Drop Tower? (update: now open!)

[APE]

I'm too big for the ride so I don't really care if it's open or not. But that was never the point of me posting in here.

[Jr for Birdy]

Or a discovery request in a civil suit.

"Your honor, we believe the defendant has been posting false information about WindSeeker being down during the operation season of 2014.It is true that he is only 14 years old but we take this stuff very seriously". Judge replies," Guilty! I hereby sentence you to no Banshee rides for 30 days, and no Banshee twist, as matter of fact your band from Action Zone just for having green hair!" G, I hope this post doesn't get deleted as well, the one that did was probably the most serious, honest to God truth I have ever posted on this sight, but I get it, I truly get it. We must bow before the almighty Kings Island PR.

[bkroz]

I just don't understand the sudden oversight here. Absolutely proper names should be capitalized and information should be accurate more than it's inaccurate, but what major amusement park doesn't have an unofficial dedicated fan site or discussion board or community? And of the ones that come immediately to mind, ours here at KICentral.com/forums is absolutely among the best moderated, most positive, pro-park, open discussion communities out there. This is not an outrageous garbage dump of accusations and anti-park / anti-Cedar-Fair nonsense. Altogether, this is wonderful and positive community that shares a common love and appreciation and respect for Kings Island and its direction under Cedar Fair.

It's odd that "the park" even has a presence here in the form of DonKIPR. That's not typically the case - at least publicly - on the limitless other discussion boards out there. Look at Theme Park Review, which runs rampant with speculation, rumor, and downright negativity. The owner of that site is infamously rude - sometimes even offensive - and posts his questionable comments and opinions right alongside exclusive interviews and ERT photo reports, associating his particular brand of annoying-crazy with the site's exclusive content provided by parks! And yet, guess who's at Banshee media day?

Look, too, at MiceChat, a community focused solely on Disney Parks (Disney being one of the most valiant defenders of intellectual property in the world today) where speculation and rumor are off the charts, every day, constantly. The site specializes in "leaks" and inside information from anonymous sources. Certainly there is no official "DisneyParksPR" account posting vaguely-threatening comments and sometimes being downright off-putting to the community there. (EDIT: Imagine "DisneyParksPR" commenting: "Not sure where you got all this inaccurate information but this site sure has a lot of it..." It's sort of laughable to imagine. Sort of like "Wow this is a pretty fun site. Too bad... Hope nothing happens to it.")

There was a time when fans of Kings Island were celebrated for their enthusiasm and interaction. There was quite another time when they were seemingly ignored. The presence of an official "PR" account in this community seemed a shift toward the "old way," but now it's actually become off-putting. Does Kings Island have every right to view these boards and even participate on them? Sure, why not? And if something here falls out of alignment with their legal expectations, I should expect the site administrators to be contacted. But the downright dismissive tone is becoming tiresome... We're not the enemy, or some horrible vitriol-spewing Facebook fans. We're not even a "bad" fan community, as far as fan communities go.

I'm glad for the park's presence here and I understand the account owner's obligation to defend the product he represents, but at this point it's like... we as a community are not harmful. We are not tarnishing Kings Island or Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. It's just frustrating to feel like we're being moderated by a multi-million dollar company when we're just fans having fun, being optimistic, and speculating together.

It first occurred to me in a personal way two years ago when the park tweeted "What would you like to see added to the park map for 2012?" I said "TREES!" The "park" responded "It's a map of attractions, not of individual trees." Like, is that professional? Is it kind? I understand that as the most aggressive consumers of the product, we can be annoying. But c'mon. In what universe would Disney respond to a fan that way on Twitter? Universal? SeaWorld Parks? Six Flags? (EDIT: By the way, trees were added. Or... bushes. Either way, The Beast no longer looks like it's sitting in a field, making the map a much more accurate representation of the ride, thank you very much!) And that tone appears to be mirrored here, again representing the park as a sort of "big brother" whose presence here is only to scold us or keep us in line and remind us that we're in thin ice all day every day. Very odd. Not very welcoming. Not very FUN.

Don't get me wrong: We're lucky that the park we love has become an active presence on this site. We're lucky that rather than ignoring us, news gets posted here and we're invited to participate in exclusive events at the park we all love. We're lucky that, in general, it seems Kings Island's management views this community as the positive, helpful, enthusiastic, and beneficial community it is. But the oversight... the sort of vaguely dismissive treatment... it's not exactly precedent, and that's my point.

[Creed Bratton]

Let's turn the tables, you (you reading this right now) if you were to be the Kings Island PR person and your friends/family ran the park in various different departments, with Don and others currently working at the park being the guests/pass holders/enthusiasts, how would you feel if you had to field questions on a day to day basis over the same exact things? How would you like to work in the call center and a majority of your phone calls are fielding questions/comments about things seen on a site that has a relationship with your park?

You: "Thanks for calling Kings Island, how can I assist you today?"
Don: "I read on KICentral.com that WindSeeker hasn't operated at all this year due to one of the arms coming off during testing"
You: "Uh....that's not true That is just a rumor that is completely untrue, is there anything else I can help you with today?"
Don: "Well I'm really upset because I saw on KICentral.com that the Banshee crew is not allowed to have water in the station, how is that fair to them, what happens if one of the crew memebers passes out due to heat exhaustion because you didn't give them water."
You: "Again, that is a rumor, each and every ride crew has access to water and is provided cups to drink from."
Don: "Oh, okay....so I heard that Drop Tower hasn't operated yet this season because it's not certified from the state and that you have to wait for a part from Germany to arrive, at least that's what I saw on KICentral.com."
You: "Again, that is a rumor, weather has been a major factor in the operation of Drop Tower, it will open again as soon as possible."

Try fielding those kind of calls over and over and over each day. It gets tiring. It does happen, I've heard stories from a friend who worked in the Call Center getting phone calls about rumors that were seen on this site.

Don and the park is not trying to control this site. They're trying to protect the park, themselves and ultimately you. Don does not have to even respond to enthusiasts let alone this site, but he does. There are several park PR teams that do not respond unless you are affiliated with a site that they've built a relationship or strictly news media. As someone said earlier, the park isn't going to give an exact date or even a guess to when Drop Tower will open. If they do and it doesn't happen, the phone calls, tweets, Facebook messages, emails, etc. will flood all over again often angrier than the first round. Remember when you signed up for this site, you have accepted the Terms of Service in which state:

Posting information that is not public record and could be damaging to the reputation, business and/or day to day operation of Kings Island or its affiliates is a violation of the terms of service. Any information posted claiming to be from an inside source or claiming to be confirmed, when not being released from Kings Island or Cedar Fair, must be posted along with the name of the source. Failure to do so is a violation of an individual user's terms of service.

You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this KICentral message board to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening, invasive of a person's privacy, or otherwise violation of any law.

The administrators reserve the right to disclose posters' information in compliance with a valid court order, legal obligation, or legitimate request by one seeking to protect human life, safety, property rights or professional reputation.

If any of these rules are violated under your screen name. Whether or not they were your doing. YOU are responsible for anything posted or sent under your screen name.

If something were to ever come to it, your information can be used against you in court even if you were just posting a rumor. Property/intellectual rights at their finest.

Knowingly posting false information can cause you to be banned from the site if it becomes an issue as well as posting info that has not been released to the public.

So Don, responding as he has, protects the park, himself and you. Just be smart when posting and we wouldn't have to have these posts.

[TheRickster]

If Kings Island gave us a "guess", many members would complain if it ended up opening later than that.

This is the main reason... They aren't going to give a estimate because it won't be anywhere near accurate and it'll **** people off more when they said it would be up at a certain time.

There is also the likley scenario that they don't even know when it will be back up. They are probably waiting to get the same answer just as you guys are.

[Kat]

I think it's pathetic we are complaining and arguing over whether or not Don Helbig is doing a good job by not disclosing info about Drop Tower. I mean bashing him and saying he is not going a good job because [insert trivial reason] is just down right rude and disrespectful. Don does A LOT with his job and has done a lot for KIC. SO FREAKING WHAT if he wants to debunk rumors being posted in the main threads? So freaking what if he doesn't tell us why Drop Tower is down??? Is it REALLY that important? No. Does it mean he is not doing his job or doing a good job doing his job? Again, no. So I say stop being immature and disrespectful to someone who already gives us so much, more than we deserve, stop wanting and demanding more and be happy with what you get!!!

The Earth is the proper name of a planet, and thus should always be capitalized.

[Cody]

Its down and you don't need to know why. It's that simple.

Interesting. So do you take this approach with with every product you buy into?

"Sir, the burger you want is not available even though Its on the menu. No I will not tell you why. Have a nice day though"

Let us know when you buy Drop Tower

The fact that the ride being down has nothing to do with you is the reason why you don't need to know. You're paying to enter the park, you're not paying for all the rides to be operating that day, don't you read the back of your ticket/pass?

Why are you treating this like its some conspiracy theory?

[APE]

I sure hope you're not one of the people who complain about Intamin rides being down from time to time then.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

[OpSonofBeast]

Going back and re-editing your posts when someone comments about something you said.... come'on man!

....

The edit was before you commented. I added more to it right after I posted it not after you replied back. You're just adding misinformed information to this site. There's already a lot of that so we don't need more.

[silver2005]

I'm probably going to be taking flak for this, but I'll do it anyway.

Here's the thing about TPR. Robb has toned down a great deal since the earlier days of TPR. You guys do know they are affiliated with parks from around the world right? That's a HUGE credential people often forget about. They have HUGE trips with lots of members. Just check their boards on any given day. They're more active with more members than any other coaster site still in existence. They're probably the best source for information about any park on the internet, even better than Screamscape because they actually back up their claims with sources. Sure they're heavily moderated, but that's mainly because they have PR members from a few parks including Six Flags, Holiday World, and a few international parks to my knowledge that post on their boards (and probably more than that). That's why they get to do the events they do and the multi-park trips as well. Its become a huge endeavor. Seriously, just spend about an hour on TPR without focusing on the iffy bits and you'll see they're an excellent resource. I'm guessing even a lot of you have watched POV's of coasters they've been to that you'll probably never ride in your life.

If you're running a park, you'd be a fool to ignore that kind of fan base.

Also, malem put it perfectly, Kings Island is focused on talking up Banshee and the Action Zone revamp. Yes, Drop Tower is a key part of that area, but its obviously in a state they can't let it operate which is more or less out of their control. Machines break, its common sense. Let's play off the assumption it is a part they're waiting on. If you guys know a thing or 2 about Intamin, they produce all their parts in house. Where is that house you may ask? Switzerland. So not only do they have to make the part, but it has to travel quite a distance to get to our humble amusement park in southwestern Ohio. There is no upside to the park announcing the reason its down. There's nothing they'd benefit from in doing it. And really, what does knowing why really accomplish? Its probably something really technical that only a handful on this site can even understand.

So to put it simply- Drop Tower is down, the park is doing everything they can to fix it so it can run, and all you need to do is be patient until that time arrives and, well, you know, ride all the other rides still open at the park including our fantastic new inverted coaster.

Just sayin'.

[shark6495]

Its down and you don't need to know why. It's that simple.

Interesting. So do you take this approach with with every product you buy into?

"Sir, the burger you want is not available even though Its on the menu. No I will not tell you why. Have a nice day though"

Let us know when you buy Drop Tower

The fact that the ride being down has nothing to do with you is the reason why you don't need to know. You're paying to enter the park, you're not paying for all the rides to be operating that day, don't you read the back of your ticket/pass?

Why are you treating this like its some conspiracy theory?

I understand what he is saying, but at the same time, on the big board out front, they list rides not running that day (or at least they did last year?). I would question if knowing the reason makes it any easier/better that something doesnt work. In the above scenario, if the restaurant states we ran out of beef, what good does that do anyone? It makes the restaurant look bad (even if its not their fault) and could upset the customer. Most places though will say, we dont have that what else would you like?

So KI really is just saying, "Sorry! DT is unavailable right now, which of our other rides would you like to ride?"

I sure hope you're not one of the people who complain about Intamin rides being down from time to time then.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

Well, respectfully, complaining/commenting on a company wide trend is slightly different than asking/demanding answers about 1 down ride in a park.

Silver posted it perfectly above me, before I could even respond!

[APE]

Yeah I never demanded answers. I just said I've never understood the secrecy about rides that are down and that I would think it would be easier for them to be upfront with information instead of getting frustrated with misinformation. I also don't think its a big deal for people to question why something is down as we are all fans and interested.

[shark6495]

True^ But there is a difference between "I wonder why X is down, I wonder if its for B reason" and saying "The PR guy is hiding answers" or w/e was originally posted.

Questioning is the only way we can get answers. But sometimes/ many times the answers are not what we want or as timely as we would like...

[beastfan11]

Or a discovery request in a civil suit.

"Your honor, we believe the defendant has been posting false information about WindSeeker being down during the operation season of 2014.It is true that he is only 14 years old but we take this stuff very seriously". Judge replies," Guilty! I hereby sentence you to no Banshee rides for 30 days, and no Banshee twist, as matter of fact your band from Action Zone just for having green hair!" G, I hope this post doesn't get deleted as well, the one that did was probably the most serious, honest to God truth I have ever posted on this sight, but I get it, I truly get it. We must bow before the almighty Kings Island PR.

Hahahahaha. Green hair. I get it. Best post of the thread.

[BoddaH1994]

Maybe he doesn't know for sure and doesn't want to add to the speculation.

I remember when Delirium was down for months they (Paramount) put a sign up saying that they were waiting for a part from Germany and the ride wouldn't open in the foreseeable future. I'm hoping that a long term delay is not in Drop Tower's future, but hey... I'd rather have them NOT run it until they're sure that the ride is safe, efficient, and reliable.

[Sonofbeast2.0]

I feel like Don has become more angered, with what we post then trying to help us.

I feel like the park is trying to wiggle it's way into this website and try and take control. This is an unofficial, discussion board site for the park. If this was an official thing ran by KI, anyone talking about rumors would be banned (it was a sin to talk about SOB on their FB page and trust me I know...)

Rumors and speculation I think is fine! the KIC community usually debunks them in a much more "fair" way. Someone saying something rudely/upsetting, just feeds the fire... (please look at all above posts up threw page 5...)

[Creed Bratton]

I feel like Don has become more angered, with what we post then trying to help us.

I feel like the park is trying to wiggle it's way into this website and try and take control. This is an unofficial, discussion board site for the park. If this was an official thing ran by KI, anyone talking about rumors would be banned (it was a sin to talk about SOB on their FB page and trust me I know...)

Rumors and speculation I think is fine! the KIC community usually debunks them in a much more "fair" way. Someone saying something rudely/upsetting, just feeds the fire... (please look at all above posts up threw page 5...)

See : http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/29290-drop-tower/page-6#entry615458

Remember the TOS was in place before the Full Time Staffers of the Park started having a presence on the site.

[Outdoor Man]

I don't post much on here anymore- I do enjoy reading the topics and comments every once in a while though. I do want to take a moment to defend someone I have seen but do not know. I don't know Don personally. I know who he is; I could point to him in a crowd if asked, but I've never physically met the man. I don't know the specifics of his job description- but I do know that he is likely one of the harder working individuals at the park. Most of us enjoy such holiday's as Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, etc... I've been at the park on a number of those days spanning several years and its not uncommon to see him around the park on those days.

I would take issue with anyone on the site that demeans his job performance by what he posts or does not post on this site- its likely not a requirement of him to keep the KIC community informed of issues that aren't our concern. I've only been to the park once this year (opening day.... first AND LAST time I'll do that)- if a ride is closed, its not that big of a deal- get over it.

[thegajone]

There is no upside to the park announcing the reason its down. There's nothing they'd benefit from in doing it.

Bingo. Best summary of the Drop Tower situation right here. I'm as curious as anyone about what's going on with it, but I certainly understand why they wouldn't disclose any information.

[XGatorHead 8904]

[Diamondbacker]

Okay, everybody take a deep breath.

Now, DT is a well loved ride, as seen by those on this thread. It's unfortunate that we can't ride it right now, but hopefully we will soon.

I want you all to remain calm and wait. We all wait in lines, but at the end of the line is a great ride waiting for us. Some members here wouldn't have waited 4 hours to ride Banshee if they didn't believe that it was going to be a great ride.

If we all can be a little more patient, and wait a little bit longer, we'll be able to hear 'Right Now' soon enough.

[Magenta Lizard]

After reading the arguments here lately, when I went yesterday, I had to laugh a bit at the La Rosa's truck they had parked like a marquee in front of Drop Tower's entrance. Nothing to see here, people!

Unless that has always been there.

[DropZone4ever]

After reading the arguments here lately, when I went yesterday, I had to laugh a bit at the La Rosa's truck they had parked like a marquee in front of Drop Tower's entrance. Nothing to see here, people!

Unless that has always been there.

Yes, It has always been there. I have been watching the webcam waiting to see it moved. Once its moved I'll be heading to KI!! I love coasters but can get motion sickness even with medication. So Ill take a few rides on Drop Tower and I'm all set for more coasters!!

We do need to understand and remember Don has a job to do hence the PR at the end of his display name! He needs to protect the brand (Park). If there's a lot of false information on here (anything posted not in rumor or speculation form that's not true) WE the KIC community need to do our best to nip it in the but as soon as possible!!

[DontWantToWait42mar0]

For me it almost doesn't seem like the park is open without Drop Tower or Drop Zone running.

DontWantToWait42mar0 who has been to Kings Island many times before 1996.

[thoe124]

I dont know why im so curious... I hate Drop Tower. It messes with my soul when im on it and its the worst feeling ever haha. But still, its a really cool ride to look at and try to guess whats wrong!

[Miythandria]

Good ride. Looking forward to it operating safely again.

[Webble78]

My daughter loves the ride and it just feels like something is missing when we go.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[thedevariouseffect]

Wow I go on leave to the Pointy Cedars up north then Mothers Day and some personal time off, stuff explodes lol..

Some people know my stance regarding things here and one individual above voiced it quite well, better than me honestly, I'm more direct, to the point kind of approach, so I'll leave it be.

All I will say is for those missing out on DT, up north there is PT, which was unfortunately not running Opening Day, but has been open since if memory recalls correctly, long weekend.

[DontWantToWait42mar0]

I DontWantToWait42mar0, I want Drop Tower to be open Right Now!

[The Interpreter]

At 10:33 PM on Sunday, May 18?

Good luck with that.