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DonHelbig

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Posts posted by DonHelbig

    WinterFest 2024 Reviews

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    In previous years, NYE was promoted as an event by now on the park's website, mobile app, and Facebook. Information about the NYE event in the International Restaurant had been made available. So, don't be surprised if they cut the NYE event in the International Restaurant and change the hours to a 10 p.m. close on Dec. 31, or not open at all that day. All in the realm of possibility. 

    Worth Noting: The event information for NYE on the website has not been updated for 2024: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/events/new-years-eve-celebration

    • Like 2

    Restructuring at Six Flags?

    in Rumors

    Posted

    37 minutes ago, Captain Nemo said:

    This is just mean at this point Don. You have made it very clear at this point you did not have good relations near the end of your career and I am sorry that happened. No one deserves an ending like that especially at a place you love. I know your love for KI is a very real thing and it was very apparent while you are at the park. But it has become exhausting to read your posts that add nothing but pointing fingers. 
    if posts for your podcasts are blocked I can see why. Read them again, they are off putting and teasing.
    Telling Chad to “come out and plaaaaaaaaaaaaaay”. c’mon now

    look, I don’t know Elizabeth but I remember how happy I was being young and getting my first huge promotion. It was the best feeling ever. When I ultimately left that position I congratulated the incumbent regardless my opinion of how they were choosing to run the company. 

    Get your facts straight. If you read my posts or listened to the podcasts, you'd see where I said I was grateful for the 17 years I had there; grateful for the opportunity. There were no hard feelings when I left. I have maintained relationships with people that work there. 

    It's fair game to call Elizabeth out for how she has gone about things, especially when it's in writing from content creators. She doesn't get a free pass. 

    • Like 3

    Restructuring at Six Flags?

    in Rumors

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Orion-XL200 said:

    That’s cool. Congrats to her. 

    Elizabeth was instructing content creators to distance themselves from me if they wanted to stay on the park's media invite list, and she blocked people until they proved themselves. She also lied to management when she said she wasn't hiding and deleting replies from Tower Topics on the park accounts, that it was a "software issue." But congrats to her on the new role with the new Six Flags. 

    Restructuring at Six Flags?

    in Rumors

    Posted

    1 hour ago, Tr0y said:

    I heard rumor today that KI’s very own Elizabeth Nadeau was promoted to a digital marketing position in the Midwest region.

    She will oversee KI as well as WoF. 

    Guess that now makes two parks that won't interact with me on social media. :) 

    • Haha 1

    Kentucky Kingdom commits to major capital in the next two years

    in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News

    Posted

    2 hours ago, BeeastFarmer said:

    For context, when Kentucky Kingdom was reopening in 2014-15, I was very active in the KK thread here.  I was excited that a park could be brought back from the dead and I was a new enthusiast.  Most on KIC said the park would never open, never stay open, etc.  I was "educated" that Kings Island does not consider the smaller parks as competition and they laugh at the efforts to reopen in their offices.  

    To me, even in 10 people bought a KK pass and didn't renew their SF pass, SF looses revenue.  I consider that competition.  

    On the outside, I can see where people would think it's not competition. Having been on the inside, it is. 

    • Like 7

    Kings Island to add “family thrill” attraction in 2026

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    47 minutes ago, WoodVengeance said:

    Kings Island's primarily role in the chain right now is to be a cash cow for the local family demographic, who is the demographic most likely to spend the most money at the park. The park knows it can get away with not installing major new additions because the local demographic will renew their season passes regardless as there's not much competition within the immediate area. Kentucky Kingdom and Holiday World are somewhat close by, but if you're a KI local, you're looking anywhere between 1.5 hours and 3 hours to get to those parks and neither of them are nearly to the same scale as Kings Island.

    Cedar Point's role will always be to be "the roller coaster capital of the world", building up an elite collection of coasters and rides to attract people from around the world, and that includes Kings Island's local demographic. Cedar Fair/Six Flags wants to keep the elite record-breaking coasters exclusive to Cedar Point so passholders of Kings Island who want to experience that stuff will need to travel north to do so. (and gives them more incentive to buy the all-park passport which is also very important)

    I do think there will come a time when Kings Island will add a new thrill coaster to the park. Likewise, I think there will come a time when Cedar Point will add a new family attraction similar to how they just added Wild Mouse. Just because these parks focus on different demographics doesn't mean they will exclusively add attractions to cater to those different demographics. With the families being the main priority for Kings Island right now, it may be some time before we see that thrill coaster come. In addition, don't expect the coaster to be an elite coaster that outdoes something at Cedar Point.

    Holiday World may be smaller on scale than Kings Island, but Holiday World has a number of things that are better than Kings Island, including water park. The value I received as a 2024 Holiday World passholder was superior to the value I received as a 2024 Kings Island passholder. I live three hours from Holiday World; 22 minutes from Kings Island. 

    • Like 10
    • Thanks 1

    Winterfest 24

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    1 hour ago, DJSkyFoxx said:

    Also, silly question in regards to Racer running during Winterfest. What makes it possible for it to run this year vs previous years? Was it the retracking or? Just curious. Either way I am really excited to see it on the roster for this year!

    Christmas at Kentucky Kingdom! 

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1
    • Haha 2

    New Director of Communications for the Midwest Region for Six Flags

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    4 hours ago, Tr0y said:

    I'm still a bit skeptical on if this is going to lead to the improvements with Comms department that people seek. Although to some, it can't get any worse.

    PR / Comms being ran through corporate, hundreds of miles away. I can't imagine we are going to see anymore involvement than we do now. Coupled with the digital content partner guidelines.

    I would like to think the park uses KIC as a tool. An advantage to KIC versus other pages such as the passholder group is you don't get the white noise of questions that are asked repetitively. Also, that the criticism is more or less constructive than personal attacks. Although sometimes we, myself included, fall short of that.

    The 1980 USA Olympic men's hockey team didn't win the Gold Medal because they had the best players. They won because they had the right players. Same thing applies here. For the restructuring to work, the regional PR and social media teams are going to need the right people involved. If they build the regional teams that way, it will lead to the improvements park fans want to see. 

    • Like 2

    New Director of Communications for the Midwest Region for Six Flags

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    6 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

    I'm sure you have inside information as evidenced by your Racer conversation. If you do, please help me understand the timeline on these eliminations. As an outsider, it doesn't make business sense to do this before the winter events are finished.  I'm sure your insight could help me see the big picture in a more clear manner.

    Once the director of PR for the Midwest Region has their team in place, the park level PR positions will be eliminated. They were just officially named to the position yesterday. In addition to internal candidates, there will be those outside of Six Flags that will be considered for these roles. 

    New Director of Communications for the Midwest Region for Six Flags

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    Just now, BeeastFarmer said:

    I think y'all are putting the cart before the horse. Typically, a new leader comes in and evaluates things before cleaning house. Not knowing Six Flags timeline on these realignments, I wouldn't assume that park level positions are changed much before the end of the year. Many parks still have winter events yet to go. Use them and then reassign, terminate or let attrition happen. 

    What part of the PR and social media positions at the park level are being eliminated are you having trouble understanding? 

    New Director of Communications for the Midwest Region for Six Flags

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    20 minutes ago, mikejenkins1 said:

    So any guesses/updates on Tony Clark at CP?

    Tony will be in the same boat as the others throughout the company. He may end up with a position on one of the regional PR teams, or he may be looking for a job outside of Six Flags. He won't be a director of communications at Cedar Point. The PR positions at the park level are being eliminated. The Midwest Regional team will manage the PR function for the parks within that region. It's similar to what they did when the marketing director positions were eliminated at the park level and run out of Charlotte by Brand teams. 

    • Like 1

    Discussing Land and Space in and around Vortex

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    There is a grass area behind the Crypt building where Coasterstock participants were taking to get behind-the-scenes photos of Diamondback that would be a possible spot to relocate where the drones launch from, if they continue to use drones in 2025 and beyond. It's only a couple hundred feet from the current location.

    • Like 8

    Banshee Train Incident 9/28/24

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    16 hours ago, disco2000 said:

     

    Exactly!

    Some act like the park has announced on social media every closure of a ride that that was for a couple of days or extended period.

    There has always been a sign out front of the park announcing rides not operating that day.  The sign used to be closer to where the security checkpoints are, but in recent years these announcements moved to a TV screen overhead when your pass is scanned in (that most probably never even noticed LOL).

    Also, depending on the length of the closure, there will also be a sign in front of the ride and possibly a greeter telling guests the ride is closed for the day.

    Just since CF bought it in 2007, there have been dozens, if not hundreds or thousands of times that a ride went down for a period of time (days or more) and most of them never made it to a social media post.  But they showed up on the board in front of the park and at the ride itself.

    The ones I recall that made it to official park social media posts include:

    • Son of Beast closure
    • Beast retracking delaying opening in 2022
    • Adventure Port delayed opening in 2023 (which ironically when it did open, the website said opening date TBA for almost a month)
    • Camp Snoopy delayed opening in 2024
    • Obviously the permanent closures of rides like Vortex and Firehawk.
    • Again I am sure there are a few more, but probably nowhere near the amount of times rides were down for a period of more than a day.

    Let's look in recent memory of some extended closures that I do not recall social media posts on from the park (but they made fan site pages):

    • Vortex chain breaking in 2012 (maybe 2013) time period and closed for extended period.
    • The various extended closures of Delirium over the years waiting for parts.
    • The various extended closures of The Beast over the years waiting for parts.
    • Diamondback getting temperamental after Orion was announced in August of 2019 and in addition to several days being down, it was down the final weekend of 2019.
    • Drop Tower closed last two weekends of Fall 2021 for repainting.
    • Backlot closed August -September 2022 waiting for parts.
    • Almost all of Action Zone had a delayed 2023 opening:
      • Drop Tower closed from August 2022 thru May 2023.
      • Delirium closed until May 2023.
      • Bat closed until end of April 2023.
      • Congo Falls delayed opening.

    I welcome someone to prove me wrong that the park made social media posts about these closures with links to the social media posts....maybe your all memory is better than mine, but I don't recall many extended ride closures being announced over official park social media channels...

    When I worked at Kings Island, managing PR and social media, if a major ride was going to be closed for more than one day I wanted to be transparent and did post on social media to advise guests the ride would be closed, and apologized. This includes multiple day closures for Son of Beast, The Beast, Vortex, Diamondback. Once the ride reopened, the posts were removed. But I felt as the person responsible for communicating to the public, it was important to let guests know. And guests appreciated the advisory. I didn't go into detail as to why, but a simple "X ride will be closed through X" was always appreciated. 

    • Like 6

    Orion Reviews

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    1 hour ago, ShedTreeBoi1 said:

    While I don't disagree, Orion is a giga, it's still annoying that it's not 300 feet tall.

    Only a Neo-Maxi-Zoom-Dweebie would whine about a lift hill on a roller coaster not being 13 feet taller. 

    • Like 4
    • Haha 3

    San Diego Padres taking a page from KI / Six Flags Content Creator Policy

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    Following the example set by Kings Island and other Six Flags parks with its content creator policy, the San Diego Padres banned Fox Sports baseball reporter Ken Rosenthal from their dugout during Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday. The Padres were displeased with something Rosenthal had written for ‘The Athletic.’ In response, they also chose not to participate in the standard in-game interviews with him, which are typically part of the broadcast.

    Kings Island 2024 Food Reviews and Discussion

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    12 minutes ago, chad_1138 said:

    I am hoping since they remodeled and added the bar that they will be open more often moving forward.   There were countless times we went over the summer that they weren’t open.

    I had the same experience with French Corner closed often during the week. But the bars around the park were usually open so hopefully because they added a bar it opens daily moving forward. 

    • Like 3

    Soak City 2025 Construction Updates

    in Kings Island

    Posted

    On 9/25/2024 at 1:41 PM, jbeast said:

    After visiting Holiday World for two days recently again, I get reminded how much our KI waterpark needs some love.

    Surfin' Safari is just awesome on every level. Wildebeast and Mammoth alone are worth the trip. Although, I realized I am not as young as I used to be climbing those stairs to some of the slides. And going absolutely airborne on Jungle Racers. That was a bit painful. On the other side, Voyage is still my all-time favorite coaster, next to Fury and The Beast.

    It's nice to see the new additions for next year at KI. I agree more trees are needed too...it gets so hot and crowded out there. It'd be nice if you could wear your water shoes on the rides at KI too like HW does.

    Holiday World's water park is arguably the best in the amusement and theme park industry. Each of the three water coasters are fantastic! The restaurants in Splashin' Safari are also excellent. Some of the best pulled pork and brisket sandwiches that I've ever had can be found there. Kings Island's water park is average at best by comparison. 

    • Like 3
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