Kings Dominion Hiring & Expanded Entertainment for 2013

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mwhinva

Nov 1, 2012
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Kings Dominion increasing the number of seasonal workers hired and increasing the entertainment offerings for the 2013 season.

In today's local Richmond, VA newspaper, there was an article noting Kings Dominion was hiring for the 2013 season and was looking to hire 4000 seasonal workers. This was an increase in the number of seasonal employees to be hired compared to the 2012 season. Also, in the article was an announcement that Kings Dominion was increasing the number of entertainment offerings from 6 shows in 2012 to 10 shows in 2013.

Kings Dominion also will enlarge the number of live shows it will present from six last year to 10 for its 2013 season, Petriello said. Seven of the 10 live-entertainment productions will be new ones.
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I assume that the 3 main shows; "All Access", "Spin", and maybe "Got Country" are being replaced for this 2013 season. I believe that all 3 of these have run 2 years concurrently and are up for replacement. Then there are the 2 children shows from 2012 "Charlie Browns Pirate Adventure" and "Peanuts Rocking Party". I see them currently on the parks website, so I assume they are coming back in 2013.

That leaves "Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular / Nights of Fire" as the sixth show from 2012? I have no idea if the park considers the Dinosaur Movie as an entertainment "show" offering.

So that leaves 4 additional new entertainment offerings for 2013. I do know that the park was adding another children's show for 2013 due to the Planet Snoopy expansion. So that leaves 3 additional new shows. It will be interesting to see if these are actually "live shows" [singers, dancers, musicians, actors] or something like the Snoopy light show / fireworks events. TBD

Here is the link to the full article: http://www.timesdispatch.com/business/economy/kings-dominion-to-hire-workers-for-season/article_839cc969-baa9-5aff-9332-4ba46dff8302.html
 
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I watched that "All Access" show last year. It was a typical below average music revue. I wish they had a show with a story attached to it.

I did enjoy the music they put on in front of the Eifel Tower though.
 
pandorazboxx said:
I watched that "All Access" show last year. It was a typical below average music revue. I wish they had a show with a story attached to it.

I did enjoy the music they put on in front of the Eifel Tower though.
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I thought the 1st year of "All Access" (2011 Season) was a better overall production in talent and sets/costumes than the 2nd year (2012). It appears the 2012 entertainment budget was less than in 2011 and it showed in the production last year.

I assume that Cedar Fair and Kings Dominion are committed to investing more money in the overall park entertainment package for 2013. I hope the overall show production standards are improved as well. I would be blown away if they could return to the entertainment standards of the Taft/KECO years! Course, I don't know if the park is willing to commit that amount of money to its entertainment division. We'll have to wait and see.
 
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I'm might have to see a show or two this year. I haven't seen any Kings Dominion shows (or any shows at an amusement park, kill me yes :p) so I couldn't compare it if I did.
 
They pay their entertainers fairly well... Quite a bit better than they do at busch surprisingly. If I lived in Richmond I'd definitely consider auditioning as a haunt actor.
 
Ben said:
I thought Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular was great, I hope it returns
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I remember seeing at the park that it is returning in 2013. Was this actually considered one of the 6 shows.
 
Alpenscoot said:
Ben said:
I thought Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular was great, I hope it returns
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I remember seeing at the park that it is returning in 2013. Was this actually considered one of the 6 shows.
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That's what my question was in my previous post above. There were 3 adult/family shows with live performers and 2 children's shows with "human" performers and peanut characters from last year. So that is 5 of the 6 shows from 2012. There were 3 other entertainment offerings in 2012. I am not sure if the park characterizes those as "shows".

"Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular" - [light & sound event]; "Nights of Fire" [15-20 minute nightly fireworks event | to be honest I don't remember if this ran most of the summer or just during the week of July 4th]; "Dinosaurs of the Patagonia" - [3-D movie]. I guess you could throw in the daily meet & greet for the Peanut gang as well.

I will go with "Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular" as the 6th show from 2012. So, that leaves 4 additional new shows for 2013. I do remember Kings Dominion stating there would be another children's show for 2013 because of the Planet Snoopy expansion/renovation. So that should be one of the 4 additional new shows for 2013. What the other shows could be, I have no idea. It will be interesting to see where all these new shows will be performed during the 2013 season. The park lost 3 show amphitheaters during the Paramount years. Maybe they will double up some of the show offerings in the remaining performance spaces.
 
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New 2013 show semi-confirmed for Kings Dominion.

While I was viewing other amusement related sites, I was referred to a company Facebook site that stated Kings Dominion will be getting a new BMX bike stunt show for 2013. This show will be returning to Cedar Point for 2013 and will be new for Dorney Park and Kings Dominion. This company also produced the show at Knotts Berry Farm and California's Great Adventure in the recent past (the show is not there for those parks for 2013).

This show has cyclists, skateboarders, inline skaters, trampoline artists, acrobats, etc. You can see videos of the show at Cedar Point and Knotts. Course, I have no idea where this show can be performed at KD. Hopefully, full confirmation will come from Kings Dominion when they update the entertainment section of their web site. That usually happens in late February / early March

http://www.facebook.com/allwheelsports?group_id=0
 
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Honestly, it seems like it fits Kings Dominion's market better anyway.

Just to confirm, this isn't some sort of special event, this is a multiple-showings-per-day show, correct?
 
Zachary said:
Honestly, it seems like it fits Kings Dominion's market better anyway.

Just to confirm, this isn't some sort of special event, this is a multiple-showings-per-day show, correct?
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The only official information is that the company, All Wheel Sports Productions | that produces these types of entertainment offerings, will be developing the 2013 shows for Cedar Point [returning], Dorney Park [new], and Kings Dominion [new]. This company has also done work for Disney and Universal in addition to producing shows at other Cedar Fair parks in the recent past (Knotts & CGA).

Based on Cedar Point's web site, "All Wheels Extreme" is performed 3-4 times a day [off Tues.] and is scheduled to run from Memorial Day Weekend to the middle of August. The show is 25 minutes long.

I am curious to know where this show will be performed. I heard rumors floating around that Kings Dominion could use the park's concert amphitheater to host the show. I feel that location is a little off the beaten path for a daily show location. It is fine for concerts and special events. Plus, the park uses the amphitheater 6-8 days during the summer for the Christian/Gospel concert series and for a few special events. Looking at a YouTube video of the show at Cedar Point, there is a massive set of ramps, trampolines, stage areas that KD would have to take down and put back up every time a concert/special event is held at the amphitheater.

So, does this mean that Kings Dominion is willing to take all this stuff up and down and the performers going on hiatus every time the park needs the amphitheater for something else? Or, does this mean the park is building a new temp or permanent entertainment venue for this show somewhere in the park? Questions ... Questions :p
 
Kings Dominion Amphitheater on Google Earth.

Because of concerts and events that use that stage I don't think Kings Dominion will want to keep reconstructing the set because those events pay to be there and Kings Dominion will have to pay someone to keep taking down the set. I just don't think that they would like the fact of taking down the stage every time there was an event. From looking at pictures the setup they have is a pretty massive setup and it will be a pain to keep taking it down and putting it back up. If anywhere I think Peanuts Showplace would be a better place but I also doubt it will go there because I would guess a Snoopy show will be placed there. I'm going to look into this a bit more.

Below photos are taken from All Wheel Sports Facebook Page

Cedar Point 2012
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Cedar Point 2011
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Cedar Point 2010
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Knotts Berry Farm 2011
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Another entertainment tidbit I came across was from MoonMaxx Productions face book site. On an entry dated Jan. 24th they had the Kings Dominion entertainment auditions listed. One was in New York city at the end of January and 2 audition dates at the Kings Dominion theater in February.

But, what got my attention was a couple replies from MoonMaxx to an inquiry about the start of the show rehearsals. They stated that the pop music show and country music show rehearsals will begin March 15th. I assume that these 2 shows will be ready to perform opening day weekend.

The thing that really caught my eye was the beginning rehearsal date, (June 1st), for the Broadway style show the park will be putting on this summer. This will be the first time Kings Dominion has produced a Broadway style show in over 21 years! These types of shows were last produced under the Taft/KECO years of ownership (1975-1992). I assume this show is only active for the prime summer season, (mid-June | mid-August), though it could run through Labor Day weekend since it appears the show will have such a late start date.

I just checked the live entertainment section on the Kings Dominion web site and they have wiped the show section clean and to check back soon for the 2013 show lineup.

So here is a current rough draft list of "Live" Shows for 2013. Some of which are semi-confirmed based on the live entertainment production companies assisting Kings Dominion. The media article that started all this conversation stated Kings Dominion was going from 6 live shows to 10 live shows for 2013. I am just listing the type of show, who is producing the show, and the possible opening date for the show.

1. Pop Music Show [Semi-confirmed | MoonMaxx producing | opening day weekend?]
2. Country Music Show [Semi-confirmed | MoonMaxx producing | opening day weekend?]
3. Broadway style Show [Semi-confirmed | MoonMaxx producing | opening Mid-June?]
4. BMX Bike Stunt Show [Semi-confirmed | AllWheelSports producing | opening ???]
5. Kid Show 1 [???????? | In house? | ????????]
6. Kid Show 2 [???????? | In house? | ????????]
7. Kid Show 3 [???????? | In house? - Additional Kid show for 2013 (Planet Snoopy) | ????????]
8. Peanut Character Meet & Greet [In house? | ???????? | Opening Day weekend?]
9. ???????? Show [????????]
10. ???????? Show [????????]

Under the "Other" possible entertainment offerings for 2013:

1. "Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular" [Confirmed | Light/Sound Show | ????????]
2. "Dinosaurs of the Patagonia" [???????? | 3D Movie | ?????????]
3. "Nights of Fire" [????????? | Fireworks Show | ??????????]

********************************************************************************

As I stated in an earlier post here were the 6 "Live Show" offerings from 2012 (that you can compare to the possible live show offerings for 2013):

1. "All Access" [50's/60's/70's Pop/Rock Music Review | Fancy Pants Produced]
2. "Spin" [Current Pop Music Review | Fancy Pants Produced]
3. "Got Country" [Country Music Review | Fancy Pants Produced]
4. "Charlie Browns Pirate Adventure" [Kids Show | In-house Produced?]
5. "Peanuts Rocking Party" [Kids Show | In-house Produced?]
6. "Peanuts" Character [Meet & Greet | In-house Produced?]

Under the "Other" entertainment offerings from 2012:

1. "Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular" [Light/Sound Show]
2. "Dinosaurs of the Patagonia" [3D Movie]
3. "Nights of Fire" [Fireworks Show]
 
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I hope their broadway style show is more like a Celtic Fyre/Iceploration/Festival of the Lion King show and not a Showtunes revue.
 
MoonMaxx Productions has just announced the 5 shows they are producing for Kings Dominion for 2013. They are as follows:

"On Broadway - From Broadway to the Midway"
"Pop Fusion"
"Got Country"
"Street Beats"
"Karaoke Superstars"

The show logos and cast member lists are on MoonMaxx's Facebook site:
http://www.facebook.com/MoonMaxxProductions?ref=ts&fref=ts

Keep in mind that the Kings Dominion entertainment section on their web site has not been updated yet. There are 5 other "Live" shows to be announced. One of those should be the BMX Bike Stunt Show. Three of the shows are supposed to be for the kids in 2013. That leaves one "Live" show that I am unsure about.
 
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mwhinva said:
There are 5 other "Live" shows to be announced. One of those should be the BMX Bike Stunt Show.
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I saw the BMX show a few years back and it was a really awesome live experience. I didn't get to see Ramp Jam (which featured a different BMX company) at BGW, but I'm glad they're bringing this back. The roller coasters actually provide a really cool backdrop for it; kind of gives you the "extreme" vibe associated with the event.:)
 
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