DonHelbig

Tickets have increased by $6 for passholders and $7 for non-passholders since the 2023 Coasterstock event. Will it sell out in less than eight minutes this year like it did in 2023? Will they increase the capacity for the first time ever so they can tell their new boss in Canada they were able to have record attendance going head-to-head with Holiday World's HoliWood Nights? Will they bring back ribs for the dinner? Will the itinerary be released before tickets go on sale? Only one thing we can bank on at this time, and that's all who participate will have a good time!

Here's a piece I did on the new area at Kentucky Kingdom. I'm looking forward to the season pass preview day. https://themeparksbydon.com/kentucky-kingdoms-new-chapter-begins-with-discovery-meadow/

This must have taken them at least 45 seconds to write this blog update: February 12, 2025 Fiberglass Slide Delivery Fiberglass panels for RiverRacers have started to arrive at the construction site, where assembly will begin in the coming weeks once all panels have arrived for both the new water coaster and Salamander Sliders' seven new slides. Crews also will turn their focus to Bluegill Lagoon where the activity pool's water tower feature will soon take shape.

We'll have a number of surprise guests in the weeks and months ahead.

This was a fun episode!

What about retail space to sell Tower Topics t-shirts and our soon-to-be released line of merchandise and apparel?

The same issues that have plagued the International Restaurant since its opening would still exist: Location.

Thanks for the shoutout about the Wicked Green Tower Topics shirts! We sold four shirts (1-M, 1-L, 2-XXL) over the past couple days that attributed your post for the transaction. Please post again when the "Here's the Thing" Ryan Suhr Tower Topics caricature t-shirts become available.

First and foremost, I would have approached this with transparency and compassion. The statement they provided feels scripted and impersonal, almost identical to the one issued in 2006 by Kings Island when Winterfest was cancelled. A more thoughtful, heartfelt response would have better acknowledged the disappointment felt by guests. Additionally, I would have insured that email responses were signed by a real person rather than behind "Kings Dominion Guest Services." The general manager and PR team are directly involved in crafting and approving these statements, so attaching a name to them would add a personal touch and show accountability. Guests deserve more than a generic, faceless response. They deserve to feel heard. A canned response doesn't make them feel as though they were. I hope that answers your question.

Popularity has nothing to do with it. There's a reason why full-time staff is being let go at parks, why departments will be run with minimal staffing on operating days, why events like WinterFest aren't returning to Kings Dominion and California's Great America. While Carowinds announced WinterFest as part of their 2025 events lineup, remember Kings Island did the same thing in 2006 only to cancel WinterFest mid-summer.

You missed one of the most notable ride sponsors: Top Gun, presented by Gillette Mach 3. In 1986, before the country show, one of the performers backstage would say after a "Delta Gets You There" jingle before the cast ran out on the stage, "Kings Island, Kings Productions and Delta Airlines are proud to present Deep in the Heart of Country."

OREO

KECO was not involved in the development of Phantom Theater. They sold the park to Lindner's Great American Financial in 1987. The ride was developed under that ownership.

I always enjoyed helping out in other areas of the park during the years I worked in the Kings Island marketing department. I parked cars, checked restraints on The Beast, The Racer, Diamondback and Mystic Timbers, made hundreds of pizzas at LaRosa's on International Street, the Festhaus and in Rivertown (I always loaded them up with extra sauce and cheese!), worked games at the basketball by The Racer, Wac-A-Mole, Football Toss, Ring Toss, and 3-Point Challenge, took shifts fielding calls in the Call Center, helped out in the Picnic Grove and Festhaus cleaning tables, worked in the admissions booth selling tickets and season passes, and worked the front gate turnstiles scanning tickets and season passes. I absolutely loved doing these different jobs and always looked forward to getting the call to help out elsewhere.

When did 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. become a full day at Kings Island?

It was mentioned on Tower Topics when news of the merger came out last year that things like this were going to happen, as they usually do when there are mergers and acquisitions.

WORTH NOTING: Great Adventure is calling THE FLASH: Vertical Velocity a "family thrill ride" opposed to a roller coaster in a news release announcing the park's 2025 calendar and special events. BTW: Did Kings Island send out a news release announcing its 2025 calendar and special events? No traditional news outlets have done any stories.

They could be fully staffed and not cut hours but choose not to. That's what's going to irk people.

With Kings Island and other SIX parks looking to do minimal staffing across the park, combined with reducing pay and hours, it's hard not to see the guest experience eroding.

But the bottom line will look good for the investors.

The pay cuts are across the board at Six Flags parks. You will see less returners this year.

These were good episodes. Hope to see new episodes in the foreseeable future.

The guest experience will suffer at Cedar Point and other Six Flags parks because of the pay cuts for seasonal associates. These are the people that bring the parks to life every operating day and deliver the experience, not those sitting in the corporate office in Charlotte. The season pass price should be higher but that wouldn't have made a difference in what the associates will be paid this year.

There are a couple people that would be out the door if Herschend bought Kings Island. Their antics would not be tolerated.

Fair reporting, the media just doing their job, it's just unacceptable by some of the people that make those decisions as to who is and who isn't invited to media day.