programming of the site and he's been extremely busy the past few years working a couple of different jobs at the same time and moving into a house and whatnot. He hardly ever even gets to go to the park anymore. I'll talk to him after the Christmas thing has settled down and see if we can come up with a resolution. Until then... at least the forums are curent...

If you're trying to link from the front page, just copy and paste the URL. The forums are being uncooperative tonight...

In regards to Kings Island, 2011 was certainly a big year for our humble park. From the new 301' WindSeeker to the world's largest animatronic dinosaur park with Dinosaurs Alive, Kings Island has been in the forefront many times in the past year. The Mason Buzz is asking you to vote for the top story of 2011, and we encourage you to vote for, "Kings Island Opens New Attractions." This would be a great way to show our support to the park and tell them to keep 'them big, bad announcements coming! http://masonbuzz.com/2011/12/21/vote-countdown-the-top-11-mason-stories-of-the-year/ Happy Holidays! Ryan

KI's was a huge venture and was poorly executed. Sorry if I offend any former "PKI" peeps with that comment, but it's true. The event lost a lot of money too, but according to a former credible employee, they had expected to loose money the first year, although I imagine they didn't expect it to be so poorly attended. They had daily operations in the week leading up to Christmas, and I think I went on a Tuesday and overheard a net Alpha call of like 800 from a security guard's radio that happened to be near me. Winterfest was however a beautiful and wonderful event. Definitely the most immersive thing that Paramount ever did with the park. The shows were incredible and the food was fantastic. In my opinion, there were certain key things that were done wrong, some from the start: - At the announcement, they said that you need to buy tickets early because there's a good chance of certain days selling out. Instead of creating the sense of urgency that they wanted, I think that it just made people assume that the park would be crowded, so it was a bad first impression. -The event was priced out of the market. I think it was like $25 originally, and they ended up selling tickets as low as $10 by the end of the event. I think I even got a coupon through e-mail offering tickets for $8. $10 or $12 would have been a much more reasonable price point. When the papers came out talking about Christmas events, KI looked like a bad guy with their even costing $25 and everyone else's was no more than $10 or so. -They had a golden opportunity to promote the next year's season passes with it and let it slip. They offered a discount with a 2005 (I think) season pass, but it really should have been free... at least for one visit. The discount was like $22 instead of $25, so it was hardly worth buying a pass early for that reason alone. -The park had a LOT of trouble finding employees to work the event, and it would be event tougher now with new minor labor laws. -Paramount threw in a taste of, "Over-promise and under-deliver" that we became used to. Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle was supposed to have a Christmas makeover, but it just ended up being open like normal. They also let things fall apart after the first weekend. They had a wonderful light display over Swan Lake (now DB's splashdown) and they had some very obvious strands of lights burnt out within the first few days. What was a magical display the weekend after Thanksgiving looked like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree by New Year's Eve. -They had an overcomplicated system that wasn't necessary. In anticipation for the "sell out crowds" they created a ticket system for the KI Theatre's show, "Santa's Toy Factory," in which you'd have to go to the Return Visit Booth (where you now buy Fast Lane tickets) and get a ticket for one of the night's shows. The night that there were like 800 people in the park, I attended a show that literally had 15 people in the theatre and they still made me go to the Return Visit Booth to get a ticket. Some things affected attendance, but some made people not want to come back. I think the small crowds created a downward spiral. There was a lot of stuff to do, but with no one in the park you could do it all in about two hours, so it felt like there was nothing to do. Perhaps that was both the initial and ultimate blow.

It'll be interesting to see how Don handles the situation if The Crypt does in fact meet its demise. If they announce it the headlines may read, "Kings Island Opens April XX without two popular attractions." But if they quietly remove it, it could stir up more questions. I'm guessing that they'll have a decision on what's going to happen with The Crypt quickly. How many rides can be SBNO at KI before, "No decision has been made regarding the future of ______" doesn't quite cut it anymore?

This looks like it was a good time. I sent Don a text and offered to present to the group about History's Ancient Aliens, which would segway into Brad Meltzer's Decoded, but he didn't think it was the right demographic. There's always next year. I should have my birthday party at the park in January with a tour and all for KIC members. That way you guys would all be socially obligated to bring me presents.

Wonderful article about Morgan Judd: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20111207/NEWS0104/312070172/Ursuline-Academy-Morgan-Judd

From what I understand, she died from an aneurysm. Very sad...

It is my unfortunate responsibiity to inform you that Morgan Judd, a talented young dancer who was featured in Hot Summer Nights this past season, has passed away. On behalf of myself and the KIC Universe, I offer our thoughts and prayers to her friends and family.

I feel differently about being in a park while it's closed. I'v been to KI more times than I care to share during my 8 years running this site. I used to get excited about seeing the park in rehab and stuff, but now I'd rather not detract from the magic.

I've got to admit, I'm impressed. Then again, how are we supposed to know that the photo of you with the shirt is current ? Perhaps you with the shirt along with today's newspaper would add to the credibility of the comment. :-)

Here are some photos of a shirt that the Immortal Bill Mefford gave to me that the PR team wore while they did media escorts for The Beast's 20th anniversary in 1999.

I'm gonna miss that fence....

All good suggestions. Keep it up!

You also don't need to omit the fact that those PTC trains are incredibly expensive. Purchasing one is not a cavalier decision at all.

I think it has more to do with the lubricants solidifying. AZ Kinda Guy, care to chime in?