DonHelbig Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 1 minute ago, Kenban said: All I can say is what I was told, and I will fully admit this is mostly from a few years ago, maybe I am remembering some details wrong. The thing is I have heard this from multiple people. Again, 100 percent inaccurate what you posted. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Listen, the park can try and spin it any way they want as to why Coasterstock didn't return this year, but "timing" isn't why. The event had an acknowledged reputation as one of the finest park-hosted events in the amusement and theme park industry. It sold out in less than 10 minutes. A park doesn't cancel an event that is highly successful and means so much to the attendees because of timing. It took place the same weekend every year since its inception outside of 2021 when it took place later in the summer due to COVID-19 and not knowing what the restrictions might be going into the season. So no, it's not because of timing. What the real reasons were, that will be discussed on an upcoming episode of Tower Topics. Much like what the park put out there, you can choose to buy or sell the reasoning the podcast provides. While Coasterstock isn't returning year, Kings Island has replaced it with the equally exciting American Coaster Enthusiasts 2024 Spring Conference. The 2014 ACE Spring Conference was held at Kings Island, and it was nothing short of amazing! The members of ACE involved in planning the club's events excel far more than I did. All of the ACE events that I've participated in are a testament to their expertise and dedication. If you're not an ACE member, I highly recommend that you join so you can take part in the Spring Conference. It's going to be a terrific event! The park's announcement of Coasterstock returning in 2025 seems ambitious, especially considering the imminent merger between Cedar Fair and Six Flags. Mergers often bring changes, including personnel adjustments, and nobody knows exactly what that might entail. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coastercrush Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 7 minutes ago, DonHelbig said: Listen, the park can try and spin it any way they want as to why Coasterstock didn't return this year, but "timing" isn't why. The event had an acknowledged reputation as one of the finest park-hosted events in the amusement and theme park industry. It sold out in less than 10 minutes. A park doesn't cancel an event that is highly successful and means so much to the attendees because of timing. It took place the same weekend every year since its inception outside of 2021 when it took place later in the summer due to COVID-19 and not knowing what the restrictions might be going into the season. So no, it's not because of timing. What the real reasons were, that will be discussed on an upcoming episode of Tower Topics. Much like what the park put out there, you can choose to buy or sell the reasoning the podcast provides. While Coasterstock isn't returning year, Kings Island has replaced it with the equally exciting American Coaster Enthusiasts 2024 Spring Conference. The 2014 ACE Spring Conference was held at Kings Island, and it was nothing short of amazing! The members of ACE involved in planning the club's events excel far more than I did. All of the ACE events that I've participated in are a testament to their expertise and dedication. If you're not an ACE member, I highly recommend that you join so you can take part in the Spring Conference. It's going to be a terrific event! The park's announcement of Coasterstock returning in 2025 seems ambitious, especially considering the imminent merger between Cedar Fair and Six Flags. Mergers often bring changes, including personnel adjustments, and nobody knows exactly what that might entail. Jeff Seibert's been hyping up the rodeo roundup merger or no merger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rexpostal Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 On 1/13/2024 at 9:16 PM, disco2000 said: I think some of you give Chad too much credit in his role and responsibility with the park LOL. I am sure he is not the final go/no go decision on Coasterstock. If the GM or corp wanted it, they are doing it despite his objections. He can either be on board and participate or be shown the door. Everyone knows Coasterstock was Don's "baby", but was the coordination of the event the duty of the area manager, digital marketing position (which is not Chad's role) or was the responsibility given to Don the person due to his recognition in the industry? And if it was given to Don the person and not the position, then what position within KI would take it over when Don the person left? Did anyone complaining apply for the open position when it was posted? Many have put the park in a tough situation. If they decided to not have Coasterstock, what would happen is what we are seeing now with folks saying that the current staff isn't competent and can't put on the event. If they held Coasterstock and put on the best event ever and due to the upcoming merger brought in the actors that played the roles in the DC Universe and we all got to personally sit next to Gal Gadot/Wonder Woman and Superman for a ride people and they brought Beyoncé in for a private concert many would still say the event sucks because Don isn't working for the park and didn't host the event.... If you were the park GM and saw the enthusiasts community bad mouthing EVERY move the park makes, would you be willing to want to invest and put the time in to hold an event for them that is clear they wouldn't be happy regardless? Based on podcasts and appearances Don has made at several events, it appears many take the loss of Don working at KI harder than Don himself.... Unfortunately, Don leaving KI is one of those events that some people are never going to get over and will badmouth everything the park does moving forward. Don't get me wrong, constructive criticism for the park we love is fine as we all want more out of the park and know there is always room for improvement, but there are also many that believe this bashing has gone on long enough and it is no longer constructive criticism but rather personal attacks for the people left to fill Don's shoes. And really, how many enthusiasts events does a park really need to host in a year? If Don were still at the park and ACE did their thing and Coasterstock did their thing, people would probably complain the events were too similar. I thought in one of the podcasts Don said the reason for doing Coasterstock was to eliminate multiple enthusiasts events and just have one big one. These events are a lot of hard work behind the scenes and maybe Don wouldn't have wanted to put both on in one season if he were still at the park? If you are going to attend the ACE event with a pre-meditated mindset of not enjoying it and nitpicking every little aspect of it, maybe you shouldn't attend the event and let people that are going to enjoy the event have that opportunity to attend...it is hard to believe, but there are people that don't know who Don is and would attend the event and have a wonderful time... Do you honestly think people are going to read all these words when you could have just said, "I'm Chad?" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 So I understand people are upset to see Coasterstock not return in 2024. I get it, I met my wife at that event. We do not have to agree about the parks decision. You are free to not like the methods or decisions the KI Comms team are making right now. Personal attacks or making disrespectful comments about a person on that team is not a good look on the enthusiasts community. Any posts bashing towards specific individuals that is not done respectfully or constructively from here on out will be removed. If this behavior continues, you may receive a warning. Corporate has made their decision on how things work now. No calling out on KIC or elsewhere is going to change their mind. Let's focus on expressing our opinions constructively and collaboratively. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 7 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said: So I understand people are upset to see Coasterstock not return in 2024. I get it, I met my wife at that event. We do not have to agree about the parks decision. You are free to not like the methods or decisions the KI Comms team are making right now. Personally attacks or make disrespectful comments about a person on that team is not a good look on the enthusiasts community. Any posts bashing towards specific individuals that is not done respectfully or constructively from here on out will be removed. If this behavior continues, you may receive a warning. Corporate has made their decision on how things work now. No calling out on KIC or elsewhere is going to change their mind. Let's focus on expressing our opinions constructively and collaboratively. It’s stock, not Stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 3 minutes ago, DonHelbig said: It’s stock, not Stock. Fixed it. Not sure why I always have it that way in my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Latest Tower Topics discusses the announcement that Coasterstock is cancelled for 2024. Why did they choose to do the ACE event instead? Do you think it’ll really be back in 2025? What exactly is mean by, “timing?” All of this and more: https://linktr.ee/towertopics 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 Who got to register for the ACE conference today.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenban Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 18 minutes ago, disco2000 said: Who got to register for the ACE conference today.... As far as I know the tickets never went on sale. The registration page just says “Information will be posted soon.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeastFarmer Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 Same here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiian Coasters 325 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 35 minutes ago, disco2000 said: Who got to register for the ACE conference today.... ACE hasn't announced the date they will go on sale yet. I get email updates from them and follow ACE on all social media pages and follow the ACE spring conference event facebook page and nothing has been said anywhere about registration opening today and I have looked through everywhere and they never said anything about it opening today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeastFarmer Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 I called ACE. Tickets have not been put on sale. The events page will be updated at some point, but not today. They are not selling tickets today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 31 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said: ACE hasn't announced the date they will go on sale yet. I get email updates from them and follow ACE on all social media pages and follow the ACE spring conference event facebook page and nothing has been said anywhere about registration opening today and I have looked through everywhere and they never said anything about it opening today. This week their website said they went on sale today and then at some point today it changed "Information will be posted soon." I was refreshing it quite a bit today to try to get in and then it changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiian Coasters 325 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 6 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said: I called ACE. Tickets have not been put on sale. The events page will be updated at some point, but not today. They are not selling tickets today. shew! I was stressing for a moment. That would've been mean to secretly let tickets go on sale without announcing it on their socials/email. Lesson learned: wait for ACE themselves to announce a date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 Oh found a tab I hadn't refreshed yet. This is what it said this week up until this afternoon: And this afternoon it got changed to: So the question is why..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeastFarmer Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 7 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said: shew! I was stressing for a moment. That would've been mean to secretly let tickets go on sale without announcing it on their socials/email. Lesson learned: wait for ACE themselves to announce a date. Me too! I had to leave work for a bit for an MD appointment and I come back to @disco2000's post! :). Stress, I reckon! The gentleman I spoke with was very nice. I appreciate his update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawaiian Coasters 325 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 I was scrolling through comments on ACE facebook post about the event cap and they said they would announce the date and time registration would open on their social medias and in an email. They haven't posted about it or sent out emails about it yet so IDK why it said that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 28 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said: shew! I was stressing for a moment. That would've been mean to secretly let tickets go on sale without announcing it on their socials/email. Lesson learned: wait for ACE themselves to announce a date. Since the number of attendees is limited, maybe just silently posting on their website like I found it this week without announcing it would be one way to ensure those they want to get registered get registered LOL. (sarcasm....we hope) But I know others saw it because someone mentioned it on the ACE FB page: But the question is why? An issue with KI being able to commit to an itinerary? Is ACE having issues on their end putting this together? Simple mistake on ACE end updating the webpage with a placeholder date? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion-XL200 Posted March 9 Author Share Posted March 9 The short description of the event itinerary (without actual exact things listed), looked to be an almost exact replica of Coasterstock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldschool75 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 The timing is perfect because it’s the 40th anniversary of the first major enthusiast event in park history - AcCE Spring Conference. That year heralded the opening of King Cobra: Actually CoasterCon 2 was the first big enthusiast event at Kings Island June 15-17, 1979. I have film and photos of the event. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenban Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 ACE just sent out the details to members and posted them on their website for the spring conference. https://www.aceonline.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1823985 Tickets go on sale this Saturday March 16th. ACE Members: $213 ACE Members age 3-11: $192 Nonmembers: $266 $90 discount with an annual pass, members cannot buy tickets for non-members for a few weeks to give members time, it’s unlikely the tickets will last long enough. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 10 hours ago, Kenban said: ACE just sent out the details to members and posted them on their website for the spring conference. https://www.aceonline.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1823985 Tickets go on sale this Saturday March 16th. ACE Members: $213 ACE Members age 3-11: $192 Nonmembers: $266 $90 discount with an annual pass, members cannot buy tickets for non-members for a few weeks to give members time, it’s unlikely the tickets will last long enough. Oof… they better deliver… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 54 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said: Oof… they better deliver… Hopefully the ERT lineup each day, what the tours are, who the industry speakers are, and what’s on the menu for the catered meals is made available before tickets go on sale so ACE members know what they’re paying for. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr0y Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 3 minutes ago, DonHelbig said: Hopefully the ERT lineup each day, what the tours are, who the industry speakers are, and what’s on the menu for the catered meals is made available before tickets go on sale so ACE members know what they’re paying for. Not a fan of surprises? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 3 minutes ago, DonHelbig said: Hopefully the ERT lineup each day, what the tours are, who the industry speakers are, and what’s on the menu for the catered meals is made available before tickets go on sale so ACE members know what they’re paying for. *Terms are subject to change. No refunds. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 ACE should invite Mr. RACER as an industry speaker and raffle off tickets to ride with him on The Racer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 3 hours ago, disco2000 said: ACE should invite Mr. RACER as an industry speaker and raffle off tickets to ride with him on The Racer. Scale of 1 to 10: how likely would to be for the Kings Island Team to even allow that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 4 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said: Scale of 1 to 10: how likely would to be for the Kings Island Team to even allow that? Probably a 0 or -10. But it would make for an interesting session and discussion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 3 hours ago, disco2000 said: Probably a 0 or -10. But it would make for an interesting session and discussion! -100 but that’s OK. A series of Tower Topics and Attractions Group Podcast Meet Ups will offer opportunities for Kings Island discussion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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