I saw this posted on LinkedIn.  It looks like they are looking to hire a corporate person to oversee a loyalty program. This is following the lead of Six Flags, who implemented a program this year.

Kings Island previously had a loyalty program called FUN Perks in 2012 that garnered points for attendance, purchases, and games. It did not return for the 2013 season.

https://jobs.cedarfair.com/job-detail/9060187/marketing-crm-loyalty-rewards-manager-charlotte-nc/

FUN Perks... sounds vaguely familiar.

I wonder if this program will only be implemented at Carowinds or if it will be for all CF parks?  Is Cedar Fair corporate based in Charlotte or in Sandusky?

It says its a corporate position, based out of Charlotte.

Like Winterfest, I'd bet it starts with a park or two and gets rolled out over a few years.

The main corporate offices for Cedar Fair are in Sandusky, although they do have some corporate offices in Charlotte.  

I honestly don't recall FUN Perks. What sort of rewards were offered?

HIgh perceived value... low cost:

• Beast Back Stage Tour
• Soft Drink
• Front of the Line 
• Cotton Candy
• Percentage off purchases.

Years ago my daughter and I were in the park and after buying lunch and scanning Gold Pass we 'earned" a free ride for 2 on the Go-carts that have since been removed. Just little things like that and discounts for food and games. I "earned" a free flight on EXtreme Skyflyer once, that was cool.

40 minutes ago, Outdoor Man said:

HIgh perceived value... low cost:

• Beast Back Stage Tour
• Soft Drink
• Front of the Line 
• Cotton Candy
• Percentage off purchases.

Here’s a walk down memory lane. This is an actual marketing brochure of the original Fun Perks in 2012.

 

Not too shabby! How much did they give you for "In park cash?" 

1 hour ago, Joshua said:

Not too shabby! How much did they give you for "In park cash?" 

I don't think that ever actually happened.  The program never truly came out of beta. 

Prizes i remember getting (and I got all of them) were:

Free BAG admission

Free FL+

Discounted BAF

Discounted FL+

Free Games

50% off merch

Drink wristbands

(maybe) Food Discounts

There may have been other things like free Skyflyer or something, but I never opted for it.  I also don't recall having the opportunity for VIP fireworks viewing, but it was a long time ago.

15 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said:

I don't think that ever actually happened.  The program never truly came out of beta. 

Prizes i remember getting (and I got all of them) were:

Free BAG admission

Free FL+

Discounted BAF

Discounted FL+

Free Games

50% off merch

Drink wristbands

(maybe) Food Discounts

There may have been other things like free Skyflyer or something, but I never opted for it.  I also don't recall having the opportunity for VIP fireworks viewing, but it was a long time ago.

It was still in testing stages when it stopped. I have many artifacts and souvenirs from that program, as in my opinion, it was pretty cool.

Glad to see it’s being revived. Question is how many bonus points do you start out with if you buy a meal deal and drink plan?

1 hour ago, gforce1994 said:

It was still in testing stages when it stopped. I have many artifacts and souvenirs from that program, as in my opinion, it was pretty cool.

Glad to see it’s being revived. Question is how many bonus points do you start out with if you buy a meal deal and drink plan?

That is what is going to be very, very interesting.  For a lot of Season Pass holders most of the cost of the season is front loaded, so they wouldn't really have a lot of way to accrue points except for attendance, games, and merch. 

1 minute ago, BoddaH1994 said:

That is what is going to be very, very interesting.  For a lot of Season Pass holders most of the cost of the season is front loaded, so they wouldn't really have a lot of way to accrue points except for attendance, games, and merch. 

I bet games and mech is where they need to increase per caps on us pass holders. That might be their target?

Maybe for those with the meal and drink plan they'll give you points every time you actually use it? And I would assume attendence would work the same as well. The real question here is would there be a difference between passholders? Like if you had a platinum pass, would you have one grand total of points from any park you visit that could be redeeemed across all CF parks? Or would you have a seperate point total for each park that was only good at that specific one? I would definitely prefer option 1 here, but depending on how they rolled it out it might not happen until the program (with success) existed at every park.

3 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

I bet games and mech is where they need to increase per caps on us pass holders. That might be their target?

Maybe, but it also makes me wonder if there will be a perceived value to it. When it’s food and stuff where  people think they’re getting value for something they’d buy anyway (but end up spending more) it’s usually more successful. I guess all it takes is for people to make a few purchases they wouldn’t make in order to make it work.

16 hours ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

I bet games and mech is where they need to increase per caps on us pass holders. That might be their target?

Yeah, I don’t think Games where caps need to be increased, as they certainly are affordable and winnable. 

... then there was that time the KIC site'rs crashed the test server before roll-out...

Just now, Outdoor Man said:

... then there was that time the KIC site'rs crashed the test server before roll-out...

I bet they didn’t find that funny in an office setting in Newport. 

Just a guess.

9 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

I bet they didn’t find that funny in an office setting in Newport. 

Just a guess.

Wait..... what? I’ve never heard this.

1 hour ago, gforce1994 said:

Wait..... what? I’ve never heard this.

"inside" joke... only a small handful know the references. One was several years ago, the other several weeks.

 

7 hours ago, Outdoor Man said:

"inside" joke... only a small handful know the references. One was several years ago, the other several weeks.

 

7 hours ago, gforce1994 said:

 

I would but I can't.

 

I think loyalty programs are a win win for the park and their gold pass holders. Guests spend money and parks give out inexpensive perks and the cycle continues. 

Some rewards I'd like to see implemented are discounted bring your friend tickets, Fast Lane tickets, discounted merch, exclusive behind the scenes tours, discounted/free canopies at Soak City, etc.

I even think it would be cool if there was something for exclusive perks for Platinum Pass holders who accumulate a certain amount of points where pass holdets could get discounts on resort and hotel stays, behind the scenes tours, vip experiences etc.

1 hour ago, SonofBaconator said:

I think loyalty programs are a win win for the park and their gold pass holders. Guests spend money and parks give out inexpensive perks and the cycle continues. 

Some rewards I'd like to see implemented are discounted bring your friend tickets, Fast Lane tickets, discounted merch, exclusive behind the scenes tours, discounted/free canopies at Soak City, etc.

I even think it would be cool if there was something for exclusive perks for Platinum Pass holders who accumulate a certain amount of points where pass holdets could get discounts on resort and hotel stays, behind the scenes tours, vip experiences etc.

What do you mean by points? I'm assuming you get a point per visit and that determines the loyalty perks? Also, has anyone gotten any this year? I haven't seen any emails about them

34 minutes ago, IceePirate said:

What do you mean by points? I'm assuming you get a point per visit and that determines the loyalty perks?

Like points based off of transactions if you show a gold/platinum pass. For example if I buy a $4 Coke I earn 1 loyalty point  If I buy say a $50 souvenier I'd earn 13 points, and so on. The idea is to encourage in park spending by rewarding guests with things that cost the park little to no money to produce.

They extended the season passes through 2021. I would say that is a pretty good loyalty perk for this year.

^^ That was basically the FunPerks system from 2012. There were no visible points, but you earned rewards based on your visits and especially your in-park spending.
 

I don't know if it will involve rewards, but I expect a push to increase spending next year since passholders will be essentially getting the season for free. I'll be more likely to drop money on something random having not really paid for admission (or dining/drinks).

 

3 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

Like points based off of transactions if you show a gold/platinum pass. For example if I buy a $4 Coke I earn 1 loyalty point  If I buy say a $50 souvenier I'd earn 13 points, and so on. The idea is to encourage in park spending by rewarding guests with things that cost the park little to no money to produce.

Heh, that's not how it works now. I've spent $3k on merch from KI/CP in 2020 and haven't seen anything yet

54 minutes ago, malem said:

^^ That was basically the FunPerks system from 2012. There were no visible points, but you earned rewards based on your visits and especially your in-park spending.

I thought there was a page where you could go to see how many points you racked up