DonHelbig

These adrenaline-pumping toboggan hats are the perfect addition to your Christmas shopping list for any die-hard Kings Island enthusiast. https://themeparksbydon.com/kings-island-ride-toboggan-hats-for-the-ultimate-fan/

Dust off your dancing shoes and warm up your vocal cords! Kings Island will be holding auditions for its 2024 Summer Season this month. https://themeparksbydon.com/seize-the-spotlight-audition-for-kings-islands-2024-season/

Universal Destinations & Experiences has officially unveiled the Universal Kids Resort. https://themeparksbydon.com/universal-kids-resort-to-be-magical-haven-for-family-fun/

Dollywood has once again proven itself a beacon of exceptional customer service, earning a place in Forbes’ prestigious Best Customer Service list. https://themeparksbydon.com/forbes-recognizes-dollywood-in-top-1-for-customer-service/

The Hatbox Ghost has materialized on one of my all-time favorite rides, the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. https://themeparksbydon.com/hatbox-ghost-a-spine-chilling-addition-to-wdw-haunted-mansion/

Fifty years ago, on Nov. 23, 1973, The Brady Bunch episode filmed at Kings Island made its debut on ABC-TV. Episode No. 106, titled “The Cincinnati Kids,” was captured over five days in August 1973. https://themeparksbydon.com/50th-anniversary-the-brady-bunch-episode-at-kings-island/

Both really good events, but I would give Hersheypark's Christmas Candylane the edge.

I had the opportunity to experience Hersheypark’s annual Christmas Candylane event. It was nothing short of magical! https://themeparksbydon.com/hersheyparks-christmas-candylane-a-cant-miss-celebration/

If you’re going to be in the Bristol, CT area over the holidays, here’s a piece I did on Lake Compounce’s Holiday Lights event. https://themeparksbydon.com/lake-compounce-unveils-the-magic-of-holiday-lights/

You know, the only thing that matters is the ending. It's the most important part of the story, the ending. And this one... is very good. (Smiles, closes laptop.)

Mr. Helbig was my dad. I’m Don.

The Four Drummers Drumming show at WinterFest was a crowd-pleaser for guests of all ages. The social media buzz with photos and videos truly captured the essence of the experience. Those third-party impressions are priceless and will be missed!

Dollywood added 23 operating days for 2024. https://themeparksbydon.com/dollywoods-2024-a-year-of-extraordinary-adventures-and-experiences/

The National Roller Coaster Museum & Archives has received a fully restored Ottaway Steam Locomotive and passenger cars from Chance Rides in Wichita, Kansas. Although not a roller coaster, this rare addition significantly enriches the NRCMA’s collection, highlighting its commitment to preserving diverse facets of amusement park history. https://themeparksbydon.com/coaster-museum-receives-restored-ottaway-steam-locomotive/

Not this year. Going to be traveling the following week and two more trips planned in December.

My primary role the last few years I was at Kings Island was managing all of the park’s social media channels, which included organic and paid content, writing and publishing blogs, and optimizing the key performance indicators. The park annually had industry-leading results the years I managed the digital content efforts. I made it a priority to try to at least “like” every comment so the person making the comment knew it was seen, but due time restraints I wasn’t able to always reply back with comments. I would have liked to have been a lot better in this area, but was still able to accrue industry-leading results for engagement. A lot of that high engagement was derived through storytelling. That’s what I enjoyed the most, both when I did PR and then social media, telling the park’s stories. I was hired in 2007 to do the PR for the park, and then took on social media as that was emerging in 2008 around the time construction on Diamondback began to take shape. By 2015, it had become two distinctive different jobs. In the summer of 2017, there was a marketing restructure and at the bigger parks in the chain, PR and social media (digital marketing) were split into two different jobs. I landed on the digital side, which allowed for me to expand my skill set. It was a great opportunity, which came at a time when traditional PR was changing and the printing press was no longer news outlets, but rather Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs to share your news and stories, because that’s where the people you were trying to market to were. When I did PR, I was always looking to make noise to keep top of mind awareness for the park. During my years riding The Racer in the 1980’s, I was fortunate to be around and learn from three of the best to ever do it (PR) in the amusement and theme park industry in Bill Mefford, Ruth Voss and Carolyn Boos. They were the three most influential people in my career and the reason I was able to have a successful 27-year PR career, including 11 seasons doing PR at Kings Island. Way too much information, but this is what my role was during my years at Kings Island.

Story I published on my Theme Parks By Don blog about WinterFest. I think it captures the spirit of the thing. https://themeparksbydon.com/kings-islands-winterfest-promises-joy-festive-fun-for-all-ages/

Thrill-seekers across North America are getting ready for an adrenaline-packed update. Cedar Point and Zamperla Rides are set to unveil the much-anticipated Top Thrill 2 roller coaster train at this year's IAAPA Expo in Orlando on Nov. 14. http://sanduskyregister.com/go/452f8302c0b3d

Hmmm…trying to remember where I’ve seen that phrase before.

It's a common misconception that nobody is on X anymore, but the numbers tell a different story. With approximately 556 million active monthly users and an impressive 6.4 billion monthly visits as of this fall, X is still very much alive.

Word of mouth has been, is now, and will always be part of the fabric of a brands reputation.

Great questions! Submit them on the Tower Topics X in the pinned post asking for listener questions. You can combine them into one question.

Perceived for the record, as continuing to do The Attractions Group Podcast and beginning a second one with Tower Topics this summer would attest. @BoddaH1994 and I have fun doing the podcasts. We have pinned to the top of the X channels for each podcast a post for listener questions if you or anyone else has anything about the industry, Kings Island, Buc-ee's.

You can definitely put a tangible number on it by looking at the metrics for engagement, web traffic and conversion value for every social media post, every blog published, and e-mail newsletter article and ad. OTD posts and repeating them annually have value for parks and sports teams, when they’re done right.

I didn't say you said it needed to be a Tower Topics podcast; just said it could be addressed someday. With OTD yearly reminders, a lot of people that see that kind of content are seeing it for the very first time. Give it your usual LOL if you want, but that OTD content connects with audiences every year. So says the analytics, not me.