If you could ask Don one question.

[Dieseltech20]

Take a behind the scenes tour of The Beast and you can ask him any question your heart desires. Of course judging by the stuff asked on the one I attended...he has been asked it all, lol.

[KIFan1]

Why doesn't KI get more Cedar Point like rides and get a Halloween event like what Universal Studios has.

[TheCrypt]

Because Kings Island is not Cedar Point. It is not Universal Studios. Kings Island doesn't have to imitate other parks because they do just fine being unique.

[Thrill_Biscuit]

Because I remember, eidetically, the Van McCoy flash mob and retro-uniform crepe-paper rose sales of the 2008 Knievel Jump, I must ask:

Will someone be serving Porkchops and Applesauce during next Sunday's "Brady Bunch" visit?

There, I did it. [Runs for the door]

[SonofBaconator]

@DonHelbig what were your thoughts on the Orion project from it’s conception to its announcement?

[DonHelbig]

19 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

@DonHelbig what were your thoughts on the Orion project from its conception to its announcement?

It missed the mark. It fell well short of garnering the same level of anticipation, interest, excitement that teaser campaigns and earned media placements did for Diamondback, Banshee, Orion, and the parking tolls leading up to those announcements. Slapping posters on a wall as teasers just didn’t net the same results. It would have created more buzz had the teasers been things like boulders being placed around the front gate area and around park with steam coming out. The posters were not aligned with what planning and design had in mind for the backstory. And then on the night of the announcement, a banner was unveiled with a rendering and it had The Racer with one side running backward. So, guests were wondering if that was returning instead of talking about Orion. Plus, half the conversation on social media was is it really a Giga? 

The parking tolls announcement had everyone buzzing because an aerial photo from behind The Racer that showed the parking lot and tolls was used on social media with the accompanying post copy saying two things that had been at Kings Island since 1972 was going away. Naturally, everyone assumed The Racer. “What’s Kings Island doing?” stories were everywhere. New York Times. Los Angeles Times. Boston Globe. I worked with KIC on that teaser and that really helped amplify the speculation. When it was announced new parking tolls and the original parking tolls would be torn down, there was a lot of conversation on social media with people breathing a sigh of relief The Racer wasn’t being torn down. Because of all of the chatter, news of the new tolls was nation wide. Matt Ouimet, Cedar Fair’s CEO at the time, was impressed that I could take new parking tolls and get it in the New York Times, and other major papers. 

Orion could have had that same kind of media coverage leading up to and for its announcement. It didn’t make it much further than the park’s backyard. 

just a lot of misses from start to finish. 
 

 

 

[SonofBaconator]

2 hours ago, DonHelbig said:

It missed the mark. It fell well short of garnering the same level of anticipation, interest, excitement that teaser campaigns and earned media placements did for Diamondback, Banshee, Orion, and the parking tolls leading up to those announcements. Slapping posters on a wall as teasers just didn’t net the same results. It would have created more buzz had the teasers been things like boulders being placed around the front gate area and around park with steam coming out. The posters were not aligned with what planning and design had in mind for the backstory. And then on the night of the announcement, a banner was unveiled with a rendering and it had The Racer with one side running backward. So, guests were wondering if that was returning instead of talking about Orion. Plus, half the conversation on social media was is it really a Giga? 

The parking tolls announcement had everyone buzzing because an aerial photo from behind The Racer that showed the parking lot and tolls was used on social media with the accompanying post copy saying two things that had been at Kings Island since 1972 was going away. Naturally, everyone assumed The Racer. “What’s Kings Island doing?” stories were everywhere. New York Times. Los Angeles Times. Boston Globe. I worked with KIC on that teaser and that really helped amplify the speculation. When it was announced new parking tolls and the original parking tolls would be torn down, there was a lot of conversation on social media with people breathing a sigh of relief The Racer wasn’t being torn down. Because of all of the chatter, news of the new tolls was nation wide. Matt Ouimet, Cedar Fair’s CEO at the time, was impressed that I could take new parking tolls and get it in the New York Times, and other major papers. 

Orion could have had that same kind of media coverage leading up to and for its announcement. It didn’t make it much further than the park’s backyard. 

just a lot of misses from start to finish.

I would agree, when compared to earlier installations- the hype wasn’t there; especially when one remembers that it was the park’s largest ride investment.

[johnjniehaus]

To be honest, while Orion is a great ride I've even had non enthusiast friends tell me they thought "isn't it just another Diamondback?" Even a member of the GP can tell when two rides are similar. 

I get that KI took over a project that CGA abandoned but at the same time I do feel like the park needs something more unique the next time around. Don't get me wrong Orion is a great coaster and I'm not knocking it or saying it's a bad ride. I'm very glad we have it. However the next time around we need something that will please the enthusiasts crowd but also something that will get the GP excited and thinking "wow I've never seen anything like that!" 

Unfortunately with current communication slump the park seems to be in, the next coaster project probably will have very uninteresting teasers and promotional material. I think it's bad when you see billboard ads for Dollywood in Cincinnati and not for Kings Island... 

[SonofBaconator]

16 hours ago, johnjniehaus said:

To be honest, while Orion is a great ride I've even had non enthusiast friends tell me they thought "isn't it just another Diamondback?" Even a member of the GP can tell when two rides are similar. 

I get that KI took over a project that CGA abandoned but at the same time I do feel like the park needs something more unique the next time around. Don't get me wrong Orion is a great coaster and I'm not knocking it or saying it's a bad ride. I'm very glad we have it. However the next time around we need something that will please the enthusiasts crowd but also something that will get the GP excited and thinking "wow I've never seen anything like that!"

Despite how people felt about the ride itself, marketing wasn’t stellar compared to previous additions.

[gforce1994]

What is the Air-Speed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow?

 

All jokes aside, what was the most difficult ride to market?

[YuYuYuuki]

Does the alien leader from Flight of Fear have an official name??

[Tr0y]

Who the Schell is Logan? Also I like the sweater! 
 

[DonHelbig]

10 minutes ago, Tr0y said:

Who the Schell is Logan? Also I like the sweater! 
 

Everyone knows who the Schell Logan is. He knows what the Schell is going on at theme parks across the globe. And from what I hear, a Schell of a good storyteller. 

[disco2000]

22 hours ago, Tr0y said:

Who the Schell is Logan? Also I like the sweater! 
 

If only someone would do an investigative piece to get to the bottom if Kathy lied or if Kathy was not made privy to the information...

[BeeastFarmer]

Hmmm...I wonder who?  John Mattress?

[disco2000]

5 hours ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Hmmm...I wonder who?  John Mattress?

 

At the end of the day, I am sure Kathy, the associate that responded to Logan, gave her honest answer as that decision was above her pay grade, so any news outlet that tried to get answers would simply get the run around.

[befat]

On 12/21/2024 at 5:52 PM, disco2000 said:

If only someone would do an investigative piece to get to the bottom if Kathy lied or if Kathy was not made privy to the information...

Or was it PR spin? She acknowledged that it was a rumor. She didn't straight up say it was a false rumor. I'm sure the group of people with direct knowledge of the fate of Kingda Ka was quite small at first, so to anyone outside of that group, it was a rumor. I bet most people who work for Six Flags Great Adventure found out at the same time the rest of us did. So Kathy's quote can be read either way, she could have been in the know, or she may not have. We'll never know, but I don't think it's fair to call her a liar. She was just doing her job and would probably have been fired if she had stated that the coaster was going bye bye before the official announcement. If anyone wants to criticize Six Flags employees, criticize the decision makers at the top. Those are the people who decided to wait on the announcement, which put people like Kathy in a tough spot, and didn't give their guests a chance to get a last ride in.

[Shawn Meyer]

I would ask Don this. I know you don't work for the park anymore, but if you did, this would be my question. Since the merger, would you want to work for the park now compared to when it was just known as a Cedar Fair property? Like, would it bother you to work there under the Six Flags merger?

[DonHelbig]

17 hours ago, Shawn Meyer said:

I would ask Don this. I know you don't work for the park anymore, but if you did, this would be my question. Since the merger, would you want to work for the park now compared to when it was just known as a Cedar Fair property? Like, would it bother you to work there under the Six Flags merger?

It would bother me the way they're doing some things now, like removing rides without notice so guests can get in their last rides and say goodbye. 

[disco2000]

7 minutes ago, DonHelbig said:

It would bother me the way they're doing some things now, like removing rides without notice so guests can get in their last rides and say goodbye. 

Do you think the mindset is they have your money and let you go next year with it gone and thus the sting is gone by August and then renew for 2026 or is that giving them too much credit LOL

[DonHelbig]

7 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

Do you think the mindset is they have your money and let you go next year with it gone and thus the sting is gone by August and then renew for 2026 or is that giving them too much credit LOL

I believe the mindset is they don't want any negative sentiment going into the Halloween season, so they choose to say nothing until they have to. However, it only makes it worse by not being transparent and it gets discovered by park fans digging around. 

[disco2000]

18 minutes ago, DonHelbig said:

I believe the mindset is they don't want any negative sentiment going into the Halloween season, so they choose to say nothing until they have to. However, it only makes it worse by not being transparent and it gets discovered by park fans digging around. 

How did KI do for Haunt 2019 in polls and attendance after Vortex closure was announced....(for those that don't know, it did very well)

Sometimes companies don't want to learn from the past...

[DonHelbig]

1 minute ago, disco2000 said:

How did KI do for Haunt 2019 in polls and attendance after Vortex closure was announced....(for those that don't know, it did very well)

Sometimes companies don't want to learn from the past...

Kings Island did well in polls through 2022.

[gforce1994]

What do you think of Winnerden Flats?

[DonHelbig]

On 12/27/2024 at 6:15 PM, gforce1994 said:

What do you think of Winnerden Flats?

I think it's a ruined town at Ivinghoe Beacon, near the village of Ivinghoe in Buckinghamshire. 

[Tr0y]

On 12/27/2024 at 3:02 PM, DonHelbig said:

It would bother me the way they're doing some things now, like removing rides without notice so guests can get in their last rides and say goodbye. 

I wonder if the lack of communication from those parks about the ride removals has to do with the synergies of assigning multiple parks to one person? WoF hasn’t had any activity on its X page since November: https://x.com/worldsoffun