Timberwolf

[DA RIPPER]

Does anybody know if there's going to be more concerts than Sprit song at Timberwolf this season?

[CoastersRZ]

I haven`t heard of any.

I did hear an interesting bit of trivia today about Timberwolf. Back in 1985, Jimmey Buffett had a concert up at Kings Island`s Timberwolf. Band member Timothy B. Schmidt looked out and said, "You guys are all a bunch of parrot-heads." The rest, as they say is history. Jimmy Buffett will play at Riverbend Music Center this Thursday for all those parrot heads. As is usual, the annual concert sold out within minutes of the tickets going on sale.

[CrazyKay07]

There's a dance/cheerleading competition on September 2 and 3. It may not be a concert, but it sounds interesting to me, being a girl.

I just checked on the park's website schedule to find that.

[KIemployeeforlife]

As of right now there is just spirit song, cheerleading comp., and fall celebration.

To my knowledge there have been no concerts scheduled. The fact that there are no concerts besides these does disapoint me because in all my years at KI there have already been some concerts mentioned by now. So maybe there wont be anything else.

[CoastersRZ]

Well, most of the big name acts go to Riverbend, because that facility, is much nicer than Timberwolf is. Although parking can be at a premium. They will fill up both the normal Coney lot, the picnic lot, and park cars on the grass between Lake Como and Kelogg Avenue, where the Flower show is held each April.

[WooferBearATL]

I haven`t heard of any.

I did hear an interesting bit of trivia today about Timberwolf. Back in 1985, Jimmey Buffett had a concert up at Kings Island`s Timberwolf. Band member Timothy B. Schmidt looked out and said, "You guys are all a bunch of parrot-heads." The rest, as they say is history. Jimmy Buffett will play at Riverbend Music Center this Thursday for all those parrot heads. As is usual, the annual concert sold out within minutes of the tickets going on sale.

It's true and it really did happen there.

You just can't imagine the party atmosphere that the park had when Buffett played the multiple shows.

Everyone was able to wear plastic leighs and everything at their locations.

Funny thing was that I always worked one of the concerts. My first concert I was behind one of the fences and pouring bottles of tequilla into the margaritta mix. (LOL, I was very under age at that time!)

[CoastersRZ]

Oddly enough, the same type of atmosphere still occurs down at Coney the day of the Buffet concert. It isn`t uncommon for workers to dawn some plastic leighs to get into the tropical mood.

[WooferBearATL]

Oddly enough, the same type of atmosphere still occurs down at Coney the day of the Buffet concert. It isn`t uncommon for workers to dawn some plastic leighs to get into the tropical mood.

Lord, just to give you an idea of the impact Buffet had on the park, my supervisors bonus dropped almost $500 the year that we lost Buffet to Coney.

[PKIVortex]

I'm surpised Timberwolf hasn't been torn down yet. It hasn't had any attention as far as refurbishment in a very long time. I could imagine a nice size steel coaster going in that spot of land.

[Jeffy]

I was there at the Jimmy Buffet concert in 1985, it was a great concert and the park was wild that evening. Almost as wild as my grad nite in 1981! Whew!

[The Interpreter]

I'm surpised Timberwolf hasn't been torn down yet. It hasn't had any attention as far as refurbishment in a very long time. I could imagine a nice size steel coaster going in that spot of land.

That would be truly be a shame.

The acts that places like Hersheypark, Six Flags Great Adventure and Dollywood and even Wild Adventures get bring lots of people and money to a venue. A new steel coaster, no matter how grand, can't compare to a roster of first class acts and groups.

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

I wonder if Cedar Fair will put any thought into doing something with Timberwolf. Like booking it up, fixing it up, or tearing it down.

[WooferBearATL]

I'm surpised Timberwolf hasn't been torn down yet.  It hasn't had any attention as far as refurbishment in a very long time.  I could imagine a nice size steel coaster going in that spot of land. 

That would be truly be a shame.

The acts that places like Hersheypark, Six Flags Great Adventure and Dollywood and even Wild Adventures get bring lots of people and money to a venue. A new steel coaster, no matter how grand, can't compare to a roster of first class acts and groups.

I really wonder how Paramount forgot that portion of it.

I know that every day that there was a Timberwolf Concert we would boost attendance and profits would increase considerably.

[jzarley]

I think that was the biggest surprise of all after Paramount took over the parks...the fact that they didn't use these venues to promote their own musical acts! (Didn't they even own their own record label at the time?) Talk about a great way to introduce new artists to thousands of people, as well as make some good $ from their already established acts...

What's the capacity at Timber Wolf?

I saw my very first concert at Timber Wolf..."Tears for Fears" in 1985!!

EDIT: Or was it "Simple Minds"? Jeesh...I can't even remember anymore

[Shaggy]

The capacity of Timberwolf is around 6,000.

There's much more to booking a concert in a venue like Timberwolf than you can even imagine.

First, any act that plays a park Ampitheatre is reliant upon a Promoter. Timberwolf events are largely promoted by Jam Productions out of Chicago. Many acts are limited to venues depending upon whom their promoter is.

If an act is promoted or backed by, say, Live Nation (former Clear Channel) then the act will likely play a venue in the area that is owned by or has an existing contract with Live Nation. In Cincinnati alone, Live Nation owns and operates the Taft Theatre, Riverbend, Bogarts and has contracts with the Aronoff Center etc.

Second, KI rely's on a promoter to book the acts, because they have no division within the company to deal with the acts themselves. On top of that, there are guarantees involved. So if an act were booked to play Timberwolf, and tanked, the park would have to cover the loss. If the event sells out, usually the guarantee includes a percentage rate based on sales. Meaning the park can only retain a percentage of ticket sales. It's not as lucrative from a ticket sales point as you may think.

In the case of a Jimmy Buffet, certain acts will only play certain types (or sized) venues. Also, many of today's acts are extremely reliant upon visual effects and stage effects to spruce up their performances. When Britney Spears played Timberwolf years ago, the entire show had to be re-tooled just to fit the stage. Many performers, outside of general bands who just stand and play, don't want to play a venue that will not allow them to use their own stage, own sound equipt, etc. They feel that it sacrifices the quality of their show.

Finally, KI's interest in concerts was always the revenue and attendance to the park that it generated. When the cost of bringing in an act outweighs their ability to profit from those that come to see the act, then it's not worth it.

Shaggy

[WooferBearATL]

I think that was the biggest surprise of all after Paramount took over the parks...the fact that they didn't use these venues to promote their own musical acts! (Didn't they even own their own record label at the time?) Talk about a great way to introduce new artists to thousands of people, as well as make some good $ from their already established acts...

What's the capacity at Timber Wolf?

I saw my very first concert at Timber Wolf..."Tears for Fears" in 1985!!

EDIT: Or was it "Simple Minds"? Jeesh...I can't even remember anymore

It was Tears for Fears. I actually saw the show (3rd Row - Stage Left)

The reason why I remember it so well was that there were a few people in the front row that had their bodies pained completly white. Was the darndest thing I'd ever seen.

[WooferBearATL]

The capacity of Timberwolf is around 6,000.

There's much more to booking a concert in a venue like Timberwolf than you can even imagine.

First, any act that plays a park Ampitheatre is reliant upon a Promoter. Timberwolf events are largely promoted by Jam Productions out of Chicago. Many acts are limited to venues depending upon whom their promoter is.

If an act is promoted or backed by, say, Live Nation (former Clear Channel) then the act will likely play a venue in the area that is owned by or has an existing contract with Live Nation. In Cincinnati alone, Live Nation owns and operates the Taft Theatre, Riverbend, Bogarts and has contracts with the Aronoff Center etc.

Second, KI rely's on a promoter to book the acts, because they have no division within the company to deal with the acts themselves. On top of that, there are guarantees involved. So if an act were booked to play Timberwolf, and tanked, the park would have to cover the loss. If the event sells out, usually the guarantee includes a percentage rate based on sales. Meaning the park can only retain a percentage of ticket sales. It's not as lucrative from a ticket sales point as you may think.

In the case of a Jimmy Buffet, certain acts will only play certain types (or sized) venues. Also, many of today's acts are extremely reliant upon visual effects and stage effects to spruce up their performances. When Britney Spears played Timberwolf years ago, the entire show had to be re-tooled just to fit the stage. Many performers, outside of general bands who just stand and play, don't want to play a venue that will not allow them to use their own stage, own sound equipt, etc. They feel that it sacrifices the quality of their show.

Finally, KI's interest in concerts was always the revenue and attendance to the park that it generated. When the cost of bringing in an act outweighs their ability to profit from those that come to see the act, then it's not worth it.

Shaggy

See, Pre Paramount all of the booking was done through the parks. All of the contracting and preperation was arranged and usually the agreements were worked out for multiple park agreements.

All catering was done through the Picnic Grove.

[Gordon Bombay]

^Thanks for the info Shaggy, that cleared up a lot. I've been to timberwolf only a handful of times and I never really enjoyed it. I got drug a long with my little sisters to see Aaron carter on one of their birthdays when he came and even though hes not the most talented individual, it sounded pretty bad. The rides didnt interfeer too much, but there was constant popping and static from the sound ssytem and many times there would be long periods of buzzing coming from the speakers. I remember that the seating there is awful and barely rasied. Fights kept breaking out cause kids would stand on the seats and the other kids parents behind them would complain to the standing kids parents. I dont think I've ever seen adults act any more imature that night then I ever have at Kings Island. I saw Modest Mouse there too a few years back and while this time the sound was great, the view and seating were bad, the lights sucked, and the constant roar of SOB and Drop Zone drowned out the band talking in between songs.

I remember the madness that ensued when Britney Spears played, I was just visitng the park with famiyl that day and Action Zone was packed with people just waiting to be admitted into the Timberwolf. I'd much rather see almost any band at Riverben than at Timberwolf and depending on how big of a crowd they draw nothings beats Bogarts. My band has played at both Bogarts and Topcats and I could see it being much mroe fun there than at Timberwolf where its hard to interact with the fans.

[Snake Attack!]

I think that Timberwolf needs to be destroyed, they have less and less concerts every year and it takes up a good amout of space so why not destroy it a put in a new state of the art coaster or ride.

Why not when they put in IJ save the Antique Cars and Flyers and put IJ in the place of Timberwolf. The Flyers and Antique Cars are more popular than Timberwolf? Right?

[jzarley]

See, Pre Paramount all of the booking was done through the parks.  All of the contracting and preperation was arranged and usually the agreements were worked out for multiple park agreements.

All catering was done through the Picnic Grove.

I would imagine it speaks more to changes in the overall concert promotion business in the past 13 years than anything to fault Paramount for...

The old days of good concerts at Timberwolf was also before Ticket Master took over the world as well... There was an article in "The Other Paper" (one of Columbus' alternative papers) about how Ticket Master would be moving to a bidding system for good seats...making it nearly impossible to pay face value for premium seats any more. Nice.

I also wasn't aware that the capacity was so low at Timberwolf...

Thanks for the info, Shaggy.

[jzarley]

It was Tears for Fears. I actually saw the show (3rd Row - Stage Left)

The reason why I remember it so well was that there were a few people in the front row that had their bodies pained completly white. Was the darndest thing I'd ever seen.

You remember where you sat, and I couldn't even remember for sure which concert it was

The only reason my Mom even let me go to that concert (it was my first) was because it was at KI! I think she found comfort (real or imagined) that it would be safer than the typical concert venue

[CoastersNSich]

There used to be, it seems, a ton of major acts playing at TimberWolf prior to the Paramount days. The amount of those acts seemed to wane some around 1995 or so. Anyone remember the children's group Sharon, Lois & Bram? I think Britney Spears' first Cincinnati area appearance was at TimberWolf in 1999. The past few years, it's come back some, with acts like Styx, REO Speedwagon, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Raven, Ryan Cabrera. Now, surprisingly, many of the touring acts aren't coming back - even though their concerts are an additional charge.

Whatever Cedar Fair does with TimberWolf, I hope change is involved. They should at least replace the seats, with some of the closer sections having backs or individual seats like Riverbend. (Does Kingswood at PKD have a setup like that?) Separate restrooms would also be nice - currently TW guests have to get their hand stamped and use the facility between Congo Falls and Face/Off. Of course, demolition/redevelopment is always an option, though it does host events that bring in big numbers of guests, so why turn them away?

The only current Cedar Fair park with a large amphiteatre similar to TimberWolf is, I think, at Worlds of Fun, the Heart of America Theater. Looking at WOF's website, I don't see any major concerts scheduled.

[WooferBearATL]

It was Tears for Fears.  I actually saw the show (3rd Row - Stage Left)

The reason why I remember it so well was that there were a few people in the front row that had their bodies pained completly white.  Was the darndest thing I'd ever seen.

You remember where you sat, and I couldn't even remember for sure which concert it was

The only reason my Mom even let me go to that concert (it was my first) was because it was at KI! I think she found comfort (real or imagined) that it would be safer than the typical concert venue

That was the strangest concert I'd ever been at. It was like they let the freak patrols out to come see the concert.

I was up at Canada's Wonderland when the Greatful Dead were performing. You could get a contact high just walking to the bathroom.

[LongLiveTheSmurfRide]

Modest Mouse was there a couple years ago. Need to get more indie bands like them and the Walkmen in there.

[coasterking123456]

PKI needs to book more bands at Timberwolf this season I find the low amount of concerts sad compared to what it used to be.

[JxAx]

I saw my favorite band, mxpx, there for fall celebration last year. I could see it being torn out to build something else though.

[SML828]

The capacity of Timberwolf is around 6,000.

When Britney Spears played Timberwolf years ago, the entire show had to be re-tooled just to fit the stage.

Just a couple comments. I thought the capacity for T-Wolf was 10,000. I could be wrong, but that's what I remember hearing when I worked there. I worked quite a few T-Wolf shows over the years. Also, and this is just a side note, I worked that Britney Spears concert. That was a memorable night. Sold out. People standing on benches. People yelling at us because people were standing benches. Getting threatened a couple times. Awful crowd. Completely lip-synched show. Yea, even the spoken stuff between songs. But that night at midnight I turned 21, so that definitely made up for it. Over the past few years they've had some decent acts. Last year I loved "working" the Simple Plan concert. However, my favorite would have to be Third Eye Blind a few years ago.

[Shman]

I do know that the park along with JAM productions has booked a concert with Aly & AJ (whoever they are) this summer....i forget the date, i'll have to go back and check on it.

[WooferBearATL]

The capacity of Timberwolf is around 6,000.

When Britney Spears played Timberwolf years ago, the entire show had to be re-tooled just to fit the stage.

Just a couple comments. I thought the capacity for T-Wolf was 10,000. I could be wrong, but that's what I remember hearing when I worked there. I worked quite a few T-Wolf shows over the years. Also, and this is just a side note, I worked that Britney Spears concert. That was a memorable night. Sold out. People standing on benches. People yelling at us because people were standing benches. Getting threatened a couple times. Awful crowd. Completely lip-synched show. Yea, even the spoken stuff between songs. But that night at midnight I turned 21, so that definitely made up for it. Over the past few years they've had some decent acts. Last year I loved "working" the Simple Plan concert. However, my favorite would have to be Third Eye Blind a few years ago.

Same as what I was told. I was told that Timberwolf was able to accomodate 10K to 11K for a sold out ocncert. (And I've worked dozens of sold out concerts there.)