DonHelbig

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.

If the issues plaguing Top Thrill 2 cannot be resolved, what goes down as the bigger failure: Son of Beast or Top Thrill 2?

I enjoyed this year's show.

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.

The Shrimp Sandwich was one of my favorite dining options this summer. It's amazing how good the food really is at Kings Island, and how few people talk about it.

The Mounds of Meatwich looks good!

Enthusiasts are part of the GP.

Like Son of Beast, Don's not coming back.

Might want to read it again. Ryan Suhr and I discussed on Tower Topics when the merger was announced there would be changes, as there always are when mergers occur.

There's a better chance of the Menendez brothers being released from prison than there is of Son of Beast coming back.

One of the issues in falling to No. 3 was the lack of effective storytelling. The messaging was repetitive and one-dimensional: "Camp Snoopy new this year. Buy your Silver Pass!" followed by "Camp Snoopy now open. Buy your Silver Pass!" The focus was all on sales rather than crafting an engaging narrative. Outside of the park's backyard, there wasn't much chatter (and awareness) about Camp Snoopy and Snoopy's Soap Box Racers. As you mentioned, there were so many missed opportunities with the entire project.

Cannot blame Charlotte for the drop to No. 3 in the Golden Ticket Awards for Best Kids' Area or for Snoopy's Soap Box Racers not being a finalist in any category. (BTW, Good Gravy! at Holiday World was a finalist in multiple categories and won one Golden Ticket Award.) How the park promotes and tells the stories about their attractions, food, live entertainment, merchandise and more through PR, shared and owned channels is entirely on the comms department. Charlotte now controls special events and gives the park the game plan, but it's on the park to take what they're given and find a way to get people excited about it instead of making excuses. ("We didn't have the budget" for example.)

Maybe it was the same person that gave fans of the park "Did summer fly by 2FAST4U?" on their social media channels.

Location isn't as big a question as to how well it will be staffed with scare actors.

For Chef's Plate, as someone with the dining plan, I would not be opposed to spending $8 or so for the special.

It's a fun ride.

At least we know since it's a bar, unlike drink refill stations, it will be open.

When parks have the wrong people in key positions, they miss a lot of the right opportunities that would benefit the park.

Enjoyed this show!

Here’s a piece I wrote for Theme Parks By Don about its closure for the season. It won’t win a Pulitzer, but I think it captures the spirit of the thing. https://themeparksbydon.com/top-thrill-2-wont-reopen-in-2024-cedar-point-announces/

They could get up to 10 tickets any time they wanted.

Worth noting: The Paramount years also had the highest number of comp tickets in the history of Kings Island.

It's things like drink stands being closed, out of ice, short show runs and theaters dark for good portions of the year, watered down events that put the park on the path of mediocrity. The loyalists may disagree, but those that look at things objectively know it's not what it could be.

I don't recall any of the shills suggesting that, but I do recall being told by someone at the park that the success I had in PR and social media was because of where I worked, not because of anything that I was doing. I got stories outside of the park's backyard because it sold tickets and season passes in Indianapolis, Columbus, Louisville, Lexington, Huntington/Charleston WV, Fort Wayne, among others. I used to make annual media trips to each of these cities to meet with producers and assignment managers, share what was new that year at the park. While I was there, they'd do an interview with me, or I'd be a guest on the morning or noon news. These stations haven't been visited by Kings Island PR since I left the PR side in the fall of 2017.

There's a difference between complaining and fair and frank critiques of the park.