KI to Hire over 5,000 jobs for 2018

[IndyGuy4KI]

I think a lot of us at one time or another have thought about working for Kings Island. Even being two hours away, I have wondered what it would be like working for the park. If you have ever had thoughts about working for the park and need a job this summer, Kings Island might be the fit for you. 

Visit here for more details and apply!

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2018/january/kings-island-to-host-job-fair-to-fill-5000-seasonal-positions

Attention all job seekers! Kings Island is hiring more associates in 2018 than any previous season.

The 364-acre amusement and water park is hosting a job fair Saturday, January 27, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to fill more than 5,000 seasonal positions.

The park is hiring in all areas of operation, including admissions, call center, entertainment, finance, food and beverage, fire and safety, guest services, lifeguards, merchandise, park services, rides, security and warehouse

Seasonal positions at Kings Island also have the potential to turn into more than just a summer job. The majority of the park’s full-time year-round staff began their career as seasonal associates at Kings Island or other amusement parks.

Apply online in advance, then come out to Kings Island for the job fair January 27 for an interview.

For more information, call 513-754-5748 or go to visitkingsisland.com.

[VortexBFForever]

One of those 5,000 jobs is mine as of last Friday.

It's a 45-minute commute to work (1 hour if I leave from school at Cedarville) but it doesn't stop me!

-BFF, a second-year associate on the WindSeeker/Vortex crew.

[CoastersRZ]

Working at an amusement park is certainly a fun job.  I am entering my seventeenth season working at Coney Island.  I never thought when I first took the job before my senior year of high school that I would still be doing it in 2018, even with a full time job.  

Yes the days can be long, guests can and will test your patience, but it is a fun place to work, (and sure beats working food service) and you will get to make wonderful friends.

Granted, I have been a seasonal manager at Coney in charge of the rides department for the better part of the last eight years, I still can honestly say that I always look forward to going into work at Coney.  

I also spent a couple seasons at Kings Island (2013 and 2014), working during October as part of the Skyflyer crew.  It was definitely a fun experience.  

I would highly recommend the job to anyone considering it.

[MDMC01]

Echoing the above poster, I highly recommend working at the Park. I have worked 10 seasons in total (5 in Food, 5 in Park Services) and have (mostly) loved my time there. I highly recommend Park Services as I really enjoyed my time in that department.

[Fye Coasters]

14 hours ago, VortexBFForever said:

One of those 5,000 jobs is mine as of last Friday.

It's a 45-minute commute to work (1 hour if I leave from school at Cedarville) but it doesn't stop me!

-BFF, a second-year associate on the WindSeeker/Vortex crew.

congrats! I worked there back in 2012 2013 best two summers of my life!! I worked Diamondback what are you going to be working?

[teenageninja]

If you are a teenager in need of a job I can't recommend Kings Island any more.  It's one of the jobs where you can get what you put into it.  It pays more than minimum wage and you can generally work as many hours as you want.

[stashua123]

Ive been working here since April 9th, 2017 and it has been an absolute blast. This month I was rehired and Im looking forward to another season with the park I have come to love!  

Despite a 33 and a half minute commute in good traffic (and over 55 minutes in bad traffic) I still go through the commute and come to a job I love.

I work in Admissions and I am on the Sales Team, we help guests with our knowledge of the park, products and try to help them find what is best for them.

Most people in Admissions are trained and take up shifts in various parts of our department which includes the Front Gate area(excluding stores), Season Pass Processing, Group Sales, Sales, Family Care, Help Center, Fast Lane, the same in Soak City as well as our Guest Services associates.

Sales Team is something they just started doing recently and are just essentially trained in Sales (I was also trained in Season Pass just in case they needed somebody as backup). 99.999999% of the time I was scheduled and am usually in Sales. Being on the Sales Team is a little bit of a specialty as Sales is a fairly good job to have. You also have to know a lot on what you are doing and have to be an expert on what Kings Island is all about and have to know how to talk to guests and upsell various products to them. We have probably the best Sales Team in the Cedar Fair chain IMHO. 

The Admissions Department is in my opinion the way to truly enjoy Kings Island the most other than rides. It is probably the most flexible at scheduling out of all of the departments in Kings Island, though you do have to give advanced notice on days you need off(2 weeks), all the days I requested off were granted. If you are trained in a lot of places each shift becomes something new and does not become too mundane. In sales, it is almost always something new and each interaction with a guest is almost always different from the rest. Also being able to talk with other co-workers when we are not busy is a joy. Most of the time the job is relatively low stress 

I have made many friends in the department and the department is a very social one. We always plan time in the park after our shifts end, or plan to eat somewhere, or just plain hangout with each other. I still talk to my coworkers in the off season and still hangout with them!  I made so many memories over the summer with my coworkers.

So if anyone is looking for a great job at Kings Island, the Admissions Department is in my humble opinion the best way to go. Rides is another great department to look into as well, though the #KIBlueCrew is the best way to go.  

 

 

[BeeastFarmer]

@stashua123--that looks like the same window (except from the inside) where you sold me my 2018 Platinum pass, dining, drink plan and a daily ticket and daily Funpix for my GP friend on the last Friday night of Haunt last year!

[stashua123]

24 minutes ago, jtro223 said:

@stashua123--that looks like the same window (except from the inside) where you sold me my 2018 Platinum pass, dining, drink plan and a daily ticket and daily Funpix for my GP friend on the last Friday night of Haunt last year!

That was a transaction I remembered very well, as I knew who you were but was like "should I ask him who he is again or just act like I know him" and I knew you but like I forgot what your username was lol.

[VortexBFForever]

@stashua123, you have inspired me to elaborate more about my #KIBestJob!

On January 25, 2017, Kings Island's Rides Department hired me. As the ride choices lay before me, I noticed that WindSeeker/Vortex was one of them, and I could not pass up an opportunity to secure a spot on my favorite ride's crew -- especially if said ride would celebrate its 30th anniversary!

One year after that day and six days after finding I was rehired back onto the "Windex" crew, I have a lot to say about my job even though I have worked only one year so far.

Like any ride operator, I have the pleasure of checking restraints, making sure everyone behaves themselves, and assisting in sending the train/ride on its merry way! Some days are very chill and everything goes smoothly, while on other days fairly stressful moments come about along with a fair share of ride downtime (as I've said before, Vortex acts quite picky when it's hot out and we all know how WindSeeker deals with high winds. ). Downtimes themselves can actually be pretty fun to deal with as a deviation from an otherwise repetitive task and an interesting twist to an already FUN day. The hardest part is trying not to reveal too much information to guests when they ask what's wrong. A TMI about a ride downtime can get one in some trouble!

In July, my supervisors drive trained me on Vortex. Usually on our crew, new drivers train at WindSeeker first, as it's easier to watch one central ride unit than to constantly watch three trains. This is especially true for most first-years. In my case, however, my supervisors had seen that I LOVE working Vortex A LOT and do so very well, so they decided to drive train me there first. I am one of only several "Windex" crew members who were drive trained at Vortex first in their first season working at Kings Island. I drove Vortex for the very first time on July 4, familiarizing myself with the panel and the different controls. But after that came a 22-day hiatus, as our new head supervisor had just transferred to our crew and needed to be trained and familiarized with his new crew (a.k.a. us). After what seemed like forever, my drive training resumed on July 26, when I started learning the most important part of a driver's job - downtimes. Driving is a wonderful privilege...and a huge responsibility. Drivers must know exactly what they need to do in whatever downtime scenario arises (and some of them aren't even in the training manual!), which is extremely important when they're commanding a multi-million dollar machine with human passengers! After several more sessions in the drive box on July 26, 28 and 29, I officially became Vortex's newest driver after a combined total of 4.5 hours of training!

Living my dream of driving Vortex is so much fun. I did get to deal with a minor downtime during one of my drive hours on Labor Day. It's so far been the only downtime with which I have had to deal as a driver (especially since I was trained at the tail end of Vortex's finickiest month), but in this coming year I will very likely deal with a lot more, including at least one with passengers on board! Bring it on, high humidity!

And of course, there's the test rides. Test riding makes for a great start to any morning. Shake Rattle & Roll's crew always calls us for a test rider, so sometimes I get to ride SR&R too! Also, during a slow day (usually in the evening), we sometimes take turns riding if there's no line!!

My crew is such a hoot and I love working with them. My supervisors genuinely care about each and every one of us and make sure we enjoy what we do. Since they know my love for Vortex, I usually work just one hour at WindSeeker and the rest at Vortex. But don't get me wrong; I greatly appreciate WindSeeker too! I'll most likely be drive trained there this season, which will be fun!

And like Josh said, Kings Island is flexible with scheduling, as long as you submit time off requests at least two weeks in advance and if you have a legitimate reason. I have not had a problem with scheduling off when I needed to.

If you want a fast-paced job where you get to test ride and operate your favorite ride, the Rides Department is the place to be!

I'm genuinely excited to reunite with my crazy "Windex" family in April as we embark on another season together!

 

Credit for photos in order: Paul and @Magenta Lizard!

(Sorry the image quality isn't the best; I screenshotted them off of Facebook and Tapatalk.)

 

[jcgoble3]

@VortexBFForever I burst out laughing at "Windex crew" so hard that it's a good thing I had nothing in my mouth, else I would have either choked on it or spewed it all over my computer screen.

[LoadAndGo]

On 1/24/2018 at 8:47 PM, CoastersRZ said:

I also spent a couple seasons at Kings Island (2013 and 2014), working during October as part of the Skyflyer crew.  It was definitely a fun experience.

Is the Omega locked?

[stashua123]

[mention=8280]VortexBFForever[/mention] I burst out laughing at "Windex crew" so hard that it's a good thing I had nothing in my mouth, else I would have either choked on it or spewed it all over my computer screen.

Hey I mean the nickname for the Monster Scrambler Dodgem Crew is MSD.... makes me burst out laughing cause MSD is the sewer utility for Cincinnati.

[mayaman2]

26 minutes ago, stashua123 said:

2 hours ago, jcgoble3 said:

[mention=8280]VortexBFForever[/mention] I burst out laughing at "Windex crew" so hard that it's a good thing I had nothing in my mouth, else I would have either choked on it or spewed it all over my computer screen.

Hey I mean the nickname for the Monster Scrambler Dodgem Crew is MSD.... makes me burst out laughing cause MSD is the sewer utility for Cincinnati.

Spent more than my fair share of time at MSD. Won't say in what capacity because I want to stay semi-anonymous, but I can confirm that this comparison is half true.

[TheRickster]

All these crew photos are giving me the feels for my old days...

[CoasterOhio]

Spent the last 3 Years, with this year being the 4th at Kings Island! I worked in Park Services for a year and then moved to operations. Banshee is my home away from home and even when I get stressed out I always still love working at Kings Island!

 

im hoping to see some of you next year at Banshee!

[spooky21]

6 hours ago, CoasterOhio said:

Spent the last 3 Years, with this year being the 4th at Kings Island! I worked in Park Services for a year and then moved to operations. Banshee is my home away from home and even when I get stressed out I always still love working at Kings Island!

 

im hoping to see some of you next year at Banshee!

I'm sure we will see you plenty lol

 

[BoddaH1994]

Attrition has been a big problem at KI for some time.  I think they are hiring more people simply because they want to account for the many the fall off by June.

I've never worked for KI so I can't speak with much authority.  I know the work is hard, but those who do it absolutely live for it.  If you're on the fence, give it a shot!

 

[stashua123]

Attrition has been a big problem at KI for some time.  I think they are hiring more people simply because they want to account for the many the fall off by June.
I've never worked for KI so I can't speak with much authority.  I know the work is hard, but those who do it absolutely live for it.  If you're on the fence, give it a shot!
 

Staffing is an issue in early and late season ki.... And believe me they need every single employee hired. And at least in my department the turnover rate from the amount of people I see stick through the season is a bit lower than you would think it is. The turnover rate is high once you get to departments like food but they've been trying to rectify that as well as the park as a whole.

[BoddaH1994]

Just now, stashua123 said:

48 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Attrition has been a big problem at KI for some time.  I think they are hiring more people simply because they want to account for the many the fall off by June.
I've never worked for KI so I can't speak with much authority.  I know the work is hard, but those who do it absolutely live for it.  If you're on the fence, give it a shot!
 

Staffing is an issue in early and late season ki.... And believe me they need every single employee hired. And at least in my department the turnover rate from the amount of people I see stick through the season is a bit lower than you would think it is. The turnover rate is high once you get to departments like food but they've been trying to rectify that as well as the park as a whole.

Some departments do better than others for turnover.  Does your leadership value what you do?  Are you paid fairly?  Do you have the tools necessary to do your job? Are you in a department where they unleash the power of the people?

If you answered "yes" to all 4 then yes - you probably work in a department with a low turnover.

If you answered "no" to any one of them... well.. there are other departments where you could answer "yes" to all 4.

For the record, I consider a "yes" to those 4 questions to be a minimum. 

 

 

[stashua123]

Some departments do better than others for turnover.  Does your leadership value what you do?  Are you paid fairly?  Do you have the tools necessary to do your job? Are you in a department where they unleash the power of the people?
If you answered "yes" to all 4 then yes - you probably work in a department with a low turnover.
If you answered "no" to any one of them... well.. there are other departments where you could answer "yes" to all 4.
For the record, I consider a "yes" to those 4 questions to be a minimum. 
 
 

I thought it through and I say yes to all four questions. I really do enjoy my job and believe it does all of that for us.

[BoddaH1994]

Just now, stashua123 said:

16 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Some departments do better than others for turnover.  Does your leadership value what you do?  Are you paid fairly?  Do you have the tools necessary to do your job? Are you in a department where they unleash the power of the people?
If you answered "yes" to all 4 then yes - you probably work in a department with a low turnover.
If you answered "no" to any one of them... well.. there are other departments where you could answer "yes" to all 4.
For the record, I consider a "yes" to those 4 questions to be a minimum. 
 
 

I thought it through and I say yes to all four questions. I really do enjoy my job and believe it does all of that for us.

Those simple things make a big difference, don't they?  Hope you have an amazing 2018 season!

[VortexBFForever]

I have heard many times while at work (especially during the fall season) that "the park is understaffed today" or something along those lines, so the fact that KI endeavors to hire more people this year does not surprise me.

My crew is among those from whom the least amount of people leave, so most if not every day we would end up sending a few people from my crew to help other understaffed crews. There was one day however where we had only four people who came on time for opening including myself (and we need a minimum of seven people -- six at the absolute least -- to open both rides). so that was interesting.

As much fun as it was to deal with staffing (or lack thereof), I hope KI is able to hire more associates this year, especially associates who are willing to stay even when things get tough at work and the novelty of working at an amusement park wears off somewhat.

And @BoddaH1994, I answered yes to all four questions as well!

[BoddaH1994]

2 minutes ago, VortexBFForever said:

I have heard many times while at work (especially during the fall season) that "the park is understaffed today" or something along those lines, so the fact that KI endeavors to hire more people this year does not surprise me.

My crew is among those from whom the least amount of people leave, so most if not every day we would end up sending a few people from my crew to help other understaffed crews. There was one day however where we had only four people who came on time for opening including myself (and we need a minimum of seven people -- six at the absolute least -- to open both rides), so we opened Vortex while WindSeeker remained closed until later in the day.

As much fun as it was to deal with staffing (or lack thereof), I hope KI is able to hire more associates this year, especially associates who are willing to stay even when things get tough at work and the novelty of working at an amusement park wears off somewhat.

And @BoddaH1994, I answered yes to all four questions as well!

The good thing about hiring more people is self-evident.  You need more.  The bad thing?  If the applicant pool isn't enlarged then it's much easier to get a job - even if they don't necessarily think you're up to company standards.

[Oldiesmann]

I worked at the park for a few months in 2005 in the "East Pie" section of what was then Hanna Barbera Land (what ended up being the last year for HB). This included Beastie, the kiddie cars (now Peanuts 500), kiddie whip (Linus' Beetle Bugs), umbrella ride (Peanuts Off Road Rally) and helicopters (Woodstock's Whirlybirds), though at the time the kiddy whip and umbrella ride were in different spots than they are now (umbrella ride was located closer to the helicopters and kiddie whip was located in a back corner near what's now the entrance to Surf Dog). It was a lot of fun seeing the joy on the kids' faces, but it was also a bit frustrating at times (particularly Beastie, because they had raised the minimum height that year and they didn't have the height check station in the kids' area then so it was more common for kids to get measured and get a wristband at one of the rides).

[TOPGUN1993]

6 hours ago, VortexBFForever said:

. There was one day however where we had only four people who came on time for opening including myself (and we need a minimum of seven people -- six at the absolute least -- to open both rides), so we opened Vortex while WindSeeker remained closed until later in the day.

I believe you're mistaken. It was likely too windy to open WindSeeker on that day. KI never closed rides due to low staffing this previous 2017 season.

But yes, apply to work at the park.

[LoadAndGo]

7 minutes ago, TOPGUN1993 said:

I believe you're mistaken. It was likely too windy to open WindSeeker on that day. KI never closed rides due to low staffing this previous 2017 season.

That's correct. KI doesn't close rides due to staffing. KI also doesn't run fewer trains if attendance is lower. All in all, KI Operations is extremely efficient and effective.

[Bansheeback]

I just got hired for Rides. I will be operating the Drop Tower and The Bat. What are some things to expect? Does becoming a ride operator mean I will be able to actually drive the rides?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stashua123]

I just got hired for Rides. I will be operating the Drop Tower and The Bat. What are some things to expect? Does becoming a ride operator mean I will be able to actually drive the rides?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For people like me. You'll have to learn the art of stapling someone in.

 

I do know some about ride operations but I will yield the floor to other more knowledgeable people.

 

[King Ding Dong]

@stashua123 I hope you do move to ride operations.   People like me could use some more heavy duty Staplers in the dept.