1 hour ago, DJSkyFoxx said:

I wonder what logo sponsors stickers they will use for the eyeballs? 

 

2 hours ago, DJSkyFoxx said:

I wonder what logo sponsors stickers they will use for the eyeballs? 

OREO

53 minutes ago, Diamondback_Is_King said:

 

Those actually don’t look too bad. This is a use of sponsor logos which I don’t mind.  Have them be a PART of the design and blend in with it, rather than just plastered all over like a billboard in a collage. 

57 minutes ago, Diamondback_Is_King said:

 

If those get a single ad on them... I'm revoking my season pass permanently.

I'm kind of numb to the sponsor thing.  Its been around so long I look past it.

Lest we forget KI was, essentially one big Sponsorship... built to capitalize and propagate Taft and Hanna-Barbera Productions.

Attraction "Sponsors" are hardly unique to SF.... Heck KI opened several attractions with commercial names plastered all over them.  Sherwin Williams, Bank America, Kahn's, Rainbo Bakers, Coke, Marathon Oil, Fotomat etc.

KI has had hundreds of them over the years.  Remember Kodak Photospots? Or Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal sponsored by Kayak Pools?  How about Landscaping by John Deere? Shows at the American Heritage Music Hall sponsored by Chevrolet?  One could go one and on.

Granted the ride cars didn't necessarily have the sponsor's names on them - but the signage and park paraphernalia sure did. 

Finally, let's not discount the Paramount Years...  where most every new attraction's theme was essentially a commercial for a dated movie title.

23 minutes ago, Shaggy said:

I'm kind of numb to the sponsor thing.  Its been around so long I look past it.

Lest we forget KI was, essentially one big Sponsorship... built to capitalize and propagate Taft and Hanna-Barbera Productions.

Attraction "Sponsors" are hardly unique to SF.... Heck KI opened several attractions with sponsor names plastered all over them.  Sherwin Williams, Bank America, Kahn's, Rainbo Bakers, Coke, Marathon Oil, Fotomat etc.

KI has had hundreds of them over the years.  Remember Kodak Photospots? Or Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal sponsored by Kayak Pools?  How about Landscaping by John Deere? Shows at the American Heritage Music Hall sponsored by Chevrolet?  One could go one and on.

Granted the ride cars didn't necessarily have the sponsor's names on them - but the signage and park paraphernalia sure did. 

Finally, let's not discount the Paramount Years...  where most every new attraction's theme was essentially a commercial for a dated movie title.

You missed one of the most notable ride sponsors: Top Gun, presented by Gillette Mach 3. 

In 1986, before the country show, one of the performers backstage would say after a "Delta Gets You There" jingle before the cast ran out on the stage, "Kings Island, Kings Productions and Delta Airlines are proud to present Deep in the Heart of Country." 

I remember when they still sold Encyclopedia Brittannicas in the park.  I can't remember how it worked, though.  Certainly people didn't haul an entire set of encyclopedias home from their visit to Kings Island.  Or did they?

I can't imagine every ride at KI having some sort of sponsor. This reminds me of Hersheypark:

 

16 hours ago, Diamondback_Is_King said:

I can't imagine every ride at KI having some sort of sponsor. This reminds me of Hersheypark:

 

But a key takeaway from your example is that it is HERSHEY Park. They will obviously advertise their brand throughout the park as it is a park mostly themed to what they sell. 

1 hour ago, DJSkyFoxx said:

But a key takeaway from your example is that it is HERSHEY Park. They will obviously advertise their brand throughout the park as it is a park mostly themed to what they sell. 

Hersheypark isn't owned by the chocolate company, it's owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts. They have to pay a licensing fee every time they use candy products in theming, etc. 

On 1/24/2025 at 1:11 PM, MysticTimberwolf said:

Sell? Well, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Plenty of exciting changes are on the way that will be sure to increase shareholder value!

Ok, you've changed my mind! 

With so many increasing entertainment options, going cheap will hurt them long term.  If they are understaffed and super busy, with little to no emphasis on service, experience or quality, the average family will not consider KI as a top tier option for their time and money on a random summer day. 

36 minutes ago, KIghostguy said:

Hersheypark isn't owned by the chocolate company, it's owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts. They have to pay a licensing fee every time they use candy products in theming, etc. 

Isn't that just getting into weeds. 

Both the chocolate company and Entertainment and Resorts are owned by The Hershey Trust Company, and it is why you pay the big bucks to accountants to figure out how to make money off each "subsidiary" LOL

5 hours ago, disco2000 said:

Isn't that just getting into weeds. 

Both the chocolate company and Entertainment and Resorts are owned by The Hershey Trust Company, and it is why you pay the big bucks to accountants to figure out how to make money off each "subsidiary" LOL

Which Hershey co sponsors Snowflake Lake with Kroger?

4 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Which Hershey co sponsors Snowflake Lake with Kroger?

I would assume it wouldn't be The Hershey Trust Company, but rather The Hershey Company that is the candy maker arm of the various companies under the trust.

On 1/27/2025 at 5:01 PM, DonHelbig said:

You missed one of the most notable ride sponsors: Top Gun, presented by Gillette Mach 3. 

In 1986, before the country show, one of the performers backstage would say after a "Delta Gets You There" jingle before the cast ran out on the stage, "Kings Island, Kings Productions and Delta Airlines are proud to present Deep in the Heart of Country." 

All of this talk reminds me of the Woodchopper's Ball and the "Shameless Plugs"   If ya know, ya know.

21 hours ago, KIghostguy said:

Hersheypark isn't owned by the chocolate company, it's owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts. They have to pay a licensing fee every time they use candy products in theming, etc. 

Cool story. But the point is, why would you have a candy themed park without candy themed rides? Doesn't matter how its done. Which is the point I was making.

Lay offs have now affected Carowinds:

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article299317534.html

1 minute ago, Tr0y said:

Lay offs have now affected Carowinds:

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article299317534.html

Six Flags is making everyone mad (except for shareholders) and everything is falling apart:

 

I’ve been thinking about this is being a publicly traded company beneficial overall or is it better to be privately traded in the amusement industry. 

3 minutes ago, SmartCat7162 said:

I’ve been thinking about this is being a publicly traded company beneficial overall or is it better to be privately traded in the amusement industry. 

Personally I think the privately traded companies do better in regards to providing quality services to their guests, as they don't have to cater to shareholders. Look at the Herschend parks like Dollywood and SDC for example.

On 1/26/2025 at 10:40 PM, Tr0y said:

It appears KD isn’t the only park issuing layoffs:

https://www.screamscape.com/html/legoland_florida.htm#general

I’ve now worked for three theme park companies, of which Merlin is one. Of the three, it was by far the worst professional experience.

Six Flags set the tone with off season ride closures and now other parks are following suit:

 

^That is why Six Flags is the leader in the industry 

23 hours ago, disco2000 said:

^That is why Six Flags is the leader in the industry 

We demo'ed more rides than you? 

8 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

We demo'ed more rides than you? 

 

That and ride closures announced after the season is done so nobody gets last rides.

2 hours ago, disco2000 said:

 

That and ride closures announced after the season is done so nobody gets last rides.

It's like the Mystery t-shirts. Nobody knows if you got a last ride. 

At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if KI gets an attraction axed this year. I’ve always heard rumblings about Xtreme Skyflyer being removed for years now, which I think would be in line with the corporate reduction in force. It’s the last pay to ride attraction and it takes up way too much space that could be used for a new addition. I think, and would be willing to assume at this point that if anything gets removed from Kings Island’s line up it would be that. It’s a major cost saver and it doesn’t hurt the overall park lineup in any way shape or form.

53 minutes ago, BB1 said:

At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if KI gets an attraction axed this year. I’ve always heard rumblings about Xtreme Skyflyer being removed, which I think would be in line with the corporate reduction in force. It’s the last pay to ride attraction and it takes up way too much space that could be used for a new addition. I think, and would be willing to assume at this point that if anything gets removed from Kings Island’s line up it would be that. It’s a major cost saver and it doesn’t hurt the overall park lineup in any way shape or form.

I've heard rumblings as well, but where I'm curious here is, if nothing is planned for that plot at the moment, why remove it. Sure it reduces the amount you have to pay for staffing, but I assume on the days it operates, they definitely make more in revenue than they spend on staffing. Assuming the $10-20 range, 4 employees being paid $18 optimistically. After payroll fees and taxes that's like 5-10 guests an hour to make a slight profit. Assuming we factor in a bit more for electricity and upkeep, but even then, I've seen them work through a lot of paying guests on the weekends, so I fail to see how reducing staff on an attraction that brings in additional revenue is necessarily a good thing for business long term. Unless of course the attraction costs more to operate and staff that it brings in.

 

Sure slingshot was removed, but they placed a new land and attraction within a year. I'm curious to hear thoughts from others...